(As the sun set for the day, the city was full of lights and all kinds of people in the streets, Lin Xin was taking a stroll as he was bored of his recent duties which included his preparation for the upcoming trials to finally leave the academy and pursue a sect.)
"It does seem like my progress has been slow recently, I'm not sure if it has something to do with my recent battle or possibly something entirely different. I remember hearing about something called aptitude but how could I even figure out my own aptitude without possibly exposing that I'm not of this world?"
(As he kept walking the colors of many people he saw along the way all seemed to be red.)
"...? Could it be that this indicates something such as their cultivation or path? I doubt any of them would be of the demonic path so them having that color doesn't make much sense to me."
"It has to be their cultivation or their potential, perhaps asking one of them directly would be better than just guessing."
(He walked towards a man that didn't seem much older than he was, but without a doubt he was a senior compared to him.)
"Greetings senior brother, do you have a moment to spare? I have a question for you."
(The senior looked puzzled, he wasn't used to people usually walking up to him, let alone one that looks like he belongs to a recognized family in the region.)
"Are you talking to me?" (He said as he adjusted his posture to appear more refined.)
"Yes, can I ask you about cultivation matters?" (Lin Xin tried his hardest to seem like a genuine clueless junior cultivator to not raise any alarms.)
"I don't have much time to spend talking about irrelevant matters, don't waste my time."
"I know that your time is precious senior brother, that's why I'm gonna make it worth your while." (He took out a small pouch of silver coins and tossed it on the table next to him.)
"Could this change your mind?"
"Of course junior brother! I can answer any questions you have, ask away!" (The senior wasn't even trying to hide the fact that his eyes were practically glued onto the pouch, but he tried to keep himself composed until the person in front of him left.)
"Could you tell me about your current cultivation realm? Do you also know what your aptitude is?"
"I peaked at core formation eighth level, my cultivation has heavily slowed down since then, I'm merely a little stronger than a wild beast. I've tried my best to improve but it appears that your aptitude is what determines your speed of cultivation, mine was low from birth so I didn't have much of a choice."
"Do you know any other similar people that had their cultivation stagnate like yours?"
"My elder brother shared a similar aptitude to mine, he took cultivation much more seriously than human affairs like trade and commerce yet his cultivation also stagnated at nascent soul's second level. He now decided to help the family business instead, if you look to your left you can see him."
(Looking at the man's aura that was red, and also his elder brother's that happened to share the same color as him, Lin Xin doubts were beginning to cease, but he still wasn't sure if it implied their aptitude, as it shows his own aura as bright blue which he tries to ignore.)
("So despite me being a lower realm than the man in front of me, I still have a different Qi color than his, could it really be the aptitude that I'm looking at? Nevertheless I already got the answers I came for, I'll look into it again later."
"I appreciate your help senior, this junior pays his respects." (Lin Xin bows slightly then takes his leave in a hurry.)
"That kid surely isn't ordinary, he shows much respect to his seniors, it's good to see that there are nice people in his generation."
(After what seemed like 20 minutes, Lin Xin finally made it back to his family estate, he initially planned to avoid interaction with his family and go to his room directly, but he met his little brother Lin Chen who appeared lost in thought and didn't acknowledge his presence.)
"Brother, what are you doing staying up this late? You should be heading to sleep." (Lin Xin was surprised that his brother's qi color appeared to be golden, not similar to his.)
"I'm thinking about what we're going to do now that our father's gone, are we gonna lose our home now that we have no money to spend?" (He said as tears began to form in the corners of his eye, he was still 9 years old after all.)
"Don't worry about it brother, I'll take care of it."
"Really? You'll keep things like father used to keep?"
"Yes, now go to sleep you have to focus on keeping our mother safe, while I'm not present I expect you to keep everything in order."
"Alright...I promise to keep everything in order brother!" (He gave Lin Xin a smile then walked towards his own room and quietly closed the door.)
"That went better than I expected to be honest, I suppose I should go to my own chamber now."
(A week has passed since then, Lin Xin has been doing nothing but secluding himself to cultivate, it seemed as if he was breezing through the lower realms.)
"So in just a week I managed to move from foundation establishment to the core formation realm, honestly speaking those realms always seemed more easy than other ones, the real difficulty begins in the nascent soul realm and above, I should inquire about it from other seniors when I have the time. I do remember that today happens to be an exam day as well so I'll probably meet higher realm seniors today."
(Lin Xin got himself ready and began his usual walk towards the examination grounds, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he can no longer see the colors of ordinary people's Qi, he just thought that the ability works randomly.)
(Now at the location he was heading to, he saw only a few people of many different backgrounds and gender slowly starting to increase in numbers.)
(After a while, one of the elders announced that the exam will take place in a spatial realm, the test will last for 7 days at which the young cultivators must endure the harsh conditions of survival and make it out alive. If one were to die in the other space they'll be teleported outside and disqualified instantly, the exam doesn't guarantee they won't receive damage to their cultivation from dying though.)
("Huh...? This seems more dangerous than I expected, obviously the wild beasts won't be the main threat here, but rather others eliminating each other to eliminate competition. Those who form teams will naturally have the advantage of numbers but will bring more attention to themselves. I should just remain alone and keep myself safe for the duration of the exam.")
(As he was lost in thought, a female figure slightly tapped his shoulder.)
" Huh? Oh it is you, Marun." (Next to him was the female cultivator he met a while ago, her beauty drew attention to him as he was planning to remain hidden in the background.)
"Hmph! Have you really thought I wouldn't notice you in this crowd of people? I can find you even if the whole continent was present!"
"Ah, sorry about that I just arrived right now and was lost in thought, don't worry."
"I see, I'm sure you heard about the conditions of the exam, those who stay alone will face difficulty in keeping themselves safe from others, are you planning to team up with someone?" (She looked directly into his eyes, possibly waiting for him to ask her to form a team...)
"Not really, I was planning to remain away from combat and spend the time cultivating instead."
"Oh? But that's extremely boring! You're also gonna miss out on the treasures others could be keeping with them when you defeat them."
"How about you form a team with me Lin Xin? I'll leave you any treasures we come across, I just hate being alone..." (Again, she looked at him with sadness in her eyes to convince him to accept)
"Alright....but we're not gonna go around fighting battle after battle and bringing attention towards us, we fight only when necessary, alright?"
"Are you afraid that I won't be able to keep up? I've already reached nascent soul realm and can defend myself too you know."
"I'd rather remain safe than sorry, Marun. Anyway the exam will begin soon so stay alert, there's also the possibility that we're gonna be at different locations when we both enter the spatial realm."
"So....What can we do about that? We could decide on meeting up in a certain place inside."
"That's what I was thinking about, try to scout from the top of a tree or any height once you enter, our meeting point should be the highest point inside the realm, so usually a mountain or the point you deem highest. and remain there, I'll be the one looking for you after a day from the start of the examination."
"Hehe I got it, I'll try my best to avoid trouble until then, you won't regret teaming up with me!" (She looked excited about the chance of fighting others, I don't understand why but she definitely has secrets of her own too.)
"It's time to leave, remember what I said now, see you inside." (The spatial realm began forming in front of the contestants, slowly they entered one by one, until it was Lin Xin's turn.)