“What will this test be about? May asked Zu Chen quietly, who was walking in front of her.

  Without even looking at her, she replied coldly, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  May sensed a certain resentment towards her in her words. She couldn't understand her attitude, not fully understanding what she had done to deserve it.

  After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination. They climbed the stairs to the upper floor, which resembled a tower. The Elders were standing in a relatively small room. May felt that all eyes were on her, but she hoped it was just her imagination.

  Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the leader of the sect appeared and stepped forward. “This is the last test. But don't worry, it's actually much less demanding.”

  He began to lay out something that resembled game cartridges on the table. He finished when he had laid out about twenty of them. Then Elder An returned with something that resembled a huge oval bowl made of white ceramic. On its bottom, however, were runes.

  The leader then poured a white and blue liquid into the bowl, and it changed color of the bowl from white to black.

  “As a final little bonus, we have decided to sponsor the test of your up to three affinities.”

  Paths, huh...

  May had already had a “Paths” table in her system menu for a long time, but until then, it had been empty. From what she knew, Paths only became significant at the Foundation Establishment stage.

  The leader picked up one of the cartridges. “This little thing allows you to check your affinity for the Water Path, for example. Creating even one of these little boxes costs nearly 5,000 mu.”

  So we'll be able to check up to three affinities... That's almost 15,000! And considering there are four of us, the sect spent 60,000 on this.

  Affinity was determined as a percentage from 0 to 100%. The higher the affinity for a given path, the easier it was to use the techniques associated with that path. Therefore, cultivators usually focused mainly on the paths to which they had the greatest affinity.

  This will save me a lot of money... But which paths should I choose?

  There were only 23 paths to choose from. The number of paths was much greater, in the hundreds, but the production of such boxes was expensive, especially for rare paths such as the Path of Death or Luck.

  Only basic and common paths were available, which were not so expensive to produce. The Paths of Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Sword, Strength, and the like.

  I definitely have to try the Path of Alchemy... I hope I don't turn out to have low affinity... That would ruin my plans...

  Of course, just because someone had low affinity for a given path did not mean they could not use it. However, it was much more difficult.

  Suddenly, Yifan Wu stepped forward and chose his three cartridges. He chose the Path of the Sword, which made a lot of sense, as it was a popular and widely believed to be a fine path. He also chose the Path of Wind, which made sense considering the technique he had previously chosen from the leader, and finally chose the Path of Strength to test.

  The leader nodded and said, handing him the dagger, “You must let some of your blood into the bowl.”

  Yifan swallowed hard, yet cut his finger with the dagger and let some blood into the bowl. The leader took the first box, opened it on the side, and poured its grayish contents inside.

  The liquid inside changed color, and the sect leader announced. “71% affinity with the Sword Path. A good result.”

  Despite the leader's words, Yifan was disappointed. Theoretically, affinity could increase during one's lifetime, but as a rule, only by a few percent. It was rare for it to increase by more than ten percent.

  Then the leader replaced the liquid, and Yifan had to let some of his blood in again.

  When he learned that his affinity for the Path of Wind was only 41%, his face paled. Theoretically, it wasn't a tragic result, but it was a hit to his pride.

  In the end, Yifan's score for the Path of Strength was as high as 86%, which made him smile with satisfaction. Such high scores were rare. Less than 1% of people achieved them.

  Next, May wanted to go. She stepped closer and confidently chose to check out the Path of Alchemy. That was the most important thing for her. She also chose the Path of Healing, as it sounded the most enticing to her, as healers were always respected.

  As her last choice, she wanted to choose something more offensive, but she hesitated between the Path of Fire and Water. Both choices seemed to be good for combat, but also useful for Alchemy.

  “What's the matter, May?” Elder An asked, seeing her contemplation.

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  “I'm just hesitating between the Path of Water and Fire,” she said reluctantly.

  Suddenly, Peng Chen interjected. “You should choose the Path of Water.”

  May was surprised. “Why?”

  Peng just shrugged.

  “Women usually have a greater affinity for water, while men have a greater affinity for fire.” He explained. “I think it would be better if you focused on water.”

  “Really?” She pondered. If what he said was true, it would be better to check something she had a greater affinity for.

  “Junior Peng is right, although there are exceptions, of course. In my life, I have seen many women who have a greater affinity for fire than water, but also men who are extraordinary in the art of using water and are completely unfamiliar with fire,” Elder An suddenly interjected, explaining. “Of course, in most cases, it is exactly as your colleague said.”

  In that case, it's better to check the Water Path...

  She began just as Yifan did. Taking the dagger from the leader, she lightly cut her little finger and let a drop of blood fall into the bowl. Her Path of Alchemy was to be examined first.

