Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 100 - 99: Sect Entry Examination

"Is there any naming taboo?" Chen Xuan had long been accustomed to such strange looks.

After all, his initial intention was to attract everyone’s attention, the more extravagant the name, the better.

"Not really, it’s just that eight characters are a bit long, it might be inconvenient to carve on the jade token later." The historian chuckled awkwardly and recorded the name, "What’s the location of the sect?"

"This manor."

Although it’s rented, a year is more than enough.

"I’ve noted it down. If you want to change it later, you can submit an application at the Moon Gazing Tower." Then he ordered a servant to bring ten jade tokens and place them on the table, "These ten identity tokens are a gift from the Immortal Alliance. By injecting spiritual qi, you can engrave characters of your choice on the surface. Usually, the front is the disciple’s name, and the back is the sect’s name. With this jade token, you are considered a legitimate cultivator of the Immortal Alliance."

In other words, those who don’t have it are considered loose cultivators.

"Thank you." Chen Xuan gathered them together, "What if there are more than ten people?"

"Naturally, you have to buy them from the Immortal Alliance, each for ten thousand jade coins."

Sss... so expensive.

Chen Xuan silently twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Haha... with your skills, once the sect is established, money will surely be a minor issue." The other party said with a laugh.

"I was planning to give it to you once your application was approved, but since I hadn’t seen you come, I had to bring it along." Xu Yuanqing stood up, "Since the registration is complete, we’ll take our leave."

"Governor, please wait." Chen Xuan stopped him," I happen to have a gift to give as well, please have a seat for a while."

After saying that he went out the door, leaving everyone looking at each other.

Three minutes later, Chen Xuan returned to the main hall, carrying a few bottles of wine.

"This is..."

"The fine wines I collected on my journey." He handed the bottles to Xu Yuanqing, having torn off all the outer labels to avoid slipping up. "I bet these are flavors you’ve never tasted before."

They were craft beer, Erguotou, OIR fruit wine, and champagne, all retail items from the store.

From the other party’s title, it was clear Xu Yuanqing was a wine lover. When meeting the envoy team, while others drank tea, only he drank wine. Even now, he had a wine pot hanging from his waist, more conspicuous than the jade token.

Seeing Chen Xuan hadn’t gone to register, he had even visited to remind him, a courtesy Chen Xuan felt obliged to reciprocate.

"Are they all wine?"

Xu Yuanqing held the bottle in his hands, examining them closely—he had never seen such beautifully shaped wine bottles or such a variety of colors. Especially that bottle showing a light blue hue that he found particularly captivating.

Originally, he didn’t want to receive a gift from a junior, but the gift was so tempting he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

"Then... I won’t stand on ceremony." In the end, Xu Yuanqing accepted the bottle.

"There’s no need to be polite. If there’s any particular flavor you like, feel free to come to me for more."

Chen Xuan smiled as he saw the group off at the manor gate.

After the Immortal Alliance people left, he quickly put the matter out of mind. As for going to other sects to recruit and pick up a few stragglers, he hadn’t considered it.

After all, the sects in Chang’an have long been saturated. Everyone either occupies a mountain or a valuable piece of land, each with their own reputation and advantages. For someone like him, with a base established in the suburbs next to farmland, a three-no sect, it would be strange if anyone wanted to join.

However, that afternoon, a cultivator came knocking.

"You say you want to join my sect?" Chen Xuan looked at the visitor quizzically.

"That’s right." The other party proactively pulled out a money pouch, "This is the fee for opening my eyes, I know the drill, go ahead and test me!"

Chen Xuan couldn’t help but laugh.

This person was clearly a teenage girl, with round apricot eyes, her pupils clear like amber; bangs to her brows, hair tied into fluffy twin tails at the back, and she’d reveal tiger teeth when she grinned, looking quite cute. Yet she spoke with the confidence and experience of an adult, showing none of the nerves typical of newcomers, and had an air of "this sect can’t afford to miss out on me, otherwise you’d be at a loss."

"Name?"

"Lingdang, I’ve been practicing Qi Sensing for two years!"

Clearly a pseudonym.

"How did you know about this sect?"

"Isn’t it written under the Moon Gazing Tower? New sect establishment, old sect recruitment, all announcements are posted there." The girl answered. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ah, I see, Chen Xuan thought, the Immortal Alliance has done quite a bit to bolster its ranks.

"Lingdang, right? As you can see... this sect is in its infancy, lacking everything, why not try other sects?"

"Isn’t this sect called Heaven and Earth, Only I am Venerable Sect? If you want to join, you naturally have to choose the strongest one." The girl put her hands on her hips, "Or is ’Only I am Venerable’ just a gimmick, and this sect is just an empty name?"

