Talent Assessment

The beautiful woman had a faint smile at the corner of her lips, and her eyes, as clear as autumn water, swept over the young participants gathered before her. She was very satisfied with the eager eyes that met her gaze. "Now, we will begin the first round of the talent assessment. You will come up one by one in order. Please state your name first, and no disruptions are allowed."

As she finished speaking, a young man in armor with paper and pen emerged from behind the beautiful woman. His voice was cold and unfeeling as he said, "The first one."

The intimidating presence of the armored young man, a martial artist at the eighth rank Initial Martial Realm, sent shivers down everyone's spines, and for a brief moment, silence enveloped the crowd.

A few breaths of time later, under the scrutiny of many eyes, a young man in fine clothes, around fourteen or fifteen years old, leaped onto the assessment platform and said loudly, "I'm Su Zhichang, and my father is..."

"The stairs are over there," the armored young man stared icily at Su Zhichang. "You can go."

Su Zhichang turned bright red in an instant. He had enjoyed nice treatment after flaunting his father's name in the past, and no one dared to treat him with such indifference. But the people of the Zhengyang Academy didn't even give him the chance.

Knowing the authority of the Zhengyang Academy's enforcement team, Su Zhichang didn't dare to say much at this moment. He lowered his head and walked toward the triangular crystal that had been arranged by the beautiful middle-aged woman.

"It's him?" Dan Chen raised an eyebrow slightly and then smiled. Su Zhichang was, after all, a child in terms of mentality. Even though he was usually arrogant, he didn't dare to challenge the Zhengyang Academy.

"Place your hand on it," the middle-aged beauty's silver robe sparkled in the sunlight, her face devoid of expression as she said, "Infuse your True Qi into the crystal."

Su Zhichang obediently followed her instructions. In the moment his True Qi entered the crystal, three faint yellow lights simultaneously lit up at the crystal's three corners. Even the ground half a yard away from the crystal was dyed with a soft yellow hue.

"High-grade aptitude," the beautiful woman's lips curled slightly. It seemed that this group of students had some promise.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

The young man in the armored suit standing on the side finally recorded Su Zhichang's name.

"Is that so?" Dan Chen's expression froze for a moment. "Could it be that someone with inadequate talent doesn't even have the qualification to have their name recorded?”

His speculation was soon confirmed as the next young person to go up only managed to light up two of the three corners of the triangular crystal and was immediately asked to leave the assessment platform by the young man in armor.

Dan Yuan sighed softly on the side, "Although martial talent is divided into six grades, including low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, earth-grade, profound-grade, and heaven-grade, individuals with earth-grade talent are extremely rare. In the past few centuries, Tianyun City has never seen anyone with profound-grade talent, let alone heaven-grade. Most people with high-grade aptitude are already at the limit. It's said that the Zhengyang Academy only recruits the best of the best, and it seems that this is indeed true."

Dan Chen nodded in agreement. He also felt that the Zhengyang Academy's selection criteria for disciples were quite demanding. Not to say that the Dan family had only two spots this time, even if everyone in the city came here, it was likely that only they would pass the assessment.

As time passed, most of the young people ahead of Dan Chen were eliminated, leaving only a few who all had high-grade martial talents.

Suddenly, there was a loud exclamation from a distance. Dan Chen followed the direction of the sound and immediately noticed a bright green light illuminating the entire nearby assessment platform.

"Earth-grade talent, this is earth-grade talent!"

"It's Fang Yulong; he's only fourteen years old this year and is already a martial artist at the mid-seventh rank Initial Martial Realm."

"In this assessment, he's likely to be the first, without a doubt, right?"

Countless envious gazes fell upon Fang Yulong. Even Dan Chen was somewhat stunned, but his thoughts were different from those of others.

High-grade talent could only illuminate a space of about half a yard on the assessment platform, but earth-grade talent was able to fully light up the entire platform. In that case, what a shocking scene it would be if the unparalleled physique of the Martial Saint Body was discovered during the assessment...

