Chapter 6 - Talents 2

  “A Grand Dao pursuer!” Dugu’s face brightened, a rare spark igniting in his ancient eyes. “High-grade affinity—exceptional. Morgan, alert the council—initiate the accord. This one’s a treasure.”

  Slowly one after another the all screens kept going black. At the end only one screen was left.

  ‘Why am I not moving at all, is it that I don't have any affinity towards any Dao ? but how is that possible? I am sure that at the least I would have an affinity towards space and time.’ He kept thinking about the problem.

  “Ancestor we have a problem, Evan's not moving at all. It's like there is no affinity towards any Dao.” said Morgan while looking at ancestor Dugu and then at Attrick and lady Saphire.

  “Why, Attrick?” Lady Saphire’s voice cracked, trembling on the edge of tears. “No affinity—I can’t accept it. No talent was hard enough, but this? He’ll never cultivate. You kept saying ‘wait,’ round after round, but now it’s obvious. And those fluctuations—didn’t you swear they meant cognitive talent? The soul test proved you wrong.” Asked lady Saphire while she was on the verge of crying.

  The higher the cultivation is, the harder it is for cultivators to have a progeny. This was the first and probably the last child. They were expecting Evan to have cognitive talent but in all the rounds he showed no talent. This affinity test was their last hope and it shattered.

  While all the members were chattering about themselves about the situation. Evan was having a hard time expecting this outcome. He knows from his knowledge how important the affinity is for cultivation. Now he had none.

  ‘Hmph so what if I don't have any affinity. Nothing is absolute. At worst I would live a life of a commoner and a mortal.’ thought Evan while helplessly staring at the distant stars.

  “Morgan, fate is tragic. You only have one grandson and it appears he is not suited for cultivation. It's nearly impossible to have zero affinity towards any Dao. This is the first time I am seeing this. His projection is not moving at all. Just act accordingly to the clan accords. Don't let your personnel emotions overcome you. Evan is fated to be a mortal with no future in the world of cultivation. I can at most give him some privilege of having a good commoner's life.” sighed Dugu.

  Morgan was very sad, he thought Evan would have any talent due to mental fluctuations. He was sad when he found out that Evan has no talent but he was shocked and in despair when he found out that Evan has no affinity. This directly cuts the path towards cultivation. Still he did not lose hope, he asked ancestor Dugu about the reason for fluctuations when Evan was born.

  “The fluctuations were indeed there. Also we are sure it's not the case of reincarnation or possession. So it's getting interesting now that it is proven he is talentless, what did the fluctuations signify ?..........I guess I have to send his information above. The old guys would probably know the reason for this abnormality. Even now he is emitting fluctuations though they are covered.” replied Dugu, looking solemnly at the only screen showing Evan’s condition.

  ‘It doesn't matter whether I have affinity or I have any talent. What matters now is what I would do now. The main problem is that they think I have a high grade talent based on the fact that they provided me with books. But now it's clear I don't have one and cherry on the top, I have no affinity. What a cruel world this is. There is still one round remaining, it tests the comprehension and critical thinking of babies. I think it's better to perform like a 5 year old in the test.’ thought evan, still not moving and staying still looking at the surrounding cosmos.

  “Morgan, don't lose all the hope we still have in the last round. It would seal fate for him. Just wait and we will get results” said ancestor Dugu.

  “Now it's the final and last round. Those who have offspring of low grade talent don't let it bring you down. The grade of the talent does not signify the fate of us cultivators. Even those with no talents have achieved 3rd ascension. Those who have offspring with low affinity or towards lesser Dao they too don't get upset. While it would be hard for them to cultivate, it's still better than nothing. We are one clan. The prestigious Walker clan. Each one of the babies has tremendous potential in it.” Dugu uplifted the spirits of the members.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Seeing that Evan was still not moving he ordered the commencement of the final round of testing. Evan was not sad, he was unexpectedly calm. Analysing all the possibilities and deciding his future path. He has many options to live a happy mortal life. He has complete confidence in his skills and knows he would die happy at old age. He was now waiting for the last round to perform like a 5 year old and thus clarifying the fact that he could read and understand the books.

  The last round started with all the babies thrown into different problems, patterns, puzzles, which all involved using their intellect to solve it. This round is also important given that it could help them comprehend a Dao, any technique, formations, etc faster.

  Soon again the screen showed different numbers from 1 to 9. Some with cognitive talents got as high as 5. The scale is not linear. It's exponential. So getting a score of 9 is nearly impossible.

  “Now let's see what Evan has to say. It would be nice if he has a score of more than 7. If that is to happen then, our branch would rise. It would signify that he has a cognitive talent but the grade is above the sanctum of appraisal. Such talents are bestowed directly by the Supreme Dao. The grade is determined directly by the Supreme Dao. Now it's the last hope we can have.” told ancestor Dugu to Morgan.

  “Yess ancestor but I wont get my hopes high. If what you are talking about happens, then it's the best but I know how rare it is. We are a side branch of the Walker clan and that too weakest. We don't enjoy such fortunes. I just hope Evan could have a decent mortal life.” replied Morgan with a dull face.

  It did not take long for the results, Evan got a score of 1.8 but this was shocking given the fact that he did not have any cognitive talent. It's not possible for a normal baby to score 1.8, the usual score for them is around 1. While it shocked the members, ancestor Dugu was disappointed.

  “It seems the worst has happened. Just act according to clan accords and explain everything to his parents. I guess there is no rise of our branch in this epoch.” sighed Dugu.

  At this point Attrick and Saphire were completely heartbroken. They too hoped for the fact that the grade of the talent would be higher than black. But deep down they know their son is not talented. There was nothing they could do. Just accept the cruel fate of having a talentless child. They even left caring for the fact that the score was 1.8 and their Evan could read the books when he was not even 1 year old.

  As the time passed one by one the maids entered and bought the child out of the tower. Seeing the babies coming out, the members return to the maid to take them back. Morgan explained the whole situation about Evan, the fact that he did not have talent nor affinity, meaning he would be mortal for the rest of his life. He just asked if they have any wishes for him before the start of the trial.

  “Father, please don't erase the memories of Evan. I want him to remember who his parents were. Also don't extend his life and let him live his life as far from the world of cultivation. He would not last long enough till the ending for the trials. I just want him to live a happy mortal life.” asked Attrick while holding Evan. Saphire clutched Evan closer, her sobs a soft shudder against his chest. Tears spilled, warm and steady, one tracing his cheek to his lips

  ‘This is the first time I have tasted something and it happens to be the tears of my mother. I wish I could talk and tell them I don't want to leave. I wish I could hold them for eternity. I wish I could live a happy life…I wish…’ Evan got into deep sleep, exhausted from the tower. He also heard all the explanations for Morgan. He was now aware of the fact of the fluctuations he would emit, when he would use his brain power to think.

  “Ok all the members have to gather here tomorrow with their babies for the Walker clan trial. As always you don't have to worry about the safety of the babies. Each talented one has a guardian corresponding to their grade of talent. You only have a day after which you could not have your young one for the next 100 years. So then I hereby declare the closing of the sanctum of appraisal of the 9th branch of the Walker clan.” Ordered Dugu and then vanished as if he was not there.