Shen Lingxi sat inside the sedan chair, her heart fluttering with unease.
In all her years, this was the first time she had ever left her village. Every time she peeked through the curtain to watch the familiar scenery fade into the distance, her heart was flooded with a complex mix of emotions.
Father, Mother. You must take care of yourselves. Once Lingxi becomes the Holy Maiden, I’ll bring you both to live in comfort. You won’t have to work for that stinking landlord ever again. Shen Lingxi clenched her fists, thinking silently to herself.
The sedan chair jolted from side to side occasionally, swaying back and forth, but overall, the journey was steady. Shen Lingxi sat within, and as weariness washed over her, she leaned against the interior and drifted into a fitful sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, the sedan chair suddenly dropped violently, startling Shen Lingxi awake.
W-what’s happening? Have we run into bandits? Shen Lingxi froze, her mind buzzing.
Just then, the curtain was ripped open. Elder Li’s eldest disciple stood there with a cold expression.
“Get out.”
“Senior Brother Han, what happened?” Shen Lingxi asked, confused. Senior Brother Han’s face darkened instantly, and his voice grew several decibels louder: “I told you to get out, so get out! Why all the nonsense?” As he spoke, he forcibly dragged Shen Lingxi out and threw her onto the ground.
Shen Lingxi tumbled a few times. Dust swirled up from the ground and filled her nose, forcing her to wave it away with her hands as she coughed repeatedly.
“Senior Brother Han, why are you so angry? She’s just a child; it’s perfectly normal that she doesn’t understand instructions, isn’t it?” The voice that spoke was a delicate, feminine one.
Shen Lingxi recognized her. On the day Senior Brother Han had kicked down the door to the Shen house, this woman had been standing right beside him. She remembered the woman’s mocking expression.
Looking up, she saw a female disciple with a certain amount of charm, her eyes adorned with red eyeshadow. She swayed her hips as she walked over to Senior Brother Han, playfully flicking his chin a few times.
“Junior Sister Liu, I’ve truly had enough. Why does Elder Li insist on doing things this way? It wears us out, having to babysit these brats.” Senior Brother Han’s eyes narrowed into slits as his heated gaze scanned Junior Sister Liu’s body up and down. Her swaying movements seemed to have hooked his very soul, making it impossible for him to look away.
He tried to reach out and grab her smooth hand, but Junior Sister Liu nimbly dodged away, leaving Senior Brother Han’s heart itching with unsatisfied desire. However, with the other junior brothers present, he couldn’t lose his temper and could only scratch his head awkwardly.
Seeing him so embarrassed, Junior Sister Liu laughed until she shook, covering her mouth with a series of giggles. Her laughter left Senior Brother Han dazed, and he let out a strange, “Heh-heh” sound from his throat. If the other disciples hadn’t been there, he likely would have pounced on her right then and there.
Suddenly, Senior Brother Han noticed a gaze fixed intently on him. He frowned, pointed forward, and roared: “What are you looking at? Get over there yourself! Don’t tell me I have to invite you?”
Shen Lingxi recoiled, following the direction of his finger. Not far ahead stood a prisoner’s cart. Inside the cart, two filthy little girls sat huddled, hugging their knees. They stared at Shen Lingxi with hollow, vacant eyes filled with despair.
“Senior Brother Han, don’t yell like that. After all, she is considered a Holy Maiden Candidate of our Holy Maiden Mountain. What if she actually becomes the Holy Maiden one day? Wouldn’t we be finished?” Junior Sister Liu advised him with an air of seductive charm.
“Hmph. Over the years, there haven’t been a thousand Holy Maiden Candidates, but there have certainly been hundreds. Which one of them actually succeeded? Which one was accepted by that damn ‘inheritance’?”
Senior Brother Han was dismissive, his eyes full of long-standing contempt.
He continued: “Nowadays, which of the Elders out searching for candidates isn’t just going through the motions? They just grab a few kids with decent talent to make up the numbers, just to meet the Great Elder’s quotas.”
“Do you honestly think they can become the Holy Maiden?” Senior Brother Han sneered, a mocking curl to his lip.
“True enough.” Junior Sister Liu paused for a moment before reminding him: “Still, we shouldn’t take things too far. If they get injured and the higher-ups investigate, we’ll be in for it.”
“Relax, relax. As long as it isn’t the Great Elder investigating, the other Elders will just turn a blind eye.” Senior Brother Han shrugged indifferently.
“Honestly, doesn’t Elder Li get tired? Every time, he puts on this act of ‘benevolence and righteousness’ just for the sake of those illiterate peasants?”
“Shhh, Senior Brother Han. Be careful Elder Li doesn’t hear you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Elder Li has already gone off to find the next candidate. Once he finds one, I have to play the role of the ‘disdainful disciple’ again, while he plays the ‘gentle and kind Elder.’ Sigh, it’s exhausting.”
“Tee-hee! That’s why Elder Li is the ‘Monthly Best Elder’ every single month. His reputation among the commoners is excellent; hardly anyone ever complains.”
Hearing Junior Sister Liu say this, Senior Brother Han was about to argue back when he noticed Shen Lingxi was still standing there dazed. In a fit of rage, he strode over, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her toward the prisoner’s cart.
“Ah… let me go… let me go, you villain!” No matter how much Shen Lingxi struggled or cursed, Senior Brother Han remained unmoved until he hurled her into the cart.
“If you scream one more time, I’ll beat you to death! I’ll make sure you never see your father or your mother again!” Senior Brother Han threatened her viciously.
Upon hearing this, Shen Lingxi instantly withered. The girl who had been clawing and fighting for her life moments ago now huddled in a corner, shrouded in a lingering gloom. She seemed to have resigned herself to her fate.
For a Holy Maiden Candidate to enter the Holy Maiden Mountain, her “Holy Maiden Aptitude” must be tested. Aptitude is ranked from highest to lowest: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. If the aptitude is particularly poor, it is classified as “Rankless”—outside the four grades.
The place where this aptitude is tested is called the Holy Maiden Gate. As long as a candidate walks through the gate, the corresponding rank will appear in text upon it. If nothing happens, they are Rankless, indicating extremely poor talent.
Years ago, the Holy Maiden Mountain’s requirements were quite strict; usually, anyone below the Mystic rank was rejected. Rejected candidates could choose to return home or stay as servants.
However, in recent years, the candidates found by the traveling Elders were mostly just making up numbers. Consequently, the recruitment standard had dropped to the Yellow rank, and even some Rankless girls with a bit of potential were accepted.
This was because the Holy Maiden Sect was currently in decline. They desperately needed a Holy Maiden who could hold up the sect’s reputation—someone who could stand on equal footing with the Divine Maiden of the Divine Maiden Palace. Otherwise, the Holy Maiden Mountain would be nothing more than a roadside pebble that anyone could spit on. Such was the burden of being one of the Ancient Sects.
Amidst the bumping and swaying, Shen Lingxi’s group finally arrived at the Holy Maiden Mountain. However, before they could have a hot meal or a drink of water, they were driven toward the Inner Sect Plaza to undergo the test of the Holy Maiden Gate.