Ascension: Online

"What?! Killing?!" The other disciples all cried out in shock.

"Indeed," Elder Zhang replied, unfazed. "By orders of the patriarch, killing amongst disciples for the purpose of this exam is allowed."

"Danger… is the best… motivation," the old elder croaked. "Without any risks… you youngsters will not try your absolute hardest…"

"The purpose of this exam is to see just how far you can go," Elder Han concluded. "Test your limits, disciples, and surpass them."

"Now, everyone, form your own teams — four, no more, no less," Elder Zhang said strictly. "There should not be any incomplete teams by the end of this phase."

Immediately, Hina-nee, Furuwa, Nadeshiko, and I glanced at each other. Obviously, the four of us would be in the same group. Unfortunately, some perverted disciples didn't understand that.

"Hey, junior sister," a tall male disciple reached out towards Nadeshiko. "Would you like to join my group? I'm a late-stage Nascent Cultivator, stronger than most people here. I can definitely protect you and those other two ladies as well if they wish to join."

"Oh~?" Nadeshiko giggled cutely, then eyed me. "Well, you're going to have to ask him first. He asked me to join his group first, after all."

What…? When did I-

The disciple seemed to buy her story, however, and really twisted his head towards me.

"Oi. She's mine, back off," he said roughly, completely changing his tone. He probably put up a terrifying demeanor in an attempt to scare me off, but I've seen far worse. Hell, I've experienced death not once but twice already. What is this to me?

So, rather than cower in fear despite him being a lot bigger and taller than I was, I merely blinked.

"Sure, take her."

"… Huh?" Nadeshiko and the male disciple were both equally shocked.

"No, I'm serious. Take her. Good riddance," I replied calmly, voice full of innocence.

"Kaze, Kaze~" Nadeshiko pouted, clutching my arm and dragging it down as she pouted. "That hurts my feelings, you know…"

"W-What's going on…" the male disciples scratched his head, extremely confused.

"Okay, basically, no, I'm not coming with you~" Nadeshiko smiled evilly, waving him goodbye.

"W-What? But he said I could take you-"

I sighed. "You don't get it, do you? She never had any intention of going with you in the first place."

"Pff~ have fun~"

"…!" the disciple gritted his teeth, eyeing Nadeshiko and I with hatred as he finally realized what had happened. Turning around, he stormed off.

"Nice one, Nadeshiko," I cheered sarcastically. "You just made us another unnecessary enemy."

"Mhm~ think of it as payback for what you said~"

"But killing is allowed, no?" Hina-nee asked. "If they come for us, we'll have a valid reason to kill them, then reap the benefits."

Naturally, she was talking about all the arts and items we could get from the engrams they dropped after dying. The points for this exam was just a bonus. She avoided saying this out loud though, since there were plenty of other disciples around. There was no telling who could be listening in.

"Sakura-senpai, you're darker than I imagined," Furuwa said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hehe, I can be cold when I want to," Hina-nee replied with a smile.

A few minutes later, Elder Zhang raised his hand to get everyone's attention, then spoke. "Alright! Everyone should have formed their teams by now. Anyone who has not, just raise your hand, and you will automatically be put into a group."

No one raised their hand, signaling that all the teams have been decided.

"Seems everyone has found their group. Under no circumstances can you change teams for the next month, so this is your last chance!"

No one made any movements yet again, and Elder Zhang nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Now that you have made teams, there is one final mechanic I will tell you all — and that is team leaders."

"Team leaders…?" the disciples murmured amongst each other.

"Each team is to designate one member as the team leader — if the team leader is killed or quits, the whole team is disqualified," the elder continued. "However! If a team leader slays another team leader, they will receive double the points from the entire disqualified team! Because of this, it is recommended to set your strongest member as the leader, both to attack others and to defend against attacks."

"I see… this way, people will target the team leaders…" I murmured in thought.

"Once all the teams have finished selecting their team leader, tell us your choices, one by one. We won't disclose the leader's name since that takes too long for every team, but the leader will have to wear a special red ribbon on their arm that shows they are the leader. They are forbidden from taking it off under any circumstances. Those found cheating will be immediately disqualified."

