167-175 The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 167: Testing the Candidates

Just outside Mu Xia Village, on the grassy plains at the settlement's footsteps, a small crowd gathered around three young men. A majority of them consisted of women and young children, but they were still somehow eerily quiet as they stood there, staring at the three men.

The largest of the three young men was currently swinging a sword around. Even if that was all there was to it, the children would still be entertained, but sword swings weren't all that was happening. After every slash, a crescent-shaped stone was sent flying out of the blade. It traveled with such force that it made the onlookers break out into a cold sweat. They instinctively knew it would be trouble for them to be anywhere near the powerful attack.

Beside this tall man was a man of much shorter stature. He wore a strange wooden mask while he swiftly darted all over the place, performing one incredible acrobatic movement after the other. 

And if the flashy flips and somersaults still weren't enough, there was also a bluish-silver fire burning before the last remaining man. It was not only a visual spectacle, but the fumes also managed to reach the villagers. A sweet and exotic scent could be detected around the area. It was the result of the candy-like exterior of the pill being caramelized during the final steps of refining.

It didn't fail to stir the appetite for sweets from the children, but they were too overwhelmed by everything happening before their eyes to do anything more than stare.

Before the crowd had to wait too long, the three cultivators quickly finished their respective matters and called out to them.

"Thank you to those who have come. I won't waste any more of your time than needed, so we'll begin with our tests right away. Can all the children who will be participating please step forth?"

Instantly, the children who had parents glanced up at them for permission, while those who didn't, sprinted out toward the three cultivators. They varied widely in height due to the age range Li Lang had set. They accepted anyone between the ages of eight and twelve.

This was because Li Lang had always been skeptical of the practice of only recruiting when a child reached the age of ten. He didn't believe the spiritual roots and meridians magically appeared when they turned ten years old.

Instead, he believed it was just an arbitrary age people set that made it convenient for management. It was just like the age of adulthood that kept changing over history. There likely wasn't any complex thought put into deciding this number, picking an age where it seemed likely for the children to be capable enough to listen to instructions and endure the vigors of cultivation.

In order to put this to the test, Li Lang didn't hesitate to widen the age range of those he wished to accept. Combined with the fact they weren't looking for those who had high aptitude, their pool of candidates theoretically encapsulated everyone willing to participate.

Once the trio counted a total of twenty people assembled before them, it became apparent no one else would be joining. Wei Ping then gave out the next instructions. 

"Our f-first test is to simply run laps a-around the village. Everyone, f-follow me!"

Before any kids could ask questions, Wei Ping turned and began jogging away. Long Yi followed after a split-second delay and then came the sharp-witted among the candidates.

Of course, the two cultivators ran at a pace that the children could follow. The point of the tests was to examine their prospects, and for that, they had to be able to observe them. That was why Li Lang waited so he could bring up the rear.

This simple exercise was thought up by him, so it fell to him to be in the best position to monitor the test.

The kids soon managed to finish an entire lap without anyone dropping out. It was both thanks to the lenient pace Wei Ping set and the ample exercise the children had every day. Without the many toys to play with, it was normal for kids their age to be playing outside all the time. Plus, many of them dreamed of becoming a powerful cultivator from an early age, so they would condition themselves over the years.

However, no matter how much they had prepared, they were still kids at the end of the day. Only a few of the older children were even in the first stage of Energy Gathering. They likely set foot on the path of cultivating haphazardly without proper guidance, after failing to be recruited by any sect. It was all too common for those who passed the age of ten.

Even when some kids started to fall behind, Li refused to overtake them until they gave up. He continued to watch their struggles without batting an eye.

This lasted for an entire ten laps before they stopped. 

As soon as the last kid completed the task, Li Lang immediately declared the start of the next test.

"Good work. Next, we will be doing a written test. Those who don't know how to read and write, please raise your hands."

After a moment, he found only two hands raised among the dozen children before him. It wasn't surprising that the two were the ones who were poorly dressed compared to the others.

"You two, come to me. The rest of you go to my friend with the mask over there. He will hand you the papers and writing instruments."

As the two kids approached Li Lang, he carefully examined them. The two boys with short hair timidly approached. Every time they made eye contact with each other, they would gain some courage and quicken their steps, but it quickly faded as they instinctively avoided taking the lead.

If Li Lang hadn't watched them desperately running around despite their fatigue earlier, he may have eliminated them from the test already based on their demeanor. He didn't need disciples who were too timid to speak their minds. Research required accurate information gathering not only from his observations, but reports from his subjects as well. People who were too timid usually kept to themselves too much to be suitable for this position.

However, Li Lang did see their determination when they struggled to keep up near the end of the first test. 

They may have been slower compared to most other children, but that's probably due to malnutrition and the lack of exercising because of it. The hardship they've faced should have polished their character. They have potential with some guidance.

The written test quickly got started while Li Lang quizzed the two who couldn't read and write verbally. Of course, he administered the test separately, which meant they took longer than the others. Still, the test ended within half an hour.

The test consisted of a bunch of short-answer questions, posing scenarios to the examinees, while the time they were allotted was purposefully limited. It was to put their quick-wittedness to the test, while the contents itself tested their creativity and decision-making skills.

If accepted, these kids would be cultivating with the Cleansing Drug along with different techniques that change periodically. While Li Lang planned to make their curriculum as well-rounded as possible, it didn't change the fact that he planned to use them as test subjects at the same time. They needed to be adaptable.

Once the test finished, it only took Wei Ping and Li Lang a moment to go over them. They immediately failed those who had answered less than five questions out of the ten. It showed they failed to analyze that they would need to get at least five correct answers to pass the test. While it may not indicate they weren't suitable at all, they had a large enough pool of candidates to choose from that they could be picky.

Out of the dozen children who took the test, eight of them passed.

"Next, we'll be testing your pain tolerance," Li Lang declared.

Cultivation was no stranger to pain. It was vital for his prospective students to be able to act calmly even when enduring immense pain. Otherwise, it would be impossible to train in a safe manner and retain their experiences afterward.

They soon got the kids to line up before Li Lang, and one by one, they began injecting the kids with a thin needle. Obviously, Li Lang wasn't injecting deadly poisons into such young children. His Vengeful Leaf Compendium was filled with various types of poisons found in this world. Many of them paralyzed the target, but they all varied in how they worked and how painful they were.

With three cultivators administering this test, they could send their Qi into their bodies at any time to cleanse away the toxins. Once the first kid was injected with the mildest of the poisons, Li Lang immediately placed a hand over their abdomen.

His Vein Flow Calculation Method could only perceive the surface layer of the boy, so he used his new Tracing Origin Art to keep track of how far the poison reached. At the same time, he preemptively channeled some Qi into the child's body as well.

This wasn't only to protect him, but for Li Lang to examine his aptitude as well. One didn't need a fancy orb to gauge the aptitude of someone. They simply needed to examine their meridians and count the number of spiritual roots. It was what he had seen elders do after their deacons reported candidates of interest.

Hmm, I have to steer clear of his shoulder until the end, but it's still going to be a few minutes for me to analyze their aptitude with my level of control.

Like this, Li Lang inspected each and every single one of the final eight candidates while they were trying their best to resist the pain.

Every time they endured for over two minutes, Li Lang would cleanse away the poison and administer a stronger alternative. Of course, Wei Ping wasn't doing nothing while this happened. He carefully monitored their emotions and gauged how they were doing on the mental side of things. From it, one could gauge their willpower, which was an important element of the test that was never explicitly stated.

Once the test finished, the trio went into a huddle to discuss the results. Wei Ping naturally went first, reporting what he thought of each candidate. When he was done, he found Li Lang still wearing a thoughtful expression, with no signs of snapping out of it.

"B-boss, is something the matter?"

Li Lang did not respond.

Chapter 168: Recruiting Students

"B-boss, is something the matter?"

Several seconds went by without any response, so Wei Ping began shaking Li Lang's shoulders to bring him back to reality. As someone who had been by his side for years, he knew exactly how to handle him.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry about that. Just thinking about how this will be tricky," Li Lang finally replied.

"Y-You're right. They probably won't l-let us take anyone with good aptitude."

The two young men then directed their gaze at the group of young children awaiting their decision. Most of them had either grade one or two aptitude, but there happened to be one child with grade three aptitude. It was one of the top performers, which got Li Lang deliberating if it was worth trying to take him under their wing.

"We likely won't be able to afford the price this Rigid Squall Sect asks for."

"Should w-we just give up on him, then?"

"Hmm, I don't think we have any other choice."

"Then t-that leaves us with only t-two who passed."

"That's fine for now. We still have other places to visit, and we can only bring back so many. We also ought to ask if they're willing to come with us to demonic territory first."

