Chapter 16: Level Up, New Trait

Su Yuan stared blankly at the Mysterious Extremes Peak Master. Thousands of thoughts raced through his mind as he scanned the shocked, envious, jealous, and confused expressions of the thousand disciples below, then observed the probing, surprised, and puzzled looks on the other Peak Masters' faces. He knew he was caught between a rock and a hard place now! There was no way he could refuse the Peak Master unless he wanted to make life difficult for himself in the Seven Extremes Sect. Still, he steeled himself and said, "This disciple's aptitude is dull and mediocre. I fear I won't achieve great things!" To his surprise, Wang Siming, the Mysterious Extremes Peak Master, smiled and said, "With your inferior Spirit Root, your cultivation progress has matched those with superior Spirit Roots. If you're dull and mediocre, then what does that make others? Come here!" "Yes!" With no other choice, Su Yuan obediently stood beside the Mysterious Extremes Peak Master. Ye Bufan looked at Su Yuan as if seeing him for the first time, finally giving him proper attention. Liu Muwan's eyes sparkled with curiosity. She clearly remembered Su Yuan had reached Qi Refining Stage 2 after the first test, and now he was only at early Qi Refining Stage 3. He must have been hiding his true abilities! Zheng He from the Artifact Extremes Peak wore a complicated expression. He seemed to have underestimated Su Yuan. His previous teasing of Su Yuan might come back to haunt him! Down below, Zhang Wei stared dumbfounded at Su Yuan's results before suddenly puffing up his chest and declaring to surrounding disciples, "Su Yuan's my big bro! My big bro became a core seed! Hahaha!" Zhang Wei looked provocatively at one of the mid-grade spiritual root disciples—he had already found out who had messed with him back then. That disciple's face darkened as he avoided Zhang Wei's gaze, filled with regret. Zhou Wuyou's eyes gleamed: "Jackpot! This time I've bet correctly! My family will surely support me heavily now! Maybe I can even compete for the family heir position!" [Ding, Fame Value +1]*3 [Ding, Fame Value +6]*6 [Ding, Fame Value +7] Ten system notifications exploded in Su Yuan's ears consecutively! The three +1 notifications must be from those low-level disciples. The remaining six +6 and one +7 notifications clearly came from the Peak Masters! His Fame Value had shockingly reached 103 points! [Ding, Level Up] [Name]: Su Yuan [Region]: Green Vine Continent [Level]: Minor Fame (103/1000) [Realm]: Qi Refining Stage 3 (33/100) [Trait 1]: Work-Life Balance: You excel at balancing work and rest. The longer you rest, the better your cultivation results. Current rest time: 6.8 hours [Trait 2]: To Be Selected "Leveled up?" Su Yuan felt both amused and exasperated. He hadn't paid attention to his rising fame, yet it had unknowingly maxed out. Seeing the new trait selection, his heart burned with anticipation. Just then, the Peak Master transmitted a message: "Su Yuan, there's an exit trial after leaving Immortal Seed Valley - established by our founder. Just do your best there. Most likely Ye Bufan will take first place, so treat it as good experience." Wang Siming's words left Su Yuan stunned - an exit trial? He hadn't read about this in the Scripture Pavilion. Since the Peak Master said not to worry, he wouldn't. He nodded in understanding while eagerly anticipating his second trait options. Focusing on Trait 2, three options appeared: [Natural Daoist]: You're exceptionally attuned to nature. Gain deeper insights into the Dao from natural wonders. [Skill Beyond Art]: You excel at mastering crafts. At mastery level, easier to comprehend the Dao. [Spell Towards Divinity]: You excel at mastering spells. At mastery level, easier to comprehend divine abilities. Su Yuan examined all three options. The second option tempted him - better skills meant more earning potential. The third also appealed - stronger spells meant greater power, which could translate to wealth, plus the chance to comprehend divine abilities (normally only accessible at the Divine Transformation level). However, both required reaching mastery levels to fully activate. The first option provided immediate benefits! Moreover, [Natural Daoist] perfectly complemented his existing [Work-Life Balance] trait! Both [Skill Beyond Art] and [Spell Towards Divinity] required constant practice, which would interrupt his rest accumulation. But [Natural Daoist] just required observing nature - completely compatible with accumulating rest time! With this realization, Su Yuan's eyes lit up. He decisively selected [Natural Daoist]. The other two options vanished as the new trait integrated into his system. The moment the trait loaded, Su Yuan felt like he'd gained a new innate ability. His perception of the world shifted subtly - he could now sense some natural rhythm. Su Yuan gazed blankly at the sky, emptying his mind and simply feeling the world's pulse. Wang Siming gave the spaced-out Su Yuan a curious look - this kid had nerves of steel to zone out in front of him! By the time Su Yuan snapped out of it, the disciple evaluations had concluded! Zhang Wei successfully entered the outer sect and was enthusiastically waving at Su Yuan, who gave a thumbs-up and congratulatory smile. Zhang Wei immediately started boasting to surrounding disciples, his smug expression resembling a petty villain's triumph. The other disciples began treating him with newfound respect. Su Yuan's smile stiffened - he could guess what Zhang Wei was doing. "No wonder so many people dislike him," he thought. The Valley Master announced: "The evaluations are complete. All may proceed to Immortal Seed Hall for registration and Peak selection!" The thousand disciples dispersed toward Immortal Seed Hall, beginning their divergent paths. Su Yuan sighed emotionally - he'd interacted with most of them during shared classes. Though theoretically peers, their futures would vary dramatically! The Technique Extremes Peak Master declared: "With selections done, we may begin the exit trial!" "Your Technique Peak will surely take first place this time!" another Peak Master joked. "Haha, there's no prize anyway - just formalities!" the Technique Peak Master laughed. "I went through this myself long ago, but gained little," the Alchemy Peak Master sighed. "Good experience for the youngsters though." "Indeed. Let's go!" The seven Peak Masters each took a core disciple and flew toward the valley's depths, with the Valley Master following out of curiosity. Su Yuan asked Wang Siming: "Peak Master, are there trial rewards?" "Historically yes, but after generations of disciples, all rewards were claimed long ago. Now it's just an empty trial. Our sect's seven supreme techniques actually originated as trial rewards obtained by seven peerless geniuses. In a way, this trial represents our sect's foundation!" Su Yuan suddenly understood why the trial was considered mere formalities now - no rewards meant no real stakes. His enthusiasm waned. As they flew deeper, Su Yuan spotted a shimmering silver portal at the valley center. "Go!" Wang Siming pushed Su Yuan toward the portal without ceremony. The other six core seeds met similar fates as all seven were tossed into the portal simultaneously. The portal rippled, then sealed shut behind them. "How many levels do you think they'll clear?" "Five at most!" "Doubtful!" "We'll see!" After some waiting, the first disciple emerged, triggering two-colored lights from the portal. "Two colors? Needs improvement!" his Peak Master said sternly, making the disciple hang his head in shame. "Don't be harsh - new disciples know nothing yet. Two colors is decent!" the Alchemy Peak Master defended. The next emerging disciple - from Alchemy Peak - also triggered two colors, making the Thunder Peak Master smirk: "Fair point." The Alchemy Peak Master glared at his disciple unhappily. Over the next hour, several more disciples emerged. Liu Miaowen triggered four colors! Zheng He only managed three, pleasing his Peak Master and the Valley Master (who anticipated kickbacks for the recommendation). Liu Muwan also achieved four colors, while Ye Bufan's five colors stood in a class of his own, making his Peak Master beam with pride. Yet Su Yuan remained inside. The Valley Master asked Wang Siming: "Did you forget to tell Su Yuan to choose combat? Could he have picked the scholarly path instead?" Wang Siming hesitated: "I did forget to mention it, but most disciples naturally choose combat..." The Valley Master recalled: "I believe he selected 'Mysterious Truth Divination Art.' He probably lacks combat ability now." Wang Siming looked surprised: "Why would he pick that? Who advised him?" The Valley Master glanced at Zheng He, making Wang Siming frown darkly. "Shall we wait for him?" the Divine Extremes Peak Master asked. "No, I'm busy." "Me too." Most Peak Masters departed immediately. The Technique Peak Master lingered briefly but left too - with Ye Bufan's clear victory, there was no reason to stay. The scholarly path's duration varied - some finished in minutes, others took weeks. After waiting half an hour, Wang Siming also left - the valley was perfectly safe. The Valley Master stayed longest but eventually departed to handle disciple transfers, leaving Su Yuan alone inside the silver portal.