Volume One: "The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change"
Everyone entered the suffocating black testing hall. It held all the senior elders, along with a stunningly beautiful woman and several beautiful girls standing beside her. When Scarlet King looked around, he noticed dozens of disciples waiting for their tests—praying to the heavens to be born with great talent. Some bit their fingers in anxiety, while others looked calm… and those were few.
Scarlet King thought coldly to himself:
(They're afraid of being useless to the sect… but they don't realize that without people like them, the sect wouldn't exist in the first place. The moment they enter, their awareness gets washed clean—fed slogans of sect loyalty, then their loyalty is bought with positions, rewards, and tools… so they'll fight and die in the sect's name. That's how any hierarchical system works in greater existence: the great rules the small, the strong devours the weak… and in the end, they're just fools—pawns who sell their freedom with their own hands instead of persevering and chasing their goal.)
The proctor—the same dark-blue elder with white hair—spoke:
"Next."
One disciple entered. A few minutes later, he came out on his knees, crying on the floor. Then he screamed:
"I have no talent… and red roots! I'm finished!!"
Scarlet King looked at him with flawless, icy calm:
(An example of exactly what I mean. Everyone wants success without losses… but if someone truly perseveres with all their strength after any setback, then even if they fail in the end and meet death, there would be no reason for regret or tears—as long as they tried with everything they had and truly persisted. But unfortunately… most people's view of life is shallow.)
The elder called again, unbothered:
"Next."
Scarlet King glanced at Lin Yuan—then immediately kicked him, shoving him straight toward the testing door. Lin Yuan yelled:
"Scarlet King… damn you!!"
The testing door shut.
When Lin Yuan came out a few minutes later, he looked dazed. He walked up to Ikalat and said:
"I got violet talent… and Cloud Roots, Third Elevation. What does that mean?"
The entire hall froze in shock at Lin Yuan's words. Scarlet King said:
"Talent is divided into: red, then green, then blue, then violet, then white-and-black.
As for roots, they're divided into: Earth, then Heaven, then Clouds, then Existential… and an 'elevation' is a grade within the same level."
Then Scarlet King moved and vanished from the hall quietly, while everyone's eyes stayed locked on Lin Yuan. The disciples began whispering among themselves:
"His level is higher than Ao Bai… he looks like he'll become a legend in the First Dimension! And he might even have a chance… when sects from the Second Dimension come in four years… maybe they'll take him with them."
Another disciple said:
"He's on the same level as Meng Ling… the strongest girl of this generation!"
The fat elder stepped forward and said:
"Boy, I am Da Fu… Master of the Blessed Food Sect. Would you like to join my sect? You'll become the First Elder's disciple."
Elder He Xuan objected:
"No. Boy, join my sect… and I will take you as my direct disciple."
Da Fu let out a light chuckle.
"Boy, if you join my sect, you'll have the right to take anything you want from the great sect treasury!"
At that moment, Scarlet King appeared in the form of a nine-year-old boy. He wore a white robe over a violet shirt, a beetle necklace around his neck, and a violet band tied across his forehead. His black-and-white hair fell behind his shoulders, and his white and black eyes stared at Lin Yuan with innocent warmth as he spoke in a childish voice:
"Dad… I want some food. I'm hungry."
Everyone in the hall froze in shock… even the elders themselves.
Da Fu quickly said:
"Boy… I didn't expect you to have a son! If you join us, your son will become the Second Elder's disciple, and your little one will be tested after he completes his ninth year—when he turns ten."
Lin Yuan agreed, but he glanced at Scarlet King—who winked at him.
Ikalat let out a quiet laugh, then stepped forward to take his own test. A few minutes later, he returned and told Lin Yuan and Scarlet King:
"My talent was blue… and my roots are Heavenly, Eleventh Elevation."
Scarlet King smiled inwardly, and a deep smile formed on his face:
(Hah… it was easy to play them. They think I'm his son… not knowing I have no talent at all. This will let me gather resources, and since I'm Lin Yuan's "son," the sect will pour resources into me. On top of that… I'll be the Second Elder's disciple, which means I can take even more resources before the test next year… because in the end, you can't test someone's talent and roots until they're ten years old or older.)
"Power Stones + rating, please"