All signs indicated that while his innate talent wasn't exceptionally high, it certainly wasn't as poor as a One-Leaf grade.

Was it related to the Talent Tree? The Talent Tree's leaves only bore Spirit Patterns; how could they assist him in cultivation?

But aside from the Talent Tree, Leaf Gray couldn't find any other explanation.

He had a vague feeling that if this were truly the case, then the Talent Tree might not be as simple as it appeared on the surface.

"Miss Fielding, there are some matters I'd like to ask your advice about," Leaf Gray decided to change the subject to distract himself from his sorrow.

"Please go ahead, Brother Gray," Dawn Fielding said, looking at him formally.

Leaf Gray carefully considered his words before speaking: "Well, it's like this. Currently, my first spiritual aperture is full, and I want to open the second one, but I simply can't pinpoint its location accurately. How can this be resolved?"

This problem had troubled him for several days. Originally, after the first aperture was full, he should have been able to open the second. But despite multiple attempts, Leaf Gray had failed to locate the precise position of the second aperture, instead wasting a great deal of spiritual power in vain.

Dawn Fielding's knowledge was undoubtedly broader than his. Leaf Gray could only really talk to her about these things, so he naturally wanted to seek her advice.

"For us cultivators just starting out, this is indeed a difficult problem. It's unrelated to innate talent or aptitude; it's mainly because our spiritual power isn't strong enough yet, making it hard to precisely locate the spiritual apertures. To solve it, you can either slowly feel your way through it yourself, or find someone with higher cultivation to help. When I opened my second aperture, it was a cultivator from The Lunar Blight who guided my spiritual power into it. But to do something like that, one must at least be at the Cloud River Realm."

Hearing this, Leaf Gray let out a bitter laugh. "Then I'd better slowly feel my way through it myself."

He couldn't find anyone else to help him.

"Brother Gray, while the Origin Spirit Aperture of cultivators are generally similar, the location of the second aperture differs depending on the cultivation technique used. If you don't have a suitable technique, you mustn't rashly attempt to open the second aperture, otherwise you could encounter serious problems."

"As for techniques, I do have one."

The Cicada's Transcendent Metamorphosis probably wasn't a top-tier technique, but Leaf Gray had no other choice.

"By the way, you mentioned Cloud River Realm earlier... is that a realm for cultivators?" He remembered that in the tent earlier, the Third Shixiong had also mentioned something about True Lake Realm and Divine Sea Realm, all of which he had never heard of before.

During his year at the mine, he rarely interacted with others and had no friends. All his information about cultivation came from hearsay, fragmented and incomplete.

"That's right," Dawn Fielding nodded. "The classification of cultivator realms is divided into four major realms in total: Spirit Creek Realm, Cloud River Realm, True Lake Realm, and Divine Sea Realm. Each major realm has nine minor levels."

Creek, River, Lake, Sea. This classification was quite interesting, intuitive and clear.

"Are we considered Spirit Creek Realm?" Leaf Gray asked.

Dawn Fielding smiled and shook her head. "Not yet. We have merely opened our spiritual apertures. Only after opening enough apertures, allowing our spiritual power to connect them and form a complete cycle within the body, with spiritual power flowing like a creek, can we be considered Spirit Creek Realm. Only then can we truly be called cultivators."

Leaf Gray was surprised. "We aren't cultivators yet? Then what are we?"

"Cultivator reserves?" Dawn Fielding tilted her head, looking somewhat cute.

"Alright," Leaf Gray accepted this term. He had originally thought that opening a spiritual aperture made one a cultivator, but it seemed now that was just his youthful ignorance.

Dawn Fielding seemed to realize that Leaf Gray was completely confused about the common knowledge of the cultivation world, so she intentionally shared more with him: "The Novem Lands are filled with numerous sects. Not to mention elsewhere, just here in Tranquil Province, there are at least a thousand large and small sects and families. The strength of sects varies, and their foundation lies in the realms of their members. The higher the realms of the cultivators within a sect, the stronger their power naturally is. Furthermore, sects are also graded."

