Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 102 - 101: Win and You May Join the Sect

Although no one dared to openly contradict him, many felt indignant, clenching their fists tightly.

Chen Xuan wanted exactly this effect, "You don’t believe it? Then come back tomorrow, and I’ll give you a chance to prove yourselves."

Finally, a cultivator couldn’t help but ask, "May I ask, Senior... how do we prove it?"

"It’s very simple. Tomorrow, I’ll set up a challenge in front of the gate. You will compete with her one by one. If you can win ten consecutive matches against her, wouldn’t that prove you’re stronger?"

Hearing that there was going to be a public duel, everyone immediately started whispering among themselves.

In Chang’an, where many sects coexist, sparring among cultivators is not uncommon. Their focus wasn’t on one-on-one combat but rather on the seemingly unfair nature of a continuous battle format.

From any perspective, these rules were clearly to their advantage.

The people ahead could test and exhaust her.

The ones following could take it easy and strike when ready.

"No need to wait until tomorrow; I’m willing to try now!" A man with long hair styled like a noble young master stepped forward, cupping his hands before Lingdang, "My name is Zhou Xubai, a disciple of the Jinglan Sect. I humbly ask for your guidance—"

"Didn’t you understand what I said?" Chen Xuan interrupted coldly, "I said tomorrow, so it will be tomorrow."

The challenger’s face instantly turned a bit blue.

"You can disperse now," he couldn’t be bothered to explain more and turned to the equally stunned Lingdang, gesturing for her to follow, "Come with me."

Once inside the manor building, Lingdang removed her veil, staring wide-eyed at Chen Xuan, "Are you the Sect Leader?"

"Who else would I be?"

"You’re Chen Xuan?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"What, did you think I was just here to recruit?" Chen Xuan frowned, realizing she only knew his name but didn’t recognize him?

"Uh... Is there any reason for a Sect Leader to oversee a sect entrance test personally? Where are your disciples? What about the servants?" She was still a bit incredulous.

"They’re all diligently cultivating and have no time for this. Didn’t you also say, the more talented a person is, the more they understand the importance of hard work?" Chen Xuan nonchalantly replied.

This isn’t right; a Sect Leader handling the daily chores while disciples focus on cultivation seems to reverse the natural order!

Lingdang felt a bitter frustration... Her father did say Chen Xuan was a cultivator in his twenties, but a sect has more than just a handful of young people. Even the onlookers earlier, who came to watch the show, were all in their teens and twenties. In smaller sects, this kind of recruitment wouldn’t even be handled by cultivators, as any ordinary person could take on this task.

Moreover, no sect would only recruit cultivators; those who understood management but were not Qi-sensing individuals were also highly favored by sects.

It was all her father’s fault for talking so much yet hardly mentioning Chen Xuan’s appearance, focusing entirely on the nature of his spiritual qi. Now, before even joining the sect, she’s left the Sect Leader with an impression of being unpolished.

Lingdang showed a trace of deep regret, "I-I... If I offended you in any way over the past couple of days, I ask for... your forgiveness."

"Since you didn’t know, it can’t be considered offensive," Chen Xuan said generously. If she were truly rude and had connections within the Immortal Alliance, she wouldn’t have wasted time with reception, but demanded to see the Sect Leader directly. He could tell she wanted to enter the sect based on her own abilities, not her background connections.

The reason she came wearing a veil was likely so others wouldn’t recognize her. And now Chen Xuan knew where the fabric covering her head came from—a large piece was torn off from the hem of her skirt, revealing half of her calf.

"You ran much faster this time than last. How did you do it?" Chen Xuan asked.

"I adjusted the way I used qi, enhancing my foot strength on uneven ground and relaxing in open areas to maintain a consistent speed overall," Lingdang answered honestly.

Realizing the importance of rhythm after just two runs, she certainly wasn’t dumb. Chen Xuan smiled, "But you’re still slightly below the passing line. Given your standing up for our sect, I decided to give you a special opportunity: if you can win against ten people tomorrow, you can join the Only I am Venerable Sect."

"Winning qualifies me to pass?"

"Yes, winning qualifies you to pass," Chen Xuan affirmed, "Now that I’m the Sect Leader, I determine the entrance test criteria, don’t I?"

"Alright, I’ll definitely come!" Lingdang accepted immediately.

She couldn’t compare herself to her father, unable to perceive the uniqueness of the spiritual qi, but having witnessed the skirmish where one word from this person toyed with those cultivators, she had never heard of such miraculous techniques.

And that boy around her age had an astonishing strength of spiritual qi. A genius of such caliber being anonymous in Chang’an City was itself an unfathomable thing.

