Part 1: The Spirit Stone Test
The newcomers lined up before a massive crystal known as the "Essence Detection Stone." The elders watched with boredom; most Earthlings had abysmal talent.
"Linda... Water Talent, Mid-Tier. Outer Sect!" the assistant shouted.
"Mark... Physical Talent, Low-Tier. Mine Slave!"
It was Arthur's turn. He stepped forward, his expression cold as ice. When he placed his hand on the stone, nothing happened. No light, no vibration, no energy.
The elder in charge sneered, "High blood purity but zero talent? You are just an empty vessel. Even Qi won't stay in your body. To the mines!"
Some teenagers laughed, but Arthur didn't blink. At that moment, he felt something in the depths of his soul awaken—a black void swallowing the stone's energy silently. The stone read "zero" because Arthur had "devoured" the test itself.
Part 2: The First Victim
That evening, before the "failures" were deported, a bully who had received a "High-Tier" talent tried to flex his power on Arthur to steal his remaining Earth rations.
"Listen, talentless trash. Give me your bag, and I'll make you my servant in the mines instead of letting you rot," the boy said, his hand glowing with a weak Qi aura.
Arthur flashed a smile no one had seen before. In a flash, his hand moved like lightning, gripping the boy's throat. It wasn't muscle power; the "Void" in his body was siphoning the boy's energy and life force.
"You have 'Weak Fire' talent, don't you?" Arthur whispered in his ear as the boy turned pale, his body withering like a mummy. "Thank you... I'll take good care of it."
Arthur felt warmth surging through his veins. The boy's body turned to ash and vanished, while a small spark of fire appeared in Arthur's mind. The first step on his path to immortality had begun—a path paved with the corpses of "geniuses."