ABRIWMTHM Chapter 10

“Are you sure there are no issues?”

Chi Yao was multitasking, reviewing documents while listening to an officer report on the regular talent assessment. After finishing, he made a statement that left the officer puzzled.

After a moment of silence, realizing he hadn’t received a response, Chi Yao recognized that the other party didn’t understand his question.

“I’m asking whether the child being treated for Fei Chu has been re-evaluated and confirmed to have recovered enough to participate in the talent assessment?”

Officer: “…”

Upon Chi Yao suddenly mentioning Shi Xing, the officer surprisingly felt no shock. “Yes, the doctor confirmed that he is in good condition.”

“Is his mental sea stable?”

Officer: “…………”

“Should I have them send over the examination report?”

Thinking that the Emperor, busy with border affairs, would refuse, the officer was taken aback when Chi Yao replied without hesitation, “Sure.”

The officer numbly dialed the hospital communication.

When the examination report arrived, the officer respectfully placed it on Chi Yao’s desk. Before it was steady, Chi Yao had already waved away the document projection and picked up the health check.

“The data looks pretty good, why has he been sleeping poorly…?” Chi Yao murmured.

The officer didn’t understand.

Fortunately, Chi Yao was not speaking to him. Setting down the report, he asked again, “What’s his personality like? Is he shy?”

The officer’s first reaction was that Chi Yao should be aware of this, but he still replied respectfully, “That child has a nice character, gentle and generous, never proactively causing trouble. As for shyness… Your Highness, are you considering letting the officers meet him in advance?”

“Considering it.”

Xiang He Ze from the Fifth Army and Tan Yan from the Seventh Army had already arrived at the Nest. Since they knew he was present, they would definitely come to pay their respects, especially since both were coming for Shi Xing, and it was inevitable they would request to meet with him.

“Blue Star humans have known since childhood that they will be matched, and most will not refuse to meet potential matches.” Thinking of Yu Man’s recent behavior, the officer added, “Getting to know each other in advance… both parties would likely be willing.”

Chi Yao remained noncommittal, making it hard for the officer to discern his attitude.

Seeing the Emperor return to reviewing documents, the officer stood quietly, mentally preparing himself before respectfully speaking, “Your Highness, your period of mental power disorder is approaching, isn’t it?”

Chi Yao did not respond. The officer steeled himself and continued, “The Elders Council has already informed me that you cannot use medication to suppress it this year… Are you still not considering taking someone with you?”

Silence, absolute silence.

Chi Yao continued to review documents without slowing down. The officer knew that the Emperor had heard him; he just chose not to respond.

As time ticked by in continued silence, the officer’s head lowered more and more, cold sweat forming on his brow.

Just as the officer contemplated whether he should kneel in salute, Chi Yao spoke, expertly changing the topic, “Why don’t you recommend a matching candidate to me first?”

After the talent assessment, the AI would recommend the best match for Blue Star humans and officers on their matching bracelets.

However, the Emperor’s mental power level was so high that every year, the AI had never provided any recommendations.

In other words, the AI did not think any Blue Star human could match with Chi Yao’s mental power level.

The officer was momentarily speechless; this was not something he could decide.

Chi Yao waved his hand, dismissing him.

Shi Xing was once again entering his maturity period. Aside from feeling hungry for a while, his physical abilities were changing and growing, and the subsequent state was relatively stable.

On the day he returned, Shi Xing felt his mental power was weak. After waking up in the hospital, he felt much better, but the mental threads in his mental sea still couldn’t be fully mobilized. At this point, Shi Xing underwent targeted tests, and the doctor provided a reasonable explanation.

“The body is fine; it’s not a functional disorder.”

“It should be due to the rapid advancement. Normally, entering maturity is one step, and awakening talents is another. You essentially progressed by two steps in a short time. The instability during the maturity period and the talent awakening both require the body to adapt, but the burden is too great, making it hard to adapt at once, resulting in this scenario.”

Indeed, when Shi Xing was in good condition, he could mobilize more of his mental threads.

As for how to help his body adapt faster, the doctor provided two suggestions: first, to use his mental power more frequently, forcing his body to adapt, and second, after matching, if possible, to have his partner find higher-grade crystals and beast cores to enhance his physical quality.

