Chapter 21: Secret Calculation

  "Are you questioning my ability?" The middle-aged man in red robes, called Wu Changlao, furrowed his brow.

  "No, no, Elder Wu misunderstood!" Zhou Tao hastily explained, looking a bit fearful of the Elder Wu in front of him.

  "What? Lu Yuan has reached the Sea Boundary stage?" Wu Chang suddenly discovered something and looked at Lu Yuan with a hint of surprise.

  "It was just a coincidence, Lu Yuan had met Wu Changlao before!" Although he was in the realm of Huahai, Lu Yuan still treated Wu Changlao with courtesy. Li Xuan, who was standing beside him, slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Shi Sheng.

  "Not bad!" Wu Changlao immediately looked at Zhou Tao and asked in confusion, "What did you mean by what you just said? Do you know this person?" After finishing speaking, Wu Changlao's face turned cold as he looked at Shi Sheng. If this person was indeed a spy from another sect, Wu Changlao would not hesitate to take action and kill him.

  Shi Sheng seemed to have sensed Wu Changlao's killing intent, and his whole body felt as if it had been blown by a cold wind, icy and piercing to the bone. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, Zhou Tao spoke up instead.

  "Wu Changlao, this person is a Xihaijing cultivator, disguising himself as an ordinary person to pay respects. He must have ulterior motives!" Zhou Tao's expression was serious and solemn, with a look of concern for the sect's safety.

  "Haha!" Old Wu was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing. The others couldn't help but be startled for a moment, while Shi Sheng felt somewhat tense, worried that something would be discovered, but didn't dare show any expression on his face.

  "Disguise?" Wu Changlao curled his lip: "You think this old man is just a decoration? This person hasn't even opened their spiritual realm, they're just an ordinary person."

  There are only two possibilities for someone to hide their cultivation in front of me. One is that they have an extraordinary treasure that can conceal their aura, but this kind of person can at most conceal their original realm, and it's hard to cover up the realm of a cultivator who has achieved enlightenment. At best, it would make people unable to see through their true cultivation.

  "Secondly, his cultivation is even higher than mine. But a mere 15 or 16 year old kid, do you think that's possible? Do you feel he has surpassed my level?"

  "I don't dare, I don't dare, disciple didn't mean it that way, I..." Zhou Tao hadn't finished speaking when Li Yan furrowed her brow and interrupted him.

  "Zhou Shixiong, I know that day was my father's birthday, this person annoyed you, but you don't have to be so difficult with him, do you? Even Wu Changlao personally said it, are you daring to question Wu Changlao's ability?" Li Xuan's face turned serious as she spoke.

  "Y..." Zhou Tao hadn't finished speaking when Wu Changlao waved his hand.

  "So that's it, I said you were making things difficult for an ordinary person. This person's innate talent is a bit messy, but the foundation is still okay, it depends on their personal enlightenment. If they can't sense the spiritual energy, they won't be able to cultivate it. Li Yan, take her to the backyard to test her out!" Wu Chang said, and Li Yan nodded, taking Shi Sheng away from this place.

  Zhou Tao's heart was filled with resentment, his fists clenched tightly together, he was so angry that he couldn't even speak, glaring fiercely at the backs of Shi Sheng and Li Yan, forcing himself to hold back the urge to chase after them.

  However, Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes and couldn't see anything unusual about Wu Changlao. Lu Yuan felt that this person was absolutely a bit strange, but since Wu Changlao was so confident, Lu Yuan didn't dare say anything.

  "Wu Changlao, let's go first!" Lu Yuan smiled slightly and said calmly, then took Zhou Tao away from the place. Wu Changlao nodded casually in response.

  ……

  "Thank you for your help earlier, Miss Li!" Shi Sheng said to Li Xuan, who was wearing a green dress, as they walked along the road. If it weren't for her assistance, Shi Sheng would probably have gotten into some trouble.

  "Never mind, that day was for my father's birthday celebration, otherwise I wouldn't have offended him. But don't be too happy yet, actually most people have the foundation of cultivation, but to enter the ranks of cultivators, it's not enough, still need enlightenment."

  "If you can't feel the power of your mind for yourself, then it's impossible to be selected. No one can help you with this, and you need to test it out for yourself." Li Yan said with a faint smile.

  "Thanks for letting me know!" Shi Sheng smiled, feeling the presence of his mental power was too simple for him. If he wasn't afraid that others would think he's a freak, he would have liked to show off on the spot. However, Wang Bo had told him it's best to keep a low profile and not display his mental powers openly, as this kind of freakish talent is easily snuffed out.

  Before long, the two arrived at the entrance of a building. Two young men stood at the door and after exchanging greetings with Li Yan, Shi Sheng and the others entered the hall.