With the matter settled, the two young men walked back over toward the group of children that had undisguised anticipation in their eyes.

"We won't waste any more of your time," Li Lang shouted. "There are two who have passed our tests. Xiao Dong, and Wu San, step forward."

Those who weren't chosen were visibly upset while the adults, off the side, were no different. One of the parents even voiced their outrage.

"How can this be? Our little Hai should've performed in the top two in every test!" She then directed a look at Xiao Dong, glaring daggers at him.

It wasn't hard for the trio to see the animosity toward the young orphaned child, as the parent was upset that he managed to pass, but not their son.

"The criteria of the test aren't something we will be discussing. We've already made a decision, but that doesn't mean those who weren't chosen were any worse. In fact, I can tell you that there is even someone who hadn't been selected, possessing great talent that your local sect will be dying to recruit. There's no need to be concerned."

"Then the reason you esteemed cultivators aren't picking them is…"

"According to your mayor, this is still the territory of the Rigid Squall Sect. We likely won't receive permission to take them with us. On that note, Xiao Dong, Wu San," Li Lang called out as he glanced over at the two young kids in question. "Are you two willing to leave the Vermillion Dragon province with us?"

Without missing a beat, the more scrawny of the two, Xiao Dong, immediately nodded. Wu San looked over at his parents, waiting for their answer before he, too, accepted the offer.

Li Lang then took out his Skyrunner and ushered the two kids onboard before taking to the skies. The small crowd who had watched the spectacle began to disband, with some families consoling their children.

Li Lang purposefully slowed down their vehicle as he saw Xiao Dong looking wistfully down at the crowd.

"There are still a few things I'll have to speak to you guys about before you finalize your decision to come with us, so there's no need for the long face."

"Umm, no need. I won't be changing my decision no matter what you say. I have a feeling I'd regret it if I missed this opportunity."

His intuition isn't too bad, or is it a lucky guess? Either way, the local sect may or may not recruit him. He's got grade two aptitude, but is otherwise ordinary. Even if they did accept him, he wouldn't be valued. Wu San, on the other hand, will never get accepted by any sect.

"If you're so determined about your decision, does that mean you're reluctant to part with someone?" Li Lang continued to inquire. "Maybe that other kid who was with you just now?"

That got Xiao Dong's attention. He sighed and slowly nodded.

"We only have each other in this village. I worry about what will happen to him once he's alone, but we made a promise. If one of us has what it takes to become a cultivator, we will try our best, no matter the cost. Only then will we be able to save ourselves, and each other."

Li Lang shared a quick look with Wei Ping, who nodded back at him.

"In that case, we don't mind bringing him along, too. But first, we're going to have you sign this contract here." 

At the wave of his hand, Li Lang brought out two sheets of paper from his space ring. It caused the two kids to stare up at him, dumbfounded.

"What is that? And how did you make it just appear, like that?"

"We'll go over those things eventually. You just have to know this is a binding contract. When signed, you must follow the terms on it, or you'll be subject to punishment. In this case, it'll just notify the other party if you breach the terms."

Wu San nodded in understanding while Xiao Dong squinted his eyes at the pieces of paper with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Oh, that's right. You can't read, so I'll read it to you. In the future, you'll have to make sure you learn to read yourself, so you don't get tricked into signing something you regret."

"Uh-huh."

Flashing a wry smile at the innocent kid, Li Lang began explaining the terms of the contract to the two of them. It was a binding contract of the lowest grade, something Li Lang managed to figure out during his time in the pocket realm. That meant it didn't have the power to do anything more than notify the other party when the terms were breached.

As for the content itself, it was a simple nondisclosure agreement Li Lang drafted up.

The young children signed without much fuss, and the paper went into flames. Li Lang could sense some Qi drifting toward his head as the effect settled.

"Now, then. We'll be going over our final destination. You can still choose to decline our offer, but then we'll have you come along with us until we leave."

"Umm, but why?" Wu San, who had been quietly sitting in the corner until now, softly muttered.

"That's because our home base is in the Demonic Cultivator Territory."

The two kids blinked blankly at Li Lang's words. They didn't really comprehend it right away. It took them an entire minute before their eyes suddenly widened.

"What?! You're demonic cultivators?!"

"Not exactly. We don't practice demonic techniques. It's just that we stay there. It's quite a bit to explain, so save your questions until the end. What you know about demonic cultivators are actually…"

Wei Ping purposefully circled around the village while Li Lang explained the basics as to why they're based in the Luminescent Domain. It took quite some time to go over everything, and then even more time to answer their questions.

By the time they were done, it was already late afternoon. The trio sent the kids back to their place to gather their things so they could set off with them the next morning.

Nothing unexpected happened, and the day passed by in the blink of an eye. The next morning, under the watchful gaze of the entire village, the golden-brown Skyrunner flew up toward the horizon.

"So, umm, Master. When do we start learning how to cultivate?" Xiao Dong poked his head out of the compartment and asked.

Immediately after his questions, Long Yi's guffawing could be heard in the back. It made Li Lang shake his head.

"You can call us teacher. We're too young to be called masters, and your education will start once we get back to Emberglow City. For now, your main task is to learn how to read and write."

"What about me?" Wu San's voice sounded out from behind.

"You'll have to be patient as well. Help Xiao Dong learn his words or do the same exercises you've been doing until now."

Li Lang wouldn't be starting any lessons until he gathered all their students together. It was just more efficient than starting over again once someone new joins. At the same time, he wanted to properly observe each of his students, to record accurate data for his experiments. It was too hectic to be doing that while on a journey.

With two new members in their vehicle, time passed by a lot faster than before. Perhaps it was due to the ever-so-curious children asking a barrage of questions, but no one minded, as they didn't have anything better to do. In fact, Long Yi finally showed his usefulness during this time. He was surprisingly good with children, and he also had the energy to deal with them throughout their trip.

After an entire day of traveling, a large town came into view. It was the next stop in their journey and the first major city they came across within Vermillion Dragon.

"So this is the city of Qinglong," Long Yi muttered.

At his words, the two kids quickly poked their heads out to get a better view of the city. It was an exciting sight for them, as they had never stepped foot outside of the village before. 

For the regular folks, traveling was not an easy task. They moved about much slower, taking at least days to get anywhere. The trip from Mu Xia Village to Qinglong City would've taken them at least an entire week.

For Li Lang and the gang, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The view was similar to Xiang Yang. A large city indeed, but the lack of Skyrunners in the area told them it was just another mortal city.

As they landed near the gates, they could already spot a large crowd of guards standing at the ready to welcome them.

Chapter 169: Citywide Event

"This place doesn't seem to be any different from Xiang Yang," Long Yi commented.

"Yes, nothing is wrong with that. It may be one of the largest cities, but the sects like to hang around their own places. Still, there should be plenty to see with a city this big. With the extra day we'll be spending here, you should be able to squeeze out some time to go sightseeing."

"Umm, extra day? Why? I thought we weren't going to stop until we reached Changjiao City?"

"W-were you not listening a-at all last night?" Wei Ping interjected.

"Haha, I may have been too preoccupied with the food," Long Yi shamelessly admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

Li Lang chuckled and held up a hand to tell Wei Ping not to worry about it.

"We've decided to stay after our discussion with the mayor. We'll be going to several villages around here today to gather up any potential candidates, and then do one big test here tomorrow. Then we'll leave the day after that."

"Isn't there already a huge amount of people living here? You really want to go to the trouble of gathering more kids from some remote villages?"

"Hey, there could be some buried talent hiding in them. While we're here, might as well do a thorough job."

"Well, up to you two. It's not me who has to put in the work."

"A-Actually, we'll need you t-to round up the children in the city for us."

"What?!"

"What did you expect?" Li Lang quipped. "You'd get to just laze around forever? We happen to have two Skyrunners, so unless you want to go around to various villages, it's your job to spread the word around here."

"Umm, I don't really know how to go about it. You want me to just go around the markets, screaming about it?"

"You're g-good at dealing w-with kids, right? Just have them s-spread the news and set up a p-place for them to gather."

"Fine, fine. I'll do it."

With the matter decided, the trio quickly split off to complete their own tasks. The two kids, Wu San and Xiao Dong, also split up, with one tagging along with each Skyrunner. Having a kid tag along allowed them to disarm the villager's suspicions faster, so they could save some time.

Even so, by the time they returned to Qinglong City, the sun had turned fully orange.

Both Li Lang and Wei Ping's teams came back with their vehicle full of prospective candidates. They even had to cut down on the numbers by administering the first test of running at the village, so they could fit them.

When they arrived, they quickly spotted a large platform just outside the city gates. It looked hastily assembled by just slapping a layer of stone above the dirt, but it was noticeable enough.

