Greed?

In Xu Yuan's hands, any single one of the Five Elements could already be wielded as easily as an arm or a finger.

The Gold Element—even if it was merely a wisp of pure golden elemental current—gave off a sharp sensation.

The Wood Element, brimming with vitality, could swiftly spur the growth of tree branches to bind and restrain opponents.

The Water Element swirled and gathered, flowing on without end.

The Fire Element was scorching and intense, incomparably explosive.

The Earth Element formed a heavy earthen wall the moment his brush tip fell, giving off a solid sense of security.

Under Xu Yuan's brush, the five elements could take on all manner of shapes in an instant. Thanks to his Spiritual Power and his exploration of the essence of the elements, the traits of each element were displayed to the fullest.

It was not merely changes in form; Xu Yuan had also developed their properties to an exceptional degree.

Xu Yuan moved his brush, and the five elements gathered, circling and condensing at its tip.

The Five Elements lined up in sequence.

Mutual Generation of the Five Elements!

Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. The five elements did not completely merge into one, yet they formed a mutually generating structure and became a unified whole.

No unusual phenomenon emerged from the cycle of the five elements, yet Cai Yue'er clapped in praise.

"Not bad. Mutual Generation of the Five Elements—you can actually achieve this much."

Xu Yuan dispersed the Five Elements before him and did not continue his demonstration.

After all, he had yet to develop this technique into a specific combat Soul Skill.

"Other than elemental control, what other strengths do you have?"

Cai Yue'er had actually witnessed Xu Yuan's spear technique earlier, but compared to his spear technique, she thought more highly of his elemental control.

After all, during his fierce battle against the three-thousand-year Earth Demon Rhino, Xu Yuan had only used his spear technique for the final blow, killing the Earth Demon Rhino in a desperate all-or-nothing strike.

It had to be admitted that that spear strike was a trump card.

But that was all it was. If properly utilized, the Mutual Generation of the Five Elements in elemental control could also be developed into a trump card of equal or even greater power.

The Heaven Origin Brush transformed into the Heaven Origin Spear.

Xu Yuan's entire aura changed.

Cai Yue'er had not been able to sense it through the screen before, but this time, she felt it with complete clarity.

"Spear Intent?"

Was this something his Martial Soul came with?

She probed deeper, and her expression shifted.

And there was also...

"Spear Will."

He had comprehended Spear Will at the age of seven.

The Five Elements Spear Tactic directly unleashed its strongest strike—Five Elements Unity. The power of all five elements erupted at once, along with his Spear Will. In that instant, Xu Yuan's spear pierced through the void.

"Full marks." Cai Yue'er gave her score.

The other two teachers naturally gave full marks as well.

Xu Yuan obtained his fourth perfect score as he had wished.

"Your Martial Soul is excellent. It has two forms: the spear form comes with Spear Intent, while the brush form seems to resonate with the elements of heaven and earth? There are two paths before you. I still advise you to choose one and walk it steadfastly rather than being greedy for too much."

One who tried to do too much would master nothing.

Xu Yuan did not see it that way.

However, there was no need for him to argue with Elder Cai.

Elder Cai was the typical kind with an eccentric temperament.

Although Xu Yuan could tell from the later parts of the original story that Elder Cai's initial attempts to make things difficult for Tang Wulin and the others had been arranged with Zhuo Shi and the rest, and that she had merely played the villain, there was no doubt that her temperament was genuinely strange.

An old woman who had been single her whole life, after all.

Fortunately, Elder Cai did not suggest taking him as a disciple because of his talent in elemental control, which greatly relieved Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan guessed it was because his uncle had given Zhuo Shi advance notice.

"The next stage tests Sub-Professions." Wang Hao led Xu Yuan into the next room, where Cai Yue'er was already seated at the judges' table.

"Have you chosen a Sub-Profession? If you have not, that is fine as well. You are only seven. Even if you score zero on this assessment, I can decide that it will not affect your admission to the Inner Courtyard," Cai Yue'er said flatly.

Rules were dead, but people were alive.

Besides, the rules themselves had been set by the Sea God Pavilion. As a Sea God Pavilion Elder, she indeed had such authority.

"I have quite a few Sub-Professions."

"Quite a few?" Cai Yue'er did not immediately understand.

"I have studied Mecha Design, Mecha Manufacturing, and Mecha Maintenance, as well as forging. I have also learned the Auxiliary Forging Method." Xu Yuan explained the state of his Sub-Professions.

Wang Hao stared at Xu Yuan as if he had seen a ghost.

Cai Yue'er frowned as she looked at Xu Yuan.

"One who tries to do too much will master nothing. Your Martial Soul already has two forms. Although you did not argue when I spoke to you earlier, I could sense that you still intended to persist. I can let that go. After all, it is your innate Martial Soul, and some Soul Masters even have Twin Martial Souls and must cultivate both. Your situation is understandable."

Her tone became stern.

"However, cultivating a Martial Soul with two forms is already difficult enough, especially when those forms are elemental control and spear technique, two paths that require focus. Under such circumstances, you still intend to choose four Sub-Professions?"

"Xu Yuan, your talent is beyond doubt, but you must understand that this world is full of geniuses. Even so, they all choose only one Sub-Profession. Choosing four is simply too dismissive of everyone else."

Faced with Elder Cai's advice, Xu Yuan first bowed in thanks.

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder Cai, but I still wish to try. In truth, Mecha Design, Mecha Manufacturing, and Mecha Maintenance are more like a single profession to me. The theoretical study is complicated, but I am confident that I can absorb it. As for practical work, I do not need to carry it out separately. The same practical experience can verify all three Sub-Professions at once, and they complement each other during that process, allowing me to gain a more thorough understanding of all three professions."

Xu Yuan was not speaking out of mere confidence. More than that, he had already achieved enough to have the assurance to say so.

"Oh? Then what level are you at in those three Sub-Professions now?"

"Level two," Xu Yuan said calmly.

Level two!

Cai Yue'er's pupils contracted.

This level was not high. It could even be said to rank at the very bottom among all Shrek students. But Xu Yuan had only cultivated for a year.

How long could he possibly have studied?

And one must not forget that Xu Yuan also needed to cultivate his Soul Power, train his spear technique, and practice elemental control.

She opened her mouth, only to realize she had nothing further to say regarding Xu Yuan's choice of Sub-Professions, and closed it again.

"Show me, then."

Before Xu Yuan stood four rows of sixteen testing stations, with four assessment stations for each of the Four Great Auxiliary Occupations.

Xu Yuan glanced over the stations before walking to a Mecha Design assessment platform.

The level-two Mecha Design assessment was essentially a written test.

There were questions on mecha structural theory, as well as designs involving the combination of arrays and the matching of array effects.

Xu Yuan answered them swiftly.

The questions were randomly generated and generally had fixed answers. His result was produced in only a moment.

Full marks.

A perfect score on the test proved that Xu Yuan had mastered all level-two and lower Mecha Design theory perfectly.

Cai Yue'er's gaze flickered as well.

Full marks!

She steadied herself and gestured for Xu Yuan to continue.

Xu Yuan then walked toward the second Mecha Manufacturing station.