Chapter 1991: Is Being a Foot Soldier Really This Hard?
Chapter 1991: Is Being a Foot Soldier Really This Hard?
There were all kinds of flags inserted into the counter, bearing the images of especially bold women posing in the clouds. Many people blushed just from looking at those pictures. At the very center hung a pitch-black flag with ‘Heavenly Devil School’ written on it. Only that flag had less of an erotic air, feeling more representative of the Devil Sect. Zu An couldn't help but sigh deeply. It seemed that the degree of open-mindedness in this world was still quite frightening.
He noticed that the female disciples in charge of the exams were all dressed in translucent silk, and their figures were all extremely voluptuous. No wonder this area was the most popular! The one at the very front was a garish and beautiful woman, and he could tell that she was the one in charge. The piece she wore in front of her chest made him remember a certain movie called Curse of the Golden Flower.
Since he was close to Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he immediately noticed that there were traces of her cultivating the Devil Sect’s charm technique. It was just that it was clearly different from what Qiu Honglei cultivated. Strictly speaking, they were both charm techniques, but Qiu Honglei’s was more restrained and silent, the sort that made one's soul unknowingly feel more intimate with her. But this woman gave off the feeling that she just wanted to go to bed with someone. In the end, it was still lower-grade.
Judging from the noisy clamor, Zu An could more or less tell that many people were praising her. It seemed she was the personal disciple of one of the Heavenly Devil School’s elders, so all of them called her senior sister Pan.
Even though he felt that Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei was most likely fine, the current situation was still unclear, so Zu An didn’t take the risk to greet his ‘in-laws’. After thinking about it, he decided to infiltrate the sect through the recruiting process first, then find a chance to obtain more information from the two of them.
He finally squeezed his way in and said to those Heavenly Devil School disciples, “I wish to join the Heavenly Devil School.”
Everyone around him roared with laughter, saying, “Everyone here wants to join the Heavenly Devil School!”
The activity drew the attention of senior sister Pan. She gave him a look and said with a lovable smile, “We won’t accept you.”
Zu An was stunned. He replied, “We haven’t even done an exam, so why am I already being refused?” He had initially thought that with his skills, passing this type of test should be easy enough.
“Can’t you see that our Heavenly Devil School disciples are all women?” senior sister Pan replied as she pointed around her. Even though she was smiling, Zu An could clearly sense that her smile was just a lethal occupational weapon.
“Even so, I recall that the Heavenly Devil School also has men,” Zu An said with a frown. He pointed to the side and asked, “They’re all men, so why can they join the Heavenly Devil School?”
Senior sister Pan made a few circles around him. The bamboo flute in her hands gently moved across his cheeks as she said, “Our Heavenly Devil School does need men, but the men need to be handsome and confident, or heroic and strong. We don’t accept fellas like you who are nothing special.”
Zu An was speechless. He couldn't help but feel a bit depressed. He had changed his appearance to resemble a forgettable passer-by to not draw attention, and yet that had become the very reason why he couldn't join the Devil Sect. When he heard the roaring laughter around him, he didn’t get upset, and instead withdrew to think about what to do now.
He could naturally just secretly kidnap a few core disciples who were accepted and find out about Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei’s whereabouts that way, but he was worried that it could end up alerting the entire sect. When it came to those two ladies’ safety, he didn’t dare to act carelessly. He decided to become a Devil Sect disciple first, as it would become easier to enter the general headquarters then.
He looked around and saw the ‘Freedom Path’ sighboard nearby. Several handsome men were playing the zither and painting art. There were others who were reciting poetry as well. Some Heavenly Devil School disciples even took the initiative to talk to them, but those handsome men didn’t even seem to have seen them and only focused on what they were doing.
Zu An thought to himself that the Freedom Path was probably the more easygoing path of the Devil Sect. He figured he would be able to save himself quite a bit of trouble if he joined them. He wasn’t worried about whether or not he could pass at all, because in order for him to learn his appearance-changing technique, his skills in drawing had even received Yu Yanluo’s direct teaching. He had also received a lot of pointers in music from Shang Liuyu, so he figured passing some small tasks was easy enough.
He arrived at the table and saw the test in front, and filled out a form that roughly tested the four arts. After passing it, he handed it to the examiner to review. He didn’t even dare to show all of his drawing skills to avoid attracting suspicion. Even so, the others exclaimed in admiration. They hadn’t expected such a talented newcomer to join them! They all felt that his acceptance was already clinched.
