From the moment Jiang Yao left the planet where the Lingtong Race raised its young, everyone had kept their eyes shut, whether they were the escorts led by Prose or the examiners led by Kuman.
He knew this had to be closely connected to the Lingtong Race's Bloodline Divine Ability, "Lingtong." However, general education at school had barely covered Lingtong, and the nature of this Bloodline Divine Ability that had made the Lingtong Race stand tall in the vast universe remained a mystery.
Even in the Virtual Universe, Jiang Yao had been unable to find any definite information, owing to the restrictions of his Planetary Level access.
The Taihuan Token Envoy might have known more, but he hadn't brought it up, and Jiang Yao hadn't asked.
But at that moment, curious as he was, Jiang Yao could no longer observe his surroundings carefully.
The golden-haired young man's eyes seemed to hold an endless force of attraction. In an instant, Jiang Yao's entire consciousness was drawn toward them.
A savage will came crashing toward him.
In the less than one-thousandth of a second when his mind remained somewhat clear, Jiang Yao seemed to glimpse a blurry figure, something like a tiger, something like a leopard, with three tails. Then he seemed to plunge into an endless abyss.
It was like the bottom of a fathomless sea. He tried to struggle, but countless currents and whirlpools tugged at him, controlling him.
Though Jiang Yao had reached Planetary Level and no longer needed to breathe, he now seemed like a helpless mortal, struggling hopelessly to survive in a suffocating abyss, unable to catch his breath.
Just as he was about to suffocate and sink into the depths, a voice seemed to reach him from a shore countless light-years away.
"Jiang Yao! Jiang Yao!"
The repeated calls made him gather a shred of will through sheer exhaustion.
Who was calling him?
So familiar...
It was the Taihuan Token Envoy!
The voice calling from afar was like a point of light, growing brighter and brighter until it illuminated the darkness.
A glimmer of light appeared before Jiang Yao. Rippling reflections shimmered in his eyes, and he saw the surface of the sea.
Like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline, Jiang Yao desperately swam toward the sea above, its surface shimmering with rippling light. The currents that had held him fast vanished as well.
His face broke through the water. He gulped in air, ravenous, easing the terror of suffocation.
The sound of his own ragged breathing was so jarring that it brought Jiang Yao back to his senses.
He looked around and realized he had returned to the testing grounds. All around him, the boys stood with their eyes closed, their expressions pained.
Waiting for him were the astonished "looks" of Prose and the others.
Except for Kuman, Prose and the others all had their eyes closed, but their attention was so palpable that Jiang Yao could almost feel it on his skin.
Even when Mo Li had delivered an astonishing performance in the first round of testing, so outstanding that he had left everyone else far behind, Prose had only smiled a little. He had never looked this astonished.
"Hasn't it only been three seconds?"
"When Gaichen was tested, wasn't it nineteen seconds?"
"Gaichen's will was impressive, but it wasn't top-tier in terms of willpower alone. If I remember right, the best record in history is nine seconds."
"I lasted twenty-seven seconds."
"That must mean his willpower is at least close to Stellar Level, right?"
"Probably. Even if there's some variation depending on the examiner, it can't be that much."
"What was his name again?"
"Jiang Yao. Control... 49. Fourfold burst in telekinetic force. Lord Kuman ranked his Mental Power Amplitude forty-fifth."
"That talent..."
"Could it be that Lord Kuman just... didn't have a proper hold on it?"
"Hmph!" The golden-haired young man had finished the test and closed his eyes again. Hearing this, he snorted. "Are you questioning me?"
The deputy examiner who had spoken shut his mouth sheepishly. Kuman was the Patriarch's favored disciple, and his talent was considered top-tier in the history of the Lingtong Race's Yanhe Lineage. He had always been proud. How could he possibly tolerate someone questioning him?
Though Kuman had silenced the doubts, his expression was no longer cold. His "gaze" settled on Jiang Yao, who stood quietly, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Jiang Yao calmly watched the boys around him, each gasping for breath as if they had returned to Apprentice Level, where they needed to breathe to stay alive. He felt rather fortunate.
