Chapter 43: The Test
Wei Yu was very satisfied with my serious expression. After he had whetted my appetite, he said, “The first reason is that the name of their organization is too rebellious and can easily cause unnecessary trouble, so they replaced it with the first pronunciation of that character.”
“What is that word?” I asked.
“God!” Wei Yu said the word with the same expression as me, a little weird. This time, our thoughts may be the same. I really can’t understand why an organization can be so arrogant as to take such a name.
Taking a deep breath, I asked, “What about the second reason?”
“The second reason is that their headquarters is not in China, so it doesn’t matter whether they use letters or not,” Wei Yu said softly to me.
“Where is it?” I vaguely felt that this question might be very important.
Wei Yu whispered in my ear again: “On a small island, a private island. You understand, right? But they have cooperative relations with the forces of certain countries. You can also think of them as forces that are not bound by any country. It’s amazing, isn’t it? However, this is a secret. Not many people know about it, so don’t spread it.”
Wei Yu’s expression was very serious, and I almost subconsciously asked, “Since it’s a secret, how do you know?”
“I told you, I’m a descendant of the immortals!” Wei Yu looked serious and matter-of-fact.
I was speechless and could only remain silent, but in my heart I was calculating again and again whether the information given by Wei Yu was true or false. I still had the same feeling, vaguely feeling that it was very important to me.
During my time of contemplation, the people from the ten major powers had already entered the venue and taken their seats in the private rooms, which were similar to small houses. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anyone else, just like the other group of people who chased me that night in the mountain village. One of them had a very keen sense of intuition… However, even if he were in front of me, I wouldn’t recognize him. After all, I didn’t see their faces clearly that night.
After the ten major forces entered, the last to enter were the Snow Mountain clan. These people from the Snow Mountain clan were as low-key as their style, entering quietly and all wearing white hemp hooded cloaks, so I couldn’t even see their faces.
They entered the venue and took their seats in a low-key manner, leaving only one person who walked to the front of the stage to make a speech or something.
I wasn’t very interested in this, so I just waited around, bored. According to the rules, once everyone who was supposed to speak had finished, the rest of us could go and sign up for the Dragon Gate Competition.
The speech process was shorter than I expected, but after ten minutes or so, everyone who was supposed to speak had basically finished. Except for the representative of the Snow Mountain clan, who briefly explained the rules and took up some time, the rest of the clans only gave a brief encouragement or two, and then moved on. Many clans didn’t even send anyone to speak, including the S organization.
After the speeches were over, it was finally time to sign up for the tournament. I thought there would be a lot of people participating, but when I stood up, I realized that there were only two or three hundred people standing in the vast crowd.
“Let’s go. There are usually not too many people. In addition to the age limit, there is a certain degree of danger in the arena. Without a diamond, how dare you take on a porcelain job? There is no one behind the person, and if they die, there is nowhere to go to reason. In fact, I was very surprised that there were two or three hundred people this time.” Wei Yu saw my expression and was a little surprised. He couldn’t help but stand up and whisper in my ear.
We carefully walked through the crowd and walked down the aisle to the registration desk. My face was a little hot and I always felt that the eyes of so many people were on us at this time, which was very stressful.
So I tried to empty my mind and asked Wei Yu, “You seem to know a lot. Have you participated many times? Why is this number considered high?”
“I have participated in three times. The first two times I came with my master. I saw it with my own eyes. There were only a hundred or so people participating each time. I heard my master say that the smallest number of people participating was only a dozen or so. This time is considered a lot because there is a rumor that many people want to bet on it.” Wei Yu said to me.
At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder if Wei Yu was really a descendant of some immortal, that he had seen too much and knew too much.
I walked along, looking at Wei Yu, waiting for his answer. What was the rumor that had him so concerned?
“Do you know the Snow Mountain Sect? You must have heard that they are the sect with the most resources. Under normal circumstances, they don’t accept disciples at the Dragon-Leaping Conference, but there are exceptions. Occasionally, they will accept one or two people. This time, because of certain events, the Snow Mountain Sect seems to be in a hurry to recruit some disciples, so at this Dragon-Leaping Conference, it is very likely that the Snow Mountain Sect will accept disciples. This is why there will be so many people.” Wei Yu explained to me.
