Chapter 27 The School-choosing Convention (Part One)

After about an hour of riding without a break, he and Fiona arrived at the foot of the Five-spirit Mountains.

He raised his head and looked up. The Five-spirit Mountains were vast and beautiful, and he couldn't help but be impressed by the sight.

Each of the five mountains was shaped differently. One of them was the shape of a sword, and another was the shape of a blade. There was even a mountain shaped like a fist. They represented the five schools of the Five-Spirit Mountains.

"Darren, the spiritual energy here is so abundant," Fiona said and took a deep breath, her body relaxing.

Darren nodded in agreement. He too could feel that the spiritual energy here was thicker than usual, and he immediately began to circulate his internal energy to absorb the surrounding power.

After a short moment, the aura around Darren suddenly changed. He unconsciously released the energy he had been circulating.

"Oh, my God! You broke through, Darren!" Of course, Fiona immediately realized what the sudden change of Darren's energy meant. It was the sign of breaking through a stage.

"It's just the ninth stage," Darren said with indifference.

"You were at the eighth stage before? My God, I can't believe it! You just beat a man who was at the ninth stage while you were only at the eighth stage! Now I know that I can never compare to a talent of the Black Degree. Darren, you are really something else." Fiona felt happy for him, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed about herself. She truly was not a match for his prowess.

Hearing her praise, Darren merely smiled and said, "Enough of that. Let's head into the mountains now. The School-Choosing Convention is about to begin."

"Yeah, you are right." Fiona nodded her head adorably, looking at Darren. Then she added, "By the way, which school do you want to join, Darren?"

"I'm leaning towards the School of Sword Skill," Darren answered. He thought that the sword skill was powerful compared to the others. Besides, Elder Thomas of the School of Sword Skill had also come to test his talent the other day. That was why he was now inclined to choose the School of Sword Skill.

Hearing his answer, Fiona felt a bit unhappy, but she didn't let it show. She had, in fact, been practicing the blade skill ever since she was a child, and she knew nothing about the sword. What was more, the sword and the blade were like the fire and the water. One could never practice the two skills at the same time. It meant that she and Darren would not be able to go to the same school.

As Darren and Fiona conversed with each other, a pompous young man with a puffed chest also arrived at the foot of the Ilmen Sect. He, too, was one of the talented disciples who had passed the test.

"Now, everyone, please come with me." In a sudden flash, a disciple of the Ilmen Sect flew down and landed before the gathering group like a nimble bird of prey. They could all tell that he was no ordinary disciple.

"Whoa! The Flying Skill! It seems that he is an excellent martial artist!" Some of the disciples gasped admiringly.

Darren immediately recognized him. He was Jimmy, the one who had come to the Chu family to select new disciples.

"Jimmy, nice to see you again," Darren greeted politely.

"Oh, it's you, Darren! Come on in!" Jimmy was also very polite towards him.

"He's Darren? The disciple of the Black Degree?" Someone blurted out.

"What a handsome young man! I feel like falling in love!" One of the girls gasped giddily.

The others all turned their heads toward Darren, looking at him with eyes filled with envy.

Jimmy led the way as they entered the ancient gate to the mountains and arrived at the mai

n mountain.

In the open yard in front of the main mountain, there were hundreds of talents gathering there, each patiently waiting for the School-choosing Convention to commence.

As soon as Darren entered the yard, the crowd around him all kept glancing at him because the people who knew who he was had spread word about his identity. Everyone was wondering which school the famous talent would choose.

"Alright, the disciples who are going to choose a school of martial arts skill are all here. Now please welcome the elders of each school!" announced a disciple of the Ilmen Sect who was standing on a high stage at the front.

With his words, a few figures materialized on the stage. None looked ordinary and each radiated a quiet power... The disciples immediately realized that they were the elders of each school by just one look at them. But surprisingly, there was a young woman among them.

"Oh, my God! I can feel their strong aura! It makes me want to kneel in front of them right now. The elders of the Ilmen Sect are so powerful and strong!"

"Of course! The elders are all outstanding martial artists who are at the peak of the Mysterious Realm. Of course, they are very powerful!"

All the disciples could feel the terrifying aura radiating from the elders. Even Darren, who was very talented, felt his breath quicken when the elders appeared. Martial artists in the Mysterious Realm were really something else.

Then, the elders began to introduce themselves one by one.

"I am Elder Clark of the School of Spear Skill. I welcome all of you to join the School of Spear Skill!"

With these words, Clark Wu walked up and brandished the black spear in his hand. The tip of the spear was pointed at the sky. Suddenly, a flash of strong, vital energy shot from the spear into the sky and exploded, shaking the Five-spirit Mountains.

The disciples off the stage burst into cheers and applause. They all felt shocked at the power of the spear. It could even split the sky!

"Wow! It's so impressive! I'd like to join the School of Spear Skill!" said a disciple near the front of the stage.

"Yeah! It's so powerful! I like it!" said another.

Some of the disciples looked at the elder with eager eyes, hoping that they could join the School of Spear Skill.

Then, it was time for the elder of the School of Arrow Skill to show his skills. He didn't say anything at first. Instead, he drew an arrow into his bow and released it at a half-invisible mountain, covered in mist, and miles away. The arrow punctured a hole in the clouds and the mountains exploded with a thunderous bang. Several disciples now looked up at him with admiring eyes.

"Why do they have to make it such a big deal? Why couldn't we just go straight to the school we want to join?" a disciple couldn't help but mumble, feeling confused.

"Ha. It seems that you know nothing about this convention. The School-choosing Convention is very important. I heard that each school would even offer some enticing things to invite the most talented disciples. Well, as for the reason behind it..." the disciple trailed off. He clearly knew more information, which could draw the attention of the others.

Darren stood beside them, listening to their words silently. To be honest, he was curious too.

"Come on! Just tell us! Why is that?"

"Alright, alright. Let me tell you. It has something to do with the Five Schools Competition of the Five-spirit Mountains that is held every seven years. All the schools think highly of it and are heavily invested in the outcomes. It's only two years till the next competition, and only young disciples can join it. That's why they are all going to try everything to recruit more talents."