Together with the normal one, the cultivation library stood in separate buildings. The regular library was a really high tower, standing at more than a hundred metres. The cultivation library was more of a bunker, as it was only a one storey building, and developed downward instead.

It also had rigorous security, with guards all around its perimeter, and strong auras coming from all directions. The cultivation library had a continuous flow of people coming and going, and all of them were cultivators of all ranks.

Once the four arrived at the entrance, all the guards did a slight bow and welcomed their protector. They proceeded to walk inside the building and arrived at a big hall with many cultivators in it. The hall was split into three parts, the first one, the external zone, which was occupied by a large crowd.

The crowd was looking towards the more central area, which was divided into two halves itself. One half had countless desks, with people sitting in front of them reading manuals. The other half had training dummies instead, and each time one of the participants struck a dummy, the crowd resounded with loud cheers.

“We’re here. I promised you that I’d help you get a few good techniques since you haven’t picked a cultivation law yet. What level of technique you can get is purely dependant on your skills though. The area in the centre is purely dedicated to testing those who want to get a chance at learning a technique. Based on the results, you will have a different amount of time granted inside the library. You aren’t allowed to bring anything out of the library, and can’t go past the third floor. Also, you don’t have to worry about not being able to achieve what you deserve because of your low cultivation base, since this test is mainly focused on your talent.”

“Where do I queue up? And where am I supposed to sign in?”

“Don’t worry about that. I already arranged for everything. Once this group is done, it will be your turn. The first half of the test will be about your mind, as you’re going to be asked to learn a body technique within half an hour. You will then have to write the same technique with your own words and explaining it in detail. In the second half of the test, you’ll instead be asked to use the technique you learnt in the first half, and based on the results of both, you will receive a score. Is everything clear?”

“Yes, sir!. Also, how many cultivation techniques are there on the first three floors?”

“You brat, are you thinking of learning them all within the allocated time? Wishful thinking. There are more than fourteen thousand manuals in there. Even if you spent a whole year inside, you might not be able to learn them all.”

Vince caressed his chin, before asking with a way too innocent expression: “How much is fourteen thousand?”

“A lot brat, a lot.”

Estelle listened carefully to their conversation, and once they were done, she couldn’t help getting excited. Soon she will know how talented her personal attendant was going to be. Her thoughts started to become more like a daydream soon enough.

‘Maybe he’s going to have the highest evaluation ever given… Maybe the test won’t even suffice to test him…’

‘Who knows if one day I’ll also be tested similarly… Uncle always said I’m not too bad, but I shouldn’t hope to compare to my older siblings. I don’t want to be worse than them, though!’

As she kept thinking about what most aspiring cultivators her age usually think about, Vince made his way onto the testing area.

There were many people on the stage, but the only thing they had in common was that all of them were over twenty years of age. Therefore, the four-year-old child stuck out like a sore thumb amid the hall. Once they noticed the little kid, most of the people on the stage had puzzled expressions, but as soon as the referee appeared, all of them shifted their focus on him.

“The competition is about to begin. I think everybody here already knows the rules, but if by any chance you have a question, ask it now as later it won’t be allowed.”

“No questions, good. The thirty minutes start in five… four… three… two… one… START!”

When the referee gave the signal, the participants opened the manual in front of them and started earnestly studying its contents.

While the new batch of examinees was giving its all, the bunch that previously had the same test moved onto the other half of the testing venue. The crowd once again started cheering on the ones who were showing the techniques.

Amid all the clamour going on, Estelle questioned her uncle about a few matters.

“Hey, Uncle Albert, how well do you think will he do?”

“Well, he’s a small kid, so his understanding won’t be too great. Even though it’s true that this test measures talent, it’s still very dependant on his age. The test wasn’t really thought with kids in mind. I want to see how will he fare in the practical exam though. That’s the chance I had promised him.”

“Aren’t you sort of tricking him then?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way. I’m merely encouraging him to work earnestly for you in the future if he wants to earn another chance like this one as a reward.”

“What do you mean, uncle?”