Elder Han cleared his throat. "Now, go ahead and choose your team leaders. You have 5 minutes."

"Who are we choosing to become our team leader?" Furuwa asked, immediately getting to work.

"Me," I said without any hesitation.

"Eh~? You?" Nadeshiko giggled. "You may have beaten me once, but that was before… now that I broke through to the next realm, are you still stronger than me, I wonder~?"

"Even if you are stronger than me, I wouldn't give the role to you. You're the type to sabotage us, purposely getting yourself killed just to disqualify the rest of us."

"Hehe~ but why would I do that? The sect's pretty interesting, y'know? I want to stay as well."

"Either way, I'll be the team leader. That way, people will target me, not you."

Nadeshiko blushed and licked her lips. "Oh my~ have you fallen for me, Kaze?"

"No. It just makes it easier for me to take care of them if they go for me," I scoffed coldly. "Any other objections?"

Furuwa raised her hand. "It's too dangerous. Let me be leader."

"And since when did I need a girl's protection?" I immediately shot back using a challenging tone.

"Hm, let's see… all those years in middle sch-"

"H-Hina-nee, no," I quickly stopped her before she could go any further, reminding me of my dark past.

"Fufu," she laughed cutely, covering her mouth.

"Anyway…" I glanced at Elder Zhang, who returned my gaze coldly. Without an ounce of fear in my eyes, I walked up to him.

"Write down your team leader's name here, along with your group members," he said coldly, pointing at a pen and a sheet of paper placed on top of a table. I did as told, writing down my own name followed by Hina-nee's, Furuwa's, and Nadeshiko's.

As soon as I was done, Elder Zhang snatched the paper and pen from me, and I returned to where the others were, not wanting to spend any more time here either.

Very soon, all the teams had finished choosing their respective leaders and submitted them to the elders.

"Alright, now that we know all the teams… we can properly distribute you all across the map."

"Wait, what?" A disciple asked.

"What, you thought you would be starting together with your teammates?" Elder Han laughed boldly. "No, no, that's far too easy. The first test of this exam is to find your teammates. If others find their teammates before you do, they'll team up on you. That is the cold hard truth of this world, and a lesson you need to learn. Good luck, everyone."

Before anyone could even react, we were all shrouded in a brilliant white light.

"Kaze-kun!" Hina-nee called out, but it was too late.

Before I knew it, I was teleported into the rainforest, all alone.

Well… not exactly alone. There were two others who had been summoned to the exact same spot as me, right beside me. Coincidentally, they just happened to be Koroth and Ming Yi, both people from the Qilian Annual Regional Competition.

"Well… some luck, huh?" I chuckled, but neither of them responded upon seeing me. "Yeah… this is going to be a quiet journey. But that aside, who's team did you two choose to go in? Who's the leader?"

"…" At this, both of them looked at me in suspicion, refusing to say a word.

"Ah, it's fine. I'll find out soon enough anyway," I sighed. "But before we go any further… I would like to from an alliance."

"…?" the two tilted their heads, as if prompting me to continue.

"The three of us will not harm one another, until we find our teammates. Once we do find our teammates, we will part ways peacefully. Whether we want to extend the alliance for our respective teams as well… we can discuss that when the time comes. How about it?"

Koroth and Ming Yi glanced at each other as they considered my proposal.

"Come on, this makes things easier for all three of us, no? We're all here from the competition in Qilian anyway."

"Can… can I trust you?" Ming Yi asked quietly, face covered by his ninja getup.

"Trust me not to expose your real identity? Yeah," I chuckled, an evil grin on my face. "Same goes for you… Koroth."

"…!" the two of them stiffened up at my words, realizing they had no choice but to obey me if they wanted to keep their identities a secret.

"Oh, but don't worry, I won't backstab you or anything. You heard the elders, didn't you? The ability to negotiate and form alliances is part of this exam. I am genuinely seeking out other teams to help me out, and since I already know you two beforehand, that makes things a lot easier."

"But… we're from the same team," Koroth said, pointing at Ming Yi.

I froze.

"… What?"