“An item that can even measure someone’s potential!” Zhao Feng was interested.
Bei Moi handed the crystal ball to Feng Hanyue.
“Close your eyes and put your consciousness and Inner Strength into it,” Lord Guanjun told him.
“Yes, sir.” Feng Hanyue took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He then focused his energy into the crystal ball in his hand.
Weng~
Circles of white light appeared inside the ball. One circle, two circles, three circles… five circles!
The fifth circle had turned green, unlike the first four that were white.
“You’ve surpassed the fourth circle, which means your potential exceeds that of a mortal body. Although it is ok, it’s still not good enough to become my core disciple,” Lord Guanjun said.
Hearing this Feng Hanyue’s eyes dimmed. He had the highest cultivation in the Ten Sky Guards, but in Lord Guanjun’s eyes he was just so-so.
Seeing Feng Hanyue’s performance, the other geniuses felt even more nervous.
Soon, it was Lei Cong’s turn. Lei Cong took the crystal ball with a trembling hand, and he finally sank his consciousness into it.
Circles of white light appeared in the inner parts of the ball.
One circle, two circles, three circles, four circles!
The white circles stopped at the fourth, a fifth didn’t appear at all.
“Your potential has reached the limits of mortals, but it is still too far away from my target,” Lord Guanjun shook his head.
How could it be like this!?
Lei Cong’s face was as black as charcoal, as if he had lost his soul.
The evaluation he received was far worse than Feng Hanyue’s. Feng Hanyue at least received an average evaluation.
Next, it was Lu Xiaoyu’s turn.
“It’s my turn.” Lu Xiaoyu had a solemn look on as he put his consciousness into the ball. Inside the ball, three white circles appeared, then they spat out another half circle. Third and a half circles was a bit worse than Lei Cong.
“A genius within mortals, but it is not enough in the real world stage,” Lord Guanjun shook his head.
Apart from Feng Hanyue, the other two didn’t even reach Lord Guanjun’s limits.
“The potential of Lu Xiaoyu and Lei Cong are top tier in Sun Feather City, but they are worthless here.” Zhao Feng’s heart clenched.
He was also thinking what Lord Guanjun meant by the 'real world stage'. After Lu Xiaoyu, it was Zhao Yufei’s turn.
Zhao Yufei closed her eyes and held the crystal with her jade-like hands.
Weng~
Circles were released in the inner part of the crystal; three circles appeared, then five, then four, changing constantly. It was extremely unstable and the colors weren’t white or green.
“Hm?”
Lord Guanjun went into deep thought. Zhao Yufei’s situation was different from the other youths.
“Could it be Yufei’s potential is unique?” Zhao Feng thought.
Lord Guanjun opened his mouth after some thought. “Your potential is special, but it shouldn’t surpass Feng Hanyue’s.”
Receiving such an evaluation, Zhao Yufei let out a breath.
After Zhao Yufei finished it was the fifth Sky Guards turn, then the sixth, then the seventh…
The youths after Yufei didn’t even reach Lord Guanjun’s bottom line.
“It’s my turn.” Huang Qi took the crystal from Bei Moi with trembling hands.
Soon, three and a half circles appeared within the crystal. His potential was on par with Lu Xiaoyu’s and he was still top tier in the Ten Sky Guards, but he was nowhere near good enough for Lord Guanjun.
Failed!
Huang Qi was depressed; he was the top genius of Pearl Tree City and he wanted to show off his skills in Province City, but he couldn’t even reach Lord Guanjun’s minimum standard.
It was Li Ziwen’s turn after Huang Qi.
Li Ziwen was the youth who was in Lu Xiaoyu’s team during the mission.
“I…” Li Ziwen was extremely nervous and he wasn’t able to calm down.
Pah!
Bei Moi slapped his back and Li Ziwen felt his blood cool down. But his testing was useless, he had only three circles.
“Next," Lord Guanjun said expressionlessly.
Next?
Zhao Feng’s heart jumped. It was finally his turn. The last of the Ten Sky Guards was Zhao Feng.
At this time, the gazes of everyone present turned to him. At this moment, Zhao Feng could feel Zhao Yufei’s expectations and confidence. He could feel Third Guard and Ye Linyun’s smiles.
