"They're about to arrive," the scar-faced branch sect leader said out loud, as the group felt the slight trembles of spatial fluctuations begin to appear.
A large smile appeared on Branch Sect Leader Whisperwind's face, as the moment of Aaron's triumph, and her large monetary winnings were about to occur.
Sect Leader Whisperwind glanced sideways at Lilian, who was standing there with a calm expression on her face, as if the outcome of the exam was of no concern to her.
"Not even slightly nervous?" Whisperwind chimed up, causing Lilian to glance at her. "If I were you, I would at least be slightly nervous, mostly for the safety of your disciple. Although do not despair too much, with the rules confining him, Aaron will at least leave your disciple in one piece."
Whisperwinds words were a clear provocation towards Lilian, which caused Lilian to smile slightly as she finally decided to cut the woman down slightly. A mocking smile appeared on Lilian's face as she looked at Whisperwind.
"You know, your bitterness towards me is quite understandable. Afterall I am already in the same cultivation realm as you despite being over a thousand years younger. You reaching the Dao Transformation at such a late age in your life caused you to waste your youthful appearance, causing you to now look like an old hag. Your jealousy and resentment is quite clear on that matter, which has caused you to be a vile bitch this entire time."
Lilian's words caused the other branch sect leaders to suck in a cold breath of air, as they were not expecting her to reply with such vitriol. However, they could understand it, as Whisperwind had been quite mean to Lilian upon her arrival, without any provocation from the latter. However, it seemed as though Lilian finally had enough, and flung insults back at Whisperwind.
"Aaron winning this event is the one thing you could hold over my head gloatingly, but I'm afraid that too won't go as you would expect it to," Lilian continued before Whisperwind could reply.
"What did you say?" Whisperwind suddenly erupted in a rage as her power flared outwards. Her power spike caught the attention of the nearby cultivators, who glanced at her before going back to their business.
"Oh? Do you want to fight? I'll happily oblige you if that's the case. I'm much better at fighting with fists than fighting with words," Lilian replied, but kept her aura withdrawn.
However, Whisperwind recalled the terrifying power Lilian had revealed before the entrance exam, as well as the horrifying Dao of Death that had emanated from her. Despite being tens of times older than Lilian, Whisperwind knew it was a fight she could not win.
Whisperwind stared at Lilian for a moment with unmasked anger, before she flicked her head to the side with a sneer.
"Che, we'll see just how wrong those words of yours are soon enough, won't we?" Whisperwind replied, getting the last say in before ignoring Lilian.
Lilian began to chuckle slightly at the temper tantrum thrown by Whisperwind, which only served to agitate her further. However, both parties ignored each other, while the other branch sect leaders stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
Flash!
Flashes of light broke the silence, as all the disciples who had passed the trial appeared in the courtyard before them at the same time.
The branch sect leaders all gazed intently at the arriving group, as the results of this trial would decide whether they would receive a great sum of money or lose it. A small smirk appeared on Lilian's calm face as she saw John arrive unharmed, while his one foot was resting on the body of a barely conscious youth below him.
…
The vision of all the disciples who had passed the trial blurred for a moment as they were transported a short distance. After what appeared to be a singular moment, light once again entered their visions as they arrived at their destination.
John's vision swept about in all directions, as a frown slowly appeared on his face. A small group of curious cultivators, a dozen Elder's and the branch sect leaders had gathered around them. However, other than these few people, the rest of the thousands of cultivators and sect members in the background continued to walk about, uninterested in the group of youths that had just arrived.
'This is completely different than what happened back home. When that entrance exam ended, we were welcomed by the entire sect. However, this sect hardly seems to have noticed our arrival, as if we are of no consequence to them.'
The other disciples that had passed the trial all noticed this as well, and couldn't help but frown or become angry. The way they were being treated currently was as if the sect was saying they didn't care one way or the other about the new members of the sect.
After his brief inspection of the situation, John sighed slightly and shook his head at the situation.
'I suppose it can't be helped though. Almost all branch sect disciples become administrative aids for the sect. I'm sure it's incredibly rare for a branch disciple to make a name for themselves in this sect when compared to the geniuses who grew up here all their lives.'
John shook his head one more time before his gaze shifted over towards his master. Her smile entered his vision, and she gave him a small nod of approval as he had clearly kept his end of the deal.
His gaze shifted over slightly, and spotted Branch Leader Whisperwind staring at John's feet, her face becoming more and more red by the moment. Clearly she was about to burst from anger.
"This is for you," John said to Whisperwind as he suddenly kicked his foot outwards, launching the youth resting at his feet towards Whisperwind.
Aaron, who was still barely conscious, flew through the air at great speeds towards Whisperwind, which raced forward to catch him. She caught him in her arms and inspected him briefly, before her angered gaze locked onto John.
"What is the meaning of this, boy?" Whisperwind barked out angrily at John as she was barely able to contain his anger.
"The meaning? Isn't it clear?" John replied calmly. "You owe my master quite a bit of money now, don't you?"
