Chapter 646
646 The White Tiger Sect
Xue Wei looked at the tall trees that towered in front of him. The pine trees were dark green, and their height could easily reach fifty meters. The lowest five meters of the trunk were completely devoid of needles and the few branches that were present were completely bare.
The sunlight from above was unable to penetrate through the dense tree crowns, and the ground below had been shrouded in a dim light that resembled late dusk or early dawn.
Many pine needles and other plants were half rotten on the forest floor, releasing an earthy and moldy scent, making it slightly uncomfortable.
The half-rotten forest floor was slippery and soggy, and although it was not dangerous, it was still somewhat uncomfortable.
“Do we really have to cross this forest to reach the mountains?” Lin Xiao looked around at the scenery in front of him. He could not help but frown slightly in discomfort, but he knew that this was not something he could influence.
“What a spoiled child. We are here to experience the dangers and hards.h.i.+ps of the real world. How can you back down just because of a bit of mold and rot?” A voice arrived from the back, and Lin Xiao turned around, only to look at another group of young people approaching their side.
It had been a week since Xue Wei and his companions first arrived at a location filled with experts from the Dongfang Continent. The location had been chosen as a starting place for a special trial, and many young talents from all over the continent had rushed over to do their utmost and make a name for themselves.
At first, neither Xue Wei nor any of the others had any plans of partic.i.p.ating in these trials, but after knowing that the organizers were a sub-faction of the White Tiger Clan, they decided to stay and take a better look.
Unlike most of the other Four Divine Beast Clans, the White Tiger Clan did not only accept members with a pure bloodline.
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The White Tiger Clan was the top sect in the Dongfang Continent, one which everyone wished to join and train themselves to become a top powerhouse.
However, the highest ranks within the sect had to be held in the hands of the pureblooded clansmen, and all those who joined the sect accepted this readily.
Many wished to marry into the clan as well, either to marry a daughter home or to marry their daughters to the male descendants. However, because of this process throughout thousands of years, the bloodline had become diluted and only few had retained their pure White Tiger bloodline.
Even so, Xue Wei liked the White Tiger Clan more than many of the previous clans he had come across. They were able to adjust to the current world while also keeping their own integrity intact. Although their bloodlines were not the purest, he also had a weaker bloodline, and he did not think that there was anything wrong with this.
However, to join the White Tiger Clan, one needed to prove their outstanding talents. The White Tiger Clan only accepted the geniuses from their branch sects once a year, and becoming one of these geniuses was as difficult as finding a specific pearl in the sea.
It was also because of this that Xue Wei and the others decided to stay and take part in the trials.
It turned out that even the branch sects had high requirements for their members, and if they wanted to become disciples, they would have to get a good result in the current trials. Only the top one hundred experts would be brought back as disciples.
However, unlike the others, Xue Wei and his friends were very unaccustomed to the current Dongfang Continent, so they had tried to stay behind and not make themselves known. However, now that they were told to ascend a specific mountain peak, everyone was on the move, and many details that had previously been ignored were found.
Lin Xiao looked at the speaker behind him and raised his eyebrow in disdain.
“I do not like dirtiness. I don’t know why you are so hostile to me, but if there is a cleaner way, anyone with a sane mind would choose that path, would they not?” Lin Xiao did not try to sound aggressive or angry, however he was still sounding somewhat provocative and indirectly suggested that this young master did not care about his hygiene.
The man had wanted to target Lin Xiao, but his actions backfired, and his face alternated between black and red in embarra.s.sment and anger.
However, the organizers of the trial had made it clear that they were not allowed to fight one another on this stretch of the trial, and thus, no matter how angry he was, he had to hold back his emotions.
Lin Xiao could not help but snort slightly, as he witnessed how the man had angered himself, before he stepped into the slippery and dim forest in front of them.
Xue Wei shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt as he witnessed Lin Xiao’s actions, but he did not disagree with his approach and instead gestured for Bai Tianyi and Hei Gou to follow, as they quickly walked behind their comrade into the unknown.
Looking at the group, which had already vanished in the forest thicket, the other groups quickly pulled themselves together and followed behind. None of them tried to rush to keep up since they feared what dangers might be lurking in the darkness, waiting for them to make the slightest mistake.