The third senior brother, with a stern expression, spoke at length, introducing the situation within the Green Jade Gate. After a while, he changed the subject: "You are primarily of the Fire element. I remember the sect has a set of Great Flame Incineration Techniques that should be very suitable for you. Of course, if you want to develop in the Metal direction, there are also many Metal cultivation techniques within the sect. 520 Official Website
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Moreover, if you join our Green Jade Gate, even as a probationary disciple, you will receive two Essence Nourishing Pills each month. If you pass the assessment and become a formal disciple, the quota will double. Remember that?"
Lu Ye nodded hastily: "I remember."
Puzzled, he wondered what this meant. It sounded like the third senior brother was trying to recruit him. If that was the case, it seemed that cultivators who had opened an acupoint indeed had a significant advantage.
He felt secretly pleased.
The third senior brother continued: "Good, sit properly and calm your mind. You might feel some pain later, but don't worry, it's just part of the talent assessment process. Don't resist with your spiritual energy."
"Understood!" Lu Ye responded, placing his hands on his knees, palms up, and closing his eyes.
In the next moment, he felt a surge of spiritual energy. Although curious about what the third senior brother was doing, he didn't dare open his eyes. When the spiritual energy surged, he felt a slight vibration under his buttocks, guessing that the array on the disk had activated.
As he thought, the third senior brother had placed eight crystal-like stones, about the size of silkworm cocoons, into eight indentations around the edge of the disk. These were spirit stones, commonly used by cultivators to set up arrays, something Lu Ye had never seen before.
When the third senior brother activated the array, the spirit stones embedded in the indentations released a faint mist. This mist was the spiritual energy stored in the spirit stones, which, after being transformed by the array, became pure spiritual qi.
The dense spiritual qi quickly filled the space within the disk, but an invisible barrier around the disk confined the spiritual qi inside.
Lu Ye, sitting upright, felt a stirring in his heart. Although his eyes were closed, he sensed many wondrous things around him, which were entering his body, giving him a very pleasant feeling.
Is this spiritual energy?
Lu Ye immediately realized that absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was one of the main methods of cultivation. When he was in the mine, he had tried it, but due to the terrain, he hadn't felt the presence of spiritual qi and had to choose the method of refining essence into qi.
After being taken out of the mine by the old man surnamed Tang, he had forgotten to sense the spiritual qi in the world.
It was only at this moment that he directly felt the existence of spiritual qi.
However, remembering the third senior brother's instructions, he resisted the temptation and did not absorb it casually.
Across from him, the third senior brother was making hand seals, continuously activating the array's power while keeping his eyes fixed on the small saplings around the edge of the disk.
The array on the disk was specifically used to assess talent. When the third senior brother activated the array, the eight spirit stones embedded in the disk released their stored spiritual energy, which became dense spiritual qi.
Through his actions, this spiritual qi would be guided into the body of the person being tested and then flow back into the array. As a result, the small saplings around the edge of the array would undergo some changes.
In short, Lu Ye, sitting on the disk, was a conduit. The spiritual qi would pass through his body and into the array, causing the eight saplings to change.
The more saplings that changed, the higher the talent of the person being tested. Conversely, the fewer saplings that changed, the lower the talent.
Fundamentally, this test was to see how smoothly the spiritual qi flowed within the body. The smoother the flow, the more suitable one was for cultivation, and the higher the talent.
Since the foundation of cultivation was to strengthen one's spiritual qi, if the spiritual qi couldn't flow smoothly within the body, what was the point of cultivation?
Beside the array, the third senior brother continued to activate it, but the eight saplings remained still. He frowned and increased the power of the array.
Lu Ye's brows furrowed as he felt a slight stinging pain in his body, as if many external spiritual qi were forcefully entering his body, giving him a sensation of being pricked by countless needles. As time passed, the pain became more intense.
Just as he was about to give in, the stinging pain suddenly disappeared, and he heard the third senior brother's voice: "It's done."
Lu Ye opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and met the third senior brother's gaze, noticing the complex look in his eyes.
This made him feel uneasy.
"May I ask, Senior Brother, how is my talent?" Lu Ye asked.
The third senior brother remained silent, glanced at the disk, and then brushed his hand over Lu Ye's jade token, returning it to him.
Lu Ye took it and noticed that the side of the token with his elemental attribute now had an additional character.
What does this mean?
Lu Ye wanted to ask, but the third senior brother clearly didn't want to talk anymore. He didn't want to press the issue, so he stood up from the disk and bowed to the third senior brother: "Thank you, Senior Brother!"
As he turned to leave, he saw that one of the eight bare saplings on the disk had sprouted a tender leaf...
Does this character on the back represent one sapling? He guessed.
"Little friend!" the third senior brother suddenly called out.
Lu Ye, who had reached the door, turned around: "What do you need, Senior Brother?"
The third senior brother said: "Forget what I told you earlier."
Lu Ye: ...
Stepping out of the tent, he took a few deep breaths, a strong sense of crisis rising in his heart.
Although he wasn't sure whether his talent was high or low, from the third senior brother's words and attitude, he felt that things were not good.
His talent was probably... extraordinary.
He needed to find someone to confirm.
Lu Ye looked around and suddenly saw a figure standing quietly in a corner. He walked over.
Halfway there, the figure saw Lu Ye and smiled, waving.
When he got closer, Lu Ye greeted: "Miss Yu."
Yu Xiaodie bowed gracefully: "Big Brother Lu."
It was clear that Yu Xiaodie's mood was much better than yesterday.
She had completed the assessment, and the results were good.
Lu Ye held out his jade token: "Can you help me understand what this means about my talent?"
Yu Xiaodie took it, smiling, and said: "Since Big Brother Lu can open an acupoint, your talent must be... not bad!"
As she said the last two words, she saw the character on the back of the token, her eyelids twitching, and her tone hesitating.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Ye understood.
His talent was probably not as good as he hoped.
"What about your talent, Miss Yu?" Lu Ye asked.
Yu Xiaodie replied: "About the same as Big Brother Lu."
Lu Ye waved his hand: "No need to comfort me. I understand the general situation. Does a smaller number mean lower talent?"
Yu Xiaodie pursed her lips, wanting to comfort Lu Ye but not knowing how to start. Finally, she nodded: "Yes."
"No wonder." Lu Ye recalled the third senior brother's last words, thinking that cultivators were very practical.
Yu Xiaodie said: "Big Brother Lu, don't be discouraged. The current test isn't very accurate, and the array used isn't very advanced, so there can be errors."
Lu Ye smiled: "I don't know much about the array, but since there's a result, I have to face it."
Yu Xiaodie looked at him curiously: "Does Big Brother Lu really not mind?" Lu Ye's calmness didn't seem fake; most people would feel disheartened after such a result.
Lu Ye looked into the distance and smiled: "Compared to those people, I'm already very lucky to have opened an acupoint."
Following his gaze, a group of dejected people gathered nearby, all of whom had been eliminated for lacking cultivation talent.