"No. 02, please step under the portal," Elder Tan shouted again, snapping out of his stupor.
Forget about a low Earth-rank cultivation talent, even a mid Profound-rank talent is considered a genius within the sect and usually opts to join more powerful sects.
In fact, with such talent, even if you join one of the three major powers of the continent, you would be welcomed with open arms.
The two elders didn't even dare consider taking her as a disciple. After all, they knew that many talented disciples joined the sect because of the mysterious elder currently residing there.
The two elders had no doubt that Fu Hui came from a powerful family or household capable of annihilating the Lingyun sect with just one expert.
A few seconds after Elder Tan's voice faded, Jian Shi, who stood next to Jian Ning, stepped out of the crowd and headed toward the portal.
After Fu Hui's stunning performance, the audience and the two elders had high expectations for Jian Shi. After all, he was ranked one place higher than Fu Hui, so it was logical to expect he possessed similar talent.
At the very least, they expected him to have a rank 4 or 5 talent.
Jian Shi approached the portal, and as he arrived, the stones on the left quickly lit up with nine lights, indicating a body-tempering rank of level 9.
This caused no stir, and some participants even looked at him with disdain, especially those who had already reached the Gi Gathering level.
The stones on the right began to glow, and quickly, two stones lit up with a bright red light, resembling small flames.
After a few seconds with no additional stones lighting up, Elder Tan, with a disappointed look, was about to announce Jian Shi's failure. But before he could speak, Jian Shi silently murmured "Yuan Zun Art," circulating his internal energy with his cultivation technique. Before Elder Tan could open his mouth, a third light ignited.
After the third light lit up, Jian Shi swiftly left the portal, showing no flaws in his movements.
Elder Tan, who was about to announce his failure, quickly changed his tone and said, "Participant No. 02, three lights lit, you pass," with a note of disappointment.
Many participants cast disdainful looks at Jian Shi, though he remained emotionless, as if he were unaffected.
This attitude made other participants even more disdainful and jealous of him.
"A person like that can easily draw so much hatred from others," Jian Ning sighed, thinking about the difficulty he faced in earning a few W.E. points.
Even Fu Hui looked at him with shock and a hint of contempt: "In such a small place, I could find someone who knows cultivation domains so well but is actually such a mediocre talent. Although I feel like this person is hiding something, and he is not as mediocre and simple as he appears," she murmured to herself.
"Participant No. 01, please step under the portal," Elder Tan's tone changed dramatically.
Jian Ning quickly stepped out from the crowd, while it continued to mock and insult Jian Shi with words like "trash," "he must have cheated to get such a high ranking," etc.
Jian Ning arrived under the portal without hesitation and stepped through.
As he arrived at the portal, the stones on the left quickly lit up and changed color, indicating an Qi Gathering rank 6 cultivation.
"Wait, those colors… and that number…"
"Don't tell me he has an Qi Gathering rank 6 cultivation, no…"
"I must be dreaming, how old is he?!"
Murmurs of shock and jealousy could be heard.
[Ding, participant No. 122 is jealous of you, +254 W.E]
[Ding, participant No. 09 is shocked by you, +558 W.E]
[Ding, participant No. 106 admires you, +96 W.E]
...….
While the crowd whispered fervently, the stones on the right began to light up. The first, then the second, appeared.
Then the third… fifth… sixth… seventh!!
Each stone glowed with a cold light as gusts of wind manifested through them, followed by sparks of electricity dancing with them, while sharp glimmers appeared from time to time.
The two elders were so shocked they didn't know what to say. Just as they were about to announce his success, an incredible event unfolded before their eyes.
The stones on the right… exploded!!
YES! Jian Ning's talent was so high that he had caused the talent-measuring stones to explode. To put it simply, all of Jian Ning's talents exceeded the limit of the measuring stones, so it was no wonder they shattered.
In fact, the stones themselves are just spirit stones used in the formation that actually tests talent and cultivation level.
It's a pity that this formation isn't high-level enough, as it can only measure those with talent equal to or below Earth rank, and cultivation equal to or below the Sea Opening realm.
"The talent test formation… is broken?" Elder Tan said with a hint of shock in his voice.
It's important to know that this formation was provided by TianWu Academy, one of the three overlords of the continent along with Sky Tower and the Golden Fire sect.
It is widely known that TianWu Academy is a dominant force that has cultivated many powerful Nirvana and even Nascent Soul cultivators.
So even though they only sent a low-rank talent test artifact, it was still something sent by a power of their stature.
In fact, there are even more powerful artifacts within TianWu Academy, but they certainly wouldn't send those to a small power like the Lingyun sect.
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~~In the sect library~~
The middle-aged man who had just closed his eyes suddenly reopened them. His magnificent golden pupils suddenly narrowed in shock.
"That's… that's the Saint-rank special body, the Storm Body!! How could such a genius end up in such a distant and backward continent? I must take him as a disciple and guide him as the saint son of the pavilion. He has that talent," the middle-aged man thought before suddenly disappearing from the library.
--------------
As Jian Ning finally emerged from the now-broken portal, he could vaguely hear jealous whispers.
"The talent test portal is broken, that's why, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten such good results."
"Of course, if he really had that talent, he wouldn't have come to the Lingyun sect, but rather to a sect like WuJian or the Hundred Beasts Valley."
"But he still ranked at the top, even higher than the young mistress of the Fu family, so I'm not surprised he has greater talent."
"Yes, but…"
The surrounding disciples whispered fiercely and debated intensely.
[Ding, reminder to the host, after your birth, when your luck was not sealed, the system used the possibility of awakening luck given by the system 14 years ago, and its effects are manifesting now]
Just after Ling notification, a deep and commanding voice resounded.
"Child, do you want to become my disciple?"