Talent Test

Autumn sighed wistfully. "In the more than fifty years my wife and I have worked at the Mining Engineering Department, the biggest Dongyuan Stone Mother we've ever seen was only the size of a grain of rice."

It was hard for everyone present not to envy the luck of that miner in District 027.

And who could blame them for daydreaming? That was simply the way things were on Dongyuan Planet.

Autumn's grandfather sighed. "Both our families had ancestors who reached Sky Rank, or even Universe Rank. Sadly, they fell on the battlefield before they could amass much wealth."

"That's exactly why our families live much better than ordinary miners and can afford to raise children."

"There's a couple of Earth Rank miners on Level 93 who started with nothing and worked for hundreds of years just to save enough resources to raise one child to Earth Rank."

"Even with Autumn and his wife earning decent wages now, raising Yuan to Earth Rank will still drain their savings."

"Let's live frugally for the next twenty years and focus on raising Xiao Yuan to Earth Rank."

"If Xiao Yuan has decent talent, we'll send him to a Flying Star Rank or Star Rank preparatory training class."

"If he can break through to Flying Star Rank like Autumn's great-grandfather, he'll be able to protect a family for thousands of years with ease..."

Autumn wasn't too pleased, but as he watched the older generation speak with such enthusiasm and hope as they dreamed and planned for the future,

he couldn't help feeling moved. He kept his discontent to himself.

The negative effects of the Light-Deriving Snake Race's tens of thousands of years of oppression were silently shaping the entire Yisi Kingdom.

On a scenic mountain stood a classical palace, lavishly decorated and dazzling, at its summit.

Yet inside the palace were all sorts of high-tech equipment, and the staff bustling about had grown accustomed to the somewhat incongruous setting.

Today, though, they were all especially cautious. The expressions on the faces of the important figures seated at the head of the hall were frighteningly grim.

"The Light-Deriving Snake Race has gone too far! Dongyuan ore is already at its lowest price in history, and they still want to force the price down!" roared a burly man in armor, looking like a general.

"There's nothing we can do. The key to our Yisi Race's cultivation, Qingsi Marrow Ore, is in their hands," said the richly dressed middle-aged man seated at the center.

"It's infuriating. We haven't been able to contact the God Lords all these years. Otherwise, that pack of green-eyed snakes would never have gotten their hands on Qingsi Marrow!"

"Do you think the Immortal God Lords might have..."

"Absolutely not. If that were true, our Yisi Race would have gone extinct long ago, just like those stupid rocks of the Northern Rock Race! We wouldn't merely be suffering under their oppression as we are now!"

"What do we do now? Lower the price we pay for ore within the clan?"

"No. The people at the bottom are already struggling. If we lower prices further, the birth rate will inevitably keep falling. Do you want our kingdom to die out?"

The richly dressed middle-aged man finally made the call. "We'll cut back on some of the resources for cultivating the elite!"

The others tried to interrupt, but the middle-aged man gestured for them to wait. "I know what you're thinking. This is only temporary."

"From now on, I'll stop cultivating and devote all my efforts to condensing Universe Crystals! I'll make up the shortfall for our people!"

Everyone erupted. "You can't! You're the most likely of all us World Lords to break through!"

"My study of the laws has been stalled for millions of years. Breaking through to Immortal Level isn't easy."

"There's no need to cut the resources for cultivating the elite. Count me in." "Me too."

The burly man in armor laughed heartily. "I can't stand such dull work. If you're all going to condense Universe Crystals, who'll be there to fight me?"

"In that case, I'll go out and explore. Maybe I can secure more resources for our Yisi Race. Cultivating in our homeland is far too comfortable."

"If I haven't returned by the end of my lifespan, take good care of my family for me... Hahaha!"

Hearing this, no one could bring themselves to dissuade him. Their faces darkened.

In the Giant Axe Secret Realm, where Special Lifeforms of Immortal Level were everywhere, it was tantamount to a death sentence.

Dongyuan Planet was, after all, part of Venerable Kuangque's territory. Staying in their homeland was relatively safe.

But once he left, things would be different. Any random Immortal could easily suppress an ordinary World Lord.

World Lords had minds so quick they could rival the processing speed of an ordinary Optical Computer.

Once they made up their minds, it was hard to change them. The strong had their pride.

Time flew by, and three-year-old Xiao Yuan had grown to about the size of a seven- or eight-year-old child on Earth.

Autumn was playing with Xiao Yuan in a garden on the edge of Tuka Tribe's city.

In the densely populated Tuka Tribe, it was one of the few places where people could relax and take a stroll.

Three years of good nutrition and energy supplements, together with the budding cultivation talent Xiao Yuan had already shown,

had allowed him to break through to Apprentice Tier 3 not long ago. At last, he could toddle around under Dongyuan Planet's powerful gravity

instead of needing assistive devices like other children.

The curious Xiao Yuan kept tugging at his father, asking questions about everything. Autumn answered them all with a smile and endless patience.

Xiao Yuan pointed to the wilderness beyond the city's energy shield and asked, "Why are our buildings packed so close together? Why don't we build out there? There's so much empty land!"

The contrast between the crowded city and the boundless wilderness outside was striking, but Autumn was still surprised.

Xiao Yuan was only three, the age when children were usually eager to play. How had he noticed this "oddity"?

