Chapter 8: Flower Petals

The glass before him shimmered, light warping.

The first question appeared.

Jiang Jian pondered briefly, then tapped his finger on it and answered swiftly.

A few seconds later.

The first question faded and vanished; the second appeared.

The third question.

The fourth question.

……

He answered dozens of questions in succession.

A mechanical voice spoke: “Questions completed!”

The light on the glass before him warped and dissolved into mist.

Outside the glass.

Zhou Yu’s face emerged, eager and delighted.

Ji Ming wore an expression of admiration, staring at Jiang Jian and speaking.

The glass blocked Jiang Jian’s hearing; he could not hear his voice.

From Ji Ming’s lip movements, he could roughly guess.

It was something like “Amazing,” “Perfect score,” and similar phrases.

A few seconds later.

The glass fogged again, the blue light dimmed, and darkness fell silent all around.

“Phase Two: Divine Gift Simulation.”

Whether it was Jiang Jian’s imagination, he wasn’t sure.

But he felt the mechanical voice had grown slightly more serious.

A dark golden thread appeared on the ceiling of the glass pod.

It slowly split toward both sides.

It spread to Jiang Jian’s shoulders.

A cold sensation spread over him.

The next instant.

The voice spoke again: “Simulation begins!”

“Divine Gift level simulation… Simulation complete!”

“Talent level: Level 1.”

“Divine Gift type simulation… Simulation complete!”

“Talent type: Art.”

“Specific talent simulation… Simulation complete!”

“Talent technique: ‘Call Wind.’”

“Divine Gift score evaluation… Evaluation complete!”

“Estimated Divine Gift score: 23 points.”

The golden light suddenly flared, forming a line of brilliant tiny characters!

“Level 1 Divine Gift Talent, Art, Call Wind, 23 Divine Gift points.”

“Divine Gift Simulation Exam, total score verification… Verification complete!”

“Estimated total score: 73 points.”

After a while, the golden light faded.

The glass pod door slowly opened.

Zhou Yu’s face flushed with excitement: “Wonderful! It’s Art! Jiang Jian, try again!”

Ji Ming stared in shock, gripping his textbook tightly, exclaiming: “Jiang Jian, 73 total points! Divine Gift Talent ‘Art’! You’re incredible!”

Countless past experimental data had already proven:

The simulator’s accuracy rate was not low!

On average, it reached thirty to fifty percent!

This was why Zhou Yu was so excited.

Before Jiang Jian could step out, the glass pod door closed again.

Jiang Jian tugged at his lips and continued answering questions.

Soon, the theoretical questions were finished.

This time, the fog on the glass pod did not dissipate.

Instead, it darkened outright.

“Simulation begins!”

Golden threads appeared once more, initiating the Divine Gift simulation!

“Divine Gift level simulation… Simulation complete!”

“Talent level: Level 1.”

“Divine Gift type simulation… Simulation complete!”

“Talent type: Art.”

“Specific talent simulation… Simulation complete!”

“Talent technique: ‘Fireball.’”

“Divine Gift score evaluation… Evaluation complete!”

“Estimated Divine Gift score: 27 points.”

Golden light condensed into tiny characters.

“Level 1 Divine Gift Talent, Art, Fireball, 27 Divine Gift points.”

“Divine Gift Simulation Exam, total score verification… Verification complete!”

“Estimated total score: 77 points.”

The pod door opened.

Zhou Yu’s eyes glowed red: “Twice in a row—both Art!”

Ji Ming stood frozen, staring at Jiang Jian, speechless.

Zhou Yu helped Jiang Jian up, even more delighted: “Jiang Jian, you never let me down!”

Jiang Jian tugged at his lips: “Teacher Zhou, this is still just a simulation…”

Zhou Yu shook his head: “You might not know this—the simulator’s accuracy rate is thirty percent!”

He gripped Jiang Jian’s arms and pushed him back down. “Try more times!”

The glass pod door closed again.

“Level 1 Divine Gift Talent, Art, Wind Control Spell, 19 Divine Gift points.”

