Huyan Yazhi felt that she was being extremely unlucky. The last time, she had been deceived into collaborating with a lower-class small fry. Putting aside the fact that she didn’t get the knowledge of formations she wanted, ‘The fact that that small fry actually got exposed… She even dragged me down with her. Fortunately, that nameless small fry was stupid enough; otherwise, I really would have been screwed.’ Only after that small fry was thoroughly sent away did she finally feel at ease.
Because of that incident, she had been scolded by an elder for over half an hour, punished with kneeling through classes for half a month, and mocked by those around her for several days. It had caused her recent progress in the Dao of Formations to slow down significantly. It was simply detestable!
‘That damned small fry, don’t let me run into you again, or I will definitely make you pay!’
However, misfortunes never come singly. Because she had been kneeling in the very last row during class lately, her schoolwork had naturally fallen behind quite a bit. Therefore, the unlucky task of being responsible for recruiting new disciples naturally fell to her.
Despite her frantic protests: “Who would want to do such a thing? Can’t you just assign any ordinary Outer Sect Disciple? Why do I have to go? How much time will I lose? No!”
However, the Formation Peak Elder, who had been forced to take on this task after losing a lot-drawing, completely ignored her wails. He simply stated calmly, “This is necessary. Since your grades are the worst, hurry up and pack your things. Otherwise, there will be consequences.”
Left with no choice, Huyan Yazhi had to come.
Surrounded by ordinary Outer Sect Disciples who knew absolutely nothing about formations, Huyan Yazhi felt as if she had been abandoned by the entire world. She seemed out of place among the crowd, her eyes reflecting a sense of isolation.
Faced with the flattery of these Outer Sect Disciples, Huyan Yazhi was completely uninterested. In fact, if it weren’t for her duty, she would have wanted to use a stick to drive them away to avoid polluting the air around her.
To provide a small sense of intimidation to these mortals, they chose to arrive by riding their tools. They dived down from above the clouds, decelerating the moment they were about to hit the ground, and finally came to a steady stop.
“So cool!”
Someone couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “Commanding a divine weapon to soar across the nine heavens, looking down upon the entire world… This truly is the method of an immortal family. No matter how many mortals there are, how could they ever win against a cultivator?”
Another person began to suck up. “Traveling by riding a weapon… With such a powerful method, they must be considered experts even among cultivators. To have so many experts arranged just for an introductory ceremony, we are indeed being valued by the Lingyun Sect.”
This both flattered the experts before them and highlighted their own importance.
Hearing these words, even the consistently disdainful Huyan Yazhi couldn’t help but feel a bit smug.
Lin Huanhuan stroked her chin and smiled. “To think it’s this strange character. To send someone like her to preside over the introductory ceremony, just how casual are the sect elders?”
A somewhat confused voice came from beside her. “Wait, does the Miss know that girl?”
Lin Huanhuan looked back to see Dong Yuner staring intently at Huyan Yazhi, a slightly dangerous light gleaming in her eyes. The girl evaluated, “This girl’s looks aren’t all that, but her figure is barely passable. She probably has a good build; you would likely like her, Miss. However, the way she looks at the people around her is full of disdain. She must be an extremely arrogant person with excessive self-confidence. If you were with her, you would probably be mistreated. Fighting every other day wouldn’t be very good for you, Miss.”
Dong Yuner first put on an air of objectivity, but in reality, her sharp critique was entirely about finding faults. Only then did she throw out the question she wanted to ask most.
“So, when exactly did you meet her, Miss? Why didn’t I know about this? Did you meet her when you went out on your own? What do you think of her? Do you like her?”
Looking at the little maidservant who was practically radiating the scent of vinegar, Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but smile knowingly. She first rubbed the girl’s head before beginning to explain.
“What do you mean, like or dislike? How could I possibly like that person? Remember when I went to the Xuan Shui Secret Realm to obtain profound water? It was during that time that I met her. She was desperately ordering me around back then, and then I showed a little bit of formation skill. This girl immediately bowed down to me. I was shocked. Anyway, she’s a pretty miraculous person. I wonder if everyone over at Formation Peak is the same.”
‘So that’s how it is. It seems I was overthinking it.’ Dong Yuner’s face immediately brightened with smiles, and she nodded repeatedly. Her previous jealousy vanished without a trace. Lin Huanhuan gave a faint smile.
Dong Yuner asked curiously again, “By the way, Miss, when did you learn formations? How come I didn’t know?”
Lin Huanhuan puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips, smiling proudly. “I didn’t really study them much. I have a talent for this sort of thing; I can learn it just by dabbling a bit.”
“Is that so? All right then.” Dong Yuner nodded thoughtfully.
Below, a disciple stepped onto the stage, took out a script, and began to recite with an expressionless face. Once finished, they walked straight down, completely ignoring the thunderous applause. The introductory ceremony had officially begun.
To enter the Lingyun Sect, the primary factor was one’s talent for cultivation. As for comprehension or combat talent, those were secondary.
Huyan Yazhi sat behind a table, with Outer Sect Disciples maintaining order on both her left and right. A long line stretched out in front of her. On the table sat a prism-shaped spirit testing stone, which could test one’s affinity for spiritual energy. Although it wasn’t a high-end item, it was more than sufficient for this purpose.
People continuously stepped forward to pick up the spirit testing stone. Based on the light that burst from the stone, it was decided whether they could stay. Cries of surprise broke out constantly, while even more people hung their heads in dejection, feeling that their lives were full of despair.
“No! There must be something wrong with this stone! How could there be no light at all? This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Do I not even have the qualifications to be a rogue cultivator?” An extremely unlucky individual with a spirit-severed body knelt on the ground, wailing. The people around him moved away one after another, fearing they would be contaminated by his bad luck.
***
As time slowly passed, the introductory ceremony quickly approached its end.
Lin Huanhuan stretched, then suddenly clutched her stomach and said, “My stomach suddenly hurts a bit. I’m going to use the restroom. Yun’er, wait for me here. If I’m gone too long, you can head back first.” As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished in a flash, leaving a bewildered Dong Yuner behind.
Dong Yuner felt confused. “Do you still need to use the restroom after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage? Why don’t I need to? Nothing I cooked these past two days was greasy or spicy. Oh well, I’ll just wait here. There’s still a bit of time until the end.”
Huyan Yazhi remained expressionless throughout, handling matters with a professional lack of emotion. Whether the talent of the person before her was high or low, they were all the same to her.
The place to test formation talent was at Formation Peak, and those tests would be conducted later. Since no one was being tested for it here, it meant they had no talent.
In her eyes, these people were lower than paramecia. How could they possibly trigger any emotional fluctuations in her?