Page 18: Next Turns

"Chen Weimin greets the elder and senior disciples!"

"Hu Luli greets the elder and senior disciples!"

"Mo Lan from the merchant union also greet the teachers!"

Three distinct youngsters of each sector offered their greetings before approaching the array platform. Looking at their bearing, one can't deny the confidence they radiate. It was as if they already know they would be successful in the ceremony. Being the children with the most resources in their respective households, no one expects them to fail.

After a few minutes of bright spectacle in each array, it was time to determine each of their grade. Knowing that this could be a sight to behold, Chen Weimin made the first contact while the other two waited. The crystal glowed with brightness followed by the appearance of a halo. Cheers came from the Chen household area but in the stage, Chen Weimin did not yet have his hand let go of the crystal.

#2

"Look, the crystal halo is changing color! No way! Is it a superior grade? The same as the Sect leader? This is huge!"

#3

"We're witnessing a new miracle. Undoubtly, he will train under the Sect leader. A personal disciple!"

(crowd cheering)

Congratulations to the Chen household!

After the hype quiet down, it was Hu Luli's turn. Everyone from the Hu household were solemn after witnessing the Chen's success.

It didn't took long before the results came. Showing a bright light and a silver halo, the Hu household celebrated but it wasn't as loud as the Chen's. Mo lan of the merchant union received the same results. Although it was not as grand as being the sect leader's disciple, the two with high grade essence core would definitely train under a sect's elder. If the Chen's hit the billion jackpot, the other two took the million prize. It was still a good deal.

All candidates from the Chen, Hu and merchant union lined up and gave their final salutations. Next are the candidates from the Feng, Zhou, and Li household.

Compared to the first ones where expectations are relatively high, people look at the next families with a glint of sympathy. There was nothing wrong with the candidates however since the past, most of their participants awakened an ordinary grade. Among the three, the Feng family holds the highest probability of waking a high grade essence core but never did one of their descendants had a superior one. In list, the Li family holds the lowest chances since its the weakest household.

Upon entry of their representatives, each of them handled 500 low grade essence shards. Knowing the amounts still being at a number, Feng, Zhou and the others were thinking the same; 'the Li household must have been through great efforts to collect such number'.

There was no extra shows so the ceremony continued normally. During the first until fourth line of candidates, no one got a high grade assessment except that each of them got one average grade and one failed assessment from the Li family. That was it, there was no show for the people to see. All they were waiting was the young masters of each household. They were waiting for them to show a spectacle or something that is worth gossiping. Since they were not as rich as the first households, there was still a chance for them to fail in the awakening due to limited resources.

"Last candidates from each households, come forward!" the sect disciple yelled.

Feng Bolin, Zhou Xue, and Li Xianliang, the last of the candidates moved to the array platform. Like the first households, the three candidates silently decided to do the assessment one at a time.

First was the Feng Bolin who was ten years old. No mishaps happened so he just went to the crystal ball after the awakening. All eyes were glued to his actions, waiting for the results. As Feng Bolin touched the crystal, a silver halo showed up around the bright crustal ball.

The area occupied by the Feng household erupted with cheers and laughter. It was a result they have been wishing all the time. Compared to the previous years, the highest they attained were just an average grade. Now, the household's future may go brighter than the last years.

On the next, Zhou Xue, a nine year old girl who was blessed with beautiful complexion walked towards the array. The people who were still overjoyed by the previous result came to halt their actions when they saw the young girl approached the array. If the lights were pretty, the young girl bathed with the bright lights looked like a princess under the starry night. Many people were enthralled by her beauty. Many were enthralled that even captured the eyes of people to the extent where she almost got kidnapped.

After the successful awakening, Zhou Xue silently aporoached the crystal ball. There, another high grade was witnessed. Similar uproar echoed around the area after witnessing the young child. Now, great pressure has fallen into the last candidate. If the awakening would fail, its equated to death, and if the grade is lower than them, it could mean another year of humiliation. The Li household houses the least number of practitioners among the five households. This is the reason they also ranked to be the weakest force in the entire merchant city.

Li Xianliang anxiously approached the array platform. Upon its activation, the crowd's silence was deafening. Everyone knows that the fate of the Li household lies to this child. Little by little, light poured into Li Xianliang and started to interact with his body. The audience were watching but Li Xianliang was not the focus. Instead, all eyes were into the holigram-like projection above his head showing the core being formed. If a person's talent is too weak, the core won't be formed after the array losses its light. A person's grade would be higher if a core will be formed quicker.

For Li Xianliang, it was a success. Upon that incident, the people could hear the sound of relief coming from the members of the Li Household. Others who heard them smiled with sympathy but there were also many who smiled for another reason.

All that's left is to test the grade of the essence core. Without so much ado, Li Xianliang bravely touched the crystal ball. There was a dramatic reaction from the crowd upon witnessing the event in front of them. After so many years of being humiliated and being branded as ordinary, this is the first time that the family received warm greetings from the other households. A lot of the household members celebrated with tears while the audience smiled with silence as to give them enough of the satisfaction they felt at the moment. Li Xianliang widthrawn his hand from the crystals surface and quietly celebrated in his mind.

A few minutes later, the presiding officer of the ceremony spoke to the audience.

"Now that the candidates from all households including the merchant union successfully finished the ceremony, we may now open the platform for the commoners. Being a carp, turning into a dragon may be almost impossible but at least the sect will give you deeper waters to try. This has been the sect's culture ever since it was established. Now show your gratitude to the sect elders, the sect leader and the sect itself!"

The presiding disciple's voice was commanding which reverberated to each of the commoner's heart. Everyone in the commoner's area kneeled to the ground and replied with gratefulness.

"Hundred years to the elders! A thousand years to the sect leader! and may the sect flourish forever!"

Anyone in the commoners' area who didn't know the chant just followed along with the flow. Although it wasn't as uniform as how soldiers reply in unison but the loudness can reflect their sincerity.

"Alright, all commoners who will try their luck, make a queue in front of the arrays. Proceed to the center of the array after inserting the essence shard into the platform's essence orb! Remember, only those who are six years old until ten tears old are allowed. If your age do not fall under this range, get out and not waste resources or else you will be killed on the spot.

The kids who were in the queue started to dwindle and only twenty were left. The ones who were older than ten immediately ran back to their seats after hearing the threat while the other kids on the queue area brought out their essence shard and held it on their hand. On the other areas, some members of each household started to disperse as if they expect nothing from the next batch. However, many have still stayed ot due to the results of the next ones but only out of respect to the sect elder. Leaving the ceremony while it is not yet officially close would be an insult to the sect who are manning the process. In simple terms, they would look ungrateful if such thing happen.