Stand aside, your selection is finished

'It looks like the suggestion worked,' Theo thought as he stared down at the row of confused and terrified candidates.

They consisted of people from all sorts of backgrounds. Men and women alike, all ranging from eleven to about twenty years old.

No sect ever allowed anyone younger than eleven to join outside of special circumstances as the general consensus assumed it was counterproductive to separate kids from their parents at such a young age.

On the other end, one could enter the path of cultivation only until they reached the age of around twenty-two, or twenty-three years old. This time, it wasn't a social rule that limited it but a discovery that most of the people above that age were simply unable to make their body change in a way that would allow them to absorb the spiritual energy from the air.

As such, the candidates that Theo could choose from ranged anywhere from a measly eleven years old kids all the way to young adults reaching the end of their window to step into the path of the cultivation.

Theo's eyes then moved over to the coffer that he had the kids brought up.

He could vaguely sense what all the disciples and the few observers of the selection were seeing. But to him, those whips… were nothing more but a simple, harmless tool made from the very same soft and light cloth he bought the day prior in the city!

'I've already tested it out and even if I myself swing them with all my might, the attack won't amount to anything more than a tickle,' Theo thought, glaring at the few remaining whips before finally moving his eyes up at the orderly row of the candidates.

He took a deep breath.

"The selection begins now!" Theo announced, taking a step back and putting a mysterious smile on top of the cold and emotionless facade he spent half of the night practicing in front of a mirror.

Right off the bat, two of the candidates caught Theo's attention.

The first one looked down at the fake whip in his hand, inspecting it with a lot more attention than all of his colleagues. He didn't only take a look at it but traced his fingers both along the short stick of a shaft and also all over the whipping part.

'It looks like the suggestion wasn't as perfect as I hoped it would be,' Theo thought, his mood souring a bit.

He couldn't say anything for sure, but Theo could swear he saw a hint of doubt and surprise appear on the young, roughly sixteen year's old kid's face.

The other candidate that caught his attention was a slightly older girl, appearing to be around nineteen years old. A prime age approaching the limit of how old one could be before the road path to cultivation would close forever.

The girl didn't appear to be that much aware of the whip in her hand nor did she pay all that much attention to the kids or her colleagues. Instead, what drew Theo's attention, was the clear look of disgust and extreme anguish.

'So the first part of the scheme is starting to work,' Theo thought, stopping a smile of satisfaction from appearing on his face.

He never told the candidates what he expected them to do. All he ever said was that the selection started.

How they would understand his words… was the very essence of Theo's selection.

'I don't care if my disciples have talent or not. I only need them to stall for time to let my system install,' Theo thought back when he was still forming his grand plan. 'What I need from my disciples, from the people that will be closer to me than anyone else… is to trust their wits.'

All the hints that Theo dropped pointed at the obvious connection between the whips and the kids whose number matched the disciple candidates.

And soon enough, other candidates reached the same conclusion as the girl who managed to catch Theo's attention. Most of them, however, didn't have the same moral spine to hold them back from acting upon Theo's enigmatic orders.

"I won't let this chance pass!" someone said, their voice filled with desperation. A single candidate stepped out of the line before turning towards the line of kids.

The candidate, a seventeen years old male of extremely promising looks then stood in front of one of the kids while dragging his whip-bearing hand to the back.

"I'm won't miss this opportunity!" he screamed, likely to give himself some courage and determination, right as he brought his hand forward and sent the soft cloth of his fake whip flying towards the kid.

"NOOO!" the kid screamed out, proving that Theo didn't invest all the money that he had left after the purchase of the cloth for nothing.

The first of the fake victims curled in himself as the soft whip flew his way.

"AAARGH!" a loud shriek of intense pain escaped from the kid's throat.

'Wait, did I mess up by chance?' Theo hesitated for a second, terrified by the idea that a normal whip somehow found its way to his coffer.

And yet, as soon as Theo paid a closer look… he confirmed that the whip in the disciple candidate's hand was indeed one of the fakes.

'Damn,' Theo cursed inwardly. 'That kid has an insane acting talent!'

Theo wished he could praise the kid out loud, maybe even help him find a way to exploit his talents… But while the selection was ongoing, he had to hold himself from doing anything that could break the immersion that his suggestion created.

Soon, other candidates followed suit, each standing in front of one of the kids, lashing at them with their fake whips without any mercy.

Some quickly showed some signs of wicked pleasure on their faces as they immersed themselves in the torture that they took to be real. Others continued their task with tears in their eyes. There were even some that appeared not to care at all, turning their moves steady and nearly mechanical.

'What a sorry sight,' Theo thought, locking his hands behind his back as he started to march along the now merged line of both kids and the disciples.

In the end and as if the ruler of luck smiled upon him, only five disciple candidates remained motionless, either refusing to fulfill Theo's order or sober enough to realize he never gave out any.

Still holding his smile back, Theo approached the first of the five who happened to be the guy who examined his whip with extreme caution.

As if sensing Theo's sight, the disciple candidate raised his eyes and locked eyes with the man. For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, only for Theo to heave a long, deep sigh.

The disciple candidate had to take Theo's sigh for a good note as he raised both of his hands above his head as if to showcase he was giving up, before taking a step back and lowering his head to hide a mysterious smile.

Theo looked at the teenager for a few more moments before rolling his eyes and taking a step to move to the next target of his attention.

"I won't do it," the girl with short, pink hair and extremely deep, jade eyes announced. She didn't find the courage to raise her head and look up into Theo's eyes… but she stood against his suggested order nonetheless.

"You won't do it, huh," Theo muttered, squinting his eyes as he looked down at the girl's relatively cute face and pretty alluring body. 'She could easily become a world-class idol back on earth,' he thought only to then shake his head and point his hand to the side of the garden. "Stand aside, then. Your selection is finished."