Chapter 25

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"Alright, put it back"

The black-haired man instructed Xu Zhenyan, apparently having seen what he wanted.

The youth did so reluctantly. During his upbringing, he'd precious little interaction with soul weapons, contrary to expectations.

"Give these objects a look. How should their lines match together?"

Suddenly, an old, hoarse voice spoke.

Turning his head, Xu Zhenyan spotted a grey-haired woman, her face lined and wrinkled like a raisin. Her appearance was indeed like that of a witch, having long, sharp and black-stained nails.

'She should be the Natural Arts elder.'

Sighing inwardly, he walked over to her table before observing the collection of sheepskin scrolls, covered in strange runes. Next to them were squares of different metals, one black, one gold and one silver.

Unable to decide himself, he resolved to leave his department up to the elders.

'I'll just take their tests honestly. Even if I get an undesirable result, I can take other classes.'

At first, the runes didn't make much sense to him. However, when he looked more closely, something interesting happened—he noticed a faint ki surrounding each metal.

Extending a hand, he shuffled the sheepskins around, matching them in turn with different metals. As he did so, the ki fluctuated in strange ways.

Spontaneously, he developed an understanding of what happened. However, explaining it to someone without his senses was impossible, like explaining colors to the blind.

"It should be like this."

Deciding on a combination, Xu Zhenyan stepped backwards, his hands clasped behind him.

The Natural Arts elder's expression didn't change, but he could tell she was satisfied.

"It seems this kid is fated with my Natural Arts department."

She didn't say much else, simply closing her eyes while reclining in her seat.

The next elder took this as their cue, just so happening to be the middle-aged Medicine Hall woman.

"Look this way."

Having expected it, Xu Zhenyan's eyes darted in her direction.

He quickly noted the variety of herbs, medicines and glass jars stuffed full of various preserved organs. They were stacked on the table, the latter grotesque articles contrasting the elder's genial appearance.

"Have you gotten a good look?"

Xu Zhenyan's eyes barely lingered for two or three seconds before a white tablecloth was thrown over, obscuring everything from sight.

"Tell me, what medicinal herbs did you see, how many were there, what distinguishing features did they have and where were they on the table? Oh, but forget about the glass jars."

The elder rested her chin on her entwined fingers, giving him an encouraging smile.

Xu Zhenyan's eyebrows twitched. This tests was really a bit nonsensical in his opinion, selecting for skills that didn't have much value to a medicine student. Yet, he knew to expect this, so passing was a foregone conclusion.

He closed his eyes, making a show of trying to recall the images of a few moments ago.

"There are fifteen stalks, ten of them living, five dried…"

Rattling off one correct answer after another, the elders all turned silent.

Eventually, having finished, Xu Zhenyan opened his eyes to see them staring at each other, their faces expressionless.

For a moment, he expected the Medicine Hall elder to call him out, saying that he'd memorized everything from the start. Yet, although Lin Xi was cast under suspicion for answering too flawlessly, that apparently wasn't the case for him.

"Only a single one of these eggs is alive. Point out which one."

Suddenly, an old man to his right spoke, drawing Xu Zhenyan's attention. Looking over, he saw a wizened elder behind a table, two handfuls of differently shaped and colored eggs spread across it.

Not seeing a reason to dally, he directly pointed out the biggest one. Even without knowing the answer, he was able to tell it's vibrant ki from the rest.

The old man nodded his head, his expression pleased.

"Good, very good…"

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something else, but another voice interrupted him.

The old man seemed irritated by the interruption, but he stepped back nonetheless, ceding to the next elder.

This time, it was a serious middle-aged man with long hair. From his face and bearing alone, one could identify a warrior's nature.

"From when you entered this room, how many halts and how many breaths have passed?"

One 'halt' was roughly equal to one minute, and one 'breath' equal to one second.

Xu Zhenyan arrived at the answer without much trouble.

His improved senses were excellent at collecting information. Also, with an improved body came an improved mind, sharpening his memory to an outstanding level.

"About four halts and ten-or-so breaths."

Although he knew the answer was correct, Xu Zhenyan would never be able to tell from the elder's expression.