Zu An handed the scroll over. Even so, the examiner said without even thinking further, “Fail. Next!”
Zu An couldn't help but become a bit upset now. He asked, “You didn’t even look at it, so why did you fail me?” His skills in drawing surpassed even those of the young examiners. There should have been no reason for him to fail.
“If I say you failed, then you failed,” the examiner said. His expression was cold as he spoke with his nose pointing at the sky.
Zu An thought of something and remarked, “Could it be that you’re jealous of my skills, that I’ll surpass you after I join?” In order to get into the Devil Sect, he readily used psychological attacks.
“I’m scared of you beating me?” Hah!” The examiner sneered. He clearly wasn’t even in the mood to argue back.
Their argument drew the attention of several Freedom Path disciples. They decided to stop playing the zither and reciting poetry and came over to see what was going on.
One of them saw Zu An’s painting and his eyes couldn't help but light up. He exclaimed, “These strokes, this composition, this artistic mood... Incredible, what talent!”
Zu An sighed in relief. There was finally someone here who knew what’s what.
And yet, who would have thought that the disciple would change his tune? He continued, “What a pity, truly, that you have no hope of joining our Freedom Path.”
Zu An was stunned. He asked, “Since there's nothing wrong with my art, why can’t I join?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your art, but there’s something wrong with you,” the cold, handsome guy finally said. “Those who join our Freedom Path need to be handsome and free. At the very least, they need to have decent features, or else they’ll end up embarrassing the entire Freedom Path if they go out! Especially someone like you whose art is so good. if you join our sect, you’ll definitely rise up quickly. That means you might just end up representing our sect for competitions. But if others took a look and saw that the Freedom Path’s outstanding disciple is so ugly, wouldn’t our Freedom Path’s beautiful reputation be ruined at your hands alone?"
Zu An was speechless. He felt as if a stampede were trampling over his heart.
Did I forget to look at the calendar after waking up today? Why am I getting refused again and again for this kind of reason?
However, this appearance was something he had chosen, so he couldn't even get mad about it.
There were many others who became upset now too, because not everyone here was handsome and beautiful. Many of them argued noisily, “If that’s something you require, why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
“You’re wasting our goddamn time!”
“Give me a refund!”
...
As they dealt with the crowd's anger, the Freedom Path’s people were burned badly. Zu An withdrew with a gloomy face.
A giggle came from off to the side, and a voice remarked, “I asked you to join me, but you didn’t want to. Look at you suffering now.”
A beauty with long legs and a tall ponytail was standing nearby. Who else could it be but Zhang Zitong?
With Zu An’s divine sense, he had actually already noticed her a while ago. She seemed to have gone to the World School to receive their task. Judging from the items in her hands, it seemed that whomever could come up with the way to make the most money within two hours through the items given would pass.
“Best of luck,” Zu An said indifferently before continuing to other places. He refused to believe that becoming a footsoldier of the Devil Sect was that hard!
When she saw him turn his back on her yet again, Zhang Zitong gritted her teeth.
What is that guy acting so high and mighty for? Didn’t he keep running into walls earlier?
Suddenly, she was a bit confused. Why was she paying this stranger so much attention?
He seems to have a temperament I’m close to...
She immediately stopped herself as soon as that thought appeared. “Pah pah pah! What am I thinking right now?!” She shook her head and left the hall.
Over at the Yin Yang Path’s counter, a handsome young man with long and narrow eyes was fanning himself. A look of greed appeared in his eyes as he watched her, remarking, “That’s her?”
“Yes, it is her. This damn woman ruined our plans; she clearly doesn’t respect the young boss at all.” The two wretched looking individuals next to him nodded and bowed with fawning smiles. If Zhang Zitong were here, she would recognize these two as the two pickpockets she had kicked flying.
The two were secretly delighted. After all, the young boss was the third disciple of Sir Yin Yang. With him backing them, their grudge now became much more interesting.
“What right do you two have to represent me?” the young boss retorted; when he heard what they said, his expression darkened. He immediately sent a smack at the two of them that left them disoriented.
The two’s legs buckled and they immediately kneeled down, pleading, “Spare us, young boss! Spare us!”
The young master with long and narrow eyes stood up, saying, “Using my name to swindle others is a crime, but since the girl you’ve discovered ended up being quite excellent, this young master will forgive you for now. Go and talk to her.”