Her father wasn’t wrong; Chen Xuan indeed had immeasurable potential. Given time, the Only I am Venerable Sect could certainly establish itself firmly among the numerous sects in Chang’an City.

"Okay, you should go back now and have a good rest today," Chen Xuan said, "Soak your feet in hot water before bed to prevent soreness tomorrow."

Lingdang’s heart suddenly warmed.

It turns out he set the challenge for tomorrow because he noticed she was quite fatigued and couldn’t exert her full strength.

"Alright, I shall take my leave," she said, lifting her hands in a respectful farewell.

...

By the next day, the open space in front of the manor had completely transformed.

The villagers of Hot Pepper Village followed Chen Xuan’s instructions and used wooden planks to mark off a thirty-meter diameter circle to represent the arena. On the east, south, and north sides of the platform, the villagers set up long wooden benches, four rows in total, each row seating about a hundred people.

The west side of the platform faced the manor, so the judge’s stand and VIP viewing area were directly set up on the manor’s balcony.

Additionally, numerous "billboards" surrounded these benches, adorned with colorful papers depicting introductions to the Only I am Venerable Sect, background stories of the challenges, basic rules of competition, and tales of the Western Demon Fiend battles...of course, the last one was fictitious. Chen Xuan stayed up overnight drafting these, had them printed at a shop, all to ensure a wave of free publicity today.

Thus, a waiting day was necessary for the challenge, allowing him to make suitable preparations.

Chen Xuan could completely imagine how indignant those cultivators would be. Compared to those who, despite awakening their Qi Sensing ability, never entered a sect and became "failures," they were enviable "exemplary students." This self-pride gave them a sarcastic outlook when approaching the Only I am Venerable Sect.

Instead of seeing a joke, they ended up becoming the laughingstock, an unbearable disgrace for them.

Few cultivators could swallow such humiliation. Even if they could, their senior brothers and sisters, and their recruiting sects wouldn’t, as it would imply that their threshold was too low, inherently inferior to the Only I am Venerable Sect.

This news would certainly spread rapidly.

The fact proved him right. By 8 or 9 in the morning, people began to gather, surprised to find the benches already set up. However, their reactions were fairly consistent, as they first found a place to sit.

Chen Xuan scanned with the Heart Method, realizing among those who arrived were not only cultivators but also many citizens of Chang’an.

Of course...judging by their attire, they were likely children of wealthy or noble families or otherwise related to cultivators.

By 10 o’clock, over four hundred people had gathered in front of the manor. Bored, their conversations naturally shifted to those billboards.

Dingdang then walked into the manor.

She was evidently surprised since only about 20 or 30 people had come to mock the sect yesterday. How did it become such a huge crowd today?

She was clearly prepared. Her outfit changed to a more battle-suitable short robe and cloth pants, with a Peach Wood Sword slung across her back, and a Bead Curtain Conical Hat covering her head entirely.

However, this compromised her view significantly.

"What are these people here for?" she asked, puzzled.

"What, are you scared?" Chen Xuan removed her hat.

"That—" Dingdang instinctively reached to grab it, but he handed her something else, "This is better, it doesn’t fall off easily and doesn’t block your vision."

It was a medical mask.

Since the store stocked a bunch, no reason to waste them.

"Oh." Dingdang obediently donned the mask, "I’m not scared at all. During the sect competition, it was a sea of people. Even though I haven’t been on stage myself, I’m no less in the spotlight now."

"That’s good." Chen Xuan led her to the edge of the platform, "Once you’re ready, step inside."

Dingdang nodded and jumped into the center of the circle.

The scene immediately erupted into an uproar!

"Look, look, the girl is here!"

"She doesn’t look that old; can she really be as formidable as the Only I am Venerable Sect claims?"

"What ’Only I am Venerable’ nonsense! How can you raise others’ prestige while diminishing our own morale?"

Some people focused on Dingdang herself.

"Why is she still using a mask to cover her face? If her skills are that great, what’s there to hide?"

"What if you remembered her face for future revenge?"

"Why do I feel...this girl looks somewhat familiar?"

"Quiet!" Chen Xuan took a deep breath, gathering qi to shout, his voice carrying a thundering force, "This young lady here is Dingdang, not yet officially a sect member. Many fellow cultivators disagreed with my opinion yesterday, so I offered them a chance to prove their point. Now that the time has come, I wonder if these people truly have the courage to stand by their views. If you’ve come, you can sign up here to challenge on stage!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several cultivators stepped forward.

The leader was none other than the eager gentleman from the day before.

"Zhou Xubai of the Jinglan Sect, willing to enter the arena for a challenge!"