Sword Card Master a.s.sociation.

The twenty disciples that they recruited had finally joined them.

Li Haoran was responsible for training the disciples, Xiaobai taught them the birth of the card spirit, Zhao Yunshan taught them the use of cards in replacement of the sword. The entire a.s.sociation was very harmonious. The disciples were also very serious in their cultivation.

At this time, Lu Ming could finally relax and begin to prepare for his breakthrough!

Goal: Five-star!

Buzz—

Faint lights and shadows condensed.

The peak four-star aura around Lu Ming became stronger.

On the opposite side, a shadow that was like him worked hard on cultivation in the exact same posture as him. Faint energy was constantly transmitted to Lu Ming's body!

Over by his side.

The Original Card was suspended in the air, a large amount of energy floating around it.

Yes.

Lu Ming's cultivation had increased three times!

Lu Ming, the shadow and the Original Card were cultivating at the same time. This meant that even though their talents were the same, Lu Ming's cultivation speed was about three times that of other people!

Buzz—

Buzz—

Lights and shadows circulated.

Three auras condensed together.

"Break through!"

Lu Ming's eyes were s.h.i.+ning.

Bang!

A stream of lights suddenly burst. All the energy within Lu Ming exploded in that moment, rus.h.i.+ng toward the peak, but it felt as if it had hit a towering mountain!

Click!

There was a crisp and clear sound.

All the energy disappeared without a trace.

The breakthrough… had failed!

"Why can't I succeed?"

Lu Ming sighed.

It had been a long time since he worked so hard to break through. After leaving the World of Darkness and Shadows, he had already attained peak four-star!

After the fight with Yan Suya, he sensed that his bottleneck was about to be broken through.

However…

He was still unable to break through!

Once!

Twice!

Ten times!

He was unable to pa.s.s through the bottleneck!

"What is happening?"

Lu Ming frowned.

It was very strange.

Since he had one hundred thousand points of energy and he had the shadow and the Original Card to a.s.sist him in breaking through, it should not be difficult to reach five-star!

He felt that…

Something had gone wrong.

"Perhaps you will need ten times the amount of energy needed to break through as well?"

Xiao-Xiaojian made a guess.

"That is possible."

Lu Ming felt energized.

Perhaps…

After breaking through, he would become an even stronger five-star!

Hence…

He simply mobilized the energy of the entire a.s.sociation. After adequate preparation, he tried to break through once again. However, there was still no reaction!

The bottleneck still remained there!

Lu Ming's head ached.

Given his combat capabilities, he should be able to break through a peak five-star bottleneck, notwithstanding a peak four-star!

Why was there no reaction?

Hence…

Feeling helpless, Lu Ming decided to look for the most conventional help. Like other ordinary cultivators who were unable to break through, he sought help from an evaluation agency.

Test results: lacking talent, they have reached a limit.

The evaluator was dazed as well. How was this possible?

Lacking talents?!

He was a peak four-star talent who could withstand the attacks of a peak six-star. It was impossible that he was lacking talent! The evaluation agency could not believe it, let alone others.

"Perhaps there is a malfunction?"

The evaluator was also at a loss.

He was such a bullish talent and yet he was unable to break through to five-star as he was lacking talent?

He had heard about Lu Ming's vocation as well as his recent situation. It was apt to describe him as having bullish talents. It was absolutely impossible that he was lacking talent!

As for the results that said he was lacking talent and had reached a limit at four-star…

Who were they fooling?

"Perhaps the machine is broken…

"Come.

"Lu Ming, we have the latest instruments here. This is a top-notch testing device that has yet to be released in the laboratory. It will have more accurate test results…"

Shus.h.!.+

Lu Ming stood on the machine.

Ding—

"Talent testing is completed."

"Your limit realm—Peak three-star."

A pleasant female voice could be heard.

Shus.h.!.+

There was total silence in the evaluation agency.

The evaluator turned sullen.

They squinted at Lu Ming's current four-star realm and looked at the peak three-star results displayed on the machine and they remembered Lu Ming's performance during the fight two days ago…

"I'm sorry."

The evaluator felt ashamed. "Perhaps the data is wrong. We will offer you ten tests for free."

Lu Ming was speechless.

Despite having faulty tests, they still offered him ten tests for free…

The test result was inaccurate. What was the use of ten free tests? It was similar to making a purchase online and receiving a fake product!

In the end…

The evaluation agency ended the testing, saying that the machine was faulty. Lu Ming had no other choice but to leave. He could vaguely hear the arguments in the evaluation agency.

"To h.e.l.l with the advanced machine. It is useless!"

"It produced wrong results with the first test!"

"We should ask for a refund!"

"Hurry up. Cut the c.r.a.p!"

"If you dare give me ten of the fake machines, I will kill you!"

…

At the entrance.

