Chapter 22: First Test

"I saw what happened…

...You disrespected an employee of the Confederation."

The old man that just appeared continued to wipe his hand with Sun Fang's towel. Afterward, he placed it inside his pocket and looked at Zemin, the receptionist that was hit by Sun Fang.

"I truly apologize for the actions of my student. It would seem that the little fame he had achieved had completely gotten into his head," the old man then bowed his head towards her, "I will make sure the Huang family will teach him a lesson in humility from now on."

"N… no. It's alright," Zemin awkwardly waved her hands as she gestured to the old man to stop. Yun Hao was still quite confused with this sudden development-- that, plus the fact that his hand was a bit numb made him a bit irritated. But as he heard the Huang Family being mentioned, his eyes could not help but follow the old man.

Huang Family? Was Huang Yi, the woman he met in the mixer, a part of this family?

"It is not alright," the old man once again bowed his head, "My only hope is that you forgive him for his foolishness today."

"It's--"

"Master Huang Da… why?"

Sun Fang, who finally recovered from the shock of being hit by his own master in the face, slowly made his way back, "This woman made a mistake of--"

"This woman is an employee of the Confederation," once again, Huang Da repeated his words. "You should know now to disrespect any member of the Confederation, Sun Fang."

"But she's just a receptionist!"

"A receptionist of the government that controls our world," Huang Da's tone was adamant as he looked Sun Fang straight in the eyes, "Now go wait in the lobby with the other applicants while I fix the damage you've done."

"But--"

"Go."

Sun Fang started to feel a slight pressure crawling throughout his skin as his master's words seemingly pierced his ears. He wanted to say more, but he was afraid that doing so might invite the wrath of his master. All he could do was haughtily walk towards where the other applicants are; of course, not before glaring at Yun Hao furiously.

Yun Hao could only let out a small chuckle before proceeding to follow him to the lobby so he could finally wait for the tests. But before he could take 3 steps, Huang Da suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Young man, please do wait for a while," Huang Da said as he saluted Yun Hao.

"What… can I do for you, mister?

With Huang Da blocking his path, Yun Hao was at a loss as to what to do. He knew what he did was going to bite him in the ass sooner or later, but to think it was this soon.

"I just wanted to thank you for putting my disciple in his place."

"...Oh. Ah… right, no problem," Yun Hao could only stutter awkwardly, nodding his head repeatedly as he tried to pass through Huang Da's side. But before he could pass Huang Da, he felt a slight pain on his arm.

"..." Yun Hao slowly let out a breath as he looked at his arm, which was not being grabbed by Huang Da. Yun Hao tried to budge and pull himself away; but alas, the only thing he could do was be the one being pulled near to Huang Da.

"But if this incident happened anywhere other than the Confederation," Huang Da then whispered into his ears, "...Then I would have crippled you already for daring to harm my disciple."

'Oh, there we go,' Yun Hao thought as the old man's slithering words threatened him. It was already odd that a Cultivator was apologizing to a Normie, it just turns out that it was selective. It was good to know that Yun Hao's impression of Cultivators still held-- they truly were an arrogant and domineering bunch of assholes.

"Hm. Good thing it happened here," Yun Hao quickly nodded as Huang Da let him go, "Thank you for sparing my life, master Huang Da," he then bowed towards the old man before proceeding to the lobby where the others were.

Huang Da only let out a scoff as he looked at Yun Hao's back. Afterward, his eyes turned towards his palm, which he used to block Yun Hao's fist.

"That young man… which clan does he represent?" Huang Da then asked Xinya, the receptionist on the 9th floor.

"He… he is a free agent, Master Huang Da," Xinya slightly stuttered as she answered the old man's query.

"A Freelance Cultivator? In this day and age?" Huang Da could not help but furrow his eyebrows. He then once again took a look at his palm before letting out a slight scoff. He felt a very small pricking on his palm when Yun Hao's fist made contact with it, a testament to how strong his punch actually was for a Normie.

If that had hit Sun Fang, then he would have definitely been knocked out, maybe even sent into comatose. He thought that Yun Hao would be a very dangerous adversary in the future, not just for Sun Fang, but for other Huang disciples. But as soon as he heard that he was a free agent, then his worries quickly faded.

Freelance Cultivators usually have a hard time getting missions, only receiving those that were not taken by the others. And half of the Beast Cores they will get are required to be surrendered to the Confederation.

Meaning, his growth will only be slower than everyone else. And so, with that thought, Huang Da once again scoffed before once again apologizing to Xinya and Zemin for causing a commotion.

Back in the lobby, Sun Fang's almost burning glare did not leave Yun Hao for even a second ever since he arrived. But it wasn't just Sun Fang, the other 5 Immersion applicants were also looking at him curiously.

Yun Hao did not mind, however, he was used to being stared at and being the odd one in the room. As long as they only stare at him, then Yun Hao doesn't really see a problem with it.

And for almost an hour, it remained that way. Their group had been waiting for any announcement of the start of the tests, but not even once did someone approach them. Even Xinya was just idly sitting by the counter.

Another hour passed, and finally, Xinya stepped to the lobby. She then handed each of the 7 applicants a number before gesturing everyone to follow her.

"Everyone, we will proceed to the first test. If you may follow me, please. The number given to you is based on the time you registered, with number 1 being the earliest one."

Yun Hao and the others didn't really say anything as they proceeded to follow Xinya to a different room; an even more spacious one decorated only with its white walls. There also seemed to be an enclosed viewing deck above, probably for those who wanted to watch the tests, Yun Hao thought.

The group then started to line themselves up according to their numbers. Unfortunately enough, Yun Hao had to stand beside Sun Fang, who was still glaring at him furiously.

Fortunately enough, it stopped as soon as someone else entered the spacious white room.

"There's 7 of you? We've been getting a lot lately," a hurried and somewhat impatient tone entered the applicants' ears.

It was a woman sporting long ash brown-hair. And instead of robes, the woman was wearing a casual sweat jacket and sweatpants. "Well, let's get this show started so we can all go home early. How would you guys like that?"

"W--"

Some of the applicants were about to answer, but before they could do so, the woman raised her hand, "I don't really need your opinion, let's just start. The first test…

...would be a test of physical strength."