Miss Ting

As Elder Hansa finished speaking every one of the participants made their way aboard the crane. After a short flight, they finally made it back to the sect.

Elder Hansa gave them more information, "Ok, the next trial will begin tomorrow as soon as the sun rises. For now, everyone, get in a line and bring your Rainbow Carps as well, I will give everyone else their positions before tomorrow."

After waiting for quite a while, Lei Shu and Tian Fu finally made it to the front of the line. Lei Shu stepped up and dropped his Carps on the wooden table. "Junior Lei Shu has brought 4 Rainbow Carps and my partner Tian Fu has 5 Carps."

Elder Hansa counted the Carps, "Junior Lei and Junior Tian, your positions will be 13 and 11, respectively." Lei Shu and Tian Fu turned to leave and when they got out of the courtyard they met up at their rooms. The courtyard was empty and spacious, it was where tournaments and large gatherings were held. There were stone seats surrounding the middle where everything was just flat.

"Brother Lei, even though you basically did all the work yourself, you still gave me the majority of the Carps we captured. I will surely give the next trial my all, we deserve spots among the top 10."

"No need Brother Tian, the only thing that matters is passing the trials successfully. If we get ahead of everyone it will only attract unwanted gazes. It's better to lay low until you have the power to control your own actions within the sect."

The two said their farewells and went back into their rooms. They immediately went to sleep so they would have enough energy for the next trial. It was the exact same as yesterday, Lei Shu woke up to a bunch of people speaking outside. He woke up and put his robes on, he left his room and surveyed the room until he found Tian Fu. They sat down in the courtyard and ate their breakfast together, finally the sun could be seen rising.

Elder Hansa came out and beside him was another man. This man was in the same green robes but around his waist were bronze dragons. This man was a core disciple. He had a shiny bald head that could reflect the heavens. His body was very bulky, and he looked as if he could be a bodybuilder on Earth. The man's rough feet and hands came together, and he spoke.

He smiled while looking over the crowd, "Hello, my name is Jim Sum, I am one of the 10 core disciples of the Jade Dragon Sect and I will also be leading your trial today." After this sentence, Elder Hansa turned around and made his leave, disappearing into the distant sky with his crane.

"Now that Elder Hansa has left, I will speak to you all about the second trial. Don't be too afraid, everyone at the sect went through the same exact stuff you guys are going through. Honestly, some of you here today were stronger than I was when I first came to the trial grounds. Just remember to believe in yourselves and try your best, that's really all you can ever do."

"So, for the second trial… hmmm. You will have to survive in the Jade Forest that is behind our sect. It is a decent-sized forest with great medicinal items and even greater beasts. Originally, this forest just contained vegetation including valuable medicine. The greatest medicine of our sect, the Jade Dragon Dew, is taken from the forest. Every tree in the forest is surrounding but one tree in the center. The tree in the center is a translucent green colour, it almost looks as if it was made out of diamonds. The trees close to the center Jade Tree, are capable of having a bit of Jade Dragon Dew within them. Whoever gets the highest amount of Jade Dragon Dew will be awarded a Jade Dragon Pellet. Only a thousand drops of Jade Dragon Dew can be used to create a Jade Dragon Pellet. Each drop must also be a thousand years old in order to be used in the Jade Dragon Pellet. Your tasks for this trial will be to do as we all did in the past. Scavenge the forest and collect as much Jade Dragon Dew you can until night falls. Once night falls, make your way back to your rooms, your positions will be given the next morning."

Lei Shu whispered to Tian Fu, "The sect is really intelligent. They will award only first place by creating a Jade Dragon Pellet. The rest of the Jade Dragon Dew we collect will be directly taken by them. They're acting as though they are rewarding us and that we should be grateful, however, they will receive more benefits than us in the end."

Tian Fu also whispered, "It makes sense though, a sect this good needs resources to run efficiently."

Everyone in the crowd gathered behind the bald-headed core disciple. They all marched in a military-like fashion until they reached the edge of the forest. The forest was familiar, it looked just like anything he had seen on Earth. Everyone took their time getting into groups. Some people still didn't get into any groups at all.

Just as Lei Shu and Tian Fu were going about to go into the forest, a small figure was prancing towards them. This little figure had a tremendous amount of energy, she was bouncing with every step, practically skipping around the ground from destination to destination. She walked over and lifted her mace and rested the huge thing on her shoulder. Her light green eyes were beaming with confidence as she looked at Lei Shu and Tian Fu. She had a loose, green, fairy-like dress. It would flutter in the air as she moved. The edges were embroidered with a snowy and glittery white material. Her hair was as green as her eyes and they were up in ponytails. She looked like she could be a little girl in puberty.

