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Human Sacrifice
The boy who first laughed at me, known as Fat Boy, said, "This guy is either an idiot or a lunatic. Watch me go provoke him and chase him away so he doesn't embarrass himself here."
With that, Fat Boy walked towards me, a cocky grin on his face. "Hey, what's your name? What are you doing here, old man?"
I frowned and glanced at Fat Boy, noticing the disdain and hostility in his eyes. I chose to ignore him. My silence only fueled his anger; surrounded by handsome peers, my lack of response made him feel humiliated.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Fat Boy shouted, throwing a punch at me.
I caught his fist and twisted it downwards sharply. Fat Boy immediately bent over, howling in pain.
After my training on Qingliang Mountain and the nourishing effects of the spiritual herbs and hot springs in Medicine King's Cave, my physical condition had improved dramatically. I was now stronger than ever, far beyond what an average boy could match.
"You dare hit me? In this desolate place? You must want to die!" Fat Boy roared angrily as several boys who knew him rushed over.
I kicked Fat Boy's leg, forcing him to kneel before me, the Fish Intestine Sword resting against his neck.
The other boys were startled by the scene. The Fish Intestine Sword was incredibly sharp and glinted menacingly in the sunlight. Those who had intended to rush in to help Fat Boy immediately halted, urging me to calm down and talk it out.
One of the bodyguards pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at me, shouting, "Put down the knife! Now!"
I dragged the Fish Intestine Sword across Fat Boy's chin, drawing a line of blood. "This sword is very fast; if it drops, it could slice through his windpipe. Think carefully."
"Put the gun down! He’s not trying to kill me!" Fat Boy yelled at the bodyguard. Then he turned to me with a calmer tone. "Big brother, I was just joking with you. Don’t take it seriously."
I narrowed my eyes at the bodyguard still aiming at me. "Three."
"Two!"
The bodyguard threw the gun to the ground, and I kicked Fat Boy aside. The boy, still in shock, ran back to his group. When they looked at me again, their eyes were filled with fear, and they no longer dared to show any hint of mockery.
Fat Boy touched the blood on his chin, growing more enraged by the moment. He suddenly picked up the gun from the ground and pointed it at me, saying, "When have I ever been threatened like this? Do you think I won't kill you?"
This scene caused an uproar among the crowd. Before things could escalate further, a sharp voice rang out from the entrance of Azure Cloud Sect: "You lot really have no sense of decorum! Fighting in front of my Azure Cloud Sect is an insult to my eyes. Do you think I can't punish you?"
The speaker was a young man standing at the entrance of Azure Cloud Sect, clearly one of the disciples guarding the mountain.
"What’s going on? Why all the commotion?" Just as he finished speaking, an elderly Taoist priest with gray hair walked out from within the mountain gate.
The Taoist appeared to be in his fifties, with his hair tied up on top of his head. He wore a Daoist Robe and had a genuine Taoist beard, looking quite dignified.
The Mountain Guardian Disciple saw the Old Taoist come out and respectfully said, "Disciple pays respects to Shifu Uncle. A group of troublemakers from down the mountain just had a fight, brandishing knives and guns. If I hadn't intervened, someone might have died."
"Oh?" The Old Taoist seemed unconcerned. He replied, "The previous batches of people were all weaklings; out of hundreds, only one or two were worth noticing. The Daoist Sect does not advocate killing, but being able to fight is a good thing. Otherwise, what’s the point of practicing martial arts and Taoism? It should be encouraged."
No one dared to refute the Old Taoist's words. Behind him were two Dao Children, who emerged from the mountain gate carrying a round stone table. Inlaid in the center of the table was a massive compass, featuring a large Taiji Diagram. Surrounding it were the characters for earth, yellow, and four others: metal, wood, water, fire, and soil; wind, rain, thunder, lightning, ice; sun, moon, stars; mountains and vegetation; followed by three hundred sixty-five Acupoints. The outermost layer displayed ten stems and twelve earthly branches. I had never seen such a large compass before or one inscribed with these characters.
The Old Taoist said, "This device measures your potential for Cultivation. Those who cultivate can soar ahead with hard work; those with high comprehension can make rapid progress; those with good roots are destined to succeed. But before that, we need to check your Five Elements Attributes, fate calculations, birth dates, Acupoints, and Meridians, among other things. In theory, everyone can cultivate; however, some have blocked Meridians, making cultivation extremely difficult. To cultivate requires consuming vast amounts of precious materials and having specialized guidance—this consumes both manpower and resources and may even lead to failure along the way. Such individuals are undesirable. Others may lack elements entirely or have extremely poor fates—these people are also undesirable. Although the Daoist Sect can reverse fate changes, no one will willingly shorten their lifespan to help you unless it's your own father; otherwise, no one would be foolish enough to do that. In summary: we need talent and past disciples; those who are lazy and unambitious should not apply. Cultivation is hard work; even those without flaws must practice day and night diligently; otherwise, they will miss opportunities."