With the talent assessment looming, Shi Xing had to spend more time in the energy training room, using his mental power.

After the date for the talent assessment was set, the testing venue was opened to Blue Star humans, and the Nest recommended that everyone visit at least once to familiarize themselves with the equipment and location.

Shi Xing found going to the training room beneficial. Eager for his mental power to recover, he spent every day in the training room.

Shi Ran went once, and although the AI wouldn’t provide an overall evaluation before the official assessment, the values displayed on the equipment were not low, which made him quite happy.

At the same time, news that Yu Man had tested at an A-grade mental power strength spread throughout the residence. According to Shi Ran, Yu Man now walked as if the wind was at his back.

While Shi Ran was worried about the betting contract, Shi Xing simply laughed it off.

Two days before the talent assessment, during dusk, Shi Xing finally went to the testing venue to familiarize himself with the equipment. He avoided any tasks that overly taxed his mental power and just reviewed the previously memorized procedures.

To this, Yu Man disdainfully remarked, “With the assessment so close, does going to the training room every day help? Going to the venue to adapt this late, is it that you’re out of time or just afraid to go?”

Those around him joined in laughter. Shi Ran encountered this scene, fuming as he directly walked through the group of people.

On the day before the talent assessment, Shi Xing gave himself a day off.

On the day of the talent assessment, a few hours before it began, the hospital unexpectedly called Shi Xing, requesting him to come for a re-check. Shi Xing was curious but still went. After the examination, he anxiously asked the doctor, “Why the last-minute check before the assessment? Do I… have any problems?”

Before the doctor could reply, a man who had arrived without notice answered from behind Shi Xing, “Worried you have issues? Treating Fei Chu isn’t easy for the therapists, just in case, I had them check once more before the assessment.”

Shi Xing turned around to see Chi Yao standing behind him, with a high brow and deep eyes, dressed in formal attire.

His impressive stature was upright, the collar impeccably buttoned, and the details of the formal clothing were more intricate. The man wore a pair of gloves made of an unknown material; when Shi Xing glanced, he felt as if that black absorbed all light.

Indeed, the formal attire suited him well, further highlighting the oppressive air of authority he exuded.

Having spent time in the prince’s residence, this class disparity that spanned ages always made Shi Xing recall some unpleasant feelings, prompting an instinctive urge to avoid it.

Ultimately, he held back the impulse to step back and softly called out, “Your Highness.”

“What’s making you nervous?” Chi Yao casually remarked.

Not knowing how the other party had noticed, Shi Xing felt his heart tighten. Chi Yao clarified, “Just now, your mental power leaked.”

After entering the maturity period, Blue Star humans experience unstable mental power, which can sometimes leak slightly.

Mental power control is also related to emotions. Shi Xing closed his eyes, knowing he didn’t need to argue; his own condition had betrayed him. To deny it would be akin to lying directly to Chi Yao.

In silence, knowing he couldn’t bluff in front of him, Shi Xing resignedly said, “You are quite imposing.”

“Is being imposing frightening?”

There was a hint of amusement in Chi Yao’s tone.

Shi Xing’s voice lowered further, “Naturally, it makes one more cautious, fearing to be disrespectful.”

Chi Yao genuinely chuckled, “But the other day by Fei Chu’s medical chamber, you didn’t seem to care about that.”

Chi Yao clearly understood how much pressure he exerted just by staring straight at someone. That night, Shi Xing’s gaze had not only avoided him, but he had also dared to meet his eyes when replying.

Shi Xing: “It’s different.”

“How is it different?”

His tone light, yet without any intention of letting him go, Shi Xing had no choice but to respond, “I had just entered the maturity period. If I didn’t appear more certain, you probably wouldn’t have believed my words.”

Pausing for a moment, Shi Xing added, “The situation with General Fei is also quite worrying.”

If he couldn’t take over quickly, the longer it dragged on, the worse the situation would become.

Chi Yao seemed taken aback by this response. His amusement faded, and he quietly observed the slender Blue Star human standing before him, assuring, “Well, you did quite well.”

Chi Yao: “I won’t tease you anymore; relax.”

