Forgotten One

"People from your sect have been spotted by us over the years, seeing another few isn't weird at all. Oh, my name is Mei Su by the way."

Lei Shu took his time explaining the trial in detail. The Jade Tree Nymph Queen took her time listening. She sat on a branch with one of her legs crossed over the other. When she saw the piece of Jade Tree that Lei Shu had she was ecstatic. She flew up to it and touched it, once she made contact the tree seemed to let off a chime sound. Mei Su questioned them, "Where did you get this? How did you come across it? The Great Tree has been missing this piece for quite some time."

Ting Ting spoke up this time. She explained the ordeal with the Spinsters. She explained how they first met with conflict but ended the meeting with both sides benefitting. Nymphs could tell the true thoughts and emotions of others. Just with one look, this was possible. It was a sort of special ability for their species. Being the Queen of them, her ability far outclassed the others. She patiently waited and listened. Her heart was quite happy, "Little girl, your heart is indeed pure, but you have yet to meet the cruelties of the world. Your naivety can help you gain companions, but your enemies will capitalize on that naivety as well. The Eagle faced man, "Your sky-blue hair shines in the sky, I really like how you tied it in a bun behind your head. Your eyes are a calm black, you show respect and you are quite humble. However, your respect may prevent you from seizing life-changing opportunities, sometimes you must be a little vicious. Learn to balance those two halves, never forgetting your true self in the process. If you master this, your future achievements will be extraordinary." Now the little fairy turned to face Lei Shu, it seemed like she was in a trance for a few seconds before she recollected herself. "I can't seem to see through you completely. You fight for what you believe is right and you do what you want in life. I can sense that heavily, and you also gain power in order to protect everything close to you. But… there are countless hazy things that I can't fully see-through. Hmph, maybe this is fate- "

Lei Shu cut her off right away and replied to her. "Fate is an excuse for those who are weak-minded. If cultivators naturally go against the heavens by simply cultivating, why not go against this so-called fate as well. So many people use fate as an answer when they believe that what they are dealing with is not within their capabilities. They use fate as a method to make them feel more adequate, the truth is that they were just too weak to change anything. Power is needed in this world, it can be used for many reasons, but it is needed all the same!" Lei Shu finished speaking and the only thing that covered the forest was silence.

Mei Su was completely frozen in place, if you looked extremely closely her pupils would be shaking. It seemed like she realized something after hearing Lei Shu's words. A smile formed on her face, she turned around and cut a branch from the Jade Tree. The entire inside of the branch was overflowing with Jade Dragon Dew. She carried it over to Lei Shu and offered it to him as thanks. "You have made me realize something that I didn't even dare think about before. I need some time to collect my thoughts. I'll leave you with this bit of Jade Dragon Dew, compared to everyone else, your group should have the most." Right before Lei Shu's group was about to leave, a dazzling brilliance came from the Jade Tree Nymph Queen. A small see-through green orb was floating above her palm. It was spinning with intense speed. "This is the last thing I can give to you guys for now. This orb is called the Pure Jade Essence. Every thousand years, the Jade Tree will form one drop of Pure Jade Essence. This drop is also called the drop of life by us Nymphs. The drop has immense healing potential, it can heal people instantly from severe attacks and below. If it is a fatal attack the healing procedure would be almost instant. This is the last thing I can give you; it's getting dark so you should go back, others from your sect have already left."

And with those words, she turned and vanished into nothing. The brilliance of the surroundings seems to dull a bit with her departure.

Lei Shu looked behind his shoulder one last time, "I hope we will meet again, Mei Su of the Jade Tree Forest."

Before nightfall, Lei Shu's group managed to leave the forest and get back to the sect courtyard.

They walked into a mass of people swarming towards Elder Hansa. It seemed as though they were the last people to get back to the sect. The entire courtyard was filled, and people were already giving their Jade Dragon Dew to Elder Hansa. Lei Shu's group didn't mind, they found a seat and waited until they line shortened. Ting Ting asked about Lei Shu and if he has met the Nymph Queen before, but he hadn't. While they were talking, Tian Fu kept his focus on the line to make sure he could grasp the perfect opportunity.

Tian Fu's whip slithered off the table as he got to his feet. The rest of the group walked into the line and waited for their turn. Currently, the man with the dr.a.p.ed black hair was number 1 for this trial. He had a bit more than a full cup. Some people couldn't even find any and a lot only acc.u.mulated a few drops.

The group of 3 split up the dew in the branch evenly. Lei Shu kept the drop and the branch as well as it was because of him that they got it. When Tian Fu dropped their dew onto the table, Elder Hansa's eyes almost fell out from the socket.

