Measuring Mental Power

Early the next morning

Chu Yan finished two rounds of the basic Hunyuan Staff Technique in the backyard Martial Arts Arena, as usual. Sweat ran down his temples and soaked his collar.

The Ironwood Staff spun in his hands as he chopped, swept, thrust, and jabbed. Every move was executed with meticulous precision.

After several days of repeated practice, his movements had grown more fluid, and his power flowed more smoothly. He had improved tremendously since the days just after his awakening.

Just as he was about to start a third round, Chu Yuntian walked in through the Martial Arts Arena entrance.

Today, Chu Yuntian wore a dark gray Soul Engineer uniform. He looked more formal than usual, and he carried a sealed folder in one hand.

"Yan'er, stop for a moment."

At that, Chu Yan lowered his staff and wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.

Chu Yuntian walked up and looked his son over, nodding in satisfaction. "You've made good progress these past few days. You've built a solid foundation, but we won't practice the staff today. I'm taking you to get tested."

"Tested?" Chu Yan raised an eyebrow.

"A mental power test." Chu Yuntian patted the folder in his hand. "I'd been thinking about this since the day you awakened, but I've been busy with your enrollment these past few days. I finally have some time today. The Chu Clan has a complete mental power testing system, so we can give you a thorough evaluation."

Chu Yan's heart stirred.

He had thought about getting his mental power tested before.

Controlling the Yan Divine Weapon depended entirely on mental power. How many small swords he could control, how precisely he could guide them, and how powerful the Phantom Sword Style could be were all closely tied to it.

But all he could do was sense his mental power growing vaguely. He had no exact number to measure it by.

If he could get a specific reading, it would help him greatly in planning his future training.

"Okay." Chu Yan nodded.

"Let's go." Chu Yuntian turned and headed out of the Martial Arts Arena. "The equipment is in the Chu Clan's Core Training Room. It's rarely used, so I had someone warm it up and calibrate it this morning."

Chu Yan followed him.

The Chu Clan estate covered a vast area. They left the backyard Martial Arts Arena, passed through several corridors, and circled a small garden before Chu Yuntian stopped in front of a heavy silver metal door.

The door stood in a secluded spot where few people went. Its surface was covered in intricate Soul Tool array patterns. There was no ordinary lock, only a palm-sized induction panel.

Chu Yuntian pressed his palm against the panel. A wash of pale blue light swept across it, accompanied by a soft beep.

A moment later, gears whirred inside the metal door. It slid slowly open to either side, revealing a staircase descending below.

"The Core Training Room is down there." Chu Yuntian led the way downstairs. "Your great-grandfather set up this training room himself. It has its own Soul Gathering Array and soundproof barrier, so you can train without worrying about outside disturbances. The Mental Power Measurement Pod was purchased back in your great-grandfather's day. The model's a little old, but it's still very accurate."

As they walked, Chu Yan looked around.

Pale blue Soul Tool lamps were set into the walls on either side of the stairs, casting soft, even light. The passage was spotless, without a speck of dust. Someone clearly cleaned it regularly.

He could also feel that the energy around them was noticeably denser.

After descending a dozen or so steps, the space suddenly opened up before them.

It was a circular room of about seventy or eighty square meters. The ceiling and walls were made of silver-gray alloy, their surfaces covered in fine Soul Tool array patterns that gave off a faint blue glow.

At the center of the room stood a half-enclosed, egg-shaped silver alloy pod.

That was the Mental Power Measurement Pod.

Several other machines stood around the room, though Chu Yan had no idea what they were for.

Chu Yan walked over to the Mental Power Measurement Pod for a closer look.

The pod was about one and a half times a person's height. Its shape resembled a large egg with a third sliced off. The shell was smooth, silvery-white alloy, engraved with intricate Soul Tool patterns.

The lower half of the pod was fixed to the floor. The upper hatch was slightly open, revealing a separate seat inside.

