Zanxing

Chapter 23 - Sect Assessment (1)

After class, Zanxing put away her bundle and picked up the oiled paper umbrella by the door, ready to head out.

Tian Fangfang called from behind, "Junior sister, aren't you going to eat?"

"You go ahead; I'll go later," Zanxing replied, holding the umbrella as she stepped into the rain.

Once she arrived at the Chuhong Platform, it was raining today, and it was already noon, so most of the disciples had gone to have lunch. Zanxing found a place to sit down, not caring whether her clothes would get wet from the rain, and began to review the Qing'e Nianhua Staff manual with her spiritual awareness.

Today, her debate with Master Yueguang about "truth and falsehood" in class was merely her casual fabrication. However, at the last moment, inspiration struck, and she thought of the bottleneck in her staff technique.

For five days, she had practiced diligently every night, and although she could handle the staff with some skill, it was still not as graceful as the women she had seen on the spiritual platform. She had been studying their staff techniques repeatedly, but now that she thought about it, this flashy technique was called "Qing'e Nianhua."

She had a staff, but she lacked the flowers.

This staff technique, without the flowers, was no different from other techniques outside, but because it included "Nianhua," it carried a touch of feminine charm. The essence of the staff technique lay in the "falling flowers" provoked by the staff. Those flowers, as if carried by a gust of wind, could precisely break through the opponent's defenses, becoming the most powerful weapon.

Nianhua was not for show; it was for better offense.

So that was it.

Zhanxing gripped the iron staff tightly again, closing her eyes. Around the Chuhong Platform, there were osmanthus trees, and with autumn upon them, the trees were fragrant. Zanxing circulated her surrounding energy and slashed horizontally in front of her. The fragrant wind stirred by the staff was soft and sweet, but within that fragrance lay a trace of barely detectable killing intent. Zanxing could clearly see a straight stream of energy arising from the falling flowers, like the afterimage of another staff.

And this afterimage rippled like the surface of the water, layer upon layer, and she could even see the tiny ripples, each trace of the flowers blooming. At that moment, the Xiao Yuan Pearl in her heart spun wildly, and all the surrounding spiritual energy surged into Zanxing's body, making her feel as if the staff in her hands had infinite power. In the rippling mirror image, a straight line appeared.

Without hesitation, she aimed her strike at that line.

"Qing'e Nianhua Staff, First Level—Mirror Flower, Water Moon!"

The rain seemed to pause in that instant.

The ripples in the air suddenly gave birth to countless flower shadows, these shadows clustered together like clouds and seas, swiftly flying toward the giant rock before her.

Along with it was the iron staff in the woman's hand.

With a "bang—" the giant rock turned to dust, and the osmanthus scent filled the air. Looking up, the flower shadows and water surface dissipated, leaving only a gray-robed woman standing amidst the rain, her long hair soaked.

A mountain sparrow chirped, flapping its wings to another tree, startled by the commotion.

Zanxing looked down at her hands.

Just now, it seemed like she had broken through.

In the following days, Zanxing continued her early rises and late returns, diligently studying.

The other disciples also realized that the sect assessment was imminent and began to practice diligently. For a time, the Chuhong Platform was crowded, akin to a university library during finals; arriving late meant there were no seats available.

The most pleased of all was probably the sixth master of the Taiyan Sect, Xuan Ling. The next day was the day of the sect assessment, and Xuan Ling sat in the hall, checking the names of the disciples while munching on a roast chicken secretly bought from the mountain below.

The ingredients on the mountain were rich in spiritual energy, and the kitchen prepared them cleanly and refreshingly, which was nice, but nothing compared to the flavorful food from the mountain below. Furthermore, the headmaster, Zhaoyang, had recently thought Xuan Ling had gained quite a bit of weight, which was detrimental to the sect's image, and had made him practice fasting. Xuan Ling had endured ten days of hunger and finally couldn't help but explode that night.

When Zi Luo entered, she saw Xuan Ling trying to hide the roast chicken under his bottom.

"Stop hiding it, Sixth Master; I can see it," she said helplessly.

Xuan Ling cleared his throat. "Zi Luo, among these disciples, I like you the most. You must not tell the headmaster."

Zi Luo pretended not to hear that and changed the subject. "Master, everything is prepared for tomorrow's assessment. The headmaster said that this sect assessment is to recruit new disciples for you, so you must pay some attention."

Among the seven disciples of Master Zhaoyang, aside from the seventh master, only the sixth master Xuan Ling had not taken in any personal disciples. He himself was rather laid-back, spending his days loving food and sleep, without much ambition. This time, Master Zhaoyang stated that those who passed the sect assessment would be inner disciples, and those who ranked in the top three among the inner disciples would be Xuan Ling's personal disciples. He had to be given something to do.

Xuan Ling waved his hand nonchalantly. "The headmaster is too biased; my senior brothers' personal disciples are all early on identified talents, while I have to find them among ordinary cultivators. Zi Luo, didn't you say that among the new disciples this time, there's no one remarkable?"

In sects like theirs, the selection of personal disciples usually involved early searches within their families for talented cultivators with exceptional spiritual roots, nurturing them from a young age. However, those searched from wandering cultivators all over were either of average quality or too old to have missed the best training period, thus not the best choices.

"Not entirely. From my perspective, during this sect assessment, that Hua Yue is not bad; he is the only one among the new disciples who has reached the Golden Core stage. Even in our sect, he can be considered excellent," Zi Luo comforted him.

"Reaching Golden Core isn't that impressive. By the way," Xuan Ling suddenly remembered, "what about that boy who chose the fragment, and the girl who found the Qing'e Nianhua Staff?"

Zi Luo replied, "I secretly looked into them. They didn't show anything particularly special, but they are very diligent; the two of them practiced the longest on the Chuhong Platform every day. However, in the previous Lianshan Flower competition, they both ranked in the middle, and their cultivation wasn't an advantage. They might not make it into the top thirty this time in the sect assessment."

Xuan Ling thought for a moment before saying, "Fine, at least they have a firm Dao heart and aren't afraid of hardships. We'll see how much progress they've made in the past half month tomorrow."

"Let's wait and see."

That night, Zanxing didn't sleep very soundly either; tomorrow was the sect assessment. If she couldn't enter the inner sect, she would have to live with this scar on her face forever.

It would be a lie to say she didn't care about her appearance, but if she said what mattered more was that when a person worked hard, they always hoped for some reward. Once the desire for victory was stirred, it was impossible to remain indifferent to the outcome, having no wishes or desires.

Moreover, to live, one must have some hope.

Zanxing turned over, her hand brushing over the Xiao Yuan Pearl on her chest.

At the very least, she hoped she wouldn't lose too embarrassingly.