Chapter 2

The moment he stepped into the talent assessment hall, it was as if he had entered another completely different space.

The interior of the hall towered into the clouds, and a faint light like real stars flickered on the dome, the huge sense of space pressing down, making people feel their own insignificance involuntarily.

The hall was not empty; various strangely shaped devices emitting different energy fluctuations were placed in different areas in an orderly manner.

The young people were guided by the academy's staff and divided into several queues, walking towards different test benches respectively.

"Mental power intensity test, next!"

The low-level wizard responsible for guidance had a low voice, but it carried a strange resonance, making his voice clearly echo in the vast space, so that even in the corner, it could be heard clearly.

Jie Ming moved forward with the queue, constantly observing these test devices he had never seen before.

The first area was a huge crystal ball circulating with blue light; candidates needed to press their hands on it, and the crystal ball would light up with different strengths of light according to the intensity of their mental power, finally displaying a specific value on a nameplate with runes floating next to it.

He saw a young boy in front walk up and nervously place his hand on the crystal ball.

The light of the crystal ball was so faint it was almost invisible, and the value that popped up on the nameplate was "2". The boy's face instantly lost its color, and he left in low spirits under the staff's signal.

"Mental sea depth test, next!"

The second area was a stone platform that looked ancient and heavy; candidates needed to sit on the stone platform and let their mental power sink into it.

The complex runes carved on the surface of the stone platform would be "lit up" in turn; the more layers lit up, the deeper the mental sea.

Jie Ming saw a young girl sit on it, and the runes on the stone platform only lit up a shallow layer, with "Depth Scale 3" displayed on the nameplate.

She bit her lip tightly and got up to leave with red-rimmed eyes.

"Soul purity test!"

"Elemental affinity test!"

"Mental power refinement test!"

"Willpower test!"

The test items were far more numerous than what Jie Ming had learned from the lord before, covering every dimension required for wizard cultivation—the intensity, depth, and refinement of mental power, the purity and resilience of the soul, innate affinity for different elements, and even assessments of willpower and potential.

There were queues in front of each test area, and the atmosphere was serious and tense; almost no one spoke, only the slight humming sound emitted when the devices were running and the low guidance voice of the wizard.

Jie Ming lined up in the mental power refinement test queue.

This was a metal device shaped like a complex astrolabe.

The candidate in front placed their hand in the center of the astrolabe, and then the light on the astrolabe began to spread outward.

Jie Ming noticed that the light of most people appeared somewhat scattered, and the speed of diffusion was not fast, finally stopping at a lower scale.

"Next, Jie Ming!" The cold and echoing voice sounded again, calling his name.

Jie Ming's spirit lifted, and he walked quickly to the astrolabe.

The person responsible for the test was a young wizard who glanced at Jie Ming casually and signaled him to put his hand on it.

With his mind highly concentrated, Jie Ming placed his right hand steadily into the groove in the center of the astrolabe.

The internal circulation technique operated to the extreme; at this moment, his entire body was like a world unto itself, cutting off contact with the outside world.

But this way of testing certainly wouldn't work; feeling the power intruding into his mind, Jie Ming slowly relaxed his control over his mental power again.

The runes in the center of the astrolabe lit up, and the light began to spread outward.

Unlike the scattered light of most previous candidates, the light of Jie Ming's mental power appeared exceptionally condensed, like a straight beam of light, climbing straight and rapidly on the astrolabe scale.

One scale... two scales... three scales... the speed was extremely fast!

A flash of surprise crossed the eyes of the wizard next to him; this value had already exceeded most of the candidates in the same batch.

The light continued to climb, four scales... five scales... when it reached five scales, the speed of the light slowed down slightly, but it was still moving forward steadily.

Six scales!

The light finally stabilized at the six-scale position, emitting a restrained yet dazzling light.

Obvious appreciation flashed in the eyes of the wizard responsible for the test; he raised his head and looked at Jie Ming, seemingly not expecting him to reach this level.