Though she was young, her tone was quite bold, even using provocative tactics. Chen Xuan said with great interest, "If that’s the case, let me first test your strength."

Ling Dang confidently stretched out her hand.

What is she trying to do? Chen Xuan didn’t understand her action and directly pointed outside the door, "Run three laps around Chang’an City and come back here, this is the test content. Go on, I’ll start timing now."

"What?" The girl was stunned, "An entrance test that requires running?"

"Yes, how can you cultivate powerful techniques without a healthy body? Quickly go, time is limited."

Ling Dang’s face was full of confusion, but she still complied. In a blink of an eye, the girl dashed out of the manor, heading towards the northern wall.

By the time she returned, it was almost dark.

"I, I... finished... done." Panting, Ling Dang walked to the main building, "Where’s the examiner, come, come out to see me."

She ran quite fast. Chen Xuan came out from the door and handed her a glass of water, "Drink slowly." After multiple expansions, Chang’an City’s circumference might exceed 30 kilometers; she took 4 hours to run it, with a pace of 22.5 kilometers per hour, comparable to the marathon world record.

"So, did I pass?" Ling Dang asked eagerly.

"Too slow, the standard to pass is within one and a half time periods." Chen Xuan said casually.

"How is that possible!?" Ling Dang was flabbergasted, "The requirement is too harsh. Besides, don’t other sects use the Hexagram Instrument to measure the degree of spiritual energy absorption? Spiritual Qi is the foundation of cultivation; once you can use techniques, why rely on your legs for running?"

Was she initially preparing to use testing instruments?

Chen Xuan reiterated the earlier excuse, "Really? But our sect is just starting, we don’t have the money to buy such equipment."

Ling Dang stood there, staring at him for a long time before cupping her hands in farewell.

"I’ll be back tomorrow!"

The next day, Historian Hongli came to visit first, "Yesterday I came too hastily and only gave you the jade token. I came today to make up for some missed items."

"Is there anything else to give?" Chen Xuan followed him to the front of the carriage.

"Yes, it’s all here, a Hexagram Instrument, a Balance Platform, and several herbs that can be used to brew tonic medicines to restore physical strength." Hongli pointed to the items on the carriage and said, "With these things, your sect can recruit without any hindrance."

After sending off the historian, Chen Xuan found that the other party had even prepared an introduction.

The Hexagram Instrument, at first glance, is just a rectangular stone sculpture with about a dozen layered gear wheels on top and a jade handle on the side. Gripping the jade handle to inject spiritual energy can rotate the wheels; the more plates that rotate simultaneously, the stronger the effect of the spiritual energy.

In essence, it converts spiritual energy into kinetic energy. Chen Xuan had seen similar mechanisms at the top of the Moon Gazing Tower; the elevator there was operated by cultivators.

However, those traction rope devices were taller than a person, while this Hexagram Instrument was only an arm’s length, a palm in width, with dragon and phoenix carvings, making it quite exquisite and beautiful.

The Balance Platform is much larger; once assembled, it’s about the size of a vertical wardrobe with movable mechanisms on all sides, allowing cultivators to stand inside for testing.

Both are common detection devices in sects.

In the afternoon, Ling Dang indeed appeared at the manor gate once again. When Chen Xuan showed up, she offered a bag of jade coins right away, "This is the fee for opening the eye, now can I test for spiritual energy?"

This person is quite odd.

Yesterday, he said the sect doesn’t have any devices to test spiritual energy, and today the Immortal Alliance delivered a set; calling it a coincidence would be too much of a coincidence.

Could she be an affiliate from the Immortal Alliance?

But why would an affiliate insist on joining a newly founded sect?

Chen Xuan accepted the jade coins and said, "Then try it with the Hexagram Instrument."

The items received in the morning were already arranged in the central open space of the manor. Ling Dang also noticed these familiar gadgets and immediately stepped forward, grabbing the jade handle of the Hexagram Instrument.

After a few seconds of closed-eye meditation, she suddenly shouted "Open!" and the gears on top began to move; they interlocked and rotated, becoming increasingly difficult to turn outward.

Chen Xuan counted, a total of five layers of wheels started to rotate.

"How’s it?" Ling Dang asked delightedly.

"Not enough, it needs at least six layers to meet the sect’s standard." He shook his head as usual.

"Six layers is too high!" Her joyful expression instantly turned to shock, "Other sects only require three layers to pass; four layers is already considered excellent!"

Chen Xuan was prepared for this. In fact, after receiving the equipment in the morning, he let Fu Jiaolu, Jiu, and Hua experience it. Seeing Ling Dang’s disbelief, he immediately called the best performer, Jiu, to demonstrate for her personally.

Jiu did as instructed, and the sixth layer of the wheel responded immediately, even the seventh layer began to tremble slightly.

Ling Dang’s confidence shattered in an instant.