Talent Assessment

Autumn sighed with some emotion: "My wife and I have been working at the Mining Engineering Department for over fifty years, and we have only ever seen a Dongyuan Stone Mother the size of a grain of rice."

These words inevitably made everyone present yearn for the luck of that miner in District 027.

It was no wonder they were daydreaming; such was the general environment of Dongyuan Planet.

Autumn's grandfather sighed: "Our ancestors from both families reached the Sky Rank (Universe Rank), but unfortunately, they fell on the battlefield before they could accumulate much wealth."

"That is precisely why our two families can live much better than ordinary miners and afford to raise children."

"On Level 93, there is a couple of Earth Rank miners who started from scratch and struggled for hundreds of years just to save up enough resources for one child to cultivate to the Earth Rank."

"Even though Autumn and his wife have decent salaries now, if they want to cultivate Xiao Yuan to the Earth Rank, it will still drain their family savings."

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

"If Xiao Yuan's talent is also good, we will send him to the preparatory Flying Star Rank (Star Rank) training class."

"If he could break through to the Flying Star Rank like Autumn's great-grandfather, he could easily protect a family for thousands of years..."

Autumn was a bit unhappy, but seeing his elders eagerly and hopefully envisioning and planning, he felt moved and kept his dissatisfaction buried deep in his heart.

The negative influence of the Light-Deriving Snake Race's oppression for tens of thousands of years was invisibly affecting the entire environment of the human Yisi Kingdom.

This was a mountain with beautiful scenery, and at the summit stood a classically styled palace with luxurious and magnificent decorations.

However, the hall was filled with high-tech equipment, and the staff working inside were accustomed to this somewhat incongruous style.

But they were all very cautious today, because the several big figures sitting at the head of the palace had terrifyingly gloomy expressions.

"The Light-Deriving Snake Race is truly going too far! Dongyuan ore is already at its lowest price in history, and they still want to lower it further!" a burly man in armor, looking like a general, roared.

"There is no other way; the key to our Isis Race's cultivation, the Qingsi Marrow Ore, is in their hands," a middle-aged man in brocade robes sitting in the center of the head seat said helplessly.

"It is hateful that we haven't been able to contact the God Lords these years, otherwise this Qingsi Marrow would definitely not be something that group of green-eyed snakes could touch!"

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

"Absolutely impossible. If that were the case, our Isis Race would have been extinct long ago like those stupid rocks of the Northern Rock Race! Instead of just being oppressed like we are now!"

"What should we do now? Lower the purchase price of ore within the race?"

"No, the bottom layer of the race is already living very hard. If we lower the price again, the birth rate will inevitably continue to decline. Do you want the country to perish?"

The middle-aged man in brocade robes finally made the decision: "Reduce some of the resources for cultivating elites!"

Others wanted to interrupt, but the middle-aged man signaled that there was no rush: "I know what you are thinking, this is only temporary."

"Next, I will stop my cultivation and focus all my efforts on condensing Universe Crystals! To subsidize the difference for the race!"

The crowd was in an uproar: "No, you are the one among us World Masters with the most hope of breaking through!"

"My research on laws has been stagnant for millions of years; breaking through to become an Immortal is not that easy."

"There is no need to reduce the resources for cultivating elites; count me in." "Me too."

The armored burly man laughed loudly: "I can't stand such boring work. If you all go to condense Universe Crystals, who will accompany me to fight?"

"Since that is the case, I will go out and venture forth. Perhaps I can win more resources for our Isis Race; staying in my hometown to cultivate is still too comfortable."

"If I haven't returned before my lifespan limit, please help me take good care of my family... Hahaha!"

Hearing this, the others could not persuade him otherwise, and their expressions were somewhat bleak.

In the Giant Axe Secret Realm, where Immortal-level special life forms are everywhere, this is equivalent to courting death.

Dongyuan Planet is, after all, considered the territory of Kuangque Venerable, so staying in one's hometown is relatively safe.

But once you go out, it is different; any random Immortal can easily suppress an ordinary World Master.

The thinking of a World Master-level powerhouse is so agile that it is already comparable to the operating speed of an ordinary light-brain.

Once a real decision is made, it is difficult to change it; powerhouses all have the pride of powerhouses.

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

At this moment, Autumn was accompanying Xiao Yuan to play in a garden on the edge of the Tuka Tribe city.

This was a rare place for leisure and walking in the densely populated Tuka Tribe.

Three years of sufficient nutrition and energy supplements, combined with the slight cultivation talent Xiao Yuan had already revealed, allowed him to break through to the Apprentice Level 3 not long ago, finally enabling him to walk unsteadily under the strong gravity of Dongyuan Planet, rather than needing assistive devices like other children.

Xiao Yuan, who was very curious, was pulling his father along and asking questions about everything, and Autumn answered them with a smile, showing great patience.

Xiao Yuan pointed to the wilderness outside the energy shield system at the edge of the city and asked: "Why are our buildings built so crowded, but not built outside? Isn't there still a lot of open space outside?"

Indeed, the crowding inside the city formed a sharp contrast with the boundless wilderness outside, but Autumn was still a little surprised.

Xiao Yuan was only three years old, just at the age of being playful, yet he could notice such an "abnormality"?

Humans are "caged" inside the city and rarely can move outside the city.

If you like this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Dongyuan Planet possesses a very high density of cosmic energy, which gives rise to many Desolate Beasts that are powerful despite their low intelligence.

