However, Instructor Li’s following words were like a basin of cold water being poured down on them. “I will tell you the names and appearance of the herbs in a bit. I want to warn you that this is different from the entrance exam, where your safety was guaranteed. The mountain is filled with powerful spirit beasts and a few dangerous locations. We may not arrive in time to help. If you’re not careful, you may lose your lives, so you must ensure your own safety. For remembering the herbs, everyone will receive a signal talisman.”

Thinking about the danger, everyone’s enthusiasm cooled a bit. Everyone still felt lingering fear from walking across the chain. When Luo Xie heard that their safety would not be guaranteed, his body trembled. It has to be said that when he fell off the chain, he thought he was going to die before someone rescued him. He didn’t want to taste that feeling again.

In the past, most people held the mentality of it being stimulating and fun, but now they all withdrew that attitude. They no longer dared to underestimate this task anymore. Everyone stopped talking and laughing. Instead, they earnestly listened to the orders of the instructors.

“Before you all leave, everyone will get a signal talisman. When you face danger, you just have to inject spirit force to use it. Once it's triggered, we will be there as soon as possible, but danger happens in an instant, so there is no guarantee you will be 100% safe.” Everyone looked at the palm-sized talisman in Instructor Li’s hand. I had various incomprehensible lines drawn on it and gave off a faint blow that made it extraordinary.

“Okay, now I’ll use my spirit force to show you the appearance of the herbs. Remember it well, as it will affect your performance.” After that, Instructor Li stopped talking and his hands formed some seals. There was a flash of light and something strange appeared.

A plant made of spirit force appeared before Instructor Li. It was very lifelike. It was about ⅔ of a meter tall and its leaves were in the shape of a fan. It had green stems and leaves, with a total of seven leaves, and its roots were faintly visible.

“This is the Seven-Leaf Green Jade Lotus.”

After Instructor Li finished speaking, he continued to form seals and the second herb appeared.

“Wow, how did that appear?”

“So amazing! I want to learn this technique as well!”

After arriving at the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, everyone encountered many strange things. Some people were not even surprised anymore.

Then the Seven-Leaf Green Jade Lotus disappeared into specks of light and the second herb appeared.

It was about ⅓ of a meter tall and looked like a small type of grass. It was green on the bottom, but on top were yellow strands of grass. The yellow strands were densely packed together.

“The second herb, Sulphur Grass.”

Following that was an image of a blue, ordinary-looking flower. It looked like a wild flower that could be found on the side of the road. It was plain and unremarkable, but the edges of the flower petals glowed blue.

“Heaven’s Not Old”

……

“Blood Colored Camellia”

……

“Moon Star”

“Lilac Water”

“White Drew Frost”

……

The projections of the seven herbs appeared one by one, and they all looked completely different from each other. Everyone was dazzled by what they had seen, but they all remembered it in their hearts. Zhao Jiuge moved his lips as he read the names of the seven herbs and recalled what they looked like over and over again. When Zhao Jiuge thought about the 100 sect contributions, he started burning with passion.

Seeing other people’s flying swords made Zhao Jiuge envious. He dreamed of having one. It didn’t matter what quality the flying sword was, Zhao Jiuge just had a love for swords. He would often fantasize about what kind of flying sword he could forge in the future.

“Okay, now that you have all memorized the herbs, you will be assigned into groups. Then you will go pick up your signal talismans and you can head into the mountain. In addition, when you go outside either for a mission or to train, you represent the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect. Don’t bully others or cause trouble, but also don’t be afraid, because you have the backing of the entire Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect. The Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect is your home!”

At this moment, Zhao Jiuge suddenly felt the impulse to cry. He felt a strong sense of belonging simply due to the word “home.” He had been adrift for many days, and now he no longer felt anxious, because in the future, there would be a place he belonged to!

Those words caused a lot of youths to become moved. At this moment, their fates were firmly attached to the sect. No matter what, they were now part of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect!

Seeing the reactions of the youths on the square, Instructor Li and Instructor Zhou only looked at each other with solemn expressions before they continued.

“Picks will go according to the results from the stair exam. There will be two people per group, and after each group is formed, the mission will begin. Pay attention to safety and meet here after three days. First up, Bai Qingqing.”

Bai Qingqing was startled when she heard her name. She didn’t think forming a group for this task would be like this, and she even got first choice. Choosing a strong partner not only meant 100 sect contributions, the herbs they gathered would also be refined into pills. She was hesitating because there were too many people and she didn’t know who to choose.

When her beautiful eyes swept through the crowd, she found someone and her eyes suddenly lit up. Then her slender, white fingers immediately pointed toward that person and she even said, “Zhao Jiuge.”

After hearing his own name and seeing Bai Qingqing point at him, Zhao Jiuge was startled. The corner of his mouth twitched a few times. He couldn’t afford to offend her, and now he couldn’t even hide from her. The thought of spending three days with her in the mountains made him want to cry. He never doubted Bai Qingqing’s strength, but her style was too big of a contrast compared to his, and he couldn’t keep up with her tempo.

