Death... and me

Mia Orzute joined the Dalamu Sect precisely 228 years ago. One of very few Red Color Aptitude cultivators of the entire Jialin Country. She was 9 when she passed the test, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator already. At the age of 15, she entered the Core Formation Realm. At the age of 31, she broke through the Core and Soul Fusion Realm bottleneck. When she completed 57 years of age, she entered the Nascent Soul Realm. Finally, at the age of 138, she became one of the youngest Soul Transformation Realm cultivators of the country. She has been in this Realm ever since.

She became the Sect Leader 53 years ago at the age of 184. Under her leadership, the sect prospered. Today, one of the reasons for the sect to have such a stable position in the country was also because of her. Rumors say that she is already in the Peak of the Soul Transformation Realm, but no one knows for sure. Still, no one doubts that she will eventually enter the Saint Realm. After all, she has an enormous lifespan ahead of her.

Foundation Establishment Realm has around 150 years of Lifespan;

Core Formation goes up to 200;

Core and Soul Fusion gains another hundred, dying around 300;

500 is the limit for a Nascent Soul;

While the Soul Transformation gives an unbelievable 1000 years of life.

Mia still has 763 years ahead of her, so only an idiot would doubt her chances of entering the next Realm. As long as she doesn't die, of course.

She looked behind before asking.

"Who are those twins?"

Hulian, as the organizing elder this time around, immediately stepped forward.

"Reporting to Sect Leader. They are Rean and Roan Larks, they came..."

Hulian then gave a full explanation, including everything he knew about them.

"Such a remote place gave birth to those two?"

Hulian was taken aback by those words.

"Could it be that Sect Leader knows something about the Dark and Light Aptitude and Elements?"

Mia narrowed her eyes. If one were to ask if she has ever seen one, the answer would be a resounding no. Whoever, it is not like she has never heard about something similar.

"I haven't heard about those Light and Dark Aptitudes and Elements specifically. However, I did hear that different types of Aptitude and Element Affinities do really exist. In our Sasamil Empire, there is a man called Harku Estintel, who supposedly has a Bronze Color Aptitude and Elemental Affinity. It seems like it has something to do with controlling all metal elements, somewhat similar to Earth Element."

"On the south of our continent, the part controlled by the Flaxin Empire, there is also a woman rumored to have a Cyan Color and Elemental Affinity. However, the Flaxin Empire is too far away, so I don't know what type of Elemental Affinity the Cyan Color represents."

She looked at Rean and Roan as they went to meet Malaka and Julio. As for all the eyes on them, they simply didn't care.

"And now, a Dark and Light Aptitude Colors appeared."

Hulian couldn't help but ask the question that all elders had in mind.

"Does it mean it is a good thing?"

Mia sighed before shooking her head.

"Hard to say. It will mainly depend on those two. As for why is that, you don't need to think much to understand, right?"

Hulian only had to think for a moment to understand what the Sect Leader meant.

"I see... Those are Aptitude and Elemental Affinities that no one saw before. Naturally, there is no such thing as Cultivation Techniques or Skills that they can learn from us. Whatever they do in the future, they will need to think about them from scratch. The old saying is really right. A cultivator that can't use his primary element is simply useless."

Mia Orzute nodded.

"To be honest, I believe that many more Weird Aptitude Colors and Elemental Affinities appeared in the past. However, because of those limitations on techniques and skills, the biggest majority all failed to achieve anything. Of course, this is just a conjecture of mine. I might be wrong about it. In the end, it will all depend on their own effort."

The other elders' eyes dimmed after hearing that. It would be too hard to guide those twins. Not to mention that the final results would most likely be terrible. In the end, no one wanted to do anything with them.

However, there was a single exception.

"Effort, uh? That's the word I love the most."

Elder Hulian's eyes lit up as he looked at the other elders.

"If none of you has any interest in the Twins, I'll be taking them. Is there anyone against it?"

All the other elders shook their heads. Since Hulian wants them, that's his problem.

As Rean and Roan chatted with Malaka and Julio, Mia looked to the sky. She then sent a Divine Sense message to a certain old man hidden somewhere.

'Master, the Yin and Yang balance of our sect... seems somehow different.'

Immediately after, Mia received an answer.

'So you noticed as well? It started yesterday when the new kids arrived. However, the changes are way too small for us to say whether it is good or bad.'

Mia nodded.

'A Light and Dark Aptitude and Elemental Affinity kids, and this sudden change. It doesn't matter how I see it, they are definitely related. What should we do?'

'Leave them. The only ones who can perceive this change are the two of us. And that is only because of our connection with this Mountain, so there is no risk of others noticing it. If we were anywhere else, we wouldn't be able to notice anything. If it turns out that it is a bad thing, it won't be too late to drive those Twins away. Perhaps, they would have their own uses even if that's the case.'

Mia nodded once more.

'Very well.'

She then looked at Hulian and commanded.

"Just continue the exam as normal. As rare as those twins might be, no one would really care about them. If it is gold, it will shine. Let them fight their way to the top like all the other kids."

Elder Hulian immediately accepted the order.

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Mia then disappeared as if she had never been there. In fact, other than the elders, no one had noticed her presence at all... with a single exception.

[What a scary woman.]

"Hum? Sister Orb, did you say something?"

[Me? Ah... No. I didn't say anything.]

Rean thought that answer to be a little strange, but he decided to ignore it.

The exam continued. In the end, a total of 7 Blue Color Aptitude kids appeared. Obviously, all the elders had already made their own selection. They were basically just waiting for the second test to be over.

However, just as the last kids were passing through the Aptitude Test, an Orb suddenly lit up with a bright Red Color!

All the eyes were caught by that image. The boy seemed to be around 12 to 13 years old. He also wore an expensive robe and had an air of arrogance.

Still, none of the elders cared about that. They only paid attention to the red color in his Aptitude Orb. When he went to the Affinity Orb, it once again brightened with Red Color. However, this time it represented his Affinity with the Fire Element. The temperature around that Kid the soared, and the other kids couldn't even get close. As for the Small Orb around the Main One, nine of them lit up almost instantly. Even the tenth orb also brightened a little bit.

"Red Color! Ten Small Affinity Orbs. It's been over ten years since a genius like him appeared."

But at the same time that the elders' eyes lit up, they dimmed almost instantly. That's because they knew that this kind of talent would not be for them to take.

Sure enough, five figures appeared on the stage almost instantly. They were the Core Elders, experts at the Nascent Soul Realm!