“Listen, Estelle, when one wants his subjects to work while putting in the utmost effort, one has to grant appropriate rewards. Therefore, what I’m saying is, you should reward him if he serves you well. You need to learn how to do these things, as it’s a crucial skill for nobles such as we.”

“I kind of understand, it’s like when you want me to train hard, so you promise me chocolate if I do so.”

“Ehm, exactly.”

As Albert had an uncomfortable expression because of being read by his niece, a loud bell resounded throughout the hall. The examinees stood up and moved onto the successive phase. They then got assigned to a dummy and started preparing for the exam. Some were throwing fists in the air, those doing stretching, and even some visualising in their minds the techniques. A small kid looked at the dummy that was almost double his height.

“How is he supposed to hit that, uncle?”

“Ehm… Ehm… That’s part of the test. We’re testing his creativity.”

While Estelle was looking with a cute puzzled expression at his uncle—whose heart was aching because of guilt, many of the participants started showing their techniques.

Some managed to make the dummy heavily shake, some were even able to make them topple, while the majority was lucky if they could make the dummies slightly vibrate.

And there was also a kid who kept on trying to hit the dummy with a kick, which was part of the series of moves they were supposed to learn, but he couldn’t reach the opponent’s head no matter how hard he tried.

Over time more and more people noticed, and each time he failed, the laughs would echo more within the hall. At some point, the whole crowd was focused on him.

Vince didn’t care much about what the people surrounding him were thinking of him and kept doing his thing. As there were only a few minutes left on the clock, he stopped for a second before trying once again, with the most severe expression he had shown ever since he came into this world.

Left straight punch, right hook, left leg half tornado spin, he finally hit them all without fail, and, as he was crouching to gather more momentum for the final jump, a loud sound filled the hall. He had slipped, once again.

The whole crowd burst out laughing, while the kid laid on the ground. He just stared at the ceiling while listening to the laughs of the crowd.

When he finally decided to get back on his feet, a bell rang, and the referee stopped them all. Vince then walked up to the remaining three with whom he came, while staying expressionless.

Having witnessed what happened, the little girl couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for him. She thus decided to try and console him, with the best words she could think of on the spot.

“It’s not your fault. The dummy was too tall for you. I’m sure the examiner will keep this in mind while judging.”

But, as she patted him in the back, the results were announced, clear for all to see.

‘Vince Dawmond, comprehension test: 50/50, practical test: 12/50, total: 62/100. Time granted: 3 hours.’

“Uncle! This wasn’t fair at all! It was not his fault.”

“I’m not the examiner sweetie, I’m not the one judging. Also, there are strict criteria. He couldn’t even execute the whole technique!”

“No shit, sherlock! The last move clearly required one to hit the head, and he couldn’t reach it!”

As Albert was about to come up with some excuse, the boy cut in. With a big smile on his face, he stopped the little girl from helping him out.

“Milady, thank you for trying to help me out, but I don’t think it’s necessary. I still have earned three hours inside, I am happy with that.”

Everyone looked at him dumbfoundedly, as no one expected him to be the one wanting to not be given justice. They were all clear about the fact that the little girl was right, and yet he had given up on such an occasion.

Whether it was a matter of pride or any other reason, they couldn’t understand him. He had just given up on benefits! Everybody knew a cultivator would only think about benefits, yet he gave up on them.

The two adults though quickly discarded those thoughts, and simply brushed it off as him being still a child.

But Estelle had other thoughts, as she interpreted it in another way altogether.

‘He’s trying to keep me out of trouble! Well if he’s fine with that…’

‘Still, he’s got the highest marks in the comprehension test! I’m sure he will eventually become the perfect attendant!’

She was the only one who paid attention to Vince’s results in the first test. The adults probably just brushed it off as the examiner going easy on him. But reality laid miles apart, as the examiner hadn’t gone easy on him at all. He will retell this particular story for a long time. But every time he said a kid had gotten a perfect score on the first test, nobody believed him.

But who could blame those people? Many of those who heard that story had taken the exam themselves and scored less than half of what a four years old supposedly scored. Who would be ready to accept such a thing because of some mere hearsay? No one.