Six days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Celestial Gathering drew near .
Six days passed in the blink of an eye, and too many things had happened in the Spirit River Town . Word of an incredible countryside youth had permeated throughout the whole town, as well as word of a certain proprietress’ legendary radishes . Youths from all over the land began to see if their fates were intertwined with the Immortal Path .
Six days passed in the blink of an eye, and the number of youths whose fates actually intertwined with the Immortal Path were only known amongst them .
Six days passed in the blink of an eye, and the one who started everything had stayed peacefully within the Ru Family Inn the entire time .
He had completed the town entrance quest out of sheer curiosity and interest . He had never really considered ‘fate’ . He had no need for ‘fate’ . After all, he had the ‘Heaven Spirit Base’ .Of course, after spending all of his money in order to receive a decent meal, Wang Lu only had a single coin left . As such, there was nothing else he could do, unless he wanted to wash some dishes for the proprietress .
In the morning, Wang Lu was woken up by noisy sounds outside his room .
“The Celestial Gathering has begun!”
“The Golden bridge has been lowered!”
Countless people were yelling and swarming towards the exit of the town .
Wang Lu opened his eyes and gave a sigh . The sunlight from outside the room was already quite blinding . He woke up his pageboy and began to get dressed, getting ready for his journey .
For some reason, the proprietress would not stop smiling during their check out . When Wang Lu tried to return the lunch box back to her, she generously waved her hands . “It’s not worth much, you can keep it . ”Since she was being ‘generous’, Wang Lu really wanted to ask her for his three thousand and five hundred liang of silver back .
But of course, that was impossible . Squeezing the rusty copper coin in his hand, Wang Lu walked out of the inn with the heavy lunch box, and walked towards the location of the Celestial Gathering .
Outside the Spirit River Town, the reflection of the sun’s rays made the towering Spirit Blade Mountain shine like gold . A golden bridge descended from the skies, with one end attached to the ground and the other end stretching all the way to the Spirit Blade Mountain . A good portion of the bridge was covered by the clouds giving the impression that it was cut off in the middle .
The land at the base of the bridge was not big, and was filled with tens of thousands of people . Wang Lu had woken up late, and was still stuck inside the town .
As the Golden Bridge in the sky gradually came lower, two cultivators wearing black and white robes standing on flying swords stood on each side of the bridge .
From a distance, the two young cultivators didn’t seem to have any special features like extra arms, and looked exactly like normal mortals . They did not have a halo or any special auras around them, but the way they appeared made them seem far superior to even a mortal emperor . When the Golden Bridge hit the ground, there was a loud thud, followed by a complete silence amongst the ten thousands . Everyone was silently staring towards one place .
In the silence, the Spirit Blade Sect cultivators smiled, and began to speak . Their voices were like wind, blowing into the ears of ten thousands .
“Greetings . My Junior Brother and I would like to firstly, welcome everyone to the Spirit Blade Sect’s Celestial Gathering . ”
The two people then began to clap . But no one else dared to join their applause out of nervousness .
The Senior Brother felt a bit awkward, and cleared his throat . “We’ll skip all the formalities . Regarding our Sect’s information, I’m sure everyone has heard all they need to already . The things you will need to know, you will find out for yourselves in future . I sincerely hope that everyone will be able to find their fate with the Immortal Path . ”
At this moment, someone in the crowd asked with a loud voice . “Is the Celestial Gathering just walking to the peak on this bridge?”
The Senior Brother replied with a smile . “All I can say is that I hope everyone tries their best on their journey . As for the peak, don’t obsess over it too much . ”
“Then where do we have to walk to in order to pass? Surely you should tell us that . ”
“When the time comes, you’ll know,” the Senior Brother replied .
“When the time comes? Isn’t this a bit too irresponsible?”
The Senior Brother smiled, but did not continue to speak . Instead, the Junior Brother coldly replied . “If you don’t want to come, then piss off . No one’s begging you to try . ”
The asker’s face became red .
The Senior Brother began to speak again . “Now, please take the Golden Bridge to the mountain . There should not be any danger on this bridge . However, if you find yourself in a dangerous situation or trapped, feel free to ask for a rescue . We will come to your aid as soon as possible . ”
The Junior Brother added, “And, if there are any bored people who are asking to die, we will also gladly comply . ”
“Sorry everyone, my Junior Brother has been quite moody these last couple of days . ”
“My emotions have been very well . ”
“Shut up . ”
“You shut up . You drew the worst lot, and yet somehow I was dragged out here with you to do something as boring and time-wasting like this…”
Seeing that they were being looked at by tens of thousands of people with curious gazes, the Senior Brother hurriedly changed the topic . “I declare the official opening of the Celestial Gathering!”
After speaking, the Senior Brother and Junior Brothers rose into the sky on their flying swords, opening up the entrance of the bridge .
In a split second, a tidal wave of people – countless Young Masters and their servants – surged up towards the bridge . And although the bridge was tens of metres wide, it could not suddenly accommodate that many people . As such, cries and shouts of frustration and anger erupted all around . Adding to the chaos and confusion, many of the people who had just taken a step on the Golden Bridge had immediately fallen off it .
