As we jogged more and more people joined us. After the first hour we were a group of around fifteen people and to my surprise even Artius had joined us. I had expected that the ones from cultivator families, to not join us, since it should be pointless. Especially with how slow we were. But I didn’t mind, since I was too focused on just making it a few more steps forward. My body had attempted to vomit a few times, but I apparently only had stomach acid in me. I also started to feel weak and hungry, the only thing I was unsure if the weakness was just me being exhausted or if it was from the hunger. I filled my stomach with the rest of the water from my gourd and continued on.
The girl who had suggested this training had also introduced herself during the run, as Ivia. She was apparently completely fine with this level of exertion and didn’t show any signs of exhaustion. I wondered why she hadn’t been one of the people to finish the first test completely, but I could not talk anymore. I tried to keep my mind busy with idle thoughts to distract from the pain, but after an additional thirty minutes did, I trip. I did my best to get on my feet as possible and continue on. As I did this, did I realize that we were back down to ten people and most of them had already cultivated. But I did see Devi far in the back slowly making his way along the path.
With that short and forced break did I continue on. I fell three more times before the second test finally ended, but I was glad that I had endured, even if I was completely exhausted and drenched in sweat. I made my way over to the gate making sure to go slowly, so not to exert myself more than necessary. As I walked, did I manage to catch my breath slightly and said to Ivia, “Miranda.” I took a few deep breaths, “My name is Miranda.” Ivia just grinned and said in an excited voice, “I will remember the name. We can train from time to time, if you want to. You did great.” I nodded and we finished the rest of the distance in silence. I had noticed that Devi had already arrived, due to ending his run closer to the gate.
After the two of us arrived, did I notice that only the ones who had passed were still here, even though I had not seen anybody leave. The group of cultivators opened the gate up and we were greeted with the sight of the sect interior. A group of nine people were waiting behind the gate. The nine of them all had an otherworldly beauty to them. Their skin was flawless, they had clear muscles even if two hid them under fat and they had an air of power around them. But the one who stood out the most to me was a woman who looked around fifty years old, though I doubted that this was her actual age.
The woman was the only one among the nine who had any scars and her entire body just seemed to radiate with violence. I was unsure where I got this feeling from, but my eyes were just drawn to her. Before I could get more distracted did the man from the group who had done the second test speak up again, “These are the nine elders of the sect. Contrary to common knowledge, all of you have already passed all the actual trials. What remains is getting you to learn under the right master. Each of the elders will be given a choice to ask every participant a question, which you are supposed to answer truthfully. Empty boasting won’t help you here. No matter what happens you are free to make your own choice about which master to study under. With this, let us begin.”
The man pulled out a list and read the first name, “Makiro, please step forward.” The malnourished girl who had taken first place in the first test stepped forward and stood in a relaxed pose in front of the elders. One of the younger looking elders stepped forward. He was one of the few elders with a bit of fat to him and wore blue robes. He said in a calm and soft voice, “What is your goal in life, child?” Makiro didn’t even hesitate and immediately answered, “I want to live a completely relaxed and carefree life.” The elder continued his questions, “Then why do you want to become a cultivator? You must know that it is a life filled with challenges and you will never be able to relax. Living as a mortal would have been a better choice.”
I wondered why they made the rule about only one question, if the first elder to speak just ignored it. Makiro said in a calm but resolute voice, “Please look at this body. Do you truly believe I could achieve my goal like this? Should I gamble my dream on the chance to never encounter a young master who had a bad day? Neither of us is a fool, so it should be clear what the best way forward would be.” The elder conceded to her point with a nod and declared, “I am willing to take Makiro as my direct disciple.” I saw shock briefly flash across the faces of the cultivators who had guided us and heard murmurs break out around me.
The noise quickly died down when a woman in dark red robes stepped forward. She had a smile on her face which seemed ever so slightly off and asked, “Child, if you were ever forced to. Would you fight to protect your dream, or would you simply relocate to continue your dream?” Makiro hesitated for a few moments, before she said, “If victory is within my abilities, this includes personal connections. I would fight. Otherwise, I would flee and make sure that this cannot happen again.” The smile on the woman’s face disappeared but she looked strangely pleased. Before she could say anything did the first elder say, “I can clearly see that you are better suited for Elder Illion. As long as you don’t have any personal connections to any of the other elders, I would recommend her.”
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Makiro smiled and performed a bow towards Elder Illion and said, “Disciple greets Master." Elder Illion nodded and responded, “Come stand behind me, disciple.” With this did Makiro make her way behind the Elder. The guide looked at his list, shot an angry glance towards the cultivator who had tested me and said, “Since someone forgot to note down a name, please step forward and state your name.” A light appeared above me. As I walked forward, did I realize that the woman really had never asked my name. I had just assumed that they knew the names of the disciples through some other means.