As he spoke, the Old Taoist pulled a gray bead from his sleeve and placed it above the compass on the stone table. The gray bead began to float slowly above the compass as everyone watched with curiosity.
"Alright," he continued after a pause. "You all line up according to your ages and place your palms on the center of the Taiji Diagram. This compass will reveal any issues you have; if the bead lights up above your head, you will generally be eligible for selection into the Daoist Sect. This is my last selection of disciples; I've been instructed to be strict this time. You may begin."
As soon as the test was over, a child around ten years old stepped forward and placed his palm in the center of the compass as instructed.
The gray beads lit up, flickering with an uncertain glow, while several areas on the compass also illuminated.
The child looked at the Old Taoist with hopeful eyes. The Old Taoist shook his head and said, "The beads have lit up, indicating some potential for cultivation. However, looking at the life chart, there are too many shortcomings. Moreover, the five elements are in conflict; if you can't cultivate properly, you'll end up going astray. You will only reach the Entry-Level Realm in your lifetime. Move to the right."
The Old Taoist pointed to his right, and the child walked over with a disappointed expression. Another child then took his turn for testing; after placing his palm on the compass, the gray beads did not light up at all. The Old Taoist shook his head again and directed him to stand on the right side as well.
After all the children had tested, only one remained. The Old Taoist said, "Don't be discouraged; those who are too young must meet higher admission standards. Once you enter the Daoist Sect, you'll have to fend for yourselves. If you get beaten, no one will care. Only those with exceptional talent will be accepted. Once you're in the Daoist Sect, it won't be easy to leave; it could lead to your cultivation being abolished, your Dao Body destroyed, or even having your tendons severed."
Hearing this from the Old Taoist eased some of the children's tearful expressions. Next came the testing of the youths, whose acceptance rate was much higher—almost fifty-fifty. A handsome youth placed his palm on the compass, and the gray bead above his head emitted a brilliant light. The center of the compass on the stone table remained dim, showing no flaws for the Handsome Youth; only some characters around it lit up.
The Old Taoist nodded with satisfaction and looked at the youth closely before asking, "Has anyone helped you adjust your five elements and Meridians? Have you practiced Qi?"
The Handsome Youth replied, "I’ve just been studying at home; I’m an unrefined gem."
Upon hearing this, the Old Taoist stepped forward and grasped the youth's wrist as if examining him. After a moment, he released him and laughed heartily: "Very good! My surname is Hong. After you register inside later, come find me with this token."
The Handsome Youth was surprised as he received a square wooden plaque engraved with an Azure Cloud Pattern from Elder Hong's hand. The Dao Child standing next to Elder Hong said, "Elder Hong is taking you as a disciple! You’ll be exempt from three years of hard training in the Outer Sect—don’t forget to kneel down and thank him."
Overjoyed yet anxious, the Handsome Youth quickly knelt on the ground and bowed to Elder Hong while calling him Master repeatedly.
The other youths looked on with envy; many felt jealousy instead. The subsequent tests proceeded swiftly; Elder Hong seemed in high spirits after gaining a new disciple and conducted tests much faster than before. Previously noted flaws in some individuals' five-element life charts were overlooked as he saw that most had average talent and simply decided who passed or failed.
The Fat Boy who had clashed with me earlier also passed his test. He shot me a resentful glance filled with malice and made a slicing motion across his neck with his hand.
I knew that if I hadn't been selected for the Entrance to the Dao and had come down the mountain, most of his bodyguards would have taken action against me.
"Next," came the voice of the Dao Child, and finally, it was my turn.
Elder Hong snapped back to reality and glanced at me. "Here to pick up a child?"
I replied, "Here to take a test."
Elder Hong said, "The Daoist Sect does not accept students' parents."
I responded, "I am unmarried and have no offspring."
"Oh." Elder Hong seemed to find this quite peculiar. "How old are you, brother?"
I said, "Twenty-three, in terms of nominal age."
The group of young people erupted in laughter, even Elder Hong and the two Dao Children couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing my serious expression, Elder Hong seemed to realize it was inappropriate and cleared his throat.
"You... you look a bit anxious!"
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