Humanity was "confined" to the cities and rarely ventured beyond them.

Dongyuan Planet had a high concentration of Universe Energy, which gave rise to many Desolate Beasts. Though they were unintelligent, they were powerful.

Even after the strong swept through the wilderness again and again, new Desolate Beasts soon appeared.

It was better to stay within a secured territory and leave the weaker Desolate Beasts they couldn't eradicate behind, so they could hone the next generation of the clan.

He smiled at his son. "Because there are lots of dangerous Desolate Beasts out there. See this energy shield? It keeps the beasts from eating us!"

Autumn knew some things ordinary people didn't. In the past, the shield had been built mainly to defend against the Northern Rock Race's city, which was close to Tuka Tribe.

That was before the Northern Rock Race had been suddenly wiped out. But Autumn didn't mention it. It was clearly beyond Xiao Yuan's understanding.

"Then I'll train hard and kill Desolate Beasts when I grow up!"

Autumn wasn't thrilled to hear Xiao Yuan say that, but he didn't want to discourage the child, so he could only offer him some encouragement.

He told Xiao Yuan that fighting and killing were bad, and that training hard to live longer was what mattered most.

Xiao Yuan only half understood. He already wanted to go play in the wilderness outside.

But when he thought of the terrifying Desolate Beasts out there, he gave up on asking his father.

He lowered his head and got seriously to work on building his sandcastle...

Autumn played with Xiao Yuan all morning. Only then did he take his eager son to have his talent tested.

It was his first talent assessment. People were tested multiple times before adulthood in case their talent changed as they grew, so that no genius would miss the best time for development.

Inside the Talent Grading Room at the Martial Arts Hall in Life District 015, several staff members were busy calibrating the equipment.

The curious Xiao Yuan kept asking questions at the side and even wanted to touch the equipment, so Autumn had to keep a close eye on him.

When the mechanical arms automatically attached some devices to Xiao Yuan, he wanted to touch them again. But with both hands secured, he finally sat still.

A staff member said to Autumn, "Most children this age are quite a handful. Your son is remarkably calm. Other kids would be squirming and trying to run off by now."

"Why would I want to run? Checking my talent is a good thing!"

Everyone in the Talent Grading Room burst out laughing.

The staff member smiled at Autumn. "Your son's so smart. Maybe he'll have the talent to become a Spirit Reader!"

"We won't know until his second assessment, when he's twelve. But I appreciate the good wishes. Hahaha!"

"Right. Testing for Spirit Reader potential involves the brain, so it's best to wait until he's twelve, before he first cultivates Genetic Origin Energy."

Testing for Spirit Reader potential before adulthood was still relatively dangerous for humans.

The physical changes brought about by cultivating Genetic Origin Energy for the first time could often repair any damage in time, greatly reducing medical costs.

"This boy's been loved by everyone since he was little. Even my elderly neighbors, who can't stand children, can't bring themselves to dislike him..."

While they waited for the results, several female staff members with an abundance of maternal affection gathered around the adorable Xiao Yuan.

He answered the adults' questions with a solemn little face, making the women giggle.

I'm married and have a child, Autumn reminded himself. He watched his nose, his nose his mouth, and his mouth his heart, paying no attention to the commotion beside him.

Autumn only started to feel nervous when a staff member came over with the report.

He was afraid Xiao Yuan's talent would be too high, forcing him to relive his own past.

He was also afraid Xiao Yuan's talent would be too low, making it difficult for him to reach Earth Rank before adulthood.

He took the report hesitantly, unable to bring himself to open it. "Could you just tell me?"

The staff member seemed used to nervous parents and answered without hesitation. "Overall, he's rated C-. However..."

Autumn let out a disappointed breath of relief. He glanced down at the adorable little boy beside him, who was bored out of his mind, and accepted their fate.

With C- talent, a person had only just cleared the threshold for reaching Earth Rank with the help of external resources, which would grant them a normal lifespan of over six hundred years.

The vast majority of people fell between C+ and C-. Only those like Autumn, who had B-rank talent and were considered ordinary geniuses, met the threshold for the Flying Star Rank preparatory training class.

Anyone with talent below C- would need a massive investment of cultivation resources to reach Earth Rank before adulthood. Talent that low was rare even across all of Dongyuan Planet.

Hearing the "however" that followed, Autumn's heart, which had just settled, began pounding again.

The staff member gathered his thoughts. "However, his scores in every category are right on the border between C- and D+."

He patted Autumn on the shoulder. "Fortunately, his overall Genetic Origin Energy utilization rate is relatively high, which raised his average."

"Most children are Apprentice Tier 2 at the age of three. He's reached Apprentice Tier 3 for the same reason."

"If he isn't a Spirit Reader, breaking through from Apprentice Tier 9 to Earth Rank will be a major hurdle."

"Thank you. I understand," Autumn said, his voice low.

It was like a teacher telling you your child wasn't especially bright, but with enough money spent,

and a few extra tutoring classes, he could still pass just like the other children.

It was still a sweet burden, but now it weighed even heavier.

Autumn didn't lose hope. No matter what talent level someone had,

an unusually high Genetic Origin Energy utilization rate could be the result of Spiritual Force subtly promoting the body's evolution.

Simply put, it meant the child might have the talent to become a Spirit Reader. The odds were roughly fifty-fifty.