"Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm serious. Hehe, what do you think of my sister? She's a super beautiful lady. If you're interested in her, I can help you." The little girl looked at the large tree in the distance and pouted. She finished one of Ding Hao's meat biscuits in a few bites and her mouth was covered with scraps. Her chubby hand reached out at a lightning-fast speed and snatched up a second biscuit.
Ding Hao was speechless.
The pony-tailed little girl was rather odd.
Honestly speaking, Ding Hao had helped them out earlier was not just because he didn't like Li Yiruo's arrogance. The stubbornness and strength in the mysterious girl's beautiful eyes, as well as the weakness of the two girls depending on each other, had struck a chord in the deep part of his heart. Ding Hao was reminded of the hardship he and Ding Ke'er had endured as they depended on each other. And thus, helped them out under the risky guise of pretending to be a Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciple.
However, Ding Hao did not think that the mysterious young girl would be able to pass the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect entrance test.
Because she did not have any martial arts background and her body was extremely weak. She was way weaker that Ding Hao had been, and basically had no hope.
He feared that the fates of the sisters would be even sadder five days later.
Soft footfalls came from behind them as they conversed. The mysterious young girl had already washed up in the pool and dressed in Ding Hao's long robes. She emerged from behind the big tree barefooted.
Ding Hao turned around to look at her subconsciously and was stunned.
Behind him, approaching them, was an extremely beautiful girl.
Her hair, which had been filthy and messy had become black and smooth, weighing down wetly until her waist. The water droplets on her hair shone brightly, reflecting a myriad of colors. The skin on her face was pale, like the most perfect jade in the world. And while she was thin, it was difficult to disguise her beauty which could bring ruin to a city should she smile once. And should she smile again, she could bring ruin to a country.
As Ding Hao's robes were wider than the girl's body, an inch of her jade-white skin was exposed at the collar. Her exquisite collarbone was like that of sheep-fat jade. It was natural and flawless.
The grey color robes hid the wounds on her body. Her bare feet were white and eye-catching. Her exquisite toes were extremely beautiful. The lines of her ankles and calves were breath-taking. She stepped on the soft green grass lightly, her beauty seemed to be out of this world.
Ding Hao had always thought that he was a focused person. But at this moment, he could not help but be dazzled.
The mysterious girl looked at Ding Hao's tongue-tied expression, and an odd flash of joy crossed the depth of her eyes.
"Big brother, big brother..." The little girl with goat-horn braids, Ding Ding, laughed happily as she waved her pudgy fingers in front of Ding Hao's eyes. She had a devious expression on her face as she said, "You're so lecherous, your saliva is flowing to the ground."
"Er..." Ding Hao finally regained his wits.
The mysterious girl walked over towards them, natural and poised and bowed to Ding Hao. Her red lips moved slightly as she said, "Thank you, young master, for saving my life and giving me clothes." Then, she flicked her slender fingers at the little girl with goat-horn braids, Ding Ding, on the head lightly. She scolded laughingly, "You rascal, you're being naughty again!"
Ding Ding held her forehead unhappily. She made a face at the girl and teased, "Sister, you don't usually treat other men so nicely."
This rascal, she is definitely a talent that matured early.
They did not speak much after that.
The three of them sat by the Sword-cleansing Pond for a while.
Ding Hao carefully explained the process of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciple intake ceremony that would happen in three days. He also took out his dried good before leaving and gave them all to the sisters. Then, he thought about it and left behind 50 taels of silver and said, "Miss, it is difficult to enter the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Keep these silver taels in case you need them. After you climb up the mountain, rent a house and stay at the front of the mountain and prepare well."
With that, Ding Hao turned and left.
It was a kind of fate for them to have met. But Ding Hao was just a floor-sweeping servant. He could only care for the poor sisters to this extent.
The mysterious girl was indeed stunningly beautiful, her beauty beyond compare. However, Ding Hao was not a geek who could not move after seeing a beautify girl. He was determined to become stronger, step up to the peak and take control of his destiny. He naturally did not have any ulterior motives towards the girl.
His simple farewells impressed the sisters.
Strange lights danced in Ding Ding's eyes.
Meanwhile, the mysterious girl looked at Ding Hao's back. She wanted to speak, but then stopped. In the end, she said softly, "Young Master, my name is Xie Jieyu."
Not even she knew why she would tell her name to a strange young man she had only met once.
Ding Hao paused slightly, laughed and then left in great strides.
Xie Jieyu?
It was a nice-sounding and unique name.
As she watched Ding Hao walked away casually, the young girl's eyes shone even brighter.
The sunset was like the color of blood, and the green mountains were like a picture. The nonchalant young man walked away lightly.
The intoxicating scene impressed deeply in the girl's heart unknowingly.
Time passed quickly.
Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.
It was finally the time when the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would open its doors and accept disciples.
On the day, Ding Hao woke up early. After cleaning up, he practiced a swordplay suite. After calming himself down, he left the slum calmly just as he had in the previous days.
The morning mist was like fog, and the birds chirped loudly.
The front mountain of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect bustled with life. People walked around and it was a noisy scene.
Chapter 20 Part One of the Sect Entrance Test
The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was the largest martial arts sect within a thousand-mile radius.
Countless young, talented people wanted to join the sect.
As such, there were many young talented people who had come to participate in the sect entrance exam. There were also their guards who were there to protect them, envoys from major players in the surrounding area, disciples and members of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect... There were various types of people who bustled about.
When the "Swordsmanship-seeking bell" at the mountain gate chimed for ten times, the sect entrance exam would officially start.
Ding Hao did not wait at the front of the mountain. Instead, he went to the Sword-cleansing Pond at the foot of the mountain.
He spent two hours completing his duties for the day, and then, spent another hour practicing with his sword by the Sword-cleansing Pond. After that, he jumped into the pond and had a good bath and changed into a clean robe. He had adjusted his body to its peak state before walking up the mountain path to the front mountain of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
When he arrived at the square at the sect gate, the disciple acceptance ceremony had already begun for more than two hours.
There was a sea of people in the large square and it was very noisy.
The sect entrance exam of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was very systematic after experiencing more than a thousand years of development and change. It was split into six major sections- the bone-age test, the element test, the meridian test, the comprehension test, the body state test and the test of will. There would be specific sect disciples and elders who would carry out the test and there were many test centers. As such, the progress was rapid.
More than a thousand youngsters who had come forth to learn had been heartlessly eliminated in the past two hours.
Some cheered in joy as they had passed the first round. While others wailed out loud and tried to commit suicide because they failed. Scenes of joys and tribulations of life played out in the wide square. Ding Hao arrived at the registration area at the edge of the square. This was the test center of the "Bone-age test" which was the first of the five major tests. One would pass the test as long as the results showed that they were truly less than 15. And only through passing the test, would the registrant be qualified to take the other tests so that they would not waste time. A white-haired elder wearing a silver long robe sat on an old bamboo rocking chair silently as he monitored the works at the registration counter. There were more than ten other third-generation disciples wore red robes with black trims who wore a sharp ring on their fingers. They would sweep it over each registrant's body and after a slight analysis, report
The third generation disciple opened his mouth wide in shock, stuttering in excitement after being stunned for a while, "Number 89, Xiao Chengxuan, Grade A+ for gold element." Even the few elders in silver robes who squinted their eyes over the distance rushed over upon hearing the news. The leading elder, who looked as brave and ferocious as a lion, nodded satisfyingly upon seeing the golden flames erupted out of the stone egg. He smiled and said, "Not bad, the first Grade A+ prodigy today is finally discovered. Looks like this would be another genius in our populous Swordsmanship-seeking Sect!" The other elder whispered a few words to the third generation disciple. The disciple then hastily recorded something on his document. It was apparent that Xiao Chengxuan, who came from Qingyang town, had become a major focus of the sect. All the guards from Qingyang Town cheered delightedly as they were happy for the talent of th
"Oh? It's you?" Chirped a woman below the stage. "Why are you taking this test? I guess you're not a Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciple! Haha, I thought you were so powerful, but it turns out you're only a piece of trash that fails at all five elements. Get down here!" Ding Hao looked down. The genius girl who had just finished taking the test, Li Yiruo, was looking at him mockingly. "You know this piece of trash?" "Haha, did you hear her? Lady Li is telling you to go down." "You failed all five elements. Get lost." A group of young men who were trying to impress Li Yiruo saw that the lady had a grudge against the man on the stage, and they all immediately began heckling him to get her attention. Ding Hao chuckled coldly. For some reason, he actually felt stronger, and all his worries disappeared. He stepped out and pressed his hands on the sixth testing egg. Boom!