Lu Ming and Xiao-Xiaojian glanced at each other.

Although Lu Ming lamented that the test results were inaccurate, in fact, he knew very well of his cultivation journey. If he was not mistaken…

"I am afraid you have really reached the limits of your talent."

Xiao-Xiaojian sighed.

Lu Ming looked sullen.

He knew that he was lacking talent. but he did not expect that his cultivation limit would be a peak three-star! This was too d.a.m.n low!

"Look on the bright side.

"Many people are one-star and two-star."

Xiao-Xiaojian consoled him.

Lu Ming was speechless.

This did not sound like words of comfort!

In theory, as long as one had enough resources, even a dog could reach peak three-star! The reason why there were one-star and two-star cultivators was because they did not cultivate!

Or perhaps…

The cultivators suffered injuries!

Therefore, there was no doubt that Lu Ming was really lacking talent.

No one was worse than him.

Oh…

It was no wonder it took him so much effort to break through last time!

Lu Ming was expressionless.

The last breakthrough was filled with difficulties. In the end, he had to use Xiao-Xiaojian to prop the s.p.a.ce open. He barely broke through and Xiao-Xiaojian was almost squashed to death!

And this time…

Shus.h.!.+

Lu Ming glanced at Xiao-Xiaojian.

"If you use me again to prop the bottleneck open, I will definitely self-destruct."

Xiao-Xiaojian s.h.i.+vered.

Lu Ming was silent.

This time, he could not make use of the Illusory Realm to help him. He had no chance of using the card.

What did talent limits mean?

They were a mountain!

He managed to break through previously as the time and place was right, and all the other conditions were perfect. He also had Xiao-Xiaojian's help as well as the energy in the Illusory Realm!

This time…

If it was indeed the problem with his talent, what should he do to cross this mountain?!

Unless…

He changed his talents!

The Art of Equalization was the best solution now.

Everything that he had done was for this moment. However, initially he thought that he would only need to make this move when he was stuck at the seven-star bottleneck!

He returned to the a.s.sociation.

Shus.h.!.+

Shus.h.!.+

Lu Ming looked through the information that he had.

This was the testing data for his twenty disciples. He did a testing according to the method used in the Breeze Pavilion. All of them scored nine and above for their average talents!

Ye Liangfei and the rest even scored around 9.5 points!

Their standards were very high!

Back then when the thousand-year-old legacy had landed, the highest score was only nine points!

That was to say, any of the new disciples could trample the cultivators from Qing Ming City!

This was indeed The First Academy!

Oh.

If that was the case…

Lu Ming was tempted. Did it mean that he could use the Art of Equalization now?

The so-called Art of Equalization was for his talent to become the talents of the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation. It would be the average talent of the entire Sword Card Master a.s.sociation!

If the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation became more talented in the future, he would become stronger!

If the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation went downhill, at most he would go back to square one!

Therefore…

Essentially…

The earlier he used the Art of Equalization, the better it would be!

Of course.

Although Lu Ming did not really understand the Art of Equalization, he knew the law of conservation of energy.

It was impossible to have an increase in one's talents for no reason. The so-called equalization was to take the talents of his disciples and average them out.

For example…

Someone whose talents scored 9.52 points would become 9.51 points after taking the average.

There was minimal impact.

This was the reason why Lu Ming wanted to recruit thirty disciples who were highly talented!

If there was a difference of 3 points in the talents, after averaging it out with thirty disciples, that would be 0.1 points. If it was a difference of 2 points, the impact would be lower!

Therefore…

Perhaps he should give it a try now?

Although he only had twenty disciples, if he included Zhao Yunshan, Li Haoran and the rest, he would have twenty five disciples. It might be worth a try!

Perhaps…

He was about to embark on the journey of becoming a talent.

Genius!

What was a genius!?

His sister and Yan Suya were good examples!

This was what a genius was like!

All along, Lu Ming had been relying on the advantage he had with the vocations and resources. He was very lacking in his talents and cultivation. If this could solve this problem…

He would be able to break through to a five-star in no time!

Lu Ming felt excited at the thought of it.

He had decided that he would do just that!

However…

Xiao-Xiaojian sighed. "I would suggest that you recruit more disciples first. I may not be very good at mathematics. You should do your own calculation. What is the resultant score if we put someone who scored less than one for one's talents with twenty five people who scored nine points and average it out?"

Lu Ming was silent.

The Art of Equalization originated from the Breeze Pavilion. Therefore, the method of calculation was done according to that of the Breeze Pavilion. That was why his talent score…

Was less than one!

He was the average type!!

If he used the Art of Equalization…

Well…

The average score would be 8.6.

That would mean that everyone's score would decrease by 0.4 points!

"I guess it should be alright?"

Lu Ming did not think that it was too low.

"What do you think?"

Xiao-Xiaojian looked sullen.

