Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Opening the Sect’s Doors (3)
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Girlie, you’re too encumbered by your mortal heart, I was afraid…”
“You were afraid that I wouldn’t come?”
Granny Jin didn’t say a word, as if in acquiescence. Zheng Wan looked out the window, looking lost. She whispered, “That day, had Cui Wang realised it too?”
“Generally speaking, it is not possible to tell without the help of special means, but that ex-lover of yours is quite abnormal…”
Zheng Wan stopped talking.
“Is there any other method…”
“No.” Granny Jin said categorically, “The Heavens have given you a fighting chance, allowing you to step onto this path, but the path of cultivation for your father and mother is blocked. It is better to think about how to make the rest of their lives comfortable and happy.”
Zheng Wan covered her eyes. “It’s me who got carried away by the prospect.”
She never thought—no, that’s not right, she had not dared to think about the alternative.
Zheng Wan sat cross-legged on the bed, dripped a drop of cherry dew into her mouth, and began to exhale. There was an unprecedented solemnity on her face. From now on, it was up to her to protect Father and Mother.
Granny Jin did not expect her to get into the zone so quickly; she chuckled, then also became silent, focusing on protecting and maintaining her energy as she cultivated.
Time rushed on. As if with a snap of the fingers, two months flew by. When the cherry dew in Zheng Wan’s pouch was depleted, the major orthodox sects finally opened their doors for the recruitment of new disciples.
In these two months, she had not slackened for even a day. With the aid of the cherry dew and the abundant vital energy here, she finally entered the middle stage of the Gateway stage. It’s just that unfortunately, the Returning to the Origin Scripture was all about being neutral and calm; to date, she had only learned an ice arrow technique, which was fine against rats, but would be difficult to use against much else.
During these two months, she had also learned about the so-called seven sects, three schools and two academies. All the seven sects were based on Taoist teachings, the three schools practiced Buddhist cultivation, and the two academies focused on scholarly pursuits to attain the Way.
“All right, stop mulling over it.”
Granny Jin urged her to hurry and get up. “When you get to the jade wall in the city, pay another primal stone. When you put your palm on it, it will tell you which sect is suitable for you.”
“Huh?”
Zheng Wan got up and deftly tied up her hair and swung it behind her head. “I still have to be assessed?”
“Naturally,” said Granny Jin matter-of-factly. “How did you think the sects select people? Choose blindly? There are 108 large cities and 1,800 small cities in the Heavenly Realms, how would they have the leisure to spare like you do?”
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Before Zheng Wan went out, she thought about it, but in the end, still couldn’t suppress her fondness for looking good. She still wore a white skirt, but it was of a cleaner and simpler style than usual, and her hair was tied up with only a white ribbon. She looked in the mirror, then left with satisfaction.
Zheng Zhai and Madam Wang had long been waiting at the door. Like all parents sending their children off to school, Zheng Zhai earnestly exhorted, “If you see that the timing isn’t right, you mustn’t force yourself. Don’t get hurt.”
“Even if you don’t get chosen this time, it doesn’t matter. You can just try again next time.”
“I know, I know.”
Zheng Wan’s eyes curved into a smile. “Father, Mother, don’t go out for the next few days. Just wait here for my return.”
“Aye, aye, all right.”
Still riding the red fleshy worm carriage, Zheng Wan’s eyes were closed almost the entire journey. When she alighted, she saw that the usually sparse city centre was now flooded with a sea of people, just like the Lantern Festival in the mortal world. Being jostled about in the jam-packed crowd, it was hard to even stay on her feet.
Some had brought their families with them, but most were children aged seven or eight; few were as old as she was.
Zheng Wan covered her face, ignored the strange looks of the people around her, and randomly chose a line to queue up.
“Eh? You also want to join?”
“At this age… the middle stage of the Gateway stage, tut-tut, it’s going to be difficult.”
In the mortal world, Zheng Wan would have gotten that person dragged out, but now, she could only stand on her tiptoes and try her best to see in front of her.
She discovered that things were different from what Granny Jin had told her. There were indeed more than a dozen jade walls in the public square, but these jade walls were different from the one before. They were wheel-shaped structures; when the cultivators placed their palms on the wheels, the wheel would make a bell-like chime, accompanied by either a dark or bright light.
Next to the wheels stood a cultivator in indigo robes who gave off overwhelming auras. Zheng Wan couldn’t tell which cultivation level they were at, but she could tell that those were the uniform robes of the cultivators in charge of law enforcement in the city.
“This is the first round,” said Granny Jin lazily. “Tens of thousands of years have passed, the assessment methods have improved by quite a lot compared to before.”
Li Jin looked back. He had also come along with Zheng Wan this time to try his luck. Before, he was the only one deemed able to cultivate by the jade wall, but it did not reveal how much aptitude he had.
“Wan’niang, I’m a little nervous.”
However, Zheng Wan didn’t have the leisure to care about him anymore. She saw that not far ahead on the left, a woman who seemed both unfamiliar, yet familiar, was smiling at her. Zheng Wan stretched out her hand to cover the bottom half of her face, and was stunned— Liu Yi?
She hadn’t gone to Guixu Sect?
When she looked again, no one was there.