Chapter 201: Chapter 59: Divination, Fragments of the Heavens and Lighting Incense
Knowing full well that these children lacked strength, Zhang Xuan deliberately quickened the pace, which was intentional on his part.
Practice is a process of harmonizing with nature and the Dao of Heaven. Only by controlling one’s own strength and forming a special rhythm with walking can it become effortless and relaxed.
Zhao Ya and the others quickly understood this point. Thus, even with their lesser cultivation in the Source World compared to Yu Xiaoyu and the others, they could easily adapt.
The latter obviously couldn’t do the same.
“It was still too hasty…”
These three were just new to practice and naturally couldn’t compare with Zhao Ya and the other Pseudo Immortals at the pinnacle of their world.
“You three, adjust your breathing as I said, and circulate your strength…”
With a sigh in his heart, Zhang Xuan transmitted his voice to them.
Yu Xiaoyu, Liu Mingyue, and Hong Yi nodded at the same time.
The teacher’s voice was like music from the heavens. Along with his words, the three quickly found the rhythm. Their depleted zhenqi was reborn and began to flow slowly through their meridians, creating a special cycle.
With this cycle, they could move forward by borrowing strength, and indeed, they no longer had the awkwardness they experienced before.
“No, it’s not right… When the senior apprentice-sister transferred strength to me just now, the zhenqi seemed to circulate this way…”
Yu Xiaoyu’s mind stirred as she recalled the earlier scene.
Zhao Ya’s arm had been on her shoulder, and the strength that surged in allowed her zhenqi to circulate in that manner; she had just not paid attention to it before.
“Senior apprentice-sister, could it be… the teacher taught you how to circulate strength?”
No longer able to hold back, she asked outright.
“No, not at all!”
Zhao Ya shook her head, a look of surprise on her face: “Isn’t this a very simple matter, something you can come up with on your own?”
“…”
Yu Xiaoyu’s face flushed red.
Turning to look at Liu Mingyue, she also saw her tapping her toes on the ground.
She had thought that the other’s talent might not be good and had intended to maintain politeness without mockery. Turns out, she was the clown all along…
Such profound cultivation techniques were casually comprehended by the others, while she and the others could only follow behind, tongues lagging…
The gap was too huge!
While she was reflecting on this, Liu Mingyue’s voice came to her ears: “Maybe they have become more perceptive because they’ve been with the teacher for a longer time. Our real talent might not be inferior to theirs; after all, we are ranked among the top in the entire Baiyan City…”
Yu Xiaoyu nodded.
It wasn’t vanity. Their talents were indeed among the top ten in the thousands of years of Baiyan City’s history. Except for Mo Yanxue, they really hadn’t been afraid of anyone!
Even if the teacher was very lucky, it wasn’t likely that every disciple he took on casually was so strong!
With this thought in mind, she felt much better.
Having learned the method, the three no longer lagged behind. They ran wildly, and after a short hour, they saw the towering and majestic Heaven Mandate Hall before them.
Zhang Xuan was still disguised as Ling Buyang. Upon reaching the entrance, a servant greeted him.
“Vice Hall Master Ling, you have arrived…”
It was Xie Feng, who had received them before.
By this time, all the service staff in the hall knew that he had become a Vice Hall Master, and no feelings of contempt or mockery appeared.
“These people want to test their Heavenly Destiny Talent. Arrange it for them…” Zhang Xuan indicated everyone with a gesture.
The Heaven Mandate Hall’s tests could be taken by anyone who paid. Countless individuals came every year for the assessment, nothing unusual.
Xie Feng nodded and addressed Zhao Ya and the others: “Ladies and gentlemen, please follow me.”
Liu Mingyue and the others followed him towards a side room.
“Testing for Heavenly Destiny Talent is somewhat different from testing for normal talent. The latter can reveal a part of one’s aptitude with a Source Pool evaluation, but the former, such methods are useless!”
As they walked, Xie Feng explained to everyone: “Heavenly destiny, that is, fate, to control this power, one must first grasp Heavenly Mandate Vitality. Therefore, the testing method is not too difficult…”
While talking, they arrived at the door of the great hall and entered.
The room was vast, and at its center, there were dozens of incense stands, each with a pale blue long incense stick.
Each was about half a person tall, the front dozen or so showed signs of having been burned, while the latter seemed new, as if they had never been lit.
Seeing the crowd’s confusion, Xie Feng introduced: “There are 99 Heavenly Destiny Incense sticks here. The test taker enters, controls Heavenly Mandate Vitality to light one, then they are considered to have talent. The more you light, the stronger the talent!”
“I wonder how many the person with the highest number here has lit?”
Liu Mingyue was curious.
Xie Feng smiled: “In the Heaven Mandate Hall of Han Yuan City, ever since its establishment, the one with the highest talent was Master Han. Forty years ago, when he came to test, he directly lit 17 sticks, creating a legend!”
“17 sticks?”
The crowd looked towards the Heavenly Destiny Incense and indeed saw that the burned ones numbered exactly seventeen, no more, no less.
At that moment in the room, there were others besides their group paying homage. Zhang Xuan looked inside to see a fat man standing at the center of the hall, holding a tube and bowing deeply.
“I, Xu Yuancheng, have come to glimpse my fate. I can only hope that heaven and earth take pity on me and guide me through my confusion…”
As he spoke, he gently shook the tube in his hand, and a hang tag fell out. While still in the air, it transformed into a strand of Heavenly Mandate Vitality and drifted towards the Heavenly Destiny Incense in front of him.
