"Who was that old man big brother?" Yu Zhuwa asked.

"I'm not sure. All I know for certain is that he knows I cultivate some kind of demonic art. During the appraisal, I felt my demonic qi react with some of the treasures in his possession."

"What?! What do we do now? If others find out, then won't you be in danger?"

Yin Hui shook his head.

"If my speculations are correct, Hei Pu is a demonic cultivator as well."

"For now Hei Pu is not an enemy, but a benefactor. As long as it stays that way, I will pay his kindness back tenfold once I get the chance. This red jade he gave me has the ability to conceal all the demonic qi in my body. Thanks to it, my body is now indistinguishable from any other cultivator's. Even if Su Jia's grandfather were to use his spiritual sense on me right now, he would see nothing."

"I trust you... However, I still think that the old man has something he hasn't told you." Yu Zhuwa was still extremely skeptic about Hei Pu. He didn't know exactly what, but he felt like he was not someone to be trusted.

"Everyone has their secrets and motives. If Hei Pu turns out to be an enemy, then we will deal with it then. In our current state, we need to make use of every weapon possible, even if it is a double edged sword. Come on. It's time for us to head to the front gate of the Striking Thunder Sect."

"H-hey you!" A voice shouted from behind.

Hearing that the voice was directed at them, Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa turned around. Behind them was an elderly man with one arm and a head white hair. He wore noticeably expensive silk robes, but radiated no air of class due to how sloppily they were draped around his body.

Seeing that he got their attention, the old man pointed a wobbily finger towards Yin Hui.

"Y-you! The brat with t-the fierce look on his f-face! I s-saw you at that s-s-shady booth a f-few blocks down! Your a d-demonic c-c-cultivator!"

Yin Hui's heart tensed, but he didn't display an ounce of panic. The old man had a dazed look in his eye, which made it painfully obvious that he was drunk. Even if he had seen what transpired at the booth, he would most likely forget it the next day.

"Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. You must have had too many drinks and need to rest. Come let me help you find a bench." As Yin Hui attempted to grab the old man's hand, the old man slapped it away.

"Don't t-t-touch me d-demon! S-somebody call the S-striking S-s-sect..." Before the old man could finish, he lost his balance and passed out flat on his back.

The other people browsing the market turned their heads briefly towards Yin Hui and the old man, but looked away shortly after. They clearly did not believe the old man and thought he was just some drunk lunatic.

Yin Hui let out a sigh of relief. He told Yu Zhuwa to go on ahead and wrapped the old man's sole arm around his shoulder. Bringing him to a bench outside the market district, he scanned the drunken senior with his spiritual sense.

"I don't detect any spiritual energy so he must be a mortal. That's good. Since that is the case, it is likely he doesn't even know what a demonic cultivator really is."

Just as he was about to leave, Yin Hui noticed a small mirror that fell out of the old man's robes. When he picked it up, he discovered that it looked exactly like the popular Viewing Mirrors that were being sold back at the market.

Yin Hui looked at the unconscious old man with an expression of disappointment.

"Why am I not surprised... Well, it's not my place to judge so I guess I'll just give it back to him."

As Yin Hui leaned in to place the mirror within the folds of the old man's robes, the old man's eyes suddenly shot open. He grabbed Yin Hui's arm with a firm grip and had a vicious expression on his face.

"So! Not only are you a demonic cultivator, but you're also a thief! Well, you messed with the wrong old man this time punk! For I am going to---Gak!"

The old man passed out once more as Yin Hui delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Hopefully, by the time you wake up you will have calmed down and forgotten everything."

----------------------

An enormous crowd of people were gathered together at the front gate of the Striking Thunder Sect. All of them were cultivators of the younger generation, with the oldest ones being in their late twenties.

They chatted amongst themselves, bragging about their past exploits and how they were the most talented cultivators in their respective villages.

"Hmph, I assure you all. During the aptitude test, my score will not just warrant me a pass, but an immediate designation as a core disciple." One youth declared.

The cultivator beside him let out a snort of contempt.

"With just you? I am the number one genius of the Amethyst Pavilion. My talent is so great that I bet I will receive personal instruction by one of the elders!"

The Striking Thunder Sect was always looking for new disciples. With their vast resources and large population, applicants did not have to wait long to be evaluated.

While securing an evaluation was quite easy, getting in was another story. There were three ways an applicant could get accepted. The first was to pass the aptitude test. This involved completing a series of simple challenges that would be graded by an elder to measure the degree of talent in the individual.

If one did not meet the required level of talent, then the second option was to challenge one of the listed disciples. The disciples on the list ranged from early Spirit Waking to peak Spirit Manifestation, and were also ordered by age.

