Chapter 16 Furnace
"Tsk tsk.."
"As usual, after all , not everyone can be a genius.."
The murmurs were softly spoken among the others but Li Meirong still heard.
She was alright.
She was fine with this.
She will teleport to the outside of the forest, find herself a craft or make do with humble work and build her life step by step.
This body was young, she had years ahead of herself.
Mo Cheng, Shu Qianqian and Mo Jing also saw the results, their expressions showed the disappointment of not having the opportunity to continue with Li Meirong, but after all this made sense.
She did come over here entirely by accident.
What was not fated could not be forced.
And what was fated was bound to happen.
"Eliminated." The cultivator lady responded. She disdainfully gestured for Li Meirong to join the ranks of the folk without attributes and be handed a teleportation stone.
However, just as Li Meirong raised her hand from the waters all at once all attributes showed at once on the bowl.
It was a sudden rainbow of green, purple, red, and blue. They shown brightly and vividly. As soon as hues appeared, the colors just as quickly disappeared and faded away into nothingness. The water once again turned crystal clear.
One of the senior disciples ready to bring the accepted group to the chambers gazed inquisitively..
"How rare.."
It is the most common for cultivators to have multiple attributes, but to have all attributes could only mean one thing.
And it wasn’t great for the owner of that power..
The potential contestants behind Li Meirong were as clueless as her as to what was happening, but the elder cultivators were aware of the phenomenon.
The cultivator lady seated on the boulder had her full focus on Li Meirong now.
What was once before disdain and haughtiness turned into outright pity.
The colors shown, even if they were all at once and disappeared abruptly, they still showed!
Li Meirong, clueless as to what was going on was still overjoyed with the results! She has potential, she can cultivate!
She looked at the senior cultivator full of smiles and bowed.
"Senior cultivator, does this mean I passed?" Almost forgetting the dangers she has been told previously.
Li Meirong’s mind was focused on the fact that she now has potential. She doesn’t have to be a stallion! But she could stay by their side.
"..." The senior cultivator lady was at a loss for words, she couldn’t bear to say what she knew out loud.
She coughed twice and regained her balance.
"Multiple attributes. Average talent. Pass."
Li Meirong bowed again and joyfully walked towards her companions who were happy for her fortune. None of them any wiser.
A senior cultivator with a mischievous look to his face smirked as he got closer to the group, he was adorned more exquisitely than his fellow senior disciples and his long hair hung loosely around him, he had a pointed chin and his cheekbones were placed high..
"Foolish one, it would have been better for you if you had no attributes at all, from all the possible cultivators, you will have it the worst." his voice had a slur to it, he spoke loudly and his tone was mocking.
A senior disciple girl with a pair of dots for eyebrows walked towards the senior who spoke. She was quite intimidating with a muscular physique and taller than most of the men in the vicinity.
"Don’t address her, brother Shuchu, this is beneath us." She spoke in disgust.
Li Meirong felt hurt and unsure by their words, after all, the most common for cultivators is multiple attributes anyway, why is she treated differently?
The duo continued with their chatter.
"Don’t worry sister Liang, even with her only use, it would still be hard for her to find a strong support in the sect when her face looks like that." The senior disciple Shuchu snickered, he took out a fan from the sleeve of his robe and flapped it gently against his face, to hide his expression.
Mo Cheng, Mo Jing, and Shu Qianqian grew enraged by their talk. They couldn’t dare offend their elder seniors without even officially joining the sect, but Li Meirong was someone who they spent the whole day with, one could say they’ve already become friends, the did accept her after all, and to hear them insult her like that was frustrating without being able to respond.
Li Meirong knew that these people may potentially be her future seniors if she passes and becomes a disciple successfully. Wanting to avoid making enemies, she glanced at her talented companions with a smile to calm them down and then proceeded to bow and cup her hands in front of her seniors.
"Thank you elder seniors brother and sister for reminding me. I hope I have not done anything to offend you." Li Meirong kept a pleasant attitude, her voice was soft and melodious.
Pride didn’t help her stay alive, pride wouldn’t help her survive. Li Meirong didn’t mind debasing herself in order to avoid conflict.
"Pft, the likes of you offend my presence alright. You probably don’t know so I will give you dirty little thing a tip. You’re a furnace. You’re best use would be only to increase the strength of another cultivator, and the means for that..Hmph, anyway you dirty creature, stay away from the bestiary coalition. We won’t welcome you there!"
The rest of the potential disciples who passed the test all looked at Li Meirong.
She felt almost intimidated, the feeling was not so unfamiliar from the feeling she had at the brothel house when she was on the stage.
Assessing her as used goods.
What does a furnace even mean?
One of the new recruits looked at Li Meirong lustfully and licked his lips.