"Heh heh." Inside the Taihuan Token, the pig-faced Messenger looked smug in a rather lecherous way. "Well? I'm pretty useful, aren't I?"
Ever since the Taihuan Token had appeared not long ago, this winged pig who called himself the Taihuan Token Envoy had first treated him with contempt, then gone "mad." Once he had calmed down, he had used the excuse that the fundamental laws and structures differed completely between Source Worlds, so the cultivation technique had to be adapted. He needed to study it carefully, he said, or he couldn't pass it on. As a result, he still hadn't fulfilled the duties of a proper cheat.
This time, though, he had given Jiang Yao a pleasant surprise.
Wealth, companions, cultivation techniques, and a place to train—the first on the list was wealth.
The resources received by those rated upper, middle, and lower tier, as Prose had explained, differed enormously. Those with upper-tier talent received twelve Muya Crystals a year, three uses of a Grade A Nutrient Pod, and one liter of Sangshi Liquid.
Twelve Muya Crystals and a Grade A Nutrient Pod were enough to raise a Planetary Level One fighter to Level Three in a year. Of course, as one advanced further, the Muya Crystals and Nutrient Solution required would increase exponentially.
Sangshi Liquid could improve the quality of one's telekinetic force and even nourish the soul. It was something that ordinary Spirit Readers below Planetary Level Five couldn't afford.
Who would complain about getting more resources invested in them?
Though it was technically cheating, Jiang Yao didn't feel guilty with the Taihuan Token in hand. He was only worried that excelling in willpower alone might not be enough to earn an upper-tier rating.
Clearly, Kuman and the other examiners, along with Prose, were also troubled over what rating to give Jiang Yao.
"His Spiritual Force talent is average, even poor. If willpower is the only thing he excels at, then even if we rate him upper-tier, he'll definitely be dropped to lower-tier after a year."
"That's true. At Planetary Level, there's no effective way to improve willpower, so it's only tested during the initial talent rating. Neither later tests nor competitions will assess willpower again."
"Even the strongest willpower won't matter until he reaches Stellar Level. Because of our Bloodline Divine Ability, it's difficult for members of the Lingtong Race to reach Stellar Level, and the requirements for Mental Power Amplitude are extremely strict. With Spiritual Force as mediocre as his, reaching Stellar Level would take a tremendous investment of resources."
"Exactly. Willpower only becomes important at Stellar Level if the Spiritual Force is strong, too. Without a strong foundation in Mental Power Amplitude, even the strongest willpower won't do much."
Prose glanced at Kuman, who had remained silent, and suggested, "I think we should follow the rules for now. His willpower is so high that it'd be hard to justify not rating him upper-tier. As for a year from now, we'll see whether the kid can make something of himself.
"If, after a year, he can master the first stage of Seven Turns of Heaven's End, reaching the first turn's sixfold Mental Power Amplitude, then we can report it to the Council of Elders and see whether the old-timers are willing to devise a special training plan for him. If he can't, then we'll let things take their course and reassess him in three years.
"Such powerful willpower is certainly a good thing, but he at least needs to reach an acceptable level in training his Mental Power Amplitude before the clan can justify directing resources his way."
"Lord Prose is kindhearted. I don't agree with breaking a training system that's been in place for countless eras to devise a special plan for him. Even a genius like Gaichen hasn't received that treatment. But I think an upper-tier rating is appropriate. Whether he can stay upper-tier after that is up to him."
Kuman offered no objection, so the others made their final decision and announced the results of the third-round willpower test, along with the final talent ratings.
Jiang Yao's "three-second" result left the other boys far behind, just like Mo Li's result in the first round, and astonished them all.
The three-second man was terrifying!
At the same time, he earned the furious hostility of Mo Li, who had led the others in the first two rounds but ranked only forty-first in the willpower test.
However, telekinetic talent was valued most, so Mo Li was still rated upper-tier, as expected.
Jiang Yao also made the upper-tier list. Along with him were two boys who had forced their way to the fifth layer of light screens in the second-round telekinetic-force burst test, making four in all who were recognized as upper-tier talent.
Ten were rated middle-tier, while nearly fifty others received only a lower-tier rating.
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