To challenge a disciple, there were two conditions. The first was that you could not challenge a disciple with lower cultivation than you. The second was that the disciple could not be younger. Often, hopefuls who chose this method were at a huge disadvantage. This was because although they could fight against an opponent of equal cultivation, they would still be outmatched by the various skills that were at the disposal of one trained by the sect.

The final method of entry was to have a cultivation base of Virtue Seeking and above. This was a given as reaching the Virtue Seeking stage was already a mark of talent in itself, so cultivators of this rank were always welcome.

Every year, the Striking Thunder Sect would receive thousands of applicants. However, the amount of people who would actually make it in never exceeded fifty.

Yin Hui spotted Yu Zhuwa amongst the crowd near the gate and walked over to him.

"Done tending to the elderly?" Yu Zhuwa smiled.

"Yeah. Did you find out when the evaluations start?"

"Apparently they're going to start anytime now. I'm kind of nervous though. From the way these guys are talking, it looks we have some pretty fierce competition."

Yin Hui shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it too much. In my experience, those who talk too much are usually more bark than bite. Besides, the sect does not have a limit on how many can pass. It's just whether you are able to pass."

"I guess so."

Gong~

Silence followed as the sound of the gong entered the ears of all the cultivators waiting to be evaluated. After the ringing subsided, the gates began to open, and a man who looked to be reaching his senior years stood at the doorway.

The man's hair was a mix of dull black and concrete grey. He wore a dark yellow robe and had a constant expression of dissatisfaction on his face.

All the cultivators outside, including Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa, clasped their hands and bowed towards the aging man.

"Greetings senior!" They shouted in unison.

"Hmph. At least you hopefuls have decent respect... I am Mo Gang! An elder of the Striking Thunder Sect and your evaluator! All of you will follow me into the main courtyard! Anyone who is dawdles or wanders elsewhere will lose their qualifications and be immediately removed from the Sect!"

As Mo Gang walked back into the sect, the prospective disciples began to follow in an orderly fashion.

The main courtyard was enormous, easily capable of containing the hundreds of applicants that had just entered the grounds. Crystals balls which were perched on top of stands could be seen spread throughout the entire area.

Mo Gang flew a few feet above the center of the courtyard and projected his voice towards the applicants.

"The first stage of the aptitude test is to gauge your inherent talent! Each of you will put your hand on top of one of the crystal balls and allow it to assess your soul. A color will then emerge which represents your level of talent."

"In ascending order, the colors are green, yellow, orange, red, blue, and violet. In order to qualify for the next test, you must have a talent level of red or above."

"That's bullshit!" One of the prospects shouted.

The other applicants turned around and stared at the outspoken cultivator in confusion.

"My cousin took the test last year! He said a passing mark was to make the crystal ball turn orange, not red! In fact, a grade of red represents a genius who has the potential to become a core disciple of the sect! Why are the standards so much higher this year?!"

Unfazed by the cultivator's outburst, Mo Gang descended from his position and put himself face to face with the protesting applicant.

"Do you feel that the test is unfair?" He asked as he stood mere centimeters from the prospect's face.

The protester, who was a young man of around eighteen years, began to sweat as Mo Gang stared into his eyes.

"Yes..." He responded nervously.

"Do you also think that your talent is not enough to produce the color needed to grant you the passing mark I have established?"

"Well... I'm not entirely sure, but what I'm trying to say is---"

Before the young man could finish, Mo Gang delivered a hard palm toward his chest. The young cultivator fell to his knees and coughed out a large mouthful of blood. Immediately after, Mo Gang picked him up by his collar and threw him out of the sect like a hurled pebble.

"There are two types of people the Striking Thunder Sect does not need! Those without talent and those who clearly intend to join the sect for the sake of relishing in its status! If you want to become a member of this sect, you must show that your acceptance will not be putting the sect at a loss! If anyone else has any objections I will be more than happy to send you off in the same manner as that piece of trash! Now the rest of you hurry up and pick a station! The evaluations will begin shortly!"

"Yes elder!" The remaining applicants spent no more time dwelling on what had just happened to their fellow hopeful. They began to spread throughout the courtyard, gradually filling in the empty spots that contained a crystal ball.

As Yin Hui strolled around the courtyard trying to find himself a crystal ball, he noticed that some hopefuls chose the first available spot they could find, while others took their time.

[Strange... Why are some of them analyzing the crystal balls so meticulously? It's almost as if they are looking for something...]

Suddenly, a peculiar thought crossed Yin Hui's mind. He spread his spiritual sense over one of the crystal balls and after analyzing the ball carefully everything was made clear.

[So this indeed was the case.]