Prologue to the Selection
Prologue to the Selection
These Divine Wind Eagles were fed with fierce beast meat from a young age, and they possessed a very high intelligence. Due to their speed and agility, they were able to fly in the vast wilderness.
Previously, when the Dragon Vanguard made the maps, they had already indicated all the locations of the small tribes. Now, the members of the Dragon Vanguard had sent the eagles to all the small tribes to convey the news about the kingdom's selection!
Large rows of the text were left burning in the sky for a full five minutes before it slowly dissipated.
In the back mountain of the Lian tribal clan, Yi Yun was leaning on a large rock looking at the words while munching on a blade of grass.
"Ten people… decided by the tribe!" Yi Yun began to ruminate over the meaning of the words. Obviously, the Dragon Vanguard were planning to hold the warrior selection in the Tao tribal clan. For such a small clan like the Lian tribal clan with only ten places, the process would be simpler if the tribe chose the ten people themselves!
"Chosen by the tribe? Heh!" Yi Yun sneered for it was obvious that the ten places would be taken up by Lian Chengyu and the rest of the most reliable members of the warrior preparation camp. As for Yi Yun, he was considered a 'dead person' in the tribe. No matter what selection method was used, Yi Yun would not be chosen.
Yi Yun spat the blade of grass in his mouth and a thought came to him, "Three days later at noon… I'll get my spot by myself!"
…
At the same time in the Lian tribal clan's courtyard, snowflakes were slowly falling. Lian Chengyu was lying on a soft animal skin by a fire, as he squinted at the large words in the sky. Ever since he failed to break through to the Purple Blood realm, Lian Chengyu had been lying in bed for days. His face was pale and it was lacking in blood. He gave off the feeling of a weak scholar.
Because he was physically weak, he had been lying on a chair piled with soft animal skin. He was carried around in and out of the house and was served by maidservants everywhere.
At that moment, Lian Chengyu was surrounded by four seventeen-year-old maidservants who were awaiting orders. They were either holding a plate of dried cured meat, fruit or a pan of charcoal.
The day was cold and the four maidservants had been standing in the snow for four hours.
They were far from the fire, so they could not enjoy its warmth. Their faces, ears, and hands were all red from the cold. Because of the snow, their linen shoes were wet trapping their numbed feet in an ice cavern-like environment.
But still, they stood there tall and straight without moving. They held the items in their hands properly, even though their arms had long turned numb.
A few maidservants bit on their lips as they were almost about to faint. They desperately held on because they knew if they moved, their outcome would be miserable!
All these days, they had been waiting on the sickly looking Lian Chengyu, and he was prone to mood swings, making him very terrifying!
Three days ago, a maidservant beside Lian Chengyu had accidentally spilled the porridge on the animal skin rug when she was bringing the porridge over. As a result, Lian Chengyu broke her four limbs and tied her in the firewood chamber for two days and two nights without providing food and drink.
That maidservant was probably almost dead by now.
But no one dared to give her a glancing look, nor did anyone dare to give her anything to eat or drink.
In the past when Lian Chengyu beat or scolded people, he would not go as far as taking their lives, but now, in the eyes of these maidservants, Lian Chengyu had become an evil beast. Worst of all, his face showed no trace of killing intent before he killed.
He could be laughing one second, and in the next second he would pull out a knife to stab you blind, cut your tongue and crucify you before placing you into an urn.
"Chengyu, the examination will begin in three days!" At that moment, a person had walked into the courtyard. It was a middle-aged man dressed in blue.
In the entire Lian tribal clan, there were only a few people who could address Lian Chengyu as "Chengyu". It was mostly the elders of the Lian tribal clan. As for the only qualified outsider, it had to be the warrior preparation camp's instructor, Yao Yuan.
"Yes, I've seen it." Lian Chengyu answered weakly. He had never expected that he would be in such a state.
With the desolate bone essence failing to work and his failure of breaking through to the Purple Blood realm, Lian Chengyu had received too great a setback!
He had accumulated all of his assets, spent all his fortune, and burned down bridges just for that one bet, but when the time came, it was relentlessly destroyed.
His life of seventeen years to which a decade of that was spent practicing martial arts was for that one dream. And just as he made the final step towards success with the kingdom's selection, he had completely failed!
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. It was evidenced by Lian Chengyu's angry vomiting of fresh blood at the altar.
"Chengyu, you had been triggered by anger, causing you to injure your meridians. This is not a light injury and you will need plenty of rest." During this period, you must not use martial arts, nor should you circulate your body's energy. It's best you do not even move, or there might be permanent damage." Yao Yuan said that as he glanced thoughtfully at the four maidservants by Lian Chengyu's side.
Lian Chengyu wrapped his body in the animal skin rug and said, "I got it. Instructor Yao, look at my body, do you think I'll be completely fine when the selection begins?"
Yao Yuan answered, "You have already recovered plenty. You should be fine in another four to five days. The Dragon Vanguard will escort you to the Tao tribal clan, and settle you in. They will have to prepare the examination area, which will take a day or two. By the time of the examination, you would have recovered to your prime condition."
"Alright, that's good." Lian Chengyu's voice was very calm but when he spoke, his eyes flashed with a cold glare that would shake the heart of others!
It was a combination of vileness, loathing, and hatred towards the world.
It was hard to tell what the impact of the failure to break through to the Purple Blood realm had done to Lian Chengyu's psyche.
He seemed to hate everything around him.
Why did I have to go through all these tribulations, and cross this bumpy road?
Why did Heaven steal my last chip?
If there was a Heaven, I curse you to oblivion! If there was a God, I curse you to be struck by lightning!
Seeing Lian Chengyu's demeanor, Yao Yuan did not know what to say. He just comforted him, "Chengyu, don't lose heart. You may have failed to break through to the Purple Blood realm, but you still have a high chance of passing the kingdom's selection. The kingdom's selection is mainly to see your potential, not how high your current cultivation is."
He did not purposely hide his words from the maidservants, for these four maidservants knew better than to go around gossiping.
"Yes, I know. Instructor Yao, I will have to trouble you to choose nine people from the warrior preparation camp. At that time, they will accompany me to the Tao tribal clan."
Even after hearing Yao Yuan's consoling words, Lian Chengyu was still not in high spirits. He had not only planned to pass the kingdom's selection, but he had planned to shock and awe, gaining the attention of the Dragon Vanguard's high brass, allowing him to be knighted as a "Kingdom Knight", or even become a Dragon Vanguard Hundred Household or Thousand Household.
But now, it was no longer guaranteed that he would pass the selection. It was impossible for him to make progress in a short time.