Martial Talent

"What are you thinking about? Not scared stiff, are you?"

His shoulder was slapped painfully. Jiang Yan turned back to see Lu Yi standing close, watching him calmly.

"A little..." Jiang Yan lowered his head, his voice hushed. He had grown accustomed to life and death over this period, but this was the first time he had indirectly sensed the presence of a "Sha."

His heart was indeed unsettled.

"Lucky for us all. Yesterday, a piece of Refined Iron was found in the mine. Assistant Gang Leader Chen happened to be taking it to forge a weapon when he ran into the Fierce Sha that had sneaked in. He killed it on the spot." Lu Yi explained briefly.

As if it were a trivial matter.

He didn't dwell on it, instead shifting to another topic. "If you've got energy to be scared of that, worry about tomorrow's aptitude test instead. If you have no talent, your life is over."

With that, Lu Yi shook his head, turned, and shouted loudly, directing the men to get back to work.

After a full day of labor, Jiang Yan dragged his exhausted body back with Ren Tao. On the way, there were many others from the Corpse Carrying Squad. Weariness hung on everyone's faces, but their eyes betrayed an unmistakable anxiety.

Inside the mining area, the work was grueling beyond measure—year after year, day after day of digging, exhaustion, illness, and all kinds of accidents.

Jiang Yan's squad dealt with corpses daily. One wrong move and they'd catch some strange disease, incurable by medicine. It was hardly a good job.

This life was oppressive and bleak, offering no hope. But newcomers to the mine still had one chance to escape this suffering.

To replenish its ranks, the Dahe Gang gathered all new arrivals in the mining area every six months to test whether they had the aptitude for martial arts. If they did, they could join the Dahe Gang, gain access to martial arts techniques, and train in the way of the warrior.

For miners who toiled in hardship day in and day out, this opportunity was like leaping to heaven from hell.

So everyone who came to the mining area to make a living—beyond working hard to earn enough to survive—hoped they had the talent for martial arts, to join the Dahe Gang, train, and rise above the masses.

That was why even Ren Tao, usually a chatterbox, was now grim-faced and silent. Back in the rest area, no one felt like talking. They ate hastily and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Lu Yi shouted for all newcomers from the past six months to gather. He led them along a tunnel in one direction.

After walking for a while, the sound of drums rang out from afar. Hearing this, Lu Yi urged everyone to speed up.

By the time Jiang Yan's group arrived at a massive cavern, many people had already gathered. No one dared to speak loudly—only the rustle of hushed whispers filled the air, thick with a solemn atmosphere.

After a while, a squad of Dahe Gang disciples in black tight-fitting clothes entered, flanking two middle-aged men.

The squad leaders, including Lu Yi, bowed in unison. The cavern fell silent.

Jiang Yan also bent slightly, but he raised his head a little and saw the two men walk straight to a stone platform. On it stood a half-person-tall Azure Jade.

One of the men, dark-faced, took an exquisite box from his robes and pulled out a yellow talisman paper, two fingers wide and four fingers long, covered in twisting red tadpole-like script.

The dark-faced man pressed the yellow talisman lightly onto the jade. The talisman began to emit a faint red glow, and countless hair-thin red lines spread out from the paper.

Jiang Yan stared, stunned. Even though he had been in this world for over a month, knew there were Weirds and martial artists here, and had even seen a person killed by a possessed Sha yesterday, witnessing such a small talisman display this kind of power still felt unbelievable.

He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

The talisman continued to produce countless tiny red lines, quickly enveloping the jade entirely. The Azure Jade's original color was no longer visible; instead, a fine, vivid red light radiated from it, casting a brilliant glow over the stone platform.

With a "puff," the yellow talisman burst into flames and turned to ash.

The dark-faced man inspected it carefully again, then called the squad leaders up to the platform to give further instructions.

Too far away, Jiang Yan couldn't hear what they were saying.

Before long, Lu Yi returned. He spoke quietly, "When it's your turn, just step onto the platform and press your palm against the jade."

"No need to draw blood?" Jiang Yan muttered to himself.

"Blood?" Lu Yi caught it despite the low voice. "The Spirit Testing Talisman is only a First-Rank Talisman. It can only test whether you have the aptitude to train in martial arts."

In his squad, Jiang Yan struck him as different—not as weighed down by gloom as the others. That alone made Lu Yi willing to offer a few pointers.

Anyone he took a liking to, he'd look out for a bit. The Dahe Gang wasn't a monolith either. A small, cost-free favor, a gesture of goodwill—if someone in his squad had martial talent, he could easily pull them into his own circle.

"Spirit Testing Talisman, First-Rank Talisman..." Jiang Yan said nothing, silently committing the two terms to memory.

As they spoke, someone had already stepped onto the platform to be tested.

Jiang Yan noticed that when some pressed the jade, it showed no reaction. For a few, the red light on the jade grew stronger.

"A stronger red light means you have martial talent."

Seeing everyone staring intently, Lu Yi added another explanation.

Even without him saying it, everyone had guessed. Those with martial talent were directed to stand behind the group of Dahe Gang disciples.

Time passed slowly. Finally, it was Lu Yi's squad's turn. One by one, they stepped onto the platform and pressed the jade.

Ren Tao was ahead of Jiang Yan. He turned back, forcing a smile uglier than tears. "Jiang Yan..." His body trembled; fear was plain.

"Let's switch places. I..." He trailed off into silence.

Jiang Yan said nothing, just shifted his position. No one mocked Ren Tao. Everyone knew that the result at this moment could shape their entire future.

Jiang Yan's own heart wasn't calm either. He had no idea what to expect. But he had the Martial Arts Modifier ability. Even if he truly had no talent, he could just add a point and force it through, he thought silently.

Before he could dwell on it, he stepped onto the platform and pressed his hand against the jade. A scorching current surged into his palm, as if he had touched red-hot iron. He tried to pull back, but a suction force locked his hand firmly to the jade.

The burning energy coursed through his entire body, then gathered like rivers flowing into the sea and returned to the jade.

Suddenly, the jade flickered with a faint red light.

"Alright, you can leave. Next."

The dark-faced middle-aged man instructed Ren Tao to take the test, then pointed toward the Dahe Gang disciples, indicating that Jiang Yan had martial arts aptitude and should wait there.

Stepping down from the stone platform, it felt as if a heavy boulder had lifted from his heart. A sense of relief washed over him as Jiang Yan looked around—some wore dejected expressions, others numb, some joyful, some envious—a panorama of human emotions.

"Jiang Yan, wait for me."

Behind him, Ren Tao's somewhat cheerful voice rang out. It seemed he too had martial arts aptitude. Jiang Yan pressed his lips together and offered his congratulations.

As the two drew closer, they heard those with martial arts aptitude talking among themselves. A somewhat sharp voice cut through: "You don't actually think having martial arts aptitude makes you one of the elite, do you? Dream on!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yan's gaze sharpened.