As we spoke, we had already bypassed the venue and entered a downward staircase from a side door. With the lights on both sides, I saw that the staircase was extraordinarily ornate, spreading and curving for a long time, and I didn’t know where it led.
I sensed a different energy underground, and I felt that there was an amazing secret hidden underground. Unfortunately, we didn’t go too deep, just down about ten meters, and then stopped at the first platform.
Here, a small cave was carved out of the edge, and next to the cave was a small hut. In front of the hut, a man wearing a white linen robe was waiting for us. It seemed that the registration office was here.
There were more than 200 people here, and after waiting in line, I realized that the person waiting for us was him. That familiar, warm smile was hard to forget. Wasn’t he the one who greeted us at the beginning in the cave that could be called a “miracle”?
I looked at him, and his gaze lingered on me for a second before he spoke, his tone so comforting: “Everyone who wants to participate in the arena can enter the cave after signing up in that hut. The rules are simple. Anyone who can stay in the cave for ten minutes will receive a voucher to participate in the tournament. I hope everyone doesn’t feel uncomfortable. After all, the martial arts are ruthless. Setting up a test to screen out some people is also for everyone’s safety. After all, it is very dangerous to be unable to pass the test on the arena.”
In a few words, he turned the seemingly unfair conditions for participation into a heartwarming and acceptable concern. With that smile, I saw at least several people around me expressing their feelings of being moved, including Wei Yu, who kept muttering in my ear, “It turns out that the Snow Mountain lineage is so good.”
I was expressionless. This was not my main concern. My main concern was whether my friends had infiltrated the participants. But I was disappointed to find that they had not!
I was so focused that I didn’t even notice that someone had come out of the hut and handed me something. It wasn’t until I realized that someone had shoved a talisman into my hand that I reacted.
“This talisman is a life-saving talisman for everyone. I hope that everyone will not go too deep into the cave, and when they can’t hold on any longer, they can use this talisman, just stick it on their body, and it will guarantee that they can safely get out of the cave.” Wei Yu still had a smile on his face as he explained.
I couldn’t help but look down at the talisman in my hand and found that the runes on it were completely unfamiliar to me. I couldn’t figure out what kind of talisman it was. Could it be that the Snow Mountain clan was an alien clan? A ridiculous thought popped into my mind.
“Brother Tao, can you tell us what’s in this cave? You’re putting a lot of pressure on us. We need to think about whether we should go in or not.” In this atmosphere, someone finally couldn’t help but ask.
Facing the question, the man did not show the slightest sign of impatience, not even a hint of a smile. He said, “This cave is full of evil spirits, which were subdued by my disciples from the Snow Mountain Sect when they went out to experience the world. Heaven has the virtue of compassion, and we don’t want to harm them. As long as the sins are not too serious, they are placed here. As long as they can be saved, one is enough. They are used to temper the hearts and abilities of the disciples on ordinary days.”
As soon as he finished speaking, I heard a lot of people gasp in shock. What kind of feat is it to gather the ghosts in a cave? But I was unmoved. I had already been to the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts, so such a cave really didn’t shock me. I was only a little surprised that they would use such a dangerous method to temper their disciples.
I hesitated whether I should be the first to participate. At that moment, Wei Yu, who was standing next to me, jumped out and walked arrogantly into the hut. He said with a mouth full of arrogance, “Ten minutes, it’s a very simple task. I’ll go first.”
With his actions and words, more than a dozen people stood up and walked into the hut, and of course, dozens of people stood out and stayed put, indicating that they had withdrawn.
It seems that this test is still cruel for many people! I don’t care about so many things. When I saw that the time was ripe, I casually put the talisman in my pocket and walked out.
At this time, the man in white casually walked up to me and whispered, “You seem to be very confident to casually put the talisman that can save your life. Which disciple of which school is so outstanding?”
I gave him a look, but my face remained expressionless. I said in a low voice, “He’s just a wandering person. He’s not even good.”
He smiled and said nothing, while I had already entered the hut.