A Card In Hand

Chapter 15: You, Still Too Young!

In the year 35,891, on the ninth day of April, on the Tianfeng Continent.

It was the fourth day since Li Ao had returned from the dead.

Early morning.

Clear skies.

At the Trial Temple, the Novice Trial Plaza.

Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Li Ao was reluctantly dragged by Fuxi to the Novice Trial Plaza. “Boss, today’s test is on magical string manipulation. We practiced it many times last night and we’re guaranteed to pass, so why did we have to get up so early?”

“I’m taking you to meet the elites from the major families participating in this session. Every one of these talented individuals is a future candidate for head of their family. Making good connections with them is crucial for our future,” Fuxi said with a serious expression.

“Are you actually here to check out the pretty girls?”

Li Ao bluntly exposed him.

“Eh? How did you know?”

Fuxi was somewhat flustered.

“I figured it out from the angles and focus of your gaze,” Li Ao said, yawning again.

“You’re quite observant, kiddo, but no, how can you look at me with such strange eyes? It’s human nature, understand?” Fuxi defended himself vigorously.

“I don’t understand,” Li Ao shook his head.

“You don’t understand… really?” Fuxi was a bit surprised. Could it be that his little cousin hadn’t reached the age to appreciate women?

He thought about it.

His little cousin was just fifteen this year.

With rigorous training usually and barely any chance to socialize, it wasn’t strange that he overlooked some things and hadn’t learned about others.

The more Fuxi thought about it, the more he felt he had been negligent in his duties as a mentor.

It wouldn’t do; with Li Ao being such an innocent rookie, if he didn’t step up, the kid could be easily swayed and lost in a minute!

As a mentor, he had a significant responsibility. Not a moment of slack was permissible.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Who else but he, born to be a responsible leader, could take on such a duty?

Fuxi sighed internally, raised his hand as if to slap down, but Li Ao quickly watched that raised hand, keeping his eyes on it.

Thus, Fuxi quietly lessened his strength, slowing down the speed, and gently landed his hand on Li Ao’s shoulder: “I fully understand those silent desires and pleas hidden deep in your heart. Don’t worry, I will teach you all 108 techniques I know!”

“What did you say, boss? The 108 battle techniques of summoners?”

Li Ao played the innocent, understanding nothing.

“Something even more mysterious and complex than summoner battle techniques. It’s hard to teach you all at once, but we’ll take it slowly. When you grow up a bit more, you can start learning. You, my friend, are still too young!”

Fuxi said, shaking his head in a tsk-tsk manner.

“Really?” Li Ao made an impressed yet confused face.

“I don’t want to be a big boss either, but seeing you makes me feel the weight of my responsibilities!”

Fuxi stood on a higher spot, looking up into the sky with a melancholic gaze.

The third item on the novice’s trial was magical string manipulation.

The process was simple.

Each student was given a source energy testing disk.

Inside were magical strings’ formations of varying complexity, each representing different levels.

After completing the test, the Source Energy Testing Disc automatically grades the students; typically, generating the simplest formation with the Magical Strings is enough to pass.

However, when each student received their Source Energy Testing Disc, they were all baffled.

For an interference device had been added to it.

The interference device wasn’t a tool for rookies; it was used in tests for the next level of elite summoners.

“Supervisor, are you sure you didn’t give us the wrong Source Energy Testing Discs? We’re rookies!” a student couldn’t help but ask Supervisor Dou Guang.

“If you don’t want to take the test, you can opt out of this score. The Chief Supervisor arranged it this way. If you want to test, just do it. If not, you can opt out. I’ll give you ten seconds to return to your seat, or I’ll consider you’ve forfeited,” Supervisor Dou Guang said with a grim look, clearly ready to nullify the student’s score at any hint of disagreement.

Hearing this, the student and others who had gathered quickly dispersed.

Having an interference device might prevent them from achieving good scores.

But it was still possible to pass if they tried.

So, there was no need to argue.

Passing three out of the six tests would qualify one as a Standard Summoner, and Magical Strings manipulation was almost the easiest, definitely not worth having your score canceled by the supervisor.

“Ah, I was hoping for an excellent grade, now passing will have to do!” Fuxi sighed.

“I’m done,” said Li Ao, casually inputting some Source Energy. Seeing the formation rise and the Source Energy measurement reach 60, he immediately let go.

“That was quick? Let’s see your score—60, not bad, Li Ao!” Fuxi was surprised that despite the interference device, Li Ao managed to score almost as much as last night. Seeing his little brother pass, he couldn’t allow himself not to try harder.

He struggled to input Source Energy into the disc amidst the interference, just managing to light up the simplest formation.

He checked the measurement and found it just above Li Ao’s at 61, wiping a sweat secretly.

Fortunately, it was higher than Li Ao’s.

Otherwise, he would have lost face in front of his younger cousin.

Li Ao peeked over to the student next to him, a tall guy who naturally radiated an aura of coolness, his face expressing a chill demeanor.

The tall guy’s Source Energy Testing Disc showed a measurement of 99.

Not bad.

Much higher than Li Ao’s 60.

But it paled in comparison to Tie Zheng on the other side, who was equally silent.

Tie Zheng’s measurement was a whopping 305, clearly a top-tier score.

The tall guy was slightly annoyed by Li Ao’s peering and snorted lightly.

“Hello,” Li Ao greeted him amicably.

“Hmph,” the tall guy didn’t even glance at Li Ao, directly handing his Source Energy Testing Disc to an assistant next to the supervisor.

“That kid’s tough, he’s from the Ice River Clan.”

Fuxi warned Li Ao, not wanting him to inadvertently offend the other.

The Ice River Clan was much more formidable than their Tie Clan, and Li Ao and he were not even from the main line of the Tie Clan, making their status even less comparable.

Li Ao, of course, knew what kind of person the other was.

This cool kid was called Shuanghan.

He was a rare super-newcomer in the Ice River Clan, a talent seen once in a thousand years.

Awakened at five, possessing the god-level talent of Endless Ice Hell, his potential was deemed invincible.

He was actually the most formidable amongst the newbies this term. Prince Jinxi didn’t even qualify to tie his shoes.

In his previous life, Shuanghan was one of only two individuals on Tianfeng Continent who, through their own strength, ascended to the Celestial Realm as demi-gods alongside Li Ao.

Unlike Li Ao, due to Shuanghan’s overwhelming talent, the deities of the ice lineage felt threatened.

Eventually, Shuanghan was ambushed and killed by the generals under the command of six gods: North Wind, Blizzard, Ice Plain, Cold Night, Black Prison, and Abyss.

Shuanghan faced the six divine generals alone.

The fierce battle lasted ten days and nights.

Before his death, he severely wounded four ice-lineage generals and even managed to take two of them down with him.

Though Shuanghan’s tenure in the Celestial Realm was meteorically brief, his emergence shook the gods, achieving feats Li Ao could never reach at that time.

In fact, aside from the exceptional Shuanghan, this term included many other hidden talents among the newcomers.

If it weren’t for some being overly promoted, like Prince Jinxi who didn’t even qualify for the top ten, this batch could have been the least noticed ever, mistakenly believed to be lacking super-geniuses except for Prince Jinxi—considered the dimmest batch in history.

Unknown to many, this batch of newcomers was actually packed with phenomenal talents, possibly the most in centuries.

Major families, aiming to protect their young, intentionally had them withhold their full capabilities during the trials.

Take Shuanghan, for example.

In his previous life, he didn’t even make the top thirty.

Among 300 peers, he quietly placed within the top fifty, remarkably low-profile.