As Adam and Princess Althea talked, a voice began to resonate throughout the hall.
"Dear guests, welcome to the annual talent evaluation ceremony," it announced solemnly.
"Please gather around the evaluation orb and prepare for when your name is called," the voice continued.
"Come on, let's hurry," said the princess, feeling closer to Adam after their conversation.
Adam didn't respond, lost in his thoughts. This was the most important moment of his life, and he couldn't help but feel nervous. He had so many questions: If he had talent, would people finally respect him? What would happen if he turned out to be a talentless cripple? Would they kill him on the spot or abandon him in some distant land? The doubts were eating away at him.
The princess, guessing what was on Adam's mind, tried to reassure him:
"Don't worry. Every year, there are many people without talent. Besides, if that ends up being your case, I'll convince my father to let you go unharmed. You have my word."
Adam, unable to understand why the princess was doing so much for him, could only thank her.
"I don't know how I'll ever repay you for everything you've done for me, Princess," Adam said in a defeated tone, though slightly less nervous.
The princess smiled at him.
"Just don't forget—you owe me a favor," she said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.
Adam didn't respond, silently grateful for her intentions.
Soon, they approached the center of the room, with the princess guiding Adam by holding his hand, a gesture that sparked discomfort among the onlookers.
Once all the five-year-old children had gathered around the orb, the voice spoke again.
"Now I will explain how your talents will be evaluated.
"The orb will light up in a color depending on the talent you possess. The order of colors, from lowest to highest talent, is as follows: white, yellow, green, blue, red, purple, black, and gold.
"Each color indicates the cultivation realm you are practically guaranteed to achieve. For example, a person with white talent will reach the elemental stage but is unlikely to advance to the profound stage. Meanwhile, a person with golden talent will someday reach the tyrant stage—if they aren't killed beforehand," the voice concluded.
Everyone present, including Adam, already knew this information, as it was the first thing taught about cultivation. They also knew the cultivation stages, listed in order of increasing power: elemental stage, profound stage, master stage, grandmaster stage, lord stage, king stage, emperor stage, and tyrant stage.
"Now that everything has been explained, I will begin calling your names one by one."
The room fell silent, expectant, as everyone waited to see who would be the first lucky—or unlucky—person to be evaluated.
After a pause of a few seconds, which felt like an eternity, the voice called the first name:
"Rilen Ironshade."
Rilen was startled and cursed his bad luck, but he quickly regained his composure and walked toward the orb.
When he placed his hands on it, the orb began to glow. First, it turned white, then yellow, green, and finally stabilized at an intense blue. Rilen, pleased with his talent—which ensured he would at least reach the grandmaster stage like his father—couldn't help but remember his recent confrontation with Adam. He smiled arrogantly and, turning to look at Adam, realized that he couldn't see him. This triggered laughter among the onlookers, making Rilen blush with embarrassment.
"You may step away from the orb," said the voice impatiently.
"Y-yes," Rilen replied hastily.
As he moved away, his mind filled with malicious thoughts.
'Just wait until your family abandons you... I'm going to have so much fun with you,' he thought, casting an intense, hostile glare at Adam.
The voice echoed again, calling the next name:
"Alex Blackthorne."
Alex, like Rilen, placed both hands on the orb. It began to glow white, then yellow, green, and seemed to stabilize at blue when suddenly it shifted to red and remained there, stable.
Upon seeing the result, Alex couldn't hold back and openly mocked Rilen, his main rival due to the hostility between the Blackthorne and Ironshade families:
"Ha, ha, ha! And to think you were grinning so arrogantly over a mere blue talent. How shameless," he said, leaving the center of the room with a smug smile.
Rilen remained silent in the face of the mockery but couldn't help scheming internally.
'We can't let him fully develop his potential. If he does, he'll be a major problem for our family,' he thought, casting a meaningful glance at his father, who returned the look with the same thoughts reflected in his eyes.
The voice continued calling names one by one. There were talents of all kinds, though the highest so far remained red. Superior talents usually appeared only in the royal family.
The voice kept calling names until only Adam and Althea remained.
"Althea Amberfall," announced the voice.
"Good luck… though you don't need it," Adam encouraged the princess.
"Hum," Althea nodded as she approached the orb.
Everyone in the room was expectant. They had heard rumors that the second princess possessed a special physique and was even said to surpass the talent of her father, who had been evaluated with a purple talent.
Althea placed her hands on the orb nonchalantly, and it began to shift colors rapidly: white, yellow, green, blue, red, purple, black, and… gold. The orb's intense golden light dazzled those closest to it.
The crowd couldn't believe their eyes. The first golden talent in thousands of years had appeared. With the second princess, the empire had the potential to reach new heights, provided no catastrophe occurred.
Adam couldn't see the orb, but listening to the conversations around him, he couldn't help but feel happy for Althea.
The princess stepped away from the orb as if she had already expected the result and approached Adam again.
"Seems like you're incredible," Adam joked.
"Hmph! You don't need an orb to know that," Althea replied, puffing out her cheeks adorably.
"Adam Blackthorne," the voice then resonated.
Althea encouraged him, mirroring the gesture he had made earlier:
"Come on, I believe in you."
Althea's words, along with the result of his new friend's evaluation, gave Adam a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, he could escape his hellish life.
With renewed energy, Adam approached the orb with steady steps, using his cane to avoid tripping or bumping into the object, which would be terribly embarrassing, especially in front of Althea.
With a slight tremble, Adam placed his hands on the orb and waited for it to evaluate his talent.
He could feel energy flowing into his body through his hands, but, unable to see the orb, he had no idea how the evaluation was progressing or what color it was displaying.
The room fell completely silent.