Chapter 118: Division Of Talents
Xilutiya followed behind, watching Aideqin handle the situation in front of him. It was clear that his strength was very high; the Sleeping Winter power he displayed in an instant was enough to rival Iona at full power.
If it were Iona fighting Aideqin, she would probably be defeated in just a few minutes.
Is this the true genius heading to the Secluded Forest? The maiden’s fingers lightly twirled her hair, igniting a faint desire to catch up. She needed to step up her game too.
But this was merely her own thought. In Scholar Heide and Madam Fran’s view, this maiden’s talent was astonishing. It was important to note that Iona had been exposed to various secret arts knowledge since childhood and studied at the Royal Academy for nearly four years to reach her current strength level, while this maiden started from zero and fully caught up in just 4-5 months—not even counting the extra time she spent re-cultivating.
In the area ahead, Aideqin drew the black-based gold-patterned longsword from his waist. With a few simple passes, he subdued three tall lizardmen. Invisible cold air froze them, making the three lizardmen who had been arrogant and overbearing just moments ago shiver with their bodies encased in ice.
Even though both sides were First Order, the strength gap was too significant.
“As expected of Senior Student Aideqin.”
“Senior Student Aideqin is so strong.”
The people nearby sighed in admiration, and then some unfamiliar people gradually inquired, learning the name of this blue-clothed noble youth.
Aideqin（Sleeping Winter）, badge owner, third floor room 16.
“Another Talent Level One.” Someone whispered.
“Are there this many geniuses in this batch?”
“From what they summarized, there have been 6 Talent Level One students and 11 Talent Level Two students so far, all living on the upper three floors.”
“Oh, someone is specifically keeping stats?” Someone asked curiously.
“Of course, there are even people selling intel. If you know in advance which student has talent, you can build a relationship, and later in the forest, you’ll have a good backer.”
“Then where does this Aideqin rank in strength?”
“No one’s fought him, so who knows, but from their discussion, Aideqin should be in the top six in strength among this batch of students. After all, the other Talent Level One students aren’t weak either.”
“Is there a big difference between Talent Level One and Talent Level Two?”
“This is a standard summarized by the Secluded Forest based on hundreds of years of training experience. Talent Level One students can roughly enter Second Order within two years, Level Two might take three years, and Levels Four to Five would need five years.”
“For Talent Level Six to Seven students, it would probably take eight to ten years.”
“Ten years? Wouldn’t that make them around twenty-seven years old?”
“Exactly, entering Second Order at twenty-seven would absolutely be excellent talent out in the world, but in the Secluded Forest, it’s nothing.”
Xilutiya listened to the various whispers around her ears. Though noisy, she could clearly distinguish and remember them.
She hadn’t expected this talent level classification. Was it a judgment system summarized by the Secluded Forest itself?
After Aideqin taught the several lizardmen a lesson up front, he helped that student retrieve the ‘Snake Blood Orb’ and then let them leave.
Returning to Xilutiya’s side, Aideqin straightened his clothes and said: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s continue.”
Then he led Xilutiya away from the crowd, continuing the tour of this floor, and explained what had just happened.
“I boarded the Camel Building three months ago. After some time, my accompanying teacher asked if I was willing to take on the role of maintaining student order.”
“If willing, upon arriving at the forest, I could receive 200 points, which is quite generous compensation.”
“What are points used for?” Xilutiya quickly thought of various systems she’d seen in her previous life.
“Many uses, but the most common is exchanging for courses.”
“You should know that many abilities can’t be learned just from verbal instruction or written descriptions; they require personal demonstration or guidance.”
“For example, the most common breathing technique can’t be described verbally—it’s the rhythm of the body’s bloodline. Only a teacher can guide others to slowly comprehend and then master it.”
“Below First Order, ordinary secret arts ability courses are around 50 points each, while complex secret arts abilities cost 100 points.”
“Additionally, points can be exchanged for supplies, like incense for meditation, blood wine for training breathing techniques, tea water for recovery, and so on.”
“Can points be bought with money?” the maiden asked curiously.
“Can’t buy them directly with money, but you can indirectly.” Aideqin showed a playful expression.
“For example, you’re assigned a task to complete for points at the end, but instead of doing it yourself, you pay someone to do it and then turn it in. That’s one way.”
“The teachers don’t care about that kind of behavior?”
“They don’t, because some students from poor backgrounds really need money. If someone’s willing to pay big prices for it, let them spend.”
“Generally, the exchange rate is about 1 point to 2 gold coins, so 50 points can be swapped for 100 gold coins.”
“Wait, doesn’t that mean learning a course costs 100 gold coins? That’s so expensive?” Xilutiya was surprised.
“That’s the exchange rate. For students doing tasks, they can earn about 20 points a month, so three months for a course—not actually that much.” Aideqin explained.
It was the same with Teacher Heide; he only taught each student one special secret art. Xilutiya chose the ‘Dew Prayer Method’ and the Emerald Pupil Potion recipe, while Komiya chose the ‘Meditation Method’ and ‘Phantom Curse Eye’. This was the content taught over the half-year course.
Even so, many people still couldn’t learn it. Fewer than half the students could complete learning a new ability within half a year.
After understanding the importance of points, Xilutiya chatted with Aideqin about some forest situations, curiously asking how he knew.
“Of course, seniors who went there before told me.” Aideqin was puzzled instead. Didn’t anyone tell the girl in front of him?
Madam Fran didn’t grow up in the forest, nor did Scholar Heide. Though they knew the general situation, they lacked many details. Jiaoshi City was ultimately a small place; if real talent emerged, most would go develop in prosperous areas, not stay local.
It seemed her hometown Jiaoshi City was quite isolated from news. The maiden rubbed her hair, feeling she needed to talk to more people in this period to avoid informational biases.
In the afternoon, Aideqin took Xilutiya to familiarize herself with the entire Camel Building, then the two parted ways.
“My current room is third floor 16. If you have time, you can visit, but I’m generally only stably in my room on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Other times, I might head out for something.”
“If you want to make friends with others, it’s best to set a stable time you’re in your room, or others won’t be able to find you.”
“I understand, thanks, Senior Student.” Aideqin looked about eighteen, indeed much more mature in appearance than Xilutiya.
Then the two parted, and Xilutiya returned to her own room 22.
After walking all afternoon, she was a bit tired. She lay on the bed for a short nap. After eating dinner in the dining room at six in the evening, it was time for her prior appointment with Florera.
It was time. Xilutiya picked up the glass bottle containing the ‘Fire Cloud Orchid’, then headed to the corridor on the same floor to find Florera’s room.
