Tang Zen stood alone at the centre of the stage, her nerves working on overdrive. This was the moment of truth, the moment where she would find out if her efforts had born fruit.

She listened as the announcer provided a recap of her performance and breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that her last attack had indeed defeated her opponent.

It turned out that she had sustained critical injuries during her forced activation of the Thousand Lotus stance which was why she lost all her strength and was unable to continue.

To her, it meant that she, someone who had only reached proficiency in the second stance, had defeated an opponent of the third stance. That was equivalent to defeating someone who had a higher level of cultivation than oneself and would surely contribute to her overall score even though she didn’t make it very far in the simulations overall.

When the time came for the core disciples and elders them to show their interest, Tang Zen’s heart began to race. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them once more, looking straight over to Prime Elder Murong.

What she was looking for was a white light that would indicate Prime Elder Murong’s offer to take her in as a disciple.

However, her light wasn’t shining…

Tang Zen felt crushed. All of her hard work, all of her blood, sweat and tears, the countless hours she had spent swinging her sword over and over again, not stopping even as she stripped her hands raw; all of it was for nought.

She had failed.

She… was worthless…

——|——

“You know, Tang Zen, you’re someone I really admire.”

“Huh? W-where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

“You’re just, really strong, you know?”

“Strong? I’m not strong. I can’t even land a single hit on you.”

“I’m not talking about physical strength. I’m talking about the strength of your heart.”

“My heart?”

“Mm.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was five years old, I found out that I had no spirit roots, and everything in my life came tumbling down. I persisted though and continued training my martial arts, hoping that they were wrong and that one day, the truth would come to light.

“I continued like that for a year, but then I started to lose hope. I knew deep down that everything I was doing was a waste of time, and I was on the brink of giving up, but then my little brother told me something that changed my life. He said that even the weakest can become the world’s strongest. I’ve kept that thought with me to this day and it’s what motivates me to continue striving for greatness.

“That said, when I was twelve years old, something else happened. I was faced against an opponent who was too strong for me, and I lost the will to fight. That was when my brother came to support me, and I felt that feeling of being able to do anything once again.”

He paused for a moment.

“When I was down, I ultimately needed someone else to help me get back on my feet. But you… I did everything in my power to destroy your will to oppose me, but later that same day, I could feel your fighting spirit shining through as you spoke to me through the transceiver.

“You’re someone who can be knocked down by the world and will still stand to fight. I think that’s really cool, and I hope to be more like you in the future.”

——|——

Tang Zen couldn’t help smiling as she recalled the conversation she had with Tianlan the day before. She didn’t see herself as a strong person at all, but the thought that someone who she admired so much also admired her was enough to reignite her will to fight.

She lowered her gaze again, preparing to leave the stage, but that was when she saw numerous white lights shining before her.

It reminded her of the words Ming Hong had spoken to her a few days ago.

“When one door closes, and its light fades away, that’s often when we notice the other doors that have always been there.”

So what if Prime Elder Murong didn’t want to accept her as a disciple? There were so many others, so many people who were willing to guide her on her path.

She silently apologised to all of these masters who she had overlooked, and after considering her options, she cupped her fist and bowed.

“I would be honoured to-”

“Wait a moment please,” sounded a feminine voice. “This thing doesn’t seem to be working.”

When Tang Zen looked up to see where the voice was coming from, she saw a woman who looked much younger than her age would suggest. A woman who had clouds embroidered on her clothes.

That woman smiled at her and said, “I would like to take you in as my disciple as well,” and as Tang Zen stood there dumbfounded, a senior disciple delivered a new jade to that woman, which she poured her qi into, causing it to let out a dazzling white light.

When the other elders and core disciples saw this, they bowed their heads and deactivated their jades, thereby withdrawing their intent to accept Tang Zen as their disciple.

This left her with only one choice.

“What do you say? Will you accept me as your master?”

Tang Zen couldn’t hide the excitement on her face. She wouldn’t, even if she could. She quickly got on her knees and placed her trembling hands just above her knees before bowing.

“Disciple Tang Zen greets Master Murong!”

***

Tang Zen was still feeling giddy long after she had left her master’s place. She had just formally accepted Prime Elder Murong as her master and would start receiving her instruction starting tomorrow.

Her footsteps were so incredibly light that she almost felt as if something was wrong.

She remembered that she had yet to thank Shao Tianlan and the Fang Clan juniors for all their help; a situation that had to be rectified immediately.

After all, she wouldn’t have been able to achieve this if it weren’t for them.

Not to mention the excellent mentorship, with just Prime Elder Murong’s connections alone, securing an opportunity to enter the Academy, the lower continent’s number one first-grade sect, was a real possibility.

That was the difference between being the disciple of a prime elder versus any other, and its value was immeasurable. That was because once someone managed to enrol in the Academy, advancing to the three pillars or moving on to the upper continent was almost a foregone conclusion.

By becoming Prime Elder Murong’s disciple, Tang Zen had put herself well on her way to finding a cure for her brother’s condition, and she couldn’t wait to return home to tell him the good news.

She felt like she had taken her first meaningful step today, and she hoped it would be followed by many, many more.