Control

"The strength of your spirit reader talent will determine how far you can go on the path of the strong, and the assessment grading is the primary standard for distributing cultivation resources.

The assessment grading for the spirit reader lineage of my Lingtong Race examines three areas: the first is control, the second is explosive power, and the third is will."

Although Prose had his eyes closed, Jiang Yao could still feel an invisible gaze sweeping over the group of teenagers, who were either nervous or excited.

Will again?

Jiang Yao muttered the word to himself. He remembered that in the original story, will strength only seemed to receive significant attention once one reached a relatively high level; the Earth humans, personally crafted by the Mountain Sitting Guest, were valued by high-level humans like the Chaos City Lord precisely because of their will.

He hadn't expected that the Lingtong Race, a group he had never heard of in the original story, would also place such importance on will.

The pig inside the Taihuan Token was currently lying on its back on a conjured bed, holding a glass of orange drink with one trotter, lounging in a relaxed and comfortable state with a lazy voice.

"It must be related to the so-called bloodline divine ability 'Lingtong' that Lingtong Race members awaken upon reaching the Stellar Level."

Jiang Yao retorted, "I know that much, do I need you to tell me?"

There are trillions of bloodline races in the human race, and naturally, many use the names of their bloodline divine abilities or innate secret techniques as their race names. Any race possessing such divine abilities must have something extraordinary about them.

If a spirit reader's talent and will strength played a crucial role in a bloodline divine ability like "Lingtong," then the race's somewhat exaggerated favoritism toward spirit readers was only logical.

It is better to master one thing than to be a jack-of-all-trades. For a weak race with a low life gene level, maximizing one's own advantages is the most cost-effective approach. After all, resources are limited, and fairness has never been part of the rules of the game in this world.

Prose stood with his hands behind his back, observing the dozens of excited and nervous teenagers in the center of the vast trial grounds. He sighed inwardly, though his tone remained cold and hard: "Based on these three talent assessment categories, you will be divided into three grades. Those with top-tier talent will be provided with 12 Muya Crystals, 3 uses of the A-grade nutrient pod, and 1 liter of Sangshi Liquid by the race over the next year!"

"Those with mid-tier talent will be provided with 6 Muya Crystals and 1 use of the A-grade nutrient pod by the race over the next year!"

"Those with bottom-tier talent will be provided with 3 Muya Crystals over the next year."

"However, this only determines the resources you can obtain for the next year. The race will not make a final judgment all at once; the grading will be reassessed every year. As long as you perform well, there is still a chance for a comeback until the 3-year protection period ends.

After 3 years, you will have to compete with over a thousand other young talents who arrived years or even a decade earlier than you. Even if you can rank first among the dozens in your batch, you might still fall into the Lower Dormitory by then.

Once 20 years have passed, apart from the geniuses who can enter the Upper Dormitory, those in the Middle Dormitory and Lower Dormitory will be eliminated. Whether you obey the race's work assignments or go out to venture on your own will be up to you, but those who are eliminated will never again receive any free resources from the race.

Of course, the positions assigned by the race will also take your performance in the Middle and Lower Dormitory into account."

Listening to Prose's explanation, Jiang Yao sighed in his heart; as expected, this was a cultivation system where talent determined everything.

With dozens to over a hundred newcomers entering the Starry Sky Building every year, there were naturally at least a thousand people over twenty years. How could three years of cultivation compare to those veterans who had been training for over a decade?

The assessment grading tests talent, resource distribution looks at talent, and the competition rules are actually just a way to filter for talent.

As for diligence and hard work? Heh, such a cultivation mechanism does not lack geniuses, and naturally, it does not lack hardworking geniuses either.

Once the protection period passes and they face competition from over a thousand people, how could even a genius dare to slack off?

This is precisely the case where having 1% talent grants you 99% of the opportunity to strive.

So, how was the talent of this body?

It was no wonder these teenagers were eager to try; even Jiang Yao, with his forty-year-old soul, felt a stir of excitement.

Every genius present had fought their way to the top from their respective planets. They were accustomed to such competition and used to winning; even the thought of failure had been pushed into a cramped corner. The competition to prove oneself a genius is addictive, and this was the very source of their excitement.

But this competition was destined to see most geniuses fall.

Jiang Yao used his rationality to suppress the vanity he had felt for the past decade due to his reputation as a genius, waiting for the first assessment to begin.

