ALL NOVEL Recruitment Test for the Observer Role
To make sure that their injuries would not deteriorate, Zhao Yunxiao made sure to administer some first aid to them before they left, just like the previous time they visited the Hundred Puppets Array.
They did not stay out for long after leaving, either.
After having a quick bite at the Lightwind Pavilion and packing a little for the next morning, the trio eventually parted ways for the night.
The sky had already turned dark by then.
However, Zhao Yunxiao still did not head straight back to his own residence after returning to the Outer Disciples’ Quarters.
Instead, he went up to another residence in the same district.
Knock-! Knock-!
“Who is it?” a familiar voice came from within.
“It’s me,” Zhao Yunxiao answered.
“Ah! It’s about damn time!”
The door opened to reveal Bo Fei standing within.
Not only did Bo Fei work with Zhao Yunxiao at the Alchemy Chamber and perform with Zhao Yunxiao in the Flying Shell Performance Group, but the duo also stayed in the same district in the Outer Disciples’ Hall.
Because of that, it was inevitable that the two had formed a rather good relationship over the years.
“What took you so long?” Bo Fei complained the moment he saw Zhao Yunxiao. “Do you know what time it is already? We still have to get up early tomorrow!”
“My apologies, Senior Martial Brother Bo,” Zhao Yunxiao answered apologetically. “It took a while to explain everything to Junior Martial Sister Lu.”
“Junior Martial Sister Lu?” Bo Fei was surprised to hear that. “Is she also intending to participate in the recruitment test tomorrow?”
“She will be applying for the role of observer,” Zhao Yunxiao answered helplessly.
“Observer? Didn’t you try to persuade her otherwise?” Bo Fei frowned.
“I tried. She didn’t listen,” Zhao Yunxiao sighed in resignation.
“Sounds like her, indeed,” Bo Fei nodded in understanding. “Well then, come on in. We have a lot to discuss!”
“Mm,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
As they were both intending to apply for the role of observer, the duo naturally wanted to help each other out however they could.
For that reason, they spent the night sharing their thoughts on the upcoming recruitment tests.
Even though the format of the tests had yet to be revealed, that did not stop people from speculating among themselves.
Zhao Yunxiao and Bo Fei carefully analysed how the tests were held in the past, trying to identify patterns that could give them a hint as to what the upcoming tests would be like.
They even performed various simple tests with each other, making sure that both of them remained all sharp and on top of their game.
Next came the topic of the strongest competitors whom they had to be wary of should the tests be conducted in a competitive manner. If it came down to it, they would not shy away from working together to take out these tougher competitors!
There was a lot to talk about.
Unfortunately, it was already late at night when they started their discussion, so they dared not spend too long on this matter.
After all, rather than making plans for hypothetical situations that might not even materialise, it was more important to keep themselves in top condition to be ready for whatever came up the next day.
***
The recruitment of helpers for the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm was an event that occurred on an annual basis.
But unlike the monthly cultivation lecture, there was no need to fight for a place to enter.
There was neither a concept of a better seat, nor was there a limited number of slots for applicants. Anyone who showed up would be given a fair shot at the recruitment test.
This also meant that disciples did not have to wake up early in the morning just to make it in time.
Zhao Yunxiao woke up early the next day and performed his usual morning practice.
After taking the food that he had packed from the Lightwind Pavilion last night, he slowly made his way over to the venue of the recruitment tests.
The recruitment tests for his group of districts had always been held at the same venue every year, so Zhao Yunxiao easily found his way there.
There was still plenty of time before the commencement of the tests, but Zhao Yunxiao had a habit of going early every time.
It did not always work, but sometimes, this allowed him to sneak a peek at the setup for the tests. If so, that would allow him to guess what the tests would be like and prepare beforehand.
On the contrary, Bo Fei was satisfied with simply showing up on time. Zhao Yunxiao had always believed that everyone had their own way of doing things, so Zhao Yunxiao did not bother forcing him, either.
Of course, not everyone else was like Bo Fei.
By the time Zhao Yunxiao arrived, there were already quite a number of other outer disciples gathered. Since they were all from the neighbouring districts, Zhao Yunxiao recognised most of them and greeted them as he arrived.
However, he kept the formalities to a minimum.
They might be friends on other days, but they could easily be competitors today!
After the perfunctory greetings, Zhao Yunxiao found a good spot to sit down and tried to observe the test setup from there.
Unfortunately, the sect administrators were being stingy this year and had concealed everything behind a grand concealing array.
Despite feeling a slight sense of disappointment, this was not the first time it happened, so Zhao Yunxiao was not too bothered.
He simply sat down cross legged and entered a state of meditation, patiently waiting for the start of the tests.
After some time passed, Bo Fei eventually arrived as well.
“Did you manage to find out anything useful, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?” Bo Fei quickly found Zhao Yunxiao and went up to him.
“Not at all,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head in regret. “But you really are getting better and better at timing your arrival, Senior Martial Brother Bo.”
Bo Fei had only just arrived, and Zhao Yunxiao could already see the sect administrators opening up the different test areas.
His arrival timing was nothing short of impeccable!
“Haha, this is what I call efficiency! You have more to learn in that aspect!” Bo Fei exclaimed proudly.
“I’d love to see the day when you arrive just in time to miss the commencement of the tests!” Zhao Yunxiao rolled his eyes before heading towards the test area. “Let’s go.”
“Who do you think I am? That will never happen,” Bo Fei shrugged confidently while following Zhao Yunxiao’s lead.
Setup, observers, ushers, chefs, personal attendants, performers, and facilitators.
