Chapter 103: First Round
"Hmph I don't want to be involved in this messy matter but because the agreement is already made, obviously both of them couldn't take their words and the sect's integrity won't be violated. I got no choice, I'll preside over this matter," Elder Lan harrumphed 'indignantly'.
Everybody present forced their laugh inside their heart.
'Who is this old girl trying to fool,'
The image of a cool seductress from before easily crumbled and changed into an immature overaged girl.
There were also some people who looked at her even more affectionately. The young boy who asked the question to her was one of those people. He looked at Elder Lan with an infatuated gaze, iron out his mind to get the place in this selection and become the disciple of this childish elder to get closer to her.
"We have wasted so much time here, let's continue the examination. All the examinee stay in the line and wait for your name called," said Elder Lan.
One by one the examinee got, in turn, to be examined by placing their hand on three crystals that carefully inspected their bone age, constitution, and bloodline.
Although the constitution checker crystal and bloodline checker crystal couldn't specify their results, it was enough to determine the rank of each aspect.
The crystals would shine in different colors which indicated different ranks: Yellow for a mortal grade, Green for a profound grade, Blue for Earth grade, and Red for Heaven grade.
If their bone age met the requirement. Their talent will be examined using the Sword Gate which has a total of 7 stars that would light up responding to their talent.
"Li Ergou, 25 years old, mortal-rank constitution, mortal-rank bloodline, 1-star talent, failed!
"Mo Fan, 20 years old, profound-rank constitution, mortal-rank bloodline, 2-stars talent, failed!
"Yu Ru Bing, 19 years old, profound-rank constitution, profound-rank bloodline, 3-star talent, pass!
"Tang Ximen, 19 years old, profound-rank constitution, profound-rank bloodline, 3-star talent, pass!
A lot of examinees were eliminated in the first round due to their age exceeding the age limit or insufficient talent.
Many young men and young girls were left with dejected looks as they failed to pass even the first round of examination.
Although they were known as unparalleled geniuses in their respective clan, they were just ordinary or even a trash cultivator if compared to Heaven Sword Sect's standard.
"Meng Qi!"
The crowds who were relatively quiet while waiting for their turns suddenly turn lively when one of the genius' names was called.
Everybody present turned their attention to the beautiful young lady.
"Look it's Fairy Meng's turn!" exclaimed one of the cultivators.
"How many stars do you think could be light up with Fairy Meng's talent?"
"I think she is a 5-stars talent!"
"I don't think so. Do you think Fairy Meng is on par with Senior Lin Ming, Fairy Feng, or Fourth Elder? I don't think so. I think she is barely 4-stars talent."
"Yeah, I think 4-stars quite accurate."
She confidently place her hand on the three crystals one by one while the examiner checked its results.
"18 years old, Earth-rank constitution, Profound-Rank Bloodline!"
Earth grade constitution could be considered as the top constitution in Eastern Region.
Whoever had an Earth-grade physique or bloodline could be guarantee to be an expert in the future, as long as they didn't meet a mishap in their cultivation or died early.
As for Heaven grade constitution or bloodline, it was as rare as phoenix's feather or qilin's horn.
"4-stars talent! passed!"
Fairy Meng had a slightly downcast expression when she saw that only 4 stars lit up on the gate.
She looked in Feng Xue's direction and clenched her fist. She didn't think that she was less talented than Feng Xue. But, the reality proved otherwise.
'I'll quickly catch up with you, just you wait!' she swore in her heart while looking at Feng Xue with a provocating gaze.
Sensing her gaze, Feng Xue smirked at her as if she tell her 'I accept your challenge.'
Not long after that, the twins were called.
"Qi Ning'er, 17 years old, Earth-rank constitution, Profound-rank Bloodline, 4-stars talent! Passed!"
"Qi Ying'er, 17 years old, Earth-rank constitution, Profound-rank Bloodline, 4-stars talent! Passed!"
These results once again set the crowd in the blaze. Three people with an Earth-grade constitution appear at the same time. It was quite unprecedented.
"Wow, the twin is as talented as Fairy Meng!"
"With their potential and perfectly combination technique, I think they are bound to be prominent figures in the future."
After the twins, there was no more Earth grade constitution or bloodline appeared, most of them had profound grade constitution and bloodline, which was expected.
"Look the next turn is Xian Bu Yu!" one cultivator said when he saw that Xian Bu Yu was on the line.
"Even though he was quite cunning and shrewd, his capabilities also real. Truly a dragon among the man. I think he was at least 4-stars," one of the cultivators clicked his tongue in admiration.
Xian Bu Yu unhurriedly placed his hand on the examination crystals. His smile showed how confident he was.
"Xian Bu Yu, 17 years old, Earth-rank Constitution, Profound-rank Bloodline," said the examiner.
Xian Bu Yu then walked into the gate and looked at the stars who gradually lit up with expectation in his eyes.
1, 2, 3, 4..
5 stars shone on the top of the gate.
His smile became more apparent made his quite handsome face more dazzling.
"4-stars.. no, 5-stars talent!" shouted one of the cultivators excitedly.