  The indoor area is not large, and in the middle of it stands a half-person-high celadon jade platform, on which is placed a crystal ball with a diameter of about three feet, looking ordinary.

  An old man wearing a black robe, thin and gaunt, with a pair of green bean-like eyes, stood near the crystal ball, staring at Li Yan with a piercing gaze, sizing her up without restraint, looking like no good sort.

  Li Yan showed some disgust but didn't say anything.

  A dark-skinned youth stepped onto the stone pedestal, his palms stuck to the crystal ball, and immediately closed his eyes as if sensing something. A moment later, the crystal ball burst forth with intense white light.

  "Six points of mental power, superior, selected!" The old man in black said, and a young man beside him quickly recorded it. Then he took the dark-skinned boy away from this place and came to a crowd of people in the hall, with about ten or more people standing around.

  "Shi Sheng, that's where all the qualified testers are. Soon you'll go up to the stone platform and stick your hand on the Wu Ling Pearl, which is that crystal ball. You will feel a strange power flowing through your body, that is the Nian Li."

  "As long as you feed back those thoughts to the Wu Ling Pearl, it will emit white light. The strength of the light determines your comprehension level. If your comprehension value is below two points, you will be eliminated!" Li Yan said.

  "Heh heh, I guess the chances of being eliminated aren't high, I believe you'll succeed!" Just then, a figure flashed at the door and Lu Yuan and Zhou Tao walked in.

  "Thank you!"

  Shi Sheng looked at the two of them, and couldn't help but furrow his brow, but still politely said a sentence before heading towards Shi Tai. Li Yan also ignored the two of them. The black-robed old man's small green bean-like eyes narrowed as he looked at several people, a look of doubt flashing across his face.

  Shi Sheng's eyes were slightly closed, with one palm stuck to the crystal ball, feeling the surge of mental energy entering his body. In the end, he only fed back half of the mental energy into the crystal ball, lest the feedback be too intense and shocking. Thinking that he was about to join a sect and learn the true art of cultivating mental energy in this world, mastering all sorts of unimaginable magical secrets, Shi Sheng couldn't help but feel a little excited.

  However, after a moment, the crystal ball did not react at all!

  "Huh?" Shi Sheng's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, while Li Yan shook her head and let out a sigh from afar.

  Shi Sheng's heart was filled with some doubts, and in the end, he fed back all the spiritual energy transmitted by the crystal ball, thinking that his comprehension value would at least reach a high level.

  After a moment, the crystal ball still didn't change at all. Shi Sheng couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed. Could it be that her innate talent was too against the heavens, causing the crystal ball treasure to have problems and turn blue?

  "No enlightenment, unqualified!" The old man in black robes said with a solemn expression.

  Shi Sheng walked down from the stone platform with a somewhat speechless expression, his mind in a daze. He himself could already sense the aura of the Mind Departing Technique, so how was it possible that he still couldn't sense the aura? Moreover, he had indeed sensed it before. Shi Sheng hated to think that he would let everyone see the Mind Departing Technique, but he didn't have the guts to do so. As a result, these people would even more suspect that he was a spy from some other sect.

  It seems that Shi Sheng's complexion was not quite right, and Li Yan smiled slightly: "Not being selected is no big deal, I believe that with your talent, you will also stand out among ordinary people. Let's go!" Li Yan had long been accustomed to such things, some people no matter how smart or talented they were, but lacked enlightenment, destined to be unable to cultivate.

  Shi Sheng nodded thoughtfully and left the hall with Li Yan. After their figures disappeared, the black-robed old man narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly at Lu Yuan.

  "Haha, I didn't expect you to actually break through to the Sea Boundary Realm. You can even transmit your thoughts to me now. However, remember what you promised me earlier, you must keep your word. Otherwise... haha..." The black-robed old man suddenly gave Lu Yuan a strange smile.

  Lu Yuan's mouth curled up: "Don't worry, since Officer Li helped me get rid of him, you won't be shortchanged on the benefits, heh heh!" The two exchanged a glance and revealed a hint of an evil smile, but it was unclear what kind of agreement they had reached.

  ……

  Shi Sheng nodded to Li Yan and then walked alone towards Wang Bo's house, still filled with doubts in her heart, suspecting that her cultivation method was different from this world, which made the test treasure unable to receive her feedback of spiritual power.

  "Haha, Shi Dao You? Shi Gong Zi? I don't know what to call you, Zhou?" Just then, Zhou Tao's voice came from afar, with a playful smile on his face and an undisguised hint of murderous intent in his eyes. (End of this chapter, next chapter will be even more exciting!)

  (PS. Seeking recommendations, seeking collections, seeking all kinds of support!!!!)