With a stern expression, Third Shixiong spoke at length, explaining the situation within The Azure Heaven Sect. After a good while, he finally changed the subject: "Your primary element is Fire. I recall the sect has a set of the Great Flame Scorching Wasteland Art, which should suit you well. Of course, if you wish to develop towards the Metal element, that's fine too; the sect has many Metal element techniques. Furthermore, if you join our The Azure Heaven Sect, even as a trial disciple, you will receive two Spirit Nurturing Pills monthly. If you pass the assessment and become a formal disciple, the quota will double. Remember this."

Leaf Gray quickly nodded: "I remember."

He was puzzled inwardly. What did this mean? It sounded like he was being recruited. So, it seemed his advantage as a cultivator who had opened one apertures was indeed significant.

He secretly felt pleased.

Third Shixiong continued, "Good that you remember. Now, sit properly, calm your mind, and focus. There might be some pain later, but don't worry, it's just part of the talent detection process. Also, do not activate your spiritual power to resist."

"Yes!" Leaf Gray responded, placing his hands on his knees, palms up, and closed his eyes.

The next moment, he felt the movement of spiritual power surging. Although curious about what Third Shixiong was doing, he refrained from opening his eyes to look. As the spiritual power fluctuated, a slight vibration came from beneath him. Leaf Gray guessed it was the array on the disk activating.

Just as he thought, Third Shixiong had now placed eight silkworm-cocoon-sized crystals into the notches at the edge of the disk. These were spirit stones, commonly used by cultivators to set up arrays, things Leaf Gray had never seen before.

When Third Shixiong activated the disk's array, faint mist began to emanate from the spirit stones embedded in the eight notches. The mist was the spiritual power stored within the stones, transformed by the array into pure spiritual energy.

The rich spiritual energy quickly filled the space enclosed by the disk, but it seemed as if there was an invisible barrier around the disk's edge, confining the spiritual energy within.

Sitting upright, Leaf Gray felt a stir in his heart. Even with his eyes closed, he sensed many wondrous things around him, drilling into his body, giving him an extremely comfortable sensation.

Is this spiritual energy?

Leaf Gray immediately realized that absorbing and refining the world's spiritual energy was one of the primary methods of cultivation for cultivators. Back in the mine, perhaps due to the terrain, he hadn't sensed any spiritual energy and had to resort to refining essence into qi.

After being brought out of the mine by the old man named Lockridge, he had forgotten to try and perceive the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

Only now did he directly feel the existence of this thing called spiritual energy.

However, remembering Third Shixiong's earlier instructions, he resisted the temptation and refrained from casually absorbing it.

Opposite him, Third Shixiong was now forming hand seals, continuously driving the array's power while keeping his eyes fixed on the small saplings at the disk's edge.

The array on the disk was specifically designed to detect innate talent. When Third Shixiong activated the array's power, the eight embedded spirit stones released their stored spiritual power, converting it into dense spiritual energy.

Through his efforts, this spiritual energy would be guided into the body of the person being tested, then flow into the disk's array. This way, the small saplings at the edge of the array would undergo some changes.

In simple terms, Leaf Gray's body, sitting on the disk, acted as a transfer station. Spiritual energy passed through his body into the array, causing the eight small saplings to exhibit their corresponding changes.

The more saplings that showed changes, the higher the innate talent of the person being tested, and vice versa.

Fundamentally, this test measured the smoothness of the flow of the introduced spiritual energy within the body. The smoother the flow, the more suitable one was for cultivation, and the higher the innate talent.

Because the fundamental basis of a cultivator's practice was to strengthen their own spiritual energy. If even the flow of spiritual energy within one's own body wasn't smooth, what was the point of cultivating?

Beside the disk array, Third Shixiong continued his work. The eight small saplings remained motionless. He frowned slightly and increased the array's power.