Since each role had different responsibilities, the tests also had to be designed differently to specifically target the skills required for the role.
For that reason, the recruitment tests for the different roles were conducted in separate areas as well.
Zhao Yunxiao and Bo Fei promptly proceeded to the test for the observer role, located in a far corner of this area.
Being an observer was not a popular role whatsoever.
It might provide a certain degree of exposure to the big shots, but the corresponding responsibility was far too huge.
In this regard, exposure to the big shots was not necessarily a good thing.
Things were naturally good if one could perform well in front of the big shots. But if mistakes were committed instead, the resulting impact could be devastating, to say the least!
During the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, an observer had to constantly keep tabs on the progress of all participants, and immediately report back on any significant milestones or incidents.
That made this an intense role that was far too prone to mistakes.
There had not only been once or twice that someone missed out on reporting certain important situations, or even ended up reporting something wrongly due to the time and situational pressure.
And when people commit mistakes during an event as important as this, even if they had consistently performed well throughout the entire event up until that point, they would most likely still end up having their names passed down for years as the one who failed at doing their job.
That was a result that everyone wanted to avoid at all costs – especially since it was a role that would require them to work hard and put in their all throughout the event as well!
It would be equivalent to working hard just to get a bad name!
On the other hand, Zhao Yunxiao found that it was worth the risk.
After all, Zhao Yunxiao was still rather confident in himself when it came to thinking clearly and quickly under pressure.
His confidence seemed to have infected Bo Fei in a way, who then also decided that it would be worth the risk.
As a result, Zhao Yunxiao and Bo Fei found themselves being part of a gross minority that had shown up at the test area for the observer role.
“Last call for applicants to be helpers for the Four Symbols Mystic Realm!” a thunderous voice boomed across the entire area.
Most disciples had already arrived at the respective test areas, but there were some who were still hesitating, seemingly undecided on which role to apply for.
However, the sect administrators would naturally not make everyone wait just because of this group’s inability to come to a decision.
“Closing in ten... nine... eight...”
Hearing the countdown, the startled stragglers gritted their teeth and quickly rushed to a test area.
“Two... one... applications closed!”
Weng-!
Array buzzed into action, effectively closing off each individual test area within their respective concealing arrays.
From within the test area for observers, Zhao Yunxiao looked up at the clear blue sky that was slowly blurring out because of the array.
Strictly speaking, it was not a very high level array.
Given enough time, Zhao Yunxiao would be able to see through and break apart the array as well.
However, considering that it was set up by the sect administrators, no disciples would be foolish enough to challenge it.
“Only five of us, eh?” Bo Fei counted. “Good. That means less competition for us.”
Out of hundreds of people, only five decided to apply for the role of observer.
That might not necessarily make it easier for them to pass the tests.
But at the very least, it would be far less likely for them to be disqualified due to there being limited vacancies in such a situation.
“Mm,” Zhao Yunxiao agreed as he looked around them. “But there’s a red mark among us.”
By ‘red mark’, Zhao Yunxiao was referring to those people on the list of tough competitors that he and Bo Fei had come up with the night before.
“Yeah,” Bo Fei nodded solemnly as he looked at the red mark. “As expected, Senior Martial Brother Ze’s district has been included in our group this year.”
Ze Qifa – outer disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect.
At thirty five years of age, he was significantly more experienced than Zhao Yunxiao and Bo Fei.
And ever since Zhao Yunxiao was aware of it, Ze Qifa had always served as an observer for the annual opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, never failing to pass the recruitment test each time.
With his appearance here, it could almost be said that a spot had already been taken.
They could only hope that there were at least two more spots for the two of them!
Or if it ever came down to a group brawl, perhaps the two of them could even gang up on Ze Qifa to take him out of the competition for the very first time!
Clap-!
“All right, everyone. Listen up!” the administrative deacon stepped forward to get their attention. “Welcome to the recruitment test for the observer role during the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm. I will be the one overseeing your test today.”
Just like everyone else, Zhao Yunxiao tensed up a little upon hearing this.
The test was finally starting!
In contrast to the nervous participants, the administrative deacon was feeling much more at ease.
“There are only five of us, so let’s try to make this quick. To start things off, is there anyone who doesn’t know what the responsibilities of an observer are?” the administrative deacon asked. “...Good! That means I don’t have to explain it. Well then, let’s start early so we can end early as well. As always, there are different sections to this test. Follow me to the first one!”
The administrative deacon led the way as he walked deeper into the test area, stopping in front of a row of odd equipment.
Each participant was then told to stand in front of a table of their own, on which there were two different jade figures – a red tortoise and a green tortoise.
“As an observer, you need to be able to react quickly and accurately to any unexpected circumstances that arise during the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm. Therefore, the first part will involve testing your reaction,” the administrative deacon explained. “The test is simple – you will be putting a hand on each jade figure. This will happen multiple times throughout the test, but when you feel a flow of energy coming from either figure, you are to transfer an identical amount of energy into the other figure. Just a warning that it will not be counted if you are too slow in doing so, so please try to do so as quickly as you can.”
Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his chin in contemplation as he carefully observed the administrative deacon’s expression.
Indeed, the first test sounded easy enough.
Energy transfer.
Although there was the time element included within, this was still something that even those at the Foundation Building realm would be able to attempt.
But at the same time, Zhao Yunxiao understood that things were rarely so simple.
There were usually multiple layers to the tests that the sect administrators come up with. Underneath the seemingly straightforward instructions, there should be more to it than met the eye.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but watch closely at the two jade tortoise figures in front of him.
Just what could be the catch this time?