Chapter 37 - Selection's Day

Flower Sect Sect Leader’s Mansion

A young and charming girl was sitting in meditation in a field of flowers of various colors. Her loose brown hair was undulating slightly behind her head due to the light wind. Strangely, the flowers next to her were following the path of her hair swaying in the same way.

Suddenly, she heard someone approaching and stopped meditating, raising her eyes to welcome the incoming person.

"Master, you're back. Is everything alright? You suddenly came out, and now I see you come back with a troubled face." The young girl said with a worried look.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was forced to reveal my plans earlier than expected, but if all goes well, we will increase our future chances. Now the rest will depend on him. "

"Are you talking about that boy who came several months ago? Hei was his name if I'm not mistaken, right?"

"Yes, he will soon become part of the inner sect and will join our faction."

"Excuse my impertinence, is it indispensable to rely on that boy? I alone am strong enough to bring you to victory, Master."

"Mei, in the world of us martial artists, there are a lot of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. You never know which geniuses the various seven have produced. Of course, I have absolute trust in you, my young disciple, and I know what you are capable of. However, to achieve my goal, I need all the possible cards I can get my hands on. Plus, the more allies you have, the more chances you'll have. "

"I don't like having to depend on others, Master. But if that's what you want, I'll do as requested." the young woman said, bowing her head to the sect leader. She was the sect’s leader personal disciple, and although she was still in the fourth stage, her talent was undoubtedly first-class.

*

Inner Sect Training Dojo

A young man with long black hair tied in a braid was sitting on the floor while reading a book and sipping tea. Standing there was another boy with messy orange hair who was sneering before him.

"Have you heard? This morning an outer garbage made a mess at the collection point. My father came back pissed off like a beast because of the sect leader. She called for an extraordinary trial to the inner sect for the boy. Haha, what nonsense. Even if she were to accept all the stragglers of the kingdom, the situation doesn’t change. The only one I consider at my same level is you, Li, or should I say the second elder's little brother?"

Then the boy with the long black hair put the cup of tea at his side as he slowly closed the book.

"As the son of the first elder, you should learn more restraint, Zan. My brother mentioned this to me. You'd better not underestimate what you call trash. I know my brother, and he certainly wouldn't use certain words without reason. "

"Ah, and let's hear. What the precious and powerful second elder would have said. "

"That boy's potential is high, higher than ours, and that he will soon be a danger to us. Besides, there is another girl of equal talent at his side." Li said in a serious voice.

He trusted his brother, who had reached the position of second elder from scratch. If he had used those words, it wasn't to scare him or spur him into training; but it meant that he really thought it, and this was alarming as news but at the same time exciting.

"I advise you not to try anything you have in mind. The boy and the girl have the protection of the sect leader. You would only make the situation worse today. Not even if you have the regulations elder’s son by your side, do you understand?"

Zan, the first elder’s son, heard his rival's warning and laughed and waved his hand, "Don’t worry, I have nothing in mind for now. I'm curious to see this genius in action. Furthermore, there is no need for me to do anything. Those scraps trying to come here will certainly try to get him out of the tournament right from the start."

That said, the orange-haired boy left, leaving his rival alone.

"I warned you. It's up to you to decide. In any case, the only thing I have to focus on is to get stronger." said the second elder's brother as he resumed his reading.

The two boys were in the fourth stage, and together with Mei, they were considered the most important inner disciples, although there were disciples with a higher stage of cultivation. It was because all three had awakened their spirit power at the age of 15, a feat connected only to the most exceptional geniuses of the five big sects on the Rainbow Island.

*

In the spiderweb, the situation was very hectic. With the announcement of the trial to the inner sect, Hei's plans were shattered. However, this wasn’t a bad thing since he could accelerate his promotion earlier than expected.

Because of the selection tournament, Bao Bei had stopped his hardening workouts and went on to instruct him on the execution of the two moves he was training for - snake fist and spider lance. In addition to these, she had plans to improve Hei's four-legged spider run and also try to teach him the two-legged mode. As for the other techniques, they each required their own training, and there was no time to instruct him on others other than these.

Lian, fortunately, didn’t have to participate, so she could continue her usual training without problems. This indirectly helped Hei because, otherwise, Bao Bei would have to share her attention with both instead of focusing exclusively on Hei.

Ye and Xing, on the other hand, found out regretfully that they couldn’t participate. After months of training, the desire to measure their skills with real opponents was enormous. In the end, the combat sessions with Shui couldn’t be considered real fights.

Since Hei was considered a beast tamer, it wouldn’t be illogical to use the spirit beasts at his disposal. However, the sect leader's emissary had informed him that he would have to fight alone to participate. The first elder, displeased by the actions taken by the sect leader, had imposed this ban to prevent him from defeating his opponents too easily. More than Ye and Xing, the attention of the first elder was focused on Shui, who was an adult.

Hearing that they couldn’t participate, they made a fuss because they wanted to fight. Fortunately, Hei, who knew their gluttony, calmed them by promising to buy for them some alcohol. In the past, he had already used this excuse and had always worked. What he didn’t know, however, was that his two little sisters had written down all the various rewards he had promised them, and were slowly accumulating them to enjoy everything at once. Obviously, Hei wouldn't refuse them anyway, considering he had promised them in the first place.

However, this ban wasn’t a problem at all. Hei intended from the beginning to face the test alone to test his abilities after these months of training. Bao Bei also wanted him to withstand the trial alone. Of course, this wasn’t because she had doubts about her two daughters. Indeed, it was the exact opposite.

