Chapter 59: 5 Element Formation - Compatibility
"What do you mean?" The one man other than Gang Bo among them asked as he too doubted his ears.
"Hmm? It's exactly what I said, you have passed the exam and are now officially members of this sect, do I need to say much more?"
"Wait- No- What- Isn't there another exam? You just said so!" He asked, his eyes full of confusion and his long black hair swishing behind him.
"I did indeed huhuhu" Su Wen chuckled "But you need not worry, the next exam is an examination in the literal sense and not a test, let's see your name is Tai Hui right? I heard you were a scholar, but you don't seem very composed right now".
"Ah… My apologies, I came here without much hope and then I suddenly passed the first exam… I felt a glimmer of hope and now to pass like this it feels so sudden". Tai Hui said as he pushed his black hair to the side as it had become slightly dishevelled when he was panicked.
The others watched the two as they spoke, including Shu He.
'Tai Hui…'
The name Tai brought up bad memories for a moment, before he shoved them to the back of his mind as he observed the man, his body was fairly slender but tall, his long hair was well groomed and silky, his skin clean and without many flaws, his eyes a clear black like onyx gems, so far he was the most 'beautiful' man he'd seen in this world.
He was reminded of certain male idols that were popular among women in his previous life, he couldn't help but draw a direct comparison and think that he'd do well in that line of work.
'Why am I thinking about that? Focus on the things in front of me!' He gave himself a mental slap as he looked towards the examiner and asked "So there's only one exam to enter the sect?"
"Yes and no, officially there's only one main exam, the steps of ascendance and that's it, however overall that isn't quite the case… Shu He you may not know this, as with the others that were given a token in referral but there's a prior exam which grants you the token where you are tested by one of the seniors of the sect to get a baseline of your abilities"
"Oh… I did do that then I guess, B- Senior Brother Bai tested me" He was about to refer to him simply as Bai Shun, but then corrected himself since he was now part of the sect.
"Oh? You were tested by Bai Shun… that wasn't reported, especially when they were in the middle of a mission…"
'Ah, did I say something I shouldn't have?'
"Never mind, you know now but that was part of the overall testing process, and on top of that, although it was only a minor test of senses and logic the way here served as a mini-exam, I was happy to everyone pass that since it means, at the very least, we've still got a good grasp on inviting potential seedlings"
"Then the next exam…" Tai Hui spoke once more as he looked with curiosity at the five pillars behind them.
"Just as I said before the next examination is just that in a literal sense, the results will have no effect on your entrance to the sect so, as I said, you are basically part of it already."
Everyone in the room finally began to relax, if the next exam didn't mean a potential failure then they didn't need to feel so uptight.
"However!" Su Wen immediately made their tension rise after baiting them to relax.
'This man does it on purpose I swear!' Even Shu He felt his back straighten when he heard him speak all of a sudden.
"This examination will reveal your potential, your paths to the future!"
The hearts of everyone thumped at that moment, eyes glimmered.
"When you were first tested, you had your overall potential examined, without that we wouldn't be sure of your ability to cultivate! However, this will be different, if you'll all come closer" Shu Wen began leading all of the examinees towards the formation.
The size became more apparent as they got closer, it was a pentagram about 5 meters in width, the pillars about 3 meters in height, it wasn't as grand as the hall they were in, but it held a uniqueness that made it feel attractive to one's eyes.
The group stood before it, taking it in and observing the formation in silence.
"I think I've heard about this before!" One of the younger boys spoke as he looked between the 5 pillars.
"If you are part of a large clan you certainly might have, in fact some of you may have seen a smaller scale version of it! This here is a 5 Element Formation, and it's here that we will be testing your compatibility with the 5 elements."
'Like I thought, Bai Shun had mentioned we'd be tested for compatibility, but he hadn't said how… this is rather grand, I was expecting some small stone we put Qi in to or something'.
"But my clan already tested my compatibility?" A young girl with white hair that had a highlight of teal when it struck with light spoke out with a hint of confusion, her blue eyes filled with inquisitive light.
"Ah little miss Bai Lian, yes your clan does have its own way of testing compatibility but that's only with your clans unique element right?"
Bai Lian nodded in reply.
"Unique element?" Shu He asked out of reflex, it was a term he hadn't heard yet.
The two that were speaking looked over to him, the young girl Bai Lian gave him a look that just said 'You don't know?' as she looked a bit confused.
"I'll explain that in a second so don't worry" Su Wen simply said before he turned back to Bai Lian.
"It's true that a unique element can be powerful, however if a cultivator fixates on one element without caring about the others then they can miss out on a lot of potential they may have".
