Chapter 136: Life 66, Age 20, Martial Master 2
Upon returning to the Academy, Instructor Yuan took us each into a room individually for private discussions.
After I sat down across from her, she took out an affinity testing orb and placed it on the table between us. Without needing any guidance, I placed my hand on it and inserted my qi. Once she tapped it with her finger, the chaotic lines resolved into the exact same nine images as the last time I had been tested.
“You weren’t able to raise your earth affinity to five-star?” She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the orb. “This is going to be a problem. If you couldn’t even succeed at the Earth Peak Trial, it’s going to be impossible for you to raise an affinity with a qi type that you’re not cultivating.”
Her face took on a grim cast, and her tone turned severe.
“JiaQi and LiTing had their own rude awakenings and are currently in the process of deciding if they want to switch to dual-element cultivation techniques, but they at least already have their primary affinities high enough. If you couldn’t get past the tenth stage of the trial on this attempt, then you’re going to need at least three or four more just to raise your earth affinity sufficiently. If you want to raise a second affinity, it’ll take at least two or three times as many attempts.”
I wanted to justify my efforts. “Once I cultivate further into the Master realm, it will get easier. I was held back by my lack of meridians. The early stages would be much easier if I could pull qi from everywhere in my body.”
She snorted rudely. “The Trial gets harder as your cultivation increases. With a higher level, yes, you would be more powerful. It would help you, but you should only expect an increased cultivation level to help you complete a few more stages at best.”
The instructor’s assessment struck me hard. I wanted to continue studying my current cultivation technique, but destroying my prospects in this life might not be worth it. However, one thing she said stuck out to me.
“Tenth stage?”