The first male student stepped up in front of Zhao Huaikong. It was his first time taking the test, so he was also a bit flustered, unsure of what to do.
"Um... what should I do?" Zhang San stammered.
Zhao Huaikong glanced at him and pointed to a panel, then shouted to the whole schoolyard:
"During the test later, just place your hand on this panel. Modern technology makes the test very fast, so no need to be impatient."
Zhang San placed his hand on the metal plate. The circuit-like lines on it lit up.
Zhao Huaikong stood beside him, touched a different metal sphere, and began channeling spiritual power into it.
The light on the panel grew brighter, shifting from its initial white color to a cyan blue.
"Zhang San, Water Element, Primary Talent. Not bad, I'm Primary Talent too, you know." Zhao Huaikong said with a laugh.
The world changed a hundred years ago, but that didn't mean everyone could cultivate.
Cultivators only made up a very small portion of society, so it could be considered lucky that even the first test-taker had talent.
Zhang San's eyes lit up, and he raised both fists straight into the air.
"Mom, Dad, I did it!" He jumped up and cheered like a little kid.
"Ahem, quickly step aside so others can take the test." Zhao Huaikong cleared his throat.
"Yes, sir! Thank you very much!" Zhang San happily ran off under the admiring gazes of many.
Lin Hao watched his retreating figure, a silent hope stirring in his heart.
'Maybe I can be like him too. Maybe...'
Both his parents had no cultivation talent. Although cultivation talent often arises from mutation, heredity also plays a significant role.
"Next person."
...
One after another, students were called up. The results were mostly as expected. Except for one Intermediate Talent, none of the others had cultivation talent.
Only a few turns remained before it was Lin Hao's. His palms were now soaked with sweat, and his body trembled ever so slightly even though no one was doing anything to him.
'I must have talent. I must have talent.'
He prayed silently, but his trembling didn't lessen one bit.
A warm hand gently grasped his sweaty palm.
"Don't be scared. Even if you fail, it's okay. After all, very few people in this world become cultivators." Yue'er said softly.
In her eyes, he was too fixated on becoming a cultivator. The internal reason wasn't clear to her, but it probably had something to do with his past.
"I... I'm okay." Lin Hao whispered in reply.
Right now, none of the usual confidence of a top student remained. He looked just like a small, insignificant person standing before an unchangeable fate.
Zhao Huaikong's gaze turned towards him, signaling it was his turn.
Lin Hao took a deep breath, his legs feeling heavy as he stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the metal panel, tightly shutting his eyes, not daring to open them and face the truth.
Light appeared on the panel, but after a few seconds, it completely vanished.
"Lin Hao, no talent." Zhao Huaikong said calmly.
He had repeated this line countless times by now and felt no particular emotion about it anymore.
Lin Hao felt as if struck by lightning, his eyes opening blankly, staring into emptiness.
His body trembled slightly, then stilled, as if all vitality had drained away.
"Hey, step down. It's not that bad, you know. Very few people can become cultivators anyway." Zhao Huaikong offered a word of advice, seeing his excessive reaction.
Society didn't discriminate against ordinary people. After all, they were the main force driving society forward.
Cultivators were also strictly managed by higher authorities. Except for some cultivators belonging to underground organizations or cults, nobody went around harming ordinary folks.
Moreover, ordinary people weren't completely powerless against cultivators. Most cultivators in the world couldn't withstand a nuclear bomb.
"Don't be sad, wait for me a moment." Yue'er patted his shoulder and then stepped up to be tested.
She placed her hand on the panel. Light flashed and then gradually turned into a deep red color.
The brilliant red color radiated a powerful light that shook the entire schoolyard.
Zhao Huaikong's eyes widened. He hadn't expected to stumble upon such a talent on this trip.
'What's her name? Yue'er? The surname Yue? That's not right, seems like the surname is hidden. Could she be from some powerful family?' He kept speculating but finally just shook his head.
This wasn't a matter for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like him to concern himself with. Reporting it back and claiming a reward would be good enough.
"Yue'er, Fire Element, Advanced Talent. Congratulations, congratulations! You are a rare genius of this age."
Wow!!!
The whole schoolyard gasped in astonishment. Her heaven-defying talent had completely captured everyone's attention.
Earlier, there was one Intermediate Talent, Water Element, but that was nothing compared to her.
"Our school has produced another genius!"
"It's been so long since an Advanced Talent appeared at our school."
"Never thought our generation would give birth to such a peerless female prodigy."
...
The endless stream of praise from classmates kept reaching Yue'er's ears, making her proudly lift her chin.
But then, she paused for a beat and looked towards Lin Hao. Right now, he didn't even dare to look straight at her.
She ran over in front of him and smacked him on the head, scolding, "You idiot, what are you scared of? You think just because I have talent, I'd abandon you?"
Lin Hao instinctively covered his head, then sighed again without saying a word in reply.
Seeing him like this made Yue'er even angrier. She put her hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks.
"You tell me clearly, what's wrong with you? So you can't cultivate? Later, I'll get you a whole pile of pills to eat. I don't believe you can't even break through the body tempering stage."
Hearing her words, countless envious gazes converged on him. Everyone thought he was unworthy of being 'kept' by a rich young lady like her.
"You... you..." Lin Hao stammered, unable to get the words out.
Just then, a young master stepped forward, his expression arrogant and obnoxious. He was the one with Intermediate Talent from earlier.
"Lin Hao, if you feel you're not worthy of her, then you should leave her side, huh? To be worthy of her, at the very least, you'd need to be like me." Su Shen curled his lip, looking at him with contempt.
Lin Hao's face turned ashen one moment, then greenish the next. Usually, his academic performance was excellent, his achievements outstanding. Who would dare talk to him like this?
'Damn it, why isn't it me? Why does she have such good talent?' He cursed inwardly.
A feeling of jealousy surged in his heart. He felt everything he had achieved before was meaningless in the face of cultivation talent.