"Another earth-grade talent! We have someone with earth-grade talent here too!"

Somebody shouted first, and then Dan Chen immediately felt a burst of yellow-green light shoot into his eyes.

"Earth-grade talent, Wang Junjie, assessment passed." The middle-aged woman in her silver robe made a rare additional comment, with a touch of pride on her face. It was impossible not to be happy when she discovered a genius with earth-grade talent among the people she was responsible for assessing.

Wang Junjie was content as he withdrew his hand from the crystal and locked eyes with Dan Chen below, his gaze sharp and cold as he asked, "You are Dan Chen? The waste from the Dan family?"

"A member of the Wang family?" Dan Chen squinted his eyes. Over the years, he had been focused on tempering his body and had very little contact with the outside world, so he knew very little about the younger generation of the Wang family.

Wang Junjie's eyes showed a fierce look. "It was because you injured him that my brother, Wang Kaijun, lost his opportunity today. I will make you understand what the difference is between us in the future! There are things in life that some people will never be able to compare to others. A trash will always be one, no matter if you hide or reveal your power! You're almost sixteen and only at the fifth rank Initial Martial Realm. Look around, which of the people who passed the assessment here has a lower cultivation level than you? If I had been here a few days ago, do you think you would still be alive today?"

"If you had been at the battle a few days ago, do you think you would be standing here now?" Dan Chen countered.

"That's enough, get down," the silver-robed beauty said with a slightly furrowed brow, and her tone became colder when speaking to Wang Junjie.

"Yes." Although Wang Junjie was arrogant, he didn't dare to have a dispute with the Zhengyang Academy's instructors.

The silver-robed beauty appeared calm and didn't emit a particularly strong aura, but the fact that she was referred to as an instructor at the Zhengyang Academy meant that she was undoubtedly a powerful martial artist.

After coming down from the assessment platform, Wang Junjie didn't rest like the others but stood below, looking at Dan Chen with a scornful expression. Soon, several people who had already passed the talent assessment gathered around him to make acquaintances.

"Dan Chen, even though the Zhengyang Academy only recruits martial artists with high-grade talent or higher, those with earth-grade talent are extremely rare among them. Every person with earth-grade talent here will receive strong cultivation support from the academy. The treatment they receive is also better than what an average person would get."

Dan Yuan whispered in Dan Chen's ear, his eyes showing a touch of concern. They hadn't even entered the Zhengyang Academy, and already, people were trying to connect with the Wang family, which wasn't a good thing for them.

"I understand," Dan Chen whispered back. He noticed that the people surrounding Wang Junjie were looking at him with a hint of indifference and mockery when they turned back to him.

"At sixteen years old, with only the strength of the fifth rank Initial Martial Realm, he still hides his true strength and pretends to be a loser, thinking he can become a genius that surprises everyone,"

"Hahaha, Big Brother Wang, you don't need to care about this kind of person."

"That's right, Big Brother Wang, I'm Chen Yu, and I despise this kind of people the most."

...

As the assessment team advanced, Dan Chen gradually began to hear the conversations of Wang Junjie's group, and a cold smile appeared on his lips. He wasn't particularly concerned about these opportunistic individuals. The real issue that troubled him was how not to cause too much trouble when he passed the assessment.

"Next," came the cold voice of the armored youth.

"Dan Chen, I'll go first," Dan Yuan said coldly as he glanced at Wang Junjie and the others, who were standing by and waiting for a spectacle. He walked directly onto the assessment platform.

Before long, the assessment crystal lit up with a pale yellow glow, illuminating an area of about a yard around it.

Dan Yuan's possession of high-grade talent had long been a public secret, as he had carried the title of the Dan family's top talent for more than a decade. The family had arranged for him to be tested long ago.

"Well done, big brother!" Dan Chen smiled and nodded to Dan Yuan. This result wasn't surprising, but he was still quite happy about it.

"High-grade talent," the armored youth noted Dan Yuan's name and said coldly, "Next."

Dan Yuan stepped down and patted Dan Chen's shoulder in encouragement. "It's your turn, Dan Chen."

"Don't worry, big brother." Dan Chen had some concerns on his face. He still hadn't figured out how to hide the Martial Saint Body. His mother, Liu Wanfeng, had told him the principle that exceptional talent should be concealed like a tree among the forest. But back then, Liu Wanfeng was referring to his genius father.

"Humph, you might as well go home early, you waste," Wang Junjie taunted again.

"Big Brother Wang, give him a chance to face reality. Maybe he can light up one corner of the assessment crystal," someone suggested.

"Hahaha, I guess he might make the assessment crystal shine with a light as bright as a candle."

"Chen Yu, you're really overestimating this Dan Chen. I think he should be thankful if he can produce a feeble glow in the assessment crystal."

"That's enough!" Dan Yuan reprimanded them loudly in anger.

At this moment, Su Zhichang, who was not too far away, also approached with a displeased look. "I have to admit that I am a bully, but I've never seen people bully others like you are doing now." Su Zhichang turned around and patted Dan Yuan's shoulder, pretending to be mature and confident. "Yuan, Chen, don't worry. I won't let anyone bully you, my little brothers."

Wang Junjie's face changed when he heard this. While the Wang family was strong, they couldn't compare to the Tianyun City Guards. If Su Zhichang's father came, he alone could easily overturn the Wang family. When did the Dan family have any relationship with the City Lord's mansion?

"Dan Chen, how about we make a bet?" Wang Junjie, who was unsure of Dan Chen's abilities, cleared his throat.

"What kind of bet?" Dan Chen asked, fixing his gaze on Wang Junjie.

"You seem very confident. Let's bet on that confidence of yours, which is based on your talent," Wang Junjie said with a mocking expression. "If you can't make the assessment crystal illuminate an area of one yard in radius, then you have to leave one arm here."

Dan Chen's mind stirred. He knew that Wang Junjie was cautious about the conditions because he was concerned about the influence of the Zhengyang Academy. Otherwise, he might have wagered his life directly.

However, Dan Chen couldn't help but want to push Wang Junjie for a bigger bet. He maintained a calm demeanor on the surface. "What if you lose?"

"I lose?" Wang Junjie burst into laughter. He didn't believe that Dan Chen had the ability. If Dan Chen could make the talent crystal shine within a one-yard radius, even if he were a stone pig, he wouldn't have only the strength of a fifth rank Initial Martial artist.

The reason he proposed this bet was mainly to show Su Zhichang that Dan Chen was a timid and cautious person and to cut off any ties between them. They couldn't afford to provoke a family with a high martial strength expert guarding it.

Wang Junjie stared intently at Dan Chen, making sure everyone around noticed what the wager entailed. He said loudly, "If you can surpass my talent crystal's performance, I will immediately amputate my arm! Otherwise, my Wang family will take one of your arms first!"

"What's the matter? Are you afraid?" Wang Junjie's voice was loud, and it immediately attracted the attention of many people. Losing an arm at the Initial Martial Realm was almost the same as giving up on your martial foundation. As long as the news spread, the City Guard would likely not support Su Zhichang's association with Dan Chen.

Wang Junjie felt quite clever about his own cunning strategy.

"Alright, I accept your challenge!"

Dan Chen's voice wasn't loud, but his words thundered like a bolt of lightning, stunning everyone. He had indeed noticed that Wang Junjie had changed the conditions, but he didn't care.

When the crowd snapped back to reality, Dan Chen was already approaching the assessment platform. Years of physical training made him stand out with a more upright posture than his peers, exuding an extraordinary level of confidence.

"Arrogance? Or self-destruction?" Everyone who heard about the bet shifted their attention to Dan Chen's figure as he walked away.