Chapter 6: Recruitment Ceremony Continued
Various forms of displeasure hung on the recruits as they followed after Elder Mo. The random words of the vexed young man got the gears in their minds moving. What was so special about Transcendent Dao Children? Deep down they all knew. The difference was in both the talent and resources available to them. Being nurtured by a Transcendent Faction was leagues above a God Tier Faction or an Immortal Tier Faction. Simply gazing at the pavilions floating in the sky shrivelled their courage as they senses various auras above the Heavenly Door Realm. Most of the transcendent geniuses sat comfortably in the Saint Realm, a step above god and immortal geniuses. Letting them compete on the same playing field against them would be pure horror. A thousand people were bound to lose their chance of joining the sect the transcendent Dao Children joined the fray.
Elder Mo was used to the downcast faces of kids who were forced to acknowledge their inferiority by those of higher talents. Feeling the emotion was never a problem in the cultivation world, but letting it consume you was bound to injure your Dao Heart. He hoped that those kids had firm hearts. What was a cultivator without a solid Dao Heart, one that could remain steadfast in all situations?
He led them to the gigantic pillar at the centre of the field. He stopped a few meters from it and turned towards them. Elder Mo steeled his gaze and began explaining the next step.
"If you haven't noticed it already bone age was not the only requirement needed to make it through the archway. I won't explain further. You have brains. Think about what makes you special and you'll realize why you made it through. One thing I want you to leave with today is to understand that all things are never truly what they seem. This is something you should take with you to your very grave. It will save you a few times before that, " Elder Mo said, "The next test is straightforward. It is a test of potential and talent. All you need to do is place your hand through the socket behind me and rouse your spirit qi. The formation ingrained inside will do the rest. In order to pass this test you simply have to score a Golden Immortal Potential.
" If the pillar give sof a white light. You have failed completely. It means your talent is only Peak Mortal. Purple is Immortal Level Talent, the darker the purple the higher your talent within the Immortal Level. Black is Minor God Talent. And anything greater is golden. You can come forth one by one. "
Feng Li gazed at the pillar, wondering what sort of score his talent would give. Would his talent qualify him to put up a battle against his greatest rival? None of it would have mattered if it wasn't for the incident that happened twelve years ago. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. As far as he was concerned, entering Spectral Haven Sect was the first major step to achieving that step. He kept close to Shi Ya and Liang Heng, the two people he found friendly amongst the endless crowd.
Someone from a low-level background mustered the courage to be the first and walked up to the grey pillar. He walked passed Elder Mo and slotted his hand into the socket. Closing his eyes, he reached deep within his dantian. He drew the picture of sparks turning into smouldering Flames, igniting the qi in his dantian. The pillar trembled. Blinding white symbols lit up. The young man felt strands of his spirit qi slither through his meridians into the socket. The lights dimmed.
"No talent? " a voice from the crowd asked, wondering what it meant.
"Wait a bit. It's simply computing the kids talent. Give it a few more-"
A pulse of blue light shot from the pillar's lowest point right up to the top in less than a second. The colour changed to a deep purple almost instantly after reaching the top. And accompanying it was a thick pressure that slammed into the participants. Those with weak cultivation were forced three steps back, while the stronger ones stood perfectly still in the face of it.
Total silence engulfed the area as they gazed at the pulsing deep purple pillar. Feng Li remained calm, mostly unaware of what the colour meant, but the silence gave him a hint. Shi Ya beside him kept her calm too. Not because she wanted to, but rather as a side effect of her cultivation manual. Liang Heng kept a bright smile, still confident in his own abilities. Those from Immortal and God Tier factions didn't bother with sight. The rest had their confidence stripped right out of their hearts. Blood oozed out some their ears, while others felt their cultivation regress a minor realm from the shock and damage to their Dao Hearts.q
"Peak Immortal talent? That's it? And that is the reason why some of those folks lost their Dao Heart?" a wave of disappointment flooded Long Wei.
"Young Master Wei, to most of those recruits simply achieving an Immortal Realm cultivation level is sufficient. Few of them expect to reach that level. It's a difference in perspective," Elder Bohai said," Your father did want you to learn a bit from this excursion. First. To you. That young man doesn't qualify to be considered a genius. But to an average cultivator. That is immense talent. There is already a difference in perspective, yet we all belong to the Imperial Expanse. Now if we go deeper, and bring up the countless mortal planes that exist within the pocket spaces of the Imperial Expanse, someone who has just recently broken through the immortal realm is no different to an omnipotent God. Do you see where I'm going with this? "
"Whether something is good or not is within the eye of the beholder? " Long Wei asked.
