She watched from the side as people entered the river. Some were only able to walk a few meters. Others went much further.

  From what I understand, the walking distance of people without talent is about 10 metres.

  My father walked 85 metres, and my sister 105. So you need to have 1 in 100 talent to go that far. I wonder how far I can go with my 1 in 10,000 talent?

  More than 10 people had already passed. She didn't know any of these people. The record was 55 meters so far. Nothing impressive.

  More people entered the river:

  40, 20, 60, 15, 10, 10, 25, 30.

  Then a boy with a familiar face entered the river. It was probably the same boy who had passed her in the forest earlier.

  "170!"

  People were shocked. Well, it was the first good result. However, it still meant a talent of 1:100. It wasn't much better than her original talent.

  Now, a few good talents have appeared several times in a row: 90, 80, and 120.

  There were about two hundred people there. Logically, if the talent ratio was 1:100, there should only have been two people with that talent.

  However, this was a false understanding. All those who were in the cave were the ones who remained from a larger selection of people from the previous tests.

  Also those from cultivator families had better average talent.

  Therefore, despite the apparent illogic, there were significantly more individuals with a 1:100 talent than one might anticipate. Regardless of their level of cultivation, these people had basically already secured a place.

  Finally, the first person I know is going.

  It's De- Wait, no, ugh, Doe-? Fuck. I forgot his name again.

  In any case, it was a boy who was in love with her.

  The examiner also noticed him.

  Hmm, his appearance is quite unusual. There is nothing special in my information about him. There are no mages among his parents... Could he have a unique physique?

  However, his result suggested otherwise.

  “125!”

  Normally, those with unique physiques possessed incredible talent. There were exceptions, of course, but that was the general rule.

  Although it was a good result, the examiner was a little disappointed. Perhaps he just looked a little different.

  Well, I've never heard of unique physiques that gave the hair a slight purple glow and unnaturally black eyes. Colored hair is normal among mages, so maybe his great-great-grandmother was one? Something like that. Well, that's a shame.

  May had also wondered about this. She herself had fairly light hair, but her mother was a mage, so it was normal.

  This boy was really strange. She subconsciously felt that something was wrong.

  “Do you want to find out?” Minnie suddenly popped up.

  I'd like to, but it's probably expensive.

  “Yes, but I think it's worth satisfying your curiosity.”

  I have to save money. But you can tell me what would it cost.

  “I can show you his profile. His cultivation level is lower, so it only costs 1,000 mu.”

  That's damn expensive. Forget it.

  “It's expensive, but you'll have all the information! His strength, speed, techniques, level, age, and more.”

  “I don't need that. Even if he has unique physique, why would I care? I won't get any benefits from it.”

  “Well... He's in love with you, so if it turns out he has some rare super-extra legendary unique physique, you could hook up with him.”

  Fuck off.

  “Okay, okay. You don't have to buy ALL the information. If you want to buy information about whether he has unique physique, it will only cost you a 70 mu.”

  Was it really worth it? She could have bought herself some good pills for a seventy...

  Okay. Fine.

  “That's awesome! I love you!"

  Okay. And?

  “Well. He doesn't have a unique physique.”

  What? That's it!? What a waste of money! I'll never let you talk me into anything again!

  “Hahaha, we'll see, loser!”

  She was so annoyed that she promised herself she would never buy anything else from her except cultivation supplies.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Huh, at least I know that he doesn't have unique physiques. That doesn't help me much.

  In any case, after a moment, the next person was called. Senlin. The girl seemed to have quite a talent, so May was curious to see how far she would go.

  “90”

  Hmm, less than I expected. It's strange that she has such a good cultivation level. Could her parents really be rich?

  Her level of cultivation did not match her talent, so she suspected that she had rich parents who could provide her with a lot of support in her cultivation.

  “Congratulations, Senlin,” May congratulated her.

  “Oh, it's nothing special,” she smiled and lay down on the ground.

  Testing their talent required all of their Qi energy, so everyone was exhausted after leaving. In addition, the river exerted enormous pressure on everyone.

  “Next, Wang Wang.”

  “It's your turn. Good luck,” said Deng Zhifang.

  “Thanks. I'll do my best.” He said, then went to the river.

  Hmm, he must have even worse talent than Senlin.

  A moment later, he set off. At first, he started choking on water, like everyone else, but after a while he calmed down. Water filled his body.

  He moved

  10 meters.

  20.

  After forty, he started slowing down.

  Hmm, he's approaching the limit. Truly average.

  However, despite the May's predictions he did not stop. He exceeded the 50 meteres limit, but it was clear that he was struggling.

  What is he doing?

  He exceeded 50 and struggled to reach 60. His steps were slow. He felt as if he was carrying a backpack filled with concrete on his back.

  Blood poured from his mouth. His eyes turned red. When May saw his face, she flinched — he looked truly terrible, soaked in blood.

  Finally, he collapsed.

