9 9. Detector Stone

Bai Chen led the way out of the room with Bai Chang following him close behind. Bai Cong was about to jump out of his grandfather's arms but he felt his hold tighten around waist.

"Stay here Cong'er, grandfather wants to talk to you," Bai Sze said as he squeezed Bai Cong tighter to his chest.

Bai Cong sighed inwardly and stopped struggling to get out.

Bai Gui closed the door and pulled up another chair to sit down.

"Cong'er, how are you doing with your cultivation?" Bai Sze asked.

"I'm doing well grandfather. I feel that I'm about to break through into the Qi-Purification realm," Bai Cong responded.

"Good, that's quite quick. You've only started cultivating for about a month. You haven't gotten your potential checked have you?" Bai Sze asked as he studied Bai Cong.

Bai Cong hummed, "Yes, grandfather. I haven't been evaluated yet."

"Then let's go get you checked out," Bai Sze said as he picked Bai Cong up and carried him out of the room with Bai Gui following them.

Bai Sze walked down the hall with Bai Cong being held at his bosom. When he got to the end of the hall, there were two guards standing motionless on both sides of the door. Both men were holding long, black spears and were emitting powerful auras.

When the men saw Bai Sze walking to them, they bowed and opened the door, revealing a small room that had nothing in it but a huge, tall, black pillar that stretched all the way to the ceiling. In front of the pillar was a transparent ball that was propped up on a stand.

Bai Sze made his way into the room and stood in front of the pillar.

"Cong'er, your father must have already explained it to you but I'll just re-explain it to you," he started saying, "You should already know that when you turn five, most people are tested to see how much potential they possess."

Bai Cong hummed to show that he understood. This concept was also true for him in his original body in the lower realm. When he had been tested, it was revealed that his potential reached blue, which was unheard of at the time. With his immense potential and natural talent, his cultivation had increased by leaps and bounds.

"This here is a detector stone," Bai Sze said as he pointed to the large rock, "This will determine how much potential your body has. When you lay your hand on this crystal orb, the pillar will light up with colors. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and violet," Bai Sze explained.

"The higher your potential, the more colors the pillar will light up," he finished, "If you understand everything, you can place your hand on the orb," Bai Sze said as he placed Bai Cong on the floor.

Bai Gui, who had maintained his silence the whole time softly said, "Cong'er, don't be nervous. Having a low score doesn't mean you can't be an amazing cultivator."

Bai Cong, who wasn't nervous in the least, walked up to the orb and slowly placed his small hands on top of the ball.

Bai Gui stood with his father with worried expression. He had an idea of what Bai Sze wanted to do with Bai Cong but he was still undecided on whether he should agree with his father or not.

When Bai Cong placed his hand on the transparent orb, it lit up with a faint, white light, illuminating the dark room as grew brighter. The black pillar lit up with the same white glow and it stayed like that for a few seconds. The pillar then started shaking. All three people in the room saw how the bottom of the pillar shone a deep red color, then the next section lit up with orange.

This continued to happen as more colors lit up. Yellow, green, and blue shined brightly but the time it took for the colors to light up grew longer and longer when it started reaching the higher sections of the pillar.

When purple lit up, Bai Gui breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his father who could be seen visibly smiling.

When the pillar reached violet after a minute long wait, Bai Sze started laughing gleefully. But his laughter stopped when he saw what happened next.

Bai Cong, who had his eyes closed the whole time, was concentrating on imputing his power into the orb when he felt the orb rising up. He opened his eyes just in time to see the glowing transparent ball travel quickly to the top of the pillar and situated itself there.

They all then stared in shock as the orb started turning black along with all the sections of the pillar. This phenomenon lasted for a few seconds before the orb flew back down to where it was before. The glowing black light on the pillar then stopped shining, soon after, the orb stopped emitting light too.

Bai Cong stood where he was, trying to comprehend what had happened.

Bai Sze. who face was frozen with shock, lit up with happiness. He roared with laughter and walked up to Bai Cong. He picked him up and spun him around, making Bai Cong feel very nauseous.

"Grandfather," Bai Cong called out hurriedly before he actually throws up.

Bai Sze, finally realizing how uncomfortable Bai Cong was, stopped spinning around but a big smile was still plastered on his face.

"Gui'er, you have indeed birthed a good son," Bai Sze cried gleefully.

The forgotten Bai Gui was beyond happy with his youngest son's results but he still maintained his composure, "Thank you father."

"Grandfather, what happened?" Bai Cong asked. He still didn't know what had happened or what the black light meant.

"Cong'er, I didn't tell you before because of how unlikely it was for it to actually happen," Bai Sze, who had calmed down a bit, explained the situation to Bai Cong, "If your potential transcends a level that can't be read, the stone will shine black."

He then looked at Bai Gui, "Lead Cong'er away. He needs to rest after all this," he said as he set Bai Cong back on the ground.

"Father. Are you still going on with the plan?" Bai Gui asked after he led Bai Cong away.

"Of course, with his personality, he's not suitable to be the next leader. That position is much more suitable for Chen'er. He's much more calculative than his younger brothers and looks at the bigger picture at things. To put it on simple terms, he's patient. This is an aspect Bai Chang doesn't have," Bai Sze explained.

Bai Gui nodded his head, "I see your reasoning father, but with the potential Cong'er possesses, wouldn't it be perfect for him to be a general?"

"No, being a general doesn't necessarily mean you have to be the strongest. You are more clear with Cong'ers personality. He's much more independent. If anyone, Chang'er is the most suitable for that position," Bai Sze reasoned.

"Then Cong'er will practice that cultivation manual?" Bai Gui asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes, with his potential and personality, nobody else but him can practice it," Bai Sze said as he walked to the black stone.