Chapter 72: The Three Heroes of the Demon Sect

Among the ten interviewees, Lu Yang stood sixth in line, and he soon noticed that those ahead of him would bolt out of the examiner's room the moment they entered, sprinting as if in a hundred-meter dash, only to run back inside and repeat the journey several times over.

"What kind of bizarre test is this?"

Lu Yang was not one to sit still; though the rules strictly forbade asking candidates about the contents of the interview, they said nothing against going outside to see for oneself.

Lu Yang turned to a rogue demonic cultivator beside him, who was resting with closed eyes, and asked, "Do you want to go outside and take a look?"

The demonic cultivator cast a contemptuous glance at Lu Yang, sneering coldly without uttering a word.

How could demonic cultivators possibly act in concert? The rogue was convinced this was a trap to ruin him—no way, he wouldn't go.

Seeing the lack of response, a surge of pity welled up within Lu Yang.

He is quite handsome, but what a shame that he is deaf; I wonder what he will do during the interview if he cannot hear the examiner?

Seeing that no one would pay him any mind, Lu Yang strolled outside.

Beyond the doors lay a bustling marketplace filled with vendors selling fruits, eggs, pork, and all manner of common foodstuffs, with merchants either tending to stalls or hawking their wares from small barrows.

"Give me an apple," Lu Yang said, buying one and wiping it clean before taking a bite, observing the behavior of the interviewees all the while.

It just so happened that the third candidate came running out to check for potato vendors, and upon spotting one, immediately dashed back to report to the examiner.

Less than three minutes later, the third candidate rushed out once more to ask the old vendor the price per catty and the total weight of the potatoes available.

Another three minutes passed, and the very same candidate ran out a third time, now closely inspecting the quality of the potatoes.

Then came the fourth candidate, whose process mirrored the third's almost exactly, save for the fact that he ran back and forth four times, clearly lacking the mental agility of his predecessor.

Lu Yang chewed his apple, lost in thought.

……

"Next, Fang Hao," a plump examiner bellowed.

Fang Hao was the very man Lu Yang had asked to accompany him earlier.

"Present!" To everyone's astonishment, Fang Hao proved to be neither deaf nor mute.

"Go out to the market and see if there are any potatoes for sale," the plump examiner commanded, employing his old trick once more.

Fang Hao hurried out and remained gone for a long time, which struck the plump examiner as exceedingly strange.

Just as the examiner's patience was wearing thin, Fang Hao finally returned: "There are no potatoes for sale in the market."

"How many catties of potatoes... wait, what did you say? No potatoes for sale?"

Fang Hao could not fathom why the plump examiner reacted with such vehemence, so he simply nodded and said, "Indeed. I ran two laps around the market and confirmed there are absolutely no potatoes for sale."

"Impossible!" Believing he was being deceived, the plump examiner rushed outside in a hurry, with Fang Hao following closely at his heels.

The moment the examiner stepped out, he beheld Lu Yang pushing a cart laden with potatoes, upon which a sign was hoisted reading, "Potatoes Not For Sale."

The old man who was supposed to be selling the potatoes stood nearby, happily counting his silver coins.

The moment Lu Yang caught sight of the plump examiner, he took off running with his cart of potatoes, throwing the examiner into a towering rage—if the potatoes fled, how could the remaining interviews proceed?

"You stop right there!!"

Lu Yang passed the trial.

……

"Outrageous!" the Vice Cult Leader roared in fury, unleashing a wild and terrifying aura that shook the entire grand hall and rippled the surface of the pool, blurring the scrying images of the scene.

That his meticulously designed trial had been exposed as riddled with loopholes by two troublemakers was an absolute humiliation!

The Cult Leader calmly extended his hand to suppress the Vice Cult Leader's aura, for they had painstakingly built this hall in a place hidden from sight; if they were discovered by the righteous orthodox sects over such a matter, they would become a laughingstock.

