After our meal and several hours of cultivating, everyone who would have passed the trial had. They gathered in the rest area with us. Some had made new friends while others treated everyone as suspicious and skulked in semi-hidden tree-lined alcoves.

  Bland Meat Bun suddenly stepped out of the fog that surrounded the waiting area. He appeared to stand in mid-air, above us all. “You may have all passed the first challenge but don’t get your hopes up. If you do poorly enough in the next tests, then you can fail to enter our sect.”

  Pear Blossom walked out from behind him. “We’ve decided to do things a bit differently for this trial.”

  I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at them. We were at the point in the trial where they should teleport us to the various testing grounds based on our cultivation and random chance.

  Whatever they were about to introduce would be different from the original timeline.

  “You see, luck is a skill.” After Bland Meat Bun said that, thousands of colorful birds flew out of the trees that surrounded the waiting area. They fluttered over everyone’s heads. I glanced up to count around 150 just above me, all gliding slowly as if waiting to be plucked from the air.

  A boy near me jumped up and caught a bird before the hosts were done speaking. As soon as his fingers touched the little red lovebird it poofed and became a small piece of paper with a name and a number written on it.

  “My master has spent many days creating these beautiful birds just for the purpose of allowing us to test your luck,” Clever Pear Blossom said. “Merely grab one and it will show you your group name and what number you are within that group.”

  “Once everyone has their paper we’ll transport you to your next test.”

  “I hope you’re feeling lucky.” Pear Blossom covered her lips with her sleeve and chuckled maliciously just before she vanished out of sight.

  Little Spring was about to jump up but I grabbed his shoulder.

  “Fairy Lin?”

  “This isn’t a test about luck. They’re using this as a way to seed promising prospective disciples.” I paused for emphasis. “It's also likely that they’ll use this as a chance to put us in an unfavorable position.”

  Frankly, this addition made me fucking furious. The sect trials were never fair, but they at least had a method to their madness. If this disrupted the normal way of doing things, it could fuck up the enrollment of talented individuals that played minor but needed roles in the sect’s future.

  I was also pissed because I couldn’t say shit about this addition. They had to believe that I had no clue that this wasn’t a regular part of the sect trials, and if I mentioned it, I would look fucking suspicious... Well, more suspicious than I already looked.

  So, I couldn't remove this dumb addition. I just had to hope that those working against the faction that wanted to see me lose, exchanged something good for letting them do this.

  “How can you tell that’s what they’re trying to do?”

  “You see how everyone around us is getting papers with names and numbers?” I pointed to several kids close by who had yet to hide their papers.

  Little Spring nodded.

  “Now, look at the ones farther from us. Dragon 42, Lion 10, Bunny 12... Then compare the ones near us. Dragon 2, Dragon 7, Dragon 9. Bunny 1003, Bunny 1024, Bunny 1111. See a pattern?”

  His eyes sparkled. “While the numbers closer to us are still very different, they’re either low numbers or high numbers based on the name of the group!”

  I nodded. “That’s right.”

  I could practically see the cogs turning in his head. “… does Fairy Clever Pear Blossom’s master want to keep us out of the sect?”

  “We can assume they’re part of a very powerful group that does.”

  If this was what they had planned, it was no wonder they let us pass through the first test so easily.

  “So the birds near us are all bad. Then where should we go to grab good ones?”

  Young Master Zhang rested with his buddy around twenty yards from us. If we assumed that they wanted to get him into the sect this whole time then he would be the most likely candidate to have a lot of good options flying around him.

  He also seemed to be taking his sweet time picking one out.

  “Come on. I think I found a good target.”

  Since I didn't trust that Little Spring wouldn't get lost in this crush of children, I grabbed his hand and pulled him along as I moved towards my goal.

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  Quickly, I noticed that there was something odd above me and discreetly glanced up. A white seagull and one chonky looking blue and purple pigeon flew tantalizingly close to our heads. And as we kept moving forward, they stayed with us.

  To test them, I deviated from my path by taking a detour around a larger group.

  And the two sky rats kept pace with us.

  Did Pear Blossom’s master really think I wouldn’t notice something so obvious… Well, they thought I was a kid so, maybe? Seriously, I almost felt insulted.

  I wasn't sure what this group had planned for us in the future. Whatever it was — even if I fell into their trap — I had confidence that I could survive.

  Little Spring, might not. He was still a kid and a whole year younger than he was during my last life.

  Since I was an adult, I decided that I should go first.

  I stopped us at a spot near enough to Young Master Zhang to be within his good luck radius. It should also be far enough away that he wouldn't immediately notice us.

  It was the perfect place to catch a bird.

  I looked up to peruse my options... And that chonky pigeon flew by my head with a dumb look on its face.

  Then the seagull glided by with its head tilted toward me in a way that wouldn't work if actual physics were involved.

  Frankly, I had a feeling one of these dumb birds would try to swoop in and force me to choose one of them. These two were likely the worst possible choices we could make.

  But they also didn’t give off what I would call, a look of competence. That didn't mean I would underestimate the power of Pear Blossom’s master.

