"Can you hurry? I don't have all day to stand here " A voice came from behind. Suddenly there was pin-drop silence everywhere.
"That guy...he must have a death wish." People behind him talked in whispers as they gazed at him with shock.
Prince Lu's face twitched as he turned back to look at the person who had just spoken.
"Preposterous!!! Who do you think you are to talk like that in front of me?" The Elder roared loudly in anger. His voice sounded in a far distance.
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation Elder, but as I heard, this was a registration counter, not a keep praising counter. There are hundreds of people behind me in the line. If you like, you can praise him to your heart's content after the registration is over." The person casually replied to Elder's scolding. He had a black mask covering his face.
"Elder, this friend is right. I shouldn't waste other's time. I'm sure that there might be people even more talented somewhere in the line."Prince Lu said before Elder Jinliang could say anything.
Elder Jinliang looked at the masked boy in the line as he barely controlled his anger.
"Here is your participation badge. Best of luck for further tests." Elder Jinliang gave Prince Lu his participation badge. This participation badge had two stars on it and unlike other badges, this one was golden instead of the regular silver.
"Thank you Elder." Prince Lu said as he moved to the side. He stood apart from the line but he still didn't leave the place.
'Those who don't care for other's talents are either fools or geniuses. I have a feeling that you can only be a fool. Let's see your trash talent. Won't I look like a good person if I comfort a trash who just behaved so badly to me? Such a good opportunity is presented to me.' Prince Lu thought as he gazed at the masked boy with interest.
'He's a 4th stage Gold Core Realm Cultivator. He must be older than 24 at the least.' Elder Jinliang thought as he tried to see Long Chen's cultivation.
"Tian Shen... I'm 16 years old." Long Chen said to the Elder as he stood in front of him.
"Do you take this selection exam for a joke!!! Did you not hear the announcement that the person found creating a disturbance in the premise will be punished? How dare you lie to an elder about your age! " Elder Jinliang finally couldn't control his anger as he yelled at Long Chen.
"Guards! Take this person and break both his hands!" The Elder ordered immediately.
The guard heard the order as he hurriedly walked towards Long Chen but as soon as Long Chen's sharp gaze fell on him, he stood still in his place. He wasn't sure why but his feet stopped moving. He felt as if a predator was looking at his prey, but that feeling soon disappeared as Long Chen stopped looking at him.
"Can you tell me what I did wrong?" Long Chen asked in a straightforward manner.
"You very well know what you did! You lied to me about your age!" The Elder replied as if he was mocking him.
"Oh? I didn't know that the Elder had magical eyes that could see everyone's age. Can I ask why Elder is keeping that orb there? You don't need an orb that can tell someone's age, you are enough for that m." Long Chen chuckled lightly as he replied.
Elder Jinlian's eyes opened wide in shock as he heard Long Chen's reply. His face couldn't help but turn red.
"Very Well! Place your hand on the orb. Let everyone see your real age. Though I must say that this time you won't escape with just your hands being broken. I will personally make sure that both your hands and feet are crushed for lying and wasting everyone's time." The Elder said as a malicious smile appeared in his face. He looked eager to punish Long Chen.
On the sidelines, Prince Lu was smiling at Long Chen's misfortune.
"This guy ... he doesn't know when to quit."
"Yea, he is able to get his arms and legs broken. He's a fourth stage Gold Core Realm cultivator. It's impossible for him to be 16."
"He's really stupid, isn't he?"
Long Chen had attracted everyone's attention. Even Si Jing had come there as she stood near Prince Lu.
Long Xue Ying stood behind him and couldn't help but shake her head at the misfortune of the guy in front of her.
Long Chen didn't say anything and simply placed his hand on the first orb. As soon as his hands touched the orb, Elder Jinliang stood up shocked from his seat as his chair fell to the ground.
He wasn't that shocked even when Prince Lu turned out to be a 6th-grade talent as he was now.
