12 Soaring Dragon

[The improved scouter is placed in the system storage]

'System, is there any way I can hide the scouter's physical appearance yet still use it?' Caol thought about it and asked. In a place with little to no technological advancement, having a scouter over your eye will make you look out of place.

[The host can allow the system to use the scouter while the information about the specific power level will be directly sent to the host's brain.]

Caol rejoiced, "Great! This solves most of my problems. Now, I need to maximize my time as I only have ten days left before the test. Even though I can solve most martial masters, I shouldn't be overconfident as there may be some geniuses on par with me. It is alright for me to reveal most of my powers and stay on top of the group. Being too low-key is not an option for me as I need to show my talents for the army to provide resources and train me to the utmost before the war starts.'

Over the course of ten days, training was one thing Caol didn't neglect. Oftentimes, he would go and enjoy the different things to do in the city. At night, he would try training in the {Kaio-Ken} technique, to which he had a hard time mastering. When he was feeling no progress at all and start getting frustrated, he would just sit and start meditating, getting rid of unnecessary and negative thoughts.

'I should've done this in college.' muttered Caol.

The day of test quickly came, and Caol thought about his progress. It wasn't significant, but it wasn't too bad. He just kept telling himself how someone often couldn't achieve success without perseverance and hard work.

Caol, accompanied by Xin and Xiong, went to the gate of the army's base inside the district. They were sent to a different passage by two soldiers, heading to the test for the youths. The duo was stopped when they reached a certain point, and Caol had to go by himself. Caol didn't mind this and went with the two soldiers.

Once he got to the testing grounds, he saw thousands of young people. Caol speculated that mortal parents also sent their children to take the test as it may change their destiny. He saw a few teens band together, and they looked like martial practitioners. They held contempt upon the mortals partaking the test with them as they felt that it would only sully their images.

As Caol was walking around, he spotted Feng and his group. Feng also saw him and waved for him to go with them. Caol walked towards him while Feng introduced him to the other people in the group. They were all asking about Caol's background, and when they knew that he was someone raised by an elder of the Immortal Gathering Sect, they looked at him with awe and respect.

Caol greeted them before he sat and started meditating while waiting for the test. Quite a few teens were surprised about his act as not everybody can keep calm before a test without the confidence of passing it.

They were waiting for about 2 hours when a group of soldiers came. Someone who looked like the leader of this group stood at the platform. All the kids had their eyes on him automatically, as he was like some sort of magnet with just his presence.

The leader introduced himself, "My name is Zhong, and I am a lieutenant of the Dragon Army. I am also going to be the head proctor of the test you will all be taking. The Emperor plans to build a special regiment composed of the most talented and brightest of the Continent's youth. This regiment shall be called the 'Soaring Dragon Regiment' and will only listen to the Emperor's direct orders. In order to be a part of this glorious regiment, we shall see if you have what it takes. Let's start the test."

Caol looked at the leader deeply and thought, 'System, check his power level.'

[Name: Zhong]

[Power Level: 51,000]

'Damn, that means he is at least a Martial Grandmaster. He is just a lieutenant, but he is this powerful. How strong would the higher-ranked officers be? How strong is the Emperor?' Caol was surprised at first, but then he thought about the servants in the sect.

The group of soldiers took out 101 colorless crystals the size of a ball and put them on a pedestal, lining them up to form a row. Zhong then told everyone the function of these crystals. "These are aptitude crystals, and they determine an individual's talent. It also releases a pressure on both body and spirit and ranks the individual between five levels. Level one is equal to trash. If you get this grade, then you are automatically disqualified. We only need geniuses in this regiment. You can slightly pass if you are a level two, but you'll be a common foot soldier. Individuals with level three talents can be trained for an officer rank. You guys will form the elites. Up to this day, the highest is a level four, and if someone can reach this, you'll be trained with no resources to spare. You will also be handling most of the authority in this regiment. As for level five, well, let's just say that if you reach this, then you will command this regiment. Is that understood?"

The youths all agreed, "Yes sir!" The sound echoed throughout the grounds. They were commanded to line up and the testing began to start. As the soldiers were doing the head counts, it amounted to 4,712 examinees. A majority of the people testing only reached level one. Once they knew of their results, they had a look of disappointment, cursing the Heavens for not being fair to them. A total of 3,292 had level one talent. 917 people had level two talent and rejoiced as the majority of them are mortals.

Meanwhile, it was Caol's turn to take the test. He walked up to the platform and touched the ball. Once he did, he didn't feel any pressure at all. It didn't last for long as the pressure became noticeable, and became stronger rapidly. Caol didn't know how he was doing with the test, but he persevered. He started to sweat and soon, the pressure was like 50x of gravity. One has to remember, he only had this amount of pressure on his body, but not his soul. Even though he knew he had a stronger soul than most people, this test still gave him a hard time. Caol wasn't worried about the pressure on his physique. What he worried about was the pressure on his soul as it became stronger. Caol couldn't remember what happened next but he knew he just grit his teeth and persevered.

Zhong was watching his test and had a faint smile on his face. 'It looks like there are some good seedlings in the group.'

Once the pressure reached a certain threshold Caol could no longer withstand, it forcibly ended the test. He was shocked to see his results. It was level four. Caol was slightly disappointed, but he knew he wasn't the most talented in the world. The level four talent was enough to place him at the top. He was the only one who reached level four, while everyone else that was left was placed in level three.

Unbeknownst to Caol, a group was watching the test while it was happening. It was a peculiar group and they were having a conversation.

A man in his late 30s saw Caol's outstanding results and said, "Everybody, I will be grateful if you let me have him under my training."

"Screw your gratefulness, I should be the one training this kid. He has great talent and I can see that he has a superior physique than most people. He is a good fit for me." A man so muscular it feels like his muscles are going to pop any second spoke up. He towered over the people with his height like they were kids in front of an adult.

The man who spoke up first said, "I feel like it would be better if he undergoes my training. I am the most proficient in the art of killing here and killing is what they will do in the battlefield."

A few people interfered in the conversation and wanted to have dibs on Caol. The others chose not to bother with them and picked some of the more talented ones in level three.

When the conversation got heated up, an old man ,with hair as white as snow, was walking towards them with a walking stick. This old man was blind. The group saw him coming and immediately knelt, however before they could do it, they were stopped by the old man.

He raised his hand and said, "There is no need for pleasantries. I only came here for that child." Even though he was blind, he was facing the direction where Caol was.

'Huh?' Caol looked around as he felt that there was someone watching him. He couldn't find anyone so he just stopped. 'It must be my imagination.'

The old man, seeing this, smiled. "What good senses, but he still has a lot to learn. If you don't mind, I'll be the one teaching him." Once he said this the group gave up their endeavour on getting Caol.

The muscular man immediately said, "It is this child's great fortune to be taught by you, sir. Only you can release his potential."

The middle aged man also nodded and agreed, "No one can be a better choice."

The old man kept his smiling face and went back from where he came from.