Lu Ming coughed. "There are a few people who are more than 9 points. Xiaobai even had ten points."

"But still, they cannot afford to average it out with you."

Xiao-Xiaojian was contemptuous.

Back then when there were talks about using the Art of Equalization, it did not include Xiaobai and the rest!

That was to say, if he did not want to affect the normal cultivation of the disciples as well as their original talents, at the very least, Lu Ming needed to recruit more than thirty disciples! That way, with the amazing talents of Xiaobai and the rest, as well as a few very talented disciples, the drop in the talent score would be less than 0.2 points.

Only then, would it be considered successful.

This was the minimum standard for using the Art of Equalization!

0.4?

This would definitely not work.

The entire a.s.sociation would be affected by the small difference and the score would be lowered due to Lu Ming.

"Furthermore…"

Xiao-Xiaojian said, "Your score is less than one. It may not mean one or zero. Have you thought of the possibility that it might be a negative score…"

Shus.h.!.+

Lu Ming locked his gaze on Xiao-Xiaojian.

It was full of murderous intent.

"I feel that…"

Lu Ming's countenance darkened. "You seem to be humiliating me."

Negative value?!

d.a.m.n!

He was not that lacking talent!

That was not right.

Was there anyone who had a negative score for their talents?!

"Haha.

"This is an academic exchange. We must make sure that we conduct a rational discussion."

Xiao-Xiaojian was very happy. "I merely offered this possibility. After all, your cultivation talent is at peak three-star. That is to say, there are all kinds of possibilities.

"So…

"If you really have a negative value…

"Hmm…

"The entire a.s.sociation will be dragged down by you.

"Think about it!

"Once the Art of Equalization is activated…

"All the disciples of the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation will be deemed useless… tsk tsk. The scene…"

Xiao-Xiaojian sighed.

Lu Ming was silent.

He knew that if he used the Art of Equalization and the talents were averaged out with his disciples, he would be able to reach five-star anytime!

However… if like what Xiao-Xiaojian said…

If anything happened to the a.s.sociation and they could not recruit new disciples, his plan of reversing the talents would be useless…

His hope was that everyone would become stronger. He did not want to harm his disciples!

Although the possibility was very low…

However…

In order for the plan to be foolproof, he had to put up with it for now!

Hence…

Lu Ming chose to compromise.

He decided that he would only consider using the Art of Equalization when the decrease was less than 0.1! Therefore, the priority was to recruit more disciples!

The more the better!

The problem was there were not that many talented disciples.

The on-campus job fair of The First Academy had ended. They had almost recruited the most talented students from the entire batch. However, there were no more than twenty of them!

Where else could he look for new disciples?!

After thinking about it, Lu Ming beckoned Li Haoran over.

"Haoran.

"Did anyone apply to join the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation today?"

Lu Ming asked.

"There are many applications."

Li Haoran nodded. "We have become famous after the battle at the on-campus job fair. Right now, we are quite popular in Tian Du City. Many students want to join us, however…

"You should know the outcome.

"Talented students are highly sought after…

"None of the students who applied qualified!"

Li Haoran was helpless.

Among the new applicants, none of them had real combat capabilities.

"Alright."

Lu Ming was somewhat disappointed. He paused briefly before he blurted. "How about you ask around to see if there are any talented young children? I will pay them a visit."

Li Haoran was dumbstruck.

Pay them a visit?

How could that be possible?

The foundation of cultivation was that one needed to complete basic education. These well-known young geniuses must come from powerful family backgrounds and be supported by big a.s.sociations!

It would be impossible to visit them and recruit them as disciples!

Master, you will be beaten up if you do this…

Lu Ming felt very helpless too.

What should he do?

The only solution he could think of was to search for well-known geniuses!

Suddenly…

He looked toward the window.

Over there.

In the distance on the street, some young ladies were out on the streets dressed in thin layers of clothes. The young men were drenched in perspiration, but they seemed happier.

"Haoran.

"Do you think there will be anyone who is talented among them? How about we trick them into doing the tests?"

"Master…"

"Yes?"

"You seemed to be becoming p-perverted…

"They are still students. They are still taking their basic education. They have yet to cultivate…"

Li Haoran sighed.

"Oh."

Lu Ming came to his senses and wondered. "If they were students, why didn't they go to their lessons?"

Afterward…

Without waiting for Li Haoran to answer, he seemed to realize something.

Shus.h.!.+

A screen popped up.

Time was fixed on a familiar date—5 June! It was only two days away from the "National Cultivation College Entrance Examination"!

This was the real admissions a.s.sessment!

So as to speak…

Lu Ming's eyes lit up. A group of adorable and young students were about to be admitted to universities!

Oo…

Universities…

Lu Ming's heart stirred slightly.

"Haoran."

"Yes."

"What do you think about setting up a university?"

"Ah?!"

…