Chapter 14: Chapter 12 Just Pretend You Didn't Hear That
The third senior brother with a stern expression talked incessantly for a while, introducing the situation within the Qingyu Sect. After a good moment, he shifted the topic, "Your Five Elements are mainly fire, I remember our sect has a set of the Great Flames Devastating Wilderness Method, which should be very suitable for you. Of course, if you want to develop towards the metal direction, that's fine too; our sect has many metal Cultivation Techniques. Moreover, if you join our Qingyu Sect, even as a probationary disciple, you receive a share of two Spirit-Nurturing Pills every month. If you pass the assessment and become an official disciple, your share will double. Have you got that?"
Lu Ye nodded quickly, "I've got it."
Feeling puzzled, he thought, what does this mean, it sounds like he's trying to recruit me? With that said, it seems a cultivator who has opened one orifice indeed has a significant advantage.
He felt a secret sense of pride in his heart.
The third senior brother continued, "It's good that you remember. Now sit properly, quiet your mind and concentrate. You may feel some pain later, but don't worry. It's just the process of assessing your talent. And remember not to activate your spirit force to resist."
"Yes!" Lu Ye responded, placing his hands on his knees, palms up, and closed his eyes.
The next moment, he felt the flow of spirit force, though he was curious about what the third senior brother was doing. He didn't dare to open his eyes to peek. When the spirit force began to move, a slight vibration came from beneath him, leading Lu Ye to guess that the array on the round disc was taking effect.
Indeed, as he had assumed, the eight indentations along the edge of the disc were now occupied by crystal bodies about the size of silkworm cocoons, placed there by the third senior brother. These were Spirit Stones commonly used for array setup by cultivators, something Lu Ye had never seen before.
When the third senior brother activated the array on the disc, a faint mist began to emerge from the Spirit Stones embedded in the indentations. The mist was the spirit force stored in the Spirit Stones, which, through the array's conversion, turned into pure Spiritual Energy.
Rich Spiritual Energy quickly filled the space encompassed by the disc, but it seemed there was an invisible barrier around the disc, confining the Spiritual Energy within it.
Lu Ye, sitting cross-legged, felt a stir in his heart. Although his eyes were closed, he felt the presence of many wondrous things around him, entering his body and giving him an extremely comfortable sensation.
Is this spirit force?
Lu Ye immediately realized that breathing in nature's spiritual energy is one of the primary methods of cultivation for cultivators. When he was in the mine, Lu Ye had tried this method. Perhaps due to the location, he did not feel the presence of Spiritual Energy in the mine and had to resort to the Essence Refinment-Qi Conversion technique.
After being brought out of the mine by the elder with the surname Tang, he forgot to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
Not until this moment had he directly sensed the existence of Spiritual Energy.
However, remembering the instructions of the third senior brother, he resisted the temptation and did not breathe it in at will.
In front of him, the third senior brother currently had a magic spell in his hand, continuously driving the power of the array while his gaze never wavered from the small saplings at the edge of the disc.
The array on the disc was specifically designed to measure the level of talent. When the third senior brother exerted the power of the array, the eight Spirit Stones embedded on the disc would release their stored spirit force, transforming it into rich Spiritual Energy.
Through his actions, this Spiritual Energy would be channeled into the body of the person being tested, then into the array of the disc, causing some changes in the saplings at the edge of the array.
In short, Lu Ye, currently sitting on the disc, served as a conduit; the Spiritual Energy would pass through his body into the array, which would cause the corresponding changes in the eight saplings.
The greater the number of saplings that changed, the higher the tested cultivator's aptitude. Conversely, the fewer the changes, the lower the aptitude.
Essentially, this test was to see if the spiritual energy introduced into the body flowed smoothly; the smoother the flow, the more suited for cultivation, and thus, the higher the talent.
Since the root of a cultivator's cultivation is to strengthen their own spirit force, what point was there in cultivating if even the flow of spiritual energy within the body was not smooth?
Next to the disc array, the third senior brother continued his actions. None of the eight small saplings moved. He slightly furrowed his brow and increased the power of the array.
