Forgotten One

"Everyone separate into the 2 groups you were in when you first came to the sect" Elder Hansa bellowed.

There was constant bustling in the hall. The sound only fell after Hansa's voice. Each side was now neatly divided, and they didn't dare speak a word after the other participants had died.

"Alright, now that everyone has divided themselves equally, I will go over the first trial. So, for each trial, you will be awarded a position. If you are first, your position will be first, if you are second, then your position will be second. This will keep on going all the way down to the last participant. At the end of the 3 trials, you will add up the positions you got in all 3 trials. If the total number you arrive at is less than 300, then you will be allowed to join the sect. However, if your total number is more than 300, you must leave the sect and go back to wherever you came from. Do not feel at a loss, if you are still within the age requirement the following year, then you can feel free to come back and try to pass the trials once more. Joining your first sect is only the beginning, so who cares if you begin a year or two late, at least you started."

"Ok so for the specific details of the trials. I know you guys want to know everything right now so you can better prepare for each trial. For the first trial, you must catch rainbow carps. The rainbow carps are covered in rainbow scales and they have pitch-black eyes, I promise you won't miss any. Although it is only a rank 1 beast, it is an incredibly fast swimmer. This will be a test of not only the speed and agility of your body but also the quickness of your mind as well. Will you be able to adapt to the situation before your opportunity is gone? Only you will now that answer. The more you catch the higher your position is. Try to catch as many as you can, I will be taking you to the edge of the Aegan Islands. Near the edges of the water are countless Rainbow Carps. They are quite separate most of the time, this will make it easier for everyone as they will all have room. If you would like to do this trial alone then do it alone. However, the maximum people working together shall only be 3. Also, if you work together, the carps must be split up between all of the members, they can't be counted for everyone the same. If someone puts in more effort, they will also not get more Carps than their partners. Choosing the right allies for the task is also an important skill, during this trial you will begin to learn it."

Elder Hansa finished speaking and turned his body away from everyone. With a wave of his hands, he summoned a giant spiritual crane, it was entirely made of energy and it was shining bright green. "Do not be shocked, this is a transportation skill in our Jade Dragon Sect. If you reach the level of an Elder, then you would be able to learn it and summon your own beast for transportation. Everyone get on top of the crane and I will take you to the edge of the Aegan Islands. Once we get there, I will be making sure nothing goes wrong with any Demonic or Corrupt Sects. After night falls, I will collect all your Rainbow Carps and distribute positions to everyone."

Lei Shu and Tian Fu both leaped up onto the back of the crane.

As the crane was flying through the air, all the participants were either resting or talking. A few handfuls of participants were taking their time to rest, for this trial those resting decided to work on their own. Everyone who was walking around and conversing with others were looking for their potential teammates. Lei Shu and Tian Fu were already together, for this trial they would be working together.

As everyone had more or less found their group members, the crane began to slow in speed.

Elder Hansa turned toward the crowd, "In a minute or 2 we will be arriving at the destination. After you leave the back of the crane, I advise you all to begin the carp farming right away."

Finally, after a minute the crane touched the ground. The waters were very rapid around the Aegan Islands. The "Island" landmasses weren't too large. Near the edge, each landmass could harbor a few people. As you went further from the edge and closer to the center of the Aegan Islands, the size of the Islands would begin to dramatically increase. The majority of the Islands were made out of a kind of dark molten rock. The stationary masses in the water looked like cooled lava back on Earth. Lei Shu stepped onto the land and it wasn't cold nor warm, it just was. If non-cultivators would fall into the rapids, the water would tear them limb from limb and with enough time, nothing would be left of them. For weaker cultivators in the Body Tempering realm, the waters would still hinder them heavily.

Lei Shu and Tian Fu kept walking along the perimeter until they found a small pocket. The water here was still and it was isolated from the rest of the water by rock.

"HA HA HA HA"

"LOOK OVER THERE AT THOSE TWO IDIOTS, FISHING IN WATERS THAT HAVE NO SIGN OF ANY MOVEMENT. HAVE THEY GONE RETARDED!"

Tian Fu rested his hand on Lei Shu's shoulder, "Don't worry Brother, I trust that you made the right decision. Even if we don't find any carps, we will still have time to look over a few more areas."

There were 3 groups of people looking at Lei Shu and Tian Fu with ridiculing eyes. Instead of focusing on their own plots of water, they took their time delighting in others' failures.

Tian Fu turned his back to Lei Shu and now faced the other groups. "What a bunch of pathetic dumbasses. Your eyes are filled with ridicule but at this very moment, we all have the same amount of carps. We are all in the same position right now, maybe if you look at yourself with those eyes, you'll actually make an effort to improve. Ha, f.u.c.k.i.n.g imbeciles. Lei Shu show them how it's done!"