  When the leader poured the ashes inside, the color of the liquid inside changed rapidly... Even the leader gasped slightly.

  “100%, perfect affinity for the Path of Alchemy, congratulations,” he said, smiling at her. “It's very rare, but also one of the necessary requirements to become an Immortal...”

  “Not bad, May!” Peng shouted, smiling at her.

  Some of the Elders also congratulated her.

  “How rare is it?” May asked curiously, hoping that it didn't make her stand out too much.

  This time, An Fuqi answered her. “Rare, but not unexpected. It shows your talent, but most of the Elders also have at least one perfect affinity. Cultivation geniuses usually have higher affinities than ordinary people.”

  That's good... So I don't stand out that much. I wonder, though, if my high affinity for alchemy has anything to do with the fact that I know quite a bit about chemistry?

  Then the sect leader replaced the liquid. This time, she was to check her affinity for the Path of Healing. She swallowed her saliva and cut her finger again, then a drop of blood fell into the bowl filled with liquid. This time, the color of the liquid did not change so drastically, so May knew that this time she would not have Perfect Affinity.

  “Hmm, also a pretty good result, 78% affinity for the Path of Healing. The Path of Healing and the Path of Alchemy correspond quite well with each other, so I think you have a bright future in this field,” said the leader with a smile. “We don't currently have any Elders specializing in Alchemy, so I'm rooting for you.”

  Alchemists were among the most respected members of the sect. Also, alchemy was considered one of the most difficult fields of cultivation. It required not only extensive knowledge, but also skills and financial resources.

  Therefore, it was not surprising that the sect leader was impressed by the fact that May had a perfect affinity for the path of alchemy.

  After a moment, they moved on to the final test. She did the same as before, dropping some of her blood into the bowl.

  “Oh, amazing,” commented the leader of Xinsu. “Another extremely high affinity, as high as 93% of Water Path, you will even have a chance to develop it to Perfect Affinity.”

  May was delighted by this fact. Her results were not so abnormal as to draw too much attention to herself. However, they were good enough to secure her position as a genius.

  The water path had many applications. It was very versatile and could be used for both attack and defense. In alchemy, on the other hand, various types of liquids were often used, so it was also extremely convenient.

  It's a shame I could only choose three... I'd like to check my affinity with other Paths, but five thousand for a single one... That's a bit too much. I don't have enough money to waste on checking other paths.

  Next was Peng Chen. He seemed extremely confident. Without the slightest hesitation, he chose the cartridges with the paths of Fire, Strength, and Light. May watched closely.

  After a moment, however, no one could remain calm.

  “Good heavens...” Elder Fei Wuji exclaimed, standing up straight.

  “Incredible...”

  Even the sect leader couldn't help but be amazed.

  “All three... Perfect. 100% affinity with the Paths of Fire, Strength, and Light.”

  Yifan Wu rubbed his eyes in amazement, and even the calmer Elders couldn't help but be impressed. Whispers spread throughout the room.

  May looked at Peng Chen, who, although he seemed proud, for some reason didn't seem excited, but rather as if he had expected this result all along.

  The two of them are definitely hiding something...

  After a moment, however, the leader tried to calm everyone down, and everything returned to normal.

  “Okay... Only Zu Chen is left...”

  Everyone looked at her expectantly. If her brother was so amazing, then surely his twin sister was no worse than him! The sect had struck gold, two geniuses among geniuses.

  Zu Chen came closer. Her face was expressionless. As she approached, she looked at her choice and seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

  After a moment's thought, however, she chose the same cartridges as her twin brother. May thought it made sense; after all, as twins, they should have the same affinities

  “Wait a minute,” Peng Chen suddenly objected. “Zu! What are you doing?”

  Yet she completely ignored her brother and handed the boxes of her choice to the sect leader. Her brother continued to protest, but she completely ignored him.

  “This is my choice.”

  The sect leader frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  The ceremony began. When it ended, everyone was shocked again... but for a completely different reason.

  “Hmm...”

  All affinities were 0%. There was a absolute no affinity to Fire, Strength, and Light. Even the sect leader didn't know what to say.

  “Zu! Why did you do that!” her brother shouted at her.

  But she didn't answer and quietly returned to her seat.

  She must have known what she was doing.

  May couldn't comprehend the girl's thinking. She had known that this would be the outcome. Was it really worth wasting this opportunity to test her affinity? May didn't know the answer, but Zu Chen seemed to be doing it on purpose.

  Was she trying to irritate the sect's Elders? What is she rebelling against so fiercely?