Even though strong individuals have swept through the area time and time again, new Desolate Beasts are born very quickly.

It is better to enclose the land and defend it, leaving those endless, weak Desolate Beasts behind, as they can serve as training for the younger generation of the tribe.

He smiled and said to his son, "Because there are many dangerous Desolate Beasts outside. See this energy shield system? It's what protects us from being eaten by them!"

Autumn also knew some inside information that ordinary people did not; in the past, this shield was actually meant more to guard against the Northern Rock Race city that was very close to the Tuka Tribe.

Of course, this was before the Northern Rock Race was suddenly wiped out, but Autumn did not mention it, as it was clearly beyond the scope of Xiao Yuan's understanding.

"Then I will train hard, and when I grow up, I will kill Desolate Beasts!"

Autumn was a bit unhappy to hear Xiao Yuan say this, but not wanting to dampen the child's enthusiasm, he had no choice but to encourage him.

He told him that fighting and killing were not good, and that training hard to live longer was the most important thing.

Xiao Yuan seemed to understand but not quite; he currently wanted to go play in the wilderness outside.

However, once he thought about the terrifying Desolate Beasts out there, he gave up on the idea of asking his father.

He lowered his head and began to earnestly build his sandcastle...

Autumn spent the whole morning playing with Xiao Yuan before taking his son, who was still not ready to leave, to test his talent.

This was the first talent grading; multiple gradings before adulthood are held to prevent missing the optimal cultivation stage for geniuses whose talents might change during growth.

Inside the talent grading room of the Martial Arts Hall in Life District 015, several staff members were busy calibrating the equipment.

Xiao Yuan, standing to the side, asked questions out of curiosity and even wanted to reach out and touch things, forcing Autumn to keep a close eye on him.

When the robotic arm automatically attached some equipment to Xiao Yuan, he wanted to touch it again, but since his hands were fixed in place, he settled down.

A staff member said to Autumn, "Most children this age are restless, but your son is quite composed. Other kids would have been squirming around trying to run away by now."

"Why would I want to run? It's a good thing that you are checking my talent!"

Hahaha, everyone in the talent grading room laughed.

The staff member smiled and said to Autumn, "Your son is so smart, perhaps he has the talent of a Spirit Reader!"

"That will have to wait until he is 12 for his second talent grading to know, but I'll take your kind words, ahahaha!"

"Indeed, testing for a Spirit Reader involves the brain, after all. It is best to wait until after the first Genetic Origin Energy training at age 12 to conduct the test."

Testing for Spirit Reader talent before adulthood is still a rather dangerous act for humans.

The physical transformation brought about by the first session of Genetic Origin Energy training can often repair potential damage in time, saving significant medical costs.

"This kid has been likable since he was small. Even my lonely, elderly neighbors who can't stand children can't bring themselves to dislike my son..."

While waiting for the results, the adorable Xiao Yuan was surrounded by several female staff members overflowing with maternal love.

He answered the adults' questions seriously from time to time, making the girls giggle.

I am already married with a child, thought Autumn, who stood to the side, eyes fixed on his nose, nose on his mouth, and mouth on his heart, ignoring the commotion nearby.

Only when the staff member walked over with the report did Autumn feel a bit nervous.

He was both afraid that Xiao Yuan's talent would be too good, causing him to relive his own past, and afraid that Xiao Yuan's talent would be too low to reach the Earth Rank before adulthood.

He hesitantly took the report, not daring to open it for a moment: "Please, just tell me directly."

The staff member, seemingly accustomed to the nervousness of such parents, said without hesitation: "Comprehensive rating is C-, however..."

Autumn let out a sigh of relief, albeit with some disappointment. He looked down at the adorable little boy beside him who was bored out of his mind, and accepted this fate.

Because a C- talent just barely crosses the threshold to reach the Earth Rank with the help of external aids, granting a normal lifespan of over 600 years.

The vast majority of people fall between C+ and C-. Only those in the B rank, like Autumn, who belong to the ranks of ordinary geniuses, can reach the threshold for the preparatory Flying Star Rank training class.

For talents lower than C-, one would need to pile on massive amounts of cultivation resources to reach the Earth Rank before adulthood; such low talent is also very rare throughout Dongyuan Planet.

Hearing the "however" from the staff member, the heart that Autumn had just settled began to race again.

The staff member gathered his thoughts and said: "However, in truth, all the indicators are stuck between C- and D+."

He patted Autumn on the shoulder and added: "Fortunately, the overall Genetic Origin Energy utilization rate is relatively high, which pulled up the average score."

"Most children are at Apprentice Tier 2 at three years old; the fact that he can reach Apprentice Tier 3 is for this reason."

"If he isn't a Spirit Reader, the breakthrough from Apprentice Tier 9 to the Earth Rank will be a major hurdle in the future."

"Thank you, I understand." Autumn felt a bit down.

It was like a teacher saying your child isn't quite that bright, but as long as you spend enough money.

By signing up for extra tutoring classes, he could reach passing grades just like the other children.

It is still a sweet, yet even heavier burden.

Autumn did not lose heart, regardless of the talent level.

If the Genetic Origin Energy utilization rate is abnormally high, it could be due to the invisible promotion of physical evolution by spirit power.

Simply put, the child has a potential talent for being a Spirit Reader, with the probability being roughly fifty-fifty.