Su Qiqi froze. Had she heard correctly?
After all, nearly everyone yearned to become a cultivator, yet most were denied the chance to test their aptitude. Here she was, offering Jiang Taiping that very opportunity, and he was actually considering refusing?
"Do you know what you're saying?" Su Qiqi demanded.
"I know..."
Jiang Taiping explained, "Being a cultivator is too dangerous. It's better to stay an ordinary person!" "
Su Qiqi was stunned. She'd considered why Jiang Taiping might refuse the test, but never imagined this reason!
"You, who smashed an E-rank otherworldly disciple with a brick, claim to fear danger? Do you really expect me to believe that?" Su Qiqi retorted, speechless.
"Well, that's how I feel... Whether you believe it or not is your problem!" Jiang Taiping replied, completely unfazed.
Su Qiqi frowned. She'd expected the testing to go smoothly, but never anticipated encountering an anomaly like Jiang Taiping!
Still, she didn't believe a single word he said—not even the punctuation marks!
The next moment, as if struck by an idea, Su Qiqi grinned mischievously. "Jiang Taiping, you killed that otherworldly disciple with a brick and ran off immediately afterward. Now you won't admit it—is it because you're afraid someone will find out you killed him?"
Jiang Taiping fell silent. That fear was real—killing an Otherworld Disciple invited their relentless vengeance!
"I'll give you one more chance. Think carefully about your answer..."
Su Qiqi continued, "If your answer doesn't satisfy me, I'll spread the news that you killed the Otherworld Disciple. And I'll make sure word gets out about you stealing their bag and dagger too!"
Jiang Taiping's forehead creased with frustration. This little minx was actually threatening him!
"Su Qiqi, have you no conscience?"
Jiang Taiping rebuked. "According to your own words, I saved you yesterday. Is this how you repay kindness with betrayal?"
"What repaying kindness with betrayal? Don't slander me..."
Su Qiqi protested. I didn't need your rescue in the first place, okay? Besides, when you hit the otherworldly disciple with that brick, his dagger ended up injuring me... Mark my words, I'm a woman of my word. You'd better think this through!"
Jiang Taiping was deeply frustrated. Did he have a choice? Absolutely not!
"What I don't understand is why you insist on making me test you?" Jiang Taiping asked, baffled.
Su Qiqi hesitated, but ultimately decided to tell Jiang Taiping the truth.
"Su Qiqi, captain of the Ninth Demon-Hunting Squad, Demon-Hunting Hall, Nightwalkers Jiu'an City Branch..."
She introduced herself, then continued, "With the invasion of beasts and the chaos caused by the otherworldly disciples, the Nightwalkers' Demon-Hunting Hall is short-handed and urgently needs fresh blood. If you have cultivation talent, I'd like to invite you to join the Nightwalkers' Demon-Hunting Hall!"
Jiang Taiping was taken aback. Su Qiqi was actually part of the Nightwalkers?
But recalling she was an E-rank cultivator, it made sense.
He knew a bit about the Nightwalkers too.
They were an organization formed by Longguo cultivators specifically to combat monstrous beasts and otherworldly rebels.
"What's in it for me if I join the Nightwalkers' Demon Hunters?" Jiang Taiping asked.
"Protecting the people from harm and safeguarding the peace of our land!" Su Qiqi declared proudly.
Jiang Taiping curled his lip. He struggled to support himself—how could he possibly spare the energy to protect others?
"Cut the lofty talk. What are the practical benefits?" Jiang Taiping pressed.
Su Qiqi considered it: "You get paid, and it gives you a legitimate reason to skip school!"
Jiang Taiping's heart skipped a beat!
Though he possessed a substantial sum of 150,000 yuan, it was money spent without earning—it would inevitably run out. A salary meant a steady income!
Moreover, defeating enemies earned lottery tickets, which could enhance his cultivation. He couldn't keep taking days off forever, could he?
Though tempted, Jiang Taiping didn't agree immediately. After pondering, he asked, "I dislike being tied down. Does the Nightwalker Demon Hunters' Guild have many rules?"
"The Nightwalker Demon Hunters' Guild doesn't have many rules..."
Su Qiqi shook her head and explained, "As long as you don't cause trouble and respond promptly when situations arise, that's all that's required!"
"Congratulations, you've won me over..."
Jiang Taiping sighed. His hesitation vanished as he made a decisive choice: "Alright, let's test it!"
Su Qiqi was speechless. Had she known it would be this easy to get Jiang Taiping to agree, why bother threatening him?
Pulling a fist-sized multicolored stone from her pocket, Su Qiqi explained:
"This stone is called the Rainbow Stone. It tests whether someone has cultivation talent. All you need to do is grip it tightly!"
"That simple?" Jiang Taiping was taken aback.
"Yes, it's that simple!"
Su Qiqi nodded firmly. "This stone is called the Rainbow Stone. It tests whether someone has cultivation talent. All you need to do is grip it tightly!"
"That simple?" Jiang Taiping was taken aback.
"Yes, it's that simple!" Su Qiqi nodded.
Jiang Taiping was puzzled. "If it's so simple, why not test everyone?"
"Do you think we don't want to?"
Su Qiqi rolled her eyes. "The Seven-Colored Stone is a single-use item. Each stone can only test one person. They're mined from the Demon's Lair, making them extremely hard to come by. We don't have much stock, so we can't waste them carelessly. We only use them when we're certain someone has cultivation potential!"
"I see!"
Jiang Taiping understood instantly. He took the multicolored stone Su Qiqi handed him and clenched it tightly!
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the stone erupted with dazzling multicolored light!
This sight filled Su Qiqi with sudden joy!
Such a brilliant burst of light meant Jiang Taiping's cultivation potential was surely extraordinary!
But immediately, the joy on her pretty face froze.
The dazzling multicolored light on the stone rapidly merged, eventually transforming into a single crimson glow!
Within that crimson glow, a small sword floated silently!
"F-grade Sword Body?" The smile on Su Qiqi's face froze completely!
The seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—corresponded to the seven cultivation talent grades: F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. The small sword within the glow represented cultivation talent, meaning Jiang Taiping possessed an F-grade Sword Body!
"With this cultivation talent, can I join the Nightwalker Demon Hunters?" Jiang Taiping asked.
He'd heard that monstrous beasts and otherworldly beings most relished killing human geniuses. To avoid drawing their attention, it was best to keep a low profile. That's why he'd just had the system conceal his god-tier Devouring talent and disguise his S-grade Sword Body as F-grade!
Su Qiqi was deeply conflicted.
F-rank was the weakest cultivation talent, theoretically only capable of reaching F-rank practitioner!
While F-rank practitioners were far stronger than ordinary people, they were practically useless against beasts and otherworldly beings. Calling F-rank cultivation talent useless was no exaggeration!
"Fine, F-rank it is!" Su Qiqi sighed.
To quickly gather reinforcements, the Nightwalkers issued an order: every member must recruit one new member within a week!
She had approached many people, but none possessed cultivation talent. Today was the deadline, and she had no time left to search further. Though F-rank was the weakest, it was still cultivation talent—better than finding no one at all, right?
"What do you mean 'never mind'?" Jiang Taiping asked.
"This is an invitation..."
Su Qiqi pulled an invitation from her pocket and handed it to Jiang Taiping. "Meet me at the school gate tomorrow at 7:30 AM. I'll take you to the Night Walker's Jiuan branch for the assessment!"