Even if they are lucky enough to select one or two children capable of entering the Profound Academy, most of these kids come from families that are either poor or powerless. Unless they are exceptionally talented, it is extremely difficult for them to advance on the path of becoming a Profound Practitioner.\
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After all, the path of advancement for a Profound Practitioner also relies on external resources, which require a large amount of money, especially the consumption of tokens from the workshops, which ordinary families cannot afford. The tokens allocated by the Profound Sect Hall to the Profound Academy are actually far from sufficient.\
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Therefore, if one is unlucky and assigned to test Profound Energy in a remote, impoverished area, it would be sheer suffering. And this time, the ordinary member Dai Li of the Insect Profound Sect Hall, who was assigned to Qitan Town, clearly belongs to this latter category.\
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Now, even if a child with qualified Beast Profound Energy miraculously appears in Qitan Town, in Dai Li's view, this lucky child named Zhang Qiang will not have any chance to work at the Profound Sect Hall in the future, let alone achieve distinction. At best, after graduation, he might return to the Nanluo Kingdom to hold a minor martial official position. At the very limit, even if he joins the Profound Sect Hall, it will be the Beast Sect Hall, which has nothing to do with the Insect Sect Hall where Dai Li belongs.\
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Dai Li felt quite frustrated. Qitan Town was his last stop. He had visited more than a dozen small towns previously and found not a single child with adequate Profound Energy. Now, although the last place finally produced one, it wasn't Insect Profound Energy but Beast Profound Energy. All his efforts were wasted—how could he not be frustrated?\
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“Wait!” Suddenly, amid the noisy crowd, a loud shout rang out. Dai Li heard it but was too lazy to pay attention. Instinctively, he thought it was just some ignorant villager wanting to retest, which often happened in small towns: parents whose children clearly did not meet the Profound Energy standard always refused to give up.\
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Dai Li turned to start packing his things while loudly saying, “The test has ended. If there are any objections to this test, you may go to Qingtian City in two years for a retest.”\
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“Please wait, my son hasn't been tested yet.”\
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Long Yan hurried over to Dai Li's side, placed Long Qian on the ground, and spoke somewhat anxiously: “Sir, I sincerely apologize. My son was delayed by some matters and arrived late. I hope you can accommodate him. Thank you.”\
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Upon hearing that someone had arrived late, Dai Li finally turned to look at Long Yan and coldly said, “You can be late for a Profound Energy test, so what can't you be late for in the future?”For those who are not punctual, the Xuanzong Hall never makes exceptions.” Long Yan was immediately at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. At that moment, a somewhat childish voice raised a question: “Is there a specific time requirement for the Xuqi test?”
This question made Dai Li and Long Yan both pause in surprise. A time requirement for the Xuqi test? Clearly, there was none. Dai Li, feeling somewhat annoyed, lowered his gaze toward the child who had asked the question. But when he got a clear look at the child, he was clearly taken aback, a trace of astonishment flashing across his eyes.
Dai Li had traveled through more than a dozen small towns and had seen hundreds of children of all shapes and sizes, including many with disabilities or deformities. Yet he had never seen a child come running to participate in a Xuqi test covered in blood, and it was obvious that the blood was not from an animal but from a human!
Dai Li furrowed his brows and carefully scrutinized Long Qian, unable to help but ask: “Where did the blood on your body come from?”
Long Yan was obviously at a loss for what to say when Dai Li suddenly asked this question. In fact, he himself was very curious about the blood on Long Qian's body and also knew that it was human blood, but because time was too tight, he hadn't had a chance to inquire.
However, Long Qian responded almost without thinking: “I accidentally knocked over a tub of pig's blood and got it on me.”
This answer made Dai Li breathe a sigh of relief. For any person, it would be hard to imagine a six-year-old child knowingly covered in human blood and calmly coming to participate in the Xuqi test. After all, it was a truly shocking thing.
“Although the Xuqi test has no time restrictions, I have my own arrangements. I cannot conduct the test for your son individually. Come to Qingtian City in two years for a supplementary test.”
Dai Li looked at Long Yan mercilessly and said, then turned to start packing the six-sided crystal standards on the table. He just wanted to return to Xuanzong Hall as soon as possible. After traveling through more than a dozen towns, he had had enough.
Hearing Long Yan's request denied, the townspeople gathered outside Xuanzong Hall shifted their attention from discussing and admiring Qiangzi to watching Long Yan being rejected twice. Some sighed, while others seemed to take pleasure in his misfortune.And those gossipy women in the town who were more familiar with An'an crowded around An'an standing at the entrance of the Xuan Temple, persistently urging An'an to pull Long Yan back so that the officials in the Xuan Zong Hall wouldn't get angry. Some even started shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Don't embarrass yourself there! Go back! At worst, you can wait two years to take the test in Qing Tian City!”
“We already have one person in our town who meets the standard. Stop hoping for more! Your son has no chance!”
“What's the point of testing? No matter how many times you test, it's useless if you can't meet the standard. Go back! That thing is useless anyway!”
“Buddy! We all support you! Maybe your son will be the second person in Qi Tan town to meet the standard. We can't let him leave! If he goes, the opportunity is gone!”
“Go on! Our whole Qi Tan town supports you…”
“…” Amidst all kinds of voices—some persuading, some discouraging, some inciting—the area outside the Xuan Temple became a chaotic scene. The town residents, having been idle for a while after a child unexpectedly met the standard, were now stirred up again by the appearance of a late-arriving member of the Long family, naturally causing a wave of commotion.
Dai Li, obviously accustomed to such noisy uproar, didn't even look up and continued packing up. As he was about to put away the largest hexagonal crystal, the one used to test Xuan energy, he suddenly glanced at the bloodstained child, who had unexpectedly run to the front of the hexagonal crystal and reached out a hand toward it.
Dai Li was shocked, extremely angry, and ready to grab the child away.
But just as Dai Li reached out his hand, a burst of green light suddenly exploded!
The green light, as if spring winds had painted the earth green, instantly cast the entire Xuan Temple square in a verdant glow! At this moment, all the noise around vanished. Dai Li stared at the scene, mouth agape.
This brilliant green light lasted for a full five seconds before suddenly retracting back into the hexagonal crystal. Dai Li twisted his stiff neck to look at Long Qian, standing in front of the hexagonal crystal. Just as he was about to speak…
Another burst of yellow light violently shot out. This light was even stronger, more dazzling, more brilliant, flooding the Xuan Temple and the square in a golden hue. People instinctively closed their eyes but couldn't resist peeking through a slit to admire the golden Xuan Temple, which seemed as if it were made of pure gold.In a blaze of golden light, the townspeople could no longer see Long Qian, nor Dai Li or Long Yan; they were all engulfed by the golden radiance. In the deathly silence, everyone only heard a crisp 'crack,' and then the golden light vanished instantly. The six-sided crystal placed on the table had actually split into two halves! Dai Li staggered and fell to the ground, her face full of astonishment.
- Chapter 22, The End.
