Avoiding Calamity, Aptitude Selection

There were meat buns and a bowl of rice porridge. After rinsing his mouth and washing his face, Lu Qing wolfed them down and was full in no time.

As soon as he had eaten his fill, he went downstairs, ready to take part in the selection assessment.

He was staying on the third floor. When he came down the stairs, he found the lobby utterly empty, while the innkeeper and the bookkeeper sat off to one side, wearing long faces.

He spotted the waiter who had received him. "What happened here?"

He was only a youth, but he had been here for over two years since transmigrating and had learned martial arts of the mortal world. As a result, he did not look thin or weak, and his eyes were bright with spirit. Others might not notice at a glance, but since Lu Qing was quite skilled when he acted, the waiter had left with a deep impression of this guest.

After all, among those who had come seeking immortality and cultivation, this youth before him was the only one who had slept until this hour.

Hearing this, the waiter immediately began pouring out his woes. "Aiya, guest, you have no idea."

Since he had just finished cleaning the third-floor guest rooms, the waiter relied on the fact that the shopkeeper below could not hear him. "So much happens from dawn to dusk every day."

"Just last night—well, last night, somehow someone died. And of all people, the one who died was the precious son of the wealthy Liu Family in Profound Heaven City. He was around fifteen or sixteen this year. They said he had Immortal Fate, and he had long been preparing to enter the Dao Academy. He had even found himself a master. Who would have thought that early this morning, someone spotted a corpse? It was Young Master Liu's."

"No one knows who killed him. That huge commotion this morning was because the Dao Academy took away everyone suspected of involvement. Who knows how it will end?"

"It happened just three meters outside our inn's entrance, so all the diners ran off early this morning."

Without needing Lu Qing to ask further, the waiter explained why there was no one in the lobby today.

"I see. What rotten luck."

Hearing this, Lu Qing recalled the several Ominous Hexagrams he had drawn last night. He had not been caught up in them.

But now that he heard the details, he could not shake the feeling that what the waiter described was connected to those three Ominous Hexagrams from last night.

After leaving the inn, Lu Qing found that the people around him were also discussing this morning's case.

The identity of the deceased was somewhat extraordinary.

"Such a strange death. Who knows which person had a grudge against the Liu Family?"

"Exactly. I heard an Immortal Cultivator say that there was another hidden truth behind the Liu Family's son being killed. I'm afraid another Immortal Cultivator was the one who acted."

"An Immortal Cultivator? Right, how could an ordinary person inflict wounds like that?"

"Ai, the Liu Family's son simply didn't have the fortune for it."

What did it matter if he had found a master? His status had not even been officially confirmed. Just as a dead genius was no longer a genius.

The Liu Family's son had not yet entered the Dao Academy either. This matter would likely be swept under the rug, especially if they could not find the murderer and the Liu Family lacked sufficient strength.

Listening to the gossip buzzing around his ears, Lu Qing thought it over before leaving. He had not forgotten his purpose today: to enter the Dao Academy.

The Divination had not appeared, which meant there was no danger in going to the Dao Academy's assessment site.

He glanced at where the crowd on the street was heading. He had already asked the waiter about the place yesterday and knew where it was, so he followed the flow of people there.

This body had been quite young when he first transmigrated into it. Lu Qing was now around fourteen, so age was not a problem. The waiter had said that even a hundred-year-old Old Man could enter the Dao Academy so long as he had talent.

In fact, the standard was very clear: they looked only at one's cultivation aptitude.

As for how they judged it and what lay behind the process, Lu Qing did not expect to learn it simply by asking someone.

Once he reached his destination, Lu Qing saw a packed crowd and a long queue. At the very center stood a platform two meters high, with several wooden tables set upon it. Two figures sat behind them. One was relatively young, around twenty, dressed in white robes that shimmered like flowing water. His chin was slightly raised, and the look in his eyes as he gazed down carried considerable impatience.

Beside him sat an Old Man with white hair and a white beard. He was vigorous and sharp-eyed, looking exceptionally capable.

A mirror sat before the Old Man. Since he was still some distance away, Lu Qing could only make out its general outline.

Lu Qing followed the longest line and obediently took his place.

"Move it! Next!"

"What are you dawdling for?!"

Of the two people above, only the capable Old Man was doing anything. The young man's voice was not loud, yet it rang throughout the entire area. His words were cold and impatient, as though he either had an exceptional background or formidable ability.

Those who qualified entered behind the wooden tables. Those who failed the selection obediently left on their own.

"Immortal Cultivator!"

"Please, give me one chance!"

"Please..."

After one person was tested and told he could not enter, he suddenly broke down.

As Lu Qing drew closer in line, the commotion pulled him from his thoughts.

The white-robed young man's expression darkened with impatience.

The next moment, without any flashy movement, he waved his hand. Lu Qing saw the person kneeling and begging fly more than ten meters away.

Lu Qing had been letting his thoughts run wild for a quarter of an hour, but this sight steadied his mind once more.

Clearly, the two recruiting above were Immortal Cultivators in the eyes of mortals. At the very least, that young man did not have a good temper.

Lu Qing did not want to take a hit like that.

The line was long, but the process was fast.

Those waiting in line were all around Lu Qing's age. He had yet to see any of the special cases the waiter had mentioned.

"Superior Aptitude!"

"Quick, quick, come over here."

"This year's task is complete. A Superior Aptitude has appeared as well."

The person tested to possess Superior Aptitude was a teenage boy in pale white robes, his face showing a trace of timidity.

Yet in response to his performance, both the Old Man and the young man who had seemed so arrogantly disdainful moments ago treated him kindly.

"Superior Aptitude is an outstanding result. I wonder what aptitude I'll have."

After a person with Superior Aptitude had appeared, the capable Old Man visibly sped up his movements, clearly intending to send that boy to the Dao Academy as soon as possible.

"Another one?!"

"No, no, no! This is—"

"Earth-grade Aptitude!"

Without any visible discussion between the two men above, the young man immediately led away the person with Earth-grade Aptitude.

The Superior Aptitude that had seemed so impressive just moments ago was left behind.

Only the Old Man remained at the site now.

"Three more."

Lu Qing swept his gaze over them and knew his turn would come very soon.

As it turned out, among those three, another person with Superior Aptitude appeared.

But with Earth-grade Aptitude having appeared before, the others had become somewhat dimmed by comparison. Still, the capable Old Man did not show it.

His hands, however, moved several beats faster.

It was Lu Qing's turn.

At close range, he saw that it really was something like a mirror.

It was clear and round throughout, a gentle radiance covering its surface. He could neither see what lay inside it nor find any reflected figure upon it.

Yet a cool sensation seeped from the mirror's surface and swept across his brow, lightly touching the space between his eyebrows.

"Superior Aptitude! All right, come over here."

The capable Old Man's expression was very mild.

A stone fell from Lu Qing's heart, and a trace of joy appeared on his face at just the right moment.

The capable Old Man paid it no mind.

He did not know that the reason Lu Qing had set down that stone was because he possessed cultivation aptitude.

He would not need to search bitterly for it, and his aptitude appeared quite good for now.

A trash-starting hand was fortunately not fated to be his.