Chapter 12 - 12 First-Grade Talent? [Thanks to Homebody Pig Alliance Head]

Above the arena, more than three thousand young men and women participating in the evaluation, each a prodigy who had opened their Source Pool and were simultaneously absorbing Heavenly Mandate Vitality, competing against one another. In the end, it was someone “Unrecorded” who succeeded…

Meaning… the real genius hasn’t taken the stage yet?

Really?

To be called by name to participate in the first evaluation, the academy must have conducted a preliminary screening. That means the chances are higher and the number of geniuses is greater among those who first took the stage. Everyone thought the first place would emerge from this group, but no one expected someone would swipe it from underneath…

All eyes simultaneously turned to look below the stage.

There were dense crowds, at least ten thousand strong, all closing their eyes to absorb the leaked out Heavenly Mandate Vitality, making it impossible to discern who had succeeded and who had not.

“To leave a mark on the Nine Dragons Pillar, firstly, this person must be encountering Heavenly Mandate Vitality for the first time; secondly, they must be a prodigy who opened their Source Pool. Otherwise, even if they absorb, they can’t contain it and it will eventually dissipate,” Wu Yunzhou said, suppressing his embarrassment.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Only those touching Heavenly Mandate Vitality for the first time would leave a trace, thus all older students could be directly passed over. Moreover, combining with the second point, it was clear that among the first round’s overlooked names, there indeed was a prodigy surpassing Mo Yanxue.

Not on the stage, by merely absorbing the leaked Yuan Power, they had shown such speed. How strong would they be once on the stage?

“Not necessarily!”

Seeing everyone’s thoughts, Ran Qingxu waved his hand dismissively, “It’s just a strand of Heavenly Mandate Vitality. Absorbing it quickly doesn’t mean the talent is definitely high. The final achievement is ultimately determined by the capacity of one’s Source Pool…”

“The First Elder is right. Refining just a single strand of vitality is quite random. For example: the Heavenly Mandate Vitality happens to suit one’s unique constitution, the Source Pool happens to have no rejection, or the vitality fits perfectly with the individual… All these conditions could make someone succeed quickly, but that doesn’t mean anything! Only if they can refine at the same speed with two or more strands, then one could be considered a true genius!” Wu Liuyun added with a slight smile, his gaze showing a confident grasp of wisdom: “Rest assured, the real genius will inevitably emerge on the arena, we will not make a mistake…”

Before he could finish, an awkward voice sounded: “Second Elder, perhaps you should look at the Nine Dragons Pillar before continuing?”

“What’s the difference if I look? Refining a strand of Yuan Power only reveals at most a Ninth-grade Talent, what’s so— huh?”

With a cold snort, Wu Liuyun caught sight of the characters on the stone pillars, and his eyelids twitched violently. The words he intended to continue with stopped abruptly, and he made a sound like a duck.

Just now, a string of newly emerged characters had changed once again.

Name: Unrecorded.

Forge: Two strands.

“This fast?”

Feeling darkness before his eyes, Wu Liuyun felt his face burn, as if he had been harshly slapped.

He had just finished saying they wouldn’t make a mistake and that refining two strands was the mark of a genius, and now, this person had made a stark demonstration… Could they be any quicker?

“Only two strands, we can say their talent is decent, but they’re still a long way from a true genius!”

Wu Liuyun gritted his teeth, absolutely refusing to concede: “Back in my day, I also refined four strands of Yuan Power in a short time, thus making an astonishing debut…”

At that moment, the awkward voice sounded once again: “Ahem, it’s already four strands!”

Wu Liuyun’s eyelids twitched again, wishing he could vanish into thin air.

What had just been two strands on the stone pillar had now indeed become four strands, dazzlingly bright and shimmering in every direction.

In just a few breaths’ time, to have refined four strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality…

Is this person really below the stage, not on it?

After holding back for a moment, Wu Liuyun spoke again: “Just by absorbing the leaked out strength, they’ve achieved a seventh rank success. This person’s talent is indeed formidable, but… what a pity!”

“Why would the Second Elder say such a thing?”

A teacher looked over curiously.

With a Seventh-grade Talent, how could it be a pity?

Wu Liuyun flung his sleeve and sat upright with dignity, exuding an aloof demeanor: “Absorbing Heavenly Mandate Vitality works best the first time, less so the second, and by the third, it’s nearly ineffective. This is something I assume everyone knows well, right?”

The crowd nodded.

The newly enrolled students run to the training ground for the Source Pool evaluation for exactly this reason.

Wu Liuyun: “The Nine Dragons Pillar can not only form a formation with the Destiny Plate to attract Heavenly Mandate Vitality but also act as a barrier to prevent the leakage of Yuan Power. That’s why the so-called evaluations are held on the platform. Even if some power does leak out, it’s minimal. In total, it would be difficult to even gather ten paths…”

“This person absorbed four paths in one go, which, to me, seems to be about the limit. Even if he wants to absorb more, there might not be that much Yuan Power available! It would be such a pity if his strength did not reach the limit but had to stop due to insufficient Yuan Power.”

“That… is a point…”

“So what do we do? Can we figure out a way to help him? Such a talent must not be buried like this!”

Everyone showed anxious expressions.

It would be truly regrettable if a great talent perished simply because he wasn’t chosen for the platform on his first try.

“It’s too late now!”

Wu Liuyun shook his head: “Four paths are probably his limit. It will be difficult to make progress now…”

Whiz!

Before he could finish speaking, the nine pillars flashed simultaneously. The number that had just been fixed on the northern pillar suddenly chimed, appeared on all pillars, and started to madly jump around.

Five paths!

Six paths!

…

Ten paths!

Sixteen paths!

The speed was so fast it was like a face change.

“…”

Wu Liuyun was completely dumbfounded.

Is this still a Source Pool evaluation?

Normally, who absorbs energy this quickly during an evaluation?

“Sixteen paths… Is this Fifth Grade talent? And he’s reached the Fifth Grade without even stepping onto the platform?”

Not just him standing there stunned, all the teachers who saw this scene felt their brains weren’t functioning properly, almost going mad.

They had seen talented individuals, but never someone with this much talent…

It was no longer about forging Yuan Power, it was outright robbery…

“It seems, it seems he hasn’t reached his limit yet…”

Just when everyone was becoming numb, someone shouted again.

Once again, everyone looked up and lost the will to speak.

They saw the dazzling Nine Dragons Pillar, where the number 16 was still not the endpoint. After wobbling a few times, it continued to jump, quickly turning to 20, 30, 50…

In less than a minute, it had reached 100!

“Could it be… that my Baiyan Academy is about to have a first-grade genius?”

After an indeterminate amount of time, a trembling voice rang out, and the entire training ground fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

A first-grade genius, for the Source Pool evaluation, can forge 256 paths of Yuan Power. Although this individual’s number is still some distance from that, one must remember, he’s doing this from below the platform!

To forcibly absorb and forge over a hundred paths under the platform, and then deal with over two hundred paths on it, is that very difficult?

“If he could be taken in as a student…”

Realizing this point, a fiery look appeared in everyone’s eyes at the same time.

If they could take in such a first-grade talent, a super-genius, as a student… For that teacher, it seems that they could win simply by lying down.