Among the ten interviewees, Lu Yang was sixth in line. He noticed that each person who went into the examiner's room would immediately dart back out, sprinting as if running a hundred-meter dash, only to run back in afterward—repeating the trip several times.
"What kind of bizarre test question is this?"
Lu Yang was never one to sit still. The rules stated that candidates were not allowed to ask one another about the interview content, but they said nothing about not being allowed to step outside and look.
Lu Yang turned to a demonic rogue cultivator resting with closed eyes beside him. "Hey, want to go outside and have a look?"
The rogue cultivator cast a disdainful glance at Lu Yang, sneered coldly, and said nothing.
How could demonic cultivators ever act together? The guy was definitely trying to set him up. No way, not a chance.
Seeing that the other man didn't answer, Lu Yang felt a twinge of pity.
*He's quite handsome; what a pity he's deaf. I wonder how he'll manage the interview later if he can't hear what the examiner says.*
Seeing that no one was paying him any mind, Lu Yang strolled outside.
Beyond the doors was a bustling marketplace filled with stalls selling fruit, eggs, pork, and more. All kinds of everyday foods could be found here, with vendors either setting up stalls or wheeling small carts around to hawk their wares.
"Give me an apple." Lu Yang bought an apple, wiped it off, and ate it, observing the candidates' behavior as he chewed.
Just then, the third candidate ran out to see if anyone was selling potatoes. Seeing that someone was, he immediately rushed back to report to the examiner.
In less than three minutes, the third candidate rushed out again to ask the old man selling potatoes how much they cost per jin and how many jin he had in total.
Another three minutes passed, and the third candidate came running out yet again, this time to inspect the quality of the potatoes.
Next came the fourth candidate. His process was virtually identical to the third's, except that he ran four trips, proving less nimble-minded than his predecessor.
Lu Yang munched on his apple, lost in thought.
***
"Next, Fang Hao!" the fat examiner called out.
Fang Hao was the very man Lu Yang had asked to go outside with him earlier.
"Here!" Surprisingly, Fang Hao wasn't a mute after all.
"Go to the market and see if anyone is selling potatoes," the fat examiner instructed, pulling the same trick again.
Fang Hao hurried out, but he was gone for quite a long time, leaving the fat examiner puzzled.
Just as the fat examiner was growing impatient, Fang Hao returned. "There are no potatoes being sold at the market."
"How many jin of potatoes... Wait, what did you say? No one is selling potatoes?"
Fang Hao didn't understand why the fat examiner was reacting so dramatically. He nodded and said, "That's right. I ran two laps around the market, and I'm certain no one is selling potatoes."
"That's impossible!" Believing Fang Hao was lying to him, the fat examiner rushed outside, with Fang Hao close behind.
The moment the fat examiner stepped out the door, he saw Lu Yang pushing a cart of potatoes, bearing a sign that read: *Potatoes Not for Sale.*
The old man who was supposed to be selling potatoes stood nearby, happily counting his silver coins.
The moment Lu Yang saw the fat examiner, he pushed the cart and ran. The fat examiner was furious—if the potatoes ran off, how was he supposed to conduct the rest of the interviews?!
"You stop right there!!"
Lu Yang passed the trial.
***
"Outrageous!" The Vice Cult Master flew into a rage, unleashing an overbearing and terrifying aura that shook the entire hall. Ripples disturbed the surface of the pool, blurring the scrying images.
His painstakingly designed trial had been rendered full of loopholes by these two scourges—it was an utter humiliation!
The Cult Master calmly moved to suppress the Vice Cult Master's aura. They had gone to great lengths to construct this hall in a place that was difficult to detect; if the righteous path discovered them over something like this, they would become a laughingstock.
The Cult Master urged patiently, "Don't get angry so easily. Right now, they've forgotten everything and only remember that they must find a way to clear the trial. We are a demonic cult—our purpose is to kill people to resurrect the Immortal Celestial. How could we kill someone over something like this?
