This Life's Song: The Genius Rune Master

The bead was held perfectly in Mo Zhiyang's hand. "Now we'll begin the test. Line up and come one by one."

Everyone lined up accordingly, and the first one was a girl who was about twelve years old.

Mo Zhiyang said, "Place your hands on it, close your eyes and feel the spiritual energy, then channel the spiritual energy into the ball."

The girl nervously reached out twice before placing her hand on the sphere. She slowly circulated her spiritual energy, and a wisp of colorless light from her fingertip entered the sphere. After a few seconds, the sphere gained color, turning from white to warm white. The light flickered for a moment before disappearing.

Mo Zhiyang withdrew his hand and said, "Hmm, that's acceptable. Go wait on the right."

The second one was a fifteen-year-old boy who stretched out one hand, took a deep breath, and channeled his spiritual energy into the sphere. The sphere trembled briefly and then went out without any further change.

Mo Zhiyang said, "You can go now, next."

The boy looked dejected, tears welling in his eyes, and walked away silently.

"Son, it's alright. At worst, you can go to the city to do business. Don't be discouraged." The man lowered his head, gently stroked his son's hair, and comforted him softly.

"Yes, Father, I understand." Despite saying this, his mood remained unchanged.

Another person's test result was red, a light red hue, like the beautiful glow of a sunset.

"Yes, you can go to the right."

Twelve people were selected from the final thirty, and together with Lian Xue and Qing Shu, a total of fourteen people were chosen.

"Uncle Mo, can I also take a test?" Lianxue asked, eager to know what color she was.

“If you want to, then take the test,” Mo Zhiyang said.

"Me too, me too!" Qing Shu also ran over to take the test.

“Okay.” Mo Zhiyang agreed.

Lian Xue walked to the sphere, stretched out her hand covered in spiritual energy, and a wisp of spiritual energy the thickness of a finger entered the sphere. The white jade sphere changed color several times before settling on gold.

"Hmm, not bad." Mo Zhiyang maintained his usual attitude.

"It's my turn." Qing Shu ran over and eagerly placed her hand on it, finally stopping when it turned a pale yellow color. It wasn't as bright as the golden luster of Lian Xue, and it was slightly duller.

“I told you two didn’t need to be tested,” Mo Zhiyang said.

Then Mo Zhiyang said loudly, "Being selected today does not mean you can truly join the sect. You must seize the opportunity and work even harder. If you fail the imperial city test, you will still have to come back, understand?"

Everyone shouted in unison, "Understood!"

"Alright, those who have been chosen, say goodbye to your parents. We'll be leaving in a bit," Mo Zhiyang said loudly to the group.

As the crowd dispersed, those who were chosen bid farewell to their parents, while those who were not chosen hung their heads in dejection.

Qing Shu walked over and hugged Bai Shi, her eyes filled with the joy of being chosen, but also with the sadness of parting. "Mother, we're leaving now. Take good care of yourself. I'll miss you."

Madam Bai said, "Okay, Mother will. You go to the sect with peace of mind and work hard."

Lianxue walked up to Bai Shi and said, "Aunt Bai, after I leave, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Sister Zhenzhen. Here are some spirit stones for you." She then took out two hundred spirit stones and placed them in Bai Shi's hand.

Before Bai could speak, Lianxue added, "You don't need to be so polite with me. Sister Zhenzhen also needs the medicinal herbs, so you must accept them."

Bai wanted to refuse, but Lianxue interrupted her before she could speak. She could only say, "Alright, I'll take it. You two be careful outside, and don't be hasty in anything, especially you." After saying that, she tapped Qingshu's forehead with her fingertip.

"I know, really," Qing Shu assured him repeatedly.

"Go on, don't delay." Bai pushed Qing Shu away and turned to walk home.

She felt an indescribable worry in her heart. After all, her daughter had never been so far away before, and she was afraid that if she didn't leave soon, she would be reluctant to let Qingshu go.

As Qing Shu watched Bai Shi leave, she silently cheered herself up, "Come on, I will definitely make my mother's life better and better."

"Let's go." Lianxue looked at everyone else who had been seen off, but she was the only one left, and couldn't help but feel down. She comforted herself, "It's okay, I still have my master, senior sister, and brother—my family. Hmm, if I had to name anyone else, Leng Yaoye would count too, yeah, that's it."

(Why is Leng Yaoye, who's being talked about, only considered one? Am I not family?)

After another fifteen minutes, all twelve people arrived.

After saying goodbye to his parents, Mo Zhiyang released a large bird and said, "Everyone, get on Qiuqiu's back now."

Lianxue looked at the large bird, which should be a kind of eagle. Its feathers were soft and smooth, and its body was as big as a house, but Lianxue felt that was not all.

Why? Because that's what my intuition tells me.

Once everyone was on the bird's back, the children stopped crying and looked at the bird with great excitement.

A transparent light shield enveloped everyone. Chirp spread its huge wings and took flight. The flapping of its wings stirred up clouds of dust, and everyone was blown over, but fortunately the house was sturdy.

As Lianxue watched Xiaohe Town recede into the distance, she thought to herself, "Sister Zhenzhen, I will definitely get the pills back for you. You must hold on."

All the children were chattering away, discussing the beautiful scenery they were passing by.

The town of Fengyu, which used to take several hours to reach, was shrunk into a painting below, flashing by in an instant.

Lianxue began to meditate. Without the protection of the light shield, they would be easily torn apart by the wind when flying at high altitudes. She took this opportunity to cultivate and also to comprehend the wind.

Lianxue felt the wind brushing against the light barrier and then seeping into her meridians along with the spiritual energy, causing ripples to gradually spread.

The harder you try to capture that feeling of being there, the more you seem to miss it.

He simply gave up and started practicing the Nine Turns Technique, absorbing spiritual energy and regulating his previously disordered aura.

Mo Zhiyang suddenly felt spiritual energy fly past him, and even his own spiritual energy seemed to be stirred. "Huh! What is this girl cultivating? She can actually make spiritual energy rotate." After watching for a while, Mo Zhiyang withdrew his gaze. He didn't want to pry into other people's privacy.

Lianxue sensed someone watching her and quickly stopped cultivating.

Seeing that Lianxue was not cultivating, Mo Zhiyang spoke up, "Now I will tell you about the things we need to pay attention to when we arrive in the capital!"

"Upon arrival at the capital, we will have a designated rest area for you. You are not allowed to move around freely before the assessment begins."

"As long as you maintain a good mindset during the sect examination, those who pass can go to the sect, and those who fail will be sent back."

"Uncle Mo, didn't you already test it? Why...?" asked an older boy.

"This is just a preliminary screening. Your chance to enter the sect comes here," Mo Zhiyang said patiently.

"Because there are so many people coming to the capital, from every town, the total number exceeds ten thousand. There might be some who use connections, so this second test is to ensure the final result. Moreover, this year it's not just the sects of our own country selecting people, but even all twelve sects have sent people to select disciples. Of course, there are more people who have the opportunity to join a sect than in previous years."

Lianxue imagined it and found the scene of ten thousand people to be magnificent.

"This doesn't guarantee entry into a sect without any problems. Those with high strength and talent can join good sects, while those with average strength and talent can join as apprentices, servants, or other similar positions..."

"Each sect has its own rules, so it all depends on your luck."

"I know Uncle Mo."

"Ok."

"Ah."

"Low talent doesn't mean no chance. You can surpass talent through hard work. It's not that you can stop working hard just because you have talent, because you can be surpassed at any time. In this cultivation world, strength is king. Without strength, you can only become someone else's prey."