4 Zhou Li

Du Cha Ming, his two new friends, and Uncle Hong stood in line for the entire morning. It was lucky that they had decided to leave so early. They were now roughly 200 meters from the stage. Although they would have liked to temporarily step out of line to take shelter from the hot noon sun, it would be regrettable if they lost their spot in line. The queue behind them still looked just as long as when they'd arrived. It was unlikely that even twenty percent of the youngsters would be tested by the end of the last day of recruitment.

While they progressed toward the stage, Uncle Hong explained the various tests to Cha Ming. He would be evaluated according to three metrics: talent, attribute, and soul. The test of talent came first and was used to screen the various would-be students. If they failed this test, there was no need to take any others. Since the schools were set up by the state, anyone with at least a Grade 1 talent would be accepted into Green Leaf Academy. Talent was divided into five grades, with Grade 1 talents being the least talented and meeting the bare minimum for cultivation, and Grade 5 talents being super-talented geniuses.

Grade 1 and 2 talents would pay a tuition fee, but this fee could be deferred until graduation, like a student loan. Various groups would rope in students by offering to pay their tuition fee upon graduation along with an offer of employment. Grade 3 to 5 talents would obtain free tuition, room, and board, with each additional grade in talent obtaining the students increasingly preferential treatment. Students could apply for graduation after five years or once the student reached foundation establishment, whichever came first. A five-year stay was common.

As their small group approached the testing platform, Cha Ming noticed that a group of youngsters was accumulating on the platform. Every once in a while, someone from the line would walk onto the platform while the rest of the people in line dispersed into the city, clearly unsuccessful. Right before they arrived at the platform, Uncle Hong leaned over and whispered:

"Cha Ming, it's all up to you now. You'll first have to cross a boundary onto the test platform prior to being tested. The boundary doesn't let anyone pass unless they meet certain conditions. First, their bone age must be greater than fifteen years old but less than seventeen years old, which is the maximum recruitment age for the academy. Fifteen is the minimum, since a cultivator's meridians aren't normally fully developed before then unless one gets fed many precious herbs as a child. These people wouldn't normally attend Green Leaf Academy, so this is normally not considered. Certain noble families can apply for early admissions as an exception if they can prove that their child's meridians are fully developed and it's clear cultivating early won't damage their foundation.

"The second condition the boundary evaluates is whether or not the person has at least a Grade 1 talent. Everyone passes the first test before ascending the platform, but the platform evaluates their individual performance and allows the academy to grade students based on their potential. In turn, they will assign the appropriate cultivation resources to each student based on their potential—spirit stones don't grow on trees after all. Anyway, go up there and do your best! We'll wait down here until you are done."

Cha Ming already knew he would pass the first hurdle, and so he proceeded through the boundary without any hesitation. Right behind him, a youth attempted to run through the boundary and use his momentum to force his way through the boundary. This ended unsuccessfully, of course, and the youth walked off with a bloody nose amidst the jeering crowd.

There were many spectators, as it was a public event. Most of the spectators were divided into two camps. The first camp was there purely to take pleasure in other people's misfortunes. The second camp was made up of parents who had brought their children to look and either encourage them to become cultivators or to show them that the odds were against them and that they should focus on other avenues in life.

As Cha Ming walked onto the dark wooden stage, he noticed there were another nineteen youths waiting in a group—thirteen boys and six girls. The number of girls who became cultivators was much lower than the number of boys. That wasn't to say that their talent was inferior but that lower class society typically frowned upon their daughters becoming cultivators, preferring to marry them off so they could have a safe life and raise children. As a result, the girls who stepped forward typically had at least one parent or grandparent as a cultivator, which increased their odds of passing the test. Cultivation talent was hereditary, and so with fewer applicants, one out of every ten girls passed the test instead of one out of every hundred boys.

The group was separated into cliques. The most obvious cliques were those belonging to nobility and to the lower class, and they were equal in number. Nobles had naturally higher chances of producing cultivators, but the lower class was much larger in comparison, making up for their terrible odds with sheer numbers.

There was one youth who stood apart from the rest of the crowd. He stood alone in his pristine white robes and seemed very uninterested in the test. The expression on his face told Cha Ming that he already knew the results and was only carrying out a dog and pony show.

This man isn't simple, he thought.

As if reading his mind, the boy turned his head toward him. His gaze seemed ice cold and devoid of emotion, while at the same time burning through Cha Ming, causing him to sweat a little. His long black hair and eyes were contrasted by an unusual pair of red pupils. After looking at him for a few seconds, the boy turned his head and continued gazing at the middle-aged man on the platform.

