Chapter 9

On the martial arts platform, a huge black stone monument had long been erected. The stone monument, over ten feet tall and pitch black, seemed unremarkable at first glance, but it was a carefully crafted Guanyuan Stone Monument by a master craftsman. Those being tested only needed to place their palm on it, and the monument would display two indicators. The surrounding halos indicated the Qi Spirit Realm cultivation level, while different colors indicated different cultivation potentials.

This stone monument was only effective for those in the Qi Spirit Realm; those whose cultivation exceeded the Qi Spirit Realm could not be tested. After the Qi Spirit Realm came the Martial Spirit Realm, and by then, one was already considered a formidable warrior. The cultivation of a warrior could not be measured by any instrument.

The first person in line had already begun the test, and soon the Guanyuan Stone Monument displayed his level. Six halos appeared at the top of the monument, and the color in the middle was earth yellow.

"Lu Zhan, age fifteen, cultivation level Qi Spirit Realm Sixth Rank, talent Four Stars..." Someone began to announce his name, age, cultivation level, and talent level, awaiting the response from the major sects.

Seeing his situation, the members of the major sects in the stands showed no reaction. The minimum standard for the Qi Spirit Realm Fifth Rank had been met, but the sects placed more emphasis on talent. Cultivation could be improved with external assistance, but talent was innate. Four-star talent clearly did not meet their standards.

Seeing no response from the sects, the young man dejectedly walked off the platform.

"Chen Ning, age sixteen, Qi Spirit Realm Fifth Rank, talent Three Stars..." Another person came up to test. This time, the sects did not even glance at him.

Soon, several people were eliminated. The requirements of the sects were extremely high, and so far, no one had been accepted into any sect.

"I'll give it a try." A young man walked up to the Guanyuan Stone Monument. He was Gu Mingyang from the Gu family. He placed his palm on the monument, and soon the halos began to appear—four, five, six! The color in the middle of the monument also began to change, from red to green, dark yellow, and earth yellow...

"Gu Mingyang, age sixteen, Qi Spirit Realm Sixth Rank, talent Six Stars!"

"Hmm." Finally, someone from the sects nodded. This indicated that he had temporarily passed and could proceed to the second round of testing. Gu Mingyang smiled smugly and walked to the other side of the platform.

Next was the test for Murong Yue, the daughter of the city lord. Her cultivation was one rank higher than Gu Mingyang, and her talent was six stars. She easily passed the first round of the examination and stood with those who would participate in the second round. This was a gathering of geniuses, and those who came up were all geniuses from Yuzhou City.

...

"I really don't know who gave you the courage to come up here." Lin Yuechu said coldly to Li Changsheng. "Now I'll show you just how big the gap between us is."

After saying that, she slowly walked to the Guanyuan Stone Monument and placed her fair palm on it. As the halos and colors appeared, her talent was even more dazzling than Gu Mingyang's.

"Lin Yuechu, age fifteen, cultivation level Qi Spirit Realm Eighth Rank, talent Seven Stars!"

Fifteen years old, Eighth Rank cultivation, and Seven-star talent. A prodigy! The crowd was stunned.

Such talent was extremely rare even in the entire Great Han Empire. Watching her performance, Yun Lan of Tianhai Sword Sect nodded in satisfaction. Over the past few days, she had given Lin Yuechu a 'Qi Condensing Pill' and provided meticulous guidance, which had raised her cultivation by one rank. This was to ensure that she would shine on this day and bring glory to the Tianhai Sword Sect.

The entire venue suddenly fell silent, and the members of the major sects were no longer as composed as before. Her talent had already caught their attention. Seeing the astonished, envious looks from the crowd and the approving expressions of the major sects, Lin Yuechu felt very gratified.

"Lin Yuechu, Bright Moon Sword Sect, we welcome your joining." After just the first round of the examination, the representative of the Bright Moon Sword Sect directly extended an olive branch. A genius like her would surely excel in the second round.

"Xuantian Sword Sect welcomes your joining."

"Our Huatian Sword Sect also sincerely invites you."

Those who invited her were all representatives of the sword sects, while the academy remained silent. The academy had different requirements for talent. To become a scholar, one needed to be very intelligent and have a calm, composed personality.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I have already decided to join the Tianhai Sword Sect," Lin Yuechu said with a smile, bowing politely to the representatives of the major sects.