They had high hopes for Zhao Feng’s potential as Zhao Feng had reached the seventh rank and he was one of the youngest amongst the Ten Sky Guards.
Before that, Zhao Feng had gotten first in the kill mission and he had memory that surpassed even Bei Moi’s.
Bei Moi handed over the crystal ball to Zhao Feng with interest in his eyes. He had a deep impression of Zhao Feng as he was the only person who could beat him in terms of memorizing.
He was slightly depressed after losing to Zhao Feng that day. Now he was going to see how strong Zhao Feng’s potential was.
“Master, this is the youth whose memory is better than Bei Moi and the one who got first in the bandit clearing mission. Not only that, he’s also the youngest one amongst the Ten Sky Guards,” Third Guard said in a low voice.
“Oh?” Curiosity and interest flashed in Lord Guanjun’s eyes.
Under the gazes of everyone, Zhao Feng took the crystal and put his consciousness as well as his Inner Strength into it.
Weng~
The first circle immediately appeared.
What’s happening!?
Zhao Feng heart jumped because he found that after the one circle appeared the next formed very slowly. Even when he fully put his consciousness into it, only one and a half circles were formed.
Hm?
The people watching stiffened. Zhao Feng’s potential shouldn’t be any weaker than Feng Hanyue’s.
Lord Guanjun was disappointed and he was about to say something.
Peh Peh! Peh Peh…
Zhao Feng suddenly heard a jumping sound from within the depths of his left eye that sent out sizzles of heat throughout his body.
Weng~
The white circles that had stopped moving suddenly moved forward again and reached two circles.
After two circles was reached, the white circles kept on forming. Two circles… three circles…three and a half circles…
Chapter 84 – Mortal Spiritual Body
Everyone’s attention was on the crystal in Zhao Feng’s hand. The circle suddenly condensed, then stopped again, then jumped again.
The change made the hearts of those watching clench. Lord Guanjun immediately swallowed what he was going to say, the change had almost caused him to give a wrong evaluation. After all, this was his first time seeing something like this.
Only Zhao Feng knew in his heart that his potential didn’t exceed two circles.
Two and a half circles …three circles…three and a half circles…
Under the heat of his left eye, the amount of circles reached three and a half and still kept condensing.
Three and a half…four circles…four and half circles…
Many of the people held their breaths. Four and a half circles was the best in the Ten Sky Guards, excluding Feng Hanyue and Zhao Yufei. Zhao Feng realized that five circles was a whole entire level, but after the fourth and a half circle was condensed progress slowed down. Suddenly, another pulse of heat was released from his left eye.
Four circles and a half…five circles!
A faint green color appeared as the fifth circle condensed. This was the limit that Zhao Feng could reach without using the powers of his left eye because he knew Lord Guanjun would be able to sense it.
“The fifth circle has appeared, but it’s sligh
tly weaker than Feng Hanyue’s. It should be a half spiritual body,” Lord Guanjun’s expression turned normal once again.
It was obvious that Zhao Feng’s potential was just below Feng Hanyue’s and it didn’t give him a surprise.
“Half spiritual body? Not good enough.” Bei Moi took the crystal with disappointment in his eyes. Obviously he had overestimated Zhao Feng.
“Master, which ones are you going to take?” Third Guard asked.
“None of them are good enough to be my core disciple.” Lord Guanjun shook his head.
Up to now, the only one that pleased him was Bei Moi. Hearing this, the youths all turned bitter.
“But this generation of Sky Guards Battalion is indeed stronger than before. Some of them can become my outer disciples,” Lord Guanjun’s words continued.
Outer disciple?
The eyes of Feng Hanyue and the others lit up.
Although they were highly unlikely to become a core disciple, it was still achieving a dream to become his outer disciple. Lord Guanjun was a legend in the Cloud Country, even Martial Masters begged for pointers from him. If they could become his outer disciple, they would have the chance to receive teachings from him.
Furthermore, Third Guard and Ye Linyun were only his outer disciples.
“Outer disciples? Which ones?” Ye Linyun asked.
