The first household members entered the hall in grandeur styles. Their slight arrogance and pride were understandable because the head of first household was none other than the Empress.
However, for this occasion, the one leading the group was a middle-aged man wearing an azure robe with embroiled golden dragon on his back. He was Reynold Valentine, the cousin of the Empress. The real head, the Empress, was currently living in the palace, busy managing the empire. Thus, Reynold in many occasions became the acting head of the first household.
Reynold noticed the little girl sitting besides Violet but he ignored her and continued leading his group to the front of Azure Dragon faction.
Shortly after, everyone attention turned to an old man who just arrived in the hall. He was Valentine Clan Supreme Elder. Surprisingly, the Supreme Elder also came to this year talent test. Usually, the Supreme Elder preferred to stay in his seclusion.
"The patriarch has arrived."
"Greetings, Patriarch."
There was a space hole appeared inside the hall and an elderly man slowly walked out from the other side. The long-bearded old man was wearing a plain white robe. His whole eyes were jet black in colour which caused some people to dread.
If one looked closely, they could see outer spaces inside those eyes. He was John Valentine, the current patriarch of Valentine clan. He smiled to the people then took his seat at the forefront position.
"How is everyone doing?" The patriarch asked lightly. Everyone then reported the general situation from each of their households and clans. Overall, there was no important issue currently faced by the clan. As the leading clan of the empire, other big clans often gave face when disputes arose.
After a while, the patriarch said, "So this time who will undertake the test?". Few youths stood up one by one and then walked to the front. They were all members of four main households since outsiders from affiliated and branch clans were not qualified to participate. Those people just came to connect and mix with other influential figures. Some wanted to observe the main household talents and widen their horizon.
"As expected, Lance participates this time. I feel pity for the other children as they will be put in the shadow." Some people said while looking at the calm youth from the fourth household. He was Lance Valentine, Marc's oldest son.
"Hmph, if he is that great, he won't wait until the last minute to be tested. Our young master shall show you who is the true heaven chosen." A servant lady from the first household snorted. Other people then saw a youth walking out from the group. He went to the testing ground with a smirk on his face.
"Isn't that Loki? If I'm not wrong, he is about 7 years old this year." Some people recognized the smirking boy. He was the youngest son of Reynold. Someone from the fourth household wanted to argue with the first household servant lady, however he was held by Marc. Marc simply shook his head and smiled. No one knew what he was thinking.
"What?! That girl also wants to participate this time?!" Someone exclaimed, bringing everyone attention to Erza. The girl firmly walked to the testing ground ignoring the noises around her.
Grandpa Qing was surprised and looked at Third Lady direction for clarification. From her silence, it seemed that Third Lady already knew beforehand and consented. Reynold and Victoria were planning to make trouble but decided to keep their months shut after seeing the smile on patriarch face.
"Well, well, well, look who is this. The little girl has grown up without me realizing it. Seems like a new era will begin soon." Thought the patriarch while looking at Erza. He recalled something which happened few years ago then smiled.
Reynold was confused with his father behaviour. "Darling, isn't Erza just about 6 years old this year?" The woman besides Reynold asked. Her voice was not low, so many people could also hear it.
"Isn't that too reckless?" Some people thought. It was a general knowledge that there was no minimum age requirement to participate in the test, however the recommended age was 6-8 years old.
In reality, very few children dared to undertake the test before 7 years old, or to be exact very few elders were willing to let their youths to be tested that early.
History recorded that roughly 60% of children tested before the age of seven ended up being crippled or crazy. Of course, those who could still pass and obtain good results were mostly ended up to be world shaking geniuses and the leaders of their generations.
As for those tested at the age of five or younger? It was a pure suicide and no one in their right mind would do that as it was not worth the risk. There was 99% death rate for those children. In return, what they could gain were merely 1-2 years early of extra resources and access to clan core inheritances.
Reynold, Victoria, and most elders were startled. Even though some of them did not like Erza, she was still the child that the Empress asked them to take care. If something happened to her, how would they account to the Empress?
However, seeing the nonchalant attitude of Erza, and the fact that the third lady consented, they decided not to meddle. If something went wrong, then they would put the blame to the third lady and Erza herself for being conceited.
After a while, there was no more youth showing up. In total, there were seven youths participating in this year talent test.
They were Loki and another boy from the first household, a girl named Felicia from the second household, Erza and a boy called George from the third household, and Lance. The last child was a mysterious boy covered in a black robe.
He wore a mask and his hair was black in colour, thus people assumed that he was an outsider. He came together with the Supreme Elder and no one knew his name.
Since he was brought by the Supreme Elder, no one dared to question the Supreme Elder decision. The patriarch was also silent which showed his tacit approval.
The patriarch stood up and walked to the testing ground. The testing ground itself was not too big, only about 40 sqm in size.
