Cultivation World Enrollment Brochure

Seeing this, Lu Ye immediately understood. The test had two stages: first, to see whether one possessed the aptitude for cultivation; second, to assess the level of one's talent.

Aptitude and talent were not the same. The former determined whether a person could cultivate and whether they were qualified to do so, while the latter determined how high their future achievements might be. In theory, the better one's talent, the greater one's future accomplishments.

Of course, due to limited conditions, the talent test here was only a general assessment. It could not guarantee complete accuracy, but it would be close enough, with little room for error.

Lu Ye was not worried about aptitude. He had already opened an aperture, so he was certainly capable of cultivation.

As for the level of his talent, that was impossible to say. He did not know how talented he was and would have to undergo testing in the tent behind them to find out.

The appearance of the first person with cultivation aptitude breathed a trace of life into the previously deathly silent line. At once, everyone felt as though they had a chance again.

Yet reality was cruel in the end.

During the tests that followed, more than ten people were eliminated before another person with cultivation aptitude finally appeared.

The earlier scene played out again.

The long line steadily shrank, slave after slave going from hope to disappointment...

Overall, one person with cultivation aptitude appeared among every dozen or so people. This ratio was roughly in line with what Lu Ye knew.

He stood in the latter half of the line, but the tests proceeded quickly. In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, he was standing before the desk.

"Have you opened any apertures?" the cultivator behind the desk asked in the same tired manner as before.

"I've opened one aperture," Lu Ye answered honestly.

The cultivator immediately looked up and examined Lu Ye from head to toe before breaking into a smile. "Good. At last, someone who has opened an aperture."

Although seven or eight people had passed the aptitude test before this, none of them had opened an aperture. Among those in this line, Lu Ye was the first to have truly opened a Spiritual Aperture.

"Come, place both hands over this." The cultivator pointed at the Crystal Ball on the desk.

Lu Ye was puzzled. Was this thing not used to test aptitude? He had already opened a Spiritual Aperture, so what else was there to test?

The cultivator seemed to notice his confusion and explained, "I test not only aptitude here, but also Cultivation Attribute."

"Cultivation Attribute?" Lu Ye was even more bewildered. He had truly never heard of such a thing.

Perhaps because Lu Ye had opened a Spiritual Aperture, the cultivator patiently explained, "Among Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—the Five Elements—everyone's Spiritual Power leans toward a certain one. That is their Cultivation Attribute, and each attribute has its own particular focus."

"So that's how it is!" Lu Ye suddenly understood, then asked in confusion, "Then those people earlier..."

The cultivator smiled. "They have not even opened their Spiritual Apertures. Without Spiritual Power, their Cultivation Attributes cannot be tested."

"I see." Lu Ye understood. He raised both hands and covered the Crystal Ball.

"Circulate your Spiritual Power and channel it into it," the cultivator instructed.

Lu Ye did as he was told, his eyes fixed on the changes in the Crystal Ball. He was also curious as to what his Cultivation Attribute might be.

The Crystal Ball first lit up, indicating that Lu Ye possessed cultivation aptitude. But for someone like him who had already opened an aperture, such a result held no significance.

The changes that followed were the actual test of his Cultivation Attribute.

Under Lu Ye's gaze, an orange-yellow flame suddenly sprang up inside the Crystal Ball, blazing fiercely!

His pupils involuntarily contracted at the sight, because that orange-yellow fire looked... far too familiar.

"Oh?" The cultivator behind the desk raised his brows and said with great interest, "Fire is dominant among the Five Elements. Hmm, and there's some Metal Attribute as well. Not bad, not bad. All right, withdraw your hands."

Lu Ye could understand why Fire was dominant among his Five Elements. After all, he had been able to open an aperture thanks to the Talent Tree. It was the Talent Tree's devouring of an orange-yellow flame that had suddenly opened his Spiritual Aperture.

The leaf on the Talent Tree that bore the Sharpness Spirit Pattern was likewise ablaze with fire.

But he could not make sense of the Metal Attribute. He only vaguely wondered whether it might have been his original attribute.

"Put this away and go to the tent behind us to find my Third Senior Brother." The cultivator handed Lu Ye a Jade Token. Lu Ye thanked him and accepted it. On one side was engraved his name, with the number one beneath it, presumably representing that he had opened one aperture. The other side bore his Cultivation Attributes.

Passing the desk, Lu Ye headed toward the rear.

A temporary tent stood not far away. Those who had passed the aptitude test earlier had all entered this place to have their talent examined.

Standing before the tent, Lu Ye first announced his presence, then lifted the curtain and entered.

The tent was fairly spacious. A stern-faced cultivator with an icy expression sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes closed as he rested. This was presumably the Third Senior Brother.

Not far in front of Third Senior Brother stood a circular disk made from some unknown wood. It was Tabletop Size, with eight indentations around its edge. Beside those indentations sprouted several bare Saplings.

Lu Ye stepped before him and clasped his fists in salute. "Lu Ye greets Senior Brother. This is my Jade Token. I ask Senior Brother to examine it."

Third Senior Brother opened his eyes, accepted the Jade Token, and inspected both sides. His brows rose. "You've opened an aperture?" He gestured with one hand. "Sit."

It seemed this disk was what tested the level of one's talent. Lu Ye walked over and sat cross-legged at its center. With an accidental glance, he noticed that the disk was engraved with countless profound and intricate lines and patterns.

Spiritual Patterns? Lu Ye was immediately intrigued and examined them closely, but with his current eyesight, he could not tell what these Spiritual Patterns were meant to do.

The only Spiritual Pattern he knew was Sharpness.

There were numerous dense Spiritual Patterns engraved on the disk, tightly linked together and forming a seamless whole.

This was not merely a collection of Spiritual Patterns. Lu Ye suddenly realized something and recalled something he had once heard of.

This was a Formation!

Were Formations built from Spiritual Patterns?

"Cough!" A light cough from Third Senior Brother interrupted his thoughts, and Lu Ye hurriedly straightened his posture.

Their eyes met. After a brief silence, Third Senior Brother said, "My Azure Jade Sect is located on Cangluan Mountain in the heart of Soldier Province. We possess three hundred Spirit Peaks of varying sizes. In terms of overall strength, we rank among the top five in Soldier Province. The Sect Master and all Deputy Sect Masters are Divine Sea Realm cultivators, while beneath the Sect Master, there are more than a hundred True Lake Realm cultivators..."

Lu Ye had assumed Third Senior Brother was a man of few words, but now he realized he had been wrong.

The moment Third Senior Brother opened his mouth, he went on without pause, endlessly introducing every aspect of the Azure Jade Sect. Lu Ye was left floating in a sea of confusion, though it all sounded terribly impressive.

And for some reason, Third Senior Brother's speech gave him an intense sense of déjà vu.

When Third Senior Brother began rattling on about how the Sword Sect was this and the Spell Sect was that, Lu Ye's long-buried memories came surging back.

The corner of Lu Ye's mouth twitched. Was this a Cultivation World enrollment brochure?