As the first light of dawn illumihe small room, it revealed a young boy standihe window. His jet-bck hair, reag just to his neck, framed his face perfectly—not excessively long, yet carrying a natural elegahat suited him. His features were well-defined, not to the point of being otherworldly, but striking enough to draw a gnce.

  His body, though still young, bore the marks of discipline. His physique, sculpted by years orous martial training, dispyed lean muscle and sharp tours that hi both strength and agility. Though he had yet to step into the world of cultivation, his foundation had already bee.

  Today was no ordinary day. Adrian had just tur years old, and it was the day of the Talent Awakening Ceremony.

  For years, he had been waiting for this moment. Cultivation was the path to power, and this ceremony would decide his future. If his talent was too low, his path would be difficult. But if he had strong talent, his life would ge forever.

  As the first rays of sunlight entered his small room, Adrian sat up and took a deep breath. He wasn't nervous, but there was a small excitement in his heart.

  "Finally, the day has e," he thought.

  Just then, a familiar voice spoke in his mind.

  "Are you ready for today, Adrian?"

  It was the Cube, the mysterious presehat had been with him for as long as he could remember.

  Adrian smiled slightly. "I think so. But I don't know what my talent will be."

  The Cube responded calmly, "You don't have to worry. You have the potential to reach the top of the cultivation world. No matter what happens today, your talent will be good enough."

  Hearing this, Adria reassured. The Cube had never lied to him before. If it said he had good talent, then he didn't o be afraid.

  "Alright, the's see what fate has in store for me," Adrian murmured to himself befetting ready.

  A short time ter, Adrian and a group of children from the Eldenwood gathered outside their 's main hall. An elder stood before them. He was an old man with a kind but serious expression.

  "Today is an important day for all of you," the elder said. "The Talent Awakening Ceremony will decide your future. Follow me, and do not cause trouble when we reach the sect."

  The children nodded. Some were excited, some were nervous. Adrian remained calm.

  Together, they left the d traveled toward the Greenwood Sect, the mid-tier sect responsible for seleg young talents from different s.

  The journey was not too long, but it was filled with excitement. The group passed through small vilges and open fields. Along the way, they saw many other children traveling with their families. Some were from small s, while others were from oner families who had no background in cultivation.

  After about an hour, they arrived at the sect's entrance.

  The Graing Ground

  Adrian looked ahead and saw a massive stoe. It was covered in a carvings and shone faintly uhe sunlight. Beyond the gate, there was an enormous open ground filled with hundreds of people.

  The Talent Awakening Ceremony was a big event. Not only did small s send their young children, but even individual families and oners came, hoping to test their talent. Cultivation was the greatest path to power, and today was a any to ge their lives.

  Adrian's group was led to a se of the testing ground where several Taleing Stones were pced. Each stone was used to measure different aspects of a child's talent.

  The process began. Groups of children were sent forward to pce their hands oones, and their talents were revealed.

  As Adrian observed the ceremony, he noticed that the rge crowd was slowly being split into smaller groups. Each group had about twenty children, and they were assigo different Taleing Stones.

  The elders mahe groups carefully, ensuring that everything remained anized despite the rge number of people present. Adrian ced in a group with other children from his , along with a few from nearby vilges.

  As the tests tinued, Adrian quickly noticed a pattern.

  Most children received low-grade talent. Their stones barely flickered, and their results were announced in an indifferent tone. A few received mid-grade talent, and only one or twroup dispyed high-grade talent.

  From everything he had seen so far, low-grade talent was the most on, and high-grade talent was rare—but not unheard of.

  Adrian narrowed his eyes. "So high-grade talent is sidered rare, but it still appears every now and then," he thought.

  Curious, he spoke to the Cube in his mind.

  "Is my talent at a high level?" he asked.

  The Cube expined. "High-level? Here? You think too small, Adrian."

  Adrian blinked. "What do you mean?"

  The Cube's voice carried a hint of amusement. "These stones only measure up to high-grade talent. But the world is much bigger than this little sect. There are levels beyond what they see. Don't yourself with what they call 'high-level talent' here. It means nothing in the grand scheme of things."

  Hearing this, Adrian fell silent. He uood what the Cube meant—there was a much bigger world beyond this pce.

  His curiosity deepened. He no longer cared about whether he was called "high-grade" or not. What mattered was how far he could truly go.

  With these thoughts in mind, he tinued watg the tests, waiting for his own turn.

  Adrian watched closely.

  One by one, children stepped forward.

  A boy from a noble pced his hand oone. A faint yellow light appeared. The elder o him announced, "Mid-grade talent." The boy's family looked satisfied.

  Anirl, from a small oner family, pced her hand on a different stohe stone glowed bright green. The elder's eyes widened slightly. "High mid-grade talent!"

  The girl's parents, who had looked nervous, suddenly gasped in surprise. Their daughter had just gaihe ce to enter a powerful sect. Their future would never be the same again.

  But not everyone was so lucky.

  A young boy from a high-ranking noble family walked up fidently. He pced his hand oone. A few seds passed. No light appeared.

  Silence.

  The elder shook his head. "No talent."

  The boy's face turned pale. His family's expressions darkened instantly. The whispers around them grew louder.

  Gasps rose among the nobles. One dy covered her mouth, her eyes wide. Another nobleman whispered, "Is it true? No talent at all?" People leaned closer, hungry for more details. Some exged shocked gnces; others looked on with pity or s and some older nobles looked at all these things calmly because of their age they had already experienbsp;these things for quite a few times and were used to it.

  The young boy himself seemed frozen. His gaze flickered between his father and the elder. His cheeks burned with shame, and he pressed his lips together as if trying not to cry.

  Then the whispers grew louder.

  "A noble son, with no talent?"

  "What a disgrace!"

  "Such a blow to their name."

  Some onlookers shook their heads, remembering how proud the family had been before this moment. A few wore faint smiles—perhaps they enjoyed watg the downfall of someone once so fident.

  Meanwhile, the elder lowered his head. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "No talent."

  In the silehat followed, the father's shoulders sagged. The mother looked away, her eyes brimming with tears. Their son stood alo the stoill in disbelief, while the crowd's murmurs rose like a storm around him.

  "A noble family's son… with no talent?"

  "This is a disaster for their family."

  Meanwhile, a oner boy from a small vilge stepped forward . He had no background, no resources. Yet, when he pced his hand oo fshed a bright blue light—indig high-grade talent.

  Gasps filled the air. The crowd's attention shifted instantly.

  Wheone glowed brightly uhe boy's hand, the vilgers drew in quick breaths. Someo out a small cheer, and a neighbor cpped a hand on the boy's shoulder. A young girl in the crowd giggled with excitement. Even the older folk, who usually stayed calm, showed a flicker of pride in their eyes. You could feel the hope rising among them—an unspoken feeling that this was more than just a lucky moment.

  "He was just a oner… and now he will ehe sect!"

  Adrian watched all of this silently.

  He saw a noble child fall from grad a poor child rise to power in just a few moments.

  "Talent does not care about status," Adrian thought. "Some people are born lucky, and others are born with nothing. But in the end, it is the path they walk that matters the most."

  As the testing tinued, Adrian noticed the fear and hope in the eyes of many children. Some prayed for even the weakest talent, while others simply hoped not to lose everything.

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