The hall was vast, its interior space enormous. At that moment, more than a dozen people were scattered about, sitting quietly—all middle-aged men dressed in various styles.
Bi Yuntian led Jian Chen to a seat near the main throne and sat down. Only those with considerable status could have a seat here. Although Jian Chen was the Fourth Young Master of Changyang Mansion, he was still too young for his own chair, so he sat together with his mother.
Jian Chen sat obediently beside Bi Yuntian, waiting silently without saying a word.
Before long, more people entered the hall one after another and took their seats quietly. Even Jian Chen's three aunts arrived, each with their own children.
"Hey… Fourth Brother, today's the day of your Saint Power test. Do your best, okay? Don't let Second Sister down!" Changyang Mingyue said in a soft, playful voice, her lovely little face smiling. Though her voice was quiet, in the silent hall, everyone heard it clearly.
"Mingyue!" her mother chided softly, frowning at her.
Changyang Mingyue giggled, stuck out her tongue cutely at Jian Chen, and fell silent. She sat quietly beside her mother, her bright big eyes blinking as she glanced around the hall.
Soon, the hall was full. Every so often, the eyes of those present would sweep over Jian Chen, filled with expectation. They had all gathered because today was the day Jian Chen turned three and would take his Saint Power test.
For an ordinary direct disciple, such a test would not have drawn so much attention. But Jian Chen was the son of the patriarch. On top of that, he had shown extraordinary talent from a young age, filling the entire clan with high hopes. Naturally, his test drew the full attention of everyone with status in Changyang Mansion.
After all, the Saint Power test would be a crucial first step in judging how far Jian Chen might go in the future.
Once everyone was seated, Changyang Ba entered the hall. He walked up to the throne representing the patriarch's position and sat down imposingly.
Changyang Ba's gaze rested briefly on Jian Chen, a faint smile on his face. He then glanced around the hall, spoke a few formal words, and the test quickly began.
"Uncle De, I must trouble you to conduct the test for my son," Changyang Ba said politely to an elderly man seated below.
The elder was around sixty or seventy, dressed in gray robes, his hair white and his face covered in wrinkles. Yet his eyes still shone brightly.
The elder smiled. "There's no need for courtesy, Patriarch." He stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and looked kindly at Jian Chen. "Fourth Young Master, please."
Bi Yuntian looked lovingly at Jian Chen beside her, her voice gentle. "Xiang'er, be good. Go to Uncle De and let him test the Saint Power inside you."
"Mm." Jian Chen nodded softly. He obediently left his seat and walked with small steps to the elder called Uncle De.
Uncle De wasted no time. He slowly raised his right hand. Suddenly, a silver ring on his finger glowed with a soft white light. With a gentle wave, a low vibration came from the ground. A half‑meter‑tall white stone block appeared out of nowhere. It was neatly polished, rectangular, one foot thick and wide.
Jian Chen blinked at the suddenly appearing stone, seeming curious. His gaze then shifted to Uncle De's right hand, staring straight at the silver ring on his middle finger. Information from a book quickly flashed through his mind.
A Spatial Ring. Made from extremely special and rare materials, it held its own inner space. The space varied in size—from as small as one cubic meter to as large as a hundred. It could store any non‑living object. On the Tianyuan Continent, they were extremely expensive, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Noticing Jian Chen's gaze fixed on his Spatial Ring, Uncle De smiled. Nearly everyone reacted this way when they saw him take out the Saint Stone for testing. He had seen that look countless times.
"Fourth Young Master, please place one hand on the Saint Stone," Uncle De said with a smile.
The Saint Stone was a special stone that could measure one's Saint Power strength and elemental affinity. It was widely used across the Tianyuan Continent and the only tool for testing personal power. The results were shown through different colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.
Red represented power below Sage. Orange meant Sage. Yellow was Great Sage, and so on. Blue was Earth Sage Master, purple Sky Sage Master. Those above Sky Sage Master—Sage King, Sage Emperor, Sage Monarch—could not be measured by the stone.
Jian Chen looked away and placed one hand on the white stone.
At that moment, every eye in the hall focused on the Saint Stone. Everyone waited expectantly, wondering just how much potential the gifted young boy possessed.
As Jian Chen's hand touched the stone, Uncle De also placed a hand on it and activated the stone using a special method.
At once, Jian Chen felt a strange energy flow out of the stone, enter his body through his arm, and circulate gently inside him before returning to the stone.
Uncle De's old eyes stared intently at the stone. But after a moment, it remained completely unchanged.
"This… this can't be. The stone shows no reaction at all," Uncle De whispered in shock. His smile faded, his face turning grave. He looked at Jian Chen with an odd expression, barely able to believe what he was seeing.
Noticing Uncle De's expression and the motionless stone, the people in the hall sensed something was wrong. Their faces changed slightly. They looked at each other in astonishment, and some let out quiet sighs of regret.
Changyang Ba's face darkened. Bi Yuntian's face paled, her expression filled with disbelief.
Uncle De took a deep breath. He could not accept the result. He activated the stone again, yet still there was no response.
Even he found it unbelievable: the Fourth Young Master, hailed as a genius since childhood, was actually unable to cultivate.
Uncle De sighed deeply in disappointment. He gave Jian Chen a complicated look—the boy's face remained perfectly calm. He then turned to Changyang Ba. "Patriarch, after testing, I can confirm that the Fourth Young Master possesses no cultivatable Saint Power whatsoever."
Upon hearing the announcement, Bi Yuntian's face turned deathly pale. She stared blankly at Jian Chen, muttering, "It can't be… it can't be. Xiang'er can't be a useless child…" After a few mumbles, she felt dizzy and her head tilted. She fainted in her chair.
No mother could accept that her genius son was actually unable to cultivate—especially not in a noble clan where strength was everything.
"Ah! Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister, wake up!" Bai Yushuang, sitting beside Bi Yuntian, cried out anxiously when she saw her faint.
Hearing her shout, Changyang Ba noticed Bi Yuntian had passed out. He sighed softly and waved a hand. "Shuang'er, take Yun'er down to rest."
Jian Chen quickly walked to his mother's side. While no one was looking, he gently pressed his right hand to her wrist. After checking her pulse, he confirmed she was not in serious danger.
Jian Chen glanced at the people in the hall and his disappointed father. He felt helpless inwardly and sighed quietly. Then he followed Bai Yushuang, who was carrying his mother, out of the hall.
After Jian Chen left, Changyang Ba let out a heavy sigh, his face filled with disappointment. He had placed such high hopes on his fourth son, only for his expectations to crash down. His son Changyang Xiangtian was a cultivation cripple.
"Patriarch, don't take it too hard. Even if the Fourth Young Master can't cultivate, he might have outstanding talent in other areas," a middle-aged man tried to console him.
Changyang Ba waved a hand, dejected. "Let us not speak of this matter again. You may all leave." With that, he stood up and departed.
Though he knew his son might excel elsewhere, in this world, only strength mattered. Martial power was the foundation of everything.
News that the Fourth Young Master of Changyang Mansion was a cultivation cripple spread quickly to every corner of the estate. Some rejoiced, others grieved. One thing was certain: from that day on, Changyang Xiangtian's status in the mansion would plummet.
In a spacious room, Jian Chen sat quietly beside the bed, his face calm, his head lowered, lost in thought. His mother Bi Yuntian still had not woken up, lying on the bed with her eyes closed.
Besides Jian Chen, his mother, and a few maids, his Third Aunt Bai Yushuang and Second Sister Changyang Mingyue were also present.