Talent Testing

"We've searched everywhere; there is nothing."

"Did he really get away?"

"What method did he use? Even this high-quality compass of the Qi Gathering stage has been rendered useless."

Rumble, rumble...

A sudden roll of thunder echoed. One of them looked up at the sky.

"Is there weather in this illusion? I have never heard of such a thing."

He felt a prick of confusion, but the answer came mere breaths later.

CRACK!

A deafening roar tore through the air, and a thick bolt of blue lightning descended from the heavens, engulfing the five figures in a flash of brilliant light.

When the thunder faded, only a large, charred patch of earth remained on the desolate ground.

Yang Lingrui stepped forward to scavenge the bodies, now reduced to charcoal.

The power of the Five Thunder Talisman was too great; all five storage bags had been damaged, sealing them shut. He would have to wait until he exited the illusion to hand them over to He Shenglai, who could have the Wangchao craftsmen attempt a repair.

After disposing of the remains, Yang Lingrui continued his hunt for Ghost Soldiers and Ghost Generals without a moment's delay.

The quota for the ceremony was his top priority. Having spent three days dealing with these five, he had to make the most of the remaining four days.

......

Myriad Transformations Sect, Dao-Seeking Platform.

Today marked the sect's decennial recruitment day, and nearly two hundred children of suitable age from across Zhuhu had gathered beneath the platform.

They had all been preliminarily vetted for cultivation aptitude, but the exact grade of their talent and their elemental affinities remained to be confirmed through further testing.

Some of these children had yet to enter the Dao and had never cultivated, while others had already condensed their Qi Mansion and achieved the Qi Gathering stage.

Those who had already entered the Dao mostly hailed from prominent major powers and were the primary focus of the Myriad Transformations Sect's interest.

They stood out among the ordinary children like cranes among chickens, drawing envious glances from every direction.

The most outstanding among them were two youths from influential families in the north and west of the dynasty.

At only fifteen, they had already reached the mid-stage of the Qi Gathering Fourth Layer-not far from where Yang Lingrui himself had stood at that age.

The second tier consisted of five individuals, including Yang Lingshu, all at the Qi Gathering Third Layer.

These seven had already been earmarked for personal disciple status; this talent test was merely to facilitate the Elders' selection process.

While waiting, Yang Lingshu sat cross-legged and entered a state of meditative focus.

Lü Fangxuan stood guard beside him. When he saw someone approaching, he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what is your business?"

The man returned the salute: "Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am Pan Qi of the Qiulu Pan Family. Being new to the sect and unacquainted with anyone, I hoped to make the acquaintance of your Young Master."

"Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist."

Lü Fangxuan turned and walked softly to Yang Lingshu's side. Once Yang Lingshu emerged from his meditation, Lü whispered a few words to him.

Yang Lingshu nodded slightly, set aside his cultivation, and rose to meet the visitor.

"Songshan Yang Family, Yang Lingshu. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Pan."

"The Songshan Yang Family! Is that the one under the jurisdiction of Wangyue?"

"It is."

Pan Qi's face lit up with surprise: "I have an uncle serving in a town under Wangyue's jurisdiction, and he recently received assistance from your family!"

"What a wonderful coincidence! I looked around for someone to approach, and the first person I chose to visit was you, Fellow Daoist Yang-I clearly made the right choice!"

Yang Lingshu offered a somewhat simple, earnest smile: "It is indeed a coincidence. A pleasure to meet you."

As the two chatted, Lü Fangxuan kept his head lowered, remaining silent.

"Another one trying to act clever," he thought to himself.

The Pan family was a noble house, and Pan Qi had already reached the Third Layer. It was impossible for him to be entirely without acquaintances here.

Though he claimed it was a coincidence, he had clearly scouted Yang Lingshu carefully before deciding to approach.

A large part of the reason was Yang Lingshu's plump, harmless, and kind-looking face.

Coming from a minor Qi Gathering family, he appeared easier to manipulate.

Lü Fangxuan could see through it, and Yang Lingshu was even more clear-sighted.

However, he did not mind. For now, this person merely seemed scheming, with no overt ill intent, and making such an acquaintance would do no harm.

While the children below the platform conversed in small groups, five beams of light representing the five elements-metal, wood, water, fire, and earth-lit up on the Dao-Seeking Platform.

The children looked up to see five young cultivators in their twenties emerge from the radiance, accompanied by a transparent orb the size of a palm.

Whoosh-

A wisp of green smoke drifted down from the mountains, landing on the platform and transforming into a stern-faced old man.

"Greetings, Elder Gu." The five Myriad Transformations Sect disciples bowed.

"Greetings, Senior Gu!"

Following their lead, the children who had already entered the Dao bowed in unison. Encouraged by them, the majority of the children from ordinary mortal families hurriedly raised their hands in respectful salute.

"Mm, let us begin."

Elder Gu surveyed the crowd and suspended the spiritual treasure orb before him: "Cultivation talent is divided into five grades, manifested by this treasure in five colors: gray, white, cyan, purple, and gold."

"If the orb turns gray, you may enter the Chores Courtyard as a Chores Disciple."

"If the orb turns white, you may enter the Five Elements Peak as an Outer Disciple."

"If it glows cyan, you may enter the Upper Cyan Peak as an Inner Disciple."

"If it glows purple, you may follow the sect's Elders as a Personal Disciple."

"And should the orb shine with gold, you may become the personal disciple of our Myriad Transformations Sect's Headmaster!"

Elder Gu paused, looking at the seven pre-selected youths including Yang Lingshu: "You seven, step up first. I will be blunt: if you fail to reach at least the third grade of cyan and no Elder chooses to take you on, your status as personal disciples will be revoked."

"We understand!"

The two Fourth Layer Qi Gathering disciples from the noble families went first. Without surprise, both displayed second-grade purple talent. In terms of affinity, one was fire-attuned and the other water-attuned, and they were taken aside by the respective disciples of those paths.

Next were Yang Lingshu and the others.

Pan Qi stepped up first. As he placed his palm on the orb, a rich cyan light erupted. His gaze sharpened, and the color began to shift.

"Look, it's turning purple!" a child cried out.

Everyone focused on the orb. Within the cyan glow, a few traces of purple flickered, but in the end, only a few streaks remained.

Pan Qi gritted his teeth and lowered his hand, frustrated. Even with family secret techniques, he still fell short of true genius status. His affinity was metal, and he was beckoned behind the metal-path disciple.

"Next."

The other three children went up one by one, all displaying cyan light and being claimed by various paths.

Yang Lingshu was the last. He placed his hand over the orb. As the light flared, everyone stared in shock.

"This... white light?"

Elder Gu frowned. Yang Lingshu's result showed only white light with a faint hint of cyan-he had not even met the requirement for a third-grade talent.

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