Prose's Trouble

"What? Planetary Level 1?"

"WTF! It really is Planetary Level 1!"

"Are you sure that Planetary Level 1 is Jiang Yao?"

Ever since entering the training grounds, Jiang Yao had quickly become a high-profile celebrity.

After all, even a newcomer rated as low-grade during the assessment a year ago could receive three Muya Crystals, which was enough for their genetic energy to reach Planetary Level 2.

Not to mention the veterans who were older than them.

It could be said that in the vast training grounds, those whose genetic energy was still at Planetary Level 1 were few and far between, and it was truly rare for someone to have made no progress even after three Muya Crystals.

And Jiang Yao was one of these few Planetary Level 1s.

If one were to add the widely circulated titles of "3-Second Genius" and "High-Grade Newcomer with the Worst Spirit Reader Talent in History" to him, he naturally became the focus of everyone's attention without question.

Although Jiang Yao still wore an expression of indifference to favor or humiliation, he was muttering to himself inside.

After all, having lived a reclusive life for the past year, he truly hadn't expected himself to be this famous.

However, what Jiang Yao didn't know was that he had actually greatly underestimated his own fame; not only did all the young geniuses in the Starry Sky Building know who he was, but even many powerhouses of the Lingtong Race above the Stellar Level had heard of him.

Jiang Yao's willpower assessment score was too outrageous. Although the geniuses of the Lingtong Race generally believed in private that it was a mistake by the chief examiner Kuman—after all, unlike the first round which had clear and objective assessment methods, the willpower assessment involved a Stellar Level examiner casting illusions, and only the examiner himself knew if he had gone easy or made a mistake.

But the fact that Jiang Yao happened to be this lucky person was still worth gossiping about, especially considering his mediocre spirit reader talent.

There were those who were jealous, and those who were simply there to watch the show.

Mo Li, however, did not come to cause trouble for Jiang Yao; he merely glanced at him from afar, as if he were invisible.

Jiang Yao wasn't sure if Mo Li didn't dare to cause trouble in front of everyone, or if he had truly let go of some "obsession" with Jiang Yao, his old rival.

He was more inclined toward the latter.

Because it was obvious that the arrogance on Mo Li was even more intense than before, and it wasn't the flamboyant arrogance of a normal teenager.

It was haughtiness!

It was a kind of introverted, detached, and condescending haughtiness toward others.

It reminded Jiang Yao of that blond youth named Kuman.

During the grading assessment a year ago, although Kuman was the chief examiner, he had remained silent throughout. Jiang Yao knew that wasn't just an introverted personality, but a haughtiness that didn't put anyone in his eyes.

Jiang Yao could tell that, let alone little guys like them at the Planetary Level, even the other deputy examiners who were also at the Stellar Level were not held in any regard by him, except for Prose, who had brought them there.

And Mo Li seemed to be a low-spec version of Kuman; even if he were deliberately imitating Kuman, it proved that Mo Li at least possessed the capital for such haughtiness.

Perhaps this genius "wicked child" had "transformed into a dragon upon meeting the wind and clouds" after coming into contact with a new, broader world. He had suddenly grown up in a short period, become a true genius, possessed stronger capital, broadened his horizons, and bid farewell to the childish bullying games of the past.

The minds of teenagers often grow up overnight; Jiang Yao didn't find it surprising, but he also knew deeply that while a wicked child might grow up, it didn't mean the evil would disappear. It just meant the evil nature had become more mature, more introverted, better at disguising itself, and would no longer waste time and energy on unworthy people.

As time passed, more and more people arrived at the training grounds, and the examiners arrived one after another.

That haughty blond youth, Kuman, was not among them. Instead, the assessment team was composed of a teacher whose lectures Jiang Yao had attended and the two deputy examiners who had accompanied Kuman a year ago.

Although a single Stellar Level existence could actually complete their assessment, the Lingtong Race's regulations stated that any formal assessment involving resource allocation must have at least three examiners, and any decision had to be made by all three together. This was both to share responsibility and to constrain Stellar Level powerhouses from damaging the race's long-standing genius cultivation system due to personal motives.

