Chapter 4: First phase of the test
"Joshua, this man is dangerous, be careful," a voice said inside Joshua's mind.
"I already know that, but thanks. And I think is about time for us to get you a name," Joshua wanted to give his system a name, of course. They would be together for a long, long time.
"A name? But humans only give names to things that are important to them. Am I important to you, Joshua?" she asked, and Joshua found that funny.
"All right. Your name you'll be Miranda." Joshua was melancholic after saying that. Miranda was the name of his mother back on Earth, and he missed her very much. So he decided to call his system Miranda, in a way to honor his mother.
"Miranda? I like it," Miranda was happy. Now she had herself a name.
They all flew across the sky, making sure to remember all the beautiful sceneries they had seen.
"See that mountain over there? That's our sect," the cultivator said. The trio moved their gazes towards the mountain that the man had said, and they saw something extraordinary.
It was a tall mountain filled with green. A pathway leads from the base of the mountain until the very top. A huge palace stood at the top, that was made with some sort of greenish material, like an emerald.
Joshua noticed knew how the sect was divided. The beautiful palace at the top was the residence of the patriarch, and the great elders of the sect. The elders stayed in the middle of the mountain, alongside the Inner disciples. The outer disciples also stood in the middle but a different area. Inner disciples had more privileges, of course, so they stood above the Outer disciples.
He knew that they would stay in the very base of the mountain when first arriving at the sect. One had to have a certain cultivation level before getting the chance to fight for an Outer disciple spot.
"Beautiful, right? We will be staying here at the base of the mountain. The entrance test will be held here," the cultivator said, flying towards the base of the mountain.
They got closer and closer, and small buildings started to enter their sight. It wasn't like the beautiful palace at the top, nor the smaller palaces at the middle, but some wooden cabins that seemed to be falling apart.
Other youths like them were waiting at the base of the mountain. The sect sent one strong cultivator for each city that had potential. Twin Rivers city had three potential cultivators, Joshua was one of them. Other cities nearby also had some individuals, so the test had more participants than Joshua had thought.
Every participant was now in place. A bearded old man wearing a robe showed up. He wasn't like the cultivator that flew using a sword. The old man could fly with his power alone. Joshua knew that it was a sign of someone having a higher cultivation realm.
"Silence," the old man said, and his words held some sort of mystical power, as everyone was unable to utter a word.
"I'm one of the elders of the sect. I'll be in charge of the entrance test, so please listen carefully. You'll all notice some sort of circuit in front of you," he said, and everyone looked to what he was talking about.
"This is like some tv shows back on Earth," Joshua thought while examining the circuit. It was a pathway with different tests. Climbing, jumping, walking on a rope above a watery spot.
Joshua didn't know exactly what that test meant, but Miranda lighted his thoughts.
"The cultivating world is a dangerous place. Talent alone can't get you far. You must be clever, and wield a tenacity far above others. This is a resistance test. I'm not sure if one will need to pass all of the circuits, but I'm sure that the ones who give up will be disqualified," Miranda was a supercomputer. She had tons of information, and she also knew everything Joshua knew. Sometimes humans knew something but their minds weren't able to record that, but Miranda could memorize everything.
"That does make sense, Miranda," Joshua thought.
"You'll have four days to reach the other side of the circuit. It will start now, good luck," the old man said, and then flew back to his palace. He would for sure watch the test, but he could do that using his spiritual sense so there was no need to be there in person.
The cultivator who had come flying in that sword also flew away towards the middle part of the mountain. Everyone was quiet and didn't know exactly what to do. They knew they needed to pass the circuit, but how? Being the first one trying seemed scary, so none of them made a move.
A brave red-haired youth said 'screw this,' and then walked forward, being the first one to try. When everyone saw that, they also started to move, and Joshua would do the same.
The first phase of the circuit was just walking in a path that had many obstacles. Huge rocks, holes, and who knows what. Joshua saw how a youth didn't notice a hole and put his foot on, breaking his ankle.
"Aww, that hurt," thought Joshua, as he grabbed the youth and helped him get out of the hole.
While that happened, two elderly men stood in a room, playing a board game.
"Did you see that youth helping the other? Interesting, most youths are ignorant and don't think about others while doing the test. The only thing in their mind is to pass the test," one of the elderly men said.
"You're right. But being kind doesn't give you points in the test, you know that," the other replied.
"I know, I know," the elderly looked again in Joshua's direction.
"This youth seems interesting. I hope he passes the test," he thought, smiling.
"Finally," Joshua thought as he lied down on the ground. He had managed to pass the first phase, but that did use a large portion of his energy. He was an athletic person in the first place, so imagine if he wasn't.
Most of the youths managed to pass the first phase, it was the easiest one. But now, some of them would start going back home, and Joshua wasn't in the mood to be one of these people…
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