Latent Talent Test

"Are you here already?" the bearded old man was astonished. Joshua's speed in completing the test was extraordinary. The time he took to complete the phase one and two was okay, but the last part was the one that took the most time, and yet he finished rather quickly.

"Junior greets the Elder," Joshua performed a bow, and the Elder felt pleased.

Joshua read tons of novels so he knew how to behave himself in front of those who were stronger than him.

"My first goal in this place is to become the sect leader. I have 20 years to do so. Will it be possible?" Joshua thought.

Joshua was inside the body of a youth who appeared in the first volume of the novel. When the MC arrived in the sect, Joshua was already an inner disciple. So based on his calculations, the MC would arrive in about 20 years.

It may seem a lot to humans but 20 years for cultivators is nothing. Joshua wasn't that confident in becoming the sect leader in that small period, but he had to do it.

The MCs heaven-defying talent would attract the attention of the current sect leader, and he would take the MC as his disciple. Joshua wanted the MC as his disciple so that he could observe him and his system.

"Good, good. Respecting the elders isn't something you should be ashamed of," the elder said, and then he waved his hand, opening the palace's huge doors.

"We shall wait inside for the others. Come," he said to Joshua, and they both entered the marvelous palace.

It was huge. Joshua thought the palace was big looking from afar, but now that he was there in person, everything seemed more majestical. They went into the main room to wait for the others. A huge platform stood at the center. Joshua assumed that it was used so that the elders could speak to everyone present. Multiple chairs were facing the platform, and Joshua sat in one of those.

"Your mental strength is quite good to survive against the illusions," the elder said to Joshua.

"You think so?" Joshua knew that the only reason he was immune to the illusions was because of Miranda.

"I do, indeed. You may think that the talent for cultivation is the only thing that matters, that's wrong," the elder said as he prepared a cup of hot tea.

Joshua was intrigued. Talent for cultivation seemed to play a huge part in every novel he had read. He knew that his current body had decent talent, but nothing extraordinary like the MC of the story. Joshua was thinking of ways to overcome that since the very first day he arrived in this world, and he knew some ways.

"You see, tons of people had heavenly talents for cultivation, since ancient times. But not all of them achieve great things. Do you know why?" The elder asked.

"Junior is ignorant in this matter, I'm sorry," Joshua bowed once again, but the elder moved his hand as saying it's nothing.

"It's okay. You're still young after all," he dismissed that, and continue talking.

"Mental strength, perseverance, and being smart play an even bigger role than talent itself. It doesn't matter your talent if you do not persevere enough to achieve your goals. And talent and perseverance don't matter if you're a fool and end up in bad situations. You must find the balance between these three things, and I'm sure you'll become a great cultivator," Joshua listened carefully at everything the elder said, and it did make sense.

The world of cultivation was fierce, and relying on talent alone to survive would be foolishness.

"Thank you for your teachings, elder," Joshua said.

"It was nothing. When you join our sect officially I'll help you in any way I can. You can call me Elder Ji," Ji smiled, and Joshua felt more at ease.

One hour passed since that, and two more people arrived at the palace. It was the two from the same city as Joshua. He knew they would pass as he had helped them by giving a tip about the illusions.

They paid their respects to Elder Ji, and sat near Joshua, waiting for the rest of the participants to come. Joshua didn't think that too many would pass the test. Most of them would crumble when facing illusions. They wouldn't get hurt, of course, the cultivators wouldn't allow that, but they would fail the test in the end, and that would hurt their pride.

In the end, only 7 people passed. Joshua, the other two from Twin Rivers City, and the other four people that Joshua didn't know. They were probably from a town nearby, so it was common for them to be unknown to Joshua. He looked at them and tried to remember if they were some important characters in the novel, but in the end, he couldn't link them to any of the novel's characters.

"7 people... This year's recruitment did quite well," Elder Ji said as he stepped inside the platform. He looked towards the 7 youth that was known members of the Green Cauldron Sect proudly.

"I'm Elder Ji. Now, we will use this magical stone to test everyone's talent. And please remember, don't be discouraged by the lack of talent. Perseverance and a bit of luck can get any of you far, remember that."

Elder Ji waved his hand and a huge magical stone appeared above the platform. He called them in the order of their arrival, so Joshua was the first to get his talent tested.

Joshua walked towards the stone and placed his hand above it. He knew that the stone would change colors based on the talent of the individual who placed his hand above it, and he also knew that the real Joshua had a decent talent. On a scale of 1 to 10, his talent was 6. Not bad, but not good either.

But something strange happened. When Joshua placed his hand above the magical stone, the color of it changed to black.

"Black? This never happened before," Elder Ji was astonished, and he looked towards Joshua with a strange face.

"I'm sorry Joshua but I can't determine your talent with precision. The stone may be damaged or you have a unique type of meridians, who knows," Elder Ji was surprised, and he would eventually tell what happened to the sect leader.

Joshua went back to his chair and waited for the others to have their talent tested...