"Greetings, master!" Yang Zenke and the others youths greeted respectfully. Xiao Hua and the young girls of the Ice Cloud Sword Sect also greeted Jiu Shen with reverence.
Jiu Shen sat lazily on his chair while stroking a sleeping chubby white cat in his arms.
This group of young elites stared at the pair with great respect and worship. Some of them were able to witness the prowess shown by Jiu Shen and Ice when the Xue Family rebelled. They no longer dared to look down on the fat snow-white cat lying peacefully in Jiu Shen's arms.
Jiu Shen remained seated as he turned his gaze to the young cultivators in front of him. "You've done a great job on surviving inside the Endless Forest. I've even heard that some groups managed to defeat strong savage beasts during your training inside the forest. As a reward, I am willing to accept all of you as disciples of my Heavenly Sword Tower. Of course, you are free to decline this offer."
Jiu Shen's words made Yang Zenke and the others excited and they hurriedly kneeled and prostrated as they said in unison. "We are willing to become disciples of the Heavenly Sword Tower!"
Their heartfelt voices echoed inside the room like a clap of thunder, but Jiu Shen wasn't bothered by this. He gently lifted the chubby white cat in his arms and rose to his feet.
"I still have one reward for each of you other than becoming disciples of my Heavenly Sword Tower..." Jiu Shen's words instantly made their eyes twinkle with excitement.
Jiu Shen did not waste any more time and waved his right hand.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
Yang Zenke and the others suddenly felt a small object on the palm of their hands, and they were startled when they discovered what the object was.
"A spatial ring! And the space inside should be at least nine cubic meters!" One of them eagerly shouted after checking the spatial ring in his hands.
"Wait. There are a few things inside." Han Sen said and took out a small book that was inside his space ring.
[Heaven Smiting Sword Technique]
Han Sen's eyes almost popped out after reading the book's imposing name.
"This..."
Yang Zenke and the others immediately took out the items inside their space rings after seeing the dumbfounded look of Han Sen.
The corner of Jiu Shen's lips curved upwards upon seeing this scene.
"Inside your space rings are the items given to all Inner Disciples of the Heavenly Sword Tower. You should all wear your new robes after leaving this room." Jiu Shen said calmly.
"Yes, master!"
"Since my Heavenly Sword Tower is now officially established, all of you must call me Sect Master in the future." Jiu Shen added sternly.
"Yes, Sect Master!" Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.
"Good! All of you can leave. Yang Zenke, you stay. I still have a few things for you to do." Jiu Shen said to Yang Zenke.
Han Sen and the other disciples immediately left the room with excited faces. Even the girls who were usually reserved had similar expressions on their faces.
"Sect Master, what do you want me to do?" Yang Zenke asked with his head down.
Jiu Shen walked towards the nearby window and gazed at the people crowding at the entrance of the sword tower as he said. "Bring Liu Mengdi inside the tower and give this to him."
Swoosh.
Yang Zenke caught the space ring with one hand.
"I will get it done, Sect Master." He said in a respectful tone.
"Leave."
Yang Zenke bowed his head before he left the room.
"Liu Mengdi... Wasn't he the guy who fought toe to toe with Beiming Chu? If not for his carelessness, the outcome of that fight might have been different..." Yang Zenke muttered to himself.
***
"Brother, they are starting the recruitment. Look!" Princess Sylvia said as she pointed at a cold-looking woman standing at the entrance of the sword tower.
Prince Dante and the rest of their group stared at the woman and walked towards her eagerly.
"Greetings. Allow me to introduce myself first before I begin the first round of the test. My name is Xia Xinyue, an elder of the Heavenly Sword Tower." Xia Xinyue introduced herself in a cold and calm tone.
She immediately attracted everyone's attention after that short introduction.
Xia Xinyue was pleased when she saw that everyone was now looking at her.
"Our Heavenly Sword Tower will only accept the best young elites among the younger generation. We care not about your background and we will accept everyone even if they are commoners or servants. However, in order to gain the chance to become disciples of our sect, all of you must pass three tests. And I will be the overseer for the first test." Xia Xinyue said while scanning the crowd with her icy gaze.
The eyes of Prince Dante and others instantly glistened with anticipation.
'It's finally starting...' They muttered in their hearts.
"The first test is the easiest and you won't have to do anything other than placing your right hand on this crystal ball." Xia Xinyue slowly said while showing them a crystal ball that was 12 inches in diameter. The crystal ball was glowing with a dim brilliance, but everyone knew that it was no ordinary item.
"This crystal ball is called the Brilliant Star. It can detect anyone's age and talent as long as they place their right hand on top of it. Just so you know, our sect is only accepting those with ages twenty-five years old and below. And you must be able to light up at least five stars inside the crystal. Now, I want all of you to line up..." Xia Xinyue spared the bullshit and immediately asked everyone to line up.
After Xia Xinyue announced the commencement of the first test, a few other cold-looking women stepped forward while holding a piece of crystal ball in their hands.
Prince Dante and the others eagerly lined up with the other young elites, and a few of them even cut in line just to get ahead of everyone else.
"No cutting in line! Disobedience means instant disqualification!" Xia Xinyue shouted coldly as she glared at the crowd.
After that, no one dared to disrupt the queue anymore.