The "Spirit Awakening Ceremony" was held in the Great Hall of the Academy. It smelled like old incense and teenage anxiety.
Hundreds of noble children stood in lines, waiting to touch the Heaven-Measuring Stone—a massive slab of obsidian that glowed when injected with Qi.
The Metrics:
White Glow: Trash (Civilian).
Blue Glow: Standard (Soldier/Scholar).
Purple Glow: Elite (General/Minister).
Golden Glow: Genius (Imperial Bloodline).
Shen Yi sat on his portable throne (carried by Eunuch Gao), sipping his warm pear juice. Beside him, Ye Lan (6) was peeling a tangerine with a terrifyingly sharp dagger she had stolen from... somewhere.
"Boring," Ye Lan mumbled. "Can I stab the stone?"
"No, why." Shen Yi said, scanning the crowd with his Dragon Vision. "We are headhunting today. Keep your eyes open."
Shen Yi wasn't looking for "Purple Glows." Those kids were already owned by the powerful families. He was looking for the "Distressed Assets"—the kids with weird, broken, or misunderstood physiques that the primitive Elders would label as "Trash."
He pulled out a mental spreadsheet.
Asset #1: The "Clumsy" Oaf
Target: A boy near the back. Large for his age. He had just tripped over his own feet and knocked over a weapon rack. The other kids laughed. Name: Guo Da. (Illegitimate son of a minor Baron).
The Test: Guo Da touched the stone. It flickered a dull, muddy brown.
Elder's Verdict: "Earth Spirit Root. Low Grade. Good for nothi... farming. Next."
Shen Yi's Analysis: "Idiots. That's not mud. That's density. His muscles are so dense they are blocking the Qi flow because his meridians are calcified. That's the Heavenly War God Body. He doesn't need magic; he needs to be hit with a hammer until his skin turns to diamond. Tank Class. Acquire."
Asset #2: The "Sleepy" Slacker
Target: A boy leaning against a pillar, eyes half-closed, looking at a spiderweb. Name: Su Wen. (Son of a Librarian).
The Test: Su Wen touched the stone lazily. A faint wisp of smoke appeared. No light.
Elder's Verdict: "No Element? Useless. Next."
Shen Yi's Analysis: "He didn't inject Qi. He analyzed the stone's formation, found the structural flaw, and injected Qi into the gap to bypass the light show. He dissected the test while taking it. Profound Insight Dao Acumen. Strategist Class. Acquire."
Asset #3: The "Sickly" Girl
Target: A pale girl coughing into a handkerchief. She looked like a gust of wind would knock her over. Her skin was feverishly hot. Name: Lin Xia. (Daughter of a fallen Medicine Clan).
The Test: She touched the stone. The stone turned scorching hot, then... nothing. The heat vanished.
Elder's Verdict: "Fire Poison Constitution. She won't live past 15. A pity."
Shen Yi's Analysis: "It's not poison. It's compression. Her body is a living furnace trying to condense a Nine Cauldron Rainbow Lotus Flame. She needs cooling pills and a ventilation system, not pity. R&D/Alchemist Class. Acquire."
Shen Yi grinned. "The market is inefficient. I'm going to buy this entire portfolio for pennies on the dollar."
"Your Majesty," the Head Elder called out, bowing. "It is your turn."
The room went silent. The Dowager and Prime Minister Wang (who had arrived to supervise) leaned forward. This was the moment. Was the Emperor a threat, or a puppet?
Shen Yi sighed. He slid off his chair. He walked to the stone.
"If I show my true power," Shen Yi calculated, "The Dowager kills me tonight. If I show zero power, the Prime Minister loses respect and tries to depose me. I need a... Technical Error."
He placed his small hand on the obsidian slab. Deep inside him, the Primordial Sovereign Dragon opened one golden eye.
"Just a little," Shen Yi warned his own soul. "Just a 0.01% leak. Don't overdo it."
He pushed the energy out. The stone didn't glow White. It didn't glow Gold. It began to vibrate.