"How did you manage to get so much Dew, I haven't seen this much by a whole group, never mind a single person."

THUD THUD

After he finished speaking, Lei Shu and Ting Ting dropped their Jade Dragon Dew onto the table as well. Elder Hansa almost couldn't take it anymore, he spoke in a loud voice. "After I have collected all of the Jade Dragon Dew, I will immediately go to the sect master. We haven't seen this much dew in a long long time, I will have to report the amount directly to her. Tian Fu will receive first place, Lei Shu second and Ting Ting third. The man with the dr.a.p.ed hair is fourth. If you have any disagreements with the rest of your positions, feel free to meet me later. The next trial will be taking place tomorrow. We will meet in the courtyard; I will tell you the rules. After that, I will take you to the destination of the third trial. If you are within the allotted positions, you will thereby be a member of the Jade Dragon Sect. Until tomorrow." Elder Hansa vanished and with him the Jade Dragon Dew as well.

Lei Shu Ting Ting and Tian Fu were ecstatic. They didn't know that they had much more than others. Even though they felt other presences in the forest, they never actually checked on how much they had acc.u.mulated. They focused on their own, they chose to worry about the others later.

They all walked back until they got to the front of Lei Shu's room. Ting Ting still had excitement in her eyes, "I can't believe it, we hit the jackpot during this trial. Even if we don't place too well in the last trial, we'll all make it into the sect." Tian Fu replied, "That doesn't mean we shouldn't give it our all. The rulebook states that the first 2 trials do not allow the killing of other participants, however, the third trial doesn't say anything about not killing. We should prepare our minds; I'll be the first to take my leave." After he left, so did Ting Ting. All that was left was Lei Shu. He entered his room and picked up his tray of food. He ate a bit and gave the rest to Billa. Billa hasn't been eating properly since he came to the sect. The food he was eating was only enough to maintain his level of strength.

Lei Shu flipped open the rulebook and read it once before closing It and tossing it on a wooden shelf. After he read it, he meditated for a bit before falling asleep. He awoke the next morning, he ate his fill and gave a smaller portion to Billa this time. He did so because he needed all the strength he could muster for today's trial.

He left his room and right as he closed the door, he already saw familiar faces. Tian Fu and Ting Ting were sitting together waiting for Elder Hansa to appear. Ting Ting had a vibrant smile on her face as she laughed, Tian Fu had a plain expression, but you could tell he enjoyed her company. He was the type of person that if he didn't like someone, he wouldn't put up with them and pretend to.

By the time Lei Shu got to them, Elder Hansa had already appeared in the courtyard. "Today will be the final day of trials, you will be participating in this trial from dusk till dawn, so I hope you had enough rest. You must always be ready to fight; in this world, anything could happen to you if you let your guard down. The final trial will be a test of your capabilities regarding combat. I will go randomly through the list and assign names; you will each fight at least 3 battles to determine your placement. If anyone decides to slack off in this trial, there will also be a tempting reward at the end. If you end up in first place within all the rankings, you can become this old one's disciple." Gasps filled the air, joining the sect was already a great gift but immediately becoming an Elders disciple was a fortune.

A bunch of voices filled the courtyard.

"I PROMISE TO GIVE IT MY ALL"

"EVEN IF I DIE, I WILL BECOME THE ELDERS DISCIPLE!"

"IF DEATH IS AFRAID OF ANYONE, IT SHOULD BE ME!"

Countless voices roared within the crowd but none of the top rankers spoke out. They were all calm, they were waiting for the actual battle to commence."

Lei Shu sighed, "And I will do my best."

The whole group got onto Elder Hansa's spiritual crane together. When they left the ground, Elder Hansa began speaking again. "For this trial, we will go to the final battle arena. It is called the Final Battle Arena for a reason so don't think lowly of it. It is merely a giant stage for battle, countless runes are engraved on the surface of the stage. The stage is made from stone, but the runes make it almost incapable of collapse. The runes also keep the majority of the energy that is dealt on top of the stage, within it.

Lei Shu saw a giant stone pillar in the distance. It looked incredibly old with runic designs covering the surface. It gave off an old and ancient aura as if it withstood countless tests of time. Once they got closer, they saw red marks that were deep in the engravings. Finally, they smelt it, mixed with the wind was the faint smell of blood. Ting Ting was shocked, "The red markings are actually dried up blood from battles of the past. Why wouldn't they clean it up after?" Tian Fu answered her, "It's simple, to show a message to all who step onto the stage. It is to show us what is to come. This is undoubtedly a stage on which leaving blood will be the least of your worries."