When the three finally reunited, they were immediately faced with a new problem. They stared blankly at all the kids in the distance, who were chatting away with each other on their newly erected platform.

"You two all together bought back twenty kids. Are you planning on having them camp out here or getting a room for them?" Long Yi asked.

"I don't think we'll be able to oversee them if they get split up into several rooms. We may have to settle on camping out here," Li Lang responded with a frown.

"E-either should work. We h-have enough funds to rent a-a house or get enough camping equipment."

"It's just for one night. We'll just stay here so we can stand guard over this platform as well."

"Hey!" Long Yi yelled. "I worked hard on this. Do you have any idea how tiring it is to fire off so many Terra Moon slashes consecutively to make this?"

"If y-you do another round after dinner and t-tomorrow's breakfast, it should shape up decently."

"No need to wait that long," Li Lang grinned as a pill bottle appeared in his hand. "Just take a few Qi Replenishment Pills and you'll be able to get it done before dinner."

"You guys…are you trying to get back at me for not helping out before this? Because I'm helping out now, aren't I? Can't you cut me some slack?"

Instead of answering him, Li Lang turned to Wu San and Xiao Dong, who were listening quietly behind him.

"Listen up, you two. Don't grow up to be someone like him. You won't get anywhere if you only know how to whine and complain."

The two glanced over at Long Yi for a brief moment and nodded in unison.

"Hey! I'm not that bad. Instead, don't learn to bad-mouth people like him!"

While they exchanged some playful banter, Wei Ping soon went and bought some tents and bedding for their large group. He even got a huge pot and several sacks full of ingredients, and carefully instructed the kids on how to cook.

All of them worked seriously, thinking it was part of the test. It was also because their enthusiasm was at its highest, having been exposed to so many new things in such a short time. It even drew the attention of the guards on the wall, but they knew better than to interfere with powerful cultivators.

Like that, the night ended uneventfully and the next day came.

Before the group even finished eating breakfast, a ruckus could be heard by the gates. When the morning bell rang and the gates opened, they found a large crowd rushing out in a disorderly fashion, to the helplessness of the guards.

"Umm, what did you do yesterday?" Li Lang asked the tallest member of his group.

"I'm not sure. I think I just said I was looking for hard workers and the other things you told me to say. Like how anyone between the age of eight to twelve is welcomed."

"And you caused that stampede over there…?"

Long Yi simply shrugged in response.

Seeing the scene slowly getting more and more out of control, Li Lang quickly boarded his Skyrunner and flew above the crowd. He then projected his voice across the entire area.

"Everyone, please do not rush. The tests aren't going to begin until noon. Those who can't even properly behave until then are not welcomed!"

Instantly, Li Lang's speech produced an effect. The rumbling heard from behind the walls subsided in an instant, but the flow of traffic didn't. Curious about what had worked them up so much, Li Lang then brought his vehicle lower so he could eavesdrop.

"Look at that Skyrunner up there! It looks expensive. I told you that menacing cultivator must be from a great sect."

"That's yet to be seen. He seemed to be only a teenager, and he didn't seem to be from any sect around here. I say he's quite suspicious, with how he kept repeating any children between the ages of eight and twelve are welcome. Everyone knows the sects around this area recruit ten-year-olds. Why in the world would he want those who had been passed up by other sects to come?"

"Yeah, he got my dumb kid all fired up about being a cultivator again. He wasn't paying any attention during my lesson yesterday. Malicious or not, they're bad news."

"Shh, are you crazy? Stop badmouthing them. Experts are known to have an unimaginable hearing."

The crowd went unabated for an entire hour before they finally passed through the gate. Thousands upon thousands had gathered, but the majority of them were adults looking for a good show. 

Entertainment was sparse in this world. They made a spectacle out of the sect recruitments every year, but having another one was a welcomed change for them.

The spectators tactfully knew not to get too close, staying a distance away from the makeshift stone platform that Long Yi had painstakingly created.

The number of candidates swiftly grew from the two dozen to the hundreds. It was even approaching the thousand mark, thanks to their lenient age range. It was especially easy to tell who the older kids were, as they were the most excited at having received a second chance. 

The ten-year-olds and below were skeptical, as they already had a preferred sect in mind. Their dream had yet to be crushed, so they all arrogantly thought they had good chances of getting into their first choice. They only treated this recruitment as a test run. Some even only planned to participate in the aptitude test and leave after obtaining their results.

Meanwhile, Li Lang and his companions were whispering quietly within their Skyrunner.

"Umm, d-do we even have enough paper tests to administer to s-so many people?

"We're just going to have to eliminate more people in the first round, and then have the pain resistance round come second, so we can save the written test for the end," Li Lang answered with a sigh.

"Why don't you guys just add another round to it? Like duels or some group activity," Long Yi suggested. "You can test out their teamwork and how adaptable they are."

"Good idea. I might have a few team games they could play."

The turnout had been much greater than anything Li Lang and Wei Ping had expected. It made the trio scramble to adjust their tests to suit the number of contestants. Li Lang was even deliberating whether to bring out some sports for these kids to try out. None of them would have heard about what he had in store. It would even test their ability to learn and adjust to new things.

Just as Li Lang was preparing to address the crowd. The clamor from the audience suddenly grew in volume. It didn't take Li Lang long to realize they were all looking at something behind him. He turned around and found a Skyrunner approaching, flying with a banner of some sort.

Straining his ears, he quickly found out the newcomers' identity.

"Look, it's people from the Rigid Squall Sect!"

Chapter 170: Rigid Squall Sect

Just outside the gates of Qinglong City, a huge crowd had gathered for the sudden test administered by Li Lang's group. However, what they were currently clamoring about wasn't anything related to the test, but the new Skyrunner that had arrived at the scene.

As Qinglong City was often visited by half a dozen nearby sects every year, the residents naturally recognized the light blue banners of the Rigid Squall Sect.

"Senior Zhen, there really are foreign cultivators here! They've even gathered up such a large crowd too!"

"There's no need to say anything. I can see for myself. Those cultivators are just young kids. Land the Skyrunner."

"Right!"

Everyone at the scene could sense drama about to unfold. The townspeople knew the nearby sects usually came together to hold a grand event. Li Lang's group naturally knew trouble had arrived.

Under the anticipating gazes of the crowd looking forward to things flaring up, the people from the Rigid Squall Sect landed directly on the platform where all the children gathered. The more sharp-witted among the kids even began to slip back into the crowd.

Li Lang and his two companions quickly regrouped to greet the new arrivals. 

"Quickly, keep your space rings out of sight," Li Lang whispered.

The two parties then walked toward each other briskly, meeting at the center of the stage. Both parties could gauge each other's strength by now. They knew both sides had someone at the peak of Energy Gathering.

That was why the people from the Rigid Squall Sect were surprised when they saw the representative from the other side was someone else. Still, they didn't dare to completely disregard someone in the eighth stage of Energy Gathering.

"Welcome, I am Li Lang from the Yellow Qilin province. May I ask who has graced us with their presence?"

"Hmm, people from Yellow Qilin. Perhaps you have forgotten about manners? I don't remember hearing about anyone from our Vermillion Dragon province going into your territory to recruit disciples without first greeting the local sects."

Seeing the young man, who seemed to be in charge of their group of four, cut straight to the chase, Li Lang chuckled.

"Apologies, this is pretty embarrassing if you word it that way, but we have our reasons for doing this."

"Oh? Do tell, then."

"Unfortunately, that isn't something we can do. I can tell you that we don't plan on disregarding your rules. We will pay adequate compensation if we do plan on taking away any talents."

"Oh? Compensation is quite a pleasant word, but do know we're not easy to please."

"Of course. We can discuss it in more detail if we do decide to recruit anyone today."

Just as Li Lang turned around to get things started, the other party didn't let him go so easily.

"Hmph, not so fast. You want to just run your test around here like you own the place, just like that?"

Li Lang could see the three other disciples behind him staring at him menacingly, and he inwardly sighed.

They got here just after a day? Do they have someone posted in this city? Or perhaps the mayor of Mu Xia Village sent word to them after we began recruiting people from their village? Hmm, it seems the latter is more likely if only people from the Rigid Squall Sect are here.

"Yes, you're right," Li Lang managed to squeeze out after donning his facade. "We should be compensating you for hosting such an event in your territory, but I heard this city isn't just the Rigid Squall Sect's territory, is that correct?"

"That is none of your business. You're currently dealing with us. Your arrangements with the other sects do not matter to us."

"I see, well in that case, umm…" 

"It's Zhen Xing."

"Well, Zhen Xing, how about a hundred Qi stones to rent out this space for the day?"

"One hundred per hour."

Hearing the immediate counteroffer, Li Lang didn't show any emotions. To any of the onlookers watching, they may praise his ability to hold back his anger, but he was actually trying his hardest to prevent a grin from forming.

