Droves of people started swarming in, dressed in different robes and of different ages. Some had new robes, while others had robes that looked like they were hanging on by a thread. There were those as young as five years, while there were those as old as seventy.
Age, size, gender, and looks did not matter, they all had the same nervous and excited expression on their faces as they curiously looked around.
Yang Qing managed to spot Zou Yi and Zou Liqin in the midst of that crowd. Zou Liqin looked to be a nervous wreck as her eyes darted around while standing close to Zou Yi whose eyes were curiously staring around with a competitive spirit oozing from him.
"What do you guys think?" asked Yang Qing as he stood up prepared to head below.
"There are some unique talents."
"I hope there will be unexpected surprises from the lot."
"I'm curious how many will be able to make it the first time."
"Huilang why do you have that look?"
"Did you two do anything?"
"The Vice Chancellor approved of everything within the test."
…
Yang Qing flashed and disappeared from the peak of the Dawning autumn mountain and reappeared at the base of it.
The crowd that was busy murmuring to each other, all went silent the moment they saw Yang Qing suddenly appear.
Yang Qing remained silent as he waited for the last of the entrants to gather. The number was quite large since it was at five thousand. However, half of that number was the accompanying family members or guardians who had brought the applicants over.
The Order only accepted entrants from unranked organizations or those in the rank five. For the latter, the whole organization would have to come under the Order or the applicant, if successful would have to cut ties with them. This was to avoid complications that may arise; one of which was the danger to that organization were they discovered to have familial or any other deep ties with someone from the Order.
The other was to avoid disputes that may arise if that organization grew despotic from knowing they had someone from the Order backing them up.
Every applicant was allowed to bring a maximum of four family members or guardians.
Some came with their clan heads or close familial members, others were part of some unranked sect, others had no families while there were those termed as 'special applicants'. These were applicants who belonged to high-ranking organizations, however, they cut ties with them before joining the Order. Hao Da, Yang Qing's problematic friend from his Institute days, was one such example. He was part of the Hao family which is a rank 3 clan, however, he cut ties with them the moment his mother passed and applied to join the Order. The Zou siblings fell into this category too and they were not the only ones. Yang Qing could identify this group based on their fluctuations. They were a lot more stable than the rest, showing their prior background.
And lastly, there were the 'Legacies'. These were the children of members working for the Order. With the Order's attitude toward ensuring fairness to all, even the children of Order employees had to go through the normal route to attain the qualifications to work for the Order. Simply being the child of an employee didn't automatically qualify them to be an employee of the Order. They had to earn that spot.
Even if it was done with fairness in mind, they already had an advantage over the rest, which was their parents or relatives. While the Order strictly enforces the rule that they must go through the same process as others to gain entry into the Order as a worker, their starting point is different from the rest.
The training and the exposure they get are the same as the disciples from Holy Lands. Them clearing the entrance examination is always all but guaranteed for those who apply.
…
Yang Qing on seeing everyone had arrived, cleared his throat to show he wanted to speak.
"I want to welcome you all for this auspicious day and important event for both the Order and yourselves.
My name is Yang Qing and I will be the Chief examiner for this examination. Other than me the other examiner is the Dawning autumn mountain.."
Yang Qing pointed to the mountain behind him as he said this with an austere expression.
"The mountain behind you will test whether you have what it takes to be accepted by the Order.
I don't know why each of you decided to apply but I can promise you, regardless of the reason, your life will change from this moment forth, should you reach the top.."
Yang Qing's statement ignited the battle intents of the applicants who moments ago were bundles of nerves.
"The Order's examination is a bit different than what is considered the norm, however there are aspects of it that do not deviate from the normal…"
Everyone perked up their ears when the details involving the test were being given. None was an exception, from the legacies to the vagrants, even the guardians and family members of the applicants paid careful attention to Yang Qing's words.
"The Order considers a lot of different aspects in those it accepts, so you don't necessarily have to be great at combat to be considered as valuable to the Order. Some of you may have skills in alchemy, herbology, medicine, formation, spirit beast zoology, geomancy, blacksmithing, craftmanship, combat etc; whatever your skills, the mountain behind me will give you an opportunity to draw out those skills.
So hold nothing back, you may fail the test but your performance may give reason for consideration despite the overall result, to wit, the exam has one rule and one rule only and that is to make it to the caramel tree at the top.
Those who do, gain an automatic entry into the Order, and those who don't, some may get special consideration depending on their performance, and for others, sadly we will have to part ways."
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