"Take for example your clans' unique element, Ice, alone it is a powerful ability, but it lacks the natural circle that the core elements have, you clan nurtured the ability to control ice through their bloodline over generations along with special cultivation techniques, and these techniques don't exist on their own, they rely on the 5 elements to function properly".
"The element of ice cannot exist on its own, instead it is a transformative element formed through the two base elements of water and metal, if you were to focus on ice alone then you could only reach a certain level of mastery, yet focusing on Ice, water and metal could lead to a much higher level of mastery".
"By that logic, shouldn't I focus on every element since the 5 elements can form a circle of propagation?" She asked.
"Theoretically yes, but practically that isn't possible, all humans have a natural attunement towards elements, and that attunement usually obey the rules of the 5 elements, well you will see, since you're the one that brought this up how about you take the examination first".
"…Okay" She thought for a second and then agreed, she was interested in what the instructor had just told her and there was no reason not to go first, since it didn't seem to be dangerous.
Su Wen walked over to what seemed to be a stone plaque and placed his hand on it, it glowed slightly, the lights pulsing like a circuit board around the entire formation of pillars.
"Now, if I could ask you to sit in the circle plate and begin to circulate your Qi" He said, directing toward the middle of the formation where a circular stone plate laid.
Bai Lian nodded and walked over, looking around as she went, as she entered the circle of pillars she felt a strange pressure push against her skin, it wasn't painful but it was slightly uncomfortable, she stood above the stone plate which seemed to be the centre of the entire formation and followed the instructions sitting with her legs tucked underneath and her hands on her lap, before long she had closed her eyes and slipped in to an idle meditation.
At this moment Shu He used his sight to observe the entire thing since he was curious, he looked towards Bai Lian in the centre and saw her Qi circulating throughout her body, it was a bright white, almost teal like normal qi yet slightly different, he felt that if he reached out to touch it, it would have a slight chill like a cold wind on a winter night.
Slowly but surely, the Qi in her body gathered on the plate below her before shooting off in all five directions towards the pillars, the moment it reached them it shot up in a spiral before it impacted on the orbs on top of each five.
*RIIIIIIIIING*
A sound rung out and five lights lit up, brightening the room considerably.
What happened next was visible for all to see.
Five beams shot out from the five pillars, connecting all the orbs in a pentagram and a pillar of light was formed around Bai Lian in the centre, slowly but surely a wave of coloured light began to expand and morph like waves of a sea from the centre pillar before it connected to the beams on the outside.
At first it resembled a roof of rainbow colours, then steadily they began to separate and order themselves to match the 5 elements that the pillars represented.
A lot of the spectators watched with childlike amazement at the beauty of the formation before then but that was even more so for Shu He as he watched the inner workings of the formation at play.
'It's beautiful, and amazing!' His golden eyes sparkled as he watched on.
He saw formation match and propagate the qi of Bai Lian so it was identical, then carry it as a beam of light towards the other orbs creating the pentagram, however it wasn't that simple, inside the orbs seemed to be a special material each matching one of the five elements in the five pillars, they all acted as a filter when her Qi passed through, the lower the compatibility with the type of qi the less would pass through, the higher the more and because the formation was using its own power to copy Bai Lian's it could get a accurate result due to the extra power!
After a minute, the formation seemed to form a balance as the light settled and became a continuous humming light that gently illuminated the room.
It was at that point that Bai Lian opened her eyes; she looked around before looking upwards at the lights above her.
"This?" She started at the colours; her eyes being attracted towards the most dominant two, a bright silver and deep blue.
"Water, Lower Heaven; Metal, Middle Earth; Wood, Lower Mortal; Earth, Upper Dust; Fire, Lower Dust" Su Wen spoke like he was listing out a shopping list.
Upper
"What does that mean?" One of the participants asked.
"It's Bai Lian's elemental compatibility" Shu He said as he continually gazed at the beautiful formation before his eyes.
"Junior Shu He is correct, what I just said was her compatibilities listed from strongest to weakest, as expected her strong points are water followed by metal" He nodded as he tapped the stone plaque next to him causing the formation to destabilise, breaking apart in to specks of light that dissipated into the surroundings.
Bai Lian stepped off the plate and walked towards the rest of them, she looked up to the instructor her eyes asking him to explain more.
"Basically, you want to focus on your comprehension and skills with the metal and water elements, your understanding of these two will help you improve your ice element, on the side it might be worth working on wood, but earth would be a bit difficult."
