Chapter 17 Darren's Talent (Part One)

Jimmy grew delighted over Darren's mention of the seventh level of the Meridians Refining Scripture. 'Have I just discovered a genius who has the talent of the Black Degree for the sect?' he excitedly thought.

'If this is true, I will certainly be rewarded for it. Moreover, it would also be beneficial for me to make friends with such a genius.'

"Brother, do you need me to practice the seventh level of the Meridians Refining Scripture for you to see?" Darren asked. Jimmy was still recovering from being so worked up by his thoughts that he was a bit caught by surprise with Darren.

"There's no need, Darren," he said, smiling as he waved his hands. "Let me just report this to the elders and ask for their instructions."

Having discovered a genius who seemed to have the talent of the Black Degree was important news that needed to be immediately delivered to the elders. Jimmy took out a Jade Slip and sent a message to the Ilmen Sect.

A few moments later, Jimmy got a reply saying that an elder from the Ilmen Sect would be sent out to check and confirm whether his claim was true or not.

Expecting that it would most likely take some time for the elder to arrive at the Chu Clan, Jimmy turned to the rest of the disciple candidates from the Chu Clan and said to them, "You guys continue to do the next test first."

Soon after, an ancient door appeared next to them. It was the door that led to the one-of-a-kind test room of the Ilmen Sect.

The door opened with a creaking sound. The room was dark and pitch black. One couldn't help but be mystified.

"Amazing! How extraordinary! What a treasure! By going through the door, people can get into another space which has been specially set up for the test of the Ilmen Sect," came a candidate's amazed remarks. They couldn't help feeling surprised by the greatness of the whole thing.

"Go through the door. Although, you should all know that not everyone would be fortunate to pass the test. Good luck, candidates," Jimmy indifferently said to the rest of the disciple candidates from the Chu Clan. He didn't care about whether they would pass the test or not anymore.

Nicholas and the other candidates all walked into the test room with low spirits. They knew that even if they were able to pass the test, they would not be able to attract people's attention as much as Darren did.

They just couldn't accept it. Not at all. The second test had not even started and yet Darren had already got the qualification to enter the sect. They had no idea how he came from being a good-for-nothing to basically a genius. There wasn't any doubt that this fact made them feel depressed.

"And as for you, Darren, there will be an elder coming over to test you. Just try to give it your best. It's entirely possible that you might have the talent of the Black Degree!" Jimmy said, grinning from ear to ear.

Hearing this from Jimmy, the other members of the Chu Clan started to chatter among themselves, each of them getting restless.

"An Ilmen Sect elder makes an appearance at the Chu Clan! This has never happened before!"

A group of Chu Clan elders nearby were having a discussion. Several of them kept stealing glances over at Darren every now and then as it went on.

After a few more moments of discussion among them, Kenny Chu, the clan's third elder, walked through the crowd and approached Darren.

"Well done, Darren. Be sure to do your best to impress the elde

r from the Ilmen Sect. Bring more glory to the Chu Clan – your clan," the third elder said, trying to gain favour from the boy.

His sugar-coated words undoubtedly showed the Chu Clan's sudden acknowledgement and approval of Darren, and his talents in particular.

Finding out that the boy was most likely possessing the talent of the Black Degree, even the Chief Elder, along with the Chu Clan elders, wasn't able to keep himself at a standstill. But Darren knew better than to trust the half-hearted condescendence.

"Oh, really? I had no idea until today that I'm regarded as a member of the Chu Clan. Silly me," Darren replied sarcastically.

"Hey. Don't you say that Darren," Kenny Chu said as he gave Darren a reassuring smile. Darren was surprised to find no trace of annoyance on the third elder's face. "No matter what happened in the past and no matter what happens in the future, you are always a member of the Chu Clan. We are all glad to see you have such a great talent." Kenny Chu continued.

Darren just snorted in response.

The third elder's reassuring smile turned into an awkward grimace. He realized that there was no use in trying to sweet talk his way to gain Darren's good opinion. Feeling dejected, he walked back to the place where the other elders were.

"Alas, my dear brother, Darren seems to have harbored deep resentment towards us," he sighed out to them.

"You depraved, high-handed old men!" came a cry from the side. "You never once cared about Darren! You even tormented him back when he was weak! But now that you've seen he has talent that you could use to your advantage, you start patronizing him? Shame on you."

It was Tyler Chu, the guard of the Martial Skill Library. He was probably the only person who dared talk to the Chu Clan elders in this manner.

"Tyler Chu, what the hell do you mean by that?" The elders were not happy about this.

"Oh, it's nothing special. You old men are extremely shameless, is what I mean by that. Is it clear now?" Tyler Chu boldly stated at the elders. He didn't care about whether they were happy or not.

"How dare you, Tyler Chu!" the Chief Elder's face blew up in anger. "I know you have learned the third part of the Profound Nine Sword Skills, but that doesn't give you the right to talk back to me, the Chief Elder! If you continue with this behaviour, I will not hesitate to engage in a fight with you. You best believe I won't go easy on you," the Chief Elder bellowed. His force of the Spirit Realm was just on the verge of being released.

"Don't you dare act all high and mighty!" Tyler bellowed back. "I heard that when the chief was killed, you people were too frightened to show up. Instead of coming out to defend the clan, you hid in the Elders Cabinet, trembling like little leaves. What brave men you all are!"

What the guard of the Martial Skill Library said was somewhat exaggerated, but it was still basically true. None of them from the Elders Cabinet showed up at the time when the clan was under attack.

"Stop being so self-righteous. You are also an elder. Where were you during that time? The attacker was a strong cultivator of the Mysterious Realm. He could have easily killed us in a single second with just one finger! Besides, are you an idiot? Why would we risk fighting him and dying for nothing when we could have just saved our strength?" the third elder said, stroking his beard as he tried to make himself look wise.