Sect Entrance Exam

A year had passed since I came to the Chian Trading Company. I had turned ten, and Yulong had turned thirteen. In that time, my training had progressed, I had become able to use the Shrinking Earth Method from the Meisen Swordsmanship, and my qi level had reached the Fifth Tier. The Fourth Tier and the Fifth Tier were power-ups of the Third Tier, and when I used Fifth Tier qi to strengthen my muscles, I could put out about three times my usual power.

Yulong’s qi level had finally reached the Third Tier, and apparently he was going to take a sect entrance exam this year. Hearing that made me want to enroll too. But I lacked the basic knowledge of the immortal path.

Yulong probably had textbooks about the fundamentals of the immortal path, but there was no way he would show them to me. If I could not clear that hurdle, I probably would not be able to enter a sect.

Apparently, those who aimed to become Immortals normally entered one of several sects. The sect Yulong was taking the exam for was called Gyorei Cave. Incidentally, sects—groups of Taoist practitioners who sought to become Immortals—often called themselves “XX Cave.” In the old days, they had really lived in caves while training, so it seemed they were given names like “XX Cave.”

Even in the present day, many sects still had “Cave” in their names, though they lived in splendid estates. And the places where sects were located had another characteristic. They were adjacent to places called demon realms.

A demon realm was a term for places like forests inhabited by yōma, and they were dangerous areas. They were like power spots in my original world, places where some kind of energy from the star welled up through the dragon veins. Taoist practitioners called that stellar qi.

I had heard these things from the head priest back in my hometown. But the head priest had not known anything beyond that.

The season turned to autumn, and the day came for Yulong to take the sect exam. I headed to Gyorei Cave together with him. My role was to carry his luggage, including his change of clothes.

We went part of the way by carriage, then walked up a mountain path from the foot of the mountain. We climbed about three kilometers up the trail to where Gyorei Cave was located. Tall trees lined both sides of the path, making it hard to see the surroundings. When we kept climbing that road, buildings came into view. The place where the sect stood was halfway up the tallest mountain among a chain of several peaks.

When I saw the beautiful buildings, I felt relieved. The structures, built by cutting into the mountainside, were like Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto enlarged several times over, with some sections made of stone.

There was a large gate. In front of it stood two Taoist practitioners, and they seemed to be handling registration for the exam.

“Did you come to take the exam?”

“Yes. I am Chian Yulong.”

“Which exam will you be taking?”

Hearing that, I tilted my head. Were there different desired departments or courses, like a university exam?

“I wish to become an inner disciple.”

“Then it will be eight gold coins.”

Yulong handed eight gold coins to the Taoist practitioner at reception. An exam fee of eight gold coins… if one gold coin was equivalent to forty thousand yen, that meant three hundred twenty thousand yen. Expensive—ridiculously expensive.

“Hand over the luggage.”

I handed Yulong his luggage. Then he went straight inside. What was I supposed to do?

“Are you taking the exam too?”

One of the Taoist practitioners asked.

“What kinds of exams are there?”

“There are two: the inner disciple exam and the outer disciple exam.”

“Is the outer disciple exam also eight gold coins?”

“Of course not. The outer disciple exam is five silver coins.”

When I asked about outer disciples, he told me they were apprentice disciples who studied the immortal path while doing odd jobs. Inner disciples learned from the sect elders, while outer disciples seemed to learn from inner disciples.

I hesitated. At this rate, Yulong would enter the sect, and I would end up helping with the shop’s work. If that happened, I would be working toward becoming a merchant. Did I want to become a merchant?

“I will take the outer disciple exam.”

That was my answer. I paid five silver coins and went inside, then headed for the building I was told was the exam venue. The exam sites for inner disciples and outer disciples were different, and the outer disciple exam site was a warehouse-like building.

When I entered, six examinees were waiting for the exam to begin. Their ages ranged from about ten like me to men around thirty. And the gender ratio was four men to two women.

“Take your seats. We’ll be starting the exam soon. First, we’ll check your knowledge of the immortal path.”

The Taoist practitioner serving as examiner was apparently named Dong Yimin. That examiner handed out the test papers, and the exam began. As for writing tools, I had something similar to a yatate, the portable writing kit used in the Edo period, so there was no problem.

When I saw the contents of the exam, my shoulders slumped. I could answer only about half of the questions. As expected, it had been too reckless to take the exam with no preparation. Still, this time I was only taking it as a trial run, and I was thinking of next year as the real attempt.

I somehow filled in about half the answers, and the written exam ended. When I looked around, I saw examinees wearing expressions that said doing well was only natural. A sigh slipped out of me before I knew it.

“Did the written exam go badly?”

It was probably because I had such a pathetic look on my face. A boy around fifteen asked me that. He was the manga-protagonist type of boy, with sparkling eyes and spiky hair standing on end.

“It did.”

“Then just do your best on the practical test. It sounds like some people passed because their practical results were good.”

“Thanks. I’ll do my best.”

“Next, we will check your qi level. Come stand before me one at a time.”

The first was the boy who had spoken to me earlier.

“Zengu, you first. Show me the First Tier.”

The named Zengu stood there, focused his mind, and generated qi.

“Good. Now the Second Tier.”

Zengu’s face grew severe as he circulated his qi with all his strength. He somehow managed to get it moving.

“You pass.”

The examiner, Yimin, said.

“Huh?”

I could not help blurting it out. Yimin turned his eyes toward me.

“What is it?”

“Isn’t the passing mark for qi the Third Tier?”

Yimin gave a wry smile.

“That is for inner disciples. For outer disciples, if you can reach the Second Tier, you pass.”

That was how it was, and I felt as though I had been thrown off balance.