Chapter 8

The assessment at the Nine Yang Martial Mansion is divided into three parts: talent, mindset, and combat.

On this day, the first round of the assessment was: testing talent.

For a martial artist, talent is the most important, as it determines their future achievements. What is referred to as talent, simply put, is the martial artist's affinity with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. If a martial artist's affinity with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is insufficient, they will not be able to effectively absorb the spiritual energy for cultivation, and their future achievements will naturally not be high.

Conversely, if a martial artist has a high affinity with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they can effectively absorb the spiritual energy for cultivation. In this way, not only will their cultivation speed be extremely fast, but their future martial achievements will also be very high. This is why the talent test is an unchanging part of the Nine Yang Martial Mansion's annual assessment.

In front of the Nine Yang Martial Mansion, there is a high platform. At this moment, an old man ascended the platform and said, "Everyone knows the rules, but I will repeat them again. Only those who have reached the second level of body refinement and are under seventeen years old are eligible for the assessment. Those who do not meet these conditions should leave immediately to avoid disrupting the assessment."

"Under seventeen years old and at the second level of body refinement, that's quite strict," Lin Tian thought to himself.

However, he was not worried. He was sixteen years old and fully qualified for the assessment.

The Nine Yang Martial Mansion has fifty talent testing points. After the assessment began, the candidates quickly formed fifty queues. In front of each queue, there was a stone stele for testing talent. These stone steles were engraved with nine pentagrams from bottom to top, specifically designed to test a martial artist's talent.

"Let's begin the first round of the assessment, the talent test. Candidates, place your right hand on the stone stele and activate the true essence within your body. After that, the number of star patterns that light up on the stele will be your talent value. One star is one-star talent, two stars are two-star talent, and so on. Three-star talent is the qualifying standard."

"The assessment begins!" the old man said.

As the old man's words fell, a candidate in one of the queues immediately moved, carefully placing their palm on the stele and activating the true essence within their body. Instantly, the stele emitted a bright light, and two star patterns lit up from bottom to top.

"Two-star talent,不合格 (unqualified)," the examiner in charge of that queue said indifferently. Immediately, the candidate showed a look of great disappointment, walked out of the crowd, and left dejectedly.

At the same time, candidates in other queues also began their assessments.

"Two-star talent, unqualified."

"One-star talent, unqualified."

"Two-star talent, unqualified."

"Three-star talent, qualified."

"One-star talent, unqualified."

The examiner's voice echoed continuously in the air of the square.

Soon, half an hour passed.

Lin Tian was somewhat surprised. In this half hour, nearly three thousand people from fifty queues participated in the assessment, but only fewer than a hundred truly qualified.

"What a high elimination rate," Lin Tian marveled.

In fact, he did not know that although the Northern Flame Kingdom had a large population, fewer than one in ten were truly suitable for martial cultivation. Moreover, the Nine Yang Martial Mansion's requirements for disciples' talent were much higher than the ordinary level of being "suitable for martial cultivation." Therefore, the high elimination rate was normal.

"Two-star talent, unqualified."

"Three-star talent, qualified."

"Two-star talent, unqualified."

The examiner's voice continued to ring out.

At this moment, a cry of surprise sounded from a nearby queue. Lin Tian turned his head and saw a man in purple standing at the front of the queue, his palm pressed against the stele. On the stele, five star patterns were clearly lit up.

"Five-star talent! My goodness, who is that?"

"Fengjian City's Mo Sen, Mo Ji's younger brother, don't you know?"

"Mo Ji? The Mo Ji who serves in the Imperial Expeditionary Army?"

"Of course."

"Wow!"

Voices of discussion spread around, and many people drew in cold breaths, not only because of Mo Sen's five-star talent but also because of his older brother Mo Ji, who was a super terrifying person.

The examiner looked at Mo Sen and smiled. "Very good! You live up to being that person's younger brother."

In the Northern Flame Kingdom, two-star talent is suitable for cultivation, three-star talent is considered high-quality, four-star talent is excellent, and five-star talent is a genius, with one in ten thousand being a fitting description. Mo Sen's five-star martial talent indeed stunned many people here.

"Go rest and prepare for the second round of the assessment," the examiner said with a smile.

Mo Sen nodded and walked away proudly.

The assessment continued. After Mo Sen, it was Xiao Yun's turn. Compared to Mo Sen, Xiao Yun was much worse, just barely reaching three-star talent, which was the minimum qualifying standard.

At this moment, it was Lin Tian's turn to test.

