Chapter 16: Natural Beauty Is Difficult to Give Up

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Because of the intake of disciples from various families with significant backgrounds, there was never a shortage of pr*cks among the new disciples of the Sect of Returning Hearts. The marking system was a useful weapon given to the Iron Seal by the Sect to restrict those sorts of disciples.

After the Iron Seal helped the new disciples pass the trial quest, he or she could rate the new disciples’ performance in the trial out of a total of five. If the Iron Seal gave a score of less than three, it would indicate that the disciple’s performance in the trial was very poor.

However, due to the fear of being retaliated against for giving a low score, or the fact that some Iron Seals would use the score to threaten the disciples undergoing the trial, etc., there were times when the score could not be fully trusted.

But if it was an Iron Seal with a good standing in the Sect and a good reputation among the Flower Crowns who gave a low score to a disciple undergoing the trial, depending on the reason why they gave that score, the disciple’s mentor and the senior staff of the Order would have a bad impression of the disciple in their hearts. In the worst cases, the disciple would be punished by the Sect.

Meanwhile, Iron Seals who dared to give a low score either had relatively strong personal capabilities or were from a relatively powerful background.

The Sect also had rewards for Iron Seals who were not afraid of retaliation and dared to give low scores. First, such Iron Seals would leave a good impression of impartiality and bravery in the minds of the Sect’s higher-ups. That was because what these Iron Seals were doing was tantamount to identifying the hidden bad eggs of the community for the Sect.

Secondly, the resources provided by the Sect would be channeled more towards such Iron Seals to a certain degree in order to encourage such behavior.

Of course, the disciples undergoing the trial could also go to the Order of Law Enforcement to issue a complaint about the unfairness of their Iron Seal in giving out the scores. After which, there would be a follow-up investigation by a Flower Crown specifically responsible for such matters. If it was indeed true that the Iron Seal was threatening the disciples undergoing the trial with their scores, or had given low scores for other reasons such as personal grudges, then the Iron Seal would be severely punished by the Order of Law Enforcement.

On the contrary, if it turned out that the disciple undergoing the trial was telling treacherous lies, then that disciple would be punished more severely than he or she would have been initially, and might even be expelled from the Sect directly.

For hundreds of years, the Sect of Returning Hearts had been using this set of rules among new disciples. Although there were still many loopholes, in most cases it was still very fair and effective.

Hearing Jiang Beiran use the evaluation score to establish authority even though the trial had just begun, Fang Qiuyao immediately dissented. “What right do you have to go so far as to restrict our freedom regarding the clothes we wear?! Does it have anything to do with the quest itself?” she asked.

Jiang Beiran gave Fang Qiuyao a sweeping glance, expressionlessly raised a finger, and said, “First, in the future, if you want to speak, you must first address me as Sir and get my permission before you may do so. Otherwise, I will deduct a point from your evaluation score.

“Second, your clothing is, of course, related to the quest. We are descending the mountain for a quest, not a tour. Blending in with the crowd and keeping a low profile is our main directive on how to act. Is that clear?

Fang Qiuyao’s mouth twitched after hearing this and she muttered in a low voice, “Huh, you’re just being a wimp. There’s no need to put it so nicely.”

Although she was not convinced at all in her heart, Fang Qiuyao did not dare to just leave, either. After all, Jiang Beiran had been personally invited by their Law Protector to be their Iron Seal, so the Law Protector would naturally approve of his evaluation to an extraordinary extent. She did not want to leave a bad impression on the second-in-command of the Order after only her first trial quest.

“May I ask if we can only choose between coarse clothing or hemp garments?” Liu Zijin suddenly asked at that moment.

Jiang Beiran heard her, frowned, and said, “I said it just now that before speaking, you must address me as Sir. Do you not understand? I, therefore, deduct one evaluation point from you, and two points will be deducted next time if you forget about this again.”

