The Vessel
Two months later, at a small port on the Dragon River in the suburbs of Kai Yang City, Zhao Zhou district just south of the Heavenly Qi Country.
It was early in the morning, and the sun just barely rose above the horizon, the first glimmering of light slowly revealing the river was covered in a thin layer of white fog. People did not normally come here but today, small groups of people were constantly streaming in, among them were elegantly dressed travelers who walked on foot, as well as tired riders in ordinary clothes who had covered a long distance before arriving at the port. But regardless of what they looked like, there were teenage boys or girls in each group, the older ones had worried expressions while the younger ones were filled with excitement. Within a short period of time, as many as forty people had arrived at the port, with teenagers accounting for nearly one-third of them. Though so many were gathered in one place, all of them were relatively quiet. A thick fog started rolling in, obscuring vision and making the scene ever stranger.
The influx of people gradually stymied, with each new arrivals staying just as quiet as those who came before them. Around half an hour later, anxiety started to build up in the crowd, but just then a booming sound came from the river, as if a huge creature was rushing out. The sight boosted the travelers’ spirits, and they all started staring into the fog, as if trying to catch a glimpse of something.
The fog was pushed aside as a huge ship, over eighteen meters tall and a hundred meters long, emerged and moved steadily into the port. The crowd stirred with excitement as the ship approached. Finally, it stopped in the deepwater area around twenty-five meters from the port. Then someone from the ship rose into the air and moved swiftly toward the port.
As soon as the man steadied himself on the ground he was immediately surrounded by the crowd.
Someone loudly asked, “Are you are the Black Tortoise Sect Elder?”
Another person, with a nasally voice, asked, “What is your name, honorable Elder? One of my ancestors used to be a scholar in your honored sect.”
A third one asked, “Are you carrying the sect’s token with you?”
“All of you shut up! A token? Do I really need a token to prove myself to you? You should be thankful I wasted my time to come here, and you can consider yourselves lucky that you even got the opportunity to join our sect! Just be quiet and board the vessel. Feel free to stay here if you think I’m lying.” The blue-robed man who was shouting had a large build and looked to be in his thirties.
The crowd was completely silent after the man roared at them.
“That’s about it, if you made it this far you must have been through the test of our representatives who are responsible for discovering warriors with potential all over the country. So just shut up and follow me, but remember this, whether or not you can acquire a good place in our sect depends on your performance in the enrollment test. Right, all the candidates, come here with your tokens and don’t waste your time trying to flatter me. Hurry up! I still have other places to go after I finish picking you candidates up.“ The blue-robed man said seriously.
The crowd was overwhelmed by the man’s brash manner. Many of the people gathered here had left their homes for the first time to change their destiny. Now they were faced with hundreds of questions and zero answers. They nervously shifted around looking at each other before, finally, a thin boy gathered up his courage and walked up followed by a few others.
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