"Mental power refinement, level six." The wizard responsible for the test recorded this number and signaled that Jie Ming could go to the next test area.

Jie Ming withdrew his hand, appearing calm, but felt relieved in his heart.

The effect of the internal circulation technique was indeed amazing; it could completely hide excess true essence and mental power, and even though the machine's power was rampaging in his mind, it didn't find any flaws.

The reason for choosing to show this level of talent was also the result of Jie Ming's careful consideration.

The total scale of talent tests in the wizarding world was ten levels.

The gap between each level of talent was not small; basically, level five was already considered quite excellent in the eyes of ordinary people, and level six surpassed ninety percent of the students who came to test.

However, although level six was good, it couldn't compare to those top-tier monsters.

He was not in a kind world right now, and talent in an environment like the "academy" could basically be equated with status; if the talent shown was too mediocre, it would be easy for anyone to come and step on him.

But if the talent was too high, it would be too eye-catching, so this kind of "little genius" level that was above average was the most appropriate.

It was neither eye-catching nor would it cause too much trouble, and if there was a need in the future, even if some excellent points were shown, it could be understood by others.

Jie Ming felt more relaxed, and then felt a bit surprised.

Although he hid his strength, he knew in his heart that according to the increase required for each level of talent, even if he exerted his full strength without reservation, he would at most reach the level of eight.

A cultivator like him, who had practiced for more than ten years and reached Qi Refining Stage 1 with painstaking effort, only barely reached level eight in full refinement...

What kind of monsters were those guys who could test level eight, nine, or even ten scales without any cultivation?

In the next few tests, Jie Ming's performance indeed had ups and downs, but basically, it was maintained at the level of six.

When he finished all the test processes, the final result was comprehensively evaluated by a core device in the center of the hall, and the cold voice responsible for broadcasting sounded, echoing in the entire space:

"Apprentice Jie Ming, comprehensive talent rating... level six!"

Exclamations immediately came from all around.

Level six!

Level six was enough to let people step into the threshold of "genius," representing that he could easily step into the rank of official wizard, enough to attract the appreciation of the academy's high-level officials.

Countless gazes, whether envious, jealous, or inquisitive, focused on him again.

Jie Ming still maintained calmness on the surface, but deep in his heart, he was indeed much more relaxed.

This meant that he had indeed passed this hurdle, at least he didn't have to worry about being tied to the operating table as an experiment subject in the short term.

"Next!" However, the wizard responsible for guidance seemed to be used to level six talent; although level six talent was excellent, it was not unique.

Just as Jie Ming stepped off the test bench and was guided to the next area, he heard a more intense exclamation erupt from another area next to him.

"My god! Mental sea depth... level eight!"

"Elemental affinity, lightning element, level nine!"

"Soul purity, level nine!"

"Holy crap! What kind of god is this?!!" Hearing these announcements, even Jie Ming couldn't help but turn his head to look.

Several young boys and girls were being watched by the crowd, and the pride on their faces was almost overflowing.

"Level nine talent... it's the eldest lady of the Augusta family! Truly lives up to her reputation!"

"And Young Master Horn with level eight talent! He has extraordinary affinity for evocation magic and is destined to be a powerful spellcaster in the future!"

"That one with level nine soul purity is said to have been directly reserved by the soul department mentor!"

Exclamations rose one after another, and listening to the broadcast of the test instruments, Jie Ming felt a slight chill in his heart.

This world was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; his level six talent really didn't count for much in front of these real monsters.

That was fine; standing in the shadows of these dazzling lights, it was easier not to be noticed.

The talent assessment continued, and the hall was filled with various exclamations and the frustrated sighs of some low-talent candidates.

However, these young people who had completed the test were not allowed any extra time to savor their results or feel sad about their failure, and the cold and urgent guidance voice sounded again, like a rally call ringing in their ears.

"All apprentices who have completed the talent assessment and passed, proceed to the central square immediately! The selection of major direction is about to begin!"

The voice echoed in the hall, carrying an irresistible majesty.