He knew these types of young masters would always try to up the price from the initial offer. That was why he quoted his price as Qi stones instead of red crystals. 

Even if one red crystal had the same value as a hundred Qi stones, if he had only said one red crystal, it would have left a lot more room for Zhen Xing to raise the price. He could easily ask for a hundred red crystals instead. By quoting in Qi stones, it set an expectation of what currency they would be dealing in. It wouldn't be likely for him to quote tens of thousands of Qi stones either, as there was a large crowd around. 

Righteous cultivators wanted to look good, so they would instinctively avoid doing anything too outrageous.

The price of one hundred Qi stones per hour was perfectly acceptable to Li Lang. He quickly reached into his robes and pretended to retrieve the money from there before flicking over a red crystal.

"Very well. Here is the payment for the first hour. We'll pay you at the end if we need more time."

Zhen Xing said nothing but appraised his new wealth against the sun as he signaled to Li Lang to go away with his other hand.

"Senior Zhen, that's a red crystal! Shouldn't you—"

"Not right now, Junior Lei."

Seeing the scene, Li Lang swiftly made his way away from them. His heart lurched when he saw the intelligent glint in the junior's eyes upon noticing the red crystal. He had likely noticed the discrepancy in the currency they received. Energy Gatherers rarely dealt with red crystals. Luckily, he was a junior.

Not wanting to give the Rigid Squall Sect disciples any time to converse, Li Lang quickly signaled to his peers to get the test started. He channeled Qi and projected his voice across the area.

"Sorry for the delay. The kind gentlemen from the Rigid Squall Sect have decided to spectate, so we'll begin the test without further ado! The first test is to keep up with my assistant there in the mask!"

Wei Ping didn't look back and started to run in a circle around the platform Long Yi had erected. He made ample use of the space the crowd left between them and the platform. It allowed the townsfolk to watch them without moving from their spot.

"They're making them run as a test? What is this? The recruitment for some mortal guards?" Zhen Xing muttered upon noticing the spectacle.

"That is…strange," Junior Lei muttered. "Maybe they don't have any assessment tools with them and they're too lazy to personally check through all these kids?"

He found his words justified the more he watched.

The first test almost lasted almost two hours before it ended. By then, half the contestants had been eliminated. It made both Zhen Xing and his junior grin, but for different reasons. One was happy about receiving more money, while the other felt his prediction was spot on.

However, their grins quickly became frowns upon seeing the next test. The strange trio made the kids get into teams of five. They then erected two thin pillars on two ends of the platform and began explaining a strange game to the children that not even a cultivator like Zhen Xing had ever heard of before.

The game involved kicking a simple ball of leather to the opponent's side. They couldn't use their hands or make physical contact with each other. These strange rules completely dumbfounded the four Rigid Squall cultivators.

"Why in the world would they disallow physical contact?" Junior Lei shouted. "There's no good reason for prospective cultivators to avoid it when combat will be something they must learn."

"Junior, I've given up making sense of what they're doing by now. They obviously have their own agenda, seeing they're recruiting so far away from home. As long as they pay us adequately, then I'm fine with it. The sect shouldn't care too as long as they don't try to take someone they shouldn't."

Seeing Zhen Xing's meaningful look, Junior Lei nodded softly.

The strange game proceeded for another two hours before the nearly hundred teams managed to complete the games on the dozens of fields Long Yi had set up. When it ended, only a hundred kids remained.

This wasn't because the tests had eliminated all of them, but many of them had quit on their own initiative. They had gotten skeptical about these strange tests that seemed to have nothing to do with cultivation. They were also the same kids who had set their sights on other sects, so they never took the tests seriously.

The remaining kids were then told to form a line.

"Junior Lei, I'm going to go practice my new Qi art. Let me know if anything happens."

Just as Zhen Xing wandered off toward the forest, a sudden gasp from his junior drew his attention back to the scene.

What he saw made him knit his brows tightly. That was because he witnessed Li Lang stabbing a young child with a needle. To the righteous cultivators, a needle only represented two things. Acupuncture to heal or poison to kill. Seeing how it wasn't likely they would suddenly treat the young kids, he narrowed his eyes at the other possibility.

Chapter 171: Test after Test

Having witnessed one strange behavior after the other from the supposed visitors from Yellow Qilin, Zhen Xing and his group could no longer take it. He abandoned his plan to practice his Qi art and strode straight to where Li Lang was.

"You there. Li whatever. What do you think you're doing?"

Li Lang turned his head and found all four Rigid Squall Disciples standing over his shoulder.

"It's just another test of ours. Don't worry, they're not in any danger."

As soon as his words ended, the child before him began crying out in pain.

"I…I can't! I give up! Make it stop!"

Right away, the Qi Li Lang had sent inside his body made its rounds around, cleansing away the toxins. While the child was instantly relieved, Zhen Xing's concerns weren't.

"Not in any danger, you say? What exactly are you injecting them with?"

Realizing the young master before him wouldn't give up easily, Li Lang threw him a bottle of the poison they were using. It was the weakest of his collection and only caused discomfort, with no potential of being lethal.

"This… is weak, but it's still poison! Are you seriously injecting this into these kids? You'll stain your sect's name by doing something like this…Which sect are you from again?"

"Umm, sorry, we can't disclose that right now."

"You! I've had enough of you. I've been putting up with all these strange antics of yours, but you won't dare disclose where you're from? You could be an agent from the Demonic Cultivator Territory for all I know!"

As Zhen Xing moved to grab Li Lang by the arm, Long Yi suddenly appeared and intervened. He intercepted the outreached arm and glared down at its owner.

Before either party could take further action, Li Lang quickly got in between the two.

"Let's all calm down here. There's no need for this right now."

"Then you guys better stop with this strange test of yours! If it's aptitude measuring tools you're lacking, then I can lend you one. Otherwise, stop with your tests!"

"Thank you for your kind offer, but we don't need it."

"What in the world are you guys thinking? What could possibility be more important than measuring their aptitude?"

"Hmm, how about this? If this test upsets you so much, we can skip it and proceed to the next round."

Zhen Xing took a few moments to gauge his surroundings, sizing Long Yi up before he finally nodded.

"That, and you pay up what you owe first."

"Yes, yes. Of course."

Seeing how it would cause issues if they continued with the poison test, Li Lang quickly changed things up and skipped to the next round.

Of course, they lacked that many written tests to hand out, so they had to come up with another test on the fly. 

They considered dividing the groups into one where they would take the written test, while the others got interviewed instead. In fact, interviews were preferred, as they gave Li Lang and Wei Ping a chance to personally gauge the candidate. However, it did take a lot more time and effort. With a hundred people remaining, it wasn't exactly doable in a timely manner.

"All of you," Li Lang shouted out to the remaining participants. "Lay down with your stomach touching the ground! Good! Now get back to your feet. Keep repeating this until I tell you to stop."

Without any preparation, Li Lang decided to have them do something simple. He wouldn't make the children stop until half of them were eliminated. In a way, it was similar to the running test, but he didn't mind. The point was to test both their willpower and their ability to endure.

Uneventfully, many of the children who were already fatigued from the previous test quickly dropped out. There were soon only fifty of them remaining. With the numbers finally down, Wei Ping wasted no time and started handing out the written tests.

All the questions were short answers, and many stumped the young cultivators in the making. For the few who couldn't read, Li Lang or Wei Ping would read and write out the questions and answers for them. 

"If you needed to figure out how hot the flames a fire Qi art could produce, how would you go about it?" 

"What do you think is the most important quality of a cultivator?"

"If you practiced a technique for many months, to no avail, what would you do?"

After some time, when they were finally done, the trio reconvened to debate the results. This test was the most subjective of all the tests. It required them to make a judgment on who would be a good fit for them.

While they busied themselves with their discussion, Zhen Xing and his group also conversed about the strange trio as well. They made sure to have gotten far enough away that there was no chance of being overheard, even by other cultivators.

"So, what do you guys think I should set the prices to?" Zhen Xing asked his peers.

"Umm, it's just some peasants, right?" one of his companions said. "As long as they aren't someone our sect will take an interest in, just charge him ten Qi stones each."

"Hmm, what do you think, Junior Lei?"

Having been called out, Lei Ying breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I wanted to say this earlier, but those three seem to be more wealthy than they appear. They've been paying you in red crystals, so I think you should ask for as much as you can get away with."

"Red crystals," Zhen Xing thoughtfully muttered. "I see. You're right about that. They must've been given a handsome sum from their master or an elder. In that case, how about one red crystal each?"

"Hmm, they likely won't be able to take away from than a dozen judging from what the townspeople say. They only came in one Skyrunner."

"Junior, they just won't pick anyone if we get too greedy, though."