  “Wang!” Senlin shouted with all her might.

  What an idiot.

  The examiner rushed to the river and pulled him out.

  “This is what happens when you exceed the limits. We don't know if he'll survive. He seriously hurt himself. Let's continue for now.”

  Senlin had just lost one of her friends and she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to lose another person close to her.

  May tried to comfort her in her clumsy way, but the girl went off to a quiet corner. She wanted to be alone, and May let her be.

  Despite this terrible incident, everything went on as if it had never happened.

  More people participated. Hardly anyone stood out, but finally the moment arrived.

  “May Shang!”

  The time had come. She went to the examiner.

  As instructed, she placed her hand on a strange gray stone engraved with inscriptions that reminded her of Egyptian hieroglyphs, which glowed like fire.

  She felt her Qi energy leaving her body. It was literally being sucked out of her. It lasted quite a long time. Longer than everyone else.

  My Qi reserves are quite large. I bought pills that increased my Qi level. They are not available here. They are the best quality in the world. My Qi level is clearly higher than anyone else's.

  The examiner, who was standing and watching her, looked at her weirdly.

  “You really have a lot of Qi. Not bad for your age. Regardless of your talent, you must have spent a lot of time cultivating.”

  “Thank you for the compliment.”

  The examiner knew who she was. A few years ago, they had received a letter from her father informing them of her talent. Normally, they would have sent her some cultivation aids, but they were from a distant city, so no one had bothered.

  However, the examiners knew about her incredible level of cultivation. The truth was that she had been watched from the beginning. They couldn't afford to let someone like her die.

  That's why even if a griffin had attacked her, they would have defended her. She was too talented to be allowed to die.

  I wonder how great her talent will be. Maybe even 200 meters?

  She was the first and only person in this group that was considered a 'genius'.

  The examiner couldn't help but be excited.

  The amount of my Qi certainly caught everyone's attention. It had been sucked out for too long, but what can one do?

  She decided to check how much Qi she actually had. She hadn't checked her profile in a long time.

  They really sucked all the Qi out of me. So I have 225 Qi... That's quite a lot, but still not enough.

  “Now put on this medallion.”

  She immediately felt weak. It was as if something was blocking her cultivation. Her body became heavier.

  “When you're ready, get into the river.”

  She headed toward the river. Breathe in this water looked really uncomfortable.

  But I have no other choice.

  Slowly, she began to step down the first steps into the water.

  When the water was just below her lips, she took a desperate breath and submerged herself completely.

  For a moment, she didn't want to let the air out of her mouth, but in the end she had no choice.

  Water began to pour into her mouth. It was a horrible feeling, like drowning.

  She shivered as if she were being burned alive. But after a moment, she felt relief. Finally, the water stopped bothering her.

  Amazing. I'm actually breathing under this strange water. But there's no point in stopping now.

  She walked confidently. To be honest, she didn't feel anything, none of the pressure that others had described. It made sense, considering her current talent.

  She reached 60 meters without any problems.

  That's when Wang Wang fell. But I still don't feel anything. It's like I'm walking normally. I don't even feel the resistance of the water.

  She kept going and finally reached 100. All eyes were on her. It was the people who had exceeded that number who stood out the most.

  Hmm, I feel like I'm underwater. There's a slight resistance, but I don't feel any pain or anything. I think I can easily walk twice as far.

  “She's passed 170 meters! New record!”

  “Not bad, but is she really the best? What a joke. If I go, I'll definitely get further.” One of the jealous peasants who was watching said.

  The examiner smiled too. She had already come a long way, and she didn't seem tired or in pain. It looked promising.

  Finally, she passed the magical 200-meter mark. She still felt fine. Everyone was watching her closely. Some felt jealous. Others were already thinking about how to befriend her. She clearly had talent.

  But she didn't stop. She kept going. The pressure was increasing exponentially. But she still felt fine, knowing she could go on.

  The pressure is stronger, but that's no problem. At this stage, even someone with a talent level of 1:1000 wouldn't have a problem, and I'm one step above that.

  “Impossible! 300 meters!”

  “She made it to the end? I didn't know that was even possible.”

  Even the examiner was shocked.

  So that's it?

  “You have reached the end... Please return.”

  Something seemed wrong to her. She was right; when she returned, the examiner spoke.

  “Unfortunately, your talent cannot be fully assessed. It's just a copy—False Spiritual Qi River. As the name suggests, it's a fake with its own limitations. In most cases, it's sufficient, but sometimes there are people like you with exceptional talent. Your true talent will be assessed in two years at the Inner Court.”

  Everyone was shocked.

  “Talent will be assessed in the Inner Court?” He wasn't speaking hypothetically, but as if he already knew she would get into the Inner Court!

  It was the biggest dream of everyone there, and it seemed that she already had a guaranteed place. Was her talent really that good?

  As soon as she left, everyone rushed over to congratulate her!