Feng Li broke away from the pair, Shi Ya and Liang Heng, and walked towards the grey pillar. Various emotions smacked against his chest, mostly anticipation and the fear of failure. Odd gazes scanned him from head to toe, examining the nascent soul aura gushing out of him. Most of the people present except the scions of large factions never saw kids his age rush through the mortal realms. Sixteen was the common age for kids amongst the populous within Imperial Expanse to achieve a Nascent Soul cultivation level. Him at twelve? A rare sight to see for some of them.
He arrived in front of the pillar and scrutinized its length. Slotting his hand into the socket, he inhaled and exhaled, igniting the qi in his dantian. Flaming red qi gushed out of his dantian. The wonderful work of the formation within the pillar. A few moments passed and the pillar didn't react.
"Is it broken?"
"Just watch. A kid in the nascent soul realm can't be talentless, " one of the recruits answered.
Elder Mo kept his eyes closed and scanned the pillar with his divine sense. Everything still worked as intended which left him shocked. The amount of time it took to compute the results never passed a second yet for the kid it took way more.
The ground underneath them cracked. A wisp of the aura coming from the pillar shoved ninety per cent of the participants digging into the dirt. Fear, anger and the oppressive aura gushing out the pillar anchored them to the ground. Even with their prideful thoughts wanting them to stand up straight. They couldn't.
Elder Mo felt the presence of an apex predator inside the aura. If it weren't for his magnificent level of cultivation he would have been no different to the kids, forced on his knees. To think that the kid had transcendent level talent? Elder Mo didn't know what more to say. Although the number of mid-level talents they would recruit this time was far less than the previous ceremony, the number of top-level talents they had access to increased tremendously.
Within the twinkling of an eye, a pulse of bright gold light shot up into the sky, breaking past the pillar's highest point and reaching for the skies. An oppressive aura countless times greater than the one before bloomed before their very eyes. Even Long Wei felt faint trepidations emerge within his heart. The slumbering drive to compete etched into his draconic bloodline flickered. He gazed at the spectacle with interest. The kid had talent, that he knew based on his cultivation base and lack of background, but this... It broke down his expectations in every conceivable way.
Gasp after gasp slithered out of each pavilion. Those that were taught to keep a calm facade from the very moment they were born were forced to break it at the arrival of potential that competed with them.
Feng Li's peers cracked the ground further as the planet-sized pressure pushed against them. They couldn't even move their eyes to gaze at the magnificent pillar of gold shooting past the skies. The pillar slowly faded, decreasing the pressure until there was none. The participants rose up from their kneeling positions, still shivering from the sight.
"Potential above the Minor God Realm, " Elder Mo drowned out his voice, capturing the attention of the participants once more, "My words to you are the same as the lady. Don't let this little bit of potential fool you. You still have a long time to go before you can fulfill it."
Feng Li removed his arm from the socket and thanked the elder. Talent wasn't enough for him to take revenge. What he lacked was true strength. He wouldn't let this moment redefine his character. Arrogance was the one-way ticket to failure, the chief once told him.
"I'll try my best, " he smiled walking off to the area assigned to the rest of the participants that passed.
A few more participants went forward to gauge their potential. A series of those with Minor God potential arose from them, mostly those from God-level factions. No one else scored Peak Minor God-level potential, let alone potential above that. Shi Ya and Liang Heng scored Golden Immortal potential, passing the requirement by a thin margin. Elder Mo clapped his hand, causing the grey pillar to disappear into the ground.
"That brings about the end to the Talent Verification section of the recruitment ceremony. If you scored a golden immortal talent or above, congratulations you have officially become servant disciples of my Spectral Haven Sect. You can choose to drop out of the rest of the ceremony and get a servant disciple badge or you can continue.
"Before you make the choice. As a servant disciple your free will within the sect will be limited. You'll basically be a servant to outer, inner and core disciples of all three courts Namely the Outer, Inner and Core Court. When they snap their fingers, you'll be there, ready for service. As long as the request they ask you to complete does not go against established Sect rules you must complete it, lest you lose your status or punishment. You'll be expected to remain in this position for a hundred years and only then will you be allowed to seek a promotion. As for those brave enough to continue towards the rest of examination part of the ceremony you'll be rewarded. ," Elder Mo said.
At first Long Wei was completely against wasting time with the trials. He simply wanted to watch and note down some talents not tied down by major powers. His thoughts were slowly shifting. Especially the red-haired kid. The faint pressure he felt from his explosion of latent potential urged him to enter the field and challenge him to a duel. Was the feeling he felt merely fleeting? Or was it a prelude to something great? He wanted to personally test it and come to a conclusion with his lonesome hands.
"Can I take part in this?" Long Wei asked Elder Bohai.
