Pure Silver Metal Pill

Although the chamber was nearly full to bursting with just less than 30 disciples packed inside, the truth was the majority of them were under 14 years old. Even if Wei Wang was a prodigy amongst his age bracket, the older disciples simply couldn’t care. It would hardly effect them at all.

In reality, Wei Wang’s fame was nothing but a game for kids to play with. He wouldn’t be impacting their arena matches any time soon. In a couple years, if he really did catch up to them, then making a trade for him to be on their team would be a simple matter.

And if not, by then the various lower grade teams would have amassed plenty of data on how to deal with him, and they would be able to put together counter strategies far in advance. Therefore, when it came to dealing with Wei Wang, it was something that only the second grade and third grade teams concerned themselves with. Even the fourth grade teams were simply far too powerful to care.

Now, however, all five seniors of the Azure Haze had actually taken the time to show up! This was absolutely unheard. In that single moment, all of the 12 and 13 and 14 year old disciples who had gathered in fury over being shown up simply forgot about Wei Wang entirely.

They were in the presence of Yan Zhang! The brilliant shooting star, leader of team Azure Haze, whose blade was said to shine like a diamond in the night sky, cutting across time and space itself!

Excitedly, they simply couldn’t contain themselves, bragging about the knowledge they had on these five super stars of the Arcane Tower Sect.

“And that’s Minato Takahashi! Next to Yan Zhang, he’s the number one Mage in the entire sect! It’s said he can analyze an entire battlefield in less than a second flat, and in most matches finishes the battle single handedly before any of his team mates even need to act!”

“That’s right, Yan Zhang normally let’s Minato clean everything up himself, and doesn’t have to even get involved! That’s the difference between the Azure Haze and the next ranked team!”

“Hey! Minato may be good, but what you’ve said only applies when they are fighting the fourth and fifth ranked teams. When it comes to the Serpent’s Fang, I heard their leader even made Yan Zhang draw his blade a single time!”

“What? No way! Serpent’s Fang top team member is weaker than the lowest ranked Azure Haze member!”

“Stats aren’t everything, okay! The attribute tests don’t take into account secret techniques! I heard the leader of the Serpent’s Fang can unleash a poisonous miasma that even Minato Takahashi couldn’t dispel! At the last moment, that poison cloud nearly killed everyone on the entire battlefield. If it wasn’t for Yan Zhang drawing his sword and finishing the match in a single heartbeat, it would have ended in a draw! Total annihilation!”

“What? No way… that’s too much. The seniors really are cool, aren’t they?”

At this point, Yan Zhang stepped forward from the precipice of the testing chamber.

“Are you young junior Wei Wang?” His voice was surprisingly gentle. In his mind, he was clearly just greeting a little child.

“Yes, senior. This junior humbly greets you,” Wei Wang cupped his hands, right hand fist, left hand flat, and bowed. “This junior truly is not deserving of your presence.”

“Wei, dispel the formalities. To me, you are representative of the future of the Arcane Tower Sect. The truth is, when I heard of your ranking, I knew immediately that it wouldn’t be a good thing. That’s why I’ve come in person, to see whether you really are as talented as the attribute display would lead us to believe.”

At this, Wei unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Senior Yan understood his predicament.

“Thank you, Senior. The truth is, I believe there has been some kind of mistake. Aside from the Magic Efficiency test, I really do have the stats of a normal 12 year old.”

Yan Zhang looked at Wei Wang for a moment, his face emotionless. Wei had no idea what he was thinking.

“Be that as it may, young junior Wei, the fact remains that your peers will now eye you enviously. Your ranking will attract no end of ill intent, both on the battlefield and off of it. Therefore, in my position, I must act honestly. I see it as my responsibility to the sect to discern whether you are worth us seniors taking the time to protect, or if, unfortunately, we must let nature take its course.”

“Wei,” Minato Takahashi cleared his throat and pressed his glass upwards on his brow, “Simply put, your current attribute distribution is actually quite weak. The calculation array was not constructed to handle these kinds of abnormal situations, so your total power statistic is currently quite skewed. I’m afraid to say, as it is right now, you couldn’t actually rank higher than the top first grade disciple. In other words, your true ranking is closer to 225!”

“You're too slow, punk,” the next to speak was the massive, seven foot tall man with the pitch black ebony skin, Ayanda Khumalo. “As it is now, all you’ll do is die the moment someone stronger than you comes along.”

”Kakakaakaa,” Fatima Rahman, a witch wearing a deep purple dress and with a wide brimmed, tall pointed hat on her head, and mocha skin that seemed moist and luxurious to touch, along with dazzling amber eyes and satin black hair, opened her mouth in a sudden cackle of laughter. “Ayanda is the one in charge of your protection, boy. But he told the rest of us, if you can’t get your speed score up, he’ll just let you die!”

At this admission, both Yan and Minato sighed from the front.

”Tch, don’t go so hard on the boy. Wei, even if you fail their test, I’ll protect you myself, okay? Jeez,” the last one to speak was Oleyka Ivanova. She had pale white skin and blond hair, with blue eyes like the ocean. Her build was a bit tom-boyish, and she wore a leather jacket along with leather pants and boots.