Leaf Gray immediately furrowed his brow, feeling a faint stinging pain throughout his body. It seemed as if many foreign strands of spiritual energy were forcefully drilling into his body, giving him the sensation of being pricked by countless needles. As time passed, this pain became increasingly pronounced.

Just as he was about to reach his limit, the pervasive stinging sensation suddenly vanished. Simultaneously, Third Shixiong's voice sounded by his ear: "That's enough."

Leaf Gray quickly opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and met Third Shixiong's gaze. He found him looking at him with an extremely complex expression.

This made his heart sink, feeling that something was wrong.

"May I ask, Shixiong, what is my innate talent like?" Leaf Gray asked.

Third Shixiong didn't answer, only glanced at the disk, reached out to brush his hand over Leaf Gray's jade token, and handed it back to him.

Leaf Gray took it and noticed that on the back of the token, next to the side indicating his elemental affinity, the character 'One' was now engraved.

What does this mean?

Leaf Gray wanted to ask for details, but Third Shixiong clearly didn't wish to speak further. Not wanting to pester him, Leaf Gray stood up from the disk, bowed to Third Shixiong, and said, "Thank you, Shixiong!"

As he turned to leave, he saw the eight bare small saplings on the disk. One of them had grown a single tender leaf...

Does the 'One' on the back represent one small sapling? He secretly guessed.

"Young friend!" Third Shixiong suddenly called out.

Leaf Gray, who had reached the entrance, turned around: "What instructions does Shixiong have?"

Third Shixiong said, "Regarding what I told you earlier, young friend, just pretend you didn't hear it."

Leaf Gray: "..."

Walking out of the tent, he took a few deep breaths, and a strong sense of crisis washed over him.

Although he was unsure whether his talent was high or low, just by looking at Third Shixiong's contradictory words and attitude, Leaf Gray felt that something was very amiss.

His innate talent was probably somewhat... unusual.

He still needed to confirm it with someone.

Leaf Gray looked around and suddenly spotted a figure standing quietly in a corner. He walked straight over.

Halfway there, the figure also saw Leaf Gray and waved with a smile.

Approaching, Leaf Gray greeted, "Miss Fielding."

Dawn Fielding gave a graceful bow: "Brother Gray."

It was clear that Dawn Fielding was in a much better mood than yesterday.

She had already completed her test, and the results were quite good.

Leaf Gray handed over his jade token: "Can you take a look and tell me what this talent result means?"

Dawn Fielding took it while smiling and said, "Since Brother Gray was able to open a spiritual aperture, his talent certainly can't be... bad!"

When she reached the last two words, she saw the character 'One' on the back of the token. Her eyelid twitched involuntarily, and her tone became hesitant.

Seeing her reaction, Leaf Gray immediately understood.

It seemed his talent was really somewhat disappointing?

"Miss Fielding, what is your talent like?" Leaf Gray asked.

Dawn Fielding said, "It's about the same as Brother Gray's."

Leaf Gray waved his hand: "No need to comfort me. I roughly understand the situation. Does a smaller number mean lower talent?"

Dawn Fielding pressed her lips together, wanting to comfort Leaf Gray but unsure how to phrase it. In the end, she could only nod: "Yes."

"No wonder," Leaf Gray thought, recalling what Third Shixiong had said at the end. Cultivators are quite realistic, it seems.

Dawn Fielding said, "Brother Gray, don't be discouraged. The current test isn't entirely accurate, and the array used isn't very advanced. Mistakes happen occasionally."

Leaf Gray smiled: "Although I don't know the specifics of that array, since there's a result, I can only face it openly."

Dawn Fielding looked at him curiously: "Brother Gray, do you really think it's alright?"

Leaf Gray's carefree demeanor didn't seem feigned. Most people would feel disheartened upon getting such a result.

Leaf Gray looked into the distance and said with a slight smile, "Compared to those people, being able to open an apertures is already very fortunate for me."

Following his gaze, a large group of dejected people was gathered over there. They were all those who lacked the aptitude for cultivation and had been eliminated.

The Reed brothers were among them.