Chapter Eighty-Five: Intensity

“May I ask whether you have any intention of joining the Cultivators’ Association?” Zhuang Yue continued.

“I do have a little interest, but I want to wait a bit longer,” Chen Jin replied.

“Mm. If you do become interested, you can contact me at any time. This is my card.” Zhuang Yue drew a card from her sleeve.

Her sleeve apparently had no pocket; it seemed she had used some sort of spell to retrieve it from elsewhere.

Chen Jin was not surprised. He took the card with a smile.

“Then let us begin the assessment,” Zhuang Yue said, her expression turning businesslike.

“Go ahead,” Chen Jin said with a nod.

Zhuang Yue took a writing board from her assistant. On it was a questionnaire.

The assessment began with a verbal interview, followed by a test of actual destructive power.

“What is your level of cultivation? If you practice the old methods, you may state the old-method realm; if you practice the new methods, then state the new-method realm,” Zhuang Yue said.

“Just entered the Breath-Settling Realm,” Chen Jin replied.

“Mm, then let us begin the practical destructive-power assessment.” Zhuang Yue nodded and wrote a few strokes.

“Huh?” Chen Jin cried out in surprise.

This time he truly was a little startled.

“These are all routine questions, so I only asked you the most important one,” Zhuang Yue explained with a smile.

“...Oh.” Chen Jin nodded.

He supposed the routine questions were probably things like name, gender, and age.

After that came the actual destructive-power test. The procedure was simple. Chen Jin saw Zhuang Yue bring out a sheet of white paper.

There were many patterns on the sheet, and Chen Jin did not quite understand them. Perhaps his knowledge of talismanic patterns mostly came from before the Jin Dynasty, while he knew little of what had developed after that. Talismanic patterns, after all, evolved as well, so it was only natural that he did not recognize them—though, not recognizing them aside, he still felt compelled to explain himself stubbornly.

“This is a special testing sheet for destructive power, developed jointly by the association president and several elders. If you simply use a fire technique to scorch it, it will measure your actual destructive power. Of course, if you have never obtained a fire technique, we can also provide a fire talisman, though that would require you to pay a certain fee,” Zhuang Yue explained with a smile.

“Mm, all right.” Chen Jin nodded.

He took the white sheet and raised both hands. A layer of pale golden flame rose up, and the fire settled onto the testing sheet.

The sheet was covered by his flames, yet there was no sign of it being burned to ash. It remained exactly as it was.

At some point, Zhuang Yue had taken out something that looked like a mobile phone.

While Chen Jin was scorching the test sheet, she had been watching the smart device in her hand all along.

Chen Jin sustained the burning for ten seconds, then withdrew the flames.

He did not want to be watched like a monkey forever.

They were in a small room at the moment, and he and Zhuang Yue were not the only ones there. There were two other girls as well.

Both of them held tablet-like devices in their hands, and their chests were likewise flat as tablets.

They were clearly not cultivators, so when they saw flames truly rising from Chen Jin’s hands, their eyes widened and their mouths fell open.

Those two pairs of eyes were filled unmistakably with envy, curiosity, and the kind of wonder one would have while watching a magician perform...

So Chen Jin had burned the paper for only ten seconds before stopping, regardless of whether Zhuang Yue had called for him to do so.

“Seven degrees of intensity, already at the peak of the Breath-Settling Realm,” Zhuang Yue said after checking the smart device in her hand.

“Oh?” Chen Jin said, feigning surprise.

In truth, he had indeed only used the power of someone just entering the Breath-Settling Realm when releasing the flame, but he had not expected the paper to still detect his true realm.

“Seven degrees of intensity?” Chen Jin returned the test sheet to Zhuang Yue and voiced his confusion.

“The destructive power of extraordinary force, as studied by the association president and the others,” Zhuang Yue replied. “One degree of intensity is equivalent to the explosion of fifty grams of TNT.”

From Chen Jin’s fragmented memory, an ordinary grenade was filled with fifty grams of TNT. So did that mean his current strength was equivalent to the power of seven grenades exploding at once?

“However, this method of testing is not entirely precise. Although many members of the association have experimented with it tens of thousands of times, there can still be errors. Still, your strength may truly have reached the peak of the Breath-Settling Realm, even if your realm itself has not yet arrived there. That shows your foundations are solid,” Zhuang Yue added, offering him a roundabout compliment.

“Oh, perhaps,” Chen Jin said with a nod. “Then may I pass the approval?”

“Mm. All your conditions are qualified, but the association still hopes you will sign this agreement. Of course, this is not a blood-oath curse. It is merely a simple agreement.” Zhuang Yue had the assistant beside her bring over a written contract.

It was not thick, only a single page.

It stated that while Chen Jin was traveling to Mount Lao, and while on the airplane, unless an emergency arose, he was forbidden to use any spells, magical tools, or talismans. In short, extraordinary powers were not to be used; only after arriving at Mount Lao could he use spells.

In addition, he was forbidden to use spells on ordinary people, except for ordinary combat martial arts.

After reading the agreement once through, Chen Jin felt it was acceptable.

Still, he used a simple spell to make sure there were no hidden curses or other tricks within it.

Seeing no abnormalities, Chen Jin nodded and signed his name.

“Wish you a pleasant journey,” Zhuang Yue said with a bright smile as she accepted the signed agreement.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Chen Jin said with a nod.

His approval was thus considered complete, though once he reached Mount Lao, he would still need to undergo review from Qilu Province.

This was mainly because the present period was special—special for cultivators, to be precise. The so-called age of cultivation was still in a stage of examination, so everything was being tried and explored with caution.

Chen Jin did not regret deciding to go to Mount Lao. A cultivator did not waste time on regret. Once a decision was made, one acted on it. Besides, going to Mount Lao was merely troublesome; it was not as though there were any life-or-death dangers awaiting him.

Under Zhuang Yue’s earnest escort, Chen Jin left the police bureau and returned to the specialty shop.

Once inside, he called over Li Han, who was speaking with a shop assistant.

“Chen, what is it?” Li Han asked in confusion.

“I have something urgent on the day after tomorrow and need to go to Qilu, so your leave may have to be postponed,” Chen Jin said.

“This...” Li Han’s face immediately fell, but she still nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back as quickly as possible. When I return, I’ll approve you a few extra days off,” Chen Jin said.

“Mm, all right.” Li Han forced a smile.

Chen Jin was her superior, and she was his subordinate; it was difficult for her to refuse a request from him that was not too unreasonable. Unless she quit, that was. But Chen Jin had always treated her fairly well, so she agreed.

And Chen Jin could hardly offer her much compensation anyway. At most, he could grant a few more days of leave. He could not exactly arrange a full cultivation-aptitude testing package for her, nor could he compensate her with essence pills.

And so, Chen Jin’s itinerary was arranged in this way.