Chapter 4: Supreme Talent, Really?

To test spiritual roots, one simply needed to place their hand on the spirit-testing stone and inject a bit of spiritual energy to reveal their aptitude. Blue indicated low-grade aptitude. Green was medium-grade. Red meant high-grade. Purple signified a supreme-grade aptitude. Those with low-grade aptitude had virtually no room for advancement. Medium-grade could typically reach the position of a sect elder. High-grade? Immortals were as common as dogs, and Celestials walked the land like grass.

Soon it was Qu Wanwan’s turn. She placed her hand on the testing stone—red, high-grade aptitude. Qu Wanwan, once underestimated by many, turned out to have high-grade potential. That meant she had a real chance of ascending to Celestial status. Immediately, several fairy attendants who once looked down on her changed their expressions to one of respectful admiration.

Next up was Yun Yi. With a nervous heart, she placed her hand on the stone and slowly released her spiritual energy. This time, however, the result did not appear immediately. The stone first turned blue, then green, then red, and finally settled on purple. But after a while, it stabilized as green.

Qu Wanwan, who had already cultivated several advanced techniques and made progress in her cultivation, sensed a flicker of magical fluctuation in the shadows. It was barely noticeable and only lasted for an instant, which showed the person was extremely skilled. Still, it was just as well that Yun Yi’s supreme-grade aptitude went undetected—for now, it spared her unnecessary trouble. So Qu Wanwan chose not to interfere.

But whispers about Yun Yi’s aptitude swirled in the air. Some said she was hiding her true strength, playing the pig to eat the tiger. Others claimed she had simply concealed her abilities. There were also those who insisted she truly had poor aptitude and the testing stone had simply malfunctioned.

The first stage of the examination ended quickly. A Celestial announced that the second stage would take place in three days.

Yun Yi had been wondering about it for a while and finally asked, “The testing stone couldn’t have made a mistake. So what happened, Wanwan?”

Qu Wanwan replied, “I sensed a very faint spiritual fluctuation just now. Someone tampered with your result. You’re definitely a supreme-grade talent—don’t doubt yourself.”

Yun Yi nodded thoughtfully, though a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. How did Wanwan know she had supreme-grade talent? Then a trace of helplessness surfaced—so what if she was a supreme-grade? She still struggled to even gather spiritual energy.

That night, Qu Wanwan sneaked into Ling Wanqing’s room and left behind a cute little fire spirit. That girl was the one who bullied Yun Yi the most. Back when Yun Yi was still protected by the Emperor, no one dared touch her. But when they realized she was timid, had poor aptitude, and low spiritual power, people—led by Ling Wanqing—began bullying her in both open and subtle ways. Qu Wanwan recorded her room catching fire and her getting all charred and black using a memory stone, then slipped away like a shadow.

Using the Gentle Breeze Technique, she was back in moments. Yun Yi hadn’t returned yet, so Qu Wanwan took the chance to tinker with the celestial realm’s memory stones. Since they were similar to video recording on phones, could she turn them into a cultivation version of a smartphone? With that thought, she got to work.

By injecting spiritual power into two memory stones, she enabled double-tap video playback. The recorded content could also be wiped using spiritual energy—just like that, a simple version of a “cultivator’s smartphone” was born.

Just then, Yun Yi returned. Qu Wanwan handed her the memory stone and played back the contents. With almond-shaped eyes curving into a smile, she said, “Yiyi, my beauty, I’ve avenged you and myself for all those times they bullied us. From now on, stick with me. If anyone dares pick on you, I’ll beat them up!”

She waved her little pink fist in righteous anger. Yun Yi smiled gently at her and said softly, “Thank you, Wanwan. You’re so kind.” Then her face blushed slightly.

Truth be told, they hadn’t known each other for long. For immortals, this brief time was but a blink in their long lives. Yet Yun Yi had already carved this straightforward girl deep into her heart.