Listening to Jiang Beiran’s anger-laden rebuke, Liu Zijin felt her heart beating even faster than back when she had been rejected the last time.

‘Is this… what it’s like to be reprimanded? Ever since I was a kid, even my dad has never reprimanded me like this. It feels… so special,’ she thought to herself.

“Hey! This violent temper of mine!” Fang Qiuyao said.

Seeing Liu Zijin being yelled at, Fang Qiuyao couldn’t hold back any longer. She was just about to open her mouth and yell back, but Liu Zijin pulled her away.

“Qiuyao, don’t be like this. It is indeed my fault,” Liu Zijin said.

“But he…!”

Without waiting for Fang Qiuyao to say it out loud, Liu Zijin shook her head at her and said, “Speak no more.”

“Okay…” Fang Qiuyao agreed with a pout.

After placating Fang Qiuyao, Liu Zijin once again looked at Jiang Beiran and shouted, “Sir!”

“Speak,” Jiang Beiran responded.

“May I ask if we can only choose between coarse clothing or hemp garments? I don’t have any clothes made of these two materials, and I’m not really keen to borrow someone else’s clothes to wear…” she said.

Jiang Beiran shook his head. “No. I just said that blending into the crowd is very important for us to act, and most commoners down the mountain can only afford coarse clothing and hemp garments. If we dress up too luxuriously, it will easily attract the attention of others. Do you understand what I mean?” he asked.

“Yes, I understand,” Liu Zijin replied.

“Sir! (Sir!) (Sir!)”

As soon as Liu Zijin finished her sentence, the three Sisters of the Yu family next to her shouted in unison.

“Speak,” Jiang Beiran said.

“Can we wear any style of coarse clothing or hemp garments?”

“Must we wear shoes made of straw?”

“Must we wear a straw hat?”

After listening to the three Sisters’ questions fired in rapid succession, Jiang Beiran replied, “Next time, ask the questions one by one.” Then he answered in turn, “For clothes, wear the ones of the most common style. As for shoes and hats, I have arrangements to be revealed later. Go and complete my initial order first.”

“Yes! I see.”

“Are there any other questions?” Jiang Beiran scanned the five of them with his eyes once, and when no one answered, he said, “Since there are no questions, go and execute my order quickly.”

“Yes!”

Watching the five junior Sisters turn and leave, Jiang Beiran sighed softly.

Generally speaking, he would normally not be so strict when he was the Iron Seal, but at the moment, it was an unusual situation with five ticking time bombs around him. This forced him to strictly enforce a militaristic style of management. Otherwise, any one of them would cause a big problem if they were to stir up trouble.

Jiang Beiran had been waiting in the same place for about twenty minutes when the five girls came back toward him at the same time. They had all changed into the black hemp garments uniformly issued by the Order of Law Enforcement.

‘Holy sh*t… is this the so-called phenomenon of natural beauty being difficult to give up!?’ he thought to himself.

Jiang Beiran had a mental breakdown. He realized that even though the five girls had changed into the most ordinary hemp garments, it still did not affect their stunning beauty in any way. In fact, the clothing even added a sense of unexplainable temptation, causing Jiang Beiran to simply want to shout, ‘I really can’t f*cking handle this job!’

After mentally vomiting blood, Jiang Beiran braced himself and began to think about what was next.

First, he could basically be sure that the five junior Sisters in front of him were young ladies from rich families who knew nothing about the hardships of the world. That was because, in this incredibly chaotic Land of the Black Dragon, most people could not even afford to feed themselves sufficiently. Only those who had power and influence could afford to buy silk and satin.

The five girls in front of him were obviously either from rich or powerful families. Otherwise, how could they not even have a single piece of coarse clothing or any hemp garments in their luggage?

Furthermore, judging from their expressions, it could also be seen that they were very unused to wearing clothes of such texture, as all of them were frowning deeply.

“Alas…. this team will be really difficult to lead.”