As soon as the Elder's voice fell, two burly men, who had been ready for a moment, carried a black stele over one zhang high to the Martial Arts Arena, placing it in front of the Zhao Family's younger generation.
The gaze of the crowd immediately gathered, and one could see mysterious patterns engraved on the black stele, with grooves embedded with large Primordial Stones, clearly indicating that this Cultivation Ranking Stele was a specially crafted artifact.
Of course, as novel as the Cultivation Ranking Stele was, the crowd's attention was not on the stele itself, but on the cultivation rankings of the Zhao Family's younger generation on the stele.
The names of more than a hundred Zhao Family descendants were all on the front of the stele, each emitting different colors of light. At the very top, emitting a dazzling golden light, was the name none other than last test's top-ranked Zhao Letian. It also noted that he was fifteen years old and his cultivation was at the pinnacle of the Primordial Martial Ninth Realm.
Ranked second was Zhao Jianping's eldest son, Zhao Shijie, displayed in slightly smaller silver text, also noting his age as sixteen and his cultivation as great accomplishment in the Primordial Martial Eighth Realm.
Third place, however, belonged to the Clan Leader Zhao Wuji's daughter, Zhao Lingshan, displayed in even smaller blue text, noting that her age was fifteen and her cultivation a minor accomplishment in the Primordial Martial Eighth Realm.
All those ranked after her were shown in uniformly sized white text, with cultivation levels gradually decreasing starting from the early stages of the Primordial Martial Eighth Realm.
"How is Zhao Letian's name still at the top? Wasn't it said that his cultivation was crippled, turning him into a waste?"
"Who knows? Perhaps the Zhao family is also unwilling to admit that their genius has become a waste."
"Regardless, after today's assessment, many of the Zhao Family's younger generations will probably be stepping over Zhao Letian's name to climb higher."
As the crowd observed the Cultivation Ranking Stele, they began discussing amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, many of the Zhao Family's younger generations were staring intently at Zhao Letian's name, displaying expressions eager to challenge him, believing he no longer deserved that most dazzling spot.
In contrast, Zhao Letian was indifferent to the rankings on the stele, caring only for true strength rather than these empty titles.
"As everyone knows, cultivation is the foundation of a martial artist and most reflective of a martial artist's training results. Therefore, the first item in the family's mid-year assessment is to check your cultivation advancements over the past half year," the Elder said solemnly, gazing at the Zhao descendants and spoke loudly, "How the test will be conducted needs no further explanation, you all should be clear. In a moment, just release your cultivation aura, and the Ranking Stele will sense it automatically and sort your ranks accurately. I want to emphasize that, like previous years, the rewards for this test are substantial. The top ten will receive varying amounts of Primordial Stones, specifically, the tenth rank will receive ten lower-grade Primordial Stones, the ninth rank twenty, and so forth, up to the first rank who will receive one hundred lower-grade Primordial Stones or one Mid-Grade Essence Stone."
Hearing the assessment rewards, many of the younger family members clenched their fists in excitement, showing impatient expressions. While achieving the first rank might be difficult, many of them held hopes for making it into the top ten.
As the Elder spoke, Zhao Lingshan and others who had come down with their elders on the platform also stepped forward, positioning themselves in front of their peers, ready for the assessment.
"The first place is definitely mine; nobody dare compete with me for it!" Zhao Hongyu, Zhao Kang's elder brother, declared fervently as he fixed his gaze on Zhao Letian's name.
"That's not certain," said Zhao Lingshan nearby, her tone calm but resolute.
"Hehe, I'm quite interested in this first place as well. Although the reward of a mere Mid-Grade Essence Stone isn't much, I've never claimed that spot before. Now that Zhao Letian has lost his shine, it should be my turn, right?" said a white-robed youth who stepped down from behind Elder Zhao, his eyes sparkling as he stared at Zhao Letian's name.
This person was none other than Zhao Shijie, ranked second on the stele, whose cultivation had always been just below Zhao Letian's, and now with Zhao Letian's cultivation waning, he saw the first place as easy pickings.
"Alright, enough talk from me. The test officially begins now, everyone release your cultivation aura!" the Elder suddenly announced loudly, and with a wave of his hand, a powerful burst of Primordial Energy shot into the Cultivation Ranking Stele.
"Buzz!"
At once, the Cultivation Ranking Stele trembled violently, emitting a strong white light that radiated outwards in a fan shape, instantly enveloping all the Zhao Family descendants waiting for the assessment.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."
The next moment, over a hundred Zhao family descendants burst forth with their cultivation auras, waves of Primordial Energy of varying strengths soaring into the sky, amassing into a tumultuous sea of energy, visibly forming a vast whirlwind sweeping the entire Martial Arts Arena, astonishing all onlookers. Some, though possessing much higher cultivation than these youths, felt somewhat powerless in front of this combined sea of energy conjured by over a hundred people.
Meanwhile, as the cultivation auras of these youths continuedrising, the names on the Cultivation Ranking Stele were undergoing fierce changes, the ranks shifting rapidly amongst many, only stabilizing once everyone's aura reached its peak.
As for the highly anticipated Zhao Letian, unsurprisingly he plummeted from the top spot at the very start of the test, and his name soon vanished from sight.
"Eh? Where's Zhao Letian's name? Has he really become a waste with no cultivation left?"
"Impossible! If he truly had no cultivation left, how could he have crippled the cultivation of Elder Zhao's son and injured Zhao Kang?"
"That's right, although Zhao Letian is crippled, he must still have some cultivation left."
Many were searching for Zhao Letian's name, but even looking among the top thirty, his name was nowhere to be seen.
"I found him, he's at the very last place!"
Just then, a sharp-eyed individual suddenly focused on the stele's lowest, most inconspicuous name, as if discovering a new continent, excitedly shouted out.