He originally wanted to refute, but his rejection was slaughtered by Instructor Li’s gentle nod. Zhao Jiuge had to accept this fact and had a reluctant look as he went up to accept the singal talisman.

When they were about to step off into the mountains, a voice stopped the two of them.

“Wait.”

Everyone’s eyes followed the voice. It was the youth with the scar. He looked at Bai Qingqing lovingly but looked at Zhao Jiuge with a gaze filled with jealousy. At this moment, his chest was heaving up and down, indicating his emotional instability. His face was filled with resentment as he looked at Zhao Jiuge.

“Instructor Li, I’m not convinced. Groups shouldn’t be decided like this, it's not fair.”

This stunned the three instructors. Instructor Li looked at the youth with the scar with an interested gaze. He asked, “Then what do you think is fair?”

All three instructors were young once as well, and after thinking a bit, they understood what was going on. It was nothing more than jealousy, and such things were common.

“Things are gathered in categories and people are divided into groups. Only the strong are qualified to be in the same group with each other. I’m not convinced. I hope to have a fight with him. If I win, let me be in a group with Bai Qingqing.” The youth with the scar exuded a fierce, beast-like aura as he pointed at Zhao Jiuge. His eyes were filled with battle intent and his cold stare made Zhao Jiuge feel a chill in his heart.

He didn’t think much about being in a group with Bai Qingqing, and he didn’t really want to be with her; however, the youth with the scar was simply too unpleasant. Zhao Jiuge was nice, but that didn’t mean he was easy to bully. He always had a clear distinction between gratitude and grudges. Now that he was facing the provocation from the youth with the scar, his brows slowly furrowed, but he didn’t immediately speak. He waited for the instructors to speak.

However, Instructor Li didn’t agree to the suggestion from the youth with the scar. “If you want to fight, you will have a chance soon, but I’ll group you guys up like this for this mission. The two of you can go.”

Since the instructor had spoken, even though the youth with the scar was dissatisfied, he had no other choice. He just looked at Zhao Jiuge menacingly and said, “In three days, after the mission is complete, I, Lu Bowen, will challenge you!”

His words were filled with hostility. After he finished speaking, the crowd suddenly became lively. No one at this age was lacking passion—they all wished for more chaos. They were all filled with excitement and hoped the fight would be stimulating.

Everyone’s eyes were filled with passion.

Zhao Jiuge stopped. He didn’t turn around, but his cold words echoed. “I will accept your challenge in three days.”

Then he continued to walk toward the mountain without turning his head. Time was of the essence and he still had to find the herbs.

Bai Qingqing’s beautiful eyes looked at Zhao Jiuge. She was smart, so she didn’t say anything about the fight between the two men. At the same time, she wanted to know how powerful the mysterious Zhao Jiuge was. This was her purpose for choosing him to be in her group.

The three instructors surprisingly weren't against it. They merely had their arms crossed and looked at this with slight interest. It was normal for students to learn from each other, and it promoted a good atmosphere for cultivation. The three instructors actually liked this and were waiting for the result in three days.

Seeing that Zhao Jiuge didn’t even turn his head back, the youth with the scar revealed a cruel smile and then returned to the crowd. There was no need to say anything now, because he knew it was useless. After he had broken every single bone in Zhao Jiuge’s body and embarrassed him before everyone would be the time for him to speak.

He had been sent into the Barbarian Forest when he was a child, so he never lacked courage. In fact, he enjoyed it all!

As for everyone else, when Zhao Jiuge agreed, their excitement reached a peak. Today was just one wave of unrest after another. Many youths were filled with excitement; they felt like this was the life they wanted!

Instructor Li continued, “Okay, next is Mu Zijun.”

Mu Zijun just randomly selected a person. After just a single day, he had a group of youths who surrounded him, and he enjoyed this attention. After he selected a partner, he entered the mountain.

Soon, all 86 people were divided into groups and entered the mountains to start their three-day mission. Li Yinger’s gloomy eyes were filled with disappointment when Bai Qingqing chose Zhao Jiuge. She ended up forming a group with Wang Baiwan. Luo Xie wanted to form a group with Liu Yinger, but his ranking was too low. In the end, he formed a group with an equally unmemorable and honest youth.

After the selection was over, the light from the setting sun shone on the square.

“What do you two think the outcome of this mission will be?” Instructor Li’s kind expression seemed a bit sorrowful. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the mountains, but the figures of the new disciples were long gone.

“Everything will be decided by fate. Let them be. Baby eagles must experience it for themselves in order to soar across the world. They are the future of my Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, but we are doomed to not be able to help them much.” Instructor Zhou no longer had the cold and stern expression. His wrinkled face now contained a bit of worry.

The light from the sunset shined on the three instructors and made their shadows a little longer. The new disciples had entered the mountain, while the rest of the sect still operated like normal.