Genius and Mediocrity

The third-generation disciple responsible for recording had his mouth wide open for a moment before he finally exclaimed excitedly, "Number 89, Xiao Chengmo, Metal Attribute, Super Grade A!"

Even the silver-robed elders who had been sitting far off with half-closed eyes were stirred by this and quickly approached.

The leading elder, a lion-like, robust old man, looked at the brilliant golden glow radiating from the first stone egg with satisfaction, nodding approvingly. He laughed and said, "Not bad, today we finally have our first Super Grade A talent. Haha, my Wen Jian Sect is flourishing, and now we have another genius!"

Another elder whispered a few words to the third-generation disciple, who quickly started recording something on his notes. Xiao Chengmo from Qingyang Town was evidently marked as a priority candidate.

The guards from Qingyang Town cheered in delight, thrilled by their young master's talent.

Ding Sheng felt a sense of awe in his heart. Xiao Chengmo's gift was indeed powerful; just this alone would likely guarantee him a secure spot in Wen Jian Sect, as a Super Grade A talent spoke for itself.

The name Xiao Chengmo, young master of Qingyang Town, was etched into the minds of many of the other young participants undergoing the test.

The waves of excitement brought on by this impressive display gradually calmed, and the assessment resumed.

Suddenly, another wave of exclamations came from the front.

A shimmering blue light surged into the sky, dyeing the adjacent testing platform a crystalline, water-like blue that shone as brilliantly as Xiao Chengmo's earlier display.

"Number 789, Li Yilin, Water Attribute, Super Grade A."

The excited shout of the third-generation disciple resounded on the testing platform once more.

Ding Sheng felt a jolt, and looked up.

On the adjacent attribute testing platform stood a proud yet stunningly beautiful young woman, Li Yilin, dressed in a pure white gauze dress that billowed in the breeze, like a celestial maiden about to leave the mortal world.

With her delicate, jade-like fingers placed on the third stone egg, a striking blue glow enveloped her and the stone egg, making her appear all the more enchanting, like a goddess gracing the world.

Such a stunning scene immediately captivated countless eyes. Especially the young noblemen from various influential backgrounds stared at the white-robed maiden on the platform, their gazes fixed as if their very souls had flown away.

"Another Super Grade A genius!"

"So beautiful—she's practically a fairy!"

"If she smiled at me, my life would be complete."

Below the testing platform, the Wen Jian Sect disciples and the young participants alike stared at the celestial-like girl on the stage, eager to worship her and murmuring in excitement.

"Who would have thought that this devious little pepper would have such high talent, matching Xiao Chengmo. By the way, where is her cousin, Li Sunyang? And that legendary girl, Xie Yu? I wonder how their tests went," thought Ding Sheng, recalling that he had encountered these two prodigies by chance three days prior.

The line moved forward, and soon it was Ding Sheng's turn.

Stepping onto the first testing platform, he handed his number plate to a third-generation disciple and then approached the stone egg representing the metal attribute, pressing his palms against it.

Based on his memories, the previous Ding Sheng had participated in several tests but hadn't activated any stone egg, leaving his attribute unknown. Thus, he could only test them one by one now.

The first stone egg showed no reaction whatsoever, not even a flicker of light.

This meant Ding Sheng lacked any trace of the metal attribute.

Frowning slightly, he moved on to the second stone egg representing the wood attribute and placed his palms on it.

After ten seconds, still no reaction.

Another failure.

Ding Sheng furrowed his brow and moved on to the third stone egg representing the water attribute, pressing both palms on it.

After ten seconds, once again, nothing happened.

Failure again.

By this time, the young participants waiting in line behind him were already starting to jeer, some even laughing at his misfortune. Even the third-generation disciples overseeing the testing showed impatience and gazed at Ding Sheng with a sympathetic expression.

Without pausing, Ding Sheng pressed his hands onto the fourth stone egg, representing the fire attribute.

The result was the same.

The fire attribute stone egg showed no reaction at all.

Only the earth attribute and the rare attribute test stone egg remained.

Generally speaking, the human body contains traces of the five elemental attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Among these five, one attribute usually dominates.

For example, Xiao Chengmo's Super Grade A metal attribute meant that the metal attribute was especially strong in his body, making him highly compatible with metal-based cultivation techniques. However, this didn't mean he only had a metal attribute, but rather that his metal attribute overpowered the other four, making cultivating in other elements difficult and less effective.

Cases like Ding Sheng's, where there was no reaction from the metal, wood, water, or fire testing stone eggs, were rare.

This essentially suggested that Ding Sheng was a talentless person with no martial potential.

Ding Sheng frowned, contemplating his next move.

"Come on, hurry up, you little brat! There's a line of people waiting. If you're not going to take the test, then get lost! Damn it, wasting my time with such useless talent!"

The third-generation disciple recording Ding Sheng's performance had already grown impatient and scolded him harshly.

Ding Sheng looked up at the short, stout disciple and smirked coldly. Without a word, he approached the earth attribute stone egg and placed his palms on it.

After over ten seconds, once again, there was no reaction at all.

It seemed Ding Sheng also had no earth attribute.

"Damn it, what rotten luck. He's a complete failure with no elemental attributes. Take your plate and get lost."

The short, stocky third-generation disciple sneered as he tossed Ding Sheng's plate at him in disdain, clearly frustrated after Ding Sheng had glared at him earlier.

Ding Sheng caught the plate in his hand with a cold smile and said, "There's still one last stone egg left. How do you know for certain that I'm worthless?"

"Just look at you, dressed like a pauper. Do you think you'll have any of those rare attributes? I think you should save yourself the embarrassment and leave now."

The short, stout third-generation disciple continued to mock him relentlessly.

This disciple, short and plump with an ugly face, looked at Ding Sheng's tall, slender figure, handsome features, and extraordinary temperament with jealousy. Seeing Ding Sheng dressed in ragged clothes and alone, he assumed Ding Sheng was of little significance and therefore went out of his way to pick on him.