"Besides, these two carved their own paths; they are rare talents. The Immortal Cult has made no major breakthroughs up to this day, and I believe these two might just be our hope."
The Vice Cult Master privately thought that if so, the Immortal Cult truly had no hope left.
The Cult Master continued with a hint of excitement, "Come to think of it, this Man Gu, Meng Jingzhou, and Lu Yang—all three are from Yanjiang Commandery, aren't they?
"Who would have thought that tiny Yanjiang Commandery could produce three such talents? Calling them the Three Paragons of the Demonic Cult wouldn't be an exaggeration in the slightest. With these three paragons, our demonic cult will be like a tiger that has grown wings!"
The Vice Cult Master muttered under his breath from the side, "A tiger with wings... isn't that just a Qiongqi? Even a Qiongqi can't beat the righteous path."
The Cult Master glared at him. "Oh, so you're cultured now? Shut your mouth."
The Vice Cult Master obediently shut his mouth.
***
At the Yanjiang Branch.
Eleven deacons were exerting all their strength to maintain the grand array. Nearly a hundred demonic rogue cultivators stood blankly in place, their eyes glazed and their consciousness suppressed, their mental projections undergoing the trials in place of their physical bodies.
Maintaining the grand array was utterly dull, so the deacons popped Qi-Replenishing Pills and began to chat.
"Qin Yuanhao has been missing for so long. He's probably dead."
"Definitely dead. We just don't know how he died. I said long ago that the kid spent all day scheming and plotting, thinking he had everything under control. Sooner or later, he was bound to provoke an enemy who would slit his throat on a dark and windy night."
"Qin Yuanhao's corpse hasn't turned up either."
"An enemy killed him?"
"What else? You think a benefactor repaid his kindness with murder? People in our line of work don't have benefactors to begin with."
"How come I heard that the night before he died, Qin Yuanhao was out living it up at a brothel with Big Mouth Wang?"
The deacons chuckled softly, their laughter rising and falling.
Just as Qin Yuanhao had hoped, Big Mouth Wang had bragged everywhere about how he and Qin Yuanhao had possessed unflagging vigor, charging in and out seven times at the brothel.
And then Qin Yuanhao had died.
Consequently, a rumor had spread through the Yanjiang Branch that Qin Yuanhao had perished from total physical exhaustion.
Presumably, if Qin Yuanhao knew this down in the underworld, he could rest in peace.
"I wonder how many in this batch will manage to pass the trials."
Though many had come to participate in the recruitment ceremony, it would be considered impressive if even one in ten managed to pass the trials and successfully join the cult.
Having become deacons, they had all undergone similar trials and knew full well how difficult they were.
With the Vice Cult Master presiding in person this time, the difficulty was undoubtedly among the highest ever seen!
"Only the Branch Master knows the results." The eleven deacons looked toward the Branch Master, who was deep in meditation.
The Branch Master was also using the grand array to access the mystical space established by the Immortal Cult, where branch masters from every division could observe their respective branches' performances.
The extraordinary performance of Lu Yang's trio made the Branch Master's face split into a grin so wide it looked like a blooming chrysanthemum.
However, because he wore a mask, no one else could see how thrilled he was.
He muttered excitedly to himself, *If these three successfully clear the trials and receive high praise from the higher-ups, the Yanjiang Branch's year-end performance will definitely be among the very best! With a bit of maneuvering and an increase in my cultivation, I might be transferred to a wealthier region as a branch master next year—or even promoted directly to hall master!*
Once the three trials concluded, the Cult Master or Vice Cult Master would bestow an evaluation upon outstanding new recruits. For example, Qin Yuanhao's evaluation had been "demonic nature bone-deep."
The Branch Master firmly believed that the evaluations for Lu Yang and his companions would far surpass Qin Yuanhao's.
One look at the three of them was enough to tell they weren't good people in the slightest!
Chapter 72