Chapter 875, I Thought of Someone

Translator: Jon

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

Ying Wuji shook his head. “It’s fine, but don’t act rashly again next time.”

 

Only an anomaly had been caused, so they were not in danger. However, they might not be so lucky next time. It was foolish to try to verify something before figuring out what it was.

 

That said, it was because of the cultivator’s move that Ying Wuji realised something. He asked, “You must’ve been tested for your aptitude when you joined your Sect. What was the result?”

 

The cultivator appeared slightly embarrassed. “My aptitude is average. The result only showed 43 leaves…”

 

Ying Wuji turned to look at Lu Ye. “Brother Niu!”

 

Lu Ye nodded. “There were exactly 43 illusory flowers earlier.”

 

“I see!” Ying Wuji finally figured it out.

 

“It indeed seems to be the case.”

 

Their conversation suggested that they had come to a conclusion. Some of the Cloud River Realm Masters fell into their thoughts while some were puzzled.

 

A female cultivator asked, “Sir Ying, are you saying that this stone platform is used to evaluate a person’s aptitude?”

 

“It might or might not be, but it indeed can evaluate a person’s aptitude.” Ying Wuji took a deep breath. “This thing must be ancient. It was probably made in the previous era.”

 

He came to this conclusion because the way the Sects tested their disciples’ aptitudes was unlike this stone platform. Lu Ye had been tested for his aptitude in Evil Moon Valley back then. During the process, he just had to be seated in a Ward, and a cultivator would activate his Spiritual Power to find out Lu Ye’s aptitude.

 

Lu Ye still vividly remembered the incident.

 

Starting from this era, the way the cultivators in Jiu Zhou were tested for their aptitudes was just like what Lu Ye had experienced in the past. There might be some improvements along the way, but the method was fundamentally the same.

 

What this stone platform could do was apparently different from how aptitude was tested in Jiu Zhou.

 

“Does anybody want to give it a try?” Ying Wuji asked.

 

The female cultivator who had spoken earlier said, “I’ll give it a shot.”

 

Then, she activated her Spiritual Power and infused it into the stone platform. The patterns lit up, and the Ward was activated. The illusory flowers appeared around the stone platform again. There were a total of 53 flowers.

 

The female cultivator said, “It can indeed evaluate a person’s aptitude. My result was 53 leaves back then.”

 

In that case, the stone platform wasn’t very useful. However, it was made from some strange material. If they could sell it to the Vault of Providence, they might get a handsome reward.

 

Upon confirming there was no danger, the cultivators started getting playful. They gave it a try one by one, and the results represented their own aptitudes.

 

“Why don’t you give it a try as well, Sir Ying?” a female cultivator said as she was curious about Ying Wuji’s aptitude.

 

He was the core disciple of Yama Temple in this generation, and his ranking was pretty good in the Fight for Supremacy. There was no doubt he had an excellent aptitude.

 

Ying Wuji didn’t turn her down as he intended to show off in front of these Cloud River Realm Masters. He replied, “Sure. Why not?”

 

As he activated his Spiritual Power, the Ward started reacting, after which these cultivators exclaimed in amazement. They could see that the illusory flowers around the stone platform were so close to each other that they were almost connected. There were a total of 62 flowers.

 

An aptitude of 64 was the best for any cultivator. To become the core disciple of any major Sect, the cultivator needed to have at least an aptitude of 60 leaves. Ying Wuji had an aptitude of 62 leaves, so he could be considered one of the best in Jiu Zhou.

 

As he looked at their gazes of admiration and envy, he said, “Although aptitude is important for a cultivator, it doesn’t determine the limit of his cultivation. You have to remember that your own hard work is the most important. If anyone is complacent just because he has a good aptitude, he won’t achieve much in life. On the other hand, a hardworking person with a terrible aptitude will eventually become successful.”

 

As he gave them an important lesson, these Cloud River Realm Masters nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

A female cultivator asked softly, “Have you thought of anything interesting, Sir Ying?”

 

“I suddenly thought of someone.”

 

Lu Ye glanced at him and narrowed his eyes.

 

Ying Wuji was oblivious to his stare. Without a need for anyone to ask questions, he went on to say, “I’m sure all of you know Lu Yi Ye from the Crimson Blood Sect.”

 

They were all Cloud River Realm Masters who had stayed on the Cloud River Battlefield before, so they had naturally heard of Lu Yi Ye. In an instant, they appeared serious.

 

“In fact, his real name is Lu Ye, but due to some reason, he’s now called Lu Yi Ye. People continue to call him that even though he’s famous now. Did you know why his name is Lu Yi Ye?”

 

“We’ve never heard of it before.”

 

“Well, it was said that when he was tested for his aptitude, he only got the result of one leaf. It kind of rhymed with his name, so some people started calling him Lu Yi Ye, and that’s how the name spread… An aptitude of one leaf. Hahaha. Don’t you think that’s funny?”

 

While laughing, he suddenly shuddered and turned to look at Lu Ye. For some reason, he had a feeling the other party wanted to kill him. He didn’t think he had offended him before, so he wondered what was wrong with him.

 

He then donned a serious expression and said, “I’m not telling you this so that you can make fun of his aptitude! Even with such a terrible aptitude, Lu Yi Ye has still achieved so much. Now, everyone on the Cloud River Battlefield has heard of his name. As such, aptitude is crucial to a cultivator, but it’s not the most important.”