Zhang Xuan was full of curiosity.
This method of testing, which he read about in books, was called “Divination”. It could assess one’s talent with great accuracy. Each divination cost about a hundred thousand Origin Currency, a not insignificant price.
The initial Yu Longqing also seemed to have taken the test, but he only managed to light a single Heavenly Destiny Incense.
In other words, he had talent… but not much of it, which led him to pay a tremendous price to join the Heavenly Destiny Tide. Unfortunately, he still failed to earn the recognition of destiny.
Honestly, this thing really depends on fate; it can’t be forced.
Under Fatty’s control, the Heavenly Mandate Vitality within the hang tag took but a moment to reach the first incense stick, sparking flames but failing to light it.
“What a pity…”
Xie Feng lamented, “The flame was there, just a bit short!”
It wasn’t just him. Sighs of regret sounded around, while Fatty laughed, “There’s nothing to be disappointed about. If the test shows no talent, I can simply give up. Otherwise, with just one incense stick lit, you’d think you have talent when it’s actually tasteless to pursue but too regretful to abandon…”
“That’s true!”
“Without talent, just settle down and do other things. The fear is when you have talent, but not much – it’s a pity to give up, but you also can’t achieve great success if you don’t…”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Zhang Xuan found himself giving the Fatty a second look.
One has to say, this person was indeed open-minded.
If the initial Yu Longqing had this attitude, he wouldn’t have wasted 30 million Origin Currency.
Several others underwent the test after that. Out of more than ten people, only two lit the incense; the most anyone lit was two sticks, which meant their talent was only average at best.
“With such talent, they can already enter the halls and start learning the Heavenly Destiny Martial Technique…”
Xie Feng said.
“Hmm!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
To be able to light the Heavenly Destiny Incense, regardless of the number, meant possessing a certain aptitude. Even if one could not become a true Fate Master, becoming a Life Guardian or learning skills at the halls was already sufficient.
Just like the initial Xu Xin, his memory served that he had lit two sticks.
“Vice Hall Master Ling, how do you wish to proceed with the tests for these people?” Seeing that the others had finished testing, Xie Feng curiously looked over.
“Here is their testing fee; just test them all…”
Zhang Xuan casually took out several Origin Notes and handed them over.
One hundred thousand Origin Currency per person was certainly a huge sum previously, but it wasn’t much for him now.
Taking the Origin Notes, Xie Feng walked into the hall, tidied up a bit, then bowed, “Ladies and gentlemen, who will go first?”
“Mingyue, you try first!” Zhang Xuan gestured.
This girl could practice Heavenly Destiny Martial Technique, indicating she had such capability. It was a good opportunity to test, giving him a baseline of expectation.
“Yes!”
Being the first one called out by her teacher, Liu Mingyue showed excitement in her eyes.
If she had talent, she would showcase it in front of her teacher, perhaps impressing him enough to take her on as a true disciple, rather than just an observer as she was now!
Stepping forward, she positioned herself in the center of the hall and took the cylinder, looking down at it.
Dozens of hang tags were inside, each swirling with a special force. They weren’t physical objects but were made from condensed Heavenly Mandate Vitality.
Liu Mingyue took a deep breath, shook the cylinder, and with a “whoosh!” a hang tag flew out, transforming into pure energy and moving towards the first Heavenly Destiny Incense.
Whoosh!
It easily ignited.
“Not bad, she’s got talent…” Xie Feng’s eyes filled with intense envy.
Although he worked here, his lack of talent meant he could only be a lowly subordinate, spending his days welcoming and serving others. If only he could light even one stick, he wouldn’t be in this position.
Buzz buzz buzz!
While Xie Feng was feeling emotional, Liu Mingyue in the middle of the hall didn’t stop for a second and lit another three sticks consecutively!
In just over a dozen breaths time, she had already lit four sticks, marking her best performance in the last couple of months.
“Impressive!”
“Could we be witnessing the birth of a genius?”
“Four sticks is still not enough; lighting more than ten sticks is necessary to qualify as a Fate Master…”
The crowd that had not yet dissipated from earlier watched this scene, all pausing to look over with curiosity, eager to see how far this young girl could go.
And they weren’t the only ones; Zhang Xuan was filled with curiosity as well.
He could help others improve their cultivation and impart cultivation methods, but he had no means of assisting with lighting the incense.
Such innate gifts are determined at birth – if you have it, you have it; if not, it’s of no use…
Buzz buzz buzz!
After lighting four sticks, Liu Mingyue seemed to have mastered the rhythm. The speed at which she lit the incense grew faster and faster, the number increasing quickly, and in the blink of an eye, she had surpassed ten sticks.
“With Heavenly Destiny Talent, she will surely become a Fate Master in the future… Vice Hall Master Ling, where did you find such a person?”
Xie Feng was full of astonishment.
In Han Yuan City, possessing the talent of a Fate Master was almost one in ten thousand. Vice Hall Master Ling randomly brought someone along, and she had such ability; his luck was really good!
Once she successfully finds her fate and gains inheritance, his position as Vice Hall Master will be thoroughly secured. Surpassing Vice Hall Master Chai is also within reach!
Inside the innermost room of the Heaven Mandate Hall, Han Xiao, who was cultivating, suddenly turned red and coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.