5 Fire and Ice. (1/2)

”Which child wishes to be tested first?”

As the crystal lit up, the elder turned towards the waiting children as he spoke. His words caused a small commotion amongst the children, as they were all eager to learn their results, but worried about what would happen if they had bad results.

”I guess I will go first then.”

Liang Zhou nonchalantly stepped forward, a calming smile on his face. He placed both hands on the crystal, and after a short moment, the crystal reacted. Within the crystal one could see a rock the size of a person's head, as well as a tiny patch of earth.

”Affinity for the laws of stone, talent grade 3. Affinity for the laws of earth, talent grade 1.”

The elder spoke out in a loud voice, making sure that everyone could hear his words. His words caused a few faint exclamations from the crowd, as someone with a talent grade of 3 was very rare within their small village.

Talent grade was separated into nine different grades, with grade one being the lowest grade, and grade nine being the highest grade. Most of the people in the village only had a talent grade of one, with some people not even having a talent grade.

Seeing the result, Liang Zhou and Liang Zhu could not help but smile faintly. When Liang Zhou had been tested last time, he had only had an affinity for the laws of stone, and back then it was only with a talent grade two. His new result was clearly much better.

”I did not disappoint you, father.”

Liang Zhou walked over to Liang Zhu as he gave a deep bow. He was Liang Zhu's only son, so all of Liang Zhu's hopes had been placed on him. It was his responsibility to protect the village and allow it to flourish.

While Liang Zhu was patting Liang Zhou on the shoulder, telling him how proud he was, Li Yang was inspecting the crystal with a curious gaze. He only had a few memories of his past life at the moment, and none of them contained a crystal like this, so he was rather curious about it.

”Who is next?”

The elder in charge of the crystal turned towards the rest of the children, speaking out once more. A few of the children started calling out that it was their turn, but Li Yang remained silent. He was content with simply watching for now.

”Liang Xinyi, you can be the next one.”

While the children were bickering, the elder decided to take charge and appoint someone as the next person. The child he pointed at was a young girl who seemed no older than 10 or 11. She was clad in a simple white robe that was slightly patched up.

”Yes, Elder Ruogang.”