Chapter 194: Chapter 194

"It's good that nothing happened. Let's hurry over!"

"A-Ning, you didn't see it—those immortals are incredible, like a flash of lightning, swooping down from the horizon in an instant!"

"Sigh, I really hope that once we learn immortal arts, we can be like them."

Carefully supporting each other, Chen Ping’s big mouth didn’t stop chattering the entire way. At one point, he even wanted to grab a branch and pretend to dance with it.

An Ning followed silently as usual, only speaking when he finished, "But isn’t it said that people with talent are very rare? Can the two of us really make it?"

"Don’t worry. I’m giving up, but listen to your big brother—A-Ning, you’re definitely going to succeed!"

Facing his inexplicably confident gaze, An Ning looked puzzled but still nodded lightly.

Amidst the constant chatter, by the time they reached the village entrance it was already midday. The vast square was packed with villagers showing excited expressions.

Immortals are noble, and their time is precious; naturally, they wouldn’t waste time visiting every village.

Still, despite the crowd, the scene remained quietly respectful, showing the reverence for immortals in this era.

After bidding farewell to Chen Ping, An Ning reluctantly limped toward the Chen family’s home.

Due to the harsh selection criteria, there were only three children of suitable age in the old Chen family generation, including An Ning. They were Chen Dayong from the first branch, Pandi from the second, and finally An Ning from the third branch.

However, seeing the five-year-old Chen Xiaodi in line, An Ning wasn’t surprised.

Though the age range was supposed to be six to eight years old, the immortals weren’t strict about that.

Upon An Ning’s arrival, except for her birth mother Xiao Shi, the other members of the old Chen family visibly relaxed.

Those with talent in the mortal world are exceedingly rare. Despite the grand scale of the event, normally only a handful of children from the last few villages would be selected—barely enough to count on one hand.

From the old Chen family’s perspective, compared to the other kids, An Ning, who had shown special abilities from a young age, was slightly better.

After a while passed, only one was chosen, and judging by the immortal on stage’s expression, that person’s talent was barely acceptable.

Soon it was An Ning’s turn. Chen Xiaodi was rejected with a gloomy face, along with her cousin Chen Dayong, who shared the same disappointed fate.

In contrast, Pandi, who seemed almost invisible, surrounded by a faint mixed glow of red, yellow, blue, and green, shocked everyone in the old Chen family by becoming the fourth person selected today after Chen Ping.

About half a midday passed, and the two on stage grew impatient. One tall and slender young man even muttered dissatisfaction under his breath.

By reading his lip movements, An Ning roughly understood that he meant they were all useless, destined only to sweep the sect entrance in the future.

Though harsh, there was some truth to it based on the original memories.

Under the eager gazes of the old Chen family, An Ning slowly stepped onto the stage and extended her small hand toward the array disk in front of her.

In an instant, dazzling blue, green, and red lights flashed back and forth.

Only then did the two on stage straighten up and put away their laziness.

“Oh, the purity of this spirit root is actually quite good. What a pity…”

One of them looked up and glanced at the half-grown girl:

“Water, wood, and fire? That’s a shame. If only one element were less…”

“Well, be satisfied. In such a small place, having this kind of talent is already impressive! What more could you want? Besides, with this purity, who knows—maybe she’ll be our colleague someday!”

Lightly teasing his companion, the other young man with a black mole between his eyebrows turned his gaze to the quietly standing An Ning and smiled as he handed over a black wooden plaque engraved with “Xuqing Sect.”

His expression was unusually gentle as he said:

“Little girl, just stand over there.”

Facing the villagers’ astonished and envious gazes below, An Ning quietly walked toward Pandi and the others.

“See, I told you. Forget about us; A-Ning is definitely going to make it!”

As soon as she arrived, Chen Ping excitedly grabbed her arm and said, “See, didn’t your big brother say so? You even got a wooden plaque! Once you enter, you’ll definitely be treated as a disciple.” Then he sighed again:

“Unlike the rest of us. Sigh! Once we go in, we’re definitely stuck as miscellaneous servants.”

Noticing the curious looks from those around, Chen Ping immediately explained the differences between miscellaneous servants, outer disciples, and inner disciples.

An Ning listened carefully as well. The original body had lived through many lifetimes, with several tragic ones. Most memories, especially from the first two lives, had already blurred.

As one of the largest sects on Xuanzhen Continent, Xuqing Sect’s management was undoubtedly strict.

There were clear boundaries between miscellaneous servants, outer disciples, and inner disciples.

Miscellaneous servants were generally the lowest rank disciples. Aside from cleaning and handling sect chores daily, they usually had to serve the inner elders or legitimate disciples.

One could say that the time available for cultivation each day was extremely limited. Even some places like the library were off-limits. Their status was akin to slaves in the mortal world.

After Chen Ping finished speaking, everyone present except An Ning turned pale.

Not far away, a little girl with delicate twin buns adorned with pearl tassels suddenly turned deathly pale.

Meanwhile, Pandi was silent briefly but otherwise acted normally.

Despite this, after a moment of silence, no one showed any intention to leave.

After all, immortals were still respected beings, even if they were slaves. They were far different from ordinary mortals. However, at this moment, An Ning was the sole exception in the group.

People’s gazes inevitably changed somewhat.

Chen Ping was unashamed. While he had been a bit subtle before, now he practically plastered the word “toady” all over his face.

Before long, he was asking if she was thirsty or wanted some food to eat—more attentive than serving ancestors.

Seeing this, the others seemed to realize something instantly, understanding that their statuses might differ in the future. The little girl who had been timid moments ago timidly took out the candy she had:

“Uh, Sister Chen… my name is Zhang Baozhu. My family runs the cloth shop in town…”

Taking the candy and various snacks from her hand, An Ning briefly fell silent, recalling how that girl had appeared like a proud little princess just now.

Come to think of it, a little girl this age might be too worldly wise.