Chapter 8: It Was Worse Than Death

Two and a half hours had passed. Li Wudao was nearly nodding off when finally it was their turn.

“I’ll go first!” Li Dabao clenched his fists, a bit nervous, and stepped up to the talent stone tablet.

“High-grade Yellow, qualified.”

The chubby boy ran back, beaming with excitement.

One after another, the younger generation of the Li family stepped forward.

As Li Wudao had expected, only Li Dabao, Li Chang, and Li Xiaoyu passed, but all were limited to the outer gate.

“Who goes first between us?” Li Wudao looked at Jiang Churan, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The girl didn’t respond. Even as he spoke, she was already walking toward the talent stone tablet.

“Wow, so beautiful!”
“Which family’s fairy just stepped out?”

All eyes turned toward the exquisite figure before the tablet, everyone captivated, their faces lighting up.

“No wonder she’s the destined heroine; she’s the center of attention right from the start,” Li Wudao murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

In his mind, the next scene was already playing out automatically.

As per tradition, Jiang Churan would begin her display.

Even without awakening the ancient Azure Phoenix bloodline within her, she would still astonish everyone, overwhelming the entire crowd.

Li Wudao even imagined the shocked and envious expressions on everyone’s faces when her talent manifested.

At that moment, Jiang Churan’s delicate hand just touched the tablet when it suddenly trembled.

Only after five breaths did it settle back to stillness.

Everyone’s eyes widened, holding their breath as they strained not to miss a single detail.

Finally, a faint blue light began to glow softly on the tablet’s surface.

“What kind of talent is this?”

Many of the young boys and girls looked confused.

After testing tens of thousands before, only yellow and green colors had appeared.

“This light flickering... could it be... a low-grade Celestial talent?!”

The steward’s eyes trembled with uncertainty.

Since starting his duties, he had never encountered such a phenomenon.

“No doubt about it! It’s definitely low-grade Celestial!”

Elder Wu Ming, overseeing the proceedings on stage, couldn’t contain himself and flew down immediately.

He hurried to Jiang Churan’s side, gazing at the glowing blue light on the tablet, his heart stirred.

“Jiang Churan, low-grade Celestial! Inner disciple!”

Elder Wu used his inner breath to project his voice across the entire plaza.

At that moment,

both the peak masters and sect leaders stood, their excitement palpable.

“Out of a hundred thousand, a Celestial talent not found in a single one!”

“The last time a Celestial talent appeared was at least a hundred years ago...”

“Haha, the Xuanyuan Sect is destined for a great rise!”

Such a prodigy, if not cut down prematurely, would undoubtedly become a leading figure of the sect, even a matter of life and death for them.

Upon Elder Wu’s firm confirmation,

the entire crowd erupted!

This girl was not only stunningly beautiful but also possessed Celestial-level talent!

How could anyone else stand a chance?

“Ah! The young lord’s little maid is a Celestial prodigy?!”

“My goodness, I thought she was just here to attend to the young lord, but who would’ve guessed...”

“This is outrageous!”

Li Dabao and the others were utterly shocked, even swearing in disbelief, unable to calm down for a long while.

Indeed, no one could believe such a lowly maid could be a peerless genius.

“Well played...” Li Wudao took in everyone’s reactions, gently clapping with a faint smile.

Classic, simply classic.

The plot was unfolding just as he had predicted, almost perfectly.

As for this outcome,

Jiang Churan had long anticipated it. She lightly strolled toward the qualified candidates’ area, calm and composed, without an ounce of arrogance.

The youths who had passed wore complicated expressions.

The boys looked admiring, while the girls felt ashamed, their earlier joy greatly diminished.

“Is it finally my turn... I’m a bit excited just thinking about it.”

Li Wudao strode forward, his eyes shining like stars, white robes flowing ethereally, giving him an otherworldly aura.

“Good luck, young lord!” Li Dabao shouted from behind.

Li Chang and Li Xiaoyu looked worried.

They had little confidence in Li Wudao’s talent.

Because of Jiang Churan’s dazzling display, most eyes were fixed on her.

Yet some still paid attention to Li Wudao,

such as the disciples of the Sun family.

“Look! That useless Li Wudao actually showed up!”

“This guy, doesn’t he feel ashamed enough of tarnishing the Lin Yuan Manor’s reputation?”

“Haha, everyone in Linyuan City knows Li Wudao is a useless weakling with no martial talent!”

Several Sun family disciples mocked him shamelessly, not taking him seriously at all.

“Damn useless trash, I want to see you make a fool of yourself!”

Sun Qian cursed viciously, her face bruised and swollen, tears streaming as she spoke.

But the thought of Li Wudao’s humiliation brought her some relief.

Besides the Sun family, Jiang Churan was quietly observing this side as well.

She was curious—what confidence did Li Wudao have to bet against her?

That replenishment pill was already hers to win.

...

“I wonder if the system’s ranking differs from the talent stone tablet...” Li Wudao placed his palm on the groove with a hint of expectation.

Two breaths later, a gentle azure glow appeared on the tablet’s surface.

“Li Wudao, low-grade Earth, eligible for inner disciple!”

The steward was momentarily stunned before promptly announcing.

After testing for so long, not a single Earth-grade talent had appeared.

Unexpectedly, right after the Celestial level, an Earth-grade one emerged.

Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to the youth, emotions mixed.

Another inner disciple!

“Hahaha, excellent!”

Several peak masters laughed heartily, already discussing how to accept disciples.

The younger Li family members were stunned, unable to believe it.

Li Dabao was the first to recover, shouting, “I knew the young lord was no ordinary person! Who would’ve thought he was an Earth-grade genius all along, hiding it from us!”

Li Chang and Li Xiaoyu, who had been worried, exchanged bitter smiles—they had overthought it.

“How could this be... what exactly is happening to this guy?”

Jiang Churan furrowed her brows deeply, utterly baffled.

This was completely different from her past life’s experience.

Li Wudao was just a menial servant—how had he suddenly transformed into an Earth-grade talent?

Could it be some chain reaction triggered by her rebirth?

She gave the youth a long, scrutinizing look, sensing something was very wrong.

Almost certainly so.

Suddenly, the girl’s expression faltered, her delicate face paling.

She recalled the bet with Li Wudao.

Thinking back to their earlier words,

Jiang Churan understood clearly—Li Wudao had obviously known the outcome all along and deliberately set a trap for her.

How infuriating!

But as a dignified empress, her word was her bond.

She had already spoken; it would be embarrassing not to honor it.

Yet if she agreed,

for the next year, wouldn’t she be summoned and dismissed at will, forever branded as a mere maid?

While Jiang Churan wrestled desperately with her thoughts,

Sun Qian and the Sun family disciples were on the verge of collapse.

“This can’t be! He’s just trash! How could he possess Earth-grade talent?”

“It’s not real! This can’t be real!”

Sun Qian clenched her fists tightly, her mind in a daze, shaking her head repeatedly, unable to accept the result.

She had been the one to break off the engagement; she had mocked him relentlessly.

Yet now, the worthless, sycophantic man she despised possessed Earth-grade talent, qualifying as an inner disciple and gaining access to the sect’s core resources.

While she remained merely an outer disciple...

This was more painful than death itself!