6 Chapter 5: Talen (1/2)

Without further ado, Teacher Jiao brought us to the center of the academy, where an empty square awaited us along with a bunch of old men. My first impression was that they were creepy old men, just rubbing their hands gleefully at the sight of so many younglings willingly wandering into their reaches while wearing lecherous grins.

It was possible, though, that they were merely overly excited over the prospect of receiving new disciples and students. I wondered if these old men were teachers too, like the relatively younger adults guiding us toward the bare square.

Well, it wasn't exactly empty. There was a gigantic black monument stone in the middle of the square, basking lazily in the sunlight. The crowd of old dudes had assembled in a circle that was quite some distance from the monument, serene and patient expressions on their faces. There were a few middle-aged ones, a few young ones (though, with the concept of xian, I couldn't tell if it was only their appearances that were youthful), and a handful of ancient ones. What caught my eye particularly were several old dudes dressed in flashy, extravagant robes, which made them stand out from the rest of their compatriots. Green, flowing robes with dragons etched onto the fabric. Red and golden robes of soft silk that featured an emblem of a soaring phoenix. Silver and blue robes that bore the crest of a roaring tiger. Black robes that displayed a tortoise surrounded by snakes.

”Aren't those the four major sects?” Tong Xue murmured when he caught sight of those elders. I nodded, having a portion of my memory of this lifetime return to me.

The current big four sects. Green Dragon Sect, Red Phoenix Sect, White Tiger Sect and Black Tortoise Sect. even back in my first lifetime, within a world of normalcy, those four Celestial Creatures were renowned in both Chinese astrology and constellations, as well as the Five Elements principle. They were the ultimate celestial guardians, supposedly protecting both heaven and earth from evil and demonic forces.

”Those masters,” Ban Zhang spoke up calmly. ”They're here to pick disciples from within our batch.”

”How are they planning on picking disciples?” Zhu Jiao wondered out loud. ”What's the criteria for choosing who is worthy of being their disciples?”

Teacher Jiao offered a curt explanation without turning back, especially since he had already told us earlier.

”We're going to measure your talent. The masters will make their selections according to the talent you possess.”

”Is talent something that can be measured in the first place?” I muttered skeptically under my breath. However, Teacher Jiao heard me. Shaking his head, he turned around with a wry and disapproving smile.

”According to those old fogeys, talent is measured by the quality of your constitution.”

I could tell that Teacher Jiao strongly disagreed with this method of judging one's worth, but he couldn't do anything about it because he was clearly ranked below the masters.

”…constitution?” Tu Zi Yi, a pretty girl from our class, asked in a puzzled tone. Teacher Jiao nodded.

”That's right. We call them Star Constitutions. Simply put, Star Constitutions are an individual's innate qi essence. With a good Star Constitution, cultivating will be much more efficient, and it usually is accompanied by excellent perception.”

”And how do you define a good Star Constitution?” Zhu Jiao wondered out loud.

”The higher the number of stars, the better your Star Constitution,” Teacher Jiao explained wearily. ”For example, if two practitioners are at the same cultivation level, the one with a Two Star Constitution will have an overwhelming advantage over the one with a One Star Constitution. A practitioner with Three Star Constitution would be much better than a cultivator with Two Star Constitution. And so on and so forth.”

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, probably worried about their type of Constitution. I sighed heavily, knowing that I would be a pathetic protagonist with only a One Star Constitution. Given my horrible luck, these bad things always happened to me. Furthermore, I was completely aware that I had no talent in anything whatsoever.

I had to be prepared for the worst.

But I had another question in mind.

”Aren't we already students of Wu Ling Academy? Why are these sects still trying to recruit us?” I whispered to Tong Xue, who turned to stare at me in surprise.

”Don't you know? Wu Ling Academy isn't a sect. It's an academy where disciples from all the different sects gather to learn martial arts together. It provides an intense, competitive environment, pools all the sects' resources together to ensure that no one gets left out or is inherently disadvantaged – ideally, anyway – and allows us to spar and learn from each other. It's also the best institution who works on preserving endangered martial arts and restoring lost techniques from the ancient times. It's not a sect per say, but an alliance of sects.”

