Chapter 138 – Sensitive
Zuo Qiu Ming pondered about the little kid’s potential, He knew the possibility of Ye Wei becoming a certified Runemaster within the age of twenty was certain even if the prodigy did not make it through today.
‘This is not just talent. It is not natural that a boy his age can fully refine any stance. This young monster will definitely become something one day!’ he thought to himself.
This was not the first time Ye Wei became the center of attention in front of an older crowd. He just humbly nodded to Zuo Qiu Ming while the other participants burned what he just achieved into their minds.
Lu Feng was also fascinated and stunned that Ye Wei was actually able to pass the first round.It was unusual for him to be surprised with anyone since he held himself in such high esteem. Nonetheless, Feng thought that regardless of the final result he would recruit this young cultivator just for the sake of his potential. He was even ready to send his men to properly groom this soon to be Runemaster.
Ye Wei noticed Lu Feng was observing him while he quietly went back to passing participants; he wanted the attention to disappear, to absorb himself in the background, and to observe not to be observed. Ye Wei was on guard. Attentive and alert, he was still intimidated by the man responsible for his cousin’s coma and the physical and mental scars of his family members. He could not dictate if Lu Feng was still planning on disturbing the Ye family’s peace.
“This is the end of round one! The second test to begin is a Soul Sensitivity test!” Zuo Qiu Ming waved his arm, dismissing the failed participants while focusing his attention on the passing participants. .
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Zuo Qiu Ming swiftly moved his hand to form various hand seals and shapes, out of them flashed and projected a purple light, which touched all the way to the side hall’s ceiling.
The million of purple rays intertwined and transformed into a roofless square room; each of its glittering runic walls were ten meters tall and wide.
“Listen up! You will soon enter the room above us, one at a time, for the duration of an incense stick to burn. In there, you will find yourselves attacked by two things. The first will be bolts of human-shaped Qi. The second will be mirages that resemble these bolts. Your mission is, with your Soul Sensitivity, identify the harmless mirages from the dangerous bolts.”
“You may attack the bolts to defend yourselves, but they may not hit you. Concerning the mirages, they will break on contact, if you break more than ten of them, you will be disqualified.”
“Zhang Han! You look nervous, so I’ll let you go first. Remember this is your last chance, focus and make it count!” Zuo Qiu Ming sarcastically spoke, looking at the old man with white sideburns.
“I appreciate the opportunity be to first Zuo, thank you!” the fifty-seven year old gradually stepped forward. His wrinkled face twitched out of nervousness.
The Runemaster Union’s rulebook stated that one may not take the entry exam more than nine times, and this was Zhang Han’s ninth attempt. Although he was a five-star condensed prime Warrior, his lackluster runic capabilities weren’t able to pass him through the entire exam.
“Are you ready?” Zuo Qiu Ming authoritatively asked. Upon seeing Zhang Han determined and ready inside the transparent cubic room, Zuo lit the incense, starting Zhang’s task.
The runes on the wall luminescent purple when Zuo Qiu Ming grunted., preparing himself for the bolts and mirages. Suddenly, they began to whizz and multiple energy bolts shot at the Zhang Han. All of this was occurring instantaneously akin lightning flashes in the night sky so too were the bolts and mirages flashed and attacked the old man.
The old man closed his eyes and let his senses take over. He tried separating and strike the bolts from the mirages and allow the mirages to pass him.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Beams of red light appeared above the cube as the elder participant kept accidentally striking the mirages.
“It’s over!” Zuo Qiu Ming shook his head and shouted as he saw the eleventh beam of red light appeared above the cube.
Zhang Han slowly stepped out of the cube. He let out a long, disappointed sigh; he appeared worn out and deflated, expired, “I thought I was going to make it this time…”
“Only one out of a hundred thousand becomes a Runemaster, don’t let it get you down. You are a five-star condensed prime Warrior, any influential figure would see you as an asset, with or without the Runemaster title!” Zuo Qiu Ming tried to remind Zhang Han that he was still an impressive cultivator.
Everyone in the room was shocked to hear the old man’s cultivation level stated. None of them could believe a cultivator of that level would fail the exam.
‘You shouldn’t be sad just because you are a part of the majority.’ Zuo Qiu Ming stated a fact. He had seen too many failing participants act emotionally.
“I guess it’s just not meant to be…” Zhang Han mumbled. He faked a smile, shook his head, and turned away to leave the side hall. Exiting the exam, his posture mirrored the desolation in his heart.