"Kyaa, Young Master Xian marry me..!!"
"How dare you! Young Master Xian is my husband!"
"Wow, he actually a 5-stars talent! He could compete with Senior Feng and Senior Lin Ming in talent!"
"True! His talent is actually better than Fairy Meng and The Twins!"
"Heaven Sword Sect hit big this time."
"I suddenly felt sorry for the girl who had bet with him, she was bound to lose," a young cultivator comments
"It's still too early to say that. Fairy Feng said that she is more talented than her, who knew she will bring us surprise," said the cultivator beside him
"Mm. Reasonable," he also found that the girl was not simple.
A few hours later.
"Look the next turn is the girl who is betting with Xian Bu Yu!"
"I can't wait to see how talented she is. If what Fairy Feng true, she is least a 5-stars talent. or maybe more."
"The only people who had 6-stars talent in Heaven Sword Sect's history are Legacy Disciple Zi Ling and the current Sect Master. If she can light up 6 stars it means that she will be the third person who has done it."
"What if she lights all 7 stars?"
The crowds thought it was impossible, but no one stated their opinion.
Meng Qi, The Qi Twins, and Xian Bu Yu started to pay attention.
"Snowy!" The examiner called Snowy's name and then guide her to the respective crystal.
"Bone age, t-three months?!" exclaimed the examiner as he looked at the number displayed at the crystal. 'Three months? are you kidding me? Is the crystal broken?' the examiner sweat profusely as he glanced at the crystal a few more times.
"Is something wrong?" asked Snowy innocently.
"I think there is some trouble with the crystal," said the examiner while pointing at it, "Could you place your hand on the crystal once again?"
Snowy suddenly understood why the examiner had confusion in his face. She actually forgot to adjust her body's age to match her current appearance.
She placed her hand on the crystal once again and waited for the number to show up.
"18 years old," stated the examiner in relief as he made a mental note, 'I'll report it to the sect later.'
Snowy then proceed to the next two crystals and place her hand on top of it one by one.
"Mortal constitution and mortal bloodline," said the examiner. His slightly trembled voice couldn't; hide his surprise.
His surprise was shared by many people present and became the topic of their discussion.
"What? Does she only have mortal cultivation and mortal bloodline? What makes her so confident to bet with Xian Bu Yu then?" Qi Ying'er said with a puzzled expression.
Qi Ning'er calmly reminded her sister, "Don't look down on her because of her constitution and bloodline. Don't forget Elder Yang is also only has a mortal-rank constitution and mortal-rank bloodline. But his talent was evaluated as 5-stars at that time."
"How many people do you think are as capable as Elder Yang? He is a rare case!" snorted Qi Ying'er which make Qi Ning'er smiled and shook her head, not refuting her words.
Snowy passed the gate leisurely while the stars on the gate slowly lit up.
Eventually, only 3 stars lit up after waiting for a few minutes.
The examiner wait a little bit more as he doubt that these were the final results.
But, no matter how long he wait, there was no more star lit up.
"3-stars!" The examiner announced Snowy's result.
'What is she thinking?' Feng Xue was baffled by Snowy's result. She couldn't believe that Snowy will score that low. So, she was sure that Snowy was up to something. After some pondering, she looked at Snowy's expressionless face, and then an evil smile appeared on her lips,? 'How nasty. She is Snowy after all.'
Snowy really gave the crowds a surprise.
This wasn't like they imagined it to be.
It made the crowds angry and dissapointed.
"3-stars? Is this what Fairy Feng said a talent above her? Does she make a mistake?"
"Look even Fairy Feng is surprised by her results!"
"She is only a 3-stars talent and looks like she doesn't even cultivate yet. Will she pass the first round?"
"Shameless. With such thrashy talent, how dare she compete with cousin?" hint of mockery appeared in Xian Qingruo's eyes.
"Have you been cultivating before?" asked the examiner because he couldn't determine Snowy's cultivation based.
"Yes, I have. Wait a moment," Snowy controlled her aura so that only a portion of her cultivation was sensed by the examiner.
"Mm? So you had already reached the 6th level of Qi Transformation stage? Not bad, not bad. You pass!" said the examiner.
'She is actually a 6th level of Qi Transformation cultivator! She is truly low-key and used some means to hide her cultivation level!' thought Xian Bu Yu inwardly. But, he was still confident that the end result will not be affected whatsoever.
He approached Snowy with a hypocritical smile on his face.
"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Snowy, I win this round," said Xian Bu Yu with a hint of ridicule in his voice.
"Yeah, you win this round," said Snowy nonchalantly.
Xian Bu Yu felt a bit irked by Snowy's flat response. He didn't know where her confidence came from that she remained calm after—in Xian Bu Yu's mind—a crushing defeat in the first round.
He asked Snowy in a taunting manner, "Are you still going to continue?"
"Of course, I pass the first round, don't I?" retorted Snowy.
"I can't wait to see you embarrass yourself again in the next round," replied Xian Bu Yu coldly.
"Maybe it's your turn in the next round," said Snowy with a mysterious smile.
"Heh," Xian Bu Yu only snorted and left Snowy alone.