”Wow, that's amazing,” Zhu Jiao murmured, totally impressed. Evidently he was just as ignorant about this world as I was. I didn't know if it was because he came from another life, or was the typical protagonist who didn't know anything.

We reached the field and formed up in rows before the old masters. One of them stepped forward, dressed in traditional black and white robes that sported a yin-yang circle at the back. He resembled a Taoist priest from ancient times, with a magnificent-looking sword sheathed by his sword. Even when kept under a scabbard, I could feel the potent power radiating from its blade.

”I am the Principal of Wu Ling Academy, Xiao Zhang,” the old man introduced himself. ”And I welcome you all to the great, prestigious halls of our revered Wu Ling Academy! Feel honored, for all of you will now be a part of our glorious history!”

There was a cheer from the back, and then all the students clapped enthusiastically, somewhat affected by Xiao Zhang's speech. The old man swept a long glance over the mass of students fondly, smiling genially as he took us in.

”As your homeroom teachers have told you by now,” the old man continued after the applause died down. ”Right now you were all be subjected to one final test before you become official students of Wu Ling Academy.”

So if we failed, we would be forced to drop out? After coming this far? This wasn't fair!

”You are probably aware of this, but like every other martial arts academy in Martial City, we base our measurement on the Star Constitution system. Meaning, we'll be measuring how many Stars your Constitutions have.”

There was a murmur in the crowd of students, but Xiao Zhang raised a hand and everyone fell silent immediately.

”Under normal circumstances, an individual with better quality Star Constitutions will possess a better cultivation level. And the quality of your Star Constitutions will determine your perception as well.”

”That's not necessarily the case,” Teacher Jiao spoke up, interrupting the principal. Wow, but I didn't expect him to be so bold. ”Perception is a completely different thing from Star Constitution, so it is possible to have good perception and a low quality Star Constitution, or bad perception even if you have a high quality Star Constitution.”

”But such cases are rare.”

I noticed that Xiao Zhang didn't refute Teacher Jiao's point.

”Normally, an excellent Star Constitution will promise you a limitless future. Nothing else will matter. If you possess a Four Star Constitution, all these big sects will be willing to snap you up. You will have your pick. But if you only have a One Star Constitution, then most likely none of these sects will be willing to recruit you.”

There was an unspoken ”you'll be treated like trash” tacked onto the end of his sentence. I frowned at that.

”To put it bluntly, your Star Constitution will determine your future. With a good quality Star Constitution, even without any fateful opportunities, one's achievements will not be far from greatness. However, if you have a poor Star Constitution, no matter how much effort you put in, you'll barely avoid being left behind only if you also possess excellent luck.” Xiao Zhang stroked his beard and sighed. ”That is the harsh truth of Martial City.”

The fuck is this bullshit? Your future was decided by some stupid measuring instrument that claimed to be able to quantify how much potential you had? In a way, I guess, that was exactly what the education system did with grades. Scored bad grades and went to a bad school? Well, regardless of ability, the hiring company would rather employ someone with better grades who had enrolled in a prestigious school. That said, it wasn't always the case, and even those who didn't perform academically could succeed beyond their wildest imaginations. Furthermore, grades were decided by how much you studied and how well you actually performed in examinations, not by some stupid computer measuring your IQ and then deciding that you would have a bleak future and fail even before you took the damned examination!

The logic of these martial artist settings was just astounding.

”Why isn't this part of the entrance examinations?” a student from another class shouted from behind. ”Why have all of us take this exam only after we came all the way to the academy? What's going to happen if we get eliminated?”

”Don't worry,” Xiao Zhang assured him. ”Our rigorous examination system ensures that no one unworthy will pass through to this stage.Even if you're a One-Star Constitution practitioner, you'll be allowed to stay. Just don't…expect to have an easy time, or look forward to a bright future.”

So he was already writing us off.

”In any case, the black monument is built into academy grounds. We're not able to move it. If you remember, you're only allowed into the academy if you pass the entrance exams. Outsiders will not be able to make use of the monument to measure their Constitutions.”

Now that he mentioned it, I had a faint memory that wasn't from my original timeline that told me the entrance exams were conducted in a different location, far away from the actual academy. That was why they didn't bring the black monument with them.

