"Hm? The tree does not have any fruits on it...?"
At the same time Xuan Hao was about to reach the Star Shattering Sect, Mui who was stuck inside the trial space could not help freezing up on the spot as she said this, a look of disbelief clearly visible on her face as she looked up at the empty branches of the tree in front of her.
From what she remembered; this kind of tree should have been filled with fruits on all its branches... But there was nothing!
Wait... Maybe I have already been at this tree before... But shouldn't the fruits grow back after I finish eating them...? Don't tell me... The supply of fruits is not endless!?
Feeling shocked as she realized this, Mui could not help looking at the rest of the fruit trees around her-
"Nothing...!"
Like she had already started expecting, the fruit trees all around her were all empty without anything on them. All having been eaten by her earlier... The only fruit she could spot was hanging on a small tree that had been tucked away into the corner beneath a large rock, something that she hadn't even noticed before when all her attention had been focused on eating fruits, training the unnamed greatsword technique and increasing her cultivation realm.
"Won't I end up starving like this...?" Realizing how bad her current situation was, Mui could not help turning her attention towards the box of words that had remained without any changes ever since she had first shown up.
It was only now that she understood that staying inside the trial space for an extended period of time was not a good idea. Especially now that she had gone through all the fruits that would normally have lasted her for several months if she ate them slowly and only when she was hungry instead of eating them whenever she wanted to...
[Generation of the score has finished and the reward for completing the trial has been calculated.]
[View the score and reward: Y/N]
"It finished!? When did this happen- Ah... Maybe I was too absorbed on eating the different fruits and training that I didn't even notice that the box of words had changed..." Noticing that the box of words had changed and had already finished generating her score, Mui had no idea to say.
After she discovered that the box of words would take longer than normal to generate her score, she had not turned to look at it once during her entire time in the new and comfortable location filled with delicious fruits. Instead, she had focused all her attention on eating the fruits and increasing her strength.
For all she knew, the box of words could have finished generating her score a few minutes after she had arrived, but she would have had no idea about it...
Pressing down the big yes button that had appeared below the box of words, Mui felt herself looking forward to what her score for the trial was going to be... But even more than this, she was looking forward to the reward mentioned by the box of words.
Although she had managed to get both a cultivation technique and a combat technique in the trial so far, Mui was still curious about whether she would get another reward after completing the trial. After all, from what she remembered about the stories she had heard about cultivator trials, other than being deadly, the reward for completing one such trial would always be something amazing like the inheritance of a powerful cultivator. Maybe even a chance to directly increase one's strength to a brand-new realm.
[Trial Participant: Mui]
[Evaluation: Managed to successfully clear a total of three out of three trials. All three trials have been cleared in accordance with the minimum criteria to be given a chance of a reward.]
[Reward: One Interspatial ring filled to the brim with spiritual fruits, a disciple token for the Star Shattering Sect, a chance to become the disciple of an elder within the Star Shattering Sect.]
"Star Shattering Sect? Becoming a disciple of an elder...?" Reading through the information that had been displayed by the box of words, Mui could not help tilting her head in confusion after reading past the part with the interspatial ring and spiritual fruits.
To be honest, Mui did not have a clear understanding of what a disciple was. Even if she had heard about disciples before through the other orphans, she had grown up around, she still did not understand a lot about what a disciple was. All she understood was that it was a title for someone who was a part of a sect.
As for the Star Shattering Sect that was mentioned, Mui had never heard about a sect like that before but considering that the box of words had mentioned it, she guessed that the Star Shattering Sect should be behind the trial.
Thinking about it like this, Mui did not feel like it would be a bad idea to become a disciple of an elder from the Star Shattering Sect. Especially when considering that they should also have a lot of delicious fruits and provide her with a safe place to live.
The matter of returning to the city she had lived in before ending up in the trial was never really something she considered. The main reason for this being that she had seen firsthand what would happen to someone who carried a precious treasure or anything else with them without enough strength to defend themselves... Be it cultivators or normal people without cultivation!
[You will be teleported out of your current location in five minutes and will appear in front of an elder from the Star Shattering Sect. The interspatial ring filled with spiritual fruits can be found in front of you.]
[Reminder: Put on the interspatial ring before you get teleported away or the interspatial ring will be left behind!]
[Time until teleportation: 4 minutes and 56 seconds... 55 seconds...]
"Hm?" Lost in her own thoughts as she was thinking about the different rewards mentioned by the box of words, Mui suddenly noticed the next part of the message-
Swish-!
Not even a second later, she leaped towards the interspatial ring that had appeared on the ground without wasting a single second.
Even if she had no idea what an interspatial ring was or how it could even store the delicious fruits inside of it, Mui did not think too much about this, to her, the most important thing was the fact that the ring somehow had delicious fruits inside of it. Figuring out how to access those delicious fruits and how it even stored them, was a problem for later. Maybe the elder from the Star Shattering Sect that she was being teleported to in a few minutes would be able to help her in this regard...
Whoosh~!
As the remaining four minutes passed by in what felt like an instant, Mui suddenly felt her entire body being enveloped in some kind of strange energy before everything around her turned blurry and she felt herself moving at a speed that was impossible to comprehend with her current cultivation realm.
Waaaaaah-!
Not able to say anything while moving through space, Mui could only let out a silent scream at the brand-new sensation-
Thump!
However, the entire thing only lasted for a few seconds before she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a large open field with nothing more than a few wild animals and birds in view.
"Hm...? You are-"
It was at this moment, that Mui caught sight of a man standing a few meters away from her looking into the distance. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with a tall and lean build, dressed in a simple white robe. But what caught her attention the most was the powerful and ethereal aura that surrounded him and seemed to emanate from his very being.
Even if she had just started cultivating a short time ago and was still only in the Qi Condensation Realm, she still understood that the person in front of her was powerful. Far stronger than any of the cultivators she had seen during her time in the city!
As she gazed at him, he turned his head and their eyes met, causing Mui to feel a sense of warmth, though she couldn't quite understand why.
Without warning, the man spoke, his voice smooth and deep like a gentle stream. "Young lady, do not be alarmed. I am from the Star Shattering Sect, the most powerful sect in the Sky Empire."
Mui unconsciously felt her heart skip a beat at his words. Although she had never heard about the Star Shattering Sect before, she understood what the Sky Empire was and what it represented. For the Star Shattering Sect to be considered the most powerful sect in the Sky Empire, it was easy for her to imagine just how strong this sect was!
"It was sensed that one of the trials set up by my sect across the Sky Empire was triggered and successfully completed by you, young lady, and I'm here to extend my invitation to not only becoming a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect... But my personal disciple!"
Listening to what the man said, Mui could not help feeling shocked. Even if she had already somewhat guessed that the Star Shattering Sect was behind the trial, it was another thing for it to be directly confirmed, what more, she also managed to learn just how powerful the Star Shattering Sect was!
Not only that, but she was also going to become a disciple of such a powerful sect- No, she was going to become a person disciple of an elder from such a powerful sect!
Not having any idea what to say as she thought about all of this, Mui momentarily froze on the spot. Forgetting her original goal of wanting to ask about the interspatial ring and how to get her hands on the delicious fruits inside.