Chapter 2: The Chosen One

  The old man in green robes finished speaking and fell silent for a moment before asking again in a low voice:

  "I've heard that among this batch of new disciples, there are several Chosen Ones. Let them come out first so I can take a look."

  An old servant-like attendant, dressed in a black long shirt, walked forward a few steps with his back hunched over, and suddenly produced a book from thin air. He flipped through the pages, looked at it for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth to speak in a low, aged voice:

  "This time, a total of 4,200 people from all over the world were selected as candidates for the trial, and after the initial examination, more than 3,400 people with poor qualifications were eliminated. At this moment, there are still 843 people standing here, among whom eight are the chosen ones who stepped forward voluntarily."

  The old servant in black robes finished speaking, but for a long time, no one emerged from the crowd. The old servant didn't seem impatient and spoke again slowly:

  "So-called chosen ones are just people who came here for various unexpected reasons. Some don't even know why they're here themselves."

  Jiu Ting listened to Lao Biao's explanation and thought hesitantly:

  "So it turns out that I'm one of the Chosen Ones, huh! I originally thought that being a Chosen One meant having some kind of extraordinary talent or being an amazing god, but it seems that the real meaning is just someone who arrived here by accident. The people in this world are really superstitious, they call anyone who arrives without knowing the reason 'Chosen' and think that they were chosen by heaven?"

  Jiu stood in the crowd, watching as six young men and women reluctantly and timidly walked out of the crowd, and he couldn't help but think:

  "This place is really weird, based on the memories I've swallowed, this world should be a place similar to ancient China, but listening to the words of the two young men earlier and looking at the old man sitting in front who can drive and control ghosts and objects, could it be that my luck has exploded and this is actually a world where one can cultivate immortality and learn magic?"

  In the midst of his thoughts, Jiǔ Xīn's feet didn't slow down, and he walked out of the crowd with six other young men. Taking advantage of his slender build, he cleverly used the bodies of those in front to create a certain degree of cover for himself, forming a simple protection around him.

  The old servant glanced at Zhu Jiu, saw that the ones who came out were seven young men and women, five boys and two girls, still missing one person. He looked at the booklet in his hand again, then turned around and retreated, returning to stand behind the green-robed old man once more.

  Zhu Jiu thought that great men usually don't like others staring at them directly, so he slightly lowered his head, but his eyelids were working hard to look up and secretly observe the green-robed old man sitting on a chair about ten feet away. Unexpectedly, the green-robed old man's line of sight was also sizing them up, and it happened to collide with Zhu Jiu's sneaky gaze.

  Although Jiu was reckless and impulsive, he had practiced the ancient art of corpse driving in Xiangxi before his rebirth, so he did not lose his mind in this terrifying place like a ghostly lair.

  But the sudden and unprepared encounter with the green-robed old man still startled him, his heart racing uncontrollably, his back chilled to the bone. This was because the green-robed old man's gaze was so eerie and sharp, icy and sinister, that it was the only one that had made Chu Jiu feel this way in over twenty years since his rebirth and awakening!

  The old man in the green robe had eyes like lightning, and he slowly looked at the faces of the seven young men in front of him. Each of the young men who were seen would clearly feel a chill all over their bodies, as if even the deepest secrets of their souls could not be hidden from being seen through by this gloomy old monster.

  The old man closed his eyes slowly after finishing reading, and didn't speak until a while later in a hoarse voice:

  "How did you few come to my Divine Sect? Tell me in detail."

  Jiu stood at the end and was the last one to speak. After hearing the six young men in front of him tremble with fear as they each explained their reasons for coming, he thought to himself:

  "These tortoises have come here for a strange reason, and some were even blown in by a gust of strong wind, hey!"

  The six young men and women in front of him had finished introducing themselves, and when it was Zhu Jiu's turn, he reluctantly took a step forward. According to the vague memories left in his brain by the original owner of this body, he organized his words briefly and clearly, with a respectful tone:

  "I was originally afflicted with a serious illness, and according to custom, I was submerged in a large river for blessings. Afterwards, I fainted and when I came to, I was brought to this grand hall by attendants. My surname is Zhu, my name is Jiu, my courtesy name is Tianhe, and I am ten years old."