"What about fire? It was 'Lower Dust', doesn't that mean I can use fire techniques?" She asked.
"If we were to speak technically yes, but it would take hundreds of years for you to learn even the simplest fire technique". He said while nodding his head then continued "The truth is, every human has at the very least the lowest compatibility with all five elements, it's just that unless they have something above 'Middle Dust' it's not worth cultivating as it would take too long, even 'Upper Dust' is a difficult path, that is why I said earth would be difficult for you."
"Elemental compatibility is separated in to 4 different ranks with three degrees of separation, Dust, Mortal, Earth and Heaven each of these separated into Lower, Middle and Upper; Each rank difference represents a qualitive chance while each separation is a step above the other." He explained while the others listened.
"Then, is there a rank above Upper Heaven?" Shu He asked out of curiosity.
"Huhu, you're not the first to ask that one; Yes there is and it's known as Divine, though to be honest I've never heard about anyone with this level of compatibility, I've heard rumours but I've never seen it with my two eyes."
"It's just 'Divine' on it's own?" Shu He found it a little odd since the others were separated in to ranks and degrees.
"Yes, it's the pinnacle of compatibility, there is nothing above it; We call those with that level of compatibility a Child of the Elements… Though again, I have never used the term for anyone".
'Interesting…' Shu He pondered in his mind; he wondered what his compatibility would be.
'Imagine if I had a divine compatibility!' He pictured himself being looked at in awe but then chuckled to himself 'I shouldn't get lose in delusions'.
"So then, who's next?" Su Wen asked.
"Me! I want to try!" A large voice came from the back of the pack as Gang Bo walked forward.
"Gang Bo was it? Go ahead, I'm slightly interested in your results as well".
"Really? Then don't mind if I do!" The large bald figure strode into the centre of the formation before plonking himself down.
Su Wen placed his hand on the plaque as the formation began to light up once more, Shu He watched as well like he did before with his sight, the process was exactly the same except this time Gang Bo's qi was the normal teal that qi usually had.
The pillars lit up and shot out beams of light, the light pentagon formed as its colours shifted and churned, after a minute the colours finally settled revealing…
Shu He's eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.
"…Metal, Middle Heaven; Earth, Upper Earth; Water, Middle Mortal; Wood, Low Dust; Fire, Low Dust…"Even Su Wen seemed surprised at the results as he read them out, he placed his hand on the plaque to turn off the formation.
Gang Bo walked out with an excited look on his face.
"Middle Heaven! That's amazing right?" He looked toward the instructor who then walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Gang Bo, you have amazing potential! You came to the perfect sect as well! There'll probably be fights over who gets you as their disciple so be prepared". Su Wen spoke with a slightly bitter smile on his face at the end.
"Oh… so it's not all good…" His smile was dampened slightly realising he might be put through a wringer the moment he steps foot in the sect now.
Meanwhile, in the crowd Bai Lian had her mouth hung open lightly ever since she saw the results of Gang Bo.
On the other hand, Shu He was internally panicking for another reason.
'This could be a problem!'
He had just thought of it watching after watching Gang Bo's exam, the formation draws Qi from you for the test, and Shu He had two types of Qi! He had kept the golden Qi secret because he still had no idea whether it would attract unsavoury eyes, all he knows is that just his sensory technique that he derived from it seemed to be incredibly good, so it's likely that the golden Qi is far more valuable.
Even Tai Min's reaction when he figured out he had something special about him was warning enough for him to be hush about it.
The thing is, if it was him back before that event it would be fine, the golden flame never acted unless he specifically controlled it to do so, but ever since then, ever since that one moment he put everything into an arrow to pierce Tai Min…
He observed the flames resting inside him.
The two flames, one azure and one gold seemed joined at the hip, like they were steadily merging into one another but stopped part way, the golden radiance was leaking into the blue flame giving the azure flicker a golden tinge.
They had merged back then and stayed that way no matter what he did, they existed as separate core flames still, yet they seemed to be a permanent pair, no matter what whenever he used Qi he would also use a diluted portion of the golden core flame!
Sure, it made his Qi more powerful, however it also made the strain it brought much stronger; and in this case it might affect the results! He doesn't know whether it would be positive or negative, but it will probably do something.
'At the very least, I have to make sure the golden flame doesn't act up more than normal!'
He began to look at the formation like it was an enemy.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ShiroN3K0
ShiroN3K0 Almost 3k words, i swear it's getting longer each chapter.
As always, thanks for reading, comments and feedback are hugely appreciated!
...No, seriously, i don't know whether anyone is actually reading, i see views but no comments or collections.
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