Chapter 8

Xu Yang thought not many people would come, but after reporting his name and entering the Huang family courtyard, he saw that in the wide courtyard, it was packed with heads, at least a hundred or so, all youths of sixteen or seventeen like him.

Everyone stood in the courtyard, restrained, not daring to walk around.

Xu Yang didn't know anyone, so he stood aside casually. People continued to arrive, and the bone-checking test hadn't started yet.

"This brother, I am Luo Dehu. May I ask how to address you?"

A voice suddenly sounded from the side. Xu Yang looked back and saw that this person who called himself Luo Dehu was bowing to him, so he also politely bowed and said: "I am Xu Yang."

Luo Dehu's gaze swept over Xu Yang's clasped hands, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared: "So it's Brother Xu Yang, long admired, long admired..."

After saying this, as if he hadn't been the one to take the initiative to talk to Xu Yang, he silently walked away.

Xu Yang was a bit confused. The next moment, he looked at his palms, which were rough, full of cracks, and black-lined from mining, and thoughtfully understood something.

He was handsome, and because he worked in the mine all year round and wasn't exposed to the sun, his skin was fair.

Plus, he wasn't dressed badly today, so at a glance, he looked like he had some family background. That's why Luo Dehu came to make friends.

But after he revealed his hands hidden under his sleeves, his identity as a mud-legged peasant digging for food was exposed, so Luo Dehu didn't even bother to pretend and went directly to make friends with others.

"Is it really this realistic?"

Xu Yang shook his head secretly, not paying much attention.

About a quarter of an hour later, several people walked out from the Huang family's backyard. The leader was a white-haired old man with his hands behind his back, very imposing. Of the other two, one was Xu Yang's uncle, Zhou Shunchang, holding a book and a pen, and the other he didn't know.

"Come up one by one. Those with innate talent of 'Ding-Upper' or above stay; those below 'Ding-Lower' leave directly," the old man said loudly.

"To think it has to be Ding-Upper!"

"This requirement is too high!"

As soon as the old man's words came out, the crowd exploded, many with ugly expressions.

Xu Yang was also a bit surprised.

Through previous eavesdropping, he knew that innate talent was divided into four levels: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, and each level was subdivided into Upper and Lower.

Ding-Lower was the worst kind of innate talent, followed by Ding-Upper, and the best was Jia-Upper.

He didn't know which level his innate talent, which had been raised to twenty-two, belonged to, but seeing the crowd's reaction, even Ding-Upper, which was the second-to-last level, was probably very rare.

"No innate talent!"

"No innate talent!"

The old man didn't care about everyone's reaction and had already started checking bones. Xu Yang finally understood why everyone's reaction was so big.

The old man touched five or six people in a row, all of whom had no innate talent. There wasn't even a Ding-Lower, which was the elimination threshold. By the eighth person, there was finally a Ding-Lower, but it was also destined for elimination.

In fact, Ding-Lower innate talent already had the possibility of becoming a martial artist, but the Huang family clearly didn't want to invest in such innate talent.

"Innate talent Ding-Upper, you can stay."

By the eleventh person, there finally appeared someone with Ding-Upper innate talent.

This person was full of joy and excitedly ran to Zhou Shunchang to register his identity information.

Time passed, and five people had already been left behind, but most were Ding-Upper, with only one reaching Bing-Lower.

"Innate talent... Yi-Upper!"

After another youth covered in patches went up to have his bones checked, the old man announced Yi-Upper innate talent. For a moment, everyone looked at the youth in surprise, and even the old master checking the bones showed a hint of shock.

In an instant, the youth's face flushed red and his whole body trembled. Big figures from the Huang family were alarmed and ran over personally.

The bone-checking continued, but among ten people, it was basically hard for one to reach Ding-Upper.

Finally, it was Xu Yang's turn!

After he walked to the old master and stood still, the old master stretched out his hands and placed them on his shoulders to knead.

The old master looked old, but his strength was beyond Xu Yang's imagination. His fingers were like steel needles, seemingly able to pierce his flesh.

"He's probably a martial artist too."

Xu Yang endured the sharp pain and let the old master touch him from head to toe, kneading his bones inch by inch.

"Innate talent Bing-Lower!"

Finally, the old master announced Xu Yang's innate talent. Zhou Shunchang, who had been staring at him, was overjoyed and even stood up excitedly. Xu Yang actually had talent, and it was a pretty good Bing-Lower innate talent.

With Bing-Lower innate talent, as long as one was willing to spend money to cultivate, the chance of becoming a martial artist was very high.

This wasn't just Xu Yang changing his fate; he would also change his fate because Xu Yang was his nephew.

The biggest reason Xu Laoer would ignore his own children to cultivate someone else's son was that there were too few people with the potential to become martial artists, and one couldn't miss the chance to curry favor.

"He's actually Bing-Lower innate talent!"

In the crowd, Luo Dehu secretly regretted his previous behavior. The mud-legged peasant he looked down on actually possessed Bing-Lower innate talent. He shouldn't have turned his back before the results were out.

"Can't be so reckless in the future. But... he shouldn't know why I acted like that just now, so it doesn't count as offending him," he thought.

Most importantly, he hadn't had his bones checked yet; he might not lack the innate talent to practice martial arts.

"Actually only Bing-Lower innate talent. Yi-Upper innate talent is indeed powerful."

Xu Yang pondered. His innate talent had been raised from two to twenty-two, yet it was only Bing-Lower. Yi-Upper innate talent, which was two levels higher than him, should be above fifty according to the panel's data.

Of course, it could be more.

"Uncle!"

While pondering, he came to Zhou Shunchang and bowed respectfully.

"Good boy, you really gave me face."

Zhou Shunchang couldn't hide the smile on his face: "Practice martial arts well in the future; don't let down this innate talent of yours."

With a nephew like Xu Yang who had good innate talent, his status in the Huang family would be very different in the future.

Writing down Xu Yang's information, Xu Yang retreated to join the other youths who had been selected.