"The cultivation trials is over there. I will accompany you there since I have something to inform the examiner about." Elder Shi Xun pointed in front of them, where there was an orderly line of people lining up. They were waiting for the chance to put their hand on a dark marble ball that was held by an examiner.
There was another group of people who were bawling their eyes out. Some even banged their heads on the floor, while there was also a pool of blood on the floor. This must be the reject group, who did not meet the qualifications for the first trial. Tang Peng had inferred this from the reactions they were having.
Tang Peng shook his head when he saw the pool of blood. Clearly, someone had gone mad and tried to seek his own death. A mortal going against immortals? It was not like that person had some sort of magical boost that would allow him to get an edge.
"Since a... hmph, a mortal like you did not receive an explanation from that guy over there, let me explain it to you. The ball is Nine Star Calculator. It sends Qi into you to prod your body, so you just need to touch it." Shi Xun gave a brief introduction, before pointing at the end of the line, shoving Tang Peng towards it.
Tang Peng fell towards the bottom of the line, before standing up and glaring slightly at Shi Xin. Meanwhile, Elder Shi Xun whispered into the ear of the examiner. The examiner frowned a bit for a second before replying, "I understand." Shi Xun then left on his flying sword.
"Wow! Look at that flying immortal, do you think I would be like him someday?" A person in front of Tang Peng started to talk about Shi Xun. They had all seen Shi Xun talking to the examiner and flying away. As mortals, they were greatly impressed by this show of power.
"Wait. What about that boy he escorted here?" One boy pointed out that Shi Xun has came here with Tang Peng. Everyone, even the ones at the very front, turned their heads to look at Tang Peng.
"This must be some sort of young master. Goddamn cheaters." Another refined young master in the crowd started to accuse Tang Peng of using connections in order to pass the test. All the people in the line were actually mostly made of young masters and misses, except for those that had caught the eye of the high ranking cultivators.
"Unfair! This world is truly unfair!" The rejects started to shout. That guy clearly had some sort of backing by the sect. He was blatantly cheating in front of them, as if their lives were worth only this much.
The people who had passed the first trial was also standing at another corner. They were also quite angry. Now they had to compete with a young master to get the disciple role. However, they quickly retained their composure. Surely a kid like him would not be able to beat them in the subsequent trials.
"Everyone! Stop shouting or you will be disqualified." The examiner looked sternly at everyone. He could have been cultivating in his cave, but he was promised some spirit stones in exchange for him looking after the bunch of potential disciples. He decided to reveal his spiritual aura to quiet them. It was in the form of a giant wolf's roar, which struck fear into anyone that heard it.
Everyone stopped shouting instantly. They were all afraid of the menacing aura that the examiner was currently giving off. They gulped down their saliva instinctively, although they were still filled with anger against Tang Peng.
They then orderly waited for their turn to be measured for their potential again. There was no use fighting against this corrupted system! They could already be considered lucky that they had made it here. They had to accept it and move on.
"4.8? That's not enough for being a disciple, but you can become a servant. Servants get immortal herbs sometimes, so you might be able to boost your potential to 5.0. Next." The examiner checked the candidates' potentials.
"3.0? I'm sorry, not enough potential. Next. 6.1? Not bad. You can pass. 9.5?" While the examiner mechanically tested their potential using the ball, he was absolutely shocked by one of the candidate's potential. 9.0 level of potential was no laughing matter.
The examiner himself was someone who also had a high potential at 8.0. He was the only one in the batch to be able to successfully make it to the Rotating Core Realm. Since 8.0 was already so powerful, what could a genius with 9.5 level of potential hold? This was simply bonkers to comprehend.
"You have been admitted for the prodigy trials. If you succeed, you will be admitted inside as a prodigy. What is your name?" The girl who had gotten such a powerful potential rating smiled brightly. She had expected this from the start. After all, she had found a small brown pagoda buried in the trunk of a tree.
This pagoda contained an old grandmother, which could do a lot of magical things. The grandmother made her take a piece of the tree that the pagoda was buried in everyday, before burning it and inhale all the smoke. Surprisingly, the smoke did not appear to be smoke at all, instead being a pleasant fruit smell.
It enhanced her senses and made her more alert, along with making her skin clear of blemishes and scars. Soon, the grandmother slowly appeared in her mind as the tree was damaged further and further. Then, a cultivator found her and brought her to this place. She had heard of special encounters told of by her grandparents, but she did not expect one herself!
"My name is Shen Ying." The girl said with a confident tone. There was no need for her to conceal her identity in front of everyone. After all, she had obtained her potential through legitimate means.
However, she drew even more ire from everyone than Tang Peng. It was as if the heavens themselves was slapping their faces. The highest potential before Shen Ying has been a mere 7.6, compared to her 9.5 potential rating.
They looked on angrily as the examiner used a green jade in his hand to summon another cultivator, who then took Shen Ying away from here. Some were envious, some were smitten by her beauty, some were still raging. It was all normal emotions experienced by humans.
The examiner kept testing more people. Only three more people were qualified to become a disciple, while 5 people were accepted inside as servants. Eventually, Tang Peng was the last one left.
Tang Peng moved towards the ball and put his hand on it. He prayed in his heart, "I must make it! Cultivation is the only way I can save everyone!" As he waited for 30 seconds, the ball still showed no potential.
The examiner turned towards him. There was... pity inside his eyes? "I'm sorry, kid. It seems like you are a mere commoner. Your potential is at... 0.0 potential. You have no traces of loose meridians within your body."
0.0 potential? This was impossible. This was a lie. Why would he get a score of 0? Was the world trying to deny him his chance to resurrect everyone? A slow anger started to bubble deep within his heart. However, for now, he felt an indescribable anguish in his heart.
The examiner, meanwhile, was also quite shocked at this occurrence, even though he kept it to himself. Even peasants that lived on dirt had the chance to have some sort of meridians that they could unlock. What did this boy do to deprive himself of all potential?