"What a pity, such a good disciple has been snatched away by someone else," someone began to shake their head in regret.

"Remarkable talent, proper conduct, not arrogant—her future achievements are boundless," the sects commented on her performance.

"The Tianhai Sword Sect, you moved so quickly!" someone joked to the Tianhai Sword Sect.

"What can we do? Our sect values talent so much," Yun Lan said with a smile. Lin Yuechu's performance today had earned her and the Tianhai Sword Sect a great deal of face.

Lin Yuechu looked at Li Changsheng with pride, just as she had said, "I'll show you just how big the gap between us is." She had indeed done so, and now she was the center of attention, with major sects vying to invite her.

"Seven-star talent, very strong?" Li Changsheng said indifferently. As soon as he finished speaking, he walked up to the monument and placed his palm on it.

The halos on the monument began to appear—one, two... until the fifth halo appeared, and then they stopped. His cultivation was Qi Spirit Realm Fifth Rank. Fifth Rank, which was enough to qualify for this test.

Wasn't he supposed to be a waste, with only Qi Spirit Realm First Rank cultivation? Seeing the five halos, everyone who knew him was surprised. Could he have been hiding his strength all along? No one would have thought that Li Changsheng had advanced from Qi Spirit Realm First Rank to Fifth Rank in just seven days.

Lin Yuechu's eyebrows furrowed. She had thought Li Changsheng's cultivation was only First Rank and that he would be directly dismissed during the test. She had said, "I'll see how you get off the stage," but now Li Changsheng had proven that he had the right to be on the stage. However, with Fifth Rank cultivation, he was still a waste, she thought disdainfully.

Next, the monument began to display the color representing talent. Red, orange... light blue, dark blue...

What, he's also a Seven-star talent!? Seeing the dark blue color on the monument, a group of people almost couldn't believe their eyes. However, after the dark blue, the color changed again. Dark blue turned to purple, Eight-star talent!? Just as their hearts skipped a beat, the color on the monument changed again...

In the end, it turned to—gold! A dazzling, radiant gold, like the light of the sun, blinding to the eyes.

Nine-star talent!? Oh my God! Am I dreaming? Everyone opened their eyes wide, disbelieving what they were seeing. Nine-star talent, a rarity in the Book and Sword Continent!

But the matter did not end there. With a 'bang,' a crack appeared in the middle of the Guanyuan Stone Monument!

What's going on? Could it be that he's not a Nine-star talent but a Super Nine-star talent? Only a talent exceeding Nine-star would cause the Guanyuan Stone Monument to crack. Instantly, the entire venue fell silent.

Seeing the talent displayed on the monument, Lin Yuechu's expression was incredibly vivid.

"Li Changsheng, you should go down, this is not a place for you. I'll show you just how big the gap between us is..." Her words still echoed in his ears, but Li Changsheng's performance immediately gave them the best rebuttal. Seven-star talent versus Super Nine-star talent, who has the gap with whom?

The members of the major sects were shocked but did not immediately recruit Li Changsheng. They only nodded slightly, indicating that he could participate in the second round of testing. With Super Nine-star talent and only Qi Spirit Realm Fifth Rank cultivation, the situation was too bizarre, and they wanted to see how Li Changsheng would perform next.

"Hmph! Only Fifth Rank cultivation..." Seeing Li Changsheng's talent, she could now only find superiority in her cultivation. "But you hiding your strength, you're quite devious," she suddenly said coldly.

Hiding strength? Devious? Hearing Lin Yuechu's words, the representatives of the major sects frowned. No sect wanted to recruit a devious disciple; the greater the ability, the greater the potential for destruction.

"Devious, hiding strength? Which eye did you see me hiding anything?" Li Changsheng said indifferently. His strength had increased only in the past few days, and he had never hidden anything.

"Everyone, please be quiet. The second round of testing is about to begin," said Murong Gang at this moment. The second round of testing was a martial arts competition. While a person's talent and cultivation were important, true strength was best demonstrated in actual combat.

The martial arts competition was a comprehensive test of a person's strength. It was not just about cultivation level but also about temperament, which was crucial for cultivators.

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