I stood in front of the nine and looked straight at them. My robes were still covered in blood, dirt and sweat and I must have looked awful. Still, I introduced myself with confidence, “My name is Miranda, I hope you can forgive the state of my clothes. I wanted to not waste the waiting time and trained.” I couldn’t read any of the expressions of the Elders and waited. The first to step forward was a bulky man in green and brown robes, which seemed to barely fit his body. He said with a booming voice, “Why do you want to cultivate?”
It seemed to be a standard question, so I answered without any hesitation, “I want to become as strong as possible in fifty thousand years.” I could practically feel the disappointment coming from the man, but he still said, “And why do you want to become the strongest? Why pursue such a common path, if you have so much potential?” I thought for a moment before I carefully answered, “First, I would like to clarify one thing. I don’t want to be the strongest. I want to be as strong as possible in fifty thousand years. I simply wish to do it. I see no need for there to be any further reason.”
This clearly was the answer the Elder didn’t want, as he stepped back and stayed silent. A woman who wore grey robes which almost looked like metal without its shine. She had a neutral expression on her face and asked, “What does it mean for you to be strong?” I began to think of an answer. I knew what kind of answer they wanted to hear and it would give me the best chance to be a direct disciple, but I didn’t formulate the answer as my eyes were once again drawn to the scarred woman. I said, “I want to win a duel to the death after fifty thousand years, against a being that is as strong as possible. Being able to do that is what being strong means to me.” My eyes had wandered of the Elder in front of me and I stared at the scarred woman.
She let out a sigh and said in a rough voice, that sounded as if she had smoked her entire life, “Just step back Nirvo, she clearly doesn’t want to study any of you. So, tell me, why do your eyes keep wandering to me? Do you see your ideal in me?” Unlike the other Elders who had just taken a single step forward, the woman made her way over to me and stood directly in front of me. Even though we were the same height she still managed to look down on me. With her this close to me, did I smell a faint stench of something similar to a bloody morgue. She smelled of blood and death. The feeling of violence I had gotten from her only got stronger now that she stood so close. And her eyes almost looked dead, were it not for a dangerous glint in them.
I felt fear. The fear of death gripped my being. It was as if I was standing in front of an approaching train or was leaning of the railing of a skyscraper. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, but I didn’t move instead I began to smile and said, “I don’t know if you represent what my goal is, but I do not think I will reach the point of my desires without any violence. In fact, I believe it will be quite necessary. Although I could be wrong about that. I am staring at you because you seem so…” I stopped and thought for a moment, “…because you just seem like you could teach it to me.”
The eyes of the woman never left mine, neither one of us blinking. She finally asked, “And what would you do if the path to such strengths is one of pacifism? And what would you do if that path is just the second best option. Being ever so slightly weaker than a path filled with carnage and death?” My smile stopped, as I knew that it would only make me look crazy, “I would take the path that will lead me to my goal. And nothing will change this. I do not know if I have the determination to go through with any path this extreme, but I certainly will try to.” The Elder nodded and turned around taking back her spot amongst the Elders.
I saw the shock among them and started to wonder if my blatant greed for power and disregard for others was a mistake. I knew that I was talented, so there was a chance that they would kill me to nip any problems in the bud. But before I could form any sort of plan, did the scarred Elder speak, “I will accept Miranda as my personal disciple. Come stand behind your Master, nobody else will take you.” I nodded and stood behind the woman observing the other disciples. I noticed that Artius had a sour expression on his face although he tried to hide it. The sorting continued without much issue from here on. Although the Elders rarely gave any questions, after a while. Clearly not too interested in taking in new disciples.
A few other disciples tried to join Master, but she rejected them all. In the end only did the old man remain. He took a swig out of his gourd and walked over to the position every other disciple had stood in. He then said in a completely clear voice, “I will pick, Artius, Devi, Estilla, Relk and Pagro.” His gaze wandered over to me and said, “I would have loved to offer you a spot as well, Miranda. But Garlou is better suited for you than me. I know that she won’t have any suitable manuals for you, so I will give you complete access to the first floor of the library from now on.” His eyes turned to the five people he had called out and looked annoyed, “What are you waiting for? Come here already.”
Artius was the first to walk over to the old man and stand behind him. The others quickly followed suit. They probably had made a similar guess to me. That man was probably the Grandmaster Triflun. The old man, began to walk through the group of Elders, who made way for him. He walked into the sect followed by his disciples. After he made his fifth step did Master Garlou say, “Let us go as well. I will show you where you will train and introduce you to the other disciples under me who are currently not on a mission.” With that did she begin to walk towards one of the pagodas.
