Volume One: Youths Meet in Humble Times Chapter 87: The Talent Selection Assembly (Part 2)

The others all knew full well that bringing this message to them was nothing less than a blow that would destroy the little affection still left between them.

Yet when faced with the sect, the instinct to seek advantage and avoid danger had already chosen for them.

They could not refuse, and they dared not refuse. In fact, before coming, they had even prepared themselves mentally, telling themselves that this errand was for Xu Kaijiang’s own good.

Shen Xun asked in reply, “Are you bringing this message for his sake, or for your own?”

The fifth, He Yun, hastily said, “Of course it is for Third Brother’s good. The Beast Taming Sect is such a colossus; how could Third Brother alone possibly resist it? Rather than fighting to the bitter end, it is better to endure humiliation and survive. Only by living can one have infinite possibilities for the future, can one not?”

Li Yu asked, “Do you not know the enmity between him and the Beast Taming Sect? If you truly had his best interests at heart, why did you not stand up for him in the beginning, or at least plead for him now and give him a better choice?

“You did not do so because you felt your bond with him was not worth the risk. Now you come here to pass on a message, claiming it is for his good, but do you really not know what kind of life awaits him once the Beast Taming Sect takes him away? In the end, what you have thought of from beginning to end is only yourselves; you have never once thought about his future.”

The four were left speechless by his words. The fourth, Luo Gang, knew he was in the wrong, and still carried guilt toward Xu Kaijiang. He said, “Third Brother, it is true that we were coerced here by the Beast Taming Sect, but our concern for your good is real as well. If you do not go to the Beast Taming Sect, what future will you have?”

The topic returned to Xu Kaijiang. He looked at the four before him, and thought of how they had once been playmates, climbing trees together to steal bird eggs, going down to the river to catch fish, diving into the sea to pick up pearls. But now, they no longer had the same hearts they once did, and they no longer remembered their old bond.

“No matter what your purpose was in coming here today, whether you mean me well or ill, I will judge that for myself. Only, the moment you chose to come here, you already placed our friendship outside the matter. I have heard the words you brought. Go back in peace. As for my choice, it has nothing to do with any of you.”

Xu Kaijiang did not say it plainly, but everyone understood: the last trace of affection between him and the other four had been worn away completely.

Seeing this, the four had nothing further to say. After all, from the very beginning, they had been the ones to abandon Xu Kaijiang first. They were destined to drift farther and farther apart, and perhaps one day even be divided by life and death.

Li Yu said, “Do not worry. If there is something you do not wish to do, no one can force you.” He did not tell the others about his cooperation with Zhang Yue. He brushed the matter of that day aside with a few simple words.

In this, he was like the silent priestly hermit: when something happened, he preferred to shoulder it alone and saw no need to drag the others into it. As for the Shen siblings and Zhou Ce, it need not be mentioned; the enmity between Xu Kaijiang and the Beast Taming Sect had, in the final reckoning, arisen because of him. No matter what, he had to help Xu Kaijiang resolve the threat from the Beast Taming Sect.

Xu Kaijiang smiled, as if he did not care.

After they left, the crowd once again turned their attention to the gathering of talents.

Looking at the sects present, Li Yu could not help thinking of the people from the other two sects he had seen in Red Spring Village before. He asked Lu Ming, “Big Brother Lu, why are Brother Scorching Flame Void and Sister Water Luminous Pearl not here this time?”

Lu Ming explained, “Because not every sect is qualified to come here.”

Li Yu did not understand, so Lu Ming went on, “Coming to Heaven’s Gate Town is actually very much a matter of status. It is not somewhere one may simply come as one pleases. Heaven’s Gate Town is a lawless place, and we cultivators all bear the aura of the path to one degree or another. Heaven’s Gate Town has its own limit of tolerance. If that limit is exceeded, it will trigger the calamity of the prison realm, causing those who pass through to die both body and soul.

“The six great sects here this time are all major sects in name and in public view. Originally, both the Divine Water Palace and the Fire Sun Sect had places to come, but they received other assignments at the last moment, so they had no choice but to give up their places this time.”

After hearing this, Li Yu understood and did not ask further.

Then he thought of the Confucian school’s people wanting to take Shen Xun away. Would they make a move here this time?

“Brother Xun, did those two masters look for you again later?” Li Yu asked.

Shen Xun said, “They did not look for me again later, but when I went to the private school, they did tell me not to take part in today’s talent gathering.”

“Wasn’t participation mandatory?”

Shen Xun glanced around and, seeing there was no need to conceal it, answered, “They should have spoken to those people in advance, saying I am someone they value, and not to compete with me, I suppose.”

Hearing this, Lu Ming gave Shen Xun a long, searching look for the first time, then said, “Not participating is a good thing.”

Before long, amid the idle chatter of the crowd, the talent gathering began.

The city lord ordered someone to bring out a register of the residents of Heaven’s Gate Town, then called out names one by one according to the register. Whoever was called stepped forward, cut their finger, and dripped their blood onto the stone stele. If the stele shone, the name would be copied into another register for record.

Thus one person after another stepped forward in succession to drip blood onto the stele, and the stele answered with intermittent bursts of bright light.

