These words boiled the blood of the Ling clan's disciples there. It stirred them greatly. The Ling clan placed great emphasis on the annual a.s.sessment ceremony. For hundreds of years, there had been many with good innate talents discovered through it, although their numbers had declined over the last few years. As First Elder knew this, he couldn't help but feel anxious. The Ling clan's gradual decline was self-evident and there wouldn't be many partic.i.p.ants capable of pa.s.sing the a.s.sessment this round. However, in his heart, First Elder still help onto a shred of hope. In any case, at least Ling Yichen had already reached Battle Qi Level 6 Pinnacle and was poised to be the hope of the Ling clan's future. Ling Yichen's return this time was due to his upcoming partic.i.p.ation in the White Stone Academy entrance exam which greatly pleased the Ling elders.

Comparing the number of partic.i.p.ants who pa.s.sed during the annual a.s.sessment ceremony was always a method of subtle compet.i.tion between Shi Qu Town's main family clans—the Lings, the Qins and the Luos. It was an added source of pressure for the Ling elders.

"The ceremony has begun. Partic.i.p.ating disciples, please come onstage one by one to insert your Battle Qi and supplement your Qi Ocean." First Elder motioned with his hand to indicate the official start of the ceremony.

The stone monument a.s.sessed every partic.i.p.ant's Qi Ocean. If the monument glowed whilst a partic.i.p.ant inserted their Battle Qi, it signified that the innate talent possessed by that person was strong enough for them to pursue cultivation. The yardstick by which to measure levels of innate talent depended on the brightness of the glow emitted from the monument—the brighter the glow, the higher the quant.i.ty of innate talent possessed.

Deafening drums boomed through the ancestral courtyard once more. Before the ceremony could proceed any further, there was a disruption. Someone came running panickily through the gates while yelling. "First Elder! First Elder! Oh, this is bad, this is bad!"

The surprised crowd turned to look at the running figure. A few of the elders frowned at this shrill display during such a formal proceeding. Who was it that was making such a fuss instead of behaving properly?

"Ling Qiao. How is your behavior right now considered proper?" barked First Elder once he recognized the disrupter.

"First Elder, this is very bad. The Qins and the Luos both have had a good number of people pa.s.s their a.s.sessments. Three for the Qins, and four for the Luos!" cried Linq Qiao despondently. It was unclear if his intention was for everyone in the courtyard to hear this message, but nevertheless his volume ensured they did.

The courtyard exploded in a flurry of whispers and discussions. The expressions upon the faces of the partic.i.p.ating disciples darkened.

Second Elder was so upset, the blood drained from his face. How dare this ignorant Ling Qiao come here to make such a fuss right before the ceremony was due to begin? This could only serve to severely impact the Ling clan's morale. Was he stupid, or was he instructed to do so?

"Ling Qiao! What are you blindly shouting on about!" roared First Elder. His voice rang out across the courtyard as loud as the drums. "How would you know the exact number of people who pa.s.sed in each family? Even if you did, it's none of our concern. The Ling family will stand tall regardless. Our family's heritage has stayed alive for a hundred years with our dignity never ceasing. Even if less of our disciples pa.s.s the a.s.sessment compared to the other clans, it does not signify defeat for us. The Ling clan will be able to rise again and reclaim our glory!" First Elder had managed to rebuke Ling Qiao and give a rousing speech of encouragement to all the Ling clan's disciples at the same time. 

Ling Qiao dropped his head and scurried off into a corner.

First Elder's words had succeeded in calming the crowd down. The partic.i.p.ants who were being a.s.sessed still felt a burdensome pressure grow in their hearts, though a looming shadow had been dispersed by the speech.

Second Elder was furious. He had an even worse perspective of Ling Qiao now. It was bad enough that Ling Qiao was someone who did nothing but eat more than his fill and laze around in addition to being sly and gluttonous. But for him to come running and shouting nonsense at this juncture in the ceremony was surely no coincidence. 

"Let's begin the ceremony!" announced First Elder with a commanding gesture. The drums began to sound.

There was silence in the courtyard. Seeing as the atmosphere was very much different from what it was earlier, Ling Qiao's disruptive outburst still bore an effect on the crowd.

Ling Chunxi stood to the side, calmly holding Little White. She waited for Second Elder to announce the order of partic.i.p.ants according to the name list. As expected, she was to be the last one a.s.sessed.