The seat had an ergonomic design. A silver-gray Induction Helmet was connected to the headrest, and dozens of tiny sensor contacts could be seen inside it.

A huge high-definition display was embedded in the pod's outer wall. It was in standby mode, showing only a gray bar of light and a large "0" at the center of the screen.

"This is the Mental Power Measurement Pod." Chu Yuntian walked to its side and patted the shell. "The Federation's standard for testing mental power currently divides it into six major realms: Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, Spirit Domain Realm, and the legendary God Origin Realm. Most ordinary people remain in the Spirit Origin Realm their entire lives, with readings between zero and fifty."

He paused, then continued explaining. "Anyone who reaches the Spirit Connection Realm has mental power far beyond the ordinary. Its range is fifty-one to five hundred. Most Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders have around seventy or eighty points. Your First Soul Skill is so powerful that I'd guess your mental power isn't low either."

"Sit inside." Chu Yuntian opened the hatch and gestured for Chu Yan to take the seat.

Chu Yan did as he was told and sat inside the pod.

The seat was softer than he'd expected, fitting the curve of his back and providing firm support. He adjusted his posture and looked at the Induction Helmet by the headrest.

"Rest your head against it." Chu Yuntian gave instructions from beside him. "The Induction Helmet will fit around your head. Once it starts, blue light will scan your mental power fluctuations. The whole process should take about three to five minutes. Don't think about anything during that time. Just empty your mind. This device isn't meant to attack you, so it won't hurt you."

Chu Yan nodded and leaned his head back.

The Induction Helmet closed automatically, enclosing his entire head. It felt cool against his skin, its many tiny sensor contacts resting against his scalp like ants crawling gently over it.

"Are you ready?" Chu Yuntian stood beside the pod's control panel, his finger hovering over a blue button.

"I'm ready." Chu Yan's voice came through the helmet, muffled.

Chu Yuntian pressed the button.

Buzz...

The Measurement Pod trembled gently. A moment later, a soft glow appeared inside the Induction Helmet.

The pale blue scanning light swept down from his scalp, passing over his forehead, temples, and the back of his head in turn, as if an invisible hand were gently stroking his brain.

It felt pleasant, like soaking in warm water.

Chu Yan closed his eyes and followed his father's instructions, emptying his mind.

He didn't think about anything. He simply felt the scanning light move back and forth through his mind.

Suddenly, he felt the golden mark of the Yan Divine Weapon inside him tremble faintly, as though something had touched it. But the tremor quickly subsided, and nothing else happened.

Chu Yan paid it no mind and continued to keep his mind blank.

Time passed, second by second.

About three minutes later, the Induction Helmet's scanning light slowly went out. The helmet loosened automatically, lifted away from Chu Yan's head, and retracted into the headrest.

"All done. You can come out now." Chu Yuntian's voice came from outside the pod, tinged with barely restrained eagerness.

Chu Yan rose from the seat and stepped out of the Measurement Pod.

The moment he emerged, he saw Chu Yuntian standing in front of the huge display on the pod's outer wall, frozen in place as if nailed to the spot.

The gray bar of light on the screen had turned a brilliant gold, rising straight to the number "78." Beside it, a realm name was marked in red.

Spirit Connection Realm.

Chu Yan walked over. When he saw the number on the screen, he was slightly surprised too.

Seventy-eight points.

For a six-year-old child, a mental power reading of seventy-eight was indeed beyond his expectations.

But he quickly figured out why. He had lived two lives, so his soul was inherently stronger than that of an ordinary child. On top of that, the Yan Divine Weapon Martial Soul naturally tempered mental power, and his mental power had surged when he condensed his Soul Ring on the night of his awakening.

The combined strength of two lifetimes of souls, the Martial Soul's passive tempering, and the breakthrough that came when he condensed his First Soul Ring—only the sum of all three factors had brought him to seventy-eight points.

For him, it wasn't all that outrageous. But across the continent, it was already an exceptional result.