  So, I would have to avoid these sky rats while trying to catch a safe bird.

  I also made other contingency plans as well and hoped I wouldn't have to use them.

  Little Spring looked at me impatiently. I might have taken too much time. Whatever.

  I smiled at him and patted his shoulder. “I’m going first. Go when I tell you to.”

  He nodded.

  The first thing I did was jump up to see if Chonky and Thin-gull moved at all. They hadn’t. The seagull flew in a small figure eight above my head while staring at me like I was the dumb one.

  Then I tried to use a spiritual hand to grab a random bird but the sect must have put up a ban preventing low-level spiritual techniques like that. This meant that I had to grab one by hand.

  I picked out an elegant-looking red falcon and jumped toward it. I even reached out my hand.

  At the last second, I pulled back.

  The sky rats hadn’t made a move. Maybe I was thinking too much?

  Well, it wasn't like I didn't have a reason to be paranoid.

  I picked out two different birds that flew fairly close to Young Master Zhang. One was a golden hawk and the other was a colorful red and green parrot.

  I jumped and reached out to the hawk with my right hand.

  Just before I could touch it, Thin-gull flew at the hawk and shoved it out of the way.

  It was unfortunate for that deceitful little birdie I’d had no intention of grabbing the golden hawk in the first place. Muahahaha!

  With my left hand, I reached for the colorful parrot I’d picked out that reminded me of a certain mirror-trapped bird that had brought Meng Hao a lot of luck. And my fingertips wrapped around the soft paper feathers of... that fucking chonky pigeon!

  Fuck. How was that thing so damn fast?! I mean, my body was still only in the Qi Condensation equivalent stages of body cultivation but I wasn’t slow! At least not for someone at the peak of my current realm.

  Well, since I couldn’t avoid Chonky and since I’d only just stopped my hand from wrapping around Thin-gull I grabbed it as well.

  The pigeon turned into a piece of paper in my hand. The seagull, however, struggled. I gripped its papery neck tightly. Fortunately, while it had been stupidly fast, it compensated for it by being equally weak.

  That didn't stop it from using its beak to bite into my flesh.

  “Sister!”

  I ignored the pain in my hand and grinned at Little Spring. “If you’re that worried, hurry up and grab a bird so I can release this little bastard.”

  He didn’t even bother nodding. He just jumped up, grabbed one, and landed faster than anyone else I’d seen near us. As soon as his bird turned into paper, I threw the dumb seagull back into the air. It squawked in indignation and I laughed.

  With the glare it sent me, I was sure it would have pooped on me in revenge if it had been a real bird.

  Little Spring didn’t even look at his paper. He immediately took out a pill and crushed it over my wound. Then he took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from my skin.

  What a thoughtful kid.

  He frowned, “You should have let it go sooner.”

  “They were too fast. Fortunately, they were also dumb enough to let me catch the extra one. If I hadn’t then you would be stuck with a bad spot that you might not be able to handle.”

  “But now you’re stuck with one! And your hand is injured!”

  I chuckled and threw a minor healing pill into my mouth. “Don’t worry. It’s just a flesh wound.” There was a reason I tempered my body. “It will be all better by the time my turn comes around.”

  He looked frustrated then sighed with resignation. “What is your group and number?”

  I held up the paper. “Phoenix group, number 888.”

  “At least that’s a lucky number.”

  “It may be lucky, but it's also a bad spot. What’s yours?”

  “Phoenix. Same group as you, but my number is… four.”

  We both paused at that unfortunate number.

  I broke the silence, “Well, here is hoping that a lower number is a better spot.”

  “Maybe we should trade?”

  “There isn’t much of a point to it.” I pointed to a few cultivators who were attempting to trade papers. The papers traded just fine, but the numbers switched, flying from one paper to the other.

  Little Spring looked both amazed and irritated. I didn’t blame him. These fuckers were tricky bastards and we needed to be ready for anything.

  I sat down cross-legged and began the healing process, between the outside and the inside getting treatment, it wouldn’t take long for my hand to fully heal. Hopefully, I was correct in believing that I had enough time. If they tried something weird like making me go first, I might call fowl.

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  After our meal and several hours of waiting, everyone who had passed the trial was sitting in the waiting area.

  Bland Meat Bun greeted us again. “You all have passed the first challenge! But don’t get your hopes up. If you do poorly enough in the next few, there is still a chance for you to fail, making you unable to enter our sect.”

  Pear Blossom walked out from behind him. “We’ve decided to do things a bit differently for this trial.”

  That made me a bit nervous. At this point, they should just randomly teleport us to the various testing grounds. Since there were still thousands of prospective disciples they had to find a way to sift the gold from the soil.

  “You see, luck is part of skill.” After Bland Meat Bun said that, thousands of colorful paper birds flew out of the trees that surrounded the waiting area. They flew above everyone’s heads. When I looked up there were at least twenty, all gliding slowly as if waiting to be plucked from the air.

  I narrowed my eyes at them.

  A few people near me even jumped up and caught a bird before the hosts were done speaking. As soon as their fingers touched the birds they poofed and became a small piece of paper with a name and a number written on it.

