Ascension: A Mortal's Journey

The deafening roar in front of the towering gates of the Seven Sword Sect had been going on for almost half a day now.

Even in this hot day, lines and lines of young men and women stood in front of the sect, hoping that they would get lucky.

This was the annual disciple selection. Only a hundred talented individuals would be allowed to enter the sect, and become a famed cultivator.

The young men felt their blood boil. A chance to become a cultivator? Who didn't want that?

In the corner, a frail looking young man calmly looked at the lines.

"This is going to take a while." Li Feng thought to himself as he shook his head.

His fingers gently stroked a bronze token that he had hid deep within his robes. Under no circumstances could he let someone see the token.

The only reason he was here, was because of this token.

"Ouch." He winced with pain as he looked away.

"This is happening more frequently. I wonder why." He thought to himself.

For months, his eyes stung whenever he looked at a few people. He didn't know why. There was nothing he could do about it.

"I can only hope it doesn't happen during the trials. It would be a shame to fail these trials and go back home. Mother and Father would be disappointed." Li Feng told himself.

As he was lost in thought, the gates suddenly started creaking.

The roar of mindless gossip and chatter ground to a halt as everyone stared at the gates.

The gates of the Seven Sword Sect were tall, at a few dozen meters tall. As they started to creak open, everyone didn't even dare move a muscle.

Behind these opaque gates, two men could be seen walking over.

The first man, dressed in white robes with a blue sword mark stitched above his heart, had his arms crossed behind his back.

The second man had light blue robes, with a dark blue sword mark. Even though he looked a lot younger than the first man, the first man seemed to look at him with respect.

"It's the Gentle Touch Sword! And who is that young man? Have I ever seen him before?" Someone in the sidelines exclaimed.

Immediately, the silence was broken, and whispers started taking over the large crowd of almost a thousand people.

The light blue robed young man smiled gently as he looked around the crowd.

"Looks like this year, we have quite a few interesting looking people." He muttered silently.

"Well then, Shi Huo. Let's get started shall we?" The Gentle Touch Sword said.

"Of course, Elder Jiang." Shi Huo nodded.

He then looked at the crowd in front of him, and clapped his hands.

An echo reverberated through the crowd, deafening everyone. It was like a wave that swept through them, that got progressively louder and louder.

Instantly, the whispers died down and everyone crouched, clutching their ears.

Li Feng winced as his ears trembled from the sound. But it was nothing unbearable. He stood tall, staring at the light blue robed young man.

"Aargh!"

Shouts reverberated as some fell on the ground, and others bent down to try resist the pain.

The waves got louder and louder as Li Feng frowned.

He had heard of the Gentle Touch Sword before. The legend of taking on twelve Pillar Establishment level experts was not to be scoffed at.

But for someone like that to show any respect to a young man, only showed how important the young man was.

For a brief second, Shi Hou's and Li Feng's eyes met. As they connected, Li Feng felt a sharp pain in his left eye once again.

And the moment the pain returned, for a split second, the color in the world vanished. A blue and white world took its place, where the blue was concentrated on the two men from the sect, while everyone else was white.

There were spots of blue here and there, among the young men and women who had come for these trials.

Li Feng shook his head, blinking, and as he did, the world returned to its original color.

"I really am losing my mind these days," Li Feng sighed as he shook his head.

Slowly, the sound started to fade away, and Li Feng took a deep breath, letting that uncomfortable feeling leave his body.

"Interesting. Really interesting this year. Do you think we will have a chance with this batch?" Shi Huo looked behind him back at Elder Jiang.

"Who knows? We have been trying for years now. Maybe it's this batch. Maybe it's the next. We can only hope. Now, let's get the trials going." He shook his head.

Shi Huo nodded as he looked at the giant crowd.

"This is convenient. Whoever is on the floor and couldn't withstand the sound can leave. This world is not for you." Shi Huo said.

Li Feng's eyes widened with surprise.

"Wow. Thats more than two thirds of the whole crowd! To think that he would just fail them like that!" He muttered.

"But young master! We-"

As the protests started ringing out, Shi Huo raised his hands, ready to clap them once more.

Immediately, the eyes of these people changed from surprise to fear, as they crouched down once more, cupping their ears.

"And this is why you are all eliminated." He shook his head as he waved his hands.

A bright light started emanating from him, and then it split into multiple arrows that shot out from him.

They started traveling across the crowd, hitting everyone that was standing up.

Li Feng could see the arrow headed toward him, but he didn't dare resist. This was a cultivator, someone he didn't stand a chance against.

There was no reason for him to resist if this was just a test anyways.

As the light arrow hit Li Feng, he felt a warm feeling in his right hand.

He looked at it to reveal a light colored sword mark.

"This mark shows that you are a trial entree. You will be allowed to enter the gates. If you try entering the gates without this mark, or if you are not a disciple, then you will be considered as someone who is trespassing." Shi Huo shouted.

"Now then, shall we start the trials?" He smiled gently.

"The trials haven't even started yet?" Li Feng's heart shook. But it wasn't fear he felt.

What was that feeling?

It had been so long since he felt that way, didn't it?

Excited. He was feeling excited.

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