“Little boy, do you want to go next? I really look forward to seeing your performance! If you do pass this exam, believe me, the whole state will know about it, hahaha!” Zuo Qiu Ming said jokingly while switching his attention to Ye Wei.
In fact, Zuo Qiu Ming did not think Ye Wei could or would pass the exam, despite his encouraging words. He could not comprehend the idea of a teenager becoming a qualified Runemaster. He was just curious to see how far Ye Wei could get.
“Yeah!” Ye Wei determinedly nodded. He got inside the cube while the other participants were chatting to each other.
“He is so young! I have not seen anyone this young participating. Let alone passing the first round so easily. I wonder if he excels when it comes to runes!”
“Soul sensitivity only develops with age and cultivation, and he is still what? Sixteen?I don’t see him passing the second test..”
“Yeah, but it is still interesting to see what a teenager can do. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, if you aren’t blind. He even did better than you did on the first test!”
Everyone enthusiastically looked up as Ye Wei entered the cube. With smiles of excitement, they eagerly anticipated Ye Wei’s display.
“Are you ready?”
After Ye Wei nodded, Zuo Qiu Ming made a mysterious hand seal in front of his chest
“Zoom! Zoom!”
Zuo Qiu Ming’s small action activated the runes on the cube’s walls. The purple light started flowing as the runes started moving. Bolts of human shaped Qi together with the mirages fired at Ye Wei, filling his entire field of vision.
Ye Wei closed his eyes to rid unwanted distraction and confusion; his vision was not a useful tool when what he needed was to distinguish something could only be differentiated by his soul sensitivity. The moment he closed his eyes, his will-force came rushing out, picking up every little bit of Qi disturbances around him in great detail.
Under the penetrating scan of Ye Wei’s powerful soul sensitivity, he could easily tell the powerful Qi bolts from the hollow mirages. Now all he had to do was dodge the blanks while getting rid of the Qi bolts.
“Swoosh! Swoosh!”
Ye Wei’s motion became nimble, swift, and flexible. Then the lights crashed towards him, his body, like falling leaves in a strong gust swayed left and right. He elegantly dodged the mirages within the tight space whilst his fingers empowered with runes accurately struck the Qi bolts.
The amount of mirages built up as time went by, and they were whizzing around Ye Wei at an accelerated speed. His soul sensitivity could keep up, but he soon realized there was just not enough space to avoid everything.
He therefore decided to analyze the macro movement of all oncoming bolts including the mirages, so he could strike a mirage as he calculated the optimal line of path.
Vigilantly watching Ye Wei’s agile movements, the amused participants dropped their jaws and slowly became speechless.
“His soul sensitivity is phenomenal, one third of the incense stick is already burnt out, and he has only touched one mirage! I have only seen this tactic in returning participants.” Zuo Qiu Ming mumbled, amused by the advanced level of combat intelligence.
‘When I was sixteen, my soul sensitivity was not even this sharp! I have to make some connections to this kid when the exam is over…’ Lu Feng thought as his eyes lit up in sheer excitement.
Although Lu Feng was confident about passing the exam, becoming a Runemaster, and getting accepted into the Lu family, he will still need to compete with other gifted youngsters in the family for the family’s support. This would be impossible without a team of his own, and, needless to say, he was happy with what Ye Wei displayed during both tests.
“Only eight mirages, pass!” Zuo Qiu Ming exclaimed with a big smile as the incense burnt out. A shiver went down his spine, “Congratulations!” he said, nodding satisfiedly. Even in a state-setting, a teenager passing two rounds is a rare sight, one in a million, and Ye Wei actually just became the first person to do so in the Ning City branch.
“He passed!”
“This kid passed the second round!”
“I am envious of his talent, I feel like I have wasted my years training!”
Not one soul was calm when they saw Ye Wei confidently step out of the cube.
“I wonder what this kid’s background is like? Even though there is no family that can compare to my mom’s in this region, I just need to know!” Lu Feng mumbled to himself as he tried to figure out how to make his offer to Ye Wei as attractively enticing as possible.
Ye Wei exhaled deeply, grateful for his luck since getting hit by merely two more mirages would have made him fail, “I got this!” He clenched his fist while a heartfelt smile.
“Kid, if you wish to, I can refer you to the Ning City branch president so you can learn under him!” Zuo Qiu Ming sincerely said while looking at the incredible prodigy.
“Thank you for the thought, but I already have a master!” Ye Wei made a polite gesture and bowed.
“Of course you do! And I would like to meet him at some point!” Zuo Qiu Ming laughed, realizing this kind of talent must have developed by someone far greater than he could imagine.