Chapter 5: Joining the Xuanyuan Sect

“How do we join the Xuan Zai Sect?” Feng Ting asked curiously.

“Naturally, by taking the sect’s entrance examination,” Zhen Yi said, pointing to the crowded area ahead. “See that? That’s where you register for the Xuan Tian Sect. Pass the test, and you become a disciple. But I’ve heard their exam is extremely strict. If you don’t pass, you can consider other second-rate sects. However, those sects usually aren’t in Huiyang; they wait down at the foot of the Xuan Tian Sect’s mountain.”

So... only those rejected by the Xuan Tian Sect can join other sects?

Qiu Ci considered sneaking away right then.

Suddenly, Zhen Yi grabbed their hands and, with fierce determination, forced a path through the dense crowd, leading them to the registration desk at the very front. He pulled out the jade token from their spirit test and handed it over.

“Yanlin City, Zhen Yi!” he announced his name while glancing back at them, signaling them to quickly produce their jade tokens to register.

Qiu Ci was speechless.

What else could she do but register?

The test site wasn’t in the city. Next to the registration point stood a teleportation array. After handing their jade tokens to the registrar, the three stepped into the array.

Strangely, this teleportation didn’t have the dizzying sensation from before. In the blink of an eye, they were transported to a vast plaza, packed with people—at least thousands—all here for the examination.

“Sister Ci, look!” Feng Ting suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

Instinctively, Qiu Ci turned around. Beyond the plaza, layers of white clouds rose, and a flock of white cranes flew through them, their cries echoing softly. Looking up, massive peaks floated midair—some large, some small—with silver streams cascading into the clouds, some shrouded in misty light, and majestic golden halls towering above. It was like a celestial realm.

Qiu Ci was stunned. So this is a celestial sect—they had been transported to the sect’s floating peaks!

“Quick, the exam site is just ahead!” Zhen Yi pointed forward.

The three looked ahead.

Qiu Ci had imagined the sect’s test would be like in novels—climbing heavenly ladders, fighting beasts, or some sort of martial contest. At worst, perhaps another spirit root test, selecting the best talents.

But instead, ahead stood only a stone gate with a glowing vortex in the center. Two cultivators in white robes embroidered with auspicious clouds stood on either side, signaling everyone to enter. Passing through the gate meant passing the test.

Many entered the gate, but very few emerged. Hundreds would step inside, only to vanish after crossing the threshold. Only a few came out from behind. Clearly, the gate was no ordinary portal; those few were the ones who passed.

Qiu Ci recalled Zhen Yi saying that other second-rate sects waited below the mountain to accept disciples, so perhaps those who vanished were sent down there?

Panic crept in. Was there some trick to this test? What if they discovered her true identity? Fortunately, with so many people and their position near the back, there was still hope...

“Hey? I think I see a friend!” Zhen Yi glanced forward and suddenly said, “Come, I’ll help you get closer to the front.”

Before she could respond, he darted ahead to the front line, greeted a young man in line, then, without hesitation, pulled the two to stand behind him, just steps away from the exam gate.

“...Thanks, I guess!”

---

“It’s our turn! Let’s go!”

Before Qiu Ci could react, Zhen Yi pulled her into the gate.

Qiu Ci was speechless.

=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰●|||)

I have to say, wow!

Streams of light flashed before her eyes, as if forming images, while a familiar electronic voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

[Beep! Mimicry protection activated.]

What?

Qiu Ci was stunned. Before she could react, the lights vanished, and she had already passed through the gate.

“You passed,” the white-robed cultivator by the gate said, pointing to a nearby spot. “Stand over there.”

Qiu Ci walked over dumbfounded, then saw Feng Ting and Zhen Yi emerge, both looking pale. Feng Ting’s face was especially ashen.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sister Ci!” Feng Ting’s eyes brightened upon seeing her, and she hurried over, grabbing Qiu Ci’s hand. “Thank goodness, finally! That gate was terrifying—inside, people tried to grab me and forced me to work the fields. It was so scary! I almost couldn’t get out.”

“That must have been an illusion testing your resolve,” Zhen Yi, still trembling, said with a look of lingering fear. “Everyone probably sees something different. I saw countless rats! Luckily, I escaped quickly.”

“Really?” Feng Ting didn’t understand what an illusion was but realized what they saw wasn’t real. “Sister Ci, what did you see?”

“I, uh...” Qiu Ci hadn’t seen anything. She’d just walked straight through!

Illusions? Tests? Nothing had appeared.

She glanced anxiously at the cultivator by the gate, who remained expressionless. That settled her nerves—no one seemed to know what just happened.

“Ah! Sister Ci, your bloodline has awakened!” Feng Ting suddenly exclaimed, joy lighting her face as she pointed to Qiu Ci’s forehead.

“Awakened?” Qiu Ci was puzzled. What could have awakened?

She instinctively touched her forehead but found nothing. There was nothing there.

Wait!

Mimicry...

Realizing something, she immediately withdrew her hand.

“Heh, perhaps this gate has an awakening function!” she laughed.

“Maybe not the gate,” Zhen Yi said. “It’s because the celestial sect’s spiritual energy is dense. I’ve heard that spiritual energy can activate bloodlines, and in places rich with it, awakening is easier.” Usually, no spirit testing stone is needed.

“Ah, that explains why Master Fu in the Spirit Testing Hall told me to come directly to the celestial sect.”

“So, Sister Ci, what bloodline do you have?” Feng Ting asked curiously. “That looks like young deer antlers. Could it be a mountain deer bloodline?”

“Or maybe a spiritual deer!” Zhen Yi speculated. “Any bloodline with ‘spiritual’ in its name is high-level. Spiritual deer are far rarer than mountain deer. I have a spiritual cat bloodline.”

“I don’t know,” Qiu Ci said. So, are those deer antlers on her head? But Feng Ting said they looked like young deer antlers...

Got it—she had a pair of deer velvet antlers!

Well, that’s considered a high-grade medicinal material.

╮(╯＿╰)╭

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll understand once you start cultivating,” Zhen Yi comforted her. “I’ve heard that the higher the cultivation, the stronger your bloodline’s resonance. Then you’ll know what kind of deer you are.”

Could it be she wasn’t a deer at all?!

Still, those antlers eased her immediate worries—no need to fret over bloodline awakening right now.

More importantly, she remembered the voice she heard just now.

It wasn’t a hallucination in the Spirit Testing Hall.

She truly had a system!

She called out to the system in her mind again, hoping to make contact, but just like before, there was no response.

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed her anxiety.

No rush!

Since the system was real, she would be able to connect eventually. And with its help, it seemed she no longer had to rush to leave the celestial sect.