The first male student stepped up before Zhao Huaikong. It was his first time taking the test, so he was flustered, unsure of what to do.
"Um... what should I do?" Zhang San stammered.
Zhao Huaikong glanced at him, pointed to a panel, and then shouted to the entire school:
"Listen up! For the test, just place your hand on this panel. Modern technology makes the process very fast, so there's no need to be impatient."
Zhang San placed his hand on the metal panel. The circuit-like lines on it lit up.
Zhao Huaikong stood beside him, touched a different metal sphere, and began channeling spiritual energy into it.
The light on the panel grew brighter, shifting from its initial white to a cyan blue.
"Zhang San, Water Element, Elementary-grade Talent. Not bad at all. I also have elementary-grade talent, you know," Zhao Huaikong said with a laugh.
The world had changed a hundred years ago, but that didn't mean everyone could cultivate.
Cultivators made up only a very small part of society, so it was considered lucky that even the first test-taker had some talent.
Zhang San's eyes lit up, and he raised his clenched fists triumphantly towards the sky.
"Mom! Dad! I did it!" He jumped up and down, whooping like a little kid.
Ahem! "Move along quickly so others can be tested," Zhao Huaikong cleared his throat.
"Yes, sir! Thank you so much!" Zhang San happily ran off under the envious gazes of the crowd.
Lin Hao watched his retreating figure, a spark of hope kindling in his heart.
'Maybe I can be like him. Maybe I can.'
Neither of his parents had cultivation talent. While cultivation of talent often arose from mutation, heredity also played a significant role.
"Next!"
...
Student after student was called up. The results were mostly as expected. Aside from one intermediate-grade talent, almost all the others had no cultivation talent at all.
Only a few turns remained before it was Lin Hao's. His palms were soaked with sweat, and his body trembled slightly even though no one was bothering him.
'I must have talent. I MUST have talent.'
He prayed silently, but the trembling in his body didn't subside in the slightest.
A warm hand gently grasped his sweaty, trembling one.
"Don't be afraid. It's okay even if you fail. After all, very few people in this world become cultivators," Yue'er whispered.
From her perspective, he was too fixated on becoming a cultivator. The underlying reason wasn't clear to her, but it probably had something to do with his past.
"I... I'm fine," Lin Hao replied softly.
Now, he bore none of the usual confidence of the top student. He just looked like a small, helpless person standing before an unchangeable fate.
Zhao Huaikong's gaze fell on him, signaling it was his turn.
Lin Hao took a deep breath, his legs feeling like lead as he stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the metal panel, squeezing his eyes shut, afraid to face the reality.
A light flickered on the panel, but after a few moments, it completely vanished.
"Lin Hao, no talent," Zhao Huaikong stated calmly.
He had repeated these words countless times by now and felt nothing.
Lin Hao stood as if struck by lightning, his eyes vacant as he stared into nothingness.
His body trembled slightly, then stilled, as if all life had drained from him.
"Hey, move along. It's not that bad. Very few people actually become cultivators, you know," Zhao Huaikong advised, seeing his extreme reaction.
Society didn't discriminate against ordinary people; after all, they were the main force keeping society running.
Cultivators were also strictly managed by higher authorities. Aside from some cultivators in underground organizations or cults, most wouldn't harm civilians.
Furthermore, ordinary people weren't entirely powerless against cultivators. Most cultivators in the world couldn't withstand a nuclear bomb.
"Don't be sad; wait for me." Yue'er patted his shoulder and stepped up for her test.
She placed her hand on the panel. A light flashed and then gradually deepened into a rich, vibrant red.
The brilliant crimson radiated a powerful light that shook the entire school grounds.
Zhao Huaikong's eyes widened. He never expected to stumble upon a genius during this outing.
'What's her name? Yue'er? The Yue family? No, that's not right. It seems her family name is hidden. Could she be from some influential clan?' He speculated incessantly but finally just shook his head.
This wasn't a matter for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like him to meddle in. It was fine; he'd just report it and claim his reward.
"Yue'er, Fire Element, High-grade Talent. Congratulations, congratulations! You are a rare genius in this world!"
WOW!!!
The entire school gasped in astonishment. Her heaven-defying talent had completely captured everyone's attention.
The intermediate-grade water talent from earlier was nothing compared to her.
"Our school has produced another genius!"
"It's been so long since a high-grade talent appeared at our school!"
"To think our generation would produce such a peerless, supreme talent!"
...
The endless stream of praise from her classmates poured into Yue'er's ears, causing her to lift her head proudly.
But then she paused for a beat and looked towards Lin Hao. He didn't even dare to look directly at her now.
She ran up to him and smacked him lightly on the head, scolding, "You idiot! What are you afraid of? Do you think just because I have talent, I'd abandon you?"
Lin Hao instinctively held his head, then sighed again, unable to form a response.
Seeing him like this only made Yue'er angrier. She put her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffed out.
"Explain yourself clearly! What's wrong with you? So what if you can't cultivate? Later, I'll find a whole bunch of elixirs for you to eat. I refuse to believe you can't even break through to the Body Tempering realm!"
Hearing her words, countless jealous eyes focused on him. Everyone felt he was unworthy of being 'kept' by a wealthy young lady like her.
"You... you..." Lin Hao stammered, unable to get the words out.
Just then, a young master approached, his face wearing an arrogant and detestable expression. He was the one with the intermediate-grade talent from earlier.
"Lin Hao, if you feel you're not worthy of her, then you should stay away. To be worthy of her, you need to be at least someone like me," Su Chen sneered, looking at him with contempt.
Lin Hao's face turned pale, then ashen. Usually, with his excellent academic performance and outstanding achievements, no one would dare speak to him like this.
'Damn it, why wasn't it me? Why does he have such good talent?' He cursed inwardly.
A feeling of envy rose in his heart. He felt that everything he had achieved before was meaningless in the face of cultivation talent.