  “My master has spent many days making these beautiful birds just for the purpose of allowing us to test your luck,” Clever Pear Blossom said. “Merely grab one and it will show you your group name and what number you are within that group.”

  “Once everyone has their number you’ll all be teleported to your next test.”

  “So, how lucky do you feel?” Pear Blossom laughed and the two vanished out of sight.

  Little Spring was about to jump up but I grabbed his shoulder.

  “Fairy Lin?”

  “This isn’t a test about luck. They’re using this as a way to put those who they want to see pass the trials in favorable positions.” And, frankly, this made me fucking furious.

  “How do you know?”

  “You see how everyone around us is getting papers with names and numbers?” I pointed to a couple that had group names like Dragon, Tiger, and Rat written on them.

  He nodded.

  “Look, all around us, while those numbers are very different, you’ll see a pattern. They’re either low numbers or high numbers based on the name of the group.”

  “… Do you think they’re trying to keep us out of the sect?”

  “At least one very powerful group inside the sect does.”

  No wonder they let us pass through the first test so easily.

  “So the birds near us are all bad. Then where should we go to get a good bird?”

  I noticed the Young Master. If we assumed that they wanted to get him into the sect this whole time then he would likely have a lot of good birds around him.

  He also seemed to be taking his time picking one out.

  “Come on. I think I found a good target.”

  I slowly moved through the crowd, pulling Little Spring behind me. And when I glanced up, I noticed that two particularly juicy looking birds flew tantalizingly close to us… and even traveled with us.

  Did they really think I wouldn’t notice something so obvious… Well, they thought I was a kid so, maybe? Seriously, I almost felt insulted.

  We neared Young Master Zhang but stayed far enough away to not let him realize what we were doing.

  Still, I wasn't sure what they had planned. But whatever it was, even if I fell into their trap, I was fairly certain I could survive. Little Spring, might not. So I decided to go first.

  Frankly, I had a feeling one of these birds would try to swoop in and force me to choose one of them instead of another bird. That meant that these two birds were likely the worst possible positions we could be in.

  So, my goal was to catch a bird near the pseudo-seeded young master while avoiding these two birds. Of course, I had other contingency plans as well. I didn’t want to underestimate the power of Pear Blossom’s master.

  “I’m going first.”

  The first thing I did was jump up to see if the birds moved at all. They didn’t seem to. One even looked down at me as if it was a real bird.

  Then I tried to use a spiritual hand to grab a bird but someone had put up a barrier preventing low level spiritual techniques like that. This meant that they had to be grabbed by hand.

  I picked out one that I liked and jumped toward it, I even reached out my hand but at the last second I pulled back. The birds above me hadn’t made a move. Maybe I was thinking too much?

  Okay. I picked out two different birds, each one was flying closer to the Young Master than the previous. Then I jumped and actually went to grab one with my right hand. Just before I could touch it, one of the birds that was following us flew at that bird and shoved it out of the way.

  It was unfortunate for that bird that I’d had no intention of grabbing it. Muahahaha!

  With my left hand, I reached for the other bird I’d picked out. I finger tips wrapped around… the damn bird that was following me!

  Fuck. It was too fast and my body was still only in the initiator stages of body cultivation. Well, since I couldn’t avoid this bird and since I’d only just stopped my hand from wrapping around the other I grabbed it as well.

  The first one turned into a piece of paper and the second one struggled. It was fast but weak. It even bit into my flesh attempting to get me to free it.

  Little Spring looked at my messed up hand worriedly. “Older Sister Lin…”

  “If you’re that worried, hurry up and grab a bird so I can release this little bastard.”

  He nodded and quickly jumped up and grabbed one. As soon as his turned into paper, I released the damn bird. It squawked in indignation. And I laughed.

  Little Spring didn’t even look at his bird. He immediately took out a pill, crushed it and spread it over the wound in my hand. Then he took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from my hand.

  What a thoughtful kid.

  He frowned deeply, “You should have let it go sooner.”

  “They were too fast. Fortunatly they were also dumb enough to let me catch the extra one. If I hadn’t, you would be stuck with a bad spot too.”

  “But you’re stuck with one… while being injured!”

  I chuckled and threw another healing pill into my mouth. “Don’t worry. I’m not that injured.” There was a reason I tempered my body.

  He looked frustrated then sighed with resignation. “What is your group and number?”

  I looked at the paper. “Phoenix group, number 888.”

  “That’s a lucky number.”

  I grimaced. “Probably not. Yours?”

  “Same group as you, but my number is… 4.”

  “Well, here is hoping that a lower number is a better spot.”

  “Maybe we should trade?”

  “I wouldn’t try it, since there isn’t much of a point to it.” I pointed to a few cultivators who were attempting to trade papers. The papers traded just fine, but the numbers switched, flying from one paper to the other.

  Little Spring looked both amazed and irritated.

  Well, who knew what these jerks would try next. I needed to be ready for anything. I sat down cross-legged and began the healing process, between the outside and the inside getting treatment, it wouldn’t take long for me to heal.

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