The light from the stele shone for an extended period of time. Orien couldn't wait to see the results, the same applied to everybody as they looked on with shining eyes and disbelief.

  Ling Yun was the first person to be able to see through the light, and her expression was shock, but also excitement.

  'I absolutely must rope this boy into my circle!' Her thoughts ran wild with the possibilities he could achieve. ‘If this isn’t a genius then I don’t know what a genius looks like,’ she thought.

  Orien was the next to see the results, and his eyes almost popped out of his head because he knew right away which results belonged to him and which belonged to Wisp. He had scored a medium affinity in body refinement and a medium affinity in ice, but this simple stone stele showed his ice affinity as medium affinity in “other."

  Wisp, on the other hand, scored medium in "other" three times, causing the symbol to glimmer dazzlingly, dim down, a total of four times in a row, including Orien's results.

  'I'll tell ya what I got later, if my suspicions are correct. I felt a powerful presence approach just now, so I'll stay quiet for a bit,’ Wisp said.

  Orien was so overjoyed and caught up in the moment he almost missed that last part that Wisp said. He quickly scanned the area without looking too suspicious and realized that at some point, the headmaster was smiling at him from a distance away.

  "Orien, was it? Please, call me Big Sister Ling. Come stand up here next to your friend,” Ling Yun said, pulling Orien’s attention away.

  She gave him a big smile, her mole accentuating her pretty face. Orien couldn't help but think she smelled very good as well. He didn't want to make it obvious, so he quickly nodded and turned his face to Haruki.

  It did not help that Haruki was not very subtle with his staring at her. His nostrils flared open like a stray dog that could smell food.

  "Haruki! You did great, my brother. I'm happy for you!” Orien dragged Haruki by the arm a bit further away from Ling Yun as he said this.

  "Orien, you're saying I did great? You're practically my grandfather after those results. Did you go training in a celestial paradise or something this past month??" Haruki replied, blissfully unaware of his shameless conduct.

  Orien could only chuckle and scratch his head. There was no way to explain that a portion of those results belonged to a spirit that he was harboring within his body. He turned to observe the rest of the crowd, and the rest of the evaluations were uneventful.

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  That is, until a youth went forward and received medium affinity for "other."

  His face was covered by a mask from the bridge of his nose. Only his eyes and forehead were actually visible. He had medium length dark blue hair and his robes were black, similar to Orien's.

  'Strange… I've never seen this guy before,’ Orien thought.

  "Beautifully done! May I ask what your name is?" Ling Yun asked.

  Although he didn't blush or behave foolishly like Haruki, the boy still looked at her with sparkling eyes, which made Orien smirk.

  ‘This woman was too gorgeous. He must be thinking the same thing,’ Orien chuckled to himself.

  "My name is Vergif. I have no family name,” he replied.

  His voice sounded a bit coarse compared to other boys their age. He also seemed a bit tanned upon closer inspection, but that wasn’t an uncommon thing in the simple villages around the island, especially for boys that enjoyed being outside.

  Orien subconsciously felt on guard because he had a similar vibe to Geno, but mostly because he had never seen this man before.

  'I'll chalk it up to the covering over half of his face… maybe I have seen him before,’ Orien thought.

  "Please, come this way. These will be your new sect members. I hope you all can get along!" Ling Yun motioned for him to come over.

  Orien and Haruki sized up Vergif, and he too sized them both up, especially Orien. He nodded his head and looked away.

  ‘Seems like he's not entirely hostile then… maybe that's just the way he is.' Orien thought.

  Haruki was a bit wary, but like a curious cat, he got a bit closer.

  "My name is Haruki Kaji. I overheard that you are Vergif. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I strive to get along with all, I feel more at ease that way,” Haruki introduced himself.

  Vergif looked at Haruki like he was crazy for a second before nodding again, not very interested in conversation at the moment.

  Orien couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘Who the hell said that Haruki was a delinquent? Through my few interactions with him, this guy doesn’t seem like a delinquent at all. I bet he got bad mouthed for being a bother to too many girls and skipping classes.’

  Just like that, the evaluation was coming to a close, and it was just these three.

  Sooooop. Ling Yun waved her sleeve, retrieving the stone stele and thanked everyone for showing up. The headmaster came through the crowd and shook her hand, as well as the passing students. The handshake he gave Vergif was normal by all appearances, but he seemed to be wearing a meaningful smile on his face as he looked down at the boy.

  This action did not evade Orien, considering he always felt like the headmaster was an unfathomable character. Wisp sort of confirmed it with his previous words. After the headmaster turned and left, most of the crowd began to depart as well.

  The three students and Ling Yun made their way to the carriage while their minds raced, thinking about the sect they would soon be a part of.

  Vergif was no different, although you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at him.

  ‘I’ve trained long and hard to get here. I will no longer be forced to hide out within forests, under bridges and even underground,’ he clenched his fists within his sleeves and looked up slightly, towards the distant sky. ‘Nothing will stop me from getting the answers that I seek. I will succeed you, old man... I only hope there’s some meaning to my life once I reach the end of the tunnel.’

  He quickly settled his emotions and lowered his head, his actions going unnoticed by the others in the group.

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