“These two both have a Spiritual Body so they have no problems becoming my outer disciple.” Lord Guanjun looked at Feng Hanyue and Zhao Yufei.
“How about Zhao Feng? He’s the youngest here and he has a high cultivation, his memory is better than Bei Moi’s, he also came first in the mission…” Ye Linyun quickly said.
Zhao Feng was the genius he took from Sun Feather City, and he had high expectations for him.
“It’ll be hard with his half-spiritual body…,” Lord Guanjun said after some thought.
But seeing that both Third Guard and Ye Linyun seemed to praise him, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh well, let him be. Taking three disciples in at once breaks my record.”
As Lord Guanjun decided, Ye Linyun and Third Guard smiled at Zhao Feng. Zhao Feng also returned a grateful look.
“Master, you won’t regret taking him in,” Ye Linyun said confidently.
“Oh?” Lord Guanjun didn’t know where Ye Linyun’s confidence came from.
Ye Linyun didn’t explain. He remembered the aura Zhao Feng that had released when performing his skills back at the Zhao family. It was something that most ninth ranks couldn’t do and at that time, Zhao Feng was only at the fifth rank.
“Feng Hanyue, Zhao Yufei, Zhao Feng. From today onwards, you’ll become outer disciples of Lord Guanjun,” Third Guard announced.
“You don’t need to be so formal since you’re just outer disciples,” Lord Guanjun smiled faintly.
His eyes scanned across Zhao Feng and the other two before resting on Bei Moi. It was only then that he gave a true smile. Zhao Feng and the others understood that outer disciples would only occasionally receive pointers. Sometimes, outer disciples would not get anything at all.
Lord Guanjun only had Bei Moi as a core disciple, and it was the latter that would be fully raised by him. After the Master-Disciple ceremony, the other seven Sky Guards left. Soon, there was only Lord Guanjun and his disciples left. Third Guard and Ye Linyun had their own assignments and also departed.
Therefore, there was only Bei Moi, Nan Gongfan, Feng Hanyue, Zhao Yufei and Zhao Feng remaining.
“You can all ask me a question since you’ve become my disciples today,” Lord Guanjun told them.
Questions?
Feng Hanyue, Zhao Yufei and Zhao Feng were excited. They obviously had many questions to ask this legendary figure.
“Master, what is a Spiritual Body?” The first person that spoke up was Feng Hanyue.
Spiritual, Mortal Body. This was what Zhao Feng heard from Lord Guanjun before.
“There are hundreds of billions of people on this continent, and their potential is decided when they’re born. Over ninety-nine percent of humans are normal and they have Mortal Bodies,” Lord Guanjun explained calmly.
Zhao Feng understood what he meant. Most of the people in this world had Mortal Bodies. For example, before Zhao Feng merged with the eye, he had a hundred percent Mortal Body. But after the merging of the mysterious left eye, his blood and potential were all affected and he became a half Spiritual Body.
“The mortal body is split into different tiers: Low, Middle, High, and Limit. This means that there are also differences between Mortal Bodies. In the test, just one circle meant Low Tier Mortal Body, two meant Middle Tier Mortal Body…four circles meant Limit Tier Mortal Body,” Lord Guanjun continued.
Zhao Feng had never heard anything like this before.
“The fifth-circle means a Spiritual Body. People with Spiritual Bodies have an advantage compared to those with Mortal Bodies. Those geniuses will reach the Holy Martial Path in just a matter of time depending on how good their masters are," Lord Guanjun finally explained what Mortal and Spiritual Bodies meant.
This increased Zhao Feng’s knowledge. He estimated that Zhao Linlong was around three circles and a half, between the High Tier and Limit Tier of a Mortal Body.
Next, Zhao Yufei asked Lord Guanjun a question. “Master, are there realms above the Holy Martial Path?”
Hearing this question, Zhao Feng showed interest as well. Back when he stayed in Sun Feather City, they only knew of the Martial Path; the Holy Martial Path was just a rumor. Facing Lord Guanjun Zhao, Feng thought that he had reached the Holy Martial Path.
Then, were there realms above the Holy Martial Path?