Mo Sen had not walked far. Seeing Lin Tian approach the stele, he immediately sneered and mocked, "The last wild boy of the Lin family, you were always sickly before. Do you dare to come for the test with your weak appearance? Why don't you just go back honestly? Do you really think that beating a few servants makes you qualified for martial cultivation? Don't make a fool of yourself."

Lin Tian glanced at Mo Sen and ignored him.

He was not concerned about this first test. In the past few days, he had been cultivating the Four Extremes Scripture by absorbing the power of the stars at night. From the information that flooded his mind, he knew that the power of the stars was far stronger than the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. If he could summon the power of the stars, what was the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to him?

Seeing that Lin Tian actually ignored him, Mo Sen's face turned even colder.

"Hmph! Martial talent is innate, you can't do it!" Mo Sen looked at Lin Tian with a very arrogant expression and said, "Even if you have the talent suitable for martial cultivation, so what? Can you reach five-star talent? I have five-star talent, I am a genius! You are someone I will only ever look up to in my entire life!"

Beside him, Xiao Yun took Mo Sen's arm and looked down at Lin Tian with disdain. "Lin Tian, with your weak body, you can't even compare to me, let alone Mo Sen. You can only have two-star talent at most. You can't possibly qualify in this first test. Give up, it's not too late to give up now. Don't humiliate yourself."

Many candidates nearby looked over.

"Let's not even talk about whether he can qualify, five-star talent is absolutely impossible."

"Of course, isn't that obvious?"

Many people commented.

Mo Sen hugged Xiao Yun's waist and said with a sinister smile, "Yun'er, did you forget that you had something to say to Lin?"

"Yes, I almost forgot," Xiao Yun nodded, looking down at Lin Tian like a proud princess. "Lin Tian, I know you are not satisfied, so you deliberately contradicted Mo Sen and me just now, trying to save some face in front of others. However, no matter how unsatisfied and uncomfortable you are, I still have to say this. Listen carefully, you and I are not on the same level. From the beginning, you were not worthy of me. The only person who can be with me is someone like Mo Sen, a talent. I can only marry Mo Sen!"

Lin Tian's expression was calm, as if he had not heard their words at all.

He raised his right hand and placed it on the stele.

The stele trembled slightly, and in an instant, four star patterns lit up.

"Four-star talent!"

Everyone nearby was moved and showed a look of surprise.

Lin Tian looked at Xiao Yun, his face full of disdain. "Two years ago, do you remember how certain people always clung to me, calling me 'Brother Tian,' how obedient and cute they were? Now, look at you, you look like a clown. Thinking back, it's really disgusting to have been called 'Brother Tian' by someone like you."

"You..."

Xiao Yun's face instantly turned very ugly.

Mo Sen's face was cold, and he sneered, "Just four-star, far from enough, not as good as me!"

Lin Tian turned his head and looked at Mo Sen, suddenly smiling wickedly.

"Buzz!"

The stele he was touching trembled again, and six star patterns lit up.

"Six... six-star talent!"

Everyone's pupils contracted.

At this moment, even the examiners of the Nine Yang Martial Mansion were shocked.

Since the establishment of the Nine Yang Martial Mansion, there has only been one person in history with six-star talent!

Lin Tian looked at Mo Sen and said, "Five-star talent is impressive? Genius? Someone I will only ever look up to in my entire life?"

His voice was calm, but it was filled with sarcasm.

Mo Sen's face turned extremely ugly. Before Lin Tian's test, he had boasted that he was a genius and that Lin Tian could never match him, calling himself someone Lin Tian would only ever look up to. Now, with Lin Tian's martial talent revealed, it felt like a loud slap in the face, making his cheeks hurt.

"Six-star talent, impossible! The stele must be broken!"

He said with a dark expression.

Hearing this, many candidates showed a look of doubt, as six-star talent was too astonishing.

"Broken stele?" Lin Tian looked at Mo Sen indifferently and said, "A man who refuses to admit defeat is laughable!"

He did not move his right hand from the stele, focusing his gaze, and the true essence within his body surged rapidly.

Buzz!

The stele trembled, and the seventh star pattern lit up.

"How is this possible!"

Exclamations of surprise echoed.

Seven-star talent, what does that mean?

"This..."

Many people felt they were about to go numb.

However, it did not end there. In the next moment, the eighth star pattern on the stele lit up.

"Eight, eight..."

The crowd was stunned, and many people stared at the front in disbelief, as if they were dreaming.

At this moment, a cold voice rang out, spreading throughout the area.

"Make the ninth star light up!"

Lin Tian's eyes were bright, and the true essence within his body surged wildly. A faint silver glow appeared on his right hand, which was touching the stele, and the stele trembled even more violently.

Finally, the ninth star pattern lit up.

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