Here came Hui Sai Cheong again, the chubby, smiley man who was naturally amusing to look at.
His character made it almost impossible to be linked with the mysterious Cloud Palace. Instead, his juniors Wat Suen and Wong Kei, who bore powerful auras, fit the stereotype of Cloud Palace: lowkey, composed, yet greatly mysterious. Everything that the teens had learnt about them was just the tip of the iceberg.438Please respect copyright.PENANAAtLkQ95iM9
The scariest thing in the world was the unknown.
But Hui Sai Cheong…438Please respect copyright.PENANA8MZ76OKpxC
“Ah ha! It's finally my turn.” He tried his best to bend down to express his courtesy but failed due to his round tummy, which was greatly amusing to watch. “I am sure you have heard my previous introduction, but let me do it again.
“I'm Hui Sai Cheong, the third teacher of Cloud Palace and your examiner for stage three!” Hui Sai Cheong stood in front of the “three” straw hut with a smile while counting to himself.
“Ah, we're just in time,” Hui Sai Cheong suddenly said and went into the straw hut in a hurry.438Please respect copyright.PENANAHsbDN7mIbL
When he returned to the eyes of the participants, he was holding a huge pot; even larger than him, with dark green smoke escaping through the lid, which left the teenagers in goosebumps.438Please respect copyright.PENANAS8qWa8dQfh
What on earth is that!?438Please respect copyright.PENANAnq0ToscSlK
Hui Sai Cheong laughed. Removing the lid, the green smoke gushed up into the air and spread across the area. A nauseating stench filled the place and even overpowered the refreshing scent of grass. Some even heard the sound of grass decaying!438Please respect copyright.PENANAwVCmbJWkVl
The female cultivators like Mung Si, Ping Ching, and Kong Yau all frowned. Even though, as cultivators that had proven to have a strong heart by making it to this stage, they were subconsciously feeling great disgust towards such a stench.438Please respect copyright.PENANAaTAWwUZlqE
Hui Sai Cheong took a deep breath and nodded in satisfaction as if he did not notice how revolting the smell was. “Mhmm, very good.”
The next second, a long table appeared out of nowhere followed by bowls! There were thirty of them in total.438Please respect copyright.PENANAOAjNjhjpmC
And the teenagers watched the happy Hui Sai Cheong fill the bowls with a gooey, dark green substance using a ladle…The third teacher is an expert in culinary arts… don't… tell me that we have to eat that…438Please respect copyright.PENANAigm3LiR9wX
As they were deep in thought, Hui Sai Cheong proved them correct with an announcement. “Everybody! You will each take a bowl and consume it. This will be the test for this stage. To pass, you have to eat it; those who vomit will be disqualified immediately!”438Please respect copyright.PENANAZeHUZdBPl3
Indeed! The crowd thought to themselves. However, this was a blessing in disguise to them. Being cultivators, they at least had enough courage to drink this weird looking slop.438Please respect copyright.PENANAj9ZzJ4Nk2i
Very soon, all participants had picked up a bowl as they kept reminding themselves to never spit it out no matter the taste.438Please respect copyright.PENANAbzjIfFuaUk
Gluggle…The teens downed the green content quickly. This proved that appearances couldn't scare them.438Please respect copyright.PENANAyg2zmoUp3x
If they were cowards, they would have been disqualified back at the Go stage and wouldn’t be drinking a bowl of green slop right now to begin with.438Please respect copyright.PENANA3XuYKWJi4J
However, they soon realized that this stage wasn't as simple as they thought.438Please respect copyright.PENANADKjy41D9rM
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The first person to experience side effects was Woo Hung. His expulsion from the outer sect wasn’t a reflection of his true capability; he was still a talented teen that surpassed many of his peers, and this could be seen by how he was offered the crown prince badge by Lam Zaa.
People who earned a crown prince badge would become part of Lam Zaa's future team to build the South with him when Lam Zaa became the emperor. By then, Woo Hung would be an important figure in the South too.438Please respect copyright.PENANAPZQLnXgN7C
Therefore, his desires and fears did not stop him as he stood up from his setback and stood behind Lam Zaa now.438Please respect copyright.PENANAiw92tjwiTh
Yet changes took place to his body after consuming the dark green substance.438Please respect copyright.PENANAcjzKvTnKMt
Frankly, the dark green substance wasn't as bad as its revolting stench suggested, and it even made one feel refreshed after consumption. However, his body emitted green smoke within no time and started to burn.438Please respect copyright.PENANArGiYcvM7QP
Woo Hung was drenched in sweat within no time.438Please respect copyright.PENANAV5gp0mK1Cc
“What's… going on!?” Very soon, many other participants experienced what Woo Hung did. It was a great discomfort. Woo Hung felt a surge of hot substance gushing to his throat, and On Kuet who stood next to Lam Zaa was also amongst those feeling sick.438Please respect copyright.PENANAlWitH2ks0a
“Ah…” Countless sounds of vomiting rang out, and puddles of vomit were seen on the ground.438Please respect copyright.PENANAzBVHS6Cb33
Hui Sai Cheong covered his small eyes and blinked. “I'm sorry, but you guys are disqualified.” He waved his hands, and the sick participants disappeared along with their puddle of vomit as if they were erased!438Please respect copyright.PENANAJgOkxEBaLm
Those that had yet to figure out what was going on looked around in confusion. They didn’t even understand how their peers were eliminated!
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Being the lively person that Hui Sai Cheong was, different from the cold Wat Suen or the mysterious Wong Kei that fit the Cloud Palace stereotype better, he explained.438Please respect copyright.PENANAGCC80VKNZB
“You guys are lucky; that's Cleanse, as well as the test of this stage.438Please respect copyright.PENANAs2WZuAOVFg
“Those that vomited will soon realize the advantage of it. Everyone cultivates differently, some cultivate slowly with hard work while the more fortunate ones might have taken many boosters, like elixirs and pills, to help them due to their background,” Hui Sai Cheong explained seriously.438Please respect copyright.PENANANKZSE93wjL
“The saying that all medicine is thirty percent poisonous is true. Consuming elixirs or pills is indeed useful but can be harmful if you eat too many.438Please respect copyright.PENANAPOk0nQRY88
“Cleanse is a g-food that can help force this poison out of their body.438Please respect copyright.PENANAgfohZgc8BE
“Those that vomited obviously consumed pills and elixirs at a high frequency, thus the energliph soup caused them to vomit all the poison out. This also proved that they relied on medicine rather than themselves for cultivation.
“Even though they were disqualified this time, it will be beneficial to them in the future,” Hui Sai Cheong said.
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However, which of the eliminated disciples would know the purpose of this stage? They were busy fuming in anger at the field of the outer sect, assuming that Hui Sai Cheong cheated them and poisoned their bowls!438Please respect copyright.PENANADbOEpCOiGJ
Their assumption made their anger boil and they asked for justice.
These disciples cultivated through a gigantic amount of elixirs and pills after all, and that proved their rich background; these items were obviously purchased with great wealth. Seeing their disciples being disqualified, the clan leaders or institution principals who heard about the story could hold their anger no more.
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