"No need. I'm already here."
At that moment, a deep voice rang out. Everyone turned to look and saw a short, stout elderly man with graying temples walk in. The steward who had left earlier followed respectfully behind him.
"Greetings, Third Elder!"
The stewards present—whether those in charge of testing or Zhao Quxin and his group—all straightened up and bowed in salute. They hadn't expected that the Outer Sect's Third Elder would be stirred to come. The Third Elder was one of the three major figures of the Outer Sect, far surpassing Elder Chen, who oversaw disciple recruitment, in both status and strength. His cultivation level had even surpassed the Condensing Rotation Realm, reaching the Spirit Opening Realm. Ordinary matters in the Outer Sect rarely disturbed the Third Elder, yet now, a simple talent test for new disciples had managed to do so.
Lin Xuan and the other disciples in the hall, seeing the stewards' respectful demeanor, understood that this Third Elder was of high status and formidable strength, far beyond the stewards. They too bowed in salute.
"Rise," the Third Elder said calmly.
Everyone straightened up. The Third Elder's gaze swept over the two crystal balls before landing on Lin Xuan, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Are you Lin Xuan, the one with talent intensity reaching the sixth degree?"
"Reporting to the Third Elder, this disciple is Lin Xuan," Lin Xuan replied with a bow, his eyes scanning the elder.
*Whoosh!*
"Name: Luo Yuanliang." "Cultivation: Spirit Opening Realm, First Layer." "Talents: Supreme-grade cultivation talent, Mid-grade strength talent, High-grade speed talent, Mid-grade blade talent, Mid-grade sharp metal attribute talent, Mid-grade crimson fire attribute talent, High-grade gale attribute talent." "Martial Arts: Wind Yuan Crimson Gold Art (Sixth-rank Mid-grade, Minor Mastery), Splitting Wind Blade Technique (Sixth-rank Low-grade, Minor Mastery), Explosive Flame Fist (Sixth-rank Low-grade, Minor Mastery), Soaring Cloud Step (Sixth-rank Low-grade, Minor Mastery)..." "Carried Treasures: None."
Looking at the Third Elder's attribute panel, Lin Xuan's eyes flickered. No wonder he was a Spirit Opening Realm expert—he had quite a few treasures, all of decent quality. Compared to stewards like Zhao Quxin, he was far superior. Unfortunately, Lin Xuan had less than 200,000 energy points left and couldn't copy everything. He had to prioritize the most important ones. Naturally, talents came first.
With a thought.
"Ding, consumed 30,000 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [Supreme-grade cultivation talent]." "Ding, consumed 3,000 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [High-grade speed talent]." "Ding, consumed 30,000 energy points. Copy successful. Obtained [Wind Yuan Crimson Gold Art (Sixth-rank Mid-grade, Minor Mastery)]." "..." In just a few breaths, Lin Xuan had copied most of Luo Yuanliang's treasures. Of course, the nearly 200,000 energy points he had accumulated were now spent. All of this happened in an instant, unnoticed by anyone.
The Third Elder looked at Lin Xuan with satisfaction. "Talent intensity at least sixth degree, six attribute talents all at least mid-grade—excellent, excellent. It seems you have the potential to become a true disciple. Among this batch of new disciples, you should be the top genius."
The Third Elder praised repeatedly. Though he couldn't see Lin Xuan's true talent, he could sense his incredibly solid foundation, far surpassing all other new disciples. And this was despite Lin Xuan coming from the mortal world, without formal entry into the sect, lacking cultivation resources and martial arts. One could imagine how far he would go once he entered the sect with ample resources. Such top-tier geniuses were rare even in the entire Flowing Cloud Sect, worthy of his high regard.
The stewards present, including Zhao Quxin and Liu Quan, were stunned. The Third Elder had said Lin Xuan had the potential to become a true disciple? Had they heard correctly? In the entire Flowing Cloud Sect, among tens of thousands of martial artists, there were only twenty-eight true disciples, fewer than thirty! Each true disciple held a status comparable to an Inner Sect Elder, both in strength and position. They were expected to break through to the Spirit Yuan Realm and reach the top tier of the Cang Yuan Kingdom. They never imagined that Lin Xuan, from a small city, could possess such potential! They could hardly believe it, but since the Third Elder had said it, they had to accept it. The Third Elder wasn't just an Outer Sect leader; he was also an Inner Sect Elder with far broader vision than them. If he said so, how could it be false?
The stewards were even more shaken. Glancing at Zhao Quxin, they couldn't help but feel envy and jealousy. Zhao Quxin had brought back a top genius with true disciple potential from a small city—what incredible luck! According to Outer Sect rules, the better the disciple brought back, the greater the reward. How much would Zhao Quxin receive? Enough to break through several cultivation levels, maybe even reach the mid-stage of the Condensing Rotation Realm? That would completely distance him from his colleagues. How could they not be envious and resentful?
At that moment, Zhao Quxin wasn't thinking about any of that. He was still in a daze, not yet processing it. He too hadn't expected that Lin Xuan, the genius he discovered in an ordinary small city like Qingyu City, would have the potential to become a true disciple.
The other disciples in the hall also fixed their gazes on Lin Xuan, utterly shocked. Having risen from various cities to reach the Flowing Cloud Sect, they were all geniuses from major powers in their respective cities and had some understanding of the sect. Even if not fully clear, they could guess what being a true disciple meant. At the very least, it meant reaching the sect's upper echelons. And since the Flowing Cloud Sect was one of the four major powers of the Cang Yuan Kingdom, on par with the royal family, becoming a high-ranking member meant reaching the kingdom's top tier. Such an existence was rare—one in ten thousand, even one in a hundred thousand. They never thought they'd witness someone with true disciple potential being tested before them. They were both awestruck and incredulous. If not for the Third Elder's words, they wouldn't have believed it. Even so, a strong sense of unreality lingered, because it was all too dreamlike.
Off to the side, Zhang Tao clenched his fists, his face twisting slightly, a roar in his heart: "How is this possible? How can this be?!" He refused to believe that Lin Xuan, who had stolen his spotlight, could have true disciple potential. "No matter how strong the talent, a genius who hasn't grown is just a genius!" Zhang Tao shot Lin Xuan a glance, his eyes growing colder.
Lin Xuan, however, paid no attention to this. "Thank you for the praise, Third Elder," he replied calmly, neither humble nor arrogant, silently gazing at the energy points in the void before him, which had surged once again.