Qiu Yunru found a cozy little inn near the city's center and bought out a big room. Why shouldn't he splurge a little? He had sleeves full of gold now, after all. Then he laid down in the enormous bed. He closed his eyes for a while, unable to fall asleep entirely. When the sun was high in the sky, he got up reluctantly and set out once more to look for that cultivation sect's recruitment banners.
It wasn't too hard to find them; Qin Shan wasn't wrong in saying that cultivation sects were always a bit full of themselves. Great jade-colored banners flapped in the wind, and cultivators in white and jade robes milled about, vetting crowds of young men and woman who had gathered outside of the rented arena.
"Come join the righteous Jade Clouds Sect!" One of the cultivators shouted, waving his arms. "Or...ahem, try your best! We only take the best of the best over here!"
Qiu Yunru was impressed. Qin Shan had almost gotten the name right. He slipped into the throng of commoners vying for the cultivators' attention, trying not to get elbowed or stepped on. These people were really riled up with excitement--and who could blame them? When cultivation sects descended from their great mountains, they extended the opportunity for a common person to become like a god. Who wouldn't be falling over themselves to join?
In front of the crowd, some disciples of the Jade Clouds Sect were quickly vetting everyone's spiritual energy. They grabbed extended hands. 90% of the time they sent people off sulking. 10% of the time, they tilted their head to welcome people into the arena. Qiu Yunru's hand tightened on his sword. His Cultivation stat was still a 1. If he wasn't accepted here, he'd have to wait for another sect's recruitment process...
After being jostled around and elbowed in the gut many times, Qiu Yunru was finally at the front of the procession. He reached his smooth hand out, and it was roughly grabbed by a male disciple with a cold face. The disciple's eyes twitched, and he narrowed them at Qiu Yunru.
"Not good, but not bad," He remarked. He nodded towards the arena. "Come in. Our Shizun will make the final decision."
Qiu Yunru wasn't sure whether he should leap with joy or cover his face in shame. He'd been allowed in, but with such a lukewarm remark! No, he should focus on the good part--he had a chance to prove himself before this sect's masters. He needed to get ahold of himself!
Along with a few dozen others who had been selected, Qiu Yunru was herded into the arena. He took a careful look around--clearly, there was about to be some sort of duel examination that would determine their capability in the eyes of this sect's masters. The arena was large and stony. Up on a seat above sat the person who could only be the "Shizun" that disciple had mentioned.
He was so lofty and bright that Qiu Yunru practically had to cover his eyes!
What blinding grace!
The master was a slender man with a face so graceful that it would make any woman--even a man!--blush and look away. His robes were jade green and flowed ceaselessly around him, and he held a sheathed sword and a bamboo-patterned fan. His eyes scanned the dozens of contenders meticulously, though it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Like an awed child, Qiu Yunru couldn't help but think:
I want to be like him someday!
He promptly pinched himself. No! He couldn't get too ambitious. If he fell into image-farming, how would he ever get to that peaceful, solitary life he dreamt of? No, he wouldn't become like this man--but he certainly felt a well of respect rising for him within his heart!
The disciples of the Jade Clouds Sect began to pair up the potential recruits, handing them wooden swords.
"No body contact!" That male disciple from before shouted firmly. "Hit someone for real, and you're getting kicked out!"
A female disciple at the other side of the arena called out: "Listen to Fang-shixiong! If we see you smack someone, you'll be dismissed immediately, so don't bother! You may spar lightly with your partners now. Don't worry if you don't know any techniques. Shizun will observe from above and make his determinations at the end. He will only accept three new disciples at a maximum!"
Qiu Yunru observed his partner. Thankfully, the disciples had done their best to make sure each pair was boy-boy and girl-girl, or he would be in a real bind--how could he spar with a woman? It wasn't that he thought women were weaker, but that he felt physically sick at the thought of doing anything close to hitting one. It had always been like this. In primary school, when he'd been viciously bullied by a gang of little girls, all he'd done was curl up in a ball as they kicked him black and blue. Though, now that he thought about it, he'd also been ganged up on in secondary school by boys, but he'd done nothing to fight back then, either. Maybe it was just that he was too afraid to hit anyone...
The young man before him had to be fourteen or fifteen. Unfortunately, his face was that of a truly insignificant NPC: a hairline straighter than a rod, dull eyes, a plain face, and copy-and-paste grey robes. Qiu Yunru wasn't being mean--it was the truth! Even though every NPC in Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits had their own generated inner world, NPCs with this kind of generic face and dress never served any consequential role in a big plot, so there was a slim chance this kid would get into a big sect like the Jade Clouds Sect.
Trying his best not to come off as aggressive, Qiu Yunru extended his wooden sword and lightly knocked the other's.
Thwack!
Qiu Yunru was knocked back by a wild, forceful blow from this kid. He just barely managed to parry another violent strike, sliding back on his feet.
What the hell?! Hadn't the instructions been to only spar lightly, not like you were trying to take someone's life?! Qiu Yunru blocked and parried over and over again, jumping out of the way of other pairs to not run them over. This kid was like a plow, bulldozing through everyone and trying to pierce Qiu Yunru's heart with wood!
"Hey! Calm down!" Qiu Yunru whispered. He didn't want to be too loud; even though this kid was clearly trying to destroy him, he didn't want to lose face in front of the sect master by freaking out. But this kid didn't relent! He hacked and slashed with absolutely zero technique and all arm strength, his eyes filled with a determined fire. Finally, Qiu Yunru couldn't take it anymore. He reached out and grabbed wildly, eventually catching the sword's edge in his hand and stopping the kid from continuing.
"What's wrong with you? Are you trying to kill me?!"
The kid's eyes flashed, and he tried to yank the sword out of Qiu Yunru's grip, but failed. Though they weren't too far in age, the different was enough that Qiu Yunru was stronger.
"Hey! You!" The male disciple ran forward, a vein bulging in his forehead. "What are you two doing? We said no contact! And you're grabbing his sword--what kind of etiquette is that? Both of you, out!"
Qiu Yunru was about to open his mouth to protest, but the kid beat him to it. This kid fell to his knees, shouting at the disciple's feet. Qiu Yunru really couldn't look; it was like seeing a mangy street dog bark angrily at a passerby.
"You can't kick me out! I'm strong! I have potential! I didn't hit him, he grabbed my sword! You can't kick me out!"
The vein in the disciple's forehead seemed to bulge three times larger. He grabbed the kid's arm and hauled him to his feet, rubbing his temples. "Both of you, out!"
Qiu Yunru's heart sank. "...But didn't you see? He was attacking me so violently...I had to grab his sword to stop him! I--"
The disciple didn't want to hear it. He grabbed both young men by the ears and tossed them out of the arena. "Goodbye!"
However, just as he pushed them out, the female disciple from before hurried over, her face flushed from running. "Fang-shixiong...wait."
"Fu-shimei? What is it?" The male disciple, Fang-something, paused, his cheeks turning red at the female disciple's arrival. Qiu Yunru couldn't help but internally roll his eyes. Even though romance between players and NPCs was written out of the code, there were plenty of corny romances, scandalous trysts, and innocent crushes between NPCs everywhere. The developers really were strange in their decisions!
Fu-something pointed to Qiu Yunru and that kid, who was practically crying tears of anger, her face conflicted. "Shizun wants these two."
Fang-something blinked. He cast Qiu Yunru and this kid a scalding glare each, then released them begrudgingly. "Wait at the edge of the arena. We'll see if Shizun picks anyone else. If you two dare move or cause any more trouble, you'll be beaten for sure!"
With that, Qiu Yunru and this kid were left at the arena's edge alone together.