"Are you guys ready?" The patriarch asked the children. Each of them nodded in reply. Subsequently, the patriarch took out a glowing orb from his spatial ring. There was an ancient aura coming from the orb. Moreover, if one looked closely, there were multiples vortex reflected inside the orb.
"Similar to previous years, I will begin with a brief introduction and explanation of the test. Listen carefully even if this is not the first time you hear it." The patriarch stated then continued "This orb is called Samsara Orb. It was created by the first ancestor of our Valentine clan." Some people gasped, clearly this was the first time they heard it.
The first ancestor of Valentine clan was arguably one of the strongest beings ever existed in the annals of history, on par with the True God on the Upper Heaven Realm.
"As you probably know, the first ancestor specialized in Fate, Destiny, and Karma magics. She could look into multiple possibilities and foresaw the future. This orb was created by her with the main purpose was to test and determine one's fate and destiny. As a result, the clan was able to appropriately distribute its resources and grew bigger day by day. Later on, other clans and kingdoms learned the importance of such test and decided to create similar orbs. However, those imitations would never come close to the original." The patriarch spoke with pride.
"You need to touch the orb and it will send you directly to an independent world inside the orb. What you will face are different from one to another, depending on each fate and destiny. The test will also evaluate your body and bloodline power, your mind and perception, as well as your soul and willpower. You may feel like spending countless years inside the independent world, however it will only be for an hour or two in the real world. Regardless of your result, your body will still be sent out once your time is up. You will probably forget all of your experience inside the independent world since those things may be related to your future which you are not supposed to know yet." The patriarch concluded his explanation.
"Now, who want to be the first?"
Being looked directly by those jet-black eyes of the patriarch, the children backed down one by one. No one wanted to be the first. The only exceptions were the mysterious boy and Erza.
Erza stared back at those jet-black eyes and muttered "Beautiful."
People gasped, including the patriarch who was clearly taken back by Erza's word. Marc looked carefully at the girl and mused "Interesting… and here I thought that Lance would easily take today' spotlight."
The patriarch regained his composure and laughed "Girl, do you want to be the first to undertake the test?"
"Sure." Erza casually replied before touching the orb and vanished from the hall. Everyone was surprised at her repeating nonchalant attitudes.
"Is she having a screw loose?" At the end, most people assumed that she might be too young and naive, not aware of the importance of this talent test. Not long after, Lance, Loki, and the rest of the children touched the orb and vanished one by one.
After all of the children went away, the people in the hall fell into heated discussions.
"So, who do you think will shine this time?"
"I bet Lance will be the last one to laugh."
"Other children can only be the stepping stones for Loki."
"The black robe boy seemed capable."
"Felicia may be able to give us a nice surprise."
"Violet, want to bet on how many rainbow colours Erza will obtain? Will it be higher than Felicia?" Victoria taunted.
It was known that the test result would be determined by how many rainbow colours one obtained. There were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The orb would be glowing with those colours when the body of the children sent out.
No colour meant that one was trash. He or she most likely died early or became cannon fodder. One colour children usually ended up as servants, while receiving two colours meant that they were qualified to become clan guards.
Three colours youth could become a core apprentice in a big clan like Valentine clan. Fours were geniuses. Clan elders often picked them as their direct disciples.
As for those who obtained five colours mark, they were heaven chosen sons and daughters. In the future, becoming empire's general was not a distant possibility. They were the pride and the future pillars of the clan.
As for six colours? They were the future pillars of the empire. The palace would secretly send protectors to trail them when they were travelling overseas. Those children often ended up becoming imperial preceptors and protectors. If one had imperial bloodline, he or she could fight for the throne.
Seven? They were the legends!
The third lady snorted. Even though she allowed Erza to participate, it did not mean that she had an absolute confidence on the girl. She never saw the girl practiced.
She trusted and respected the girl's choice when Erza made the request. There was a strong determination in the girl's eyes.
As far as she knew, Erza was not the reckless type. The nonchalant attitude was not due to her naivety, but it was based on her absolute confidence. Though, Violet did not know what brought the confidence.
Seeing Violet's silence, Victoria felt even more pleased and became very confident. She suspected that Erza might have something on her sleeve, but seemed like it was all due to her young and inexperienced self.
"I'm betting the Heavenly Flame Sword that Felicia result will be better than Erza. Do you dare to accept?" Victoria provoked further. Everyone exclaimed in shocks. Heavenly Flame Sword was a divine artifact!
In addition, the previous owner was late Emperor Lin. After the fall of the Emperor, his treasures were kept by the Empress. As the clan of the Empress, it was understandable that some artifacts ended up in Valentine clan hands.
To use such treasure as a bet, that was simply outrageous. Violet wanted to explode in anger. This was simply a bullying. However, before she had the chance, there was a whisper in her mind.
"Take it." She was very surprised because that was the voice of the Empress!