Test

As the first one on stage, the slave made his way to the center.

The disciple began to explain the test, "First, you must survive in this array. It will exert pressure on your body; you will pass if you don't lose consciousness."

The disciple pointed to an area of the floor marked in weird patterns of geometrical shapes on top of one another. Along the rims of the shapes were more symbols and markings.

Stepping inside the array, the slave became excited as the disciple activated it, funneling the Spiritual energy inside his body. As soon as it activated, the markings on the floor disappeared, and the people could see three flags manifest around the slave.

Immediately upon activation, the slave became hunched like an old man. But with such a strong physique, the slave soon returned to standing straight.

After 30 seconds, the array turned off, and the disciple congratulated him.

"Good job; your body is perfect for the immortal arts. Now we'll see if you have the talent to use such arts!"

Moving along quickly, the slave was handed a scroll.

"Read it and practice the technique; this will not only prove to us if you are competent but, as I said earlier, show your talent in cultivation."

The slave nodded and took over 15 minutes reading the scroll; then, he sat down and began the technique.

At first, everything seemed to be going well, yet near the end, the veins on the slave bulged. Blood vessels popped one after another, and only after the disciple intervened did it stop. In the end, the slave was left unconscious; he failed.

The Disciple sighed, "Another one down the drain. He messed up and destroyed his inner organs and blood vessels. He won't lift even a crate full of peaches for the rest of his life."

The crowd was shocked such a result came from cultivating, though some of the older generations who had seen a prior recruitment or two just shook their heads. They had seen many people with strong bodies die at this point.

Nevertheless, the recruitment continued, and the mortals lined up to achieve their dreams. Very few were found to have the aptitude to cultivate; either they barely passed cultivating, or their bodies were so healthy that even if they messed up, they were taken in.

Cain watched it all within the crowd. 

'It seems the qualifications to join are low. All those accepted are mediocre except for two I saw. Is this how the sects operate, or is the technique at fault, and those who can cultivate it are already talented?'

Next up was Cain; he strode up the stairs and onto the stage.

"To the array," one of the Disciples on the platform said.

Cain did as he was told and watched the array below his feet activate. From there, he felt his weight increase as if gravity itself had it out for him.

'Damn it! Did they multiply the gravity by ten? I never knew gravity could be so strong!'

Under the immense pressure, Cain passed, but he did go down to one knee. This was far better than many who collapsed completely and didn't lose consciousness. But he only accomplished such a feat through willpower and not body strength. 

'Next up, the cultivation manual!'

Taking the scroll into his hands, Cain immediately unwrapped it and read over the contents six times in under a minute! He had experience in reading through documents, his reading speed and comprehension trumped even skilled scholars! Habits are hard to lose!

'Hmm, the technique isn't anything much. It simply requires us to breathe in the spiritual energy and bring it to our stomach to form a sphere...a Dantian? The hard part is breathing enough spiritual qi in while following the right tempo. The tempo is one deep breath through the nose to let the spiritual qi be filtered; then, breathe out after 5 seconds to expel the waste. This seems quite basic but has a strong foundation indeed; this scroll itself seems to have been revised over 10 times!'

Cain's curiosity for cultivation skyrocketed as he sat down.

Whispers from the crowd ensued.

"Look, that slave only took around 2 minutes to learn the scroll!"

"Hah, that slave's going to die!"

The Disciples of the Unmoved Spirit Sect were silent; the Disciple in charge seemed to gain much interest in Cain.

Cain did the exercise as the scroll said, and in under 10 minutes, he could feel the beginnings of a small sphere in his stomach. There was a small and thin membrane with gaseous spiritual qi inside. However, he felt that if he continued, he might cause harm to himself, so he stopped.

Finishing, he stood up, done.

"W-What?! You've finished it?"

Cain knew his speed was less than half of everyone else's. Each turn took over 30 minutes, yet he was done before ten minutes passed!

Cain responded flatly, "I did; I can feel the Dantian forming inside my stomach, though I didn't completely form it."

"He almost reached the Beginning Tier!? It takes more than 10 sessions to reach the first stage yet he's halfway there in only one?!" One of the Disciples blurted out.

The head Disciple showed a gleaming smile, "Haha! You have good talent; our Unmoved Spirit Sect has been moved! You pass! Greetings Junior brother; you are a slave no longer!"

Cain acted as one should when granted freedom; though in his head, he was rolling his eyes.

With his turn done, it was Zoe's time to shine.

Stepping on stage, heads turned to look at Zoe. Although her facial features weren't that good-looking, her body was in tip-top shape!

As a former investigator who fought vampires who attacked the Complex, her physical attributes currently trumped Cain's; she never even shuddered under the might of the array!

Finding the array wasn't as hard as she thought; she glared at Cain. Cain quickly felt goosebumps form. 

'Shit, this crazy woman! Should I play it off as acting? Yeah, that should work.'

With the body testing done, Zoe was handed the scroll and read it. She took around 6 minutes to read it before returning it and sitting. Then, everyone waited.

'She doesn't seem too talented; it's already past 10 minutes.'

Time passed; Zoe's time came to over 40 minutes, and the sect disciples were planning to stop her.

Suddenly, her body glowed as the light came from her stomach, and a layer of her skin wilted off like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon.

"B-Beginning Tier of the Harnessing Stage!"

"Two geniuses in a row!"

Cain watched the sect disciples around him freak out. Even the head disciple had a look of astonishment.

Zoe finished and stood up; immediately, the head disciple came to her side and elegantly kissed her hand.

"My Lady, you are a blessing to my Unmoved Spirit Sect. You pass! Fear not about being a slave!"

The disciple then got closer, "If you don't mind, I can make you my servant; I can give you the best of the best back at the sect. You only have to serve me!"

Still in a daze, the Disciple's words triggered Zoe, prompting her to slap him.

Audible gasps resounded from the crowd.

The Head Disciple quickly acted to save himself, "Haha! I apologize, my Lady; I didn't mean to offend." He rubbed his cheek and regained his composure. He went back to testing the rest but he would take a peek at Zoe and lick his lips every once and a while.

"I don't like that guy, do something."

Cain turned to Zoe in disbelief, "Do something? He's our ticket out of here; otherwise, we have to be on the run. Don't think that manual you memorized will do any good because from what I can tell, it's only useful for forming the Dantian; you can't use it to advance any further."

Zoe scoffed, looking away from Cain in a fit.

'Did the technique mess with her head?' He could only sigh. 

The rest of the applicants came and went one after another; in the end, the Sect found 32 new Disciples for themselves.

"Haha, my junior brothers and sisters. Congratulations on joining one of the 5 Great Sects! My Unmoved Spirit Sect may be last compared to the 4 other sects, but we are above all others throughout the 7 provinces! Our sect leader is even in the Enlightenment Stage!"

'Enlightenment stage? I now know two stages, the Harnessing, and Enlightenment. I guess an Enlightenment stage would be a powerhouse in this Territory. I wonder how strong the Sect leader is?'

While the new disciples celebrated their future, fires suddenly erupted throughout the city. Explosions and screams drowned the city square as everyone was caught off guard.

In the sky above the pluming smoke, a group of people appeared as they looked down at the mortals below.

"Hahaha! Unmoved Spirit Sect, I have unfinished business!"

The head Disciple looked up, and his face promptly lost color. "Guan! Traitor! You dare show your face here you Demonic Bastard! The Elders will have your head!"

Guan laughed, "Traitor? I simply found the best way to progress! The Sect had nothing left for me to learn! Only one of the 3 Great Evil sects could fulfill my ambitions!"

Gritting his teeth, the Head Disciple put some of his Spiritual Qi in a jade along his waist; he then erupted with anger.

"Ambitions?! You joined the Demonic Sect, you bastard! All you are now is a tool for the Demons you make contracts with!"

Guan's brows furrowed. "Oh yeah? Well then taste the power of my Eternal Burning Flame Demon!"

Lifting his palm, Guan's arm turned into something inhuman. His skin cracked as magma and fire spewed out along its surface.

"Taste this!"

Large amounts of magma and molten rock were expelled from Guan's arm, destroying the square and killing anyone who had the unfortunate fate of getting hit.

Luckily, the Head Disciple acted; his chest turning white and green. A barrier made of wind formed and protected the Disciples, new and old.

"A mere trick, how about my Burning Comet!" The Traitor sneered. 

Guan's arm bulged as a large object seemed to move through it. It was swiftly sent out.

It truly was a comet; the rock broke the wind and smashed the Head Disciple's wind barrier to bits. On impact, the whole square collapsed, and the Head Disciple died in an inferno of injustice.

Everything was in chaos. 

In the rubble, Cain pulled Zoe's arm.

He loudly whispered, "Follow me, let's use the rubble to hide!"

She nodded, and the two played dead.

During this time Cain shook his head. 'This is a new low for me...'

Time passed, the hot burning flames subsided, and silence returned. Realizing the coast was clear, Cain moved the rubble and had light blind him.

He then heard the best news yet.

"There are still survivors in the square! Elder come quick!"

The last thing Cain saw was the figure of a man high in the sky, flying on some object.