Chapter 56: This Kid is Done For

"Is this the little prodigy brought back by Elder Moling? This elder would like to see just what kind of peerless talent he is." A middle-aged, exquisitely beautiful woman flew over, landing opposite Elder Moling with a playful glint in her eyes.

"Elder Liang Yu, why are you everywhere? How thoroughly annoying!" Elder Moling wrinkled her delicate nose, her eyes filled with obvious disgust, yet her expression also betrayed a sense of utter helplessness.

It was evident that she and Elder Liang Yu could not stand each other. Seeing the other woman show up just to watch the spectacle naturally filled her with extreme irritation.

"I find you equally annoying. As I see it, this brat is hardly any good stock either. Weren't those two you special-recruited last time absolute trash? Chances are, this kid is nothing more than garbage too. This elder is simply here today to watch you make a fool of yourself," Elder Liang Yu said with a smile, her eyes sparkling with anticipation of a good show.

"Hmph! This time, you won't be seeing any joke at all!" Moling took a deep breath and cast a cold glance at Elder Liang Yu.

"Is that so? Then I shall just have to wait and see," Elder Liang Yu continued teasingly. "Though I certainly hope our Illusory Demon Sect can welcome yet another talented disciple."

Ignoring Elder Liang Yu entirely, Elder Moling turned her gaze back to Jiang Fan.

"Jiang Fan, you had better not disappoint me. If you cause me to lose face, you won't have a pleasant end!" the woman in the black dress said coldly. She grabbed Jiang Fan directly and brought him before the Talent Monument, then instructed, "Go on, place your hand upon the Monument of Talent, and your aptitude shall be revealed."

"Yes!" Jiang Fan's heart fluttered with anxiety, but he obediently complied, reaching out to place his palm against the massive black monolith before him.

Jiang Fan knew deep down that he was bound to disappoint Elder Moling. He just wondered what kind of fate awaited him once she realized how utterly atrocious his talent truly was.

*Surely,* Jiang Fan thought to himself, *even if she discovers how terrible my aptitude is, she won't just kill me on the spot, right?*

Suppressing the complex turmoil in his heart, Jiang Fan realized he had no choice but to take things one step at a time.

Hum!

The moment Jiang Fan's right hand made contact with the Talent Monument, the monolith stirred, though the reaction was exceedingly faint.

Swish!

Gradually, a faint cyan radiance began to emerge.

"Such a pale wood-attribute cyan light... It seems this boy's talent isn't very good after all!" Elder Moling's expression darkened somewhat as she muttered to herself, "Still, if it's a single-attribute spiritual root, it's not entirely unacceptable."

Swish!

Immediately afterward, a second faint, water-blue light screen materialized. Elder Moling's complexion instantly turned even more unsightly as she murmured, "Could it be a dual-attribute spiritual root? Though this second water-attribute root is rather pathetic... still, barely passable..."

Swish!

Before that could settle, a faint earthy-yellow light screen appeared alongside the others.

By this point, Elder Moling's face had darkened completely. A three-attribute spiritual power was utterly mediocre—virtually commonplace throughout the entire Illusory Demon Sect, belonging to the lowest tier of spiritual roots.

"Three spiritual roots. To think this kid only has the most ordinary three spiritual roots. Who would have thought that Elder Moling's special recruits would turn out to be so utterly mediocre..."

"Unbelievable. Disciples personally special-recruited by Elder Moling herself end up like this? And this is already the third one."

"Keep your voices down. Elder Moling is in a terrible mood right now; you'd better hope she doesn't hear you, or you'll be targeted..."

The surrounding disciples of the Illusory Demon Sect exchanged strange glances and whispered among themselves.

"I said we'd get to watch a good show, and sure enough, it's a magnificent one. Who knows, perhaps this boy even possesses four spiritual roots," Elder Liang Yu chimed in with a laugh at that moment.

Hearing the waves of mockery echoing from all around, Elder Moling's expression grew immensely grim.

Swish!

Just as Elder Liang Yu finished speaking, a faint fire-red light indeed flickered into existence on the Talent Monument. Seeing this, everyone present lost their composure.

"Good grief! This kid actually has four spiritual roots!"

"Trash! The boy is nothing more than trash yet again—and even more worthless than the previous two special recruits Elder Moling brought back!"

"Truly hard to believe. Is Elder Moling's judgment really this abysmal? At least her first two special recruits possessed three spiritual roots. As for this kid—he's a walking garbage root..."

"Elder Moling must be harboring the urge to kill right about now! This is entirely too humiliating..."

Out in the plaza, countless disciples of the Illusory Demon Sect could not resist mocking the situation, casting bizarre and sidelong glances toward Elder Moling.

"Hahaha, Elder Moling, it seems the disciple you special-recruited this time is truly a genius among geniuses! Those two trash disciples you special-recruited last time were thrown into the mines to dig for ore, eventually meeting miserable deaths in the depths of the mines. I wonder how you plan to handle this boy given such stellar talent?" Elder Liang Yu covered her mouth with a chuckle, taunting, "Oh, right, don't rush—perhaps this kid is a rare, peerless prodigy with five spiritual roots after all, hee hee!"

"You—" Elder Moling was enraged to the point that her slender body trembled uncontrollably. Forcing down the surging fury within her, she directed an icy glare at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan felt an involuntary shiver wrack his entire body. For a fleeting moment, he felt as though he had been cast into a ten-thousand-year glacial cellar, chilled to the bone. Although that terrifying sensation vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was now deeply resented by Moling.

His miserable talent had caused Elder Moling to become a laughingstock, and worse, the laughingstock of her arch-rival. This debt was one he would inevitably have to pay.

Jiang Fan could not fathom how he would be treated from this moment on, but he knew with absolute certainty that nothing good awaited him.

He no longer held any illusions of becoming Elder Moling's disciple; under the current circumstances, if she didn't execute him on the spot, it could only be considered an act of mercy.

The higher a cultivator's realm, the more they prized their pride. Elder Moling was naturally immensely concerned with her reputation, or she would never have issued that prior "warning" to him.

"Is it over?" Jiang Fan watched as the four-colored glow on the Talent Monument completely faded away, his heart sinking further into dread. What came next would be his moment of judgment.

Even though he had committed no offense and broken no rules.

Yet, because his talent was too abysmal and he had caused Elder Moling to lose face, in this world where the strong preyed upon the weak, that alone constituted an unforgivable crime.

"Jiang Fan... let's go!" Facing the sea of astonished and mocking gazes around her, Elder Moling chose to flee. She grabbed Jiang Fan by the collar of his back, lifting him effortlessly like an eagle seizing a chick, and flew away from the area.

"Hahaha, Elder Moling, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry? Could it be you're looking for a quiet spot to hack this boy into a thousand pieces and scatter his ashes?" Elder Liang Yu's mocking voice trailed after them.

"That kid is done for. He'll definitely meet a horrific end!"

"Who told him to have such pathetic talent? A trashy four-root like him isn't even qualified to be a menial laborer in our Illusory Demon Sect without some serious backing. He'll undoubtedly end up digging in the most hazardous mines."

"Looks like this boy's fate will still be death in the mines. I just wonder how he'll meet his end? If I recall correctly, of Elder Moling's last two special recruits, one was buried alive by a cave-in, and the other went to clear a new mining tunnel and became fodder for fierce beasts..."