"How about you price them according to their aptitude? We have to check for it anyway since there's no way our sect will allow for any talents with grade three aptitude or above to be taken from us. We can price grade three aptitude really high, so the price for grade two talents is more palatable in comparison."

"Okay, there's no need to overcomplicate it, then. We'll go with that."

What the Rigid Squall Sect disciples discussed was true. Li Lang's party really did have limited space in their Skyrunner. It made their decision on who to pick especially difficult. That was why they began speaking to candidates who were neck and neck in contention, telling them about their conditions. 

They told them there was some critical information that they would only learn upon signing a binding contract. However, once they did sign it, whether they accepted or not, they had to stay with their group until they left the province.

This naturally encouraged a few more candidates to retire until they finally just had to make a decision.

"Thank you, everyone, for your time today," Li Lang announced to the crowd. "We have made a decision on who to accept. When I call out your name, please step forth."

As evening approached, the spectators began to thin out. Those who stayed were browsing through the makeshift food stalls that had been set up at some point during the day. Once they heard Li Lang's voice booming throughout the plaza, they quickly quieted down to listen to the conclusion of this event.

"Ouyang Jie, Ho…"

As those being called out assembled, Zhen Xing quickly approached with an aptitude orb in hand.

"Li whatever, as we discussed, if you plan on recruiting any of them, you'll need our approval. Have those you're interested in come take an aptitude test…though judging from their age, they may have taken one before," Zhen Xing muttered as he watched the children who had been selected.

Most of them were on the older side, likely either eleven or twelve. A vast majority of those who were younger than ten had quit when they saw the eccentric tests. They still held hope for the other sects native to their hometown. This meant the ones Li Lang picked had a high chance of having once been rejected in their annual selection before.

"Understood. How about ten Qi stones per person?" Li Lang said with an innocent smile.

Zhen Xing immediately shook his head.

"We're thinking more along the lines of five red crystals!"

"You must be kidding. There's no way Energy Gatherers like us can afford that."

"There's no need to put on a show anymore. You may not have the money, but your master or whoever sent you sure does. There's no need to worry about what's not yours."

"That—"

Before Li Lang could continue, Zhen Xing threw his hand up.

"No need for that. Here, I'm not unreasonable. Seeing you had paid for renting this venue already, I can come down to two crystals for those with grade one aptitude, four crystals for those with grade two, and an orange crystal for those with grade three aptitude. And of course, there's no way we'll let you take anyone with grade four aptitude or above."

"Sure," Li Lang quickly replied.

"If you still think that is too expensive, we can—wait what?"

Zhen Xing almost jumped back in surprise at the casual affirmation by the strange cultivator before him. It made him regret not setting the prices higher to begin with.

Seeing how silent his senior had gotten, Lei Ying placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Senior Zhen…"

"I know," Zhen Xing said as he knocked his hand away. "Very well, we have a deal, then. Let's start assessing their aptitude."

With an aptitude orb in hand, the tests went by very fast. Li Lang had only selected twelve among the final fifty owing to their limited transportation capabilities. They were also reaching the limit of what they could safely handle as well. 

They not only needed to guide these young disciples but also take care of them. They didn't even have a permanent location to host them yet, so they couldn't get too ahead of themselves.

Zhen Xing quickly had the selected children place their hands on the orb. A dull red light quickly shone out across the plaza.

"Grade one aptitude. Next! Grade one as well, next!"

As he assessed one after the other, Zhen Xing's brows quickly knitted into a deep frown.

Chapter 172: Sowing Seeds for the Future

"This…What is the meaning of this?" Zhen Xing yelled. "They all have grade-one aptitudes!" 

Faced with Zhen Xing's aggressive questioning about the children the trio planned to recruit, Li Lang simply shrugged.

"I told you at the beginning. Our criteria are a little different from the norm. I can't elaborate much more than that."

"You!"

"Senior Zhen!" the younger Rigid Squall disciple, Lei Ying, said. "Please."

Taking a deep breath, Zhen Xing relaxed a bit despite his frown not budging. It made Li Lang appreciate the younger diciples for calming down his senior.

"So, as per our agreement, twelve candidates with grade one aptitude at two red crystals each sums up to twenty-four. Here, take it."

Throwing the money at them, Li Lang and his companions quickly ignored the Rigid Squall disciples and went on to address the selected twelve. They began inviting them onboard Li Lang's Skyrunner so they could chat in a more private setting. Despite his brand new vehicle only being able to comfortably hold ten people, for a short period of time, there was no problem being overcapacity at the sacrifice of some comfort.

Seeing their actions, one of Zhen Xing's companions leaned in and whispered.

"Should we take them in? They were obviously negotiating with us in bad faith."

"No…I don't think the elders will be happy if we do something so reckless without knowing their background. It would make us look bad in front of such a large crowd as well. Report back for now."

With one final grunt of frustration, Zhen Xing summoned forth his own Skyrunner and brought his group away.

Now in the air, Wei Ping began explaining the nondisclosure binding contract to the children. The main point was that they would have to follow them once they signed it until they left Vermillion Dragon. Thankfully, as their willingness to relocate was a question they had posed on the written exam, the children had had mental preparation for their requests. None of them declined to sign the contract, and the trio gave them a summary of their origins.

"You want us to pretend to be demonic cultivators…?"

"Yes. You will have to lie, and sometimes it will be uncomfortable doing it, but it's for your own safety," Li Lang explained. "In exchange, we promise we're your best option if you really want to step foot onto the path of cultivation. All of you should've seen the result of your aptitude test earlier.

"Yes…" one of the girls muttered with a crestfallen expression. "I've been told it's not possible to join a sect before because I only have grade one aptitude."

"And we're telling you we'll be able to help you cultivate despite that. However, it isn't without risks. I'll need you all to listen to our words and persist through a lot of trial and error. If that is acceptable to you, we'd welcome you with open arms. Otherwise, we can arrange for you to be brought home once we leave. In the meantime, you'll have to stay with us for the next few days."

"Umm, if it'll give me a chance to cultivate, I'm willing to give it a try."

One after the other, the children all agreed. They were all quite mature for their age, having faced setbacks and hardships before. They recognized how little chance they had at becoming the powerful cultivators they dreamed of that they were willing to take a chance.

"Very well. We'll drop by your places in order so you can pack. Though you'll have to excuse us. We'll have to tag along so you don't accidentally break the contract you just signed."

Like this, a very exciting day in Qinglong City came to a close. For some families, their fortune had been drastically impacted, while others simply enjoyed the show. 

Early in the morning the next day, Li Lang's group departed. It meant all the cultivators who had suddenly shown up were gone. Peace had returned to their city.

However, the chaos was only just beginning for the trio. With the twelve new passengers, they now had a total of seventeen people in their group. They had to bring out their old Skyrunner in order to have room to hold everyone. It meant their speed had drastically reduced as the old vehicle couldn't keep up with the new.

The only upside to this was that they now had more time to go over the basics with the new students.

"I will start teaching you various basic things you'll need to know as a person before we begin exploring anything to do with cultivation."

"Umm, aren't we already starting late as cultivators?" Xiao Dong asked. "Can we afford to learn about other things on top of that?"

Li Lang nodded.

"A lot of the things I want to teach you won't be easy if you don't have some basic knowledge first. As I said, what I'll be teaching you is something that will benefit you as a person, not just a cultivator. Things like math, words, etiquette, and science."

"Science?" the children parroted.

"It's basically the study of how things work and the steps of how to discover, observe, and verify them. Hmm, don't worry, we won't start with anything too complicated. Be sure to ask questions if you don't understand."

Li Lang had been thinking up a curriculum for his prospective students. He knew his most basic technique, the black hole cultivation method, wasn't replicable to the locals due to their lack of understanding about it. Then, there were all the other future experiments he wanted to do, where a lack of knowledge would greatly hinder his progress. That's why he was determined to teach the basics to a batch of students, so they could spread the knowledge even further for him.

While the black hole cultivation technique he practiced didn't help that much early on in cultivation thanks to the low amount of cultivation he could endure before Qi poisoning, he still believed it would be greatly beneficial in the future.

Energy was at the core of what enabled cultivators to do a plethora of things. Even if they were Violet Core cultivators, that logic stayed true. Learning how to gather power quickly would no doubt have its uses.

The lessons were also an opportunity to get Wei Ping up to speed. So far, he only vaguely explained the purposes of his experiments whenever he helped. It was limiting when his assistants had no idea how his experiments worked. While it wasn't likely any one of them would be able to learn everything within the next few years, Li Lang knew he still needed to start somewhere.

With something to do while they were traveling, the journey suddenly felt like it went by a lot faster. Even Long Yi paid attention occasionally, as there wasn't anything else to do while they sailed through the well-traveled routes.

