Several female disciples listened to Tang Xiaoyu's murmurs and wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"How embarrassing! That said, a man's body is different from ours!"
"His body does have a nice shape!"
"Stop talking. It's fine if you know it yourself, why say it out loud?"
Tang Xiaoyu cursed and turned back to process the fish downstream, then brought the processed fish back to the resting spot.
Liu YuXin was resting with her eyes closed. Hearing the sound, she opened her eyes to see the fish in Tang Xiaoyu's hands. She immediately stood up.
"This fish is so fat. I happen to have some salt. It will definitely taste great grilled."
Tang Xiaoyu handed her the fish: "Then you grill it!"
Watching her skilled movements, Tang Xiaoyu felt a sense of pleasure.
Liu YuXin started grilling the fish, swallowing her saliva: "Wait a little longer, it'll be ready soon."
She took out from her pocket a paper package a little bigger than her thumb and carefully opened it, evenly sprinkling the salt inside over the fish.
"Here, eat first." Liu YuXin passed a grilled fish to Tang Xiaoyu.
Seeing her swallowing saliva, Tang Xiaoyu received it and took a bite: "Delicious, smells so good!"
Liu YuXin was drooling staring at the raw fish in her hand.
Just when her saliva was about to flow out, she finally got her wish and tasted the fish.
"So delicious, ten thousand times better than buns!"
After the two were full, Liu YuXin asked, "Is there a river over there?"
"There's a small creek."
"Then I'll go there to take a bath. I stink all over."
Tang Xiaoyu stopped her, "Never go there. Just now I met several female hooligans who stared at me lustfully."
Liu YuXin asked nervously: "You didn't get taken advantage of by them, did you?"
"Of course not. Do they know who I am?"
Liu YuXin said, "Tomorrow I'll go with you to protect you."
"OK."
Without talking for the whole night, the next noon, Liu YuXin touched her stomach and remembered yesterday's fish.
"Tang Xiaoyu, let's go catch some fish."
"OK."
The two came to the creek: "Tang Xiaoyu, take off your clothes and catch the fish. I'll keep watch from above. If any female hooligans come, I'll yell."
"Hurry up and take off your clothes to catch them. There are so many fish. They'll all swim away later." Liu YuXin urged.
"Alright! You go keep watch from afar."
"I'm going now. Hurry up and catch the fish!"
When Tang Xiaoyu climbed onto the shore holding the fish, Liu YuXin had already run back.
"So many fish. I'll go process them first. Hurry up and put your clothes on, don't catch a cold!"
The clothes Tang Xiaoyu was holding fell onto the ground. She was seen naked again today.
Soon it was time for Fengxi Sect to recruit disciples. Tang Xiaoyu and Liu YuXin followed behind the troops walking up the mountain.
Arriving at Fengxi Sect's mountain gate, Tang Xiaoyu and Liu YuXin stood at the back, listening to the announcement of the recruitment criteria.
Luckily there was no age limit, so the two could sign up.
The old recruitment process: climbing the Immortal Ladder, simply put, climbing stairs with formations. The only difference was that the end of these stairs couldn't be seen.
This was to test one's willpower. The more stairs climbed, the higher the probability of being selected.
Soon, thousands of people started swarming up the stairs leading to the mid-peak.
"Tang Xiaoyu, don't rush. Take it slowly. Climbing stairs requires gradual progress."
Subsequently, the two walked up at a steady pace. The higher they went, the more people gave up.
Seeing Liu YuXin's increasingly strained expression, Tang Xiaoyu knew the pressure on the girl was getting greater.
As for Tang Xiaoyu, she didn't feel anything, just panting as she followed.
"Tang Xiaoyu, hang in there. We've surpassed most people already. The higher we climb, the greater our chance of being selected."
Tang Xiaoyu panted heavily: "I can still persist. Can we rest first so I can catch my breath?"
"No way. This tests our willpower. We must make it up in one go. Give me your hand, I'll pull you."
A black line appeared on Tang Xiaoyu's head. [Miss, do you believe I can dash up right now?]
Just as Tang Xiaoyu was about to refuse, Liu YuXin grabbed her hand and pulled her along up.
With Liu YuXin's persistence, the two ranked 189 and 190 respectively, not a bad result. Although not genius material that made it to the peak, they passed the first test.
"The top 500 disciples stay. The rest may leave."
The ones not kept drooped their heads dejectedly and left. The remaining had smiles brimming on their faces.
"Next, we'll test your aptitude. Everyone line up to take the test in order."
Some passed, some failed in front. There were also a few geniuses whose results made the crowd cry out in surprise.
Among them was a boy who surprised Tang Xiaoyu - the one who had wrongly directed them earlier.
When it was Liu YuXin's turn, she was very nervous but still gave Tang Xiaoyu an encouraging look.
Liu YuXin's aptitude was very poor, barely passing the test.
She walked back excitedly to Tang Xiaoyu's side: "I passed! You'll surely pass too!"
Tang Xiaoyu wasn't worried at all: "Thanks for the blessings!"
As expected, Tang Xiaoyu passed the test easily, though her aptitude wasn't great either.
"Those who passed stay. The rest may leave."
What followed was elders selecting disciples. Naturally, geniuses were in high demand. As for Tang Xiaoyu and the others, they would either become outer sect disciples or handyman disciples.
On the elders' platform, an elder with exceptional looks and figure leaned lazily in her chair.
Fengxi Sect's sect leader said to her: "Junior sister, this year you have to take two disciples, otherwise your peak will be merged into another one."
The woman sat up straight: "Fine!"
"There are some decent disciples this year. Take whoever you fancy."
The woman glanced at the disciples below, pointing at Tang Xiaoyu and Liu YuXin, "Just these two. Although they have ordinary looks and poor aptitude, I like challenges."
A black line appeared on Tang Xiaoyu's head again. [You can say I have poor aptitude, but you can't insult my looks!]
Liu YuXin excitedly pulled Tang Xiaoyu down on their knees: "Disciple Liu YuXin greets Master!"
Tang Xiaoyu cooperated: "Disciple Tang Xiaoyu greets Master!"
"Rise. Follow me back!"
She turned to the sect leader: "Senior brother, I'll head back first."
"What more can I say? Hurry back!"
Tang Xiaoyu and Liu YuXin followed their master back to their peak.
"Our Falling Leaf Peak has a total of eight people including you two. Food, shelter, clothing - all depend on yourselves. Later I'll have your eldest senior sister brief you on the rules."
Looking at the crudely built wooden houses, Tang Xiaoyu knew what kind of people they were - free-spirited when put nicely, lazy when put bluntly.
"Settle your own accommodation. Tools are with your senior sister. Get materials from the mountain forest yourselves. Make your own food. Ingredients are in the kitchen."
Liu YuXin respectfully said, "Understood, Master."
"Now I'll bring you to meet your senior brothers and sisters."
When they arrived at the open space in front of the wooden houses: "Everyone, come out to meet your new junior brother and sister."
Soon, four women and a man emerged from the houses. Seeing them, Tang Xiaoyu almost yelled "female hooligans".
The four women were also extremely surprised seeing Tang Xiaoyu, but pretended nothing had happened.
"Sixth junior sister Liu YuXin, seventh junior brother Tang Xiaoyu."
Another black line appeared on Tang Xiaoyu's head. [What the, shouldn't I be old six given my age?]
"Greetings, seniors." Liu YuXin respectfully greeted them.
Tang Xiaoyu half-heartedly bowed, not saying anything.
"Alright, get to know each other. I'm going to rest first."
After her master left, Tang Xiaoyu said to Liu YuXin: "These four female hooligans peeped at my body."
The man beside them was stunned speechless, unbelievingly looking at his four senior sisters.
Tang Xiaoyu continued: "You four better stay away from me. I don't have seniors like you."
The man advised: "Junior brother seven, maybe there's some misunderstanding between you."
Tang Xiaoyu retorted angrily: "No misunderstanding, just facts. Also, don't call me junior brother seven."
Without giving the others a chance to speak, he turned and left to prepare housing materials.