The Senior and Junior Brothers from the Spirit Blade Sect were shocked, and hurriedly flew down . They worked together to separate the massive crowd, but there were already more than a hundred people who were injured . The Senior Brother suddenly looked very embarrassed . “Sorry, I forgot to say just then – apart from those who fulfil the conditions, no one else can step onto the bridge . Any family members, friends or servants, please leave now . ”
So it was like that . No wonder so many servants had come crashing down . What was even more amusing was that a few Young Masters had also been rejected by the bridge .
At this moment, the Junior Brother coldly added, “Just to reiterate, you have to be less than twelve years old and have not cultivated before . Anyone else should piss off . ”
The Young Masters who had fallen off from the bridge all felt extremely awkward and embarrassed . Indeed, there were many of them who were already thirteen or fourteen, but had faked their identity passes to say that they were younger than twelve . But they had been exposed by the bridge . They had nothing to say in their defence against the condescending looks of the Senior and Junior Brothers . No one dared to say anything against the Brothers, even though they hadn’t explained everything clearly .
Of course, with more than ten thousand people present, there were bound to be some weird ones . One person furiously shouted, “This year I’m only eleven years old, why can’t I go on the bridge?!”
The Junior Brother gave him an annoyed look . “How do you know you’re eleven? Did you look at the exact date and time of your birth when you were born?”
The person thought for a moment, “This, well, of course it was my mum who told me . ”
“Then your mum must have remembered incorrectly . ”
The youth was so angry that he looked like he was about to spit out blood .
The Senior Brother looked over, “Your Highness is…?”
“I am the Liu Family’s Liu Han Long of the You Region . Last month I just had my eleventh birthday . My mother, Fei Yun Zong invited seventeen other families from the Lian Yun Mountain to celebrate my birthday – my birthday is something that everyone on the Lian Yun Mountain knows about!”
The Senior Brother looked extremely confused . “Fei Yun Zong?”
“Lian Yun Mountain?”
After looking confused for a while, they got out a map and studied it, looking for the region the youth just talked about .
After looking for a long time, the Junior Brother’s became harsher . “A tiny little family living in a tiny little region that you can’t even see on the map! Seventeen families came to celebrate your misfortunate birthday? To hell with your shitty little family!”
Seeing his Junior Brother becoming more and more discourteous, the Senior Brother quickly interjected . “The Golden Bridge was personally made by our Head Elder . If anyone is not satisfied with the bridge, feel free to make a complaint to the Head Elder . ”
The Junior Brother added, “I’m sure he’ll be veeery happy to hear all about it . ”
Veeeery happy? More like send you to eternal sleep! After hearing the Head Elder’s name, the Liu Family’s Young Master was too ashamed to say anymore, and quietly disappeared .
The Junior Brother added, “I’m sure he’ll be veeery happy to hear all about it . ”
Veeeery happy? More like send you to eternal sleep! After hearing the Head Elder’s name, the Liu Family’s Young Master was too ashamed to say anymore, and quietly disappeared .
After that, no one dared to cause a ruckus anymore . Seeing everyone acting in an orderly fashion again, the Senior and Junior Brothers nodded their heads, then rose to the skies again and did not pay any attention to the people below anymore . The remaining people began to quietly walk onto the bridge .
Of course, it was impossible for people not to be talking while walking . A pageboy shouldering a heavy load was full of admiration and sighed . “The Xiuxian cultivators are indeed different . Even two bellboys have such a high standing and atmosphere . ”
His Young Master beside him laughed . “Bellboys? Are you an idiot? If those two people heard that, I’d be visiting your grave for your death anniversary the next year… Didn’t you hear them? They drew the worst lot, so they had to come here to facilitate this . They’re even able to ride on flying swords and can separate a crowd of thousands of people with ease . Do the bellboys where you live have such power?”
The pageboy was shocked . “Indeed, they seem all high and mighty, but I sometimes feel that the Spirit Blade Sect isn’t very friendly to us mortals . ”
“When you were little, you poured boiling water down an ant’s nest, and you didn’t seem very friendly to those ants . The path of an Immortal is different to that of a mortal’s . To the Immortals, we mortals are just ants . Sparing our lives after being so pissed off is merciful already . You don’t even know that we’re all standing in front of death itself . ”
The pageboy’s face paled . “Really?”
“Hah! Of course not . You’d really believe that? For goodness sake, they’re the Spirit Blade Sect – it’s not like they’d massacre everyone like some Demon clan . ”
“……”
“Although, the Spirit Blade Sect is very interesting . It’s very different to the other ancient sects . Although they themselves are an ancient sect, they seem more mysterious than the others – I like it!”
The pageboy sighed, and followed his Young Master’s footsteps . The Spirit Blade Sect’s Golden Bridge only limited people by their age . He was the same age as other Young Masters, having just had his twelfth birthday, and was only just able to enter . He would probably have to carry the heavy loads for his Young Master to the end .
At this point, he still had not realised that his stepping onto the Golden Bridge had signified his stepping onto the Immortal’s path . The path that signified one’s fate with immortality, and not a measly status like a Young Master or a pageboy .
The journey to becoming an Immortal had begun .