For both Bao Bei and Hei, the two strongest weapons at Hei’s disposal were his two little sisters. With their combat formation and their coordination, Hei was at his strongest was when he was fighting alongside them.

Therefore, unless he was forced, he wouldn’t reveal his trump card so quickly. Their use implied that Hei would try 100% to kill his enemy without hesitation. In a tournament between sect’s members, if he killed an enemy, such action could cause him a lot of problems.

If there was indeed no valid reason, killing or seriously injuring one's sect companion was a crime severely punished by the sect. It was precisely the regulations division that dealt with these offenders. It had to be said, however, that despite those rules, until someone was killed or crippled, it was possible to beat another person without suffering consequences. Bullying episodes weren’t rare among inner members who wanted to put a spoke in the wheel of the new arrivals, worried that they could steal their spot.

Every year, there was an inner members' evaluation in which rewards were given according to their results. And the prizes offered, especially for the first 10, were objects of a particular value that appealed to all inner disciples. However, only the first 50 could receive something, and therefore, the competition was frenetic.

In this climate of tension and trepidation, the agreed month passed quickly - Hei was able to learn the two moves of attack correctly and to improve the spider running, coming to be able also to use the two-legged mode, even if not entirely.

Lian, Xing, and Ye continued with their usual workouts but with less intensity. To allow Hei more time to train, they took charge of the field following the directions he left and started the second crop cycle by rotating the previously used field sections. They should have to wait for the end of this growing cycle to make an extension of the field.

On the morning of the trial, Bao Bei woke everyone up at dawn, giving Hei a light breakfast to prevent him from having a too heavy stomach during the fight and, once they had finished having breakfast, all the residents of the spiderweb house prepared to go outside.

Since the tournament was held in the inner sect’s territories and there would be so many spectators, Hei made Shui and the other buffaloes guard the house. Even if he wanted to take them, it was better not to draw too much attention by taking a herd of buffaloes with them. Not to mention that he didn't know if there was adequate space for them inside the inner sect, and he didn't want to put them in a situation of discomfort.

Once he greeted Shui and the other buffaloes, Hei set off towards the inner sect with his family.

The inner sect was divided from the outer sect by a row of walls that marked a circle. At the four cardinal points of this circle, there were the entrances to enter. For the occasion, the participants of the selection were allowed to enter for free; for the other outer members, it was obligatory to pay an entry fee with contribution points.

Since he had become a kind of celebrity throughout the sect, wherever he went, there was a succession of whispers. He was ultimately the main star of this event and also the reason why this sudden selection was announced. The positive thing about all this was that they let him pass through the entrance without further checks. With four elders fighting over him, it was better not to provoke such an individual.

Once through the entrance, Hei could finally see the inner sect that was so coveted by the outer members. Its territory was organized in a completely different way from the outer sect - unlike the large number of cultivated agricultural fields, the space inside the inner sect was occupied mainly by equal and neatly arranged buildings. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary city, but without the frantic feeling he felt when he first entered Green City.

The streets were indeed spacious and clean, without that sea of people coming and going continuously without ever stopping. From a quick glance, he noticed that those identical buildings were only the inner members’ homes. From outside, you could see that the materials used for their construction were of the highest quality.

Since he didn’t know how to orientate himself to reach the place designated for the trial, Hei decided to follow a large group of people facing the same direction. They seemed to belong to the outer sect, and if they were here, it meant that they came to follow the trial and that they probably knew how to get there. To avoid getting lost in that unknown place, Hei took Lian’s hand while Ye and Xing were hidden under his clothes and his mother above his head.

Initially, he wasn’t unsure whether it was a good idea to bring Lian as well because he didn’t know if the girl would be at ease among so many strangers. However, his mother had convinced him that it was an excellent opportunity for her to grow emotionally. Just in case, her two little sisters would keep her company while her mother would guard them while he was fighting.

The place designated for the trial was a vast oval stone stadium. At that place, the flow of people was more concentrated as more members of the sect were coming to take their place.

Usually, selections to the inner sect were followed by a few people, mostly relatives of the participants or inner members who wanted to kill time. However, the stadium today was unusually full for a secondary event like that. This time there was something that could arouse their attention, and they wanted to see with their own eyes if that strange boy was worth the attention of the sect's elders and if he represented a threat for them.

While he stood still watching the crowd of people coming in, he was quickly approached by a woman who turned out to be nothing less than the sect leader. Because she had stealthily approached him using the surrounding noise, those present outside didn’t notice that the sect leader was nearby.

"You have finally arrived. I was afraid that I would have to send someone to look for you." The sect leader said to Hei as she took a quick look around.

"Excuse me, sect leader, if I kept you waiting. Can I know why you are here? "

"I figured you'd bring Lian, so I came here to offer you to have her sit with me in the VIP seats."

Hearing about VIP places, Hei thought about it for a moment. For the tournament, he had imagined he would be separated from the others to take part in the challenge. Initially, he planned to find a place for them so that they could watch it. But he didn't imagine all these people. Even if there was his mother to protect Lian, if he accepted the sect's proposal, he could save her from being surrounded by a large number of people. Therefore, since it wasn’t a bad idea, Hei decided to accept her proposal.

"All right, then I'll let Lian go with you," Hei said as he took off Ye and Xing and placed them on Lian's body. Bao Bei said her last recommendations to Hei and jumped from his head to end up on Lian's. At that point, he greeted all of them and the sect leader. Then, he went off alone towards the stadium following the route prepared for the participants while the sect leader took Lian with her to a special entrance assigned to the most important members of the sect.