Damien saw a young girl walk up towards the platform where the Ethereal Assessment 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 Assessment Stone immediately flashed as three azure lines formed 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 someone. He knew that if that girl had tried to join the Rong Ethereal Court, she would have at least become an inner disciple in no time 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 became 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 someday—"
"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 assessment.
The girl started tearing up as her voice became frail, "Please, Senior, I am begging you." She had almost fallen to her knees and bitterly pleaded, "Senior, this junior had dreamed of joining the Xeton Ethereal Foundation for her entire life. A-And, my entire family has put all their expectations and hopes in me. I beg you, Senior, if you let me 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 establishment had built with their hard work and the disciple's talent? There would absolutely be no compromise or accommodation. Step down, immediately!"
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 assessment 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 some were nervous, some scared.
Some 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 me, and even your cultivation is the same as me. But why do you look so calm and confident?"
Damien chuckled, "What's there to worry about?"
The boy replied, "I mean, you don't have to worry about the first part of the assessment. But I heard that the next and final part of the assessment is tough to pass. Even though it is a team competition, I heard that they sometimes 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 assessment, 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 some reason, he didn't feel like he was talking to someone of his own age or with the same 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 assessment, 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 assessment."
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 same 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 extremely 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 excitement sparkled in his eyes.
He looked at Damien and asked, "Don't you want that as well? Ah, I forgot my manners. My name is Fynn. What's yours?"
"Name'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 become powerhouses of the empire in the future and even lord over certain cities. Sigh, those kinds of things are too far away from me and can only be a distant dream for me. I will at least do my best in the Bronze Batch and get a good position in some city if I pass." Fynn said earnestly.
He then asked Damien, "I am sure you will do well in the next assessment 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 mean?" 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 me."
Damien patted his back, "Who said I am? You will soon hear my name 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, somewhere 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 some kind of genius. They have no idea that I just barely passed the criteria to even pass this assessment."
"Don't think too short of yourself. Sometimes 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 meaningful smile.
Fynn was awed and admired Damien's mentality. 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 me feel better."
…
Many names 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 Assessment Stone and placed his hand on it.
"Age 15, Nascent Ethereal Realm Level Ten, Qualified."
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