No one really believed that Yun Jin could actually claim the treasure hidden within the room.
Cheng Su chuckled and said, "As long as Junior Sister Yun is enjoying herself."
Once everyone had inscribed their spiritual energy into the stone pillars, An Tong emerged and announced, "Now you may go to the corresponding rooms and begin your demonstrations. The final room will be evaluated once all the others have concluded."
Yun Jin had signed up for multiple events. She glanced around, a bit hesitant.
Cheng Su's gaze turned inviting. "Junior Sister Yun, I happen to be heading to the Beastmaster room. Would you like to go together?"
Cheng Su didn't see Yun Jin as any sort of real competition, but Yun Jin was, after all, the future Sect Master of Wushuang Sect. Establishing goodwill now could pay off later.
The Sect Master had specifically instructed her to build a good relationship with Yun Jin. This was likely what he meant.
Yun Jin herself might not be that important, but the Wushuang Sect backing her was a different matter entirely. That sect had once been the most powerful of them all. Even though most of its treasures and legacies were buried in an outer-realm space, what little remained was still significant. A dying camel is still bigger than a horse. Wasn't this why they'd all come here? To get a share of that legacy?
"Alright," Yun Jin replied with a sweet and innocent smile, as docile and endearing as ever.
Ye Liuqin had originally planned to go as well, but seeing Cheng Su take the initiative, she only raised an eyebrow and walked off toward another room.
The barriers outside each stone room had now been lifted.
Cheng Su took Yun Jin's hand and led her into the stone chamber labeled "Beastmaster."
The room was nearly empty, save for a formation array positioned in the center.
An Tong's voice echoed within the chamber.
"The path of the Beastmaster will be tested in three parts: first, the state and potential of your contracted beasts; second, the tamer's innate skills; third, the application of spiritual power. Participants must enter the array and follow the instructions to demonstrate their abilities. Once all cultivators who inscribed their spiritual energy have completed the test, a winner will be chosen and awarded a related treasure left by the master of this room."
Cheng Su smiled and casually beckoned a disciple from the Beastmaster Sect. "You try first."
The disciple responded and stepped into the array. The moment he entered, the array flared to life with glowing lights.
Sensing the activation, the disciple summoned his contracted beasts.
He was already at the Divine Transformation stage and had four contracted beasts circling around him. As their paws touched the formation, golden light lit up beneath them. Clearly, the array was assessing them.
"Four contracted beasts: two high-grade spirit beasts, two mid-grade spirit beasts. Nurturing quality: mid-grade. Spirit beast potential: mid-grade. Final assessment: mid-grade."
A mechanical voice echoed throughout the room.
Mid-grade?
The Beastmaster Sect disciple's expression shifted subtly.
While he wasn't as exceptional as Senior Sister Cheng, he was still considered an elite disciple at the Divine Transformation stage. If not, he wouldn't have been chosen for this mission.
But here in Wushuang Sect's test, he was only rated as "mid-grade"?
The disciple was clearly displeased, but before he could say anything, the formation flashed again and the second test began.
"Evaluating Beastmaster innate skills."
Golden light coursed across his body.
Moments later, the mechanical voice sounded once more.
"Innate skill level: mid-grade."
"Please demonstrate spiritual power."
"Spiritual power assessment: mid-grade."
"Final evaluation: mid-grade."
Every result had been mid-grade. The disciple left the formation with a dark expression.
"Senior Sister Cheng, this array is inaccurate," he complained.
He was a proud member of the Beastmaster Sect, hailed as a genius wherever he went.
And now he was just... average?
Everyone knew that mid-grade basically meant mediocre. Cheng Su's expression turned more serious. It seemed Wushuang Sect's assessment standards were far stricter than she had anticipated.
"Junior Sister Lin, you try next," Cheng Su called another disciple.
The female disciple answered and stepped into the array. Her performance was slightly worse than the first disciple's. In the final test of spiritual power, she was even given a "low-grade" evaluation, which turned her face a deep shade of embarrassment.
Cheng Su narrowed her eyes.
She knew Junior Sister Lin was a bit lacking in the area of spiritual power cultivation, but only just barely. And she had received a low-grade?
Which meant... the previous disciple had likely just scraped into the mid-grade threshold. If the array's standards were that strict, even achieving mid-grade might be out of reach for many.
Yun Jin watched the whole process with great interest.
Say what you will about the Beastmaster Sect, but they had no shortage of strange and fascinating spirit beasts. She had certainly enjoyed the show.
Cheng Su had another disciple enter the array. Seeing Yun Jin watching so intently, she chuckled and asked, "Junior Sister Yun, since you came to this room, I assume you've contracted spirit beasts before? Have you awakened your Beastmaster space?"
Yun Jin looked slightly embarrassed and nodded. "I've awakened it and contracted two spirit beasts, though neither of them are very high level."
"Two?" Cheng Su raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "If you've already opened your Beastmaster space, then with a little effort, you should be able to unlock a third slot. You must have broken through in a hurry and didn't have time to find a third beast. Once all this is over, I could take you to the Spirit Beast Forest to look for one."
"Then thank you in advance, Senior Sister Cheng," Yun Jin said quickly.
She'd heard her master Liu Li mention the Spirit Beast Forest many times before. Most Beastmasters contracted their beasts from there.
According to legend, a Beast King resided in the depths of that forest. This king had made a pact with the human race in ancient times: humans could enter to seek spirit beasts, but only those who followed willingly could be contracted. No force was allowed.
Yun Jin had always been curious about that place.
One way or another, she knew she'd have to visit it eventually.
Soon, all of Cheng Su's junior brothers and sisters had taken the test. The highest result anyone got was still mid-grade. A few had even received low-grade evaluations.
The disciples from Beastmaster Sect were visibly deflated.
So this was the legendary Wushuang Sect?
Even here, they had become... ordinary?
Cheng Su smiled gently and said, "Junior Sister Yun, I'll go next."
"Please, Senior Sister Cheng," Yun Jin responded politely.
Cheng Su stepped into the array.
One by one, her four spirit beasts appeared.
"Four contracted beasts: all high-grade spirit beasts. Nurturing quality: mid-grade. Spirit beast potential: upper-mid-grade."
Still only mid-grade, but this was the first time the term "upper-mid" had been used in the evaluations.
Cheng Su raised an eyebrow.
Just upper-mid?
She was genuinely curious now—what would it take to earn a high-grade rating?
Next came the evaluation of her Beastmaster talent.
"Innate skill level: high-grade."
"Spiritual power assessment: upper-mid-grade."
"Final evaluation: upper-mid-grade."
Despite scoring a high-grade in talent, her overall result was still just "upper-mid."
Cheng Su narrowed her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder—was it even possible to earn a high-grade final evaluation?
Well, whatever.
Upper-mid it was.
If even the disciples of the Beastmaster Sect could only manage this, then the others would stand even less of a chance.
"Looks like it's just me left," Yun Jin said with a blink.
Cheng Su smiled slightly. "Please, Junior Sister Yun."
Given that they had all only scored mid-grade at best, Yun Jin would probably struggle to even reach low-grade. Cheng Su was already wondering how she would comfort Junior Sister Yun if the blow proved too harsh.