Lei Shu looked helplessly over his shoulder at everyone else. He kept his eye contact and shrugged his shoulders. The groups couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"SO, THIS IS YOUR SO-CALLED PARTNER "LEI SHU" WHAT A JOKE EVEN HE KNOWS IT WON'T WORK."

Just as they finished speaking, spiritual energy started to gather around Lei Shu's right arm. He crouched down and leaned in towards the pond and looked directly into it.

He raised his fist; it was in the shape of a sledgehammer. He left it in the air and swirled the spiritual energy around his knuckles. He smashed his fist directly into the pond.

BOOOM

A loud sound rang out and the still water was now splashing everywhere. The water seemed like a fountain in the way it was flowing out of the pond. Some of the streams of water even fell upon the malicious spectators. With the last few streams of water, you could start seeing bursts of colour in the water.

FLOP FLOP FLOP

3 Rainbow Carps flopped onto the ground. Lei Shu sneered, "Nonsense rambling of the common folk isn't something we should pay any attention too." Lei Shu handed Tian Fu 2 of the fishes and kept one for himself.

Lei Shu looked around and right now he was tied with quite a handful of people. Tian Fu was only tied with a few people and one of them was the girl in green and another was the man with the pitch-black dr.a.p.ed hair.

The men that were drenched with water were furious. They wanted to go up to Lei Shu and slap his head directly off. However, they were held back by their teammates, they couldn't harm anyone according to the rulebook.

The man with the dr.a.p.ed black hair finally got up. He had a beat-up light purple cloak. His facial features were every flat. He was expressionless and his eyes, eyebrows and even his mouth was in the shape of a line. He almost looked sickly yellow. Once he raised to his feet he reached behind his back. A white sheathed sword was hanging on his back, gold embroidery along the edges.

He unsheathed his sword with lightning speed. He crouched and swung his sword horizontally over the rapids in front of him. His sword pierced 4 Rainbow Carps in one swing. With a flick of his sword, he flung all the Rainbow Carps clean off his sword and onto the ground. He now had a total of 6 in his basket. Each person was given a large wooden basket in order to transport their carp.

Lei Shu began looking for his next spot. He walked along the coast and found about 3 more pockets that had still water. Each of these ponds were small sections and the water was cut off from any currents. He stabbed his first into the ponds and Tian Fu guarded the Rainbow Carp. Even though it was against the rules to sabotage others, people could still be crazy and not care about their deaths. It was better to be safe instead of sorry. Tian Fu thought of this on his own and carried it out. Lei Shu didn't mind and continued smashing his fists into the water.

It was almost midnight and Lei Shu had a sheet of sweat covering his forehead. He now had 9 Rainbow Carps in his and Tian Fu's basket. Not many could copy Lei Shu's tactic because they didn't have enough strength. Lei Shu and Tian Fu both had quite a few beasts. They looked around and only a few handfuls of people had a similar amount.

They saw the shadow of a crane in the distance. Lei Shu spoke out, "Elder Hansa is coming back to give us our positions. It looks like we did quite well if we look at the others."

They could feel the shockwaves of the cranes' pressure, however, the crane was quite far.

BANG BANG SPLASH

Lei Shu turned his body until a little girl fell into his frame of view. She was holding a giant wooden mace, fortified by enchanted steel. She smashed her weapon into the rapids against the flow of water. Her sweet little voice was heard by all, "The Rainbow Carps can't swim backward so if I smash my weapon against the flow of water, they'll all fly out." Making a perfect circle that surrounded her on the floor, 7 Rainbow Carps were around her and 2 more in her basket.

Elder Hansa landed and leaped to the ground. The wind was fluttering in the air yet his robes were completely still. His bright green robes had different shades of green. His inner robed were a shade lighter and there were neon green dragons across his waist. These were the robes of an Elder. The robes of all the disciples were the same green colour. The outer disciples had gold dragons embroidered across their waist. The inner disciples had silver dragons and the core disciples had bronze dragons. The Elders had neon green dragons and the Sect Master had no dragon.

Elder Hansa looked around, "For now I will give you the top 3 people in this trial. If you were below the top 3, wait in the room you were gathered in before and I will give you your position. First place in this trial is the man with the pitch-black hair in beat-up purple robes. Second place is the chubby boy in bright orange clothes and third place is surprisingly this little girl with a huge mace. First place had 13, second place had 11 and third place had 9. Good numbers this year, hopefully, the rest don't disappoint."