A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality

CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5: Doctor Mo

After a brief moment, Han Li felt a tightening sensation on his waist as his body grew light. His body was suddenly lifted upwards.

Turning his head, Han Li saw the lanky senior helping him ascend the cliff. With one hand around Han Li’s waist, the senior disciple climbed up the cliff with nimble legs. Han Li could not help but notice that the sun had already reached the center of the skies. It was noon.

“So I failed the test after all.” Han Li felt depression set in his heart. It seemed unfair. Even though he had desperately pushed forward, almost to the point of disregarding his life, why couldn’t he compare to the other children?

In an instant, the Bone Refining Cliff appeared before him. There were six other children resting on top of the cliff. Out of the six, only Wu Yan had the strength to have a conversation with a middle-aged old man wearing a dark blue garb. Division Head Yue as well as Protector Wang were also standing near him. They were waiting for the senior disciples to escort the rest of the children up the Bone Refining Cliff.

After all the children had been escorted up the cliff, Division Head Yue stepped forward with a solemn expression on his face as he began to address the kids:

“This time round, only seven of you passed. Out of this group, six will enter my Bai Duan Division and formally become our sect’s Inner Disciples.” Division Head Yue spoke slowly at the crowd of children.

“As for Wu Yan, the first disciple to reach the top of the Bone Refining Cliff, he performed outstandingly and, as such, will be directly sent to the Seven Supreme Division to learn the sect’s secret skills and martial arts.” After speaking, Division Head Yue glanced at the old man wearing the dark blue garb. The old man twirled his beard around one hand while nodding in satisfaction at Division Head Yue.

“As for the others… ,” Division Head Yue contemplated the outcome of the remaining children for a moment before rubbing his chin and saying softly:

“Zhang Tie and Han Li, although these two did not pass the test, they still performed admirably. Their determination will allow them to cope with the pain of practicing martial arts. The two of you will be Unofficial Disciples assigned to an instructor of our sect for the next half year. After half a year, you will be tested again. If you pass, you’ll be able to become Inner Disciples, but if you fail, you will be sent to join the Outer Disciples, helping the sect handle its external affairs.”

Han Li stole a glance at the person named Zhang Tie. Like Han Li, Zhang Tie had begun climbing the rope but failed to reach the summit of the Bone Refining Cliff before midday.

“Protector Wang, give the rest of the children some silver coins and send them back to their homes,” said Division Head Yue as he gave a cold stare at the children who failed the exam.

“Understood!”

Protector Wang complied with the order and he led the remainder of the children back down the cliff.

“Zhang Jun, Wu Ming Rui, the two of you will assist me in sending the rest of these children to the Vice Division Head and Instructor Li.”

Two senior disciples stepped forward and separated Han Li and the rest into two groups before leading them down the cliff. One of the senior disciples was the lanky senior that had always been behind Han Li. As they were descending the cliff, Han Li could not help but steal a glance at Wu Yan and discovered that he was still chatting with the old man in a dark blue robe, seemingly without any intent of moving from the spot.

“He’s different from the rest of you. In the future, he will most likely be a core disciple. Only core disciples are sent to the Seven Supreme Division to train in the sect’s secret arts. Once he completes his training, at the very least, he will have the rank of a Protector.” The voice belonged to the long and thin face, who could tell what Han Li was thinking. From his tone, Han Li could hear undisguised hints of envy mixing with jealousy.