Chapter 169. Testing Aptitude, Concealment
But the moment that thought arose, he forcibly suppressed it.
He could not forget what was written in the intelligence report: behind William stood two Demigods, beings capable of overturning an entire kingdom with ease. They were not to be provoked.
“Forget it.”
He let out a sigh, then a decisive glint flashed through his eyes.
“Someone.”
From the shadows in the corner of the great hall, a figure emerged soundlessly and dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty.”
“Go to the Royal Family Secret Realm and bring all the children there. Have that boy William test them in secret.”
Feir IV’s voice was kept very low.
“Not a word of this is to leak out.”
“Yes.”
The figure bowed once more. As he rose, he was like a drop of ink melting into darkness, vanishing into the depths of the hall in an instant without leaving behind even the slightest trace of his presence.
Feir IV looked at the empty corner, then lifted his teacup and took a sip of red tea.
The children inside the Royal Family Secret Realm were Kadiya’s true foundation. If a few top-tier geniuses could be found among them...
He looked out the window, his eyes filled with ambition for the future.
At that very moment, inside the testing hall, William had just finished testing the Aptitude of a young princess. Suddenly, he sensed an undercurrent stirring in the air, but merely cast an indifferent glance toward the entrance.
He knew that a Domain-Level Powerhouse had arrived.
The atmosphere inside the testing hall was somewhat oppressive when the steady sound of footsteps suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw an old man with white hair and beard slowly walking in. He wore a plain gray robe, and a worn wooden staff was tied at his waist, yet his eyes were as deep as an ancient well, as though they could see into a person’s heart.
At the sight of him, the members of the Royal Family and the noble heirs present all rose to bow. Even the few haughty Dukes restrained themselves and lowered their heads respectfully.
“Greetings, sir.”
The old man merely waved a hand. His gaze passed over the crowd and fell on William, his tone calm yet carrying unquestionable authority.
“Boy, come with me to the Royal Family Secret Realm.”
William nodded. So, it had finally come.
He deliberately put on a hesitant expression for a moment, his eyes sweeping over the curious looks around him, then he nodded.
The old man said nothing more and raised a hand to grip William’s wrist.
His palm was dry and warm, but his fingertips contained a strength beyond description, as though a slight squeeze could crush gold and stone alike.
Within a few breaths, the two of them arrived at the central plaza of the Royal Palace.
At that moment, a gigantic Teleportation Array stood there. Its inscriptions were traced from dark-gold ore and were now giving off a faint glow.
The old man pulled William onto the Array Core and lightly tapped the inscriptions a few times.
Bzzzz—
The Teleportation Array suddenly flared to life, and the brilliant light instantly swallowed both of them whole.
The array patterns whirled at high speed. The air rang with the hum of warped space, while the surrounding scenery shattered and reformed amid the shifting light.
William only felt his vision blur. His body seemed to be pulled by some invisible force, while a howling wind roared in his ears.
When he steadied himself again, he found that he was already standing in an entirely different world.
Mist drifted all around him. Green moss spread beneath his feet, and the air was thick with rich mana. In the distance, he could vaguely make out herds of Magical Beasts and towering ancient trees.
This was Kadiya’s Royal Family Secret Realm.
It was completely different from the Kroll Royal Family’s Secret Realm. Aside from the palace complex beneath their feet, there were barely any signs of human intervention. Everything else was in a pristine natural state.
The old man released his hand and turned to look at him.
“The children here are Kadiya’s future foundation. Test them carefully, and don’t play any tricks.”
As he spoke, the old man led William toward a castle in the depths of the Secret Realm.
The path was unusually quiet. Now and then, glowing Magic Plants shimmered faintly beside the bluestone road, yet there were hardly any people in sight. Even the maids and attendants who served the place were few and far between. The only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
They passed several empty palaces, their walls hung with faded family emblems that carried the stillness of long years gone by.
At last, the old man brought William to a palace surrounded by a massive garden. Strange flowers and exotic plants bloomed in abundance there, and a sweet fragrance drifted through the air.