Without incident, they arrived at their destination, Changjiao City, the next day. This city truly lived up to its reputation as one of the major settlements in the province. One particular thing immediately stood out to everyone in the group compared to Qinglong City.

The backdrop of the new scenery was filled with Skyrunners as numerous people entered and exited the city.

"This place is a lot like Emberglow, but above ground," Long Yi commented.

"It's n-not that surprising," Wei Ping answered. "I'm s-sure even the righteous sects n-need a place to gather and t-trade.

"Right, which makes this place a gathering of cultivators from all the sects throughout the province and beyond. Make sure you don't cause any trouble," Li Lang said.

The latter part of his words were more meant for the children and himself. There was already enough waiting for him to do that he couldn't afford to get into any conflict while on this trip. His goal was to quickly deliver the letter and head back to Emberglow.

With that in mind, he double-checked the address on the letter from Liang Po and brought his Skyrunner down into the city.

"You two, bring the kids to find us some lodging for the night. I'll go from here on foot."

"B-boss, are you sure?"

"Yes, it's just a quick delivery. We still have to go check out the resources unique to this region before leaving tomorrow morning. It'll take twice as long if we have all these kids tagging along."

"Let's go," Long Yi said, placing a shoulder on Wei Ping's shoulder. 

The two soon drove away on the two Skyrunners and disappeared into the city. Unlike in the other places Li Lang had been to, the streets were properly organized. Whenever a carriage went by, people instinctively knew to scurry to the side of the road, allowing them to move around quickly, even with the large crowds.

Just like Emberglow, where the majority of people here were mortals, supporting a smaller number of elites. It became more and more apparent as Li Lang drew closer to his destination near the center of the city.

Before he knew it, he stood before the gates of one of the most luxurious villas around. Behind its walls was one of the tallest structures around, a fifteen-story pagoda.

There were two burly men standing guard outside, each at the peak of Energy Gathering. They were almost considered middle-aged, so it would be reasonable to believe they were one of the many people who remained stuck in the final bottleneck of the first major realm.

Hmm, they use people stronger than me as guards, but I guess that is what happens to those who fail to break through to the next major realm. Even people like them are considered mortals, so I'm not even at the start line as a cultivator. I'll need to redouble my efforts once we get back.

Before Li Lang could get caught up in his thoughts, one of the guards noticed him loitering around.

"You there! Do you have business with the Yan Estate?"

Clearing his throat, Li Lang approached.

"Ahem, yes. I'm here to deliver a letter to a person by the name of Yan Ruolan."

"What?! To the Young Lady?"

The two guards exchanged a quick nod of understanding between each other before they moved decisively to surround Li Lang.

"You're coming with us!"

Chapter 173: Messenger

Li Lang was quickly invited into the large estate under the scrutiny of the pair of peak Energy Gathering guards. It only took him a split second before complying, knowing there wasn't much of a point in antagonizing anyone when he was just a messenger.

"So, what position does the Yan Family hold anyway, to have such a large estate in this city?" Li Lang innocently asked the guards as he was escorted in.

"What? You come strolling into the estate without even knowing about the Yan Family?"

"Hey, save it. Let the caretakers do the talking. It's not our place to say anymore to him," one guard reprimanded the other.

The two guards soon made it apparent they wouldn't answer any questions. They guided Li Lang into a courtyard and seated him in a small gazebo overlooking a small pond. It made Li Lang slightly relieved he wasn't taken to a dungeon or something of the like. He was even served tea by well-dressed servants.

While the two guards were still present to ensure he stayed where he was, he wasn't exactly treated badly. He awkwardly sipped on his tea while he waited under duress.

The strange situation didn't last long as a middle-aged woman soon arrived with a small entourage, and the guards respectfully bowed toward her as she approached.

"You two may go," she commanded coldly.

"Yes!"

Answering in unison, the two guards quickly retreated from the scene. The so-called caretaker also made others keep a distance away before she sat down across from Li Lang. She didn't immediately say anything, choosing to pour herself a cup of tea and silently examine the young man before her.

Seeing this wasn't going anywhere, Li Lang broke the silence.

"Umm, excuse me, but I simply wanted to deliver a letter. If that isn't possible, I don't mind leaving."

The woman snorted at his words and violently placed down her cup, spilling much of its contents in the process.

"Here is the letter I was entrusted with," Li Lang declared as he quickly slapped down the letter he retrieved from his space ring. "Do with it how you will. My job here is complete."

Just as Li Lang tried to stand up, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, pressing him back down. He looked up only to see the same middle-aged woman who was supposed to be across from him. She had moved so fast that it appeared almost like teleportation to the young Energy Gatherer.

"I didn't say you could go yet. Our Yan Family has invited you in, so you better at least stay to enjoy our hospitality before you leave. Otherwise, it may be taken as a slight against us."

"There's really no need for your generosity. I'm just a humble messenger," Li Lang tried to explain.

In return, all he got was the silent treatment.

Despite his best efforts to explain himself and disassociate with the sender of the letter, Li Lang couldn't find an opening to escape. He was forced to sit down and drink his tea under the scrutiny of the middle-aged woman.

By the time he downed five cups, the situation finally changed. The woman abruptly got to her feet, looking off to the side, having sensed something. A few moments later, three girls emerged into the courtyard, scrambling towards the gazebo. From their attire, it was obvious the girl briskly walking at the forefront was the young mistress while the other two were her servants, rushing to catch up to their lady.

"Auntie Cang! What are you doing? I heard you forcefully abducted some messenger! You can't be doing that!"

The young mistress arriving at the scene only spared Li Lang a brief glance before frowning at the middle-aged lady.

"Young Miss, who told you about that? And who let you into this courtyard? They should know better than to allow you to approach unfamiliar guests. Please, quickly return to your room. It isn't safe. I will come find you later."

"Hmph, I don't need anyone's permission to walk around my own home, and I'm not a child anymore. I'm a Foundation Establishment expert, so I don't need to be coddled. I also won't stand for anyone making use of our family's standing to bully the poor people of Changjiao City."

"But Young Miss, you—"

"Enough!" the young woman shouted as she brought her attention to Li Lang. "You there, I must apologize on behalf of our family for treating you so brashly. I heard you came here to deliver a letter to me. Is this true?"

"Umm, if your name is Yan Ruolan, then yes. The letter is right here."

"Thank you! My family can be a little overprotective at times. Just give me a moment to go over it, and I can get you a reply right away!"

"Young Miss! You can't! If words get out, hundreds of others will follow suit!"

"Let them come, then. I, Yan Ruolan, can deal with it."

The young girl heroically opened the letter and began perusing its contents under the confused gaze of Li Lang. He could only half follow along with what was happening. He couldn't help but curse at Liang Po for landing him in this situation.

That guy didn't tell me anything about how this delivery would go! I just want to get it over with so I can make my way back to Emberglow with the new students. His letter better not have anything bad in it!

Li Lang's prayers weren't answered as he saw Yan Ruolan furrow her brows as she read on. Her previously confident demeanor changed to that of uncertainty. She was even constantly stealing glances at everyone around her as she grew more nervous.

"You three," she spoke to her two servants and the caretaker. "Let me speak to this messenger in private."

"What? Absolutely not!" Caretaker Cang immediately retorted. "To say nothing of the danger that poses, there's no way we can allow an unwed woman to privately meet with a man. Think of your family's reputation!"

"Stop making a fuss over everything! We'll be in plain view inside this gazebo, and I'm stronger than this young man here. There's nothing to worry about!"

"But—"

"No buts! Get back! All of you!"

Under the command of their willful mistress, the three servants were forced to retreat into the distance, leaving Li Lang alone with the young girl. If he wasn't being stared at by the caretaker, he would've let out a hearty sigh and cradled his head. Instead, he kept his facade on, wearing a fake smile while he awaited Yan Ruolan's next words.

"Umm, you there," the girl hesitantly called out with a faint tinge of red on her cheeks. "Do you happen to know the sender of this letter?"

"I'm not exactly friends with them, but I was entrusted with delivering it in exchange for a favor. If anything inside offends you, I apologize, but I have nothing to do with it."

"Hmmm, really?"

A shiver ran down Li Lang's spine as the young lady closely examined him. It felt like she saw through all his words.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, anyway. I don't think I'll be able to write a letter back with Auntie Cang scrutinizing everything I do. Can you bring a verbal message back to the sender instead?"

Li Lang didn't answer immediately. Judging from her words so far, he believed she knew the origin of the letter, which was why she was being so careful. Playing the messenger in that case would just further drag him into trouble. However, he believed it was already too late.

"I can compensate you!" Yan Ruolan supplemented, having seen through his hesitation. "I may not have access to a lot. My caretakers take the reins of my finances, but I can offer you some of my alchemy materials."