“Right, well, what the others have said gets directly to the point,” Minato now took over the conversation, trying to get it back in the right direction. “We are here to ask this junior to politely retest his speed score. Unfortunately, the most we can do is guarantee to protect you for one more season. Our team, the Azure Haze, graduates from the lower sect just before the next season commences. Therefore, at that time, you will be on your own, even if you manage to pass our test today.”

“Wei,” Yan said, “According to Minato’s calculation, in order for you to progress without us in the future, unfortunately you must increase your speed score to at least 100 today. If you can do that, in front of all of us seniors, not only will we guarantee to protect you, but I will also personally give you one Pure Silver Metal Pill.”

”Wei, what is your current cultivation layer?” Minato asked bluntly. His intelligence was obviously stunning. Minato truly was a genius among geniuses.

Wei Wang shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Normally, he would try to keep things like this a secret. But now, with a reward of both progression and a cultivation pill on the line, it seemed like he had no choice. He could only announce truthfully in front of the entire lower sect what his cultivation status was.

“In truth, seniors, I’m only at the second layer of my cultivation manual,” Wei said at last.

“As I thought. His strength was the only honest indicator of his true potential. He must be a highly talented Mage type in the future, and in all likelihood attempted to hide his real statistics by purposely failing the speed test,” Minato sighed, “Still, his magic efficiency is too high, and if he only has a normal speed for his grade of 50 or 60, it likely won't be enough to qualify him as a peerless genius in the future. While it would be best if he had two top statistics that were equal, if he can at least bring his speed up to the bottom of the next grade, that could be enough to guarantee him a place in the future.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Hmph. Young Wei, ignore what Fatima told you about me. Her mouth is simply too large. If you manage to pull 100 on the speed test today, I will personally evisciserate anyone foolish enough to tread on your path!” As Ayanda spoke, waves of intense pressure rolled off his body, and almost the entirety of the lower grade disciples had to step backwards in fear. Only Wei Wang at the center managed to stand his ground, but even that caused his legs to tremble and a sweat to break out on his brow.

Yan Zhang nodded. “Wei, Minato prepared this Pure Silver Metal Pill for you this morning, personally. He had already accurately judged your cultivation level, and selected this pill as the best pill to aid your progression. It will double your spark capacity for roughly one hour, giving you enough time to unlock the next layer in your cultivation manual. However, it should be known that this Pure Silver Metal Pill is incredibly painful. Only a true genius can withstand the pain of having Liquid Metal pour through their veins. If a subpar disciple were to take this pill, even if they were also at the second layer of their cultivation manual, it is possible they would be so overwhelmed, they would fail and fall backwards by one layer. Not only that, but the Pure Silver Metal Pill can only be used once. After one time, your body will naturally treat it as a foreign invader the next time you attempt to take it, and purge it from your mouth violently. Therefore, this pill truly can be said to be a double edged sword.”

“Wei wei,” Oleyka Ivanova leaned forward seductively, which was quite strange and uncomfortable for Wei, given the age difference, “If you don’t want to try it, don’t worry! Oleyka will still take care of you. Maybe in the future, you can become Oleyka’s little boy, and let her treat you just right!”

“So gross,” Fatima spat at the side.

Wei’s face turned the color of crimson.

“Junior Wei, it is as Apprentice Sister Oleyka says. You do not have to take this trial,” Minato now spoke, as cool and calculated as ever. He said no more, but the invitation was already in the air. Would Wei Wang end his journey before it even truly began?

“Seniors, thank you for taking the time to visit this junior. Your assistance and wisdom have already proven to be of enormous help to this junior. However, I will not stand down, being given such an opportunity to progress. With that in mind, I will be taking my turn at the Speed test now!”

There was quiet in the attribute testing chamber as Wei Wang moved over from the display panel to the middle of the three attribute testing lanes. As he went, a murmur slowly erupted through the crowd.

“Did you hear what the seniors from Azure Haze said? Wei lied on his speed test!”

“Wei Wang is retaking his speed test, and has to get at least 100? And he even thinks he can do it!”

“They’re going to give him a Pure Silver Metal Pill just like that! Oh man, how nice it is to be a genius! I wish I could get perks like that.”

Wei stood at the starting line of the Speed attribute test. Around him, his team members had pushed their way through the crowd to give him support.

“We believe in you, Wei,” Leah said, her eyes strangely watery.

“Look, Wei, you’ve already attracted their attention. That alone will protect us. Just give it your best shot, okay?” Aaron Murphy whispered.

“You don’t think he can do it?” Na Alakee scolded, “Since when has Wei Wang let any of us down?” Na looked over at Wei and nodded. In fact, she had been saved by Wei Wang’s speed firsthand, and she knew his speed was no joke.

“Hmph,” Thomas Portsworth had a bit of a disgruntled look on his face. He didn’t say anything, but he had actually seen Wei’s fight with Hui Li, and had watched him break through to the first layer of the Windswept Step technique, so he had no illusions about how fast Wei Wang was. He simply knew for a fact that Wei would pass this test easily.