"Technically, nothing is stopping you from doing it. It's just that you'll lower the Emperor's prestige if you took part in this type of play ground," Elder Bohai said, "Why do you want to bother though? Since you are a garuanteed Sect member by the end of this ceremony? "
"You do have a point, Elder Bohai. Only, I'm interested in testing that kid personally, " he pointed a spotless olive coloured finger to Feng Li, "I want to evaluate his talents thoroughly. And it's getting boring just watching the show. Father did say I needed to experience more things as part of the Saint Realm cultivation. This is part of experience. "
"Your father wouldn't like this at all. So just sit down and watch. Don't make it difficult for him in the long run. If it got out that you went and bullied a bunch of people simply because you were bored? That alone won't make him lose his seat, but it will be part of the ammunition that could tip the ice berg. Sit still, " Elder Bohai was having none of it. His job was making certain the young master's actions didn't tarnish the Emperor's name. And simply participating within the trials would would do a lot more than simply damage his prestige. As such an action would be spitting in the face of the great ancestors that established that tule.
The only reason Transcendent talents weren't allowed to take part in recruitment ceremonies was because of the untold advantage they had against other people of various backgrounds. Most of all the pure superiority they showed in the ceremonies often meant that some rare talents were pushed out of the top ten thousand when they could have easily made it if it weren't for them. Thus the Imperial Haven Expanse came with a system that gave a chance to the boundless mortal cultivators, that weren't born with a silver spoon, to flip their lives.
All Transcendent talents became Inner Court disciples of any Sect or Academy upon request under the new system and in order to keep their Inner Court position, they needed to constantly perform both sect and empire related mandatory tasks every few months.
"Can't an exception be made?"
Long Wei rose from his seat. He walked away from the seating area towards the golden railings of the pavilion. He wrapped one hand along the surprisingly cold railing and shifted his focus to the horizon.Thick trees four times taller than humans were packed closely together like sardines in a net. Orange spread from the grass to the leaves of every tree imaginable within his sight. Some of the roots split apart the earth, adding spots of brown around the orange grass. Large birds circled around the forest, shrieking for both attention and fear.
"It is possible. But the condition needed for that to happen is so specific you are better off dying this instant," Elder Bohai said.
"What a shame, I really wanted to have some fun," Long Wei said, disappointed.
Directly below them, the crowd thinned out. The cowards who didn't want to continue with the examination walked towards a series of pavilions hastily constructed by Elder Mo. He traced them underneath the floating pavilions, creating a large stadium for the rest f the trials. Those that wanted to try their luck remained where they were. Everyone came up with odd ways to stave away the fear pumping thunderously through their veins. Some bit their tongues, others crisscrossed their fingers and a few others tapped the ground with their feet.
Elder Mo gestured for them to move away. And they did, almost like freshly raised corpses that could only follow basic instructions. He waved his hands summoning thick threads of blue essence.
Drawing an arc gracefully with two fingers, the ground beneath him rumbled. A large square platform rose from underneath him, reaching a two-meter height the platform was as wide as two mountains squeezed together. The purple spatial ring on his index finger lit up. And a gigantic scroll materialized at the centre of the stage.
"This is the Immortal Slaying Scroll. A Peak Divine artefact. All you need is to sink your spirit sense into it and the trial will officially begin. It has the ability to peek into your soul and craft a few scenarios meant to test your innate conviction. Should you fail, a part of your soul will be injured. Should you pass, your soul will be strengthened by a considerable amount, " Elder Mo said, "The Dao Heart Test is about to begin. Calm your mind and prepare yourself. If you aren't confident in yourself. Drop out."
No one stood up and joined the other cowards in the stands. Each of them steeled their hearts and focused on breathing exercises to calm their nerves. The rewards that came with completing these tests were always worth it. And just the hope of being an official disciple in the Outer Court was reason enough to work hard in the next section of the trials.
"Good. At the very least your confidence is not lacking. Give yourself a pat on the back for potentially injuring yourself if you are simply stubborn," Elder Mo kept his indifferent facade, "Any one wants to volunteer to be first?"
The young lady that scored Peak Minor God potential walked out of the crowd. Her sky blue dress, complete with floral patterns around the waist seemed out of place within the sea of orange, grey, black and gold palette of the surroundings. Her long black hair swept the grass as she walked with elegance, very telling of a possible noble or royal lineage. Every step was filled with confidence and arrogance. She tapped a foot into the ground once she reached a few meters from the stage. And the wind, as if on command, swept her up and placed her right next to the scroll.
"Before I begin. I have something to say, " the lady's voice was crisp and clear, amplified with her spirit qi. Her gaze shot straight towards the pavilion Long Wei sat in.
Long Wei raised an eyebrow. The corner of his lip rose. Fun. He could feel it.