Star-Martial Prodigies?
A talent development program?
Lin Yuan looked thoughtful.
That term... he felt as though he had seen it somewhere before.
"This is a special selection organized by the Human Federation for newly advanced Starry-Sky Warriors. Its purpose is to identify the geniuses truly worth nurturing..."
Gu Yiyi explained.
She also mentioned that this was the single most important opportunity for every newly advanced Starry-Sky Warrior!
Why was the stellar martial path so difficult?
Beyond individual talent and aptitude, the greater obstacle was the scarcity of resources.
Wealth, companions, methods, and land were considered the four indispensable elements of cultivation. There was good reason wealth ranked first.
Practicing Breathing Techniques cost money, and many heavenly treasures that could improve their efficiency were hard to obtain even with a fortune.
Learning Stellar Force Secret Arts cost money too. Advanced Stellar Force Secret Arts could easily cost thousands or tens of thousands of Contribution Points...
More importantly, some top-tier resources had a price but no market. Having money did not mean you could buy them.
Lin Yuan knew very well that anything he could see and purchase in the Star-Martial Marketplace did not count as rare.
There were surely better, more miraculous top-tier resources, earmarked exclusively for particular groups!
For instance, those in the King-Sealing Realm and Marquis-Sealing Realm. Or...
Geniuses!
Geniuses enjoyed special privileges in any world, especially on the present-day Azure Star.
Especially in this Era of Stellar Changes, an opportunity that came only once in tens of millions of years!
"So, getting into this so-called Star-Martial Prodigy Talent Development Program means gaining access to precious resources ordinary people can't even touch?"
Lin Yuan became somewhat interested.
"Of course."
Gu Yiyi sat demurely. With her carefully chosen pink lace dress and skin as white as mutton-fat jade, she made it all the harder for anyone to maintain their composure.
Her eyes shone as she spoke with easy confidence.
"You know about starflow pulp, right?"
"It's said to be the treasure that offers Starry-Sky Warriors the greatest boost in refining their natal stellar force."
"Just pass the preliminary selection, and you'll receive ten drops outright!"
The renowned starflow pulp?
Of course Lin Yuan knew about it.
What mattered most to a Starry-Sky Warrior?
Wasn't it natal stellar force?
Natal stellar force was the foundation of one's Dao path. Refining it also meant broadening the Dao path ahead.
Upon first embarking on the stellar martial path, one needed to refine enough natal stellar force to sustain that great path.
For instance, reaching perfection in the first realm of the stellar martial path—the Transcendence Realm—required refining a full nine times nine, eighty-one strands of natal stellar force.
Eighty-one strands of natal stellar force, each weighing a hundred thousand jin!
At the peak of the Mortal Transcendence Realm, one could possess 8.1 million jin of strength. Combined with Stellar Force Secret Arts or techniques that multiplied force output, one could even strike with ten million jin of strength and shake mountains.
But how could natal stellar force be so easy to refine?
Even a single strand was difficult, let alone eighty-one...
Starflow pulp was a special treasure specifically used to refine natal stellar force.
A single tiny drop contained the immense stellar energy of one strand of natal stellar force, drastically reducing the time a Starry-Sky Warrior needed to refine it.
It was one of the heavenly treasures countless Starry-Sky Warriors longed for most.
Lin Yuan had not even seen starflow pulp for sale in the Star-Martial Marketplace—because the moment any appeared, vast numbers of Starry-Sky Warriors would rush to buy it. No matter how much was available, it would be swept away in an instant.
It truly had a price but no market, impossible to obtain even with a fortune!
And ten drops of such a treasure would be given away simply for passing the preliminary selection of the Star-Martial Prodigy Talent Development Program?
Lin Yuan admitted that, at this moment, he was tempted.
This truly was a rare and important opportunity!
"How do I sign up?"
Gu Yiyi seemed to have anticipated his reaction. Inwardly, she pumped her fist in delight, while outwardly, she remained perfectly demure.
"There's no need to sign up. The June Joint Exam marks the starting point, and the talent selection takes place one year later."
"This is the grandest gathering of newly advanced Starry-Sky Warriors across all of Human Civilization, covering all eighty-one Satellite Cities and the Central Imperial Capital!"
"All to select the true Star-Martial Prodigies!"
A selection involving every newly advanced Starry-Sky Warrior?
A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
It looks like things will be lively then...
He was itching to give it a try.
After all... if he kept hiding his abilities and playing the pig to devour the tiger for too long, he might actually become a pig.
The great Dao demanded contention!
Sometimes, to secure an unobstructed path along the great Dao, he really did have to reveal his edge at the right moment...
Lin Yuan then asked about the specific procedures for the preliminary selection.
The answer surprised him—
"Kill Star Beasts?"
"The Azure River Preliminary Selection candidates are decided by their Contribution Point rankings after one year?"
Were the rules really that simple and brutal?
Lin Yuan had expected something complicated. After all, this was a large-scale selection involving every newly advanced Starry-Sky Warrior.
"Because there are too many people."
Gu Yiyi sounded helpless.
The number of students taking this year's June Joint Exam had continued to climb. Azure River Satellite City alone had a full 2.8 million examinees.
Although most had been eliminated, just like Lin Yuan before...
Nearly two hundred thousand students had reached the fourth stage of Body Tempering—marrow cleansing—and qualified to enter the Starry-Sky Martial Academy to cultivate and take a shot at the stellar martial path.
There were also more than three thousand true geniuses who had gone a step further, reaching body tempering grandmastery and becoming able to practice Breathing Techniques.
Add in the martial prodigies who had become Starry-Sky Warriors ahead of time, the stellar martial seeds who would break through one after another over the course of the year, and the new warriors who emerged from the general population every year...
"As of now, Azure River Satellite City alone already has as many as six thousand registered people who meet the requirements for this round of the Star-Martial Prodigy Talent Development Program."
"Across all eighty-one Satellite Cities of Human Civilization, the total probably exceeds five hundred thousand..."
Five hundred thousand newly advanced Starry-Sky Warriors?
That many?
"The Star-Martial Prodigy Talent Development Program starts with preliminary selections in each Satellite City. Each city chooses its ten strongest candidates, who then travel to the Central Imperial Capital for the actual talent selection."
"Eighty-one Satellite Cities means eight hundred and ten people. Add the hundred selected from the Central Imperial Capital, and that makes nine hundred and ten true prodigies competing for the final hundred places..."
At this point, Gu Yiyi paused and raised her eyes to Lin Yuan.
"Only those final hundred people are true Star-Martial Prodigies!"
"They are the 'hidden dragons' this talent development program is looking for."
"And only those final hundred people will receive focused nurturing from the Human Federation, with every kind of precious resource at their disposal... starflow pulp? That's merely one of the most ordinary."
Lin Yuan: "..."
Five hundred thousand newly advanced Starry-Sky Warriors, whittled down through round after round of selection to a final hundred?
It sounded insane.
They really were picking one in a thousand, weren't they?
And everyone who could become a Starry-Sky Warrior had already passed through more than one round of screening. They were geniuses selected from millions upon tens of millions of Joint Exam students.
Even then, another 99.9 percent would be eliminated...
"So this is the caliber of an officially recognized 'true Star-Martial Prodigy'?"
"That's terrifying..."
Even Lin Yuan could not help exclaiming at that moment.
It was outrageous.
Wouldn't every person selected be a monster?
"Still, only something like this is worth competing for."
"A hundred places, huh... as a player blessed by destiny, a traveler between two worlds, the holder of eleven talent traits, and the one destined to become the strongest in the universe... reserving one place in advance shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"
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