Ch 1

It was a cold day. The sun hid with the excuse of winter's presence and trees shed dead leaves while shaking their branches because of the bone chilling cold wind. Light presence of snow could be seen on the far mountaintops.

A large group of people walked on a particular road which cut through the seemingly endless plains between the third and fourth high-mountain. Their pace was neither slow nor fast yet full of vigor and liveliness.

The group was divided into factions . At the front of the group walked a small number of people who were either teenagers or elderly; their gait revealing nobility and grace, their face relaxed and bearings exuding dominance over others.
Behind them were a faction if people who comparatively had a larger population. But they seemed quite anxious and showed a subservient attitude towards the first group. The people in this group were of all ages and most of them were clustered as if belonging to different families. They showed animosity towards each other while contempt towards the third group.
The third group was the largest, having people of different standings in a society. Their clothes were shabby, their bodies bore signs of labor, their demeanour nervous yet more easygoing and friendly. They walked while maintaining a fair distance from the first and second group.

In any of these groups, there were very few who were alone. Han Xuhan was one of these oddities.
His clothes resembled a scholer's. He had a small bag on his back. While walking, he stuck close to a group of armed men wearing soldier's attire. The soldiers were there to escort an old man with ambiguous identity. Han Xuhan had been conversing freely with the soldiers frequently.
- " Brother Shang, what's the situation in the fifth region now? Are the monster beast tides lessening at all? I heard the emperor invited experts from every sect to deal with those beasts once and for all."

The fierce looking leader of the soldiers, Shang Jun shook his head and replied, " it's not as simple as you think kid. There are monster beasts with unbelievable strength hiding among normal beasts in the recent tides. Almost every sect has lost a few experts and core disciples because of them. Last time I heard, there was a Devilshadow Eagle with the strength of a ninth layer Soul Reformation expert. Even in the mid level sects around the Seven Mountains, experts like that are treasured by the sect masters. Even if they feel allured by the rewards the emperor has been handing out, the masters of the sect wouldn't agree to let them go and risk their lives in the borders."

Han Xuhan sucked in a breath as he imagined the strength of somebody who reached the second great realm of cultivation, the Soul Reformation realm. He had heard in folk tales that a cultivator at that level could kill an army of mortals with one glance. He couldn't fathom how the logic behind such massacres worked. Was it that easy to slaughter people?

- "Brother Shen, have you ever seen a cultivator of that level? Their strength has to be unimaginable!"

-" If you pass the entrance test, you will get a chance to cultivate to that level too, as long as you are willing to work hard and have the necessary talent." Shen Hai looked wistful as if fantasizing about being a cultivator himself. For soldiers like him, strength was the most important factor in life.

At this moment, a shout from the front of the group alerted everyone.
"Look! You can see the gate! There are so many tents outside in the plains!"

The whole group fell silent as they walked with a faster pace. As they approached the huge gate made of wood and metal, a man wearing red robes came out to greet them.
"Welcome to the Crimson Snow Sect. The entrance examination will be held in front of the gates at noon. Those with 3rd level invitations, please follow me to your personal tents and those with 1st and 2nd level invitations, go to the plains where you will find the public tents," the man declared.

The small groups at the front paid no heed to the man and strode inside the gate while talking among themselves in a relaxed manner. The man seemed to be used to this and followed behind without a single glance at the rest of the people. A few old men in the second group looked incensed but they didn't dare to raise a ruckus. Han Xuhan took out his invitation and inspected it carefully. It didn't contain much information.

First Level
The bearer of this invitation card has been permitted to take part in the entrance examination of the illustrious Crimson Snow Sect. Please go to the plains between the third and fourth high-mountain where the examination will be held within one week. Attendance is mandatory.

Under those sentences was the badge of the sect showing a crimson coloured snowflake.

Han Xuhan walked with the soldiers to the public tents. The old man they were guarding looked tired from the journey. It had taken them a whole day and a morning to reach the sect from fifth region's borders.

-"Little Xuhan, it's time we separated. I have some business to take care of. Go and rest for a bit. Examination will start soon," the old man said suddenly to Han Xuhan.

He smiled at the grandpa and continued walking forward. The old man nodded at the soldiers and walked off in another direction.

-"What do you think of the child, master?" Shen Hai asked the old man as they glanced back at the boy.

-"He has talent. But nothing so special. Barely above average. " the old man replied absent mindedly.

-"Do you think he will pass?"

-"Depends. But I don't think it matters."

-"Why not?"

-"He has this wee bit chance of dying pretty soon; a bloody tragedy. I don't think he will survive the calamity."