“Level 1 Divine Gift Talent, Art, Breathing Method, 22 Divine Gift points.”

“Level 1 Divine Gift Talent, Art, Star Gazing Technique, 24 Divine Gift points.”

“Level 1 Divine Gift Talent, Art, Thunderball, 21 Divine Gift points.”

……

“How is this possible!!!”

Zhou Yu clung to the glass pod door, staring at Jiang Jian as he stood up.

His expression was no longer joy.

It was pure disbelief.

Ji Ming slapped Jiang Jian’s shoulder hard: “You—”

Before he could finish, Zhou Yu yanked Ji Ming over: “Is the machine broken? Ji Ming, you try!”

Jiang Jian stepped out of the glass pod, his expression also puzzled.

Every theoretical simulation score had been perfect.

That wasn’t surprising.

After all, over seven years, he had poured in unimaginable effort.

But the Divine Gift simulations—always “Art.”

This was an unheard-of oddity in both districts of Guangling City.

As he pondered:

Ji Ming had already sat inside the glass pod.

Through the glass, Jiang Jian could see every question Ji Ming answered with perfect clarity.

Ji Ming’s answering speed was visibly much slower than Jiang Jian’s.

He frequently frowned in thought.

After selecting an answer, he repeatedly changed it, hesitating to press the submit button.

An hour later.

Ji Ming finally finished all simulation questions and tapped the confirmation key.

"Theory score review in progress... Review completed!"

"Theory score: 36 points!"

The fog on the glass pod door faded, and Ji Ming sat inside, dazed and disoriented.

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Not bad. In a shadow zone school, that’s top hundred material."

Jiang Jian agreed: "Indeed."

The theory exam is hard.

Full score is 50.

25 points is passing.

30 points is already excellent.

In the shadow zone, among twenty thousand candidates, fewer than ten score over 40 in theory.

Even in the Shenzhao zone,

fewer than a hundred can guarantee a theory score above 40.

Simulation phase two begins.

The glass pod door blurred again.

"Simulation started!"

A golden thread appeared, spreading out and connecting to both of Ji Ming’s shoulders.

"Divine Gift level simulation in progress... Simulation completed!"

"Talent level: Grade 1."

"Divine Gift type simulation in progress... Simulation completed!"

"Talent type: Body."

"Specific talent simulation in progress... Simulation completed!"

"Talent ability: Increased hair growth."

"Divine Gift score evaluation in progress... Evaluation completed!"

"Estimated Divine Gift score: 3 points."

Golden light condensed into small characters.

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Body, increased hair growth, 3 Divine Gift points."

"Divine Gift simulation exam, total score verification in progress... Verification completed!"

"Estimated total score: 39 points."

The glass pod door opened.

Ji Ming stepped out, with no time to feel discouraged.

Instead, he fixed his gaze on Jiang Jian and cried out: "Teacher Zhou! The machine isn’t broken!"

"I saw it!"

Zhou Yu’s gaze turned serious. He glanced at Jiang Jian, then pushed Ji Ming back inside. "Test again!"

Ji Ming grimaced. "Doing theory questions is exhausting..."

Zhou Yu ignored his complaints.

He swiped the screen and sealed the glass pod door shut.

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Body, enlarged toes, 3 Divine Gift points."

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Body, enhanced left eye acuity, 5 Divine Gift points."

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Body, hardened right index finger, 3 Divine Gift points."

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Weapon, skilled with blades, 17 Divine Gift points."

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Body, increased eyebrow density, 2 Divine Gift points."

"Grade 1 Divine Gift talent, Mind, increased IQ, 11 Divine Gift points."

Three hours passed.

Ji Ming crawled out of the glass pod, gasping for breath: "Teacher Zhou... I can't go on..."

Zhou Yu paid him no mind. He held the test data, frowning deeply: "The machine isn’t faulty..."

He turned his gaze to Jiang Jian. "But every time you test, it’s ‘Art’—there must be something wrong!"

"Since the simulation machine was deployed, this has never happened!"

(End of chapter)