Ding Hao silently handed his badge over and calmly left the stage. There was no point in arguing with a lowlife like him. In the distant perimeter of the testing arena, two young men stood on top of an ancient tree. They did not seem to be hiding, but the crowds below them, including the first elder of the elder gate, Liu Wenkuang, could not see them or sense their auras. It was a very strange sight. "Senior Brother Leng, what do you see?" asked Shi Feizhou with a smile. He was wearing a yellow suit, and his long blonde hair was tied back with golden thread. "I believe there has only been a god-level genius once six years ago." The other replied. He wore a snow-white robe, with long black hair carelessly draping over his shoulder, and he gave off an icy aura. Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciples were roughly divided into the five levels of name, outer gate, inner gate, successor, and core. These two were top
"Thank you, elder." Ding Hao accepted the badge and left in confusion. "Why did he just guess my ranking?" "What was going on? Could the elder really not test my meridian quality, or did he discover something?" Ding Hao could not figure it out. "Never mind. Second Tier meridians are still above average, and in addition to my God-Level element, I have a bright future in martial arts." Ding Hao's resolve was unshaken. When it was almost noon, Ding Hao finished his comprehension test in the fourth arena. Comprehension was his strength. He did not hide anything. Putting up airs would be the most foolish thing to do at this moment, because his performance would determine his status among future Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciples, and consequently decide the resources and knowledge he received. Therefore, he had to display his value to the sect now. The comprehension test
He would be lying if he said he was not tempted. Nonetheless, Ding Hao still shook his head after some thought and said, "Many thanks for your kind intentions, Lecturer Li. I would still like to enter Swordsmanship-seeking Sect." Ding Hao had to remain at Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. First, he had yet to truly discover the secret behind the mountain cave at the bottom of the garbage cliff. After all, he could still transport the liquid found within the gravel pit upwards. Furthermore, the runes carved on the stone table in the mountain cave were extremely mysterious and he reckoned that was probably an incredible treasure. He planned to look further into this after he grew more powerful in the future. Ding Hao was certain that the mountain cave in that cliff in the Great Abyss was definitely worth exploring. Second, Ding Hao was still worried about his younger sister who had gone missing more than three years ago. However, should he
Swordsmanship-seeking Sect only took in around 2,000 disciples every year and this ranking list in front of him looked like it contained around 2,000 names as well. This meant that if no major upset occurred in the afternoon's test of physical quality and test of perseverance, this list would likely be the final name list of disciples that accepted into Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. How could anyone remain calm at the sight of this list? Ding Hao stood at the fringes of the crowd, from where he could clearly see the names on the list. For some reason, from right to left, the names of the top five candidates had been covered with red paper. The top five spots had indeed been taken but their names were not revealed to the public. Only the names of those who ranked sixth onwards could be clearly seen. Ding Hao found himself at tenth place. In other words, Ding Hao's qualifications ranked amongst the top ten of all the youths who had participated in the
Time flew by. The number of people around him continued to decrease steadily. Four hours later, only ten young men remained in the sword formation picture number eight, including Ding Hao, Zhang Fan, and Li Canyang. The others had either chosen to forfeit this round due to the unbearable pain, or fainted dead away and had been carried out of the formation. Ding Hao was starting to feel the strain. As time ticked by, the pressure within this formation had also gradually increased. At this point in time, it was already close to ten times more than the beginning. Zhang Fan was clearly doing his best to hang on. His entire body was covered in sweat droplets that were as big as soybeans and his normal features had contorted themselves into a hideous visage due to the intense pain. His lips were almost destroyed from all that biting down on them and streams of dark red blood flowed down from his lips to his chest. His palms were planted firmly on the gro