Damien saw a young girl walk up towards the platform where the Ethereal Assessnt Stone was kept.
She looked about sixteen or seventeen and had a tense expression as she slowly approached the stone. She stood in front of the stone and carefully pressed her hand on the stone.
The Ethereal Assessnt Stone imdiately flashed as three azure lines ford on the stone.
Age - Sixteen
Ethereal Cultivation - Nascent Ethereal Realm Level Ten
Eligibility - Unqualified
Damien was a bit surprised that the stone could even determine the bone age of soone. He knew that if that girl had tried to join the Rong Ethereal Court, she would have at least beco an inner disciple in no ti and be outstanding among other disciples.
However, here she couldn't even match the lowest standard.
He again realized how huge the difference between these two empires was and that this Xeton Ethereal Foundation was a place only for elites among elites.
"You have failed. Step down." The elderly man said with a stiff expression as he looked at the result.
The girl's expression beca panic-stricken and deeply bowed before the elderly man and cried in a begging manner, "Senior, this junior is not even a few days away from breaking through to the Spirit Ethereal Realm. I might even breakthrough by tomorrow. I hope Senior can accommodate slightly, and please let this junior pass. This junior would be deeply grateful, and surely on soday—"
"No!" The elderly man said in a stern tone as he fiercely swung his hand. He had seen too many dramas like these every single year during the assessnt.
The girl started tearing up as her voice beca frail, "Please, Senior, I am begging you." She had almost fallen to her knees and bitterly pleaded, "Senior, this junior had dread of joining the Xeton Ethereal Foundation for her entire life. A-And, my entire family has put all their expectations and hopes in . I beg you, Senior, if you let pass, I will do anything you say."
His expression didn't even change slightly, and not even a tinge of pity was there in his eyes as he said, "What kind of a place do you think the Xeton Ethereal Foundation is? Do you think anyone could beg their way in and ruin the reputation this establishnt had built with their hard work and the disciple's talent? There would absolutely be no compromise or accommodation. Step down, imdiately!"
He continued in a stern tone, "Without reaching the minimum standard, even if you kneel here the whole day, no one is going to accommodate you. You are only sixteen now and still got a last chance next year. If you don't leave now, I will ban you from taking the yearly assessnt next year and make you lose the only chance you have at entering the Xeton Ethereal Foundation."
The girl's face turned pale as she heard the last part of his sentence. She didn't dare to say another word and left the place with a crestfallen expression.
Damien felt that the youngsters here were no different from his previous life, where students tried their best to get into ivy league colleges because of their aspirations or peer pressure or because they wanted to fulfill their parent's expectations.
He saw that most of the candidates around him had determined and excited expressions written all over their faces while so were nervous, so scared.
So even started sweating after seeing how the elderly man wasn't lenient in the least, no matter how much the young girl begged. Those who already knew that they wouldn't make it, dropped all ideas of begging.
Damien suddenly felt a poke on his shoulder and saw a young boy with a nervous expression as he looked towards his side.
"Brother, you seem as young as , and even your cultivation is the sa as . But why do you look so calm and confident?"
Damien chuckled, "What's there to worry about?"
The boy replied, "I an, you don't have to worry about the first part of the assessnt. But I heard that the next and final part of the assessnt is tough to pass. Even though it is a team competition, I heard that they sotis eliminate candidates from the winner's team and even select candidates from the losers team based on their performance."
Damien said nonchalantly, "So what? Be it any kind of assessnt, as long as we are confident in ourselves, we don't need to worry about anything."
"Huh?" The boy was confused and wondered where Damien was getting such confidence from. For so reason, he didn't feel like he was talking to soone of his own age or with the sa cultivation as his.
"Next, Lang Cromwell!" The elderly man continued.
"Age 15, Nascent Ethereal Realm Level Nine, Unqualified."
"Age 18, Spirit Ethereal Realm Level One, Unqualified."
"Age 16, Spirit Ethereal Realm Level Six, Qualified."
As soon as the lines appeared on the stone, many let out gasps seeing a youth got qualified and gazes of envy and admiration locked on to him.
Even the elderly man who was proctoring the examination nodded with a hint of a smile and said, "Good. After the second assessnt, you might have a good chance to get placed in the 'Gold Batch' directly. Make sure you give it your best for the next part of the assessnt."
Hearing the words 'Gold Batch', almost all the candidate's faces revealed an expression of intense eagerness and yearning.
"Hey, what's the big deal about this Gold Batch?" Damien curiously asked the sa boy who talked to him before.
"You don't know?" The boy asked with his brows raised. He continued, "Who wouldn't want to enter the Gold Batch? At least it's guaranteed that once you graduate as a part of the Gold Batch, you would receive an extrely high position in the Xeton Empire, maybe right here in the imperial city itself. Imagine the honor we would get if we got into that batch." The boy said as excitent sparkled in his eyes.
He looked at Damien and asked, "Don't you want that as well? Ah, I forgot my manners. My na is Fynn. What's yours?"
"Na's Damien." Damien said casually and continued, "By the way, how many batches are there?"
"Oh, there are three batches. The lowest one is the Bronze Batch. The next higher and better one is the Gold Batch and finally Elite Batch, which one can only dream of entering and is reserved only for the elite among elites. And the ones who graduate from that batch would beco powerhouses of the empire in the future and even lord over certain cities. Sigh, those kinds of things are too far away from and can only be a distant dream for . I will at least do my best in the Bronze Batch and get a good position in so city if I pass." Fynn said earnestly.
He then asked Damien, "I am sure you will do well in the next assessnt and get into the Bronze Batch easily."
"Who said I would be getting into the Bronze Batch?" Damien asked with a face wide smile.
"Huh, what do you an?" Fynn asked with a puzzled expression.
"I only aim for the best, and obviously, I am getting into the Elite Batch," Damien said casually as if his place in the Elite batch was already set in stone.
Fynn awkwardly laughed, "You can't be kidding. You don't have to joke like that with ."
Damien patted his back, "Who said I am? You will soon hear my na resounding around the whole Xeton Ethereal Foundation. Well, you can also ignore whatever I just said, assuming that I am crazy, haha."
Fynn, however, felt that his words were crazy and implausible. Still, sowhere he felt that those words carried deep confidence and firmness.
Fynn gave a dry chuckle and said, "Well, I will look forward to your performance then. But I wonder where brother Damien is from?"
"I am from the Rong Empire, what about you?"
Fynn said with an astonished expression, "Wow, you are coming from so far away? I heard that the Rong Empire is very weak, but with your cultivation, I guess you must be a bright genius of your family. Well, I am from the Clayton Family, but it is just a small-sized family, and they all think that I am so kind of genius. They have no idea that I just barely passed the criteria to even pass this assessnt."
"Don't think too short of yourself. Sotis it's the underdogs who outshine the lions. People expect nothing from underdogs like us. So isn't it fun to see their faces when we break their expectations?" Damien asked with a aningful smile.
Fynn was awed and admired Damien's ntality. He said in an appreciative tone, "Brother Damien is very strong-willed. I wish I could be like you."
Damien softly chuckled, "You don't have to force yourself to be like anybody. If you believe in yourself and have the dedication to achieve the things you want, you can be a winner no matter where you go."
Fynn had an enlightened expression on his face and said in an appreciative tone, "Thanks a lot, Brother Damien. You really made feel better."
…
Many nas were called, and two or three of them had high talent and were praised by the instructor.
After a while, "Next, 93rd Candidate: Damien Godwin!"
Damien walked towards the Ethereal Assessnt Stone and placed his hand on it.
"Age 15, Nascent Ethereal Realm Level Ten, Qualified."
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