"Exactly. Don't look down on them for simply having mud in their eyes. After all, not all frogs can leap out of their well," Elder Cai chimed in.
Long Wei didn't completely agree with Elder Bohai's sentiments. There was true objectivity in this world. If you couldn't reach the peak of cultivation how could you consider yourself a talent? But he didn't bring it up further. He just kept his silence and continued watching the ceremony.
The large crowd thinned out as more and more people slotted their hands into the pillar. About half of those that went up only had the potential within the immortal realms and a handful had the potential within the lower minor god realms. While the rest failed to meet the expectations.
Long Wei sat up straight when he noticed a lass dressed in a sky blue dress with floral patterns around the waist. Her results interested him. Hate was an emotion you only waved around when you had the qualifications to back it up. Otherwise, there was no point in keeping it. More so the hate she had against him. If her background, strength or talent wasn't up to par, the emotion was wasted within her. It only served to downgrade the her living experience.
The girl in question shoved her hand through the socket. She closed her eyes and focused within, drawing out wisps of spirit qi for the formation to grasp. The pillar churned, capturing the strand and drawing it towards itself once more. At once, a flaming pillar of black light speckled with bits of gold shot forth right up to the highest point, denoting her potential to break past the Minor God Realm. The pressure that engulfed the surrounding area was intense. Most of the young talents on the orange field were forced to kneel at the mere whiff of the aura.
Shock ran through them. She was the first to have an evaluated peak god-level potential. And that blew their minds off the top of their head. Just when they got used to the shocking results, someone had to come and blow the can all over again. The highest recorded talent so far was midstage Minor God talent. She on the other hand score a peak stage Minor God Talent. The young lady pulled out her hand and angled her chin to a perfect forty-five-degree angle, proud of her talents. She thought of giving a good wave to boot.
Elder Mo glanced at her actions and felt the immaturity exuding from her. Arrogance was the number one reason most cultivators died before they matured. That didn't come from some survey or some form of journalism. His long lifespan allowed him to witness friends and family far more talented than her fall in battle because of their arrogance. Others never made it past the mortal barrier into the immortal one.
"Peak Minor God level talent," Elder Mo said, impressed, "Don't get ahead of yourself young lady. You might be great within this batch. But do remember there is always someone greater and more talented than you out there. Right now? You just need to look up and you'll see. "
The young lady's ego deflated as she gazed up at the vast array of pavilions floating in the sky. Each one of those talents probably had talent far above her own, paired with resources she could only ever dream of. Only, that didn't mean she would never surpass them. She would.
"So she does have something to rely on huh, " Long Wei said, "Peak Minor God Level talent. "
Long Wei smiled. At least the lass had something concrete to back up her hatred for him, even though it was far from sufficient. Though she had to start somewhere? Right? What truly intrigued him or at least made him think. Was she ever going to turn that hatred into action? Or was it wasted on her? As for whether she'd ever succeed? He never put much thought into it.
"Elder Bohai. I remember you once told me that one of your sworn brothers was talentless at some point. Yet he became a powerhouse and shook the Imperial Expanse a few millennia ago. You never explained why or how? "
Long Wei threw his mind off her and focused on Elder Bohai. He reached into the peanut bowl and grabbed a few, popping them into his mouth. Elder Cai had his eyes closed, meditating. To him, every second counted. Long Wei let him be and chewed on the nuts, listening to Elder Bohai's explanation.
"People's talent can change young master. That is a fact of cultivation. The only reason talent is given so much attention is because it is consistent and predictable, unlike banking on a low talent person becoming a god through luck. All that is needed is a single artefact and that's sorted, but the artefacts themselves are hard to come by. What a cultivator truly needs is a firm Dao Heart. A stronger Dao Heart equals survival. My friend had weak cultivation talent. But his Dao Heart. It was one of the strongest I ever came across Remember that- " Elder Bohai spoke,
"Oh. Look at that, " Elder Cai snapped out of his meditation and gazed at the commotion beneath them.
Long Wei lost his calm for the first time since he left home.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Unholy_Dragon_God
Unholy_Dragon_God A warm thanks to my fellow Daoist for the first power stones and everyone who is reading and anticipating for the next chapter. This is today's chapter, and hopefully the consistency remains on my part.
I'm sort of loving this books.
Thanks for your support guys and thank you for taking the time to read this far.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone