There were thirty of them in all, young men and women from Chen Family Village in their early twenties. Chen Qiang, the son of village secretary Chen Guoguang, stood at the front. His aura of qi refinement fifth layer made him stand out from the crowd.
Chen Qiang glanced at Chen Lin in the seat of honor, his back ramrod straight and his eyes filled with pride. Their Chen Family had produced an immortal. How could the rest of his generation fall behind?
"Twenty-seven at qi refinement fourth layer, three at qi refinement fifth layer," Yun Sheng said, turning to Chen Lin. "Their bone ages check out, and their foundations are reasonably solid. They would only rank below average in the Cultivation World, but here, they're usable."
Chen Lin rose and walked down the steps.
"Your talent is mediocre. It's not good enough," Chen Lin said bluntly.
Those thirty fired-up young people felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over them. Some lowered their heads in embarrassment.
With a casual flip of his hand, Chen Lin poured a small mountain of jade slips in various colors and a heap of ornate boxes carved from supreme-grade spirit jade out of his Advanced Storage Ring. In an instant, the dazzling spiritual light and medicinal fragrance so dense it seemed tangible bathed the faces of two people in the front row in green and yellow.
"But that doesn't matter." Chen Lin nudged the pile of cultivation methods at his feet, worth enough to spark a bloody fight between second-tier sects on the Heavenly Origin Continent. "I don't have much else, but I have plenty of stuff. If your talent falls short, make up for it with resources. If your cultivation methods aren't good enough, use the best."
Silence fell