"Low grade one star bone frame, 34 points," Elder Zhao stated in a disappointed tone.
He then looked at the list and called out another name.
"Zhu Ming."
Another disciple stepped forward when his name was called. He touched the pagoda, causing it to glow red, but slightly brighter than before.
"Intermediate grade one star bone frame, 40 points."
"Cao Hai."
A female disciple approached the platform and touched the pagoda, producing a similar intensity of red light.
"Intermediate grade one star bone frame, 41 points."
Elder Zhao continued calling the names of each nominal disciple, testing their talents one by one.
The results, however, greatly disappointed him and the other elders sitting above the platform. Not a single one of them had the talent of a two star bone frame, and the highest talent, a superior grade one star bone frame, was barely satisfactory.
"This year's nominal disciples are as trash as previous years," an elder sitting above the platform commented.
"Why are you complaining, Elder Lu? It's not like your Celestial Sky Peak accepts nominal disciples. Your eyes should be on those from major cities," another elder chimed in. He was from Stormbreaker Peak.
"You are right, Elder Chi. Celestial Sky Peak doesn't accept nominal disciples, but that doesn't mean other peaks won't. I'm sure you and some other elders have your eyes on a few," Elder Lu from Celestial Sky Peak sneered at the elder from Stormbreaker Peak.
"Humph!" Elder Chi snorted and didn't say anything else.
Elder Lu added, "Don't get so worked up. Just think that your peak and all others, including mine, are at least better than Heaven Sword Peak."
Elder Chi laughed disdainfully. "Don't even mention that peak. It's become a disgrace to our sect. I believe the sect master won't reject our collective opinion on disbanding it forever."
Elder Lu agreed, "You are right about that."
"Ah, finally someone good has arrived," Elder Chi said, looking at the platform with interest.
Elder Lu also paid attention.
"Mo Han."
As Elder Zhao called another name, Mo Han walked to the platform.
Despite his somewhat fat appearance, he wore a confident smile. He immediately touched the pagoda, causing it to glow in bright blue light.
"Superior grade two star bone frame, 67 points," Elder Zhao nodded with satisfaction.
Mo Han smiled arrogantly and walked back to the crowd.
"Shi Mu."
Another disciple walked onto the stage when his name was called and touched the pagoda, causing it to glow in blue, though dimmer than before.
"Low grade two star bone frame, 55 points," Elder Zhao nodded, thinking there were indeed some good ones this year.
Shi Mu felt satisfied with his talent and returned with a smile.
At that moment, Elder Zhao called another name.
"Li Yun."
Li Yun sighed when he heard his name and walked to the platform.
"You..." Elder Zhao was momentarily surprised when he saw him, recalling why he had allowed Li Yun to join the sect as a nominal disciple. "...touch the pagoda," he finished, a strange expression clouding his face.
Li Yun, somewhat hesitant, touched the pagoda, causing it to glow black.
"No bone frame, 25 points," Elder Zhao announced. He had already measured Li Yun's talent four years ago, so he wasn't surprised.
But the same couldn't be said for everyone else present.
"What?! No bone frame?! That means he's just trash. Why even bother participating in the assessment?"
"I wonder how he became a nominal disciple with that talent."
"And I thought my talent was the lowest here. It really is an eye opener for me."
"A trash with no bone frame should be expelled from the sect."
All the disciples, whether nominal, outer, or even some inner disciples who came to watch, laughed and mocked Li Yun. Some even called for his expulsion.
Such was the treatment of those without a bone frame talent. They were regarded as the lowest trash in the cultivation world, often referred to as mortals—those who didn't have the ability to cultivate.
"But look! He has a cultivation of level one of Qi Training!"
"How is this possible? Aren't people with no bone frame unable to cultivate?"
"Yeah, I heard that too!"
"It is indeed very surprising, and if you look at his cultivation, he is indeed qualified to participate in the assessment."
Everyone was once again shocked when they noticed Li Yun's cultivation. A person with no bone frame shouldn't be able to cultivate in any way. This was a common belief in the cultivation world, but the reality before them said otherwise.
Li Yun beamed with joy at the shocked expressions and walked back.
'At least it stopped their mocking and their shock expression is indeed to my liking, hehe.'
He thought inwardly while also feeling fortunate that he hadn't participated in the previous assessments.
'If I would have participated then with my no bone frame talent with no cultivation to support, I would have been surely expelled from the sect if that were to happen.'
This was why he had never participated in previous assessments. Only because of an expulsion notice from the sect came had he decided to participate this time, and also because his cultivation had reached the required first level of Qi Training needed to take part.
Otherwise he would be in his hut cultivating diligently at this time.
On the other side, Elder Zhao also looked at Li Yun with shock.
Even he hadn't noticed Li Yun's cultivation when he came to test his talent. He had subconsciously believed that Li Yun would have no cultivation since he already knew about his lack of a bone frame.
As he watched Li Yun walk back, he thought to himself, 'I didn't directly give you 0 points, so use this opportunity to become an outer disciple. After all, someone has been waiting for you for four years...'
All the elders sitting above the platform looked surprised as well. This was their first time seeing someone like Li Yun who could cultivate without a bone frame.
However, their initial surprise quickly faded as they lost interest on him. They believed that even if someone with no bone frame could cultivate, their progress on the path of martial arts would be severely limited.
The bone frame was considered the foundation of a martial artist's potential—the higher the bone frame, the higher the cultivation realm one could achieve.