Lu Ye's brows drew together as he began to feel a tingling pain in his body. It was as if lots of external spiritual energy were forcefully drilling into him, giving him the sensation of being pricked by countless needles. Moreover, as time passed, the pain became more and more intense.
Just when he felt like he couldn't bear it any longer, the all-encompassing prickling sensation suddenly vanished, and at the same time, he heard the third senior brother say, "It's done."
Lu Ye quickly opened his eyes and exhaled deeply, meeting the third senior brother's gaze. He noticed the senior brother was looking at him with an extremely complex expression.
That made him tense up, feeling that something was amiss.
"May I ask senior brother, how is my talent?" Lu Ye inquired.
The third senior brother was silent, glanced at the disc, then brushed a hand over Lu Ye's jade tablet and returned it to him.
Lu Ye took it and saw on the back side, where his element sign was inscribed, an additional character had been added—an "one."
What does this mean?
Lu Ye wanted to ask for a clearer explanation, but the third senior brother clearly didn't want to speak anymore. Not wanting to be overly persistent, Lu Ye stood up from the disc and bowed to the third senior brother, "Thank you, senior brother!"
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As he turned to walk outside, he saw on that round disc, out of the eight bald saplings, one had sprouted a delicate, tender leaf…
Could the character on the back, the one, signify the meaning of a sapling? He guessed secretly.
"Young friend!" The Third Senior Brother suddenly spoke.
Lu Ye, who had reached the doorway, turned around: "Does Senior Brother have any instructions?"
The Third Senior Brother said, "About what I told you just now, please consider you never heard it."
Lu Ye: …
Stepping out of the tent, he took several deep breaths, a strong sense of crisis welling up in his heart.
Although uncertain of whether his talent was high or low, by looking at the Third Senior Brother's previous and later words and attitude, Lu Ye felt greatly ill at ease.
It seems my talent may be somewhat… extraordinary.
Still, he had to find someone to confirm it.
Lu Ye looked around and suddenly saw a figure standing quietly in a corner, to whom he walked straight over.
Halfway there, the figure also noticed Lu Ye and smiled, waving him over.
Drawing near, Lu Ye greeted her, "Miss Yu."
Yu Xiaodie responded with a graceful salute, "Big Brother Lu."
It was evident that her mood was much better now than yesterday.
She had completed the testing, and the results were not bad.
Lu Ye handed over the jade tablet he was holding: "Could you help me look at this, see what's going on with my talent?"
Yu Xiaodie, while accepting it, said with a smiling tone, "Big Brother Lu, since you could open your spiritual orifice, your talent must certainly not be… poor!"
As she spoke the last two words, she saw the character one on the back of the jade tablet, her eyelids involuntarily twitched, and her voice hesitated.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Ye immediately understood.
Could my aptitude indeed be somewhat lackluster?
"How is your talent, Miss Yu?" asked Lu Ye.
Yu Xiaodie said, "It's about the same as yours, Big Brother Lu."
Lu Ye waved his hand dismissively, "No need to comfort me, I understand the general situation. Is it that the smaller the number, the lower the talent?"
Yu Xiaodie pursed her lips, wanting to comfort Lu Ye but not knowing how to start, and finally, she could only nod: "Yes."
"No wonder," Lu Ye remembered what the Third Senior Brother had said last, thinking to himself that cultivators are indeed very realistic.
Yu Xiaodie said, "Big Brother Lu, there's no need to be discouraged. The tests of the day are not entirely accurate, and the Array used is not of high quality, occasionally there are errors."
Lu Ye laughed, "Although I know nothing of that Array's name, since there is a result, I can only face it calmly."
Yu Xiaodie looked at him curiously, "Do you really think it doesn't matter?" Lu Ye's open-mindedness seemed genuine. Normally, people receiving such results would feel somewhat disheartened.
Lu Ye's gaze drifted towards the distance, and he said with a slight smile, "Compared to those people, the fact that I could open an orifice means I am already very fortunate."
Following his gaze, one could see a large group of people who seemed to have lost their souls; these were all those without cultivation aptitude, the ones who had been eliminated.
The Liu brothers were among them.
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone