Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Breeze Pavilion.
There was total silence.
The sky full of meteor showers disappeared instantly.
Although the Spiritualists had set up many arrays for the a.s.sessment of the disciples, they could not withstand Lu Ming's unbridled absorption…
Hence…
The array came to a stop.
The energy had run out and it was drained. It was forced to terminate!
“This…”
The teenager who was the examiner was dazed.
This was his first time seeing anything like this!
Even Xiaobai, who was an unrivaled talent, absorbed the energy one by one. Therefore her a.s.sessment was still considered normal!
But, Lu Ming…
He ruthlessly dominated the a.s.sessment. The group of meteors seemed to chase after him. He attracted all the meteors in the a.s.sessment area and absorbed all of them!
Furthermore…
He could absorb a fire element energy and a water element energy at the same time…
How could this be possible?
Was the equal treatment type that powerful?!
“Don't be too much of a bully!”
A six-star cultivator shook with anger.
Miss Xiaobai was at best faster than them and she left little impact on their progress due to Lu Ming's constant calling for her. But Lu Ming…
He partic.i.p.ated in the a.s.sessment and cut off all paths for the rest!
He was such a bully!
“I must kill him!”
He was furious.
“Calm down!”
“Second brother, calm down!”
His companion stopped him. If he killed someone, he would be disqualified…
“Brother, this is just the beginning.”
“Yes, didn't they say that they would accept everyone who is qualified…”
The companion consoled him.
He glared in anger. “Do you think the rest will be able to qualify?! After what Lu Ming did, everyone will fail. It is impossible to succeed!”
“It's alright, I will ask around.”
His companion wiped his perspiration and looked toward the teenager from Breeze Pavilion. “Senior, given the situation…”
“Uh—
“Let me think.”
The teenager had yet to come to his senses.
He had never seen such a situation…
He was serious.
Even in the old days where the Spiritualists still existed, he had never seen such an a.s.sessment where one forced the a.s.sessment array to stop through one's own strength!
What did this mean?
He was very upset as well.
To tell the truth, if it was someone who was troublesome and disobedient, they could just send them away, however…
Miss Xiaobai had amazing talent!
They had to have her!
Lu Ming was also very special. Although he was not very talented, he could absorb energy infinitely. There was certainly some secret about him and he was also worthy of being their disciple!
They had to have the two of them as their disciples!
What could he do about it?
As for their perception…
It must be tested!
The perception of elements was very important!
It was unreliable to make up for it in the future. Therefore, one had to be very powerful in this area!
If that was the case…
“It's okay.
“We will do the perception test again.”
The teenager pondered for a moment and he thought of a way. “I remember there is a backup a.s.sessment in Breeze Pavilion. It tests one's perception as well. Before there was the meteor array, all of us used that for the testing. Right now, since the meteor array… cough, has a slight malfunction, we will use this a.s.sessment.”
Everyone was expressionless.
Hehe…
d.a.m.n the malfunction!
“Please give me a moment.”
The teenager went somewhere to set up.
A distance away.
On a towering tree, there were a myriad of fruits s.h.i.+ning and dazzling. Every fruit had a glow about it. It was the exclusive color of the elements.
Those were the elemental fruits.
“Everyone…
“Do you know why we must test all of you on your perception?
“The foundation of the Spiritualists lies in integration and perception is the basis of our integration skills!
“We can't tell all the elements apart based on our knowledge. If you are the forerunner, you won't have any research to refer to!
“At this point…
“You can only rely on your own perception!
“You need to distinguish through perception, to tell whether the power of some elements can be integrated or not!
“So…
“The a.s.sessment is to absorb these elemental fruits. If they are similar, the elements will acc.u.mulate, the power will be + 2; if they are merely elements that do not conflict, the power will be +1; if the elements have negative impact on each other, the power will be -1, If they are counter-restricting elements, the power will be -2. It is very simple.
“In the end…
“The most powerful cultivator will rank first.
“Can everyone understand this?” the teenager said gently.
“Understood.”
Lu Ming's eyes lit up.
Elemental fruits!
Haha.
He could improve his energy again. He should take this opportunity for the elemental cores to break through too…
Shus.h.!.+
The teenager waved his hand.
Each one of them held a basket that was condensed from light.
“Everyone… Please use this to collect them,” the teenager said.
Lu Ming was silent.
This was a thousand-year-old legacy and an ancient a.s.sessment. Why would they use a basket?!
Why was it so cheap?!
“Why couldn't it be more high-end?”
Lu Ming sighed.
“The high-end version has spoiled.”
The teenager was expressionless.
In fact, this a.s.sessment was not originally what it was now. He added the basket at the last minute. He was afraid that the a.s.sessment would have an ‘error' at the last minute as well.
“All of you can freely collect your first elemental fruit.
“However…
“After the first fruit, you have to consider carefully what to take as the second fruit. You have to consider if it will be in conflict with the first fruit. Alright, let's begin!” the teenager said.
Shus.h.!.+
Shus.h.!.+
One by one, the cultivators entered the a.s.sessment site.
Some of them took two fruits in one go and placed them in the basket. The moment they placed them together, there was a violent crash…
Bang!
The basket that was formed by light vibrated and two words were formed: minus two.
That person was speechless.
Yes.
The a.s.sessment had just started and he had a negative value!
The rest saw the scene and were more cautious. They followed what the teenager said and used their perception to determine the differences between the elements!
The a.s.sessment had officially begun.
Elemental fruits…
Lu Ming felt envious of them.
It was a pity…
Under the watchful eyes of the public, particularly when the teenager kept a watchful gaze on him, Lu Ming had no other choice but to go through the a.s.sessment according to the rules.
“Xiaobai, can you tell them apart?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
Lu Ming was surprised.
“Yes.”
Xiaobai looked at the elements carefully. In her perception, each element was very clear, and she could easily determine what they would be like after integration.
“They have something in common.
“As long as one perceives carefully, one can see their kernels and can easily determine the property it has.”
Xiaobai sounded very serious.
“Oh.”
Lu Ming took a glance at them.
Well, he was confused.
All the talk about kernels. What was she talking about?
From the perspective of Lu Ming, all the fruits were just fruits! From his naked eye, he could only see their colors…
“Good, go along now.”
Lu Ming stroked Xiaobai's head. “All the best, gather more fruits.”
“Okay.”
Xiaobai continued with the a.s.sessment obediently.
“Aren't you going to ask her for help?”
Xiao-Xiaojian was shocked.
“I am her master…”
Lu Ming sighed.
“So what?”
Xiao-Xiaojian swept his suspicious gaze over him. Since when was Lu Ming so sincere? “This is not the first time that you practice Xiaobai's skills secretly.”
Lu Ming was silent.
When did I practice Xiaobai's skills secretly?!
Card Kinesis Flight?
A pack of lies!
That was giving directions!
Lu Ming decided to ignore the ignorant card.
He looked toward the a.s.sessment area in front, seeing how the cultivators turned into seven fairies1 and picked the elemental fruits with a basket…
However…
Though it seemed ancient, this was a real a.s.sessment of one's perceptual ability and the most interesting part was that it would get more and more difficult!!!
If one had only one fruit in the basket, one only needed to consider conflict with this fruit.
If one had ten fruits in the basket, one had to consider each of these ten possible conflicts!
It was to the extent that… toward the end…
A fruit might have conflict with one fruit but have a positive impact with the other fruits. All this had to be taken into consideration to ensure that the effect was positive!
This kind of a.s.sessment… was extremely difficult!
Of course.
It would be very simple in the beginning. Those who had strong perceptual ability had already collected five or six elemental fruits.
“Should we try?”
Lu Ming plucked one fruit as his foundation.
He plucked another fruit…
Cras.h.!.+
A minus two appeared.
Lu Ming was silent.
“How did you pick it?”
Xiao-Xiaojian looked at him suspiciously.
“Randomly…”
Lu Ming sighed.
“Good-for-nothing!”
Xiao-Xiaojian was merciless.
The teenager had already said that one had to sense it. Did he understand? It would not work to pick it randomly!
“I'll do it.”
It floated in the air, trying to sense it.
Shus.h.!.+
They had a fruit as the foundation.
It plucked another fruit…
Cras.h.!.+
A minus two appeared.
Xiao-Xiaojian was silent.
Oh.
It turned out that to them, it did not matter if they sensed it or not! Given their element talents, they could not sense anything!
Therefore…
Not only did they fare badly in the element affinity, they were very weak in element perception as well!
No one could be compared with them!
“It would be nice if this were a Swordsman a.s.sessment.”
Xiao-Xiaojian sighed.
“Let me think about it.”
Lu Ming pondered deeply for a moment.
There seemed to be a way.
“If not, perhaps we can ask Brother Cat for help?”
Lu Ming tried to ask.
“I won't go!”
Xiao-Xiaojian rejected him coldly.
He must be kidding?!
Ask the black cat for help?
Doesn't he know that the guy has a temper?
“Why don't you go?” Xiao-Xiaojian sneered.
“After all, you are neighbors and the two of you might have a closer relations.h.i.+p. As rhe saying goes, better a close neighbor than a distant brother…”
Lu Ming tried to persuade it.
“Get lost!”
Xiao-Xiaojian was not being courteous.
To h.e.l.l with the saying of better a close neighbor than a distant brother. That d.a.m.n black cat…
Cras.h.!.+
Lights and shadow flashed.
Xiao-Xiaojian was trampled on the ground, leaving a card print in it.
Well… It was perfect.
“It seems that both of you still aren't very close.”
Lu Ming was very disappointed.
Xiao-Xiaojian was silent.
Lu Ming was out to scam him!
It tried hard to pry itself out from the ground and decided to shut up. No matter what Lu Ming said, it would recite prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony1 …
“Loser!”
Lu Ming was done with despising the card. He then focused his attention on the basket that he held.
Buzz—
Faint light elements flashed.
The basket that was condensed from light elements would not have any reaction with the elemental fruits. It was purely a framework!
Lu Ming understood what the teenager had told them.
Simply put.
The foundation of a Spiritualist was integration!
One could add all kinds of elements to the same blank ability framework. One could only research and develop new abilities on the premise that the abilities would not blow up!
Right now, the basket which they used to collect the elemental fruits worked the same way except that it was more low-end.
In that case…
Bang!
There was a deafening sound.
A distance away.
In order to prevent it from exploding, a cultivator took out the elemental fruits in the basket, touched it lightly with all the new fruits. After confirming that it would not explode, he then placed them into the basket.
Afterward…
Cras.h.!.+
There was a deafening sound.
“I have forgotten to remind everyone.”
The teenager's voice could be heard. “Multiple elemental fruits can also interfere with each other…”
Shus.h.!.+
There was total silence.
Multiple…
Too many of them would also result in an explosion?!!! How was the test going to continue on?
“I've said before…
“The test is useless.
“The a.s.sessment is purely to measure your talents in the perception of elements!” the teenager said gently.
With that, his gaze landed on Xiaobai.
The young lady had not stopped since the start of the a.s.sessment. There were many fruits in her basket and none conflicted with each other!
Heh.
She was the legacy disciple that they were looking for.
“One, two, three!”
Xiaobai was working hard in placing the elemental fruits one after another into the basket.
This a.s.sessment…
Well…
It was very simple.
She looked at the basket. She could tell at one glance the composite effects these elemental fruits would have when placed together as well as the estimated data.
Number of fruits: 30.
The overall property: Cold.
Conflicting fruits: Wind elemental fruit, Earth elemental fruit.
Benefiting fruit: Fire elemental fruit.
It was more or less what she had.
Every time she picked a new fruit, she could sense the approximate data and she could tell the approximate result with a simple calculation.
Well…
It was simple.
For example—
The fruit right in front of her.
Wood elemental fruits would conflict with three other elemental fruits (–3), it would have a counter-restriction with an elemental fruit (–2), it had a positive impact with eight elemental fruits (+8), and power would be acc.u.mulated with two elemental fruits (+4)!
Shus.h.!.+
Xiaobai plucked some and placed them into the basket.
Well…
There was another one.
Suddenly…
She looked downward and climbed down from the tree.
“Master.
“Shall I pluck them for you?” Xiaobai asked quietly.
She sneaked up to change the basket with her master.
“No need.”
Lu Ming laughed involuntarily.
This girl…
“I will overtake them very soon,”
Xiaobai said in a very serious manner.
“I know.”
Lu Ming stroked her little head. “Rest a.s.sured. I am very powerful. If I want to compete with them, I will rank first easily!”
“Really?”
Xiaobai's eyes lit up.
“Of course.”
Lu Ming smiled. “Hurry, move along.”
“Okay.”
Xiaobai nodded. “Master, I will wait for you to catch up.”
Upon finis.h.i.+ng her words…
Xiaobai continued to pluck the fruits, leaving a dismayed Lu Ming behind.
“Why do you have to do this?”
Xiao-Xiaojian laughed.
He was suffering for being prideful…
Why couldn't he allow Xiaobai to help him?!
“What do you know?”
Lu Ming looked down on it.
This is my dignity as a master, understand?!
She merely has first place. I can easily attain it!
Besides…
As Xiaobai was too talented… he had to come in the first place!
After all…
This was the Restart Array!
Hence…
Lu Ming sat down on the floor.
Shus.h.!.+
Shus.h.!.+
He started to create cards on the spot.
“Brother.
“Are you giving up as well?”
The burly man came happily over to Lu Ming. He seemed to be in a happy mood.
Finally…
He was not the only one who idled around!
“Brother.
“You should have given up long ago.
“I am not trying to brag. But only sissies partic.i.p.ate in this Spiritualist legacy. Real men should fight head-on! I don't care about the Spiritualist legacy!
“I am here mainly for the legacy that comes afterward !” the burly man said in a cheerful voice.
“Shh—”
Lu Ming's hands kept moving while he whispered.
“Understood! Understood!”
The burly man smiled. “This is indeed a good place for cultivation.”
Hence…
He began his cultivation on the spot as well.
Whoos.h.!.+
Whoos.h.!.+
Lights and shadows circulated.
His circulation speed was amazing.
He had to admit that energy was rich in a small place like the Breeze Pavilion.
Hence…
The a.s.sessment under the tree became strange and mysterious. Some people worked hard at plucking the fruits while some gave up and cultivated under the tree…
“Lu Ming has given up.”
Some of them swept their eyes over him.
They felt relieved at the sight that Lu Ming was creating cards. Although they were more powerful than Lu Ming, what could they do when the d.a.m.n Spiritualist a.s.sessment did not a.s.sess them on their energy level?
“He should have given up long ago!”
One man sneered.
“Li Jianli, stop that!”
One man frowned slightly and looked at him. “Let's not talk about Lu Ming and focus on plucking the fruits.”
“What's there to be afraid of?”
Li Jianli pursed his lips. “Why are you afraid of Lu Ming?! If he is one-tenth as talented as his sister, he would have attained four-star long ago and not now!”
“Shut up!”
The man sighed. “Can we focus on plucking the fruits?”
“Coward.”
Li Jianli pursed his lips. “The most fundamental a.s.sessment method is the most difficult one. If Lu Ming ranks first, my name will be spelled backward in the future…”
Shus.h.!.+
A few of them looked odd.
“What…”
Li Jianli checked out what they were looking at.
Over there.
Lu Ming, who was resting, had gotten up.
At this moment…
Lu Ming walked to stand under the elemental fruits. He lifted his hands and the fruits came tumbling down one after another, one… two, five, ten and more! There was no stopping them!
The fruits that he plucked were nestled quietly in his basket.
There was no response.
There was no conflict and no impact.
Even if he had
The fire elemental fruit and the water elemental fruit that would not work with each other!
Everyone was dumbstruck.
c.r.a.p…
W-what was this?!