'Just who is this child…' The energetic overseer trained her pretty, sparkling eyes on Ryu. She was too intrigued. 'It's impossible for a Qi Refinement Expert to carry such an air of purity. The only explanation is that he has a high-grade constitution… At least Heaven Grade, maybe Mystical Grade.'
Cultivation was all about refining the human body to higher levels of perfection. Though the appearance of an individual might seem superficial, it was actually quite tied to one's talent. The more beautiful a person was in comparison to others of their cultivation, the greater talent they tended to have.
The overseer could clearly see the affects of Ryu's Ice Jade Crystal Body. Though it was also possible for an individual to be attractive and a weak talent, the overseer had a hard time accepting this possibility as she watched Ryu tear through the second round.
At this point, within the eerie examination Small Realm, Ryu was wondering if he should tone back a bit. But, in the end, he shook his head. The feeling of lowering his head to a mere Association Head just hours ago was still gnawing at his heart. He hated that feeling. He didn't want to feel it again so soon.
'Still, just what is this Small Realm. What is calling me…'
Ryu could feel his Heavenly Pupils throbbing. It wasn't the same painful throbbing that warned him of danger, this was a throbbing his hadn't felt in decades, the very throbbing that told him that he was close to a treasure.
Ryu could vaguely feel that this trigger of sorts was far more powerful than it was in his last life. This was likely because his cultivation was much greater so the freedom his pupils had followed in kind. However, he wondered what would happen if he suddenly monopolized a treasure in this place…
It was obvious to Ryu now that they were sent here because of this treasure and it definitely wasn't to uplift the youths of this generation either. Ryu was very familiar with Ruins, so he knew that many of them came in three forms. The first form was without restriction. The second was a cultivation restriction. And the final was an age restriction!
In all likelihood, this Small Realm was one with an age restriction, probably one hundred years just like that Basteel Clan fellow said. The issue was that becoming an herbologist with the appropriate level of skill in just one hundred years was nigh impossible. Though crazy as it may seem, even Ryu wasn't certain if he could perform this well back when he was that young.
'What Legacy Realm could have standards so high?...'
In Ryu's defense, the reason he doubted his younger self in this fashion was precisely because he didn't have cultivation. As a result, his pupils were far weaker than they should have been and his memory wasn't as crystal clear either. One's mental capacity greatly increases along with cultivation, so it was obvious that Ryu was handicapped in this fashion back then. If he had had cultivation, Ryu was confident that his younger self would have breezed through this exam just as easily.
'This is the third round, huh…' Ryu paused as the questions changed once more. 'Oh? Interesting…'
The third round was a major change once more. This time, two separate categories of spiritual herbs spawned. One category was a spliced herb, similar to what one could have seen in the first round. The second category was a group of numerous herbs. It seemed the goal of this third round was to cure a poison…
In this sense, 'poison' is a rather loose term. It isn't that the first category spliced herb was created to be a poison, but rather that its spliced together portions had an unintended adverse reaction within the body of anyone who took it. The examinees would then have to use the group of spawned herbs in order for the first spliced herb to function as intended.
This was yet another layer of difficulty… The first round was mostly about herb recognition. The second was about herb growth. And this third round was about herb functions and interactions. One didn't just need to understand the functions of herbs, but also how they reacted in the presence of each other.
Ryu smiled lightly. This time, he didn't slip into Breath of Earth, not because he couldn't, but because he wanted to be more mindful of his surroundings. Something was telling him that a large change was about to occur.
'What's this?' Ryu looked down at his chest. Something he hadn't noticed before had appeared there. It was then that a sudden realization overcame him. 'Oh?...'
It was a badge. It had a plain wooden appearance formed into a U-shaped shield and four star shaped holes gracing its front. Two of the center stars were about one-fold larger than the two smaller stars to their sides. As of now, all four stars were filled with a gentle golden light.
While Ryu was in his Breath of Earth state, it seemed he hadn't realized that he had already passed the requirements for the Lower Common Grade. In fact, the glowing of all four stars meant he was on the verge of earning the Black Grade already.
As though to confirm his guess, the moment Ryu completed the first question of the third round, the badge changed once more. It morphed from a sturdy, oak-like wood, to a piece of impenetrable black steel. It retained the same shape, but the golden color that filled the stars was gone. It seemed as though they had been absorbed in order to change the form of the badge.
'It seems my goal has been completed…' Ryu struggled slightly. The best herbologist in Varlor City was a mere Higher Black Grade Herbologist, meaning she had only filled three stars of this black badge. If Ryu surpassed that, he didn't know what kind of trouble it might bring.
If this was a normal exam, Ryu would have begun to purposely make mistakes now until he was kicked out. However, that voice calling him, the one moving his pillar forward now… He had a feeling that he shouldn't ignore not… No, he couldn't ignore it.
Ryu continued to blaze through. Since he had decided, he would go all out.
His badge continued to grow. As his hands blurred, one star was filled, then a second, and a third. By the time the fourth was being completed, Ryu was already nearly finished with the fourth round of questions.
'A fourth round?' The overseer was in shock. As far as she knew, there were only three rounds. And this fourth round… Wasn't it too much to ask a youth to complete it!? 'Is this what they were looking for all this time? Is this what they were hoping would happen? Do I protect this boy…?'
The energetic overseer wasn't a fool. Though she spoke of the Martial Plane glowingly, she knew the reality of the matters. These kids were being used, not mentored. However, who would have known that just as she was struggling with her decision, everything would go black? Not only had all of the youths been forcibly teleported back, Ryu was nowhere to be seen.