Crossing his arms, the middle-aged man simply closed his eyes and sank into his seat, not saying anything else.

The last remaining elder was a robust old man, a shaggy, grey beard covering his face.

"Complete this poem for me. 'Do not worry about the road ahead while ignoring the self…'"

Gazing eagerly at Xu Zhenyan from underneath thick eyebrows, he waited expectantly for an answer.

However, although he knew it from the novel, the youth decided not to give an answer. It was simply because of his own principles—the other tests he could answer correctly even without cheating, but this one wasn't like that.

The poem was one by Principal Zhang, or rather one he brought over from earth. Not being Chinese, there was no conceivable way for Xu Zhenyan to know the answer.

"I don't know."

He shook his head at the elder, taking a step back.

For some reason, the old man showed disappointment.

'Did he think I would get it right?'

Wondering idly about the elder's expectations toward him, he waited to be dismissed.

The old man sat down, his mouth drawn into a line.

"You can go."

He waved his hand idly, not looking Xu Zhenyan in the eye.

Casting a glance toward the other elders, he saw they were either indifferent or lost in thought. Only the Medicine Hall elder gave him a friendly wave, seeing him off.

Bowing once, Xu Zhenyan made his way out of the room.

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In the assessment room, the elders surreptitiously exchanged glances. They were about to start fighting over Xu Zhenyan, each wanting him for their respective departments.

Yet, before they could, the one-armed vice principal suddenly spoke up.

"We'll leave it up to Heaven's will."

His words immediately sparked discontentment among the elders.

"But senior…"

The Medicine Hall elder started to protest first.

She had a soft spot for polite, cute boys and thought he'd make a good addition to her department, female-dominated as it was.

However, the vice principal wasn't having any of it.

"Anything less than a Heaven's choice, he couldn't possibly be. Or is this child from the Xu family inferior to any of the other candidates?"

He met the elders' gazes one by one, gauging their opinions. Although he, Vice Principal Xia, was the de facto leader given principal Zhang's decades long absence, it was still better to have a consensus among peers.

They either nodded or lowered their heads, acts of silent agreement.

Still, there was one thing they were curious about.

"From these tests, his talents can be clearly seen. But, Vice Principal, there's still the matter of his cultivation aptitude…"

The black-haired, youthful looking man, the same who administered the weapons test, suddenly spoke up.

The moment they heard his words, the other elders all turned their gazes to the Vice Principal. Indeed, they hadn't forgotten about that matter. While Xu Zhenyan's Soul Expert cultivation was enough of an excuse for the students outside, they naturally had a right to know the truth.

The old man sat with his cane across his knees, appearing relaxed.

For a while, there was silence, but then he answered.

"The Xu clan kid… has an aptitude of seven."

The moment the words left his mouth, the entire room turned silent. The elders' shock couldn't be described in words.

"Is it possible to… have such an aptitude?"

The one who spoke was the serious-looking middle aged man with long hair. Even he, possessing a face like a sculpture carved from marble, couldn't quite maintain neutrality.

The other elders stared at Vice Principal Xia like they were trying to burn holes in his skull. A seventh level cultivator was simply unheard of. In fact, in all the history of Green Luan Academy, there had never been someone with an aptitude of more than six!

"You can't possibly mean that brat is even more gifted than…!"

The serious old man who administered the egg test suddenly came to his feet, slamming his hands on the table.

Contrary to expectations, he wasn't referring to Principal Zhang. It was well known that, despite his overwhelming strength and status as a Divine General, the departed leader only possessed an aptitude of two.

Instead of being hidden, the fact was openly shared, acting as encouragement for those less gifted students.

No, there was another person, someone perhaps even more gifted than Principal Zhang. However, her identity wasn't known to anyone aside from the Vice Principal. The rest of the elders knew of her existence, but nothing else.

Knowing what they were all thinking, the old man nodded slowly.

"Indeed. The kid's abilities are likely even more astonishing than that girl's."

After that, nobody knew what to say.

However, being sensible people, those present thought that perhaps the less said about such a peerless seedling, the better.

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