  A similarly calm and crisp voice slowly reverberated and spread throughout the grand hall, causing several attendants behind the old man to slightly turn their heads. This young man unexpectedly came to such an unfamiliar environment, yet he was not afraid at all, his temperament and courage were quite impressive.

  Every time a young man introduced himself, the old servant in black would flip through the booklet in his hand, checking it carefully and matching it one by one. When Zhu Jiu finished speaking, the old servant added in a low, hoarse voice:

  "Ancestor, this young man has a rather unusual origin. He was discovered by the Heaven Turtle while drifting in the Xianyuan River above our Abyss and brought to our sect. According to the rules, any mortal who enters our sect's territory within five years of the Grand Disciple Recruitment Ceremony will have one chance to participate in the Selection Ceremony, which is why he stands here today. Originally, there was another Chosen Son, but he cried and made a fuss, refusing to be cultivated, so he has already been killed."

  What a strange thing to hear! It turns out that the fragmented images that had been vaguely flashing in my mind, the river where this body was drowned is called Xianyuan River, and I was actually brought here by an old turtle? This is indeed bizarre and interesting!

  When I was discovered by an old turtle, my soul should have just been cast into this body, taking control of the body. I vaguely remember that the original soul of this body had not completely dissipated at that time, and it seemed to be swallowed and absorbed by me.

  Anyway, the process of coming here is barely connected together.

  The old man in green robes looked at Zhu Jiu and then asked his elderly servant behind him:

  "Have these seven people undergone physical examination?"

  The old servant bowed slightly and replied respectfully:

  "As for the soul, it will take a while to test and know, but physically, all of them have already had their blood samples collected and tested. Those who remained are all with physical cultivation qualifications. Only he has the weakest body, barely passing, but his potential is not bad."

  He pointed at Zhu Jiu, and when Zhu Jiu saw the old man pointing at him, he was startled in his heart and muttered to himself:

  "I'm really unlucky, the quality of my reborn body is even worse than those seven people who stood out, I didn't even surpass two girls. What a bad start. For the sake of my own life, it seems that I need to work harder in the next assessment."

  The old man in green robes glanced at Zhu Jiu with a flick of his eyes following the direction of the old servant, waved his hand and ordered:

  "Let's get started with the assessment below!"

  An old man followed by more than a dozen attendants walked quickly to the front, came to the face of many young men and women, stretched out his hand and pointed lightly, on the floor of the great hall suddenly appeared several hundred small black boxes, each only about a foot in size, square in shape.

  Among the more than ten followers, a middle-aged woman with an extremely pale face and a hint of blue light in her hair was the first to speak. She pointed at the hundreds of boxes on the ground and said to the many young men and women:

  "In these boxes are the relevant instruments for your second round of assessment, including important items such as jade slips and talismans. The usage methods are clearly written on the box, and whether you can quickly comprehend them is also one of the assessment projects. From the moment you receive this box, the assessment will be considered started, so I hope you will seize the time. Now, each of you come up to receive a box."

  Jiu heard the assessment was about to begin, his face turned stern, he gathered all his energy and with a solemn expression took a box, came alone to a corner of the great hall, sat down on the floor, and opened the clasp of the box.

  In the box, a black cloth was laid at the bottom, and in the middle position, there was a thumb-sized beautiful jade with a faint white glow, which should be the Yu Jian.

  Jiǔ didn't hastily pick up the jade slip like others would in a heated competition, but instead calmly examined the remaining items in the box.

  In the box were also placed a copper-green metal block about two fingers in size, a product description paper and a blood-colored brush.

  Wish Jiu Zai carefully read the introduction on the product description, stretched out his hand firmly and took the jade strip from the middle of the box, according to the introduction on the paper, gently stuck the jade strip to the center of his forehead, closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and tried to receive the mysterious content in the jade strip.

  If you like it, welcome everyone to collect and fatten! Thank you.