"Hm, I will consider accepting if my reward can be some information instead."

"Information? What do you want to know? I can't say I know or am allowed to share everything, but I can do my best. Just tell me what you want to know."

It didn't take Li Lang too long to decide what to ask. It was one of his reasons for venturing out into the orthodox sect's territory.

"Can you tell me all you know about the Abductress and her whereabouts?"

"The Abductress? That sure is something to be asking me about it. Are you trying to say our Yan Family has connections with her?" Yan Ruolan's words grew more icy as she spoke.

"No, no. You're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying you would have any close ties with her or anything. It's just that the few times I tried asking people about her, they were quite dodgy about the subject. I need information about her, no matter what."

"Well, there's a good reason why few people want to talk about her," Yan Ruolan said with a sigh. "Fine, I'll tell you everything I know, but don't you dare associate our family with the Abductress again once you take your leave today."

"Of course. I won't say anything."

The young girl glanced out into the garden for a few moments, as if to gather her words.

"Where do I begin?"

"How about why everyone is so secretive and hesitant when it comes to talking about her?" Li Lang suggested. "I heard she's a Spirit Divide cultivator, but several sects have esteemed experts in that realm as well, right? Why are they so scared of her specifically?"

"Well, that's because the Abductress is the type of demonic cultivator that is unpredictable. No one knows where she lives, but she could show up anywhere within the Violet Isle at any time. That means she could do a lot of damage to a faction who crosses her, but they'd find it hard to retaliate. In fact, she's the reason why a lot of the sects have started treating independent cultivators with a lot more respect in the past few decades."

"How is the treatment of independent cultivators related to the Abductress?"

"From what I heard, independents weren't treated much better than mortals in the past. Since the Abductress became active, her disciples would occasionally sprout up from time to time, claiming to be independent cultivators. And when a sect wronged one of these disciples, they would inadvertently offend the Abductress. You can imagine how that'd turn out for most sects. Their people would get slaughtered."

"I see. That means these disciples will also be my lead in finding the Abductress, then."

"You're crazy if you want to find her! Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Relax. It's not as if I plan on doing so immediately."

Li Lang then asked a few more questions to clarify a few things about the one who had kidnapped his friends. He even inquired about the various materials unique to Vermillion Dragon and how to obtain them.

"Now then, I gave you what you wanted. It's your turn to deliver my message. Just tell the other party this: 'While the Nightembers bloom and shadows still, the light of dawn shall shine on that nostalgic hill.'"

"Okay, I will pass it along."

With the matter settled, Yan Ruolan quickly ordered Li Lang to be escorted out. During the entire time he walked out, he wondered why the message he was supposed to pass along to Liang Po was so weird.

I know it's probably some encoded message, but it sounds way too poetic for the likes of that white-haired brat. What in the world could he have gotten this young lady involved with?

Li Lang couldn't help but reminisce about the scene of Sima Xue infiltrating Spirit Grove and making a mess of his former sect.

Could she be an informant of some sort? No, a young lady of some prestigious family shouldn't be. Then what?

Chapter 174: Eagerness

After having escaped from the Yan Family estate, Li Lang kept himself out of trouble by staying at the lodging his companions found while he was away. The next day, they uneventfully departed from the city after purchasing some Mortal-grade materials unique to the province of Vermillion Dragon.

He left most of those errands to his companions while he focused on teaching their new students. There was a lot to go through to give them the basic education he desired of them.

Thankfully, the newly ignited desire of his students in pursuit of cultivation fueled them to pass through these lessons. They were all motivated, having been given hope that they too could cultivate despite their aptitude. Like that, they quietly traversed through the borders between orthodox and demonic cultivators.

They uneventfully made it back to Polarity City, where it seemed to be even more lively than before. As the main auction that took place at the end of the event drew closer, more and more cultivators arrived.

Previously, it was mostly just the wealthy juniors running errands for their elders or newly ascended Foundation Establishment cultivators looking to pick up a few items. Now, many elders had arrived, with more to follow.

"What do you guys want to do?" Long Yi asked. "Should we stay until the end of the event or make our way back to Emberglow first with the kids?"

"If w-we plan to attend the main event, t-then there is no point leaving. We'll h-have to take our new students with us anyway,"

"No," Li Lang stated otherwise. "We will be returning to Emberglow first and returning when it is closer to the main event.

"Okay, I'll go take a look at the auction schedule while you guys do that—Wait, what?"

"No need. I don't plan to attend any more of them."

Li Lang's words had taken both his companions off-guard. They exchanged glances as if to confirm they had heard correctly. Seeing this, Li Lang elaborated.

"We've bought enough for now. We'll need to keep an ample amount of funds for when we set up a place for ourselves. For now, I want to prepare for a certain project I've been looking forward to and I need the guidance of Senior Tie Qian to do so."

With that, no more words needed to be said, and both Wei Ping and Long Yi understood where this was going. They could see from the gleam in Li Lang's eyes that he was dead set on carrying out his research. They knew it was useless to try to convince him otherwise during these fixated frenzies.

With that, they didn't even stay the night and departed for Emberglow City right away. With the traffic around Polarity City increasing, so too did the volume of Skyrunners traveling between the two cities.

No Qi beast or cultivators with nefarious intentions ambushed them, and they safely arrived above the barren earth where Emberglow City layered beneath. 

To the amazement of their new students, their vehicle hugged close to the ground before traveling through narrow tunnels to reach the giant underground city.

"This place is unbelievable!" Xiao Dong exclaimed. "I can't believe people managed to build such a large city down here. Do you think those glowing mushrooms on the ceiling are artifacts some cultivators created to light up the place?"

"It is natural we cannot use the common sense of mortals to evaluate a city created by cultivators," Wu San retorted. 

"You guys," a younger child by the name of Ouyang Jie timidly called out. "This place is filled with demonic cultivators, you know? Aren't you guys scared?"

"Our teacher had already gone over the characteristics of demonic cultivation," Wu San explained. "They're just techniques. It doesn't decide the character of its practitioner. While it may have some influences on their mind, we can't just say they are all—"

"Okay, okay. I understand that, but still. Every single one of these good demonic cultivators could go rogue at any moment!"

"You k-kids!" Wei Ping interjected. "Save your d-discussions for later. We're landing n-now, and the last thing we want is for anyone to overhear y-you guys."

While the kids were discussing their new environment with both enthusiasm and apprehension, Li Lang quietly meditated beside them. To be precise, he was within Ruby's artifact realm.

"Ruby, are you sure you aren't able to replicate the creation of an artifact spirit?"

"Yes, Master. I'm sorry for not being of use, but I feel other artifact spirits just don't seem to be possible."

"Hmm, I guess it could be considered as something alive or sentient. Still, would you know if the results of my experiments will result in an artifact spirit or not? Even if it doesn't form, you should be able to tell that, right?"

"I have no idea, Master," Ruby pitifully replied. "I don't have any memories of experience of what will happen."

"Hmm, I guess the only to do is to try."

Returning back to reality, their group soon landed in a spacious plaza. As soon as they did, Li Lang hopped off the Skyrunner.

"You guys go find us some temporary housing. Come fetch me from Senior Tie Qian's place once you do."

Without letting anyone respond, Li Lang quietly walked away into the bustling crowd of the city. He was familiar with the place and headed straight for where his artificer mentor's workshop was.

He strolled through the front of the store and into the back, where he usually found his mentor. When he didn't see her in the crafting room, he headed for her office. There, he finally found the person he had been looking for, looking over some papers.

The muscular woman, Tie Qian, sensed him coming long before he showed up. When he opened the door, she greeted him without tearing her eyes away from the paperwork.

"Li Lang, you have returned already. Welcome back."

"Thank you, Senior."

"It seems like there's a reason you've come to me in such a rush. Go ahead, I can listen while I work."

"Thank you for your understanding, Senior. I will cut to the chase, then. I want you to show me how the process of forming an artifact spirit works."

His words made the stoic elder swiftly put down the sheet in her hand as she stared at the young man before her.

"You haven't even learned artificing for a year and you want to learn how to make an artifact already? As someone who has some attainment in Alchemy and Brushweaving, you should know there's an order to things. It is still too soon for you."

"Please, teacher. I wish to at least know the methods."

Seeing his determined eyes, Tie Qian sighed upon realizing how stubborn her student was about the matter.

"What did you come across to make you so eager? Techniques from another school, or maybe Earth-grade beast cores?"

Li Lang saw no need to hide the truth, especially when so many people had witnessed him win his bids.

"I bought a few sets of Mortal-grade beast cores. I know it doesn't mean I'll succeed in crafting artifacts, but I want to research how the process works as soon as I can."