This talent gathering was divided by age group. In name, it was to screen everyone in Heaven’s Gate Town: under twenty, twenty to forty, and forty to sixty. The three age brackets would be completed in three days.

Since the rule had been announced, many people had debated it. Could people from forty to sixty still cultivate? Were those between forty and sixty still useful? In response, the sects gave only one explanation: because the seas around Heaven’s Gate Town were rising, they were moved by a spirit of kindness and also by consideration of sect interests. So long as one still had aptitude for cultivation, regardless of age, one could be taken away and set upon the path of cultivation.

Such words naturally moved the ignorant townsfolk to tears of gratitude.

What the common people could see and hear was only what those above them were willing to let them see. There was no such thing as fact; so-called truth was nothing more than a false shell wrapped around the interests of the powerful.

When it was Li Yu’s group’s turn, among the under-twenty participants they skipped those who had already been privately chosen. In the end, only Shen Tang and Xu Kaijiang went forward for testing.

Unexpectedly, neither of them lit up the stone stele.

Lu Ming gave the two of them a thoughtful look, wondering whether someone was secretly manipulating things. But why?

This small episode quickly passed. Shen Tang was naturally happy; she did not want to leave Heaven’s Gate Town to become some ridiculous cultivator. For her, all she wanted was to remain with her parents and live peacefully.

Xu Kaijiang was naturally happy as well. Even if he did not know the inner workings of the talent gathering, not being selected at least meant the Beast Taming Sect had no open excuse to take him away.

Li Yu, however, looked at Shen Xun and worriedly said, “Brother Xun, look, neither you nor the others went up for testing. I’m afraid those two masters still have not given up the idea of taking you away!”

Shen Xun had already guessed as much, but he remained rather composed. “Let them. I’ve still got Uncle Lin protecting me. If I don’t want to go, won’t they have no choice but to listen to Uncle Lin?”

Li Yu said nothing in response. In truth, he was already wondering what his master’s attitude was regarding Heaven’s Gate, and whether he still had any confidence at all in how long his master could keep protecting them in Heaven’s Gate Town.

The day’s talent gathering passed quickly. When Li Yu returned and told these matters to the priestly hermit, he even said with a hint of irony, “If they were really this kind-hearted, I would never believe it. I’m afraid they’re hiding something nasty. Still, I’m glad Sister and Xu Kaijiang were not selected.”

As Li Yu said this, he did not know that in the quiet meditation chamber where the priestly hermit was in seclusion, the priestly hermit was sitting cross-legged, guiding his breath, his face pale and drained.

It was by the use of his own arts that he erased the talents of the two of them before everyone’s eyes. No one knew how much cultivation he had consumed in erasing their aptitudes. But in the priest’s heart, this was also the only thing he could do for Li Yu.

“Little Fish, regarding the matter of Heaven’s Gate opening, this is all I can do for you. I only hope that when you learn the truth in the future, you will not blame me.”

The second day was for those between twenty and forty.

In this round, far fewer people were found to have aptitude. One thing worth noting was that the Shen couple appeared with colors unlike the white light of the others: one red, one blue.

When the people on the viewing platform saw this, they all turned their attention to them, and someone stepped forward to announce, “This is a rare aptitude for cultivation.”

The people present were all envious and said, “Who would have thought the Shen family was so blessed? It was not enough that they produced a Shen Xun valued by the masters; even the husband and wife themselves possess rare aptitude for cultivation.”

The sect members seated high on the platform were even more astonished, all thinking the same thing: So it turns out this is Heaven’s will. The most important of the sacrificial offerings, the paired yin and yang tribute, are husband and wife.

They exchanged knowing glances. This family does not seem simple at all.

The Shen siblings were not particularly happy. Shen Tang especially; if everyone in her family had aptitude except her, then if her brother also left, would she not be left alone in Heaven’s Gate Town?

Lu Ming was even more surprised by this result.

After spending these days in Heaven’s Gate Town, he had already come to understand the significance of the Shen family to Li Yu.

He could not bear to imagine Li Yu’s helplessness when, in the end, he was faced with the life-and-death separation of that family. After much thought, on the road while escorting Li Yu home, he still told Li Yu in full about what they had discussed that day.

After listening, Li Yu stood there motionless, dazed. It was a long while before he came to himself, and with a bitter voice asked, “Big Brother, is what you’re saying true? The so-called talent gathering is actually a gathering to choose sacrificial offerings?”

Looking at Li Yu like this, Lu Ming could not help but feel sorry for him, but he still nodded. “Yes. They have been plotting this for a very long time. Now all the powers are helping to bring it about. I think your master must know as well, but there is nothing he can do. Otherwise, he would have acted long ago.”

“So that’s what Master meant that day when he said that if parting could not be avoided, then I should properly say farewell to them,” Li Yu thought bitterly after hearing this.

“Then why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?” Li Yu asked.

Lu Ming looked into Li Yu’s clear eyes and turned his face away. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to hide it from you. It’s just that on this trip to Heaven’s Gate Town, you and I stand on different sides. And I did not know whether, after telling you, you might do something beyond what I could imagine, drawing those people’s attention to you and harming you instead.”

Li Yu murmured, “So that is how it is.”