"Gu Yue Chen Bo." The elder held the name list and called out the first person.
Mo Bei watched expressionlessly.
Chen Bo's face was full of seriousness as he entered the river
The river was wide but not deep – it covered up to his kneecaps.
After crossing the river, Chen Bo stepped into the flower sea ashore.
He walked through stiffly, but after taking a meter three steps he paused as if he could not walk any farther.
Seeing this, the Academy elder sighed. While recording what happened, he said, "Gu Yue Chen Bo, 3 steps, no talent to become a Gu Master. Next, Gu Yue Zao Xie!"
Chen Bo's face was deathly pale as he walked back across the river, his teeth clenched.
Mo Bei looked at him and joked, 'Don't worry, bro. It's just the ancient Gu Immortal's soul in your ring sucking your cultivation dry. You're actually a genius!'
He awaited Gu Yue Chen Bo's return in the future as the main character.
Which would never happen.
Without the endowed talent, the poor guy could only live as a normal human, holding the lowest position in the clan.
If he were to be as not a part of a clan, however, he would never even receive an opportunity to attempt opening his Aperture - he would be cursed to live a life of a slave, being treated as livestock by the Gu Masters.
This was the harsh and sad reality of this world. Only a miracle could change the fate of someone with weak inborn aptitude.
Following this, the next youth that walked out could also only take four steps.
'Why didn't you take more steps, bro? Are you stupid?' Mo Bei stared at Gu Yue Zao Xie, using humor to cope with the nervousness he felt.
Not everyone has the natural talent to be a Gu Master. Generally speaking, it is not bad if five out of ten people in the general population have talent. In the Gu Yue Clan, this ratio is higher, reaching six people.
He doubted he'd end up a mortal—it'd make his whole transmigration a waste of cosmic paperwork.
However, it was possible that his aptitude might have been nerfed by Heaven's Will to put more hurdles in his path. He could only hope that it was not the case.
With two consecutive failures, the other elders observing the scene in the dark started making ugly expressions. Even the Clan Head was frowning slightly.
The next moment, the academy elder called out the third name: "Gu Yue Mo Bei."
"Here." Mo bei walked out, dressed in high-quality linen robes and tall in build, looking much sturdier than his peers as if he were 2 years older.
He crossed the river in a few steps and reached the opposite bank.
He stepped into the sea of flowers, fists clenched, ready for judgment.
As he did so, he could feel an invisible pressure as if there was a wall in front of him that he could not see, blocking him from walking forward.
During this moment, the flowers at his feet suddenly gave off a weak white light. The light gathered around him and entered his body.
After a moment, Mo Bei felt the pressure dissipate; the invisible wall blocking him suddenly disappeared.
Mo Bei gritted his teeth and resumed walking.
10 steps…
One after another, small lights entered his body.
'These are Hope Gu,' Mo Bei mused.
He recalled the Legend of Ren Zu. The first volume talked about Hope Gu.
When Ren Zu became old and weak, Strength and Wisdom Gu abandoned him and he was left at the mercy of Predicaments. That's when he accepted Hope Gu, which shone its light and chased away the Predicaments.
'When Predicaments come, just shoot. That's the vibe.'
15 steps, 20 steps…
Having reached this point, Mo Bei let out a small breath of relief.
Below 10 steps, it means one has no cultivation talent. 10–20 steps means D-grade talent. 20–30 steps would be C-grad, 30–40 steps is a B-grade talent. And 40–50 steps would mean A-grade talent.
30 steps…
Having reached this point, Mo Bei was elated. With every step he took afterwards, it felt like a blessing.
He continued walking until he took a full 38 steps and could walk no further.
Suddenly, he could hear a bang and in his between two kidneys the ball of light reached its limit and exploded.
After being momentarily dazed, Mo Bei realized that he had just opened his Aperture.
A mysterious space was now inside his body.
'You call it Aperture, I call it Ammo Storage. Let's gooo!'
The youths at the riverbank watched with wide opened eyes, shocked.
The Academy elder happily exclaimed, "Good, Gu Yue Mo Bei, B-grade talent! Come here, let me see your Primeval sea."
