Chapter 108: Grey Aptitude

　　Qi Ying knew that his bloodline was definitely quite special, but he didn’t know what caliber it was. Everyone had a set bloodline aptitude, and only after awakening one’s Battle Spirit would that aptitude begin to manifest itself. As such, it was quite difficult for warriors of the Energy Martial Stages to gauge their bloodline potential.

　　To Spirit Martial Stage warriors, bloodline aptitude was very important, as it would affect their rate of progression in cultivation and decide the quality of their Battle Spirit.

　　According to Master Thirteen, bloodline aptitude was the most important of the five areas tested!

　　The other areas could all be enhanced through various methods, but one’s bloodline aptitude was set in stone.

　　Compared to the previous sections, the fifth one was a lot easier for everyone. No matter how terrible their aptitude was, no forcefields would act upon them. They only had to slice open a finger, and shed a drop of blood onto their badge. After that, they would be allowed to scale the final three thousand steps.

　　There were already many people standing on the fifth platform, all of whom had finished their trials and were awaiting further instructions. There were a few elderly warriors in long flowing robes standing in mid-air. They were clearly some of the veteran elders of the academy.

　　“In the past, our academy had always enrolled new disciples by taking in young warriors with nomination letters. This is the first time in several decades that we’ve held tournaments across the entire kingdom in order to pick disciples. Looks like there are quite a few bright prospects among them!”

　　“Indeed. Most of them had only gotten to this point after enduring many trials and tribulations. There are almost no disciples with five whites, and even the worst ones have at least one or two reds.”

　　The elders were all quite pleased.

　　The vast majority of disciples with five whites were destined to never be able to reach the Spirit Martial Stage, and even in the Jade Class, they were the lowest-level disciples that were mostly relegated to doing caretaking duties around the academy. Most of them couldn’t even complete all five sections of the trial, and thus lost their hard-earned qualification spots.

　　“There are already a few disciples with five blacks, and quite a few with four black and one purple, as well as five purples… Looks like there will be many new entrances to the Purple and Black Classes!”

　　“There may be more people who qualify for the Crimson Class than the Jade Class this year, so I think it’s necessary for us to raise the bar on the qualification criteria for the Crimson Class.”

　　“You’re right, we have to ensure a balance between the number of students in the five classes. Some of the ones who can enter the Black Class in prior years will have to be dropped down to the Purple Class, and some Purple Class ones will have to be relegated to the Green Class!”

　　As they were exchanging ideas with one another, the instructors below were attending to the disciples who had already completed all of their trials.

　　One of the elders stroked his beard and sighed, “I wonder if we’ll have a few special disciples coming through this year… I’ve been teaching the same old types of prodigies year after year, and it’s getting very boring!”

　　…

　　When Qi Ying finally reached the fifth platform, he was completely rooted to the spot.

　　He stared at the badge in his hand and was at a loss for what to do.

　　‘What the hell?’ 

　　The color of the fifth segment had completely stumped him. It was neither black, white, red, green or purple; instead, it was grey!

　　‘Grey?’ 

　　‘Is this a joke?’

　　That color didn’t even exist as far as the trials were concerned!

　　‘What is grey supposed to count for?’

　　Just as he was lost in deep thought, an elated voice suddenly erupted, “Hey, you’re here! Come on over and the instructors will assign you to a class!”

　　“Er.”

　　Qi Ying raised his head to find Han Xue waving at him with a cheery expression.

　　“Come on! What are you standing there for?”

　　Qi Ying noticed that there were a few young men and women standing beside Han Xue. All of them turned to him in unison, and different expressions appeared on their faces. Some were surprised, some were disdainful, and some were rather ambiguous.

　　Qi Ying only nodded to Han Xue with a smile.

　　Xuan Yu had told him to stay far away from nobles, especially noblewomen. He had already learned that lesson in the Celestial River Academy, and he was not about to repeat his mistake in the Yun Xiao Academy.

　　Han Xue appeared to be very innocent and harmless… But An Ruyi gave off the exact same vibes!

　　Qi Ying made his way over to the instructors, of which there was about a dozen. All of them were assessing the disciples’ badges, and assigning them to different classes accordingly.

　　The process was generally quite simple; most of the instructors only had to take a quick glance at a badge before making a decision.

　　“Three reds and two whites, Jade Class.”

　　“Three reds and two whites, with red bloodline aptitude, Crimson Class.”

　　“Three greens and two reds, Green Class…”

　　Qi Ying was standing in the queue behind a few disciples. Many of the disciples were quite excited to have been assigned to a class of their wishes, while others wore expressions of disappointment.

　　Many people were already satisfied with entering the Jade Class. Meanwhile, some people were still quite upset, even after being assigned to the Crimson or Green Classes. There were even people grumbling under their breaths, saying things along the lines of “with my results, I’d be able to enter the Purple Class in past years, so why are the criteria so harsh this year?”

　　“Piss off if you want to complain! Our academy doesn’t need whiny brats!”

　　A cold female voice sounded.

　　The grumbling disciples immediately fell silent upon seeing the woman who had spoken!

　　All of them knew that irking a normal instructor was perhaps not a big deal, but raising the ire of that woman would be akin to a figurative death sentence! That woman was none other than Madam Butterfly! If she wanted to kick someone out of the academy, then no one would be able to stop her.

　　Qi Ying took a glance at Madam Butterfly before immediately turning away. Soon, he reached the front of the queue.

　　“Show me your badge.” A chubby male instructor said with a smile.

　　“Yes.”

　　Qi Ying placed his badge uneasily on the table, and awaited further instructions.

　　“White… er, black? White again? Green… What the hell?”

　　The instructor tallied the colors, and he already faltered upon seeing the first white and the second black. However, the true surprise came after that. At that moment, the other instructors gathered around, and they were also quite surprised by what they saw.

　　Madam Butterfly looked at Qi Ying’s badge, and her eyes immediately narrowed.

　　“Er, so which class am I going to?”

　　Qi Ying waited for a long while, but the instructors didn’t give him a reply.

　　After an extended silence, the fat instructor finally said, “You’re… Qi Ying, right? Stand off to the side for a bit. Your situation is a little special, so we’ll need to report this to the elders and let them make a decision!”

　　“Alright.”

　　Qi Ying had thought that the instructor would give him a disappointing result, but his mood was lifted by that answer.

　　Special?

　　That meant that he was relatively important, and judgment from the elders was required… That was surely special treatment that was afforded to no one else!

　　If they were paying such close attention to him, then surely he would at least be allocated to the Purple Class!

　　Qi Ying was feeling quite optimistic about his prospects.