Chapter 474: Chapter 474: Adina 27
To Tan You’s delight, every new Saintess or Saint Heir was granted a single opportunity to cultivate in the Prayer Hall—a once-in-a-lifetime chance, with the duration determined by their aptitude.
That was why Tan You was willing to cheat to make Lilith the Saintess, all for a legitimate chance to enter the Prayer Hall.
The day of the Saintess selection arrived quickly. Early in the morning, Tan You saw Lilith already doing her hair and makeup. Tan You couldn’t help but complain to herself, ’This is a selection trial, not a beauty pageant.’
The bells of the Divine Hall rang, calling everyone to assemble. Lilith, satisfied with her makeup, finally left her vanity and headed for the front hall. Tan You seized the opportunity to stuff a few magic scrolls into Lilith’s mage robes before leisurely following her.
In the front hall, all the Mages of the Divine Hall had already gathered. The Saintess selection was a major event for the hall, and every Mage would attend to witness the birth of a new Saint Heir or Saintess.
Tan You’s gaze swept over the Light Element Mages, then the young Mages standing in the front hall, before finally landing on the previous Saint Heir, Davidson.
She always felt there was something strange about this Saint Heir, something contradictory, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Unable to figure it out, Tan You pushed the thought aside. All her focus was now on the upcoming Saintess selection.
Soon, a Mage announced the criteria for the Saintess trial: "The first trial is an assessment of magic aptitude. Every Saint Heir or Saintess must have top-tier magic aptitude. An aptitude value of ninety is required to pass."
As soon as the announcement was made, Tan You saw disappointment on the faces of many young Mages. Only Lilith stood with her back ramrod straight; she was confident in her talent.
Nearly fifty Mages were participating in the trial this time, which spoke volumes about the Divine Hall of Light’s talent pool. In any case, ever since coming to this world, Tan You had never once met anyone from the Dark Divine Hall.
Tan You subconsciously ignored the fact that she had spent many years living in seclusion in the Mist Forest. Where would she have had the chance to meet anyone from her own faction?
After announcing the criteria for the first trial, the head Mage extended his right hand. A mass of milky-white light slowly condensed with his gesture, finally forming a full-length shield.
The assessing elder announced in a clear voice, "Each candidate will step forward to the light shield one by one. The light shield will display your aptitude value."
The candidates hesitated for a moment, but in the end, Lilith was the first to step forward. Tan You watched the number on the light shield climb from 0 all the way to 92. The corners of Lilith’s lips slowly curved upward; she was clearly very satisfied with this value.
Tan You chuckled. ’No wonder. An aptitude value of 92. Even though she’s spent most of these years fooling around, she still managed to become a two-star Mage. With an aptitude like that, she truly is one of heaven’s chosen.’
Following Lilith’s successful start, the other Mages stepped forward one by one, and the light shield provided immediate feedback for each. However, when one candidate’s aptitude value reached 96, the smile on Lilith’s face froze.
But regardless of her unhappiness, the Mages of the Divine Hall were delighted, every one of them beaming.
And it didn’t stop there. In the end, a total of five candidates scored above 90. Lilith’s aptitude value of 92 only ranked her third.
Tan You lowered her gaze. ’So I have to get Lilith from third place to first? Those two who ranked ahead of her don’t look easy to deal with at all.’
Even the Mages who didn’t score above 90 had impressive talent, with most scoring over 80. As expected of the Divine Hall of Light; its accumulation of talent over the years was truly substantial.
"The first trial is over. Mages who did not qualify, please stand to one side and await the beginning of the second trial."
"The second trial will test your knowledge of Light Element spells. You will have a quarter of an hour to write down as many Light Element spells as you can from memory on a parchment scroll. The top three candidates will advance to the next trial."
Tan You’s heart leaped into her throat. ’Five candidates, and only three will advance. Lilith won’t get eliminated in this round, will she?’ Fortunately, Lilith was taking the Saintess trial somewhat seriously. After receiving the parchment, she began writing down Light Element spells without pause.
In the end, she pulled an upset and took first place. Tan You couldn’t help but feel impressed. ’Some people... even if they’re just trying to win a man’s favor, once they get serious, they can really be something else.’
The other Mages hadn’t expected Lilith to take first place in the second trial either. After all, in their eyes, her cultivation in recent years had been far from diligent. She was the type to rely on her natural talent and noble birth, and was therefore quite lax about her training.
Lilith was secretly pleased. She truly disliked cultivating, but she had an excellent memory. A test of pure memorization played right to her strengths. Not to mention, she had spent the last several days poring over the spell codex, memorizing its contents.
The second trial eliminated two more people, leaving only Lilith, Lisi, and another candidate named Eliv to advance to the third round.
Soon, the head examiner announced the details of the third trial. "The third trial is very simple. As members of the Divine Hall of Light, we have a duty to purify every trace of filth on this continent."
As he spoke, he brought out a tray. On it sat a fragment of something that looked remarkably like a bone. Even from a distance, Tan You could feel the dense dark aura clinging to it.
"This round will primarily test the Art of Light Purification. The last candidate standing will be the victor."
"System, do you know what this is? Why does it look like a bone?" Tan You quietly asked her little system. ’What the hell... why do I feel a strange sense of familiarity with this thing?’
How would the Beauty System know?
"I don’t know. I’ve never seen it."
Tan You got it. "It’s definitely a bone. After playing with skeletons for so many years, you think I can’t recognize a bone when I see one? It was probably taken from the forbidden grounds again. Speaking of which, what in the world is in those grounds? I can’t even get in with an invisibility cloak; it just has to require some stupid ’Key of Light.’"
"Do you think it could be a bone from the Dark God?" Tan You mused. "If it is, that Divine being had a pretty miserable run. Getting sealed away, and then having your bones dug up for show... Tsk, tsk. Truly tragic."
Listening to the conversation between Tan You and her little system, a certain Divine being closed his eyes and smiled. ’As expected. A little one with no fear of the Divine. Even her complaints are so heartfelt.’
Just as Tan You was complaining to her system, the three final Saintess candidates began to cast the Art of Light Purification. Unfortunately, their Mana seemed to vanish into the tiny bone fragment like a stone into the ocean; the dark elements clinging to its surface remained completely unchanged.
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