"Oh? How are they graded?" Leaf Gray became interested. He could tell Dawn Fielding was imparting common knowledge of the cultivation world to him and naturally didn't want to miss this opportunity.

"Each major realm of a cultivator is divided into nine layers, and sects are also classified into nine grades, with Nine Grade being the lowest and One Grade being the highest! I'm not entirely clear on the exact criteria for division, but One to Three Grade sects definitely have Divine Sea Realm powerhouses, and there seem to be requirements regarding their numbers as well. For Four to Six Grades, there must be a sufficient number of True Lake Realm cultivators. As for Seven to Nine Grades, having some Cloud River Realm cultivators is sufficient."

"What if a sect only has Spirit Creek Realm cultivators?" Leaf Gray asked without shame, eager to learn.

Dawn Fielding pursed her lips and smiled. "Spirit Creek Realm cultivators don't have the qualification to establish a sect."

Leaf Gray blushed slightly, feeling truly ignorant.

Dawn Fielding continued: "There's a saying here in Tranquil Province: 'One Palace, Two Halls, Three Gates, Four Sects.' This refers to the ten top One Grade sects in Tranquil Province. The One Palace refers to The Jade Cloud Palace; the Two Halls refer to The Abyssal Hall and The Serene Lotus Hall; the Three Gates are The Righteous Path Gate, The Eternal Harmony Gate, and The Netherborne Gate; the Four Sects are the Wuji Sect, The Crimson Moon Sect, The Northern Blade Sect, and The Celestial Origin Sect. The Firmament Palace and The Ophidian Covenant each hold half... wait, no, that might not be right for the list. Each of these sects has many Divine Sea Realm cultivators within them."

Leaf Gray recalled what the Third Shixiong had told him before – that The Azure Heaven Sect's overall strength ranked within the top five in Tranquil Province. At the time, he felt that ranking wasn't low, but he hadn't realized the significance was so great.

Considering there were over a thousand sects, large and small, in the entire Tranquil Province, to stand out among them and be ranked among the top ten One Grade sects showed that The Azure Heaven Sect was truly remarkable.

"For this attack on The Lunar Blight, one of the deputy alliance leaders sent by The Firmament Palace is from The Righteous Path Gate."

"Is that deputy alliance leader surnamed Sterling?" Leaf Gray asked casually.

"I don't know about that. How did you hear about it, Brother Gray?"

"I overheard it by chance before," Leaf Gray didn't elaborate further. "So it seems The Lunar Blight is very powerful. This attack involves not only The Righteous Path Gate but also The Azure Heaven Sect – two of the top ten One Grade sects have been dispatched."

Dawn Fielding smiled. "It can't be calculated that way. Although The Lunar Blight isn't weak, there's still a significant gap compared to a One Grade sect. I estimate it's at most around Five or Six Grade. While the forces involved this time include two One Grade sects, not everyone within a One Grade sect is a highly cultivated powerhouse."

"That's true," Leaf Gray agreed with this view.

Dawn Fielding said, "Besides the two major One Grade sects, there are several other sects involved this time. The inspection is almost finished now. Those who possess the jade tokens will have the opportunity to join those sects. Brother Gray, you mustn't miss this opportunity."

Checking aptitude and talent was just the preliminary step. The real opportunity lay in being able to join the sects that came this time to cultivate and learn arts.

This isn't to say that these sects lack disciples. Top-tier forces like The Righteous Path Gate and The Azure Heaven Sect would never lack for disciples.

It's just that this method of recruitment has become a convention. For people like Leaf Gray and Dawn Fielding who have been rescued, the world is vast, but they have nowhere to go. The Firmament Palace has to settle them somehow. Enrolling some of those with cultivation aptitude into their sects is just a convenient measure—it doesn't cost them anything, and they might even find a few promising seedlings.

Leaf Gray laughed, "With my One-Leaf talent, I'm afraid no sect would want me, right?"

"Always try to think positively," Dawn Fielding comforted him. "Having opened a spiritual aperture is an advantage. With nearly ten sects involved, Brother Gray, you're bound to find a place to belong."

"Then I'll take your auspicious words to heart."