Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 59: 8th-Grade Aptitude
Zhaang Ye and the other youths slowly walked into the main hall.
This hall was spacious and magnificent, with an extraordinary air. In the center of the hall, several men who looked like Stewards were seated in a circle. Zhaang Ye knew these were the people responsible for testing the youths’ talent.
A Steward instructed the youths to line up in order of height, then the talent test began.
A person’s talent was divided into Three Classes and Nine Grades. Among them, the First to Third Grade were considered Upper Talent, the Fourth to Sixth Grade were Middle Talent, and the Seventh to Ninth Grade were Lower Talent.
According to legend, there was also a Top-Grade Talent above the nine grades, but this legendary talent had never been discovered.
In the center of the hall was a small pool made of crystal, filled with a special medicinal liquid. To test their talent, a person only needed to drip a single drop of their blood into the pool to know their aptitude immediately.
If the blood turned purple in the liquid, it meant Upper Talent. If it turned cyan, it meant Middle Talent. And if the blood turned blue, it was Lower Talent.
If the blood simply dispersed in the liquid, it indicated that the person had trash-tier talent and was completely unsuited for Cultivation.
The talent test proceeded quickly. In just over a quarter of an hour, dozens of people had been tested. The vast majority of them had Middle Talent, from the Fourth to Sixth Grade, but there were also two with Third-Grade Upper Talent.
These two were none other than Zhaang Yang and Zhaang Dahong. When their blood dropped into the medicinal liquid, it turned a faint purple, drawing gasps of amazement from the youths watching from the side. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Hearing the youths’ astonishment, both Zhaang Yang and Zhaang Dahong looked smug, puffing out their chests.
Seeing their smug expressions, Zhaang Yuhu snorted disdainfully. He strode forward, cut his finger, and dripped a drop of his own blood into the medicinal liquid.
Zhaang Yuhu was a recognized genius. By his own efforts, he had managed to reach the Martial Arts Third Layer at the age of thirteen. During the family competition, he had claimed first place with his overwhelming power, a clear display of his formidable strength. The talent of such a prodigious youth immediately piqued everyone’s interest, and all eyes turned to the drop of blood falling into the liquid.
The drop of blood swirled gently in the liquid, and then its color began to change. It went from red to blue, then from blue to cyan, and finally, from cyan, it slowly turned a light purple.
The purple gradually deepened, becoming much richer than the color produced by Zhaang Yang and Zhaang Dahong.
The Stewards, who had been sitting calmly in their chairs, could no longer remain seated as they watched the blood’s color deepen. One by one, they craned their necks to get a better look into the medicinal liquid.
The drop of blood finally stopped changing, revealing a mysterious and noble shade of purple.
"Second-Grade Talent!"
After a quick glance, one of the Stewards finally announced Zhaang Yuhu’s talent grade.
"HISS—" Hearing the Steward’s announcement, the youths all sucked in a sharp breath. Their gazes toward Zhaang Yuhu were filled with envy and jealousy, but most of all, with awe.
A person with Third-Grade Talent might not even appear once in a million people. Second-Grade Talent was even rarer; you might not find one in ten million. As long as nothing unexpected happened, someone with Second-Grade Talent could, at the very least, smoothly cultivate to the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven, and many would even reach the Martial Arts Eighth Layer Heaven.
Although the youths had lofty ambitions, they knew that Zhaang Yuhu was in a completely different world from them.
The youths looked at Zhaang Yuhu with reverence, while the Stewards’ gazes were filled with pleasant surprise. They all stood up, finding it hard to believe that a youth with Second-Grade Talent had appeared in one of the Zhaang Family’s Branches.
"Mm, not bad, not bad at all. To think that a talent of the Second Grade would appear in one of the countryside Branches!" one Steward said, looking at Zhaang Yuhu with growing delight.