"Using beast cores to sate your curiosity, how lavish of you! Fine, I will go over the methods, but just know that you will only waste your treasures if you believe that's all it takes to craft artifacts."

For the next few hours, Li Lang studiously listened to the teachings of his artificing mentor. She went over her school of technique in how an artificer utilized beast cores. Li Lang found it to be a lot like the brushweaver techniques that imbued their ink with powers that enabled talismans.

However, instead of simply imbuing his energy, artificing was a lot more akin to alchemy, where the materials he used in every instance were different, and he had to make the correct adjustments on the fly.

"How in the world does this technique manage to create something sentient like an artifact spirit?" Li Lang muttered what was on his mind as he tried to understand the technique.

"There are many explanations for it, but the most popular one is that we aren't creating something from scratch. Instead, we're gathering the residual soul that remains in the beast's core to form a new being. Much like humans, the soul of each Qi beast is unique, which explains why every attempt to create an artifact is different."

Many explanations just mean the artificer community has no idea and can't settle on one answer! And what is this vague explanation about stitching together pieces of souls to form a new life? 

Li Lang looked down as he fell into deep thought.

If that is true, then it's like we're using the lives of Qi beasts to make a biological operating system of some sort for artifacts. That is unsettling, to say the least. 

Wait, does that mean Ruby and the three spirits from the Crucible were once Qi beasts?

Chapter 175: The Grand Auction

Li Lang didn't linger on the topic of whether his artifact spirits were once Qi beasts for long. He could investigate the matter later once he managed to create his first artifact. For now, the significance of the matter didn't affect anything relating to his plans.

Now armed with the knowledge imparted by his artificer teacher, Tie Qian, Li Lang no longer hesitated and began crafting the printer that had been in his mind for years. For the first prototype test, he made generous use of the advanced equipment in his lab to produce the base components. He wanted to test what would happen during an attempt to birth an artifact spirit while within Ruby first before working towards simplifying its production process.

Ruby had said it wasn't possible to simulate an artifact spirit within her realm, but he believed it should still be able to tell whether his attempts succeeded or not. It just meant it wouldn't result in the actual creation of a new spirit, and he could still practice his methods within the artifact space.

With the automated modules of his powerful 3D printers available, the body of the talisman printer was quickly created within his lab.

He had adjusted the design to accommodate a beast core and channeled his artifice techniques in an attempt to create his first artifact. Unsurprisingly, his first few attempts failed before he got too far. He was unaccustomed to the process, so it was more of a learning experience than anything.

Days passed as he continued to make his attempts. With each failure, he inched closer to his goal.

He began with a standard printer, but slowly, the small changes he made added up, and it became increasingly complex. However, he hadn't succeeded even once, with the resulting printer always producing results that only retained the appearance of a talisman, but none of the substance that made it work.

That all changed three weeks into his research.

With numerous attempts under his belt, and an expert like Tie Qian as his consultant, Ruby's artifact space finally reacted in a new fashion upon completing the printer.

Upon reaching the penultimate step of inserting the beast orb, the entire printer shone with a bright white light. It only intensified when Li Lang then invoked his techniques to finish the process.

The luminosity of the light kept climbing until it began to flicker, as if it had hit a limit. Then, a loud shattering sound rang out before the light entirely disappeared.

"That's new. Do you have any idea what happened, Ruby?" Li Lang asked.

"Umm, sorry, Master. I have no idea. I just felt the energies within me run wild for a split second."

"I'm going to assume that was the reaction to trying to birth an artifact spirit within you. Let me try a few more times to see if anything changes. If not, I think it's time for me to simplify this design and try to craft it in reality. After all, there don't seem to be any life-threatening consequences for failing."

With that, Li Lang became earnestly redesigning the artifact to something possible to create with his means in reality. That meant the entire base of the design had to be changed. It would no longer center around an electronic printer, but a mechanical one.

Li Lang didn't mind too much from having to start over because he already had an idea in mind. Throughout history, there were numerous machines he could base his design on. He didn't overthink it and decided to go with a mimeograph machine as the base.

It was simple, using a stencil to recreate a talisman, and then pressing ink through it onto paper to complete the printing process.

Having converted a machine into an artifact once, Li Lang progressed much faster this time. However, time was a limited resource. Before he could complete the design and bring it into reality, a little over a month had passed since his return to Emberglow City.

It was time for him to return to Polarity City to meet up with Sima Xue to spectate the final auction, and then explain things to Elder Cao, so that he could have an easier time returning to Yellow Qilin.

He could only do his research during the little spare time he would have.

First thing in the morning, someone knocked on the door to Li Lang's room.

"B-boss, everyone is ready t-to set off."

"Coming!"

With both Wei Ping and Long Yi joining him in Polarity, it became necessary to bring along all their new students.

The children had only been taught general knowledge so far and had yet to truly begin cultivating. The trip would serve as a precursor for what was to come.

Li Lang's group easily made their way back to Polarity City. A constant stream of traffic could be seen congesting the city's airspace. It made the once desolate city become one of the most vibrant cities on the entire Violet Isle.

Still, even with such a large crowd, Li Lang's party was almost immediately able to reunite with Sima Xue. They had agreed to use the inn they had previously stayed as a meeting place, so they found her there without any fanfare.

Sima Xue appeared the same as always, but she was accompanied by several other people wearing the same clothes as her this time.

"Glad to see you three again," Sima Xue's senior brother, Jian Beiyun, greeted. "You guys seem to have taken in quite an interesting bunch."

His gaze landed on the dozen of children in their group.

"Yes. You should already know the reason we came to the Luminescent Domain in the first place, so it should be no surprise to you," Li Lang replied.

Back when they had first met, Jian Beiyun had informed Li Lang of a place where he could recruit the bodies he needed to perform his alchemy tests. It was the reason why the trio had braved the dangers and crossed over into the Demonic Cultivator Territory in the first place.

"Well, this event will be a good experience for young people. Anyway, the main auction will be starting shortly. You'll have to excuse me."

As friendly as Jian Beiyun was, it was easy to forget he was a powerful cultivator in his own right. He swiftly and tracelessly disappeared from the lobby of the inn, leaving Li Lang's party with a group of Nightmoon Valley disciples.

Sima Xue immediately closed the distance to greet the trio, ignoring the gazes of her fellow diciples.

"We should go head out, too. Otherwise, all the best spots will be taken."

"Umm, isn't your senior brother going to save us some seats?" Long Yi asked.

"Hmm? Him? Oh, no. Juniors like us won't be able to attend the actual event in person. My Senior Brother himself barely qualifies with his title of head disciple."

"What?" Li Lang yelped. "Then why did you say we could spectate the auction before, then? If all we're doing is listening to someone relay the news of what's going on inside the venue, then I wouldn't have made the trip to come."

"Don't m-mind him," Wei Ping interrupted. "He's been obsessed w-with something recently, and he's just frustrated t-that he had to take a break from it."

"Ha, come on, you guys. We can talk while we're walking. I never lied. You just didn't listen to me carefully enough. Everyone in the city will be able to spectate the event, so no worries on that part. To do it in comfort, however, we'll need to leave right away!"

Without waiting any longer, Sima Xue led the charge onto the streets, leading the large group toward the main roads. They had almost thirty people between the new kids and other members of Nightmoon Valley. Many people recognized Nightmoon Valley's group, so they cleared a path open for them.

Contrary to what Li Lang had expected, she didn't lead them toward any grand auction halls or the like. Instead, she went directly to the same restaurants where he first ordered tofu pudding with her.

Ordering his fellow disciples around, they swiftly took control of a few tables laid out on the rooftop patio. Li Lang's group didn't have a chance to ask why until they all got seated.

"I thought we were in a hurry?" Long Yi said. "Why are we grabbing food instead of heading straight to the venue?"

His questions earned him a few looks from the other guests and Nightmoon Valley disciples.

"This is it. We made it in time before all the tables were taken. This restaurant doesn't take reservations, so if we didn't make it in time, we'd have to stand."

Gesturing outside toward the main street, a large crowd could be seen. What was special about this scene was that the flow of traffic had almost come to a standstill. Most people were either sitting on blankets they placed on the ground or were merrily holding a drink while they stood. They all looked up at the sky.

Based on their gaze, Li Lang began to have a sneaking suspicion as to what was to come. Before he could ask about it, the skies above the city suddenly darkened. Grey clouds appeared, and everyone in the city quieted down at once. Hazy clouds began moving, undergoing transformations.

They stretched thin, facing down at the city at an angle. There were dozens of them spread throughout the city. The haze began to change color. To be more precise, the hazes soon became a screen that projected a live feed of an extravagant venue.

"Here it is. Polarity City's Grand Cloud Mirror Art," Sima Xue excitedly stated. "We'll be able to see everything that's happening at the grand auction because of it."