The Order didn't place a lot of limits on those who could apply for their examination. When it came to age as long as you had 20 years before you were at death's door you could try out for their tests. Even though the younger you were, the better your odds of breaking through due to the strong vitality associated with a young age, that only applied to the early stages of cultivation, and that aspect could be remedied with some treasures.
There were a lot of talents that go unburied because they lacked the necessary resources to unearth that talent. It was why the Order never cared much for age and were loose in their entry requirements to the point that they would even allow someone without a cultivation base to take their examination.
There were those geniuses you could tell at a glance they were geniuses because visibly there were factors that showed their statuses as one, but then there were those whose radiance was mired by something and others which hadn't yet been revealed.
For example, the old man. He may end up being a hidden talent that had wasted away his years in faulty cultivation arts or he may end up being mediocre. The Order didn't lose anything in finding out. If he ended up being a genius who had the horrible luck of having a difficult starting, they would be more than willing to spend whatever resources they had to raise him to his potential.
However, it was a gamble in the end. Sometimes it paid off, other times it doesn't. During Yang Qing's entrance, he participated with a few of them. None of them passed sadly.
Yang Qing decided to point to the elderly man first in respect of seniority.
"My name is Bu Fui, esteemed master. If you don't mind me asking, I have two questions about the cultivation art?" asked the elderly man.
He had a simple but firm accent to him despite his age.
"Yes.." asked Yang Qing as he motioned for him to go on.
"Can we continue using it after the test even if we fail to get in, and the other question is if we will be receiving guidance on it, and if so, how long will the guidance be and will it be considered part of the test too?" asked Bu Fui.
"To answer your first question, you are free to use the art even if you fail the entrance examination, and you can freely pass it down to whoever you want to, however, be mindful of who you pass it to. If the person you give it to ends up causing a heinous crime with that art and I hear about it, I will personally find you.
The art is my personal property and you can consider it a gift from me to all of you for taking this brave step…" said Yang Qing.
All the participants' eyes lit up, even the legacies, none was left unaffected by the prospect of getting a cultivation art for free.
"As for the next question, no, no one will be guiding you, and there is no specific time set aside for you to learn it.
How long you decide to take on the art will be up to you, though in some regard, that could be a test of sorts.
Aren't you all curious if you have the makings to be considered a genius by the Order's standards? This is your opportunity. You have everything you need to find the other to that question," said Yang Qing with a smile thoroughly igniting the fighting will of the participants, especially the young ones.
"It's your turn young miss, what did you want to ask?"
The elderly man Bu Fui stepped back as he bowed in gratitude leaving the floor to the 11-year-old with yellow hair tied into a ponytail. She had a prideful look to her, which was in stark contrast to what looked like her parents who were sweating buckets, unlike their daughter. The father was rotund and had a merchant's air about him, however, had no cultivation base while the mother was slender and was clearly the reason for the beauty of the lady. Her cultivation base was only in the late stages of qi refinement realm.
The young lady on seeing Yang Qing point to her, cusped her fists and elegantly walked forward with poise in her steps.
"Thank you for the opportunity, my name is Yin Rong. Are participants attacking each other allowed?" she asked.
"Our numbers may be more than the special zones available, after all," she added as she sent a dangerous glare to some of the cultivators around, one of which was Lai Rou.
"It's all up to you. Like I said be attentive," Yang Qing said with a mysterious smile about him.
The young lady seemed displeased with his ambiguous answer but did well to conceal it with a polite smile.
Yang Qing took a few more questions after that and then gave a few minutes to the guardians and family members of the participants to say their short goodbyes before the start of the rest. Once they had finished, they were transported to a different viewing area where they could see the progress of those they had brought.
…
"This is the cultivation art I'll be providing. It's called the 108 steps of the autumn leaves. Feel free to use it if you want to. Using it or not will not affect your standing.
You also need to place this somewhere on your robes," Yang Qing said as he passed booklets containing the improvised 108 steps of the autumn leaves cultivation art. In addition to the booklet, he also gave out orange maple leaves.
The participants eagerly took the booklet as they curiously examined the leaf.
"The leaf is a protection tool that will only react if you're on the brink of death. It will restore your injury and transport you out of the mountain, at which you will be considered to have been eliminated.
Now with nothing else left to add on, let the Order entrance test BEGIN!!" said Yang Qing as he waved his sleeves instantly transporting the participants before a waterfall.
"Your test begins now."
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