The two knights guarding the palace gate wore dark-silver armor engraved with the emblem of the Kadiya Royal Family. The moment they saw the old man arrive, they immediately dropped to one knee in salute, their movements perfectly uniform.
Only after the old man nodded did they rise and push open the heavy palace doors. The turning of the hinges sounded especially clear in the silence.
The moment he stepped into the palace, William finally sensed a trace of life within.
The interior was spacious, and sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows, casting a soft sheen over the marble floor.
There were indeed quite a few people inside, most of them boys and girls around ten years old, along with a few even younger children. They all wore simple uniform clothing and were sitting around several old men, apparently listening to a lesson.
When they saw William, a stranger, all the children turned their eyes toward him at once, curiosity mixed with a touch of wariness.
The old men presiding over the lesson also stopped and looked toward the Ancestor at the entrance, their eyes questioning.
“This is William of Kroll. He has come to test the children’s Aptitudes.”
The Ancestor gave a simple introduction, his tone unreadable.
“Line up.”
Though the children did not understand, they obediently rose to their feet and formed a line according to age.
William looked at them, his heart stirring slightly. Let me see the true foundation of Kadiya.
He took a deep breath, walked to the front of the line, and extended his hand.
“The first one may come.”
For the next week, William spent nearly all his time inside this palace within the Secret Realm.
The line before him never seemed to end. Several thousand boys, girls, and children stepped forward one after another to undergo Aptitude testing.
The quality of the children here was indeed astonishingly high, far beyond that of the outside world.
Among them, there were fifteen with Domain Aptitude alone, and he had even found two children who faintly showed signs of Demigod Aptitude.
Whenever William’s gaze passed over their heads, he could clearly sense the hidden power within them, power enough to shake the future of a kingdom.
But outwardly, he remained calm. Inwardly, he had already made up his mind.
When faced with those two children who possessed Demigod Aptitude, he withdrew his hand and said blandly, “Golden Aptitude. With proper training, they can become top-tier knights.”
The old man standing nearby, the Domain-Level Powerhouse who had been watching him the whole time, gave the slightest twitch of his brow, but said nothing.
When it came to the fifteen children with Domain Aptitude, William became even more deliberate in confusing the results.
Pointing at three youths whose potential was clearly top-tier, he merely called them “entry-level Sky Aptitude,” while labeling several children with Sky Aptitude as ordinary Silver Aptitude.
His tone remained steady, his expression open and honest, as though every word he spoke were the truth.
The old man’s gaze settled on William’s face like something tangible, trying to find a flaw in the smallest shift of his expression.
But William was already accustomed to this sort of scrutiny. He furrowed his brow when he should furrow it, nodded when he should nod, and even showed the proper trace of regret toward children with mediocre Aptitude. His performance was flawless.
“This child’s Spiritual Power fluctuations are rather special, but unfortunately her elemental affinity is too poor. At best, she’ll only reach Bronze Aptitude.”
He pointed at a girl who in truth possessed a hidden Profession, his tone carrying just the right amount of regret.
The old man finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
“Boy, are you certain? I think this child’s innate foundation is quite good.”
William raised his eyes and met his gaze with an open smile.
“You may examine her yourself.”
The old man did not refuse. He inspected her thoroughly and found that she did indeed appear to have only Bronze Aptitude.
He gave William a long, deep look, but asked no more questions.
A week later, the testing came to an end.
On the list William produced, nearly half of the true geniuses had been concealed.
Holding the list in his hand, the old man paused with his fingertip over the two names marked as “Golden Aptitude,” but in the end, he still rolled it up.
“You have worked hard, Your Highness.”
William gave a slight nod. “It was only what I ought to do.”
He knew that the old man might not fully believe him, but as long as the other party had no solid proof, this list would be enough to deceive them for the time being.
Kadiya wanted to use his hand to uncover its hidden potential, but by the same token, he could also use these tests to slow Kadiya’s rise.