Her sweet voice filled the air, "Hey, my name is Ting Ting, make sure to remember it, I'll be a huge star in this sect, make sure to treasure my presence. Oh, and don't get any ideas, I focus only on the way of cultivation, not on boys."

Tian Fu rang out, "Oh I'll definitely make sure to remember it but not for the reasons you think." He laughed it off and gave a glance at Lei Shu.

Ting Ting's voice rang out, but it contained a hint of frustration, "Mom told me that girls don't finish developing until sometime in their twenties. I'm just a late bloomer is all, I'll get much bigger as I grow."

Lei Shu was about to let out of slight chuckle until he actually realized what she was talking about. This little girl who wasn't as little as she looked was actually serious. She was serious because her body was as flat as an ironing board. She had an extremely cute and unblemished face, but her body was completely flat, she almost looked as if she was a young boy from the neck down.

Lei Shu regained his senses, "Alright, so what is it that Miss Ting actually wants."

Ting Ting spoke before Lei Shu even finished his sentence, "Hmph, that's more like it. I have simply come here to grace you with my presence, and also to present you with an offer."

"What kind of offer?" Tian Fu said.

Ting Ting spoke, "I will offer you guys a once in a lifetime chance. I offer the 2 of you a spot in my team. Don't think you're too great though. I was just momentarily intrigued by your friend's method of getting the Rainbow Carp out of the ponds. Most people were wracking their brains to figure out a trap, but your friend's brute strength was all that was needed. Others tried to copy his style, but they merely came out with mangled arms."

Tian Fu was a bit angry now, "What makes you think you are better than anyone else here. The audacity to "offer" the 2 of us a position on your team. Are you stupid or blind, you don't even have a team, it is just you on your lonesome. If anyone should be joining, it should be you."

Even though Tian Fu was speaking quickly, Lei Shu was quite calm, "Alright, we'll join, just don't disappoint me." He looked at her with playful eyes.

She pouted as a reply, "Don't look down on me, I may be the smallest girl you have seen that is my age, but I will also wager that I am the strongest. Once we enter the forest you will see that I speak only the truth!"

The 3 of them continued to bicker until a loud bang rung out from the distance. This was the signal that the second trial had begun. The new group of 3's strut into the forest was carefree. They were all relaxed with glazed eyes, a forest couldn't faze them.

As they entered, they were overwhelmed by the smell of the Dew. Even though they weren't near it, they could smell it. It smelled like a mixture of a sweet baked good but also with a tinge of perfume. It was indulgent but also ethereal, a truly marvelous scent.

They sniffed the air and followed the scent. On their way, they picked up a few berries and such in case any of them got hungry. As they munched on handfuls of berries, they kept walking. When they got to the halfway point, the scent began wafting at a different pace. The trees weren't the only things obstructing the scent now.

Ting Ting was the first to speak, "The wafting means that something is moving in the distance. It should be spiritual beasts walking around."

Lei Shu nodded as this is what he determined as well.

They slowed their pace and crouched behind trees, surveying their surroundings. They saw 2 beasts walking around on 4 legs. They had a huge light orange shell covering the majority of their body. Their legs were the size of tree stumps and they had long snouts used for sucking up and eating berries.

Tian Fu explained, "These beasts are called Spinsters. We would use them as whip practice because it wouldn't hurt them if we hit their shells. We usually just used them as target practice so we could become more accurate."

"Errrrrr"

The two beasts were notified of their presence and immediately charged at them. Something was wrong with these beasts; they had been extremely calm until they were notified of humans in the distance. When they looked at each other it was terrible. The humans were prepared for battle and while the beasts were charging, they were afraid but also had courage in their eyes. It looked like they didn't want to fight, they looked slightly scared, but they charged without any care.

The group of 3 almost felt bad because of the fear that was circling in the beast's eyes. However, the beasts were still attacking aggressively.

Tian Fu began by striking out at their legs with his whip, after a few strikes they had whip marks on all their legs. After they constant barrage of whips, they couldn't hold up anymore. They tucked their whole body within their shells. The shells slowly started spinning on the ground and they began to gather a tremendous speed. Wind currents could be seen forming around the shells. After gaining enough speed they charged right at Tian Fu. None of his whip strikes were doing damage anymore, their shells were too hard.

Before they were about to touch Tian Fu, Ting Ting smashed into the ground between them in efforts to separate them. The shells stopped and changed their direction swiftly towards Lei Shu. Lei Shu made an effort to dodge and narrowly escaped. These beasts were rank 1 spiritual beasts but they were much tougher on their shells. The best way to get rid of them was to swiftly eliminate them before they hid in their shells. Now their greatest defense has become their greatest method of attacking as well. A truly formidable beast.