The first trial

Mount Hua? Why does it look like this from the outside, then?" I exclaimed with my mouth wide open.

"Yes, Your Highness, you can never know what is inside a treasure box until you unveil it. It only looks like this from the outside, but inside it screams magical. Let's hurry, or you'll be late for registration," she said, dragging me alongside her.

The people glared at us awkwardly upon sighting us and began gossiping.

"Since when does Mount Hua recruit beggars?"

"They look horrible."

"They don't seem to know their place."

"Mount Hua recruits anyone irrespective of their appearance or status," said a man dressed in a blue robe, who appeared in front of Luli and me. I'm sure he's a disciple.

Damn! Look at that height and handsome face. This is the first time I'm seeing someone this handsome since I came to this world, I thought with happiness written all over my face.

"Young lady!" The man called, bringing me back from my thoughts. It looks like he's been trying to get my attention for some time now.

"What were you thinking about, Your Highness?" whispered Luli in my ear.

"Hi everyone, I must say you all look good to fight for the weak ones. It's quite amiable," I said as they all looked at me in confusion while I just shrugged my shoulders.

"We're not beggars. We just happened to get into an accident on our way here," said Luli as she rolled her eyes at the people.

"Alright then, the trial is about to start. Hurry up and fill out the registration," he said with a smile, bringing us along with him.

I could hear the others accusing him of not being fair, but who cares, I thought as I followed closely behind him with excitement. I couldn't wait to pass the trials and start learning how to fight.

The two guards, dressed in red, bowed before the young man before opening the huge iron gate. And behold, the inside screamed magical. Different kinds of flowers could be seen planted, and I could guess they weren't just ordinary plants but magical plants.

The man explained that the place was the forest where the trial would take place before one would be taken to the sect. The forest was the outskirts of the sect and where their spiritual garden was located.

I was lost in the fascinating surroundings until I stumbled upon a giant golden gate. I guess that's the door to the Mount Hua sect, I thought with a broad smile.

"Let's go," said Luli, bringing me back to reality as she dragged me by the hand alongside her.

Registration was soon done, with my name written on a sheet of paper using spells by the handsome man.

"I will leave now, Your Highness, but I will monitor you through the vision spell. Best of luck," whispered Luli with a smile.

"But..."

She didn't even bother to give me the opportunity to show my displeasure before making an exit.

How can she leave me alone? She didn't even tell me how I'm going to find her later, I thought angrily.

"The first trial is starting now. We have a number of seventy participants, whereby we only need twenty. Only those who pass two out of the three trials will be able to go through the other gate to take the last trial of becoming a disciple," said the man, and this got the people gossiping once more.

"This is going to be a difficult trial."

"Of course, you can't get into the sect without passing two trials."

"Yes, the last trial would be taken exactly inside the sect."

"We haven't gotten into the sect, and this place looks magical. How does the sect look, then?" I asked curiously.

"Magical enough to take your breath away," replied a beautiful young lady fully dressed in silver armor, accompanied by a sword.

"How do you know this?" I asked as I glared at her curiously.

"Isn't it obvious already? By the way, my name is Fei Fei," she said, stretching her hand forward to shake mine, which I obliged.

"Yang Hua," I said with a smile.

"I'm sure you're also here for the contest. Where is your sword?" she asked.

"I don't have one," I replied nonchalantly.

"You don't have one? Do you think we came here to play?" she yelled.

Darn it, is this another Luli? Why is she acting like her? I thought with a frown.

"I understand. Just hide behind me, okay?" she said with a smile.

Hide behind you? You must be kidding me, I thought.

"Each one of you will be given a ring which will be used to capture your opponent," said the man, and suddenly an iron circular ring appeared on all participants' hands.

"This trial is to determine your strength. We know you don't have any magic yet, but we expect you all to have at least a bit of swordsmanship," said the man, and this got Fei Fei to glare at me with a smirk.

Why is she looking at me? She better not allow me to puke out her two eyes, I thought with anger boiling inside me.

"You won't be told who you will be fighting with. You will all know that when you get into the magic realm. Note this, we won't be responsible for anyone's death, so proceed inside at your own risk," said the man as he cast a spell, revealing an entry to another world.

"We won't be able to see you during the trial either, and we won't be able to save anyone. Those who walk out of the trial gate pass the first trial," said the man with seriousness in his tone.

"Yes!" chorused the participants happily as they started going through the gate, while I sighed in frustration.

"Let's go," said Fei Fei, dragging me by my hand along with her.

We're finally in the magical realm. It is another world entirely, I thought while inspecting the surroundings with Fei Fei.

"There's nothing here. Who are we fighting against, actually?" said Fei Fei with frustration written all over her face.

Growls...

"Guess that's our opponent," said Fei Fei, her brows raised at me as she unsheathed her sword.

It's a monster with three heads, and it has started swallowing other participants alive.

My legs felt numb as they refused to move, while I trembled in fear. It was like my brain had no idea what message to pass to me, and I just stood there waiting to be eaten.

"Run!" yelled Fei Fei as she dragged me by my hand, and we both began running with the monster running after us.

"Don't look back no matter what," said Fei Fei with a serious tone.

"I hate horror movies," I screamed with tears rolling down my cheeks while running as far as my legs could take me.