"Impossible!!! A 16-year-old 4th stage Gold Core Realm cultivator??? What is this impossible speed?" Elder Jinliang exclaimed loudly.
Even the Elders at nearby counters stood up as they heard his words.
"A 16-year-old kid at the 4th stage of Gold core realm? Where is he from? Why did I never hear about him! "
"He's amazing. Before him, the youngest cultivator to break through to the gold core realm was Miss Ling when she was just 16 years old! But this boy... Not only did he break through to the gold core realm, he is already at the 4th stage!"
People kept talking amongst themselves with shock on their faces.
Prince Lu who was waiting for Long Chen to make fun of himself was stunned as his mouth remained open. Si Jing more or less had the same expression as Prince Lu.
"Young Man...I apologize for talking rudely before. I hope you can forgive me." Elder Jinliang said with a fawning expression. The boy in front of him was a genius that was never seen before. Although he hadn't checked his talent, his expectations were already at the roof.
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A round table was placed in a secret room with 5 chairs placed around the table.
There were five people sitting at the table as they gazed at a mirror. The mirror was used by them to check on the registration counters to take a sneak peek at this year's candidates.
Right now, the mirror was showing Elder Jinliang and a masked boy standing in front of him.
"Interesting... Someone with such a scary cultivation speed. I'm sure this kid will become someone great in the future." One of the persons sitting in the chair said. He was the Sect Master of Earthly Mountain Sect.
"Indeed... But there might be a good chance that he consumed some heavenly elixir or a mysterious herb to gain such cultivation." The Sect Master of Glorious Blossom Sect said in a calm manner.
"Whatever being the reason for his cultivation, it's a fact that this guy has a head start compared to others. I wouldn't mind taking him in our sect if he doesn't have a talent lower than grade 3." The Sect Master of the Floating Cloud sect said in a light tone.
"I would take him in, even if he had a grade 2 talent. Even luck has a strength of its own. He would need extreme luck to find such a miraculous herb." The Sect Master of West Warriors Sect said with a smile.
Only the Sect Master of the Striking Sword sect was silent as he gazed at the mirror.
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"He...he... there's no way he can get to the 4th stage of Gold Core Realm at such a young age! Even a grade 7 talent wouldn't be able to achieve this feat! He must have consumed some extremely rare resources to gain such cultivation! " Prince Lu let out with a shocked look on his face. In his shock, he failed to control his voice which was heard by many people nearby.
"Right! That makes sense!"
"So he just used resources! How lucky!"
"hahaha...And here I thought that he was a genius. Turns out that he is just an over-privileged fella"
Even Elder Jinliang frowned at the possibility.
'It makes sense! In my excitement, I forgot to consider this possibility! There's still a chance that he might have a bad potential!' Elder Jinliang thought as a frown appeared on his face.
"Place your hand on the second orb!" He said as he gazed at the masked boy.
"Hmm... Long Chen let out in a casual manner as he extended his hand towards the second orb.
Everyone in the crowd watched the scene with extreme interest. Even the Sect's staff had their heart beating faster as they waited to know Long Chen's potential.
Long Chen finally placed his hand on the orb. 1...2...3... seconds kept passing but the orb didn't light up.
As everyone was about to give up on their expectations, the orb finally started shining. It shone with a red light... then an orange light... then a yellow light. Everyone was waiting with eager breaths for the lights to change further but it stopped at yellow.
"Hah...A grade 3 talent...I was right. He's just a person who relied on resources to gain cultivation. His talent is merely at a Grade 3." Prince Lu chuckled as he gazed at Long Chen with a mocking look on his face.
"Che... so much for expectations.." Si Jing shook her head as she turned back to leave.
"Only a grade 3...Hmph...Here... take this participation badge. You can participate in the exams." Elder Jinliang said but his expressions were not so friendly anymore.
He was about to pick a grade 3 participation badge when suddenly there were gasps heard in the field. The field that was noisy just a moment ago turned completely silent.