The Cult Leader advised, "Do not be so easily provoked to anger. Right now, they have forgotten everything, remembering only that they must use any means necessary to pass. We are a demonic cult, dedicated to slaying mortals to revive the Immortal; how can we kill people over something like this?"

"Furthermore, these two have blazed a new trail and are rare talents; the Immortal Cult has seen no major breakthroughs since its inception, and I believe these two represent our hope."

The Vice Cult Leader, however, felt that the Immortal Cult was entirely devoid of hope.

With a hint of excitement, the Cult Leader remarked, "Speaking of which, this fellow named Man Gu, along with Meng Jingzhou and Lu Yang, all hail from Yanjiang County, do they not?"

"To think that the small Yanjiang County could produce three such talents; it would not be an exaggeration to call them the Three Paragons of the Demonic Cult. With them, our cult will truly be like a tiger that has grown wings!"

The Vice Cult Leader muttered under his breath, "A tiger with wings is just a Qiongqi, and even the Qiongqi couldn't defeat the righteous orthodox sects."

The Cult Leader glared at him, "Look at you showing off your literacy, shut your mouth."

The Vice Cult Leader obediently held his tongue.

……

At the Yanjiang Branch.

Eleven deacons were exerting every ounce of their strength to maintain the grand array, while nearly a hundred rogue demonic cultivators stood frozen in place with vacant, lifeless stares, their conscious thoughts undergoing the trial in stead of their physical bodies.

The process of maintaining the array was exceedingly tedious, so the deacons began to chat while consuming Qi-replenishing pills: "Qin Yuanhao has been missing for so long, he is likely dead."

"He is certainly dead, though no one knows how. I said long ago that the lad spent his days scheming and plotting, believing everything was within his grasp; sooner or later, he was bound to provoke an enemy who would do him in on some dark, windy night."

"Qin Yuanhao's corpse has yet to be found."

"Was it an enemy who killed him?"

"Who else? Could it be a benefactor repaying kindness with murder? There are no benefactors in our line of work."

"How is it that I heard Qin Yuanhao spent the night before his death carousing in a brothel with Wang the Big Mouth?"

The deacons chuckled softly, their laughter rising and falling in waves.

Just as Qin Yuanhao had hoped, Wang the Big Mouth had gone about bragging everywhere about how he and Qin Yuanhao possessed unyielding vigor, fighting through the brothel like legendary warriors.

And then, Qin Yuanhao had died.

Thus, rumors spread through the Yanjiang Branch that Qin Yuanhao had expired from sheer exhaustion of his vital essence.

Should Qin Yuanhao learn of this in the underworld, he would surely be able to rest in peace.

"I wonder how many of this batch will pass the trial."

Despite the large number of participants in the initiation ceremony, those who could successfully pass and join the cult rarely exceeded one in ten.

Having become deacons themselves, they had all endured similar trials and knew the immense difficulty involved.

This time, the Vice Cult Leader was personally presiding, ensuring the difficulty rank among the highest of all trials!

"Only the Branch Master knows the results," the eleven turned their gaze toward the meditating Branch Master.

The Branch Master had also utilized the array to enter the mystical space constructed by the Immortal Cult, where all branch masters could witness the performance of their respective sects.

The exceptional performance of Lu Yang and his companions made the Branch Master's face bloom with joy like a blossoming chrysanthemum.

However, because he wore a mask, the others could not see the extent of his delight.

He muttered to himself in excitement, "If these three can pass smoothly and receive high praise from the higher-ups, the year-end performance of this Yanjiang Branch will surely rank among the top. With a bit of maneuvering and a breakthrough in my cultivation, I might be transferred to a wealthier region as Branch Master next year, or perhaps even promoted directly to Hall Master!"

Upon the conclusion of the three trials, the Vice Cult Leader or the Cult Leader would grant a personal evaluation to the outstanding newcomers; for instance, Qin Yuanhao's evaluation had been "Demonic to the Bone."

The Branch Master was certain that the evaluations for Lu Yang and the other two would far surpass Qin Yuanhao's.

One look at those three was enough to know they were up to no good!