The examination results showed everything was normal.

Chi Yao took the report, dismissing the doctor.

Observing Chi Yao truly beginning to review his health report, that subtle feeling of being observed returned, but Shi Xing did not dislike it.

“There are no issues. Are you feeling any discomfort?”

Shi Xing shook his head.

Chi Yao set down the report, lowering his gaze momentarily. “What about your mental power? Are you still unable to mobilize all your mental threads?”

Surprised that he was aware of such details, Shi Xing truthfully replied, “Following the doctor’s advice and training has helped a lot. When I’m in good condition now, I can use them a bit more.”

Chi Yao understood. “Mmm, I initially planned to let you meet the two, but Fu Qing said you’ve been at the training room daily, so I canceled that idea.”

Checking the time, Chi Yao confirmed he had to leave and finally said, “The talent assessment is about to start; are you nervous?”

Shi Xing shook his head.

Chi Yao handed him a box, advising, “Do your best, I’m off.”

As Shi Xing accepted it and opened it to find a beast core inside, his pupils dilated, and when he looked up, there was no sign of Chi Yao in the examination room.

Flashbacks of those smoky gray eyes raced through his mind. Shi Xing chased out, calling loudly to the man’s departing figure, “I will do well on the assessment, Your Highness!”

Chi Yao, with his back to Shi Xing, simply waved his hand, “We’ll see.”

The talent assessment was held as scheduled.

Qualified matching candidates could make an appointment to observe the assessment with their Imperial ID.

The medical therapists from the Fifth Army and Seventh Army had come to treat Fei Chu. To show gratitude, Chi Yao invited the officers and therapists from both corps to watch the assessment together in his observation room.

Among them, Xiang He Ze from the Fifth Army was older, steady and competent, while Tan Yan from the Seventh Army was younger, talkative, and outgoing.

As the Blue Star humans entered, images appeared on the screen, and an officer selected a few Blue Star humans to introduce. Tan Yan directly asked, “Has the camera not yet captured Shi Xing?”

Officer: “He’s at the end of the line; when it comes to the individual tests, we’ll switch to him specifically.”

During the talent assessment, the matching bracelets of the Blue Star humans would be issued, and their scores would be recorded accordingly.

In Chi Yao’s line of sight, Shi Xing put the bracelet on the same side as his communicator.

The first test was of mental power strength, with real-time projection panels displaying the scores of the Blue Star humans in the venue and observer room.

Five were grouped together; Yu Man was in the first group, and Shi Xing was in the last.

Before long, the first group completed their tests, and among the top five, several achieved A-grade.

The Seventh Army therapist, Yun Wu, said with a smile, “The historical highest for this item was A, right?”

The Fifth Army therapist, Hua Li, confirmed, “Yes, because mental power growth relies on the mental sea; a Blue Star human’s mental sea only stabilizes after entering the maturity period. The mental power strength at this stage can’t be too high.”

Yun Wu teased, “Yes, this item is also widely recognized as the one that drags down the overall score.”

Shi Xing observed that Yu Man’s name preceded the A and was not surprised.

Before him, two to three others had also scored A, and seeing Shi Ran among them made Shi Xing smile.

Soon, it was his group’s turn.

Yu Man refused to move to the next test site, insisting on staying beside Shi Xing to guard against his results.

The moment Shi Xing’s face appeared on the screen, the previously silent Chi Yao spoke, “The third is Shi Xing.”

The officer realized he felt no shock at all; it was almost numb.

“He looks so young,” Tan Yan commented.

Xiang He Ze replied, “He’s over twenty.”

Tan Yan and Chi Yao’s thoughts aligned perfectly, “Still pretty young.”

Testing ended, and all the group had results, but Shi Xing’s instrument still flickered; realizing it was still calculating, the observation room fell silent as everyone held their breath in anticipation.

After a moment, the display jumped out with Shi Xing’s name, and following the item level was an unprecedented “S.”

In another observation room, Lu Lu stood up abruptly.

Yu Man froze for a moment, rubbing his eyes.

Chi Yao gazed at the “S” for two seconds, slowly curving his lips into a smile.

Now he was genuinely curious about the subsequent scores.