“Ummm…” Yuki suddenly raised her hand, interrupting the old man’s serum. 

The old man’s eyes flashed with amusement as he said: “Go ahead.”

“Can I go instead? It’s a good place for cultivation and honing your abilities, right?” Yuki asked with sparkles in her eyes. 

“Haha! Now, this is a cultivator!” The old man let out a loud laugh. This man, Elder Li, was not one known for being a man who laughed. But here he was, letting out a jolly laugh to a girl who was from some low level kingdom on a small continent with weak spiritual qi.

Yuki pursed her lips as she humphed and turned her head. She was just asking. Why was he laughing at her!? While Yuki was thinking she was being made fun of, the young man who saw the scene was gritting his teeth. If he could, he would draw his sword here and now and cut this stupid girl to pieces. This was the back mountain, a place where just one day would cause you to lose a layer of skin! Those who could survive there could be counted on one finger!

After calming down from his little tiff, The old man gave Yuki an apologetic smile as he said: “Currently, only those of the Dragon Sect can go to the back mountain. When you reach the Holyland, you will be able to attempt to join the sect. I tell you what. Take this token. If you can reach the Holyland, I will allow you to take the examination at any time.”

Yuki caught the token the old man threw at her and then held her hand out to him once more. Elder Li was confused by this action and asked: “Is there something else?”

“Two more!  You do not think I will just leave my dao partners, do you!? You must have seen them!” Yuki pointed at  Nana and Silvia. “They are just amazing. Some come come. Give me two more tokens.”

“Hahaha! Greedy! I like it!” Elder Li once more let out a loud laugh. He truly liked this girl! He took two more tokens out of his interspatial ring and tossed them to her. “I hope to see you in a few years time. But just know the bone age limit for joining is twenty five and you will need to be at the peak of the astral realm.” 

“Huh? You mean this kid here is at the peak of the astral realm?” Yuki looked at the young man in amazement. “Why is he so weak then?”

“Pfft!” Another disciple from the Dragon Sect burst out laughing. The young man’s face turned bright red. His hatred for this girl grew even more! He wanted to slaughter her here and now!

“Junior Brother, it seems you have been found out. Should big sister stand up for you?” A young woman with long black hair walked over. She was all smiles. She had never been so amused in her entire life. She really liked this girl named Yuki.

“Senior Sister Yu…..” The young man’s face sank. If there was anyone he did not like dealing with, it would be her. 

“Yes? Did you call my name? Sorry, I will have to reject you. I do not date weak people.” Senior Sister Yu replied.

“I was not asking you out….” The young man did his best to hold back his anger. This is why he hated this woman. The entire sect thinks he is in love with her and has even asked her out multiple times. But it had always been her who would reject him before he even got a word out. He felt three gazes on him, and when he turned, he saw Yuki, Nana, and Silvia all giving him sympathetic gazes.

“Alright, back to your duties! Let’s get this show on the road.” Elder Li could not let things keep going as they were, or this preliminary round would never end.

 Gritting his teeth, the young man glared at Yuki and ingrained her face into his mind so that when he saw her in the Holyland, he could take his revenge! Yuki ignored him before taking her token and heading to the gate. Nana and Silvia quickly followed. Senior Sister Yu watched Yuki walk away with a hint of interest in her eyes. She felt that this girl would brighten her boring days in the outer sect. She hoped she would get to see her soon.

Yuki stepped through the portal and found herself on a cliff on the edge of a mountain. The path ahead was wide, and there were thousands of small outcroppings and inlets. “Hmmm, so those are the tablets?” Yuki could see a few people sitting down staring at the tablets in front of them. 

“Yuki…” Nana did not know if she could pass this stage or not. She had never had to comprehend much of anything.

Yuki smiled and hugged Nana’s waist. “Just do your best. Even if you fail, so what? We are all going to jump in level soon, so it’s fine. Plus, who knows, it might be me who gets booted.”

Nana pursed her lips. She did not want people to think Yuki was weak. “I will do my best.”

“Dragonkin are very good at these things, so do not worry.” Silvia walked over and spoke in a low whisper. “We will all pass.”