The talent test was, relatively speaking, more straightforward.
When
Although the talent test was slightly different from the cultivation test, the general method was the same.
The talent test measured a martial artist's natural aptitude; the cultivation test measured their current level of martial prowess.
"Excuse me, which tests would you like to take?" Upon seeing Jiang Chen's competition badge, the chief examiner for the talent assessment knew Jiang Chen was the mental power genius from the first stage, so his words and demeanor were exceptionally polite.
He was terrified that any slip in his tone might offend such a genius, causing the genius to remember him and take it out on his sect, or even refuse to join his sect. If that happened, his sect's ancestor would definitely skin him alive.
The talent tests included martial arts talent, pill refining talent, talisman crafting talent, formation array talent, beast taming talent, and so on.
According to the rules, this second stage also lasted ten days.
Time was fair to everyone—everyone had ten days.
Ten days, if one wanted to participate in every single talent test, was clearly insufficient.
Therefore, for the examinees, a choice had to be made.
They needed to use these ten days wisely, selecting the talent tests they were most confident in. Otherwise, wanting to do everything might lead to neglecting something important, ultimately ending up with nothing to show for it, and not demonstrating peak talent in any of the assessments.
"I will only participate in the martial arts talent test."
Jiang Chen's goal was clear. His ultimate aspiration was the martial path.
As for the other talents, Jiang Chen felt no need to test them. Within the scope of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance, he didn't believe anyone could outperform him in those other areas.
Testing them was simply unnecessary.
The chief examiner was slightly taken aback, then smiled: "Very well, truly worthy of being a mental power genius, your resolve for the martial path is solid as a rock, truly one of a kind!"
It was indeed one of a kind. Most other examinees would choose two or three tests at minimum.
Being the only one to select just one test so far, Jiang Chen was the first.
You had to understand, an examinee daring to choose only one test was absolutely someone with immense audacity.
After all, choosing only one meant placing oneself in a dead end.
If they failed that single test, there would be no chance to continue. It was a direct elimination.
But if they chose two or three, even if one failed, there were still other tests to look forward to.
As long as the talent in one area met the standard, the assessment could continue.
"Just one test?"
"That mental power genius is truly unparalleled in confidence."
"Tsk tsk, truly a genius. Geniuses always act so uniquely, one of a kind."
"If this young man's martial arts talent is outstanding, our Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance is destined to witness a miracle—a martial miracle rising from the secular world!"
"Precisely. A secular martial artist with such talent would be comparable to the absolute top geniuses of the sects. Given time, such a genius could even surpass sect-born geniuses, traveling further and creating even more miracles!"
"Indeed. Secular martial artists are tempered through hardship. The severity of that hardship is something no sect disciple born with a silver spoon can compare to."
Amidst the chorus of exclamations, Jiang Chen followed the examiner to a series of cave openings.
"The martial arts talent test is, in fact, a test of your mastery over and affinity with the natural forces of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth possess the fundamental forces of the Five Elements. This martial arts talent test measures your affinity and mastery over these Five Elements forces."
"Here, there are countless stone caves, each corresponding to one of the Five Elements attributes of heaven and earth. These caves are divided into three levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. What you, the examinee, must do is choose a cave of a certain difficulty level and sense the power of the world's spiritual energy within it. The greater the difficulty you choose, and the longer you stay, the higher your talent in this domain is considered."
"For example, if you choose a cave corresponding to the Metal element, you will face countless tests involving the Metal-attribute forces of heaven and earth within it."
"Is that clear?"
Jiang Chen nodded. These rules weren't difficult to understand.
"Mm, since you understand, begin choosing the difficulty level. If you choose the Easy level and stay for three days, you pass the test, and that counts as having a lower-grade Spiritual Constitution talent."
"If you choose Medium difficulty and pass, that counts as having a medium-grade Spiritual Constitution talent."
"If you choose the Hard difficulty and manage to stay for three days, then you possess an upper-grade Spiritual Constitution talent."
"This rule shouldn't be hard to grasp either, right?"
Jiang Chen smiled: "So the highest is Hard difficulty? What about a Innate Spiritual Constitution? How would that be tested?"
Although Jiang Chen didn't have an Innate Spiritual Constitution, he was curious enough to ask.
"Haha, if someone possesses an Innate Spiritual Constitution, they are guaranteed to have at least an upper-grade Spiritual Constitution. Furthermore, based on that, an Innate Spiritual Constitution will inevitably trigger a natural phenomenon, so it's not hard to detect. Moreover, the sect's high-ups have their own methods for testing Innate Spiritual Constitutions. However, an Innate Spiritual Constitution is a rarity, appearing perhaps once in a century. In recent years, we've only heard that the