The middle-aged man had shoulder-length black hair, a thin beard, and was wearing Green Leaf Academy's standard garb. His simple uniform was adorned with a golden token with the characters for "Elder" embossed on it. Everyone quieted down as the Elderstepped forward to speak.

"Ahem. Young boys and girls, congratulations on passing the initial screening. You may all call me Elder Wang. I am in charge of today's recruitment. It takes a long time to process the people stepping up to the stage. As such, we perform these tests in groups of twenty, and in the order which people arrive. I'm sure you're all familiar with the contents of the test, but in the interest of fairness and for the sake of the crowd, I'll have the next person in line come forward as I explain the process."

As Elder Wang finished speaking, a young boy nervously stepped up, stated his name—Ling Xiao Hou—and gave a short bow.

"The first test is the test of talent. Please step onto this formation circle." Elder Wang paused to give the youth enough time to walk to the middle of the formation. "As you can all see, this formation has five circles, with the inner circle representing a Grade 1 talent and the outer circle being a Grade 5 talent."

He reached forward and pressed on a stone stele situated beside him. The formation started glowing, and the two center circles lit up. The youngster stepped off the formation once Elder Wang motioned his hand.

"Grade 2, average talent. Approximately ninety percent of admitted students are evaluated as Grade 1 or 2 talents. Nine percent of students are Grade 3 talents, and another 0.9% are Grade 4 talents. The remaining one of every thousand is a Grade 5 talent, and we evaluate about one or two per year."

The group of examinees and the crowd let out loud gasps. Such a disparity in talent was terrifying. It made the new recruits realize that they would, in all likelihood, be relegated to the dregs of the cultivation world. They would never amount to much more than foraging in the woods or joining the city guard. After giving the students some time to absorb this information, Elder Wang continued his explanation.

"The next test is the test of affinity. Each prospective student must go into this affinity-testing formation. While not exhaustive, this affinity formation evaluates the different affinities you might be proficient with. Some affinities are rarer than others. The affinities tested for in this formation are the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water; the minor space-time elements, light and darkness; and the three balance elements: wind, lightning, and fate. One of every ten people will have two affinities, one of every hundred have three, one of every thousand have four, and one of every ten thousand have five. Note that this only applies to the five elements—combinations with the other elements are much rarer and not worth mentioning for now." As he finished speaking, Elder Wang once again gestured to the youngster. "Ling Xiao Hou, step into this star-shaped formation."

The student followed his instructions and stepped into the formation. The five elements were imprinted into the center in the shape of a star within a circle, as per traditional Chinese five-element theory. The five other elements formed five independent stars outside the circle and were each represented by a crystal. The boy stood for half a minute before the upper green point of the star lit up, glowing with an emerald light.

"Ling Xiao Hou, wood element!" intoned Elder Wang.

The wood element was not very exciting, but it was the mainstay of Green Leaf Academy and Green Leaf City. Wood-element practitioners could be employed to grow and collect various herbs, which accounted for half the city's income. Xiao Hou clearly knew this and was quite pleased with himself. With this result, he could feed his whole family for the foreseeable future without getting into any significant danger.

"Next, the test of soul," said Elder Wang. "Most people who go through this test will have a test result of one, while perhaps one percent of participants will have a result of five to ten. Those with innate soul talent are by definition born with outstanding souls, so mediocre readings between two and four are almost unseen. Soul talent is especially useful for the various professions, such as talisman craftsmen, formation masters, spiritual blacksmiths, spiritual doctors, and the most prestigious occupation: alchemists.

"These professions also require specific elemental combinations, and so potential talents in these occupations are rather rare. Talisman craftsmen and formation specialists have no specific elemental requirements. Healers require dual affinities in water and wood, and while soul force is not a strict requirement, healers with innate soul talent have the potential to become spiritual doctors. Spiritual blacksmiths are physically strong and require fire and metal affinities. Alchemists require wood and fire affinities and innate spiritual talent of seven and higher. Those with results of five and six will at best become apothecaries, who assist the alchemists.

"This test is difficult to explain, so Xiao Hou will demonstrate it for you. Xiao Hou, please step onto the soul formation."

As Elder Wang requested, the youth stepped onto a complex formation shaped like a turtle with a snake as a tail. His face paled.

"This formation will extract all available soul power and circulate it around you as a force field. This soul field is very effective at levitating these silver pearls etched with soul runes. I have a set of ten soul pearls; it is fundamentally impossible for a non-cultivating body to accommodate more than ten soul pearls. This formation would not have let you through if you had condensed qi, so we know the test represents innate soul power."

The silver pearl drifted from his hand and floated toward the formation, where it orbited around Xiao Hou. Once the orbit had stabilized, Elder Wang threw another silver pearl at the soul field, which shattered and dropped both pearls on the ground.