A low, grinding hum filled the hall. The stone started to heat up. "Too much! Too much!" Shen Yi panicked. The Dragon energy was too heavy. It wasn't light; it was mass.
CRACK.
A hairline fracture appeared on the unbreakable obsidian. The Elders gasped. "What is happening?"
Shen Yi realized he was about to blow the machine up and reveal an SSS-Rank reading. He needed a diversion. Now.
He looked at Ye Lan in the crowd. He made a subtle hand signal: "Asset Protection Protocol: Chaos."
Ye Lan didn't hesitate. She flicked her wrist. A small pebble, thrown at Mach 1 speed, hit the back of the Head Elder's knee.
"Gah!" The Elder buckled, flailing his arms, and knocked over a candle stand. The heavy bronze stand crashed into the stone just as Shen Yi released a pulse of energy.
BOOM.
The stone shattered. Dust and obsidian shards flew everywhere. Shen Yi threw himself backward, rolling on the floor (gracefully).
"My hand!" Shen Yi wailed, clutching his wrist (which was perfectly fine). "The stupid rock bit me!"
The dust settled. The Heaven-Measuring Stone was a pile of rubble.
Prime Minister Wang stood up, pale. "The Stone... it exploded? What was the reading?"
Shen Yi sat up, rubbing fake tears from his eyes. "It was broken! It was a defective product! I demand a refund from the supplier!"
The Head Elder, sweating profusely, looked at the rubble. He couldn't admit the Emperor broke it with power (impossible for a child). He couldn't admit he knocked the candle over (shameful). "It... It must have been a malfunction," the Elder stammered. "A rare... resonance failure."
"So what is my rank?" Shen Yi demanded, standing up and brushing dust off his robes.
"Uh..." The Elder looked at the Dowager. "Since it... exploded... we can assume His Majesty has... vigorous energy? Let us say... High Blue? Very respectable!"
It was a mediocre, safe ranking. Not a genius (Gold), not a cripple (White). Just "Vigorous."
Shen Yi hid a smirk behind his sleeve. "Perfect. The books are cooked."
He turned to the crowd of stunned children. "This Academy has dangerous equipment," Shen Yi announced loud enough for everyone to hear. "If the stone is broken, maybe your assessments were wrong too!"
He walked over to the "Trash" section—where the Oaf (Guo Da), the Slacker (Su Wen), and the Sick Girl (Lin Xia) were standing, heads bowed in shame.
"You three," Shen Yi said, pointing his scepter at them. The three outcasts looked up, terrified.
"You were standing closest to the blast," Shen Yi lied. "You might have suffered hearing damage. As compensation, I am drafting you into the Imperial Study Companion Unit."
The Prime Minister frowned. "Your Majesty, those are... the leftovers. Low talent."
"I like leftovers," Shen Yi said stubbornly, climbing back into his sedan chair. "They are cheap. And they don't talk back." He looked at the three stunned recruits. "Follow me. We have a lot of work to do."
As the procession left the hall, Shen Yi made eye contact with two other children in the crowd:
A boy standing like a statue, skin buzzing with static (Svarga Vajra Prajna Gong).
A girl with eyes that seemed to have swirling layers of depth (Seven Level Pagoda Heart).
"I'll come back for you two in Q2," Shen Yi promised silently. "Budget allocation is tight right now."
He leaned back in his chair. Recruitment Drive: Successful. Casualties: One Ancient Relic. Status: Undetected.
"Ye Lan," he whispered. "Yes?" the girl appeared beside his chair like a ghost. "Good shot with the pebble."
"I want two drumsticks tonight."
"Done."
...
The Current Party (The "Trash" Squad)
Shen Yi (CEO/Emperor): The Brains / The Bank.
Ye Lan (Assassin): The Muscle (DPS).
Guo Da (War God): The Tank (Currently thinks he is just a clumsy fat kid).
Su Wen (Dao Insight): The Strategist (Currently just wants to nap).
Lin Xia (Lotus Flame): The Alchemist (Currently dying of fever).