"I’m a dual attributes of Earth and Water, if you want to be my companion I may consider it despite your imperfections." He approached them smiling. Showing off his generosity with his offer.
Mo Jing was the first to stand in front of Li Meirong, he hid her view from the crowd and glared at the approaching young man, Qianqian went by Li Meirong’s side and squeezed her hand reassuringly, but it was Mo Cheng who spoke.
"Li Meirong is under my Mo’s family protection, I won’t allow the newcomers to bully her!" Mo Cheng announced. His words were sharp and resonated with the crowd.
Li Meirong almost blushed, this was the first time someone ever stood up for her like that, and to think it’s such a youngster at that!
She almost felt her old woman’s heart beating faster for this boy who was probably younger than her actual soul by ten years.
The group couldn’t stand up against the senior disciples, but when it comes to the newcomers, they were considered dragons among them. Mo Cheng’s words quickly made the fellow disciples avert their gaze and cease the prattle, the young man carefully retreating with sounding a swift apology.
Li Meirong cast her gaze to the ground and stared at her feet.
"Thank you fellow brother Mo." Her voice was low and almost shy. Her hair hid her expression, Mo Cheng thought she looked kind of cute.
He patted her head in response and said in a brotherly fashion. "Don’t worry about it, you are now like a little sister to us, whoever bothers you will have to deal with me."
Mo Cheng made his stand and went to assemble the rest of the disciples who were accepted.
Mo Jing seemed slightly displeased by the interaction, he folded his hands and huffed but didn’t respond.
Qianqian who was still holding Li Meirong’s hand held her tighter until it hurt.
She smiled but it looked very forced, almost static.
She came close to Li Meirong and whispered in her ear. "Don’t think badly of me because I started to like you, but brother Mo is mine so please don’t get any ideas. As long as you keep your distance from him I will be your friend and even support you. Alright?"
Qianqian said all that while appearing cute and charming.
The contrast terrified Li Meirong but she got the message.
Not to have romantic inclinations towards the prodigy?
Not.A.Problem.
After the brothel event she felt like she’ll need the next 20 years to get over her awkwardness around men anyway.
Especially when that strange men fondled her, went down there and licked between...
Between..
Shaking her head to snap out of those embarrassing thoughts, Li Meirong focused her attention on this little girl that’s in love and considers her a threat. She had to stop this foolish impression.
Li Meirong gazed straight into Shu Qianqian’s eyes, she grabbed her hand as well.
"I swear that I have no intention of making any moves on brother Mo. I’m really grateful to you three! You’re the first friends I made in this worl- Ahem, this sect. I hope we will stick together as true friends. " Li Meirong solemnly swore, she then came close to Qianqian’s ears just the same way she did for her and whispered.
"And if you need my help to hook up with brother Mo I don’t mind helping you!"
Pleased with her response, Shu Qianqian smiled from ear to ear and clasped her arm around Li Meirong’s. They looked like close friends walking hand in hand.
"Then we will definitely get along! Don’t worry, even if you’re a furnace, I’ll make sure nobody would touch you!" Shu Qianqian threw another promise in the air happily.
Mo Jing who was standing up ahead glanced back at them and frowned.
Li Meirong was glad that although they were incredibly powerful, these kids were innocent and not at all vile like the people she met before. She felt secure in their presence.
The no eyebrows lady from the Bestiary coalition called her a furnace. Maybe that’s the weakest among cultivators as they can only support other cultivators instead of enhancing their own powers, but how bad could it truly be?
Li Meirong did not know, but she would soon find out.
The testing passed. Only a little over two dozen disciples were accepted, the lot headed to the cabin for the night.
Shu Qianqian bunked in with Li Meirong in the room. It was a cozy feeling. She was rather entertained by Shu Qianqian’s behavior and antics. She was like an excited little puppy with a lot of mischievous ideas in mind.
They were provided with a sample of light foods, and a water pitcher. Sauteed plate of green vegetables and steamed lotus roots, a small bamboo basket filled with steamed dumplings, along with a bowl of clear warm soup. The girls shared the meal, Li Meirong ravenously consumed the meal. She couldn’t recall the last time she ate properly.
After feasting, they settled down to rest.
Early morning of the next day, the sound of a horn echoed loudly, it was still dark outside. The sun had just rising and the sky got coated with a splash of golden hue.
Shu Qianqian snored lightly on the adjoining wooden plank these cultivators called a "bed".
With dark circled under her eyes, Li Meirong recalled that now she has to survive in a forest full of monsters for three whole days!
If I will die in an unmarked grave, I will regret this foolishness of waltzing into a testing ground for a sect in my next life as well!
Shuddering in fright, she lay in the wooden bed and hugged herself before resolving to get up.
No matter what, she will stay by her new stallion’s side and hug their powerful thighs!