Mo Bei walked back to the elder's side, feeling overjoyed. 38 steps? Was this not nearly A-grade talent?
However, he had taken fairly quick steps, so perhaps that also played a factor – after all, the number of steps taken is just a rough guideline and the true measurement of talent is the Aperture's capacity.
The Academy elder stretched out his hand and put it on his shoulder, closing his eyes as he inspected him with focus.
Then he retracted his hand and nodded, recording down on the paper.
Mo Bei stretched out his neck and read: Gu Yue Mo Bei, 70% Primeval Sea.
'70%?... Hey, I'll take it!'
Mo Bei let out a breath. After his soul merged with Mo Bei, his talent fortunately only increased; the original's aptitude did not seem to be this high.
70% Aperture Capacity made him a solid B-grade talent. It was a good foundation, and it wasn't like he couldn't raise his aptitude eventually.
The elders watching in the darkness also sighed in relief, then they all turned to look at one of the elders amongst them with jealousy.
This elder also had a square and long face, known as Gu Yue Mo Bei's grandfather, Gu Yue Mo Chen. His face was already smiling.
Mo Chen provokingly looked at his old nemesis and said, "What do you think? My grandson isn't bad, huh, Gu Yue Chi Lian."
Gu Yue Chi Lian had a head full of red hair. He made an annoyed 'hmph', not replying to the other. It was apparent that his facial expression was really dark.
Mo Bei already returned to the crowd and received congratulations from his two bootlicking lackeys, and the other youths.
The Ceremony had not ended yet, so he was forced to stay until the very end, until everyone was tested.
The other youths continued walking out one by one.
This continued for a full hour. That's when about half of the youths had crossed the flower sea.
There were quite a number of D-grade and C-grade talents amongst them, while half of those youths had no talent at all; there were no B-grades.
"Sigh, the bloodline is getting thinner…" the Clan Head said with a deep sigh.
At this moment, the academy elder shouted, "Gu Yue Chi Cheng!"
On hearing this name, all the elders looked at Gu Yue Chi Lian; Chi Cheng was Gu Yue Chi Lian's grandson.
Gu Yue Chi Cheng was small and thin, like a cricket, his face full of pockmarks.
He was clenching his fist, his entire face sweating. It was evident that he was incredibly nervous.
Mo Bei watched expressionlessly. He knew that Chi Cheng was a cheater. But no way he was reporting him to the devs – not when Fang Yuan had that patch note memorized too.
As Chi Cheng walked onto the opposite bank, the little lights entered his body; after walking straight for 36 steps, he stopped.
"Another B grade!" The academy elder called out, excited.
The youths started a commotion, sending Chi Cheng envious stares.
"Hahaha, 36 steps, 36 steps!" Gu Yue Chi Lian shouted, proudly staring at Gu Yue Mo Chen.
This time it was Gu Yue Mo Chen who frowned.
After Chi Cheng had his Aperture measured, the elder called out another name: "Gu Yue Fang Yuan!"
Hearing this, the surroundings quieted down. Everyone turned to look at the youth that walked out.
Mo Bei narrowed his eyes. Before this it was difficult for him to judge Fang Yuan's poker face, but at this time the truth will be confirmed - whether he's a reborn demon or not.
Just like everyone else, Fang Yuan walked into the river, then began to slowly walk though the sea of flowers.
Lights rose up from the flowers below Fang Yuan's feet, making their way up and entering his body.
At a glance, the number of light dots surrounding him seemed quite average.
24, 25, 26… 27.
Fang Yuan stopped after walking 27 steps.
After that, he stood there in place for a while.
"You can't go any further?" The academy elder shouted across the river as if holding onto a small thread of hope.
Fang Yuan turned around and walked back silently, answering with his actions.
At this moment, the young teenagers started reacting. The crowd suddenly buzzed with chatter.
"What? Fang Yuan walked 27 steps?"
"So he was just a C-grade talent?!"
"Unbelievable, only a C-grade for such a genius like him?"
A great disturbance erupted from the crowd.
Meanwhile, Mo Bei's eyes were cold. After the truth was revealed, Fang Yuan was completely composed as he walked back – clearly, he had already regressed.
'So it's a Hard Mode difficulty.'