 

“But Sir… With an aptitude of one leaf, he must be inefficient at cultivating his power. How does Lu Yi Ye increase his power so quickly? Could it be some fake news spread by the Grand Sky Coalition?”

 

“Perhaps his aptitude isn’t only one leaf, but I’m sure he’s not gifted. I don’t think it’s fake news. Regardless of how powerful he is, he’s only a Cloud River Realm Master… Well, perhaps he’s a Real Lake Realm Master now. Anyway, there isn’t a need for the Grand Sky Coalition to spread misinformation about a particular cultivator. As for why he’s able to increase his power quickly, I believe he’s gotten a lot of opportunities. I used to spend some time with him. Although we’re on opposing sides, I have to say he’s pretty resourceful.”

 

A cultivator was apparently displeased. “He won’t go far on his cultivation journey by relying on opportunities alone.”

 

Some people expressed their agreement and flattered Ying Wuji while they were at it. “Sir Ying, you’re a genius. We’re sure you’ll be more powerful than Lu Yi Ye in the future.”

 

“I hope so.” Ying Wuji turned to look at Lu Ye. “Brother Niu, would you want to give it a try?”

 

Lu Ye was ready to turn him down. After all, it was pointless to evaluate his aptitude. Since he could use Spirit Gathering Funnels, aptitude no longer mattered to him.

 

After giving it some thought, he recalled that after he acquired the broken Source of Soaring Dragon Boundary, his aptitude had gone through an amazing transformation.

 

In the past, he couldn’t even absorb World Spiritual Qi. It was as though there was a barrier in his body that blocked out World Spiritual Qi. Only Spirit Gathering Funnels were able to break through the barrier.

 

Now, even if he didn’t build Spirit Gathering Funnels, he could still cultivate his power like other cultivators. It was just that he rarely did it. After all, it was more efficient to use his own method.

 

Anyway, he could give it a try and find out his new aptitude. At the thought of this, he infused his Spiritual Power into the stone platform.

 

The patterns started glowing as the Ward was activated. The patterns that looked like flowers around the stone platform lit up, and illusory flowers appeared above them. Soon enough, the illusory flowers connected with each other, covering the entire periphery of the stone platform.

 

All of them were dumbfounded. Ying Wuji’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

Lu Ye was slightly surprised as well. Even though he knew he had an excellent aptitude now, he didn’t expect it to be this good.

 

All 64 illusory flowers had appeared, which was two flowers more than Ying Wuji. Correspondingly, his aptitude was 64 leaves.

 

There was no doubt he could be considered a genius. It could even be said that 64 leaves was not the end of his aptitude because it was merely the limit of the test.

 

“Are you really an independent cultivator, Brother Niu?” Ying Wuji finally came to his senses. He had never expected such a gifted independent cultivator to exist.

 

Lu Ye claimed to be an independent cultivator who wasn’t attached to any Sect. Initially, Ying Wuji didn’t think too deeply about it. Usually, an independent cultivator wouldn’t have a good aptitude. If Lu Ye’s aptitude were excellent, he would’ve been accepted by a major Sect long ago.

 

It wasn’t until now that Ying Wuji realised he had underestimated the man.

 

A cultivator with an aptitude of 64 leaves could go to any top Sect in Jiu Zhou. How was it possible that such a person was an independent cultivator?

 

While Ying Wuji was puzzled, Lu Ye retracted his Spiritual Power.

 

When other people retracted their powers, the illusory flowers would disappear. However, after Lu Ye did that, the illusory flowers were still around, and they became even brighter.

 

The anomaly made everyone vigilant as they had no idea what was going on.

 

While they were shocked and doubtful, all 64 illusory flowers suddenly flew towards the centre of the stone platform. Petals fell from the flowers as they came together and formed an even bigger illusory flower.

 

The stone platform madly absorbed the heat energy and even caused a gale, which made them feel cool in such a searing environment.

 

They watched as the illusory flower in the middle absorbed enough heat energy before it blossomed like a real flower. At the same time, some creaking sounds were heard.

 

When the illusory flower fully blossomed, an entrance that looked like a pit appeared in the middle. The location of the entrance was the pistil.

 

Finally, the anomaly stopped, and the huge illusory flower slowly faded.

 

Everyone was silent as they looked at the entrance that appeared out of nowhere. They didn’t expect such an incident to happen.

 

The current situation showed that the stone platform wasn’t only used to evaluate a person’s aptitude. It also had a hidden door that led to the underground. As for what was beneath the ground, no one had an answer.

 

To open the door, they had to activate all 64 illusory flowers. Activating it through the evaluation of aptitude probably wasn’t the only way. The person who had built the stone platform in the past must have other ways to open the door as well.

 

It was a coincidence that Lu Ye used such a method to open up the hidden door in the stone platform.

 

Now, the door was clearly visible, but no one knew where it led to. They were all thrilled.

 

Opportunities were everywhere in Jiu Zhou. Whether they could come across any opportunities depended on their luck.

 

The stone platform had been around for a long time, and before their eyes, there was a door that led to an unknown place. Was it an opportunity? Or was there any danger ahead of them?

 

Cultivators were adventurous people. Anybody who came across such a situation would want to find out what was inside.

 

Ying Wuji turned to look at Lu Ye. “What do you think, Brother Niu?”

 

Lu Ye nodded, and Ying Wuji understood his intention.