”Okay, then, everyone. Since that’s the case, I’ll be going first!” Wei stood on the starting line, and finally let a smile cross his face.

The fact was, he had just unlocked the true first layer of the Windswept Step technique the night before. Under normal circumstances, he never would have shown this card in something as simple as an attribute test. However, he didn’t really think he could score over 100 without it.

Minato Takahashi had already previously confirmed some of Wei’s assumptions. These scores varied from person to person, but they could be expected to follow clearly dilineated statistical distributions. For a second layer cultivator, under normal circumstances, they could expect their scores to vary around 50 or 60. A first layer cultivator would be around 30, with a bit wider of a distribution. That’s why it was possible for someone like Leah to get scores as wide ranging as 25 and 43, even though she was a first layer cultivator.

However, Wei Wang’s Magic Efficiency score was wildly outside of the normal expected range. If his scores had been 200 across the board, Minato would have assumed that he had already somehow progressed to a higher layer in his cultivation. However, that simply wasn’t the case. Minato had accurately reduced the problem to the true core analysis with so little information, he really was a genius!

Now, those scores of 50 to 60 should reflect a non-technique empowered ability. But if a disciple had an ability that could supercharge their strength, speed, or magic, then it was possible to double or even triple that base score! In most cases, disciples would never show these powerful moves during an attribute test. However, the only explanation for Wei’s abnormal scores was this: he had access to a superior grade magic efficiency technique, and during his magic efficiency test he had used it to boost his score by a factor of four!

If that was true, Minato could come to only one of two conclusions. If Wei Wang also had a supercharged speed ability he was attempting to hide, and that was why he had failed his attribute test so badly, then he would be worth keeping his eye on. However, if Wei was just an idiot who really was that slow, and then showed off his finishing move out of embarrassment, well, that type of disciple simply wasn’t worth the time of day.

That kind of disciple would come to a very sad ending very early on in their career, and likely be removed from the sect. And that was only if some unfortunate accident didn’t lead to their untimely death before they could get kicked out!

On the other hand, to have both a movement technique and a superior magic technique this early on, could only be said to be a divine gift of the heavens. If some divine spirit or entity had taken an interest in Wei, then he would become an unrivaled powerhouse in the future! If that was the case, the Arcane Tower Sect would do everything they could to protect him, and ensure that in future he reached his potential. Afterall, after graduating from the lower sect, the disciples of the Arcane Tower Sect would go on to fight in real life or death wars in the mortal world, where power was everything and even once in a hundred year geniuses could die on the battlefield.

Wei took his place on the starting line. He crouched down into a sprinters stance. Instinctively, he understood Minato’s thoughts. However, even though Minato thought as that, the truth was he really had no idea why his Magic Efficiency was so high. But, there was nothing he could do about it at this point. Trying to explain something he didnt even understand himself was pointless. All he could do was try to regain his honor by showing off his top movement speed now, in front of all these seniors!

Wei inhaled, and in that moment a gust of wind picked up from out of nowhere. This time, the wind was strong, like a blast of fresh air from a door opening suddenly. A spark of origin Chi cracked like lightning between his feet, and in that moment he leapt forward!

”So fast!”

Wei’s eyes widened. It wasn’t just his own speed that had increased. One, two, three… the obstacles flew past behind him, but in that split moment he realized something was wrong. The obstacles were moving far more quickly today than they had before!

So they calibrate to however fast you move! The faster you go, the harder the test!

The fourth obstacles slammed out of the side wall with incredible speed and tenacity, so much so that Wei Wang had to suddenly put his feet into the ground and backpedal a step. The obstacle cleared his path like the shadow of a raven, and the next moment he launched out again.

This time he was ready for the fifth obstacle, which was even faster. Instead of taking it on at his full speed, he slowed down a half step and then lunged to the side, narrowly clearing the obstacle just as it zoomed past.

‘Ding!’

“Minato, check the display,” Yan Zhang said.

“104. As I thought, a 100% movement speed technique. His real movement speed is likely 52. As for his Magic Efficiency, it’s still hard to judge. There are a few different possibilities, so I’d like to do some more research on that.”

“Very well, Ayanda, give him the pill and the horn,” Yan Zhang replied.

“Here you go, kid,” Ayanda snapped his fingers and two lights flew across the attribute testing chamber at impossible speed. Still, they were right on, and all Wei had to do was open his hand just in time to grab them.

Wei Wang looked down at the two small objects in his hand. One was a silver colored pill the size of a bean. The other was a miniature bronze horn.

“Kid, if you ever need me, crush that horn in your hand, and I’ll come at once,” Ayanda said.

By the time Wei Wang looked up, the Azure Haze was already departing for the door, without even saying a word of goodbye.

However, just as Wei thought that a bit his lip, Yan Zhang turned. “Wei, ten years from now you will graduate from the lower sect. At that time, come seek me out on the battlefield, and I will have a gift for you.”

With that, the Azure Haze departed, and Wei Wang was left, shocked at what had just happened.