"Innate Soul Level 1," Elder Wang announced dispassionately. This result was far too common, and so it was his least favorite test. It was, however, a requirement, and as such he would perform the test meticulously. A sweep of his hand brought the two pearls back to their pouch. He then motioned for Ling Xiao Hou to stand off to the side.

The following twelve tests were uneventful. The thirteenth test participant, a young boy named Meng Chun, was discovered to be a Grade 4 talent, with dual wood and fire affinities and a Soul Level of seven. He was immediately recruited by a representative of the alchemist guild—this specialty was far too rare and very lucrative. Understandably, they could also make the highest offer. Meng Chun would study in Green Leaf Academy while working part-time as an apprentice alchemist. He would be sent off to the capital for further training once he reached foundation establishment.

Finally, the nineteenth test participant stepped up. He sighed once upon the platform. Cha Ming was very curious about this youth and the results he would achieve in the test. The white-clad youth clasped his hands politely and bowed toward the elder.

"Zhou Li greets Elder Wang," the young boy said respectfully.

Elder Wang startled slightly, as he was familiar with the name. The Zhou family was very influential and domineering in Green Leaf City. The elder quickly adjusted his attitude and politely gestured for Zhou Li to step onto the talent formation. Elder Wang's hand shook slightly as he pressed onto the stone stele.

Suddenly, the talent formation lit up like a brilliant sun. The five bright circles were fully lit, and each circle was more brilliant than the last. The audience was temporarily blinded before the formation faded. The audience let out a soft gasp.

Grade 5 talent! More importantly, he was a part of the Zhou family. It was only a matter of time before he matured. The full support of the Zhou family would ensure that another earth-shakingly powerful figure stood at the peak of Green Leaf City. The people in the special seats began to pay close attention. Zhou Li's expression remained unperturbed as he walked toward the next formation.

Elder Wang was practically trembling at this point, and he became even more polite as he directed Zhou Li to the affinity-testing formation. A half minute after Zhou Li stepped onto the formation, two crystals began to shine brightly. The first was fire, which on its own was quite ordinary. The second, however, was the rarest of all: fate!

The crowd immediately began murmuring to each other. Fate was a very rare affinity. In fact, the royal family had dominated the capital city through the powers of fire and fate for a few millennia. Fate was very strong on its own; a fate cultivator was also known as an oracle, and such a person could guide a nation through droughts and disasters, quell rebellions before they occurred, and directly add to the fortune of the people leading the kingdom.

The now-silent Elder Wang's face became serious when Zhou Li calmly stepped onto the soul testing formation. As Zhou Li's face paled, a turbid cloud started whirling around him. One silver pearls, two, three. The soul pearls orbited around him one after another, after which nine pearls finally revolved around him. Would he achieve a perfect result? The crowd waited silently for the final result.

Finally, Elder Wang, tossed the last pearl, and it shattered the soul field, and all ten pearls tumbled toward the ground. The youth didn't seem to be surprised in the very least. Innate Soul Level 9!

While it was not quite a perfect result, its rarity couldn't be questioned. Not even one in ten million people could achieve such a result. As the proud Zhou Li left the platform, the heads of various organizations rushed up to him to make him offers. Even the pretentious alchemist association would want to rope in someone like him, and he couldn't even become an alchemist.

The bickering continued as Elder Wang looked around nervously. He wanted to finish the last test, but he dared not interrupt the attention Zhou Li was gathering. Even the school head was trying to get Zhou Li's attention, and Elder Wang certainly did not want to get fired. The bickering quelled after another quarter hour had passed, and the sound of someone clearing his throat echoed from the golden pavilion and silenced everyone. Not a single person dared utter a word. Once everyone was quiet, a man's voice sounded out.

"Zhou Li is hereby issued an invitation from the royal family's head oracle to become his closed-door disciple. This humble envoy was already aware of this result before coming, and I hereby request all other parties not to haggle with this lowly one."

Silence followed. It was difficult to compete with an invitation from the royal family. The only chance the other parties had was is if Zhou Li declined the royal family's invitation. Even then, how could they pit themselves against the royal family? Trying to recruit him now would surely incur the wrath of Heaven upon their respective organizations. Zhou Li looked toward the pavilion with his usual dispassionate gaze.

"This humble one sensed that I should take part in this test, and destiny has clearly brought me here. Who am I to argue with destiny? Of course, I gladly accept your invitation." Zhou Li then bowed and made his way to the pavilion.

Following the awkward silence, Elder Wang realized that Cha Ming still hadn't taken the three tests yet. He gestured hurriedly for him to step up and get it out of the way. Standing on the platform had gotten extremely uncomfortable since the last testing, and he couldn't wait to step out and take a breather.