"Indeed, indeed. In previous years, it was difficult to find even a single person with Third-Grade Talent. To think that this time two have appeared at once, and even someone with Second-Grade Talent has shown up!"
"Hehe, Zhaang Yuhu, is it? This little fellow not only has great innate talent but also excellent Comprehension. The records say he reached the Martial Arts Third Layer at thirteen entirely through his own ability. A talent like this is rare even in the whole of Cyan Mulberry City."
"Mm, in terms of talent, in all of Cyan Mulberry City, only our Zhaang Family’s Zhaang Yijian, the Luo Family’s Luo Yongsheng, and the Lee Family’s Lee Lie can compare to Zhaang Yuhu. Hehe, there are only four youths with Second-Grade Talent in the entire city, and our Zhaang Family has two of them. It seems the day of our Zhaang Family’s rise is just around the corner."
After discussing for a few moments, the Stewards resumed the test.
In the subsequent tests, all the youths had Middle Talent, between the Fourth and Sixth Grade. Among them, Zhaang Qing’s talent was Fifth Grade, and Zhaang Que’s was Fourth Grade, which were considered quite good.
At this point, everyone’s attention turned to Zhaang Ye.
Like Zhaang Yuhu, Zhaang Ye was a young expert who had also reached the Martial Arts Third Layer at the age of thirteen. Now that Zhaang Yuhu’s talent was known, what about Zhaang Ye, who had achieved the same feat at the same age?
This question intrigued not only the youths but also the Stewards in charge of the test.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Zhaang Ye walked to the pool, cut his finger, and dripped a drop of his blood into the medicinal liquid.
The blood swirled in the liquid for a moment before finally settling. Everyone stared wide-eyed at its color, stunned, almost unable to believe their own eyes.
As it turned out, the color of Zhaang Ye’s blood was a faint blue!
In other words, Zhaang Ye actually had Lower Talent!
How could someone who reached the Martial Arts Third Layer at thirteen possibly have Lower Talent?
The youths were bewildered, and the Stewards in charge of the test were just as confused.
Just then, a Steward holding a folder of information spoke in a deep voice, "There’s nothing strange about this. The records show that one year ago, Zhaang Ye was still at the Martial Arts First Layer. He only broke through to the Martial Arts Third Layer so quickly after taking a Mutated Medicine. In other words, his talent is indeed poor. The only reason he could advance to the Martial Arts Third Layer at thirteen was because he consumed a Mutated Medicine."
"So that’s how it is!" the testing Steward murmured. He then shook his head, his gaze toward Zhaang Ye now clearly tinged with disappointment.
When Zhaang Ye broke through to the Martial Arts Third Layer at thirteen, he had assumed Zhaang Ye was also a person of outstanding talent. He never expected Zhaang Ye’s talent to be of the lower class.
’With inherently Lower Talent, and having forced a breakthrough with medicine, Zhaang Ye has likely exhausted all his potential. He probably won’t be able to make any more progress in this lifetime.’ Thinking this, the Stewards couldn’t even be bothered to look at Zhaang Ye anymore.
The testing Steward shook his head and announced loudly, "Zhaang Ye, Eighth-Grade Talent!"
’Eighth-Grade Talent, that’s basically a good-for-nothing!’ The youths’ gazes were filled with schadenfreude.
Zhaang Yuhu and Zhaang Dahong, who had always considered Zhaang Ye their rival, had arrogant smirks on their faces. Meanwhile, Zhaang Yang, who held a grudge against Zhaang Ye, let out a sinister chuckle. His gaze was filled with ridicule and provocation. If the Stewards hadn’t been watching, he would have surely run up to Zhaang Ye and mocked him relentlessly.
Zhaang Ye had long anticipated these reactions from the youths and the Stewards. He sneered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged as he calmly walked back to his original spot.
"This Zhaang Ye has a decent temperament. However, to go far on the Martial Dao, temperament alone is not..." The testing Steward shook his head and called out, "Next!"