“Yes.” A light flashed in Lord Guanjun’s eyes as he spoke solemnly, “But this is a level you can’t touch…”
Hearing this, Zhao Feng and the other two felt their hearts move. There were realms above the Holy Martial Path!
Soon, Zhao Feng asked a question. “What is most important in the nine ranks of the Martial Path?”
“The body is the most important. The point of the Martial Path is to strengthen the blood, bones and organs. The true use of Inner Strength isn’t to kill people, but to be used to strengthen one’s own body. On this point, many cultivators have gone on the wrong path,” Lord Guanjun smiled.
No wonder. Zhao Feng was now certain of his thoughts before.
“Master, what’s your point in raising so many geniuses?” Zhao Feng asked the question that bugged him most.
Ever since he had entered the Guanjun Palace, he heard others saying Lord Guanjun loved geniuses and he would send his men around the country to take them in. He and Zhao Yufei were found by the Guanjun Corps, and Ye Linyun had come personally to take them in.
Zhao Feng’s question made Lord Guanjun’s body stiffen and a cold light shone in his eyes. In an instant, Zhao Feng and the others felt a pressure bear down upon them.
Lord Guanjun had clearly not done anything, he didn’t even release a bit of his aura, but the pressure from his mental energy caused the others to tremble. Luckily, this feeling only lasted an instant. Even then, cold sweat appeared on Feng Hanyue’s forehead.
“Zhao Feng! This question has nothing to do with you! Master takes in geniuses because he loves them. Do you think that master has a purpose?” Nan Gongfan shouted with anger.
Chapter 85 – Wish
“Zhao Feng! This question has nothing to do with you! Master takes in geniuses because he loves them. Do you think that master has a purpose?” Nan Gongfan shouted angrily.
Zhao Feng’s question made Bei Moi and Feng Hanyue furrow their brows, too. Indeed, Zhao Feng’s question wasn’t a question regarding cultivation. Zhao Feng also realized that this question seemed to go off track.
“This is the first time that someone has asked me a question like this.” Lord Guanjun’s expression turned back to normal and he glanced at Zhao Feng.
At his level, he obviously wouldn’t get angry over such
a thing. Master was indeed nice.
Nan Gongfan and the others let out a breath. Lord Guanjun didn’t seem to get angry.
The others were all interested in Zhao Feng’s question, too. Feng Hanyue and Nan Gongfan were all smart, they knew that Lord Guanjun didn’t go find geniuses just because he liked to, there was a purpose.
Lord Guanjun slowly stood up with his hands behind his back and sighed as he stared out into the sky.
Zhao Feng saw the change in helplessness, hate, and expectations in Lord Guanjun’s eyes as he sighed. It seemed that when he sighed, Lord Guanjun experienced the four seasons of a year.
“These years, I have been finding and raising geniuses for a wish of mine. It is something that I can’t do myself, I need to rely on the younger generation to do.”
Lord Guanjun then scanned the faces of the youths present and then focused on Bei Moi with expectations and hope.
A wish?
Something that Lord Guanjun can’t even do?
The youths looked at each other, shocked. Everyone knew that Lord Guanjun had peak power in the Cloud Country. What was something that even he couldn’t do?
“What is Lord Guanjun’s wish?” Zhao Feng was even more and more curious. He didn’t believe that Lord Guanjun couldn’t do something.
“You may all leave,” Lord Guanjun sighed and signaled with his hand.
Then, he sat back down on his futon, leaving just his core disciple Bei Moi behind.
“Master, I’ll definitely complete your wish," Bei Moi promised.
“It’s good that you have the heart. From today onwards, I’ll teach you all my secret skills…,” Lord Guanjun smiled.
Today, ten geniuses entered the Spiritual Martial Hall to test their potential. Without a doubt, Feng Hanyue’s performance was indeed superb, but it was still incomparable to Bei Moi.
Outside the Spiritual Martial Hall...
The outer disciples of Lord Guanjun walked out together.
“Brother Zhao, you’ve got guts! How did you manage to ask a question like that? You need to understand that even Martial Masters of the ninth rank act humbly before Master,” Nan Gongfan said in a disciplining tone.
King of Gods Book II: (A Chinese Translation) Page 14