Prose also accompanied them.

As the guide for the geniuses of Jiang Yao's batch, Prose would not be able to lay down his burden until they "graduated" in twenty years. However, Prose held a special status; after twenty years, he would no longer serve as a guide but would head to the Lingtong Race's main sect located in the Kasolo Empire to prepare for the Peak Genius Tournament three hundred years later.

A deputy examiner asked via telepathy, puzzled: "How is that kid named Jiang Yao still at Planetary Level 1? I remember he was rated as high-grade a year ago, wasn't he?"

In front of four Stellar Level powerhouses, Jiang Yao, a rare Planetary Level 1, was truly eye-catching.

The chief examiner also noticed Jiang Yao, snorted softly, and replied via telepathy: "He hasn't come to class for more than half a year. I guess his spirit reader talent is low, and he's given up on himself?"

The deputy examiner was somewhat displeased: "There was controversy when he was graded a year ago. Rating him as high-grade was also a consideration to give him a chance. He's ungrateful." He was somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Yao wasting his goodwill and squandering the race's resources.

Regarding the discussion among the examiners, Prose did not interject, nor did he pay any more attention to Jiang Yao. Instead, he kept pondering the matter that had been troubling him these days—who exactly was the one who had released the domain.

It was clearly not Kuman, and Kuman was not on Yanhe Planet, but was cultivating on a gas giant not far from Yanhe Planet.

According to his knowledge, there were currently only two people in the Yanhe Lineage of the Lingtong Race at the Stellar Level who possessed a domain: one was himself, and the other was Kuman.

He had also only recently comprehended a domain not long ago. Before that, Kuman was the only one in the entire race at the Stellar Level to possess a domain, which was why this genius, who had always been arrogant, looked at him differently after learning he had also broken through.

Prose's spirit reader talent was actually not outstanding; only his willpower strength was relatively prominent. Of course, it couldn't compare to the exaggerated level of Jiang Yao, which was the reason he showed goodwill to this teenager.

It was just that willpower strength didn't have an immediate benefit to cultivation, so having finally broken through to the Stellar Level, he wasn't considered outstanding among his peers. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a guide doing the laborious work of being a nanny for Planetary Level geniuses. It was just that he had a broad mind and didn't care for the sake of the race.

Of course, once Prose had an epiphany and possessed a domain, his status within the race would be completely different. If it weren't for his firm will and extreme sense of responsibility toward the race, insisting on seeing the guidance of this batch through to the end, he could have long since been free from worldly affairs and enjoyed the same free treatment as Kuman.

"Could it be that the old guys have cultivated a hidden trump card?"

This thought had just emerged before being denied by Prose. How could a genius grow up in secret? Of course, one couldn't completely rule out the possibility of someone like him, who had mediocre talent but a high state of mind and inexplicably possessed a domain.

It was just that for their Yanhe Lineage of the Lingtong Race to have two Stellar Level individuals possessing domains at the same time was already a blessing from the origin of the universe; having one more would be too exaggerated. What kind of luck would that be?

"Or perhaps it was a domain cast by one of the elders in the race?"

Just as Prose was struggling with this, the chief examiner announced the start of the assessment.

Twelve light screens suddenly appeared in the training grounds.

"This assessment only tests one thing—your cultivation progress of the Seven Turns of Heaven's End!"

"For the spirit reader lineage of our Lingtong Race to step into the Stellar Level, cultivating the Seven Turns of Heaven's End to the peak level is a prerequisite. Therefore, the race will not let you waste time trying other combat secret techniques, physical training, attribute enhancement, or artistic conception cultivation. If you cannot become a Stellar Level powerhouse, no matter how well you practice other things, it is meaningless!"

"Breaking through which light screen represents the level your spirit power amplitude has reached. Now is the time to test the results of your cultivation over this past year, and also to re-examine whether your talent is truly superior or inferior." The chief examiner's gaze swept over the four people who had been rated as having superior talent a year ago, finally landing on Jiang Yao, where it paused for a moment.

"The assessment begins now. First, Mo Li!"