”So how do we measure our Star Constitutions?” Qi Fu Ren demanded impatiently. Unlike me, he seemed pretty confident, already believing that he would possess unsurpassed talent. I wished I could be as delusional as him.

Xiao Zhang gestured toward the black monument. I wonder if I should call it a Blackstone or in High Gothic, the noctilith. I wondered if it also possessed the power to nullify psychic sorcery and the strength of the warp as well as to amplify the witchery of the warp. If that was the case, I prayed there wasn't an ancient tomb of mechanical undead xenos lying in slumber beneath this world, waiting to awaken and claim the galaxy once more.

”Place your hand on the black monument and focus. The monument will measure your Star Constitution.”

”How can we tell what our Star Constitutions are?” Ban Zhang asked curiously.

”By the glow. I'll be here to gauge the brightness of the glow, but for general purposes, the brighter the glow, the higher the quality of your Star Constitution.”

That sounded pretty dismal. I could already tell that I wouldn't have a bright future.

The rest of the students stirred, chattering to each other.

”I guess we should just go for it?” Tong Xue whispered to me. I shrugged, not at all eager to test myself. I could already imagine everyone's response when they see my One Star Constitution. No doubt I was destined for a life of ridicule and scorn.

And to make matters worse, I bet everyone else would have a Three or Four Star Constitution or something, which only served to cement their belief of superiority over me. In wuxia novel terms, I would be trash among a sea of talent.

”Oh…I can't wait!”

In contrast to me, Zhu Jiao was rubbing his hands enthusiastically, his eyes shining with expectation.

”I wonder what Constitution I will have!”

”Given that you're the main character (it's a pun on Zhu Jiao's name, because main character is Zhu Jiao in Chinese), I wouldn't be surprised if you get a Five Star Constitution or something.”

”Ha ha ha ha…you really think so?” Zhu Jiao was laughing in embarrassment, completely oblivious to my sarcasm and bitterness. I sighed and shrugged.

”Only one way to find out.”

As there were hundreds of students and only one monument, the final test took quite a long while. My class was scheduled to be the fourth one, and we patiently awaited our turn as the students of the first three classes stepped forward to have their talent measured.

Before I knew it, time had flown by and the first three classes were done. My class was already lining up in front of the monument, with Xiao Zhang standing beside it and waiting for each of us to step up. He gestured for us to begin. We all looked at each other, suddenly frozen by indecision and nerves.

”…I…I guess I'll go first.”

As always, our future class representative, Ban Zhang, was reliable. He swallowed, but determined to be a good example to the rest of class, took the lead and stepped up first. He took a deep breath, then pressed his palm against the smooth surface of the black monolith.

It glowed brightly, a purplish light shimmering around the entire structure. The class gaped at the magnificent view, enamored by the beauty of soft colors swirling around the Blackstone. It was easy to lose oneself just from staring at the comfortable display of qi.

”Three Stars Constitution.” Xiao Zhang smiled. ”Above average. Not bad, not bad at all. You have a bright future ahead of you, young man.”

The relief on Ban Zhang's face was visible. He wiped the perspiration from his face, and then nodded his thanks to the Sage before withdrawing.

From what I saw, none of the students from the first three classes had gotten anything below Two Star Constitutions. Most of them had Three Star Constitutions, and there was a sizeable number of Two Star Constitution candidates, and Xiao Zhang made a huge deal when one or two of them was gauged to have Four Star Constitutions.

Apparently, Xiao Zhang was telling the truth when he said the entrance exams had already weeded out the untalented and the unworthy.

”It isn't so bad, guys.”

Everyone watched Ban Zhang in awe as he descended the stage and gave us a thumbs up. Then they began cheering.

”Not bad!”

'Well done!”

”Great job!”

”Ahem.” Xiao Zhang cleared his throat, and our cheers died down. He smiled at us patiently. ”So who's next?”

”Me! Me!”

Qi Fu Ren barreled his way to the front, knocking over outraged and fearful classmates. But none of them dared to bar his path or protest. Except me and Zhu Jiao, but it was too late. As we helped Tu Zi Yi and a few of the other classmates back up to their feet, Qi Fu Ren had already climbed the stage and was hastily approaching the Blackstone.

”Heh…we have quite the eager young one, don't we?”