The first assessment tested control over spirit power.

A wall suddenly appeared with dense holes. Within one minute, countless holes would fire iron beads the size of bullets at high speed, and the examinees had to use their spirit power to control four flying knives forged from B3-grade Red Steel to block or even destroy the iron beads.

The final score was based on the number of iron beads that remained intact.

The fewer intact iron beads, the better the score; the more intact iron beads, the more it meant the flying knives had destroyed too few, resulting in a worse score.

"The first one, Kedu." It was not Prose who spoke, but the golden-haired youth Kuman, who was presiding over the assessment.

The tall teenager Kedu walked to the center of the trial grounds with an expression of mixed nervousness, excitement, and arrogance. With a slight ringing sound, four blood-red Red Steel flying knives, thin as cicada wings, hovered in mid-air, vibrating at high speed.

Seeing this, the teenagers erupted into another round of excited whispers.

"Good grief, has he practiced the Zhouhui Heavenly Blade to the highest level?"

"He always looked so silent and reserved; he really is a hidden talent."

"Has Mo Li also practiced it to the highest level?"

"Hey, what's the big deal? Didn't you say on the spaceship that you had also practiced it to the highest level?"

Listening to the noisy teenagers, Jiang Yao felt a sense of déjà vu.

The Zhouhui Heavenly Blade was a spirit-power blade technique taught to them at school for the Apprentice Level. Although it was called Apprentice Level, it was not outdated even at the Planetary Level, especially when practiced to the seventh and highest level.

It had always been called the most difficult spirit-power technique by Lingtong Race students, but everyone present was a top genius from school, and in reality, most had practiced it to the seventh level. Jiang Yao himself had also practiced it to the limit.

This discussion was exactly like the humble-bragging of good students before exams back in Jiang Yao's previous life.

The sky full of afterimages faded. A minute passed, and the ground and the opposite wall were covered in dense iron beads, debris, and bullet holes.

Naturally, there was no need to count them one by one. Kuman scanned them with his spirit power, his expression unchanged and unmoved as he said coldly: "12."

This, of course, referred to the number of intact iron beads.

The tall teenager stepped back, feeling somewhat uneasy. After all, he didn't know if this score was good or bad; without comparison, there was no way to judge quality, and Prose, Kuman, and the others in charge of the assessment remained expressionless.

As one genius after another finished their assessment, the standard for good and bad seemed to emerge.

Kedu, the tall youth who had been the first to appear and was praised with remarks like, "Good heavens, has he reached the highest level of the Zhouhui Heavenly Blade?" and "He's always been so quiet, a real hidden master," had actually ranked near the bottom.

His average score was around 50,000, and his best result was not even 40,000.

At the same time, the atmosphere that had originally been filled with tension, excitement, and anticipation completely dissipated.

Most of the people, even those who had reached the average score, looked extremely grim, some even appearing dejected.

Clearly, this was the first time the vast majority of these heaven-gifted prodigies had encountered a moment where they were inferior to their peers.

However, there were a few who were even more excited instead.

"Next, Mo Li."

The youth named Mo Li was one of those people.

Mo Li walked to the center of the trial grounds, and when the four flying blades began to move, the entire area fell into silence.

Even Prose let out a soft, intrigued sound, while only Kuman remained expressionless.

After a brief minute passed, the blond youth Kuman calmly announced the number:

"9,237."

Was he sure he hadn't missed a zero?

"That... that's too exaggerated."

"Aren't we all practicing the same telekinetic techniques?"

"Impossible... impossible..."

Prose clapped softly, interrupting the commotion in the trial grounds: "Not bad, this is what you call true control."

Jiang Yao could no longer maintain his usual composure, unable to suppress the astonishment on his face.

Mo Li's assessment just now could only be described as a magnificent performance; his control over his telekinesis could only be described as meticulous.

A fraction more would have been a waste, a fraction less would have been insufficient.

The flying blades had used just the right amount of force and angles to graze the iron beads, changing their trajectories so that the redirected beads collided with others, even triggering more complex chain reactions.

Jiang Yao could sense that Mo Li's telekinetic strength did not exceed that of the others, remaining at the normal level for a Planetary Level first-tier, but this level of control was truly astonishing.

"Next, Jiang Yao."

Kuman was completely unaffected by Mo Li's stunning display as he called out the name of the next examinee.