The moon hung high in the sky, tree shadows swaying in uneven silhouettes. Silver light filtered through the branches and onto the face of one who couldn’t sleep. She, Qu Wanwan, was like that moonlight—illuminating the vast world, yet casting twin shadows…

On the fifth day, Yun Yi hadn’t rested much but got up to collect dew. Carefully, she raised a delicate dew-umbrella to gather the drops, then made a lotus seed porridge and gave it to Qu Wanwan. Wanwan devoured it eagerly, exclaiming between mouthfuls, “Yiyi! This is way too delicious! Can you make this for me every day? It smells soooo good—ah, mmm… Ever since I ascended, I haven’t eaten anything. I missed this so much!”

Yun Yi propped her chin in her hands, smiling with a gleam in her eyes. “If you like it, I’ll make it for you every day. Slow down, there’s more if you want it.”

After breakfast, Yun Yi went off to cultivate, and Qu Wanwan contacted the system. “Hey System, got any free snacks in your system shop? This place up on the Ninth Heaven is the worst—no phones, no computers, no refrigerators. All we do is cultivate or sleep. I’m so bored.”

“No!” The system responded flatly.

“If you don’t give me something, I’ll kill myself!”

“…I can only give you a portable music player.”

As soon as the words fell, a tiny earring landed in Qu Wanwan’s palm. Shaped like a little snowflake, it was small and delicate. She immediately wore it on her ear. “Thanks, System.”

Life was so good. Eating, drinking, sleeping every day, threatening the system to give her fun gadgets—it wasn’t so bad. Way better than the exhausting grind of clocking in at 8 AM and out at 8 PM, working six days a week. T-T

In the blink of an eye, the second round of testing arrived. Last time it had been outside Yi Lan Hall. This time, it was held inside.

The interior of the hall was simply decorated. About twenty to thirty desks were arranged neatly, each one set with talisman brushes and paper. Directly opposite the entrance sat a large table—the seat of the proctoring Celestial.

The Celestial at the front addressed the candidates: “Today’s exam is on Illusion Morphing Technique. Now, I will distribute flower pots to you all.” With a flick of his sleeve, a flower pot appeared before each person.

“You may use your imagination. You have one incense stick’s time to morph a flower or a spirit herb. The more realistic, the better. The illusion must hold until the incense burns out. If it collapses before that, you’re eliminated. Alright, begin!”

Qu Wanwan stayed calm and collected, reaching out to the system. “Hey System, gimme some wood-element spells.”

“…”

“No spell, no life!”

“‘Rebirth Technique’, sent.”

“Thanks, System. Mwah~”

As time passed, the room buzzed with chatter. People began to question—wasn’t Qu Wanwan high-grade aptitude? Why hadn’t she moved at all? Meanwhile, medium-grade Yun Yi had already successfully morphed a Three Petal Flower and passed to the next stage.

Just as the incense was about to burn out, Qu Wanwan completed her study of the Rebirth Technique. As if she had practiced it countless times before, she formed the incantation skillfully and calmly, morphing a Long Petal Flower. Incense out—she passed.

Qu Wanwan maintained her illusion while listening to her new music player. At that moment, a spirit butterfly flew onto Yun Yi’s Three Petal Flower for a moment, then fluttered over to Qu Wanwan’s Long Petal Flower. The examiner nodded in approval—if even a spirit butterfly was drawn in, the illusion was clearly convincing.

As time ticked by, many candidates had beads of sweat forming on their foreheads. Yun Yi and Qu Wanwan, however, strolled through the round with ease. Yun Yi had solid foundations and trained diligently. Qu Wanwan, with her superior aptitude, had spiritual energy in endless supply.

“Time’s up!” the Celestial proctor declared.

He walked to each candidate, calling out names and grading them. An attendant recorded the results beside him. Yun Yi received an “A” grade. Qu Wanwan also got an “A.” Worth noting—Wang Xiaoyue also earned an A. Three A’s in total. The rest received B’s. Those whose illusions failed early or didn’t last were given a C and were eliminated immediately.