24 Blending In
Jim stopped walking. 'This isn't going to work...', He was concerned from the confusion and anger shown by the woman from before, humans may be unusual around here.
[Mask Of Deception]
[Mimics Imagined Physical Features]
[+10 Charm]
[Price - 10,000]
[Glass Mirror]
[Price - 10]
'Ugh...', Jim bit the bullet and spent points to grab the items from the Tools category, the mask looked like a pile of warped loose skin, it felt gross holding it in his hand, but he went ahead and put it on. The instant it had fully covered his head, it seemed to melt and seep into his skin, it no longer felt like he was wearing anything.
Looking into the mirror, his appearance hadn't changed at all. 'Right, imagined...' After a few minutes, he stared at the mirror again. Slightly changed facial features, Two thick intimidating horns pointing upwards from symmetrical points on his forehead, skin which resembled a sunrise. 'Mmm, this is good.'
'Now, my clothes...' With his t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes covered by leather armguards and a leather chestguard, he was sure he would look out of place. 'Using that girl as a reference, robes should be fine, right?' Jim accessed the Armor category.
[Magician Apprentice Robes - Quality: Good]
[Defense - 3]
[+50 MP, +10 Magic]
[Price - 200]
[Sandals - Quality: Common]
[Defense - 1]
[Price - 5]
'Now, I just need to figure out their language, that gibberish she was spouting earlier was completely unrecognizable, I don't believe my Mechanized Brain can't figure this out!' After changing, Jim tossed his clothes in the Inventory and continued his stroll, carved stone buildings with simple wooden doors soon came into sight.
"Where are the rest of the Examinees!?" Tian Lo had finally been chosen as Flowing Cloud Sect's Examiner in testing the prospective disciples. He received word of 20 on their way this year, but only 15 had arrived, and 3 of them had wandered off somewhere when he wasn't looking! Nearly pulling out his hair, he was close to losing his mind.
Darting here and there, Tian Lo found a man wandering around aimlessly like a country bumpkin. 'Who...?' Sending out a pulse of qi, he found the man had just enough cultivation to apply for entering the sect. 'Must be one of the new recruits, but...why is he so old?' Shaking his head, Tian Lo lamented that the recruitment standards had dropped too much in recent years, but he didn't have the authority to oversee the entire process, just to gauge the talent of those who apple. "You! Over here!"
"Why are you wandering around here? The Examination is about to begin!" The man just stared at him blankly, "Alright, I don't have the time to spare for you, just get going!" Tian Lo resumed his search for the other missing Examinees.
Jim headed in the direction the shouting man was pointing at, he found a group of people standing around chatting, they glanced at him for a moment and looked away with disinterest. 'Is this where I'm supposed to go?'
[Bahn Tai East Tongue Language Skill Obtained]
[Bahn Tai East Tongue Has Reached Level 2]
Perking his ears up, Jim activated Heightened Senses and focused on their conversations, he slowly began to understand basic speech. About an hour seemed to have passed before the man from before returned, seemingly disappointed. "Come on, inside!" Jim followed the group into a large hall, there was a gong at the end and a large ornately decorated double door just beyond that. "Hit the gong, if the door opens you pass the first round, if not, get lost!" Jim didn't fully understand what was said, but seeing a young teen head over, he watched in interest.
[Name: Din Ka]
[Species: Bahn Tai Single Horn]
[Cultivation Realm: Early Foundation]
[Qi: 78/80]
[Strength: 8]
[Dexterity: 4]
[Vitality: 5]
[Agility: 6]
[Magic: 0]
[Spirit: 23]
The muscular teen had pink skin and a short curved horn on the right side of his head, he took on a strange stance after reaching the gong, pulling back his arm, a shine appeared around his fist, he punched out. The burst of wind from the strike was impressive, but the copper gong only moved back 3cm at most. *Groan* The large stone door at the back opened with difficulty, the thickness of the door could now be seen, it was at least five feet deep. 'No wonder it opens so slowly, that must be incredibly heavy!'
"Passed, Next!" Tian Lo shouted, the door closed and another boy approached, a similar glow appeared around his fist, but strike wasn't able to move the gong backwards at all, dejected he stood off to the side. Similar performances occurred for the next 3 challengers. An arrogant boy sauntered up, his physique looked slender and frail.
[Name: Bin Ga]
[Species: Bahn Tai Dual Horn]
[Cultivation Realm: Middle Foundation]
[Qi: 268/268]
[Strength: 15]
[Dexterity: 13]
[Vitality: 11]
[Agility: 16]
[Magic: 0]
[Spirit: 58]
Paying attention this time, Jim used Heightened Senses and Qi Sense to check the exact flow of Qi. 'It's that simple?' All this Bin Ga did was force Qi to congregate inside and around his fist before striking, there was no pattern or complexity to it. Bin Ga's fist met the gong, it swung back 12cm. Bin Ga's eyebrows twitched for a moment, but he headed through the now opened stone door.
Another four challengers failed to move the gong, with only five remaining Tian Lo started sweating. 'I'll be a laughing stock if tI have the lowest number of passing challengers ever, please, I beg you! Everyone pass!' a quick look at the old guy at the back made his heart sink.
The next four all passed, but Tian Lo was disappointed that the last one was so old. It was common knowledge in the Bahn Tai lands that one had to make the majority of their life's cultivation breakthroughs before the age of 30. Past that age, it became exponentially more difficult to advance even a single step. This is also why Bin Ha from before was in despair, no advancement for an entire 4 years in the prime of their life was the same as being disabled, she could have crossed an entire realm or even two in that time span, ensuring a life a riches and power.
After the door closed, Jim stepped forward, he decided against using one of his fist techniques and proceeded to mimic the way all the other contestants had forced Qi into their fists.
[Flowing Cloud Challenge Gong]
[Numerous Formations Enhance Durability And Weight, Used To Test Disciple Strength]
[Crafted 2000 Years Ago By 3 Star Blacksmith Tan Bin]
An intense blue glow surfaced from his hand, he slammed the balled up fist into the gong. The sturdy ropes holding the gong up instantly snapped, the gong shattered into pieces, an intense shockwave sent the copper shards flying. The shards and shockwave smashed into the thick stone door and dug a hole straight through it.
Jim corrected his posture and just stood there, he couldn't utter a word and just awaited punishment. 'Oh no! Do I have to pay for this? Will they accept USD?...No, of course not.'
The failed contestants who were snickering at Jim before thinking he would be standing next to them soon were all dumbfounded at this sight. Through the newly dug hole in the door you could see those who had passed before heading back to check out the commotion.
'Is this guy really only Early Foundation? That kind of force can only be seen from a Peak Spirit Warrior Cultivator!' Tian Lo sent his qi out to test Jim again, it showed that he was indeed only at Early Foundation. 'How could this be!?'
[Qi Strike Skill Obtained]
