Chapter 81. Checking Aptitudes, and the Great Families’ Desire to Claim William
Xilan led William toward the central region of the Secret Realm, but their pace slowed considerably.
Every so often along the way, they passed a castle. Some had crumbling walls and knee-high weeds, clearly abandoned for many years.
Others, however, had soaring towers and fluttering banners, vibrant with life. William could even see lines of knights patrolling, their armor gleaming with a cold sheen beneath the sun.
The closer they got to the center, the denser the castles became.
From a distance, William saw a sprawling cluster of buildings centered around a magnificent main castle. Countless smaller castles surrounded it, linked to one another by covered bridges. It was obviously the product of expansion across generations, and it carried a heavy sense of history.
The moment they entered this area, Xilan descended and set William down on the ground.
“There’s a restriction here. Flying is forbidden. We’ll go in by carriage.”
He walked over to the knight guarding the gate. The moment the man recognized Xilan, he immediately bowed.
After giving a few quiet instructions, Xilan sent him off. Before long, a black carriage drawn by two snow-white horses rolled over, its body carved with the Royal Family’s distinctive vine crest.
Xilan motioned for William to get in. After telling the coachman their destination, he climbed in as well.
The carriage started forward at an unhurried pace. Its wheels crushed over the stone-paved road with a steady, weighty sound.
Seated inside, William lifted a corner of the curtain and looked outside.
Along the way, uniformed attendants moved back and forth between the castles. The air was faintly filled with Mana Fluctuation. Now and then, a few youths carrying longswords passed by, casting curious looks at the carriage, though none dared linger.
“These are all the descendants of the various families.”
Xilan’s voice drifted in from outside.
“The people living in the center of the Secret Realm are all figures of status and importance. There are a lot of rules here. Speak less and observe more.”
William nodded and let the curtain fall.
The carriage continued on, heading toward the grandest of the castles.
It finally came to a stop before the main castle. The massive iron gates slowly swung open, revealing a corridor laid with red carpeting inside.
Xilan jumped down first and motioned for William to follow.
The instant William stepped into the castle, he felt several gazes land on him—some curious, some appraising, and some carrying a trace of contempt that was not easy to detect.
Quite a few people stood on both sides of the hall, all of them finely dressed men and women. They were clearly the people in power within the various families, or at least their core members.
“Lord Xilan, this must be His Highness the Fourth Prince, yes? Truly a handsome and distinguished young man.”
A somewhat plump middle-aged man stepped forward, his face full of affable smiles, though there was little warmth in his eyes.
Xilan gave a bland nod. “That’s right. There is no need for formalities, Count York. We are here to choose candidates on Ancestor’s orders.”
The smile on Count York’s face stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned.
“Of course, of course. The children in the Secret Realm have all been waiting for His Highness’s selection. I only wonder where His Highness would like to begin?”
William said nothing. His gaze swept across the people in the hall. They all looked respectful on the surface, but each clearly harbored their own thoughts. In the way they looked at him, there was calculation—an attempt to judge whether he was the real thing.
As though he had not noticed the undercurrent at all, Xilan said directly, “We’ll start with your family.”
Count York laughed at that.
“We should begin with the Royal Family. If our families go first, that would be against protocol.”
Xilan glanced at Count York, his tone flat.
“We’ll do it my way.”
The smile had not yet left Count York’s face when an aged voice cut in.
The speaker was an old man with hair and beard as white as snow. He leaned on a gemstone-studded cane, and when his gaze swept over York, it carried unquestionable authority.
“York, since when is it your place to question Lord Xilan’s arrangements? I’d say you haven’t been beaten enough lately.”
Count York’s face darkened instantly, but he did not dare argue with the old man. He could only give a resentful snort and retreat into the crowd, though a flicker of bitterness passed through his eyes.
At Xilan’s order, a dense chorus of footsteps soon sounded from outside the castle.
First came a group of half-grown boys and girls filing in one after another, followed by even younger children. In the end, even infants cradled carefully in servants’ arms were brought in as well.
William clicked his tongue inwardly. There were far too many of them.
From toddlers barely able to walk to youths of fifteen or sixteen, the hall was packed shoulder to shoulder. In the end, even the doorway was full before the flow of people finally tapered off.
“Did they drag over every child of age in the entire clan?” William asked Xilan in a low voice, sounding helpless.
Xilan awkwardly rubbed his nose, clearly not having expected the York Family to pull something like this, but he still nodded to William.
“Just follow the procedure.”
He pointed at an ornate chair in the middle of the hall.
“Sit there. They’ll come up one by one. You only need to state their aptitude. There are people beside you to record it.”
William followed the direction of his finger and saw a long table beside the chair. Four people in clerk’s robes were already seated there, with thick parchment scrolls spread out before them.
Steadying himself, he walked over and took his seat.
His gaze swept across the dark mass of people before him. The children wore all kinds of expressions—curiosity, nervousness, and in some cases unwillingness, as they were shoved forward by their parents.
“Begin,” William said.
His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly through the entire hall.
The first one pushed forward was a boy of twelve or thirteen, dressed in an exquisite silk outer robe. Standing before William, he was so nervous that his palms had begun to sweat.
William focused his senses for a moment, then said calmly, “Knight, Silver Aptitude.”
One of the clerks immediately put pen to parchment.
A flash of disappointment crossed the boy’s father’s face, though he still pulled the child aside.
Then came the second, the third, and so on. Most had Silver Aptitude. Every now and then, one with Golden Aptitude or even Sky Aptitude appeared, and Count York’s face would show a trace of pride.
Then a servant carrying an infant stepped forward. After sensing carefully, William frowned.
“No Aptitude.”
The servant’s face turned pale at once, and he hurried away with the baby in his arms.
The York Family was obviously trying to play the odds through sheer numbers. Even if only one or two of them had outstanding aptitudes, they could still slip them into the list William would choose from.
Unfortunately, most of them were mediocre.
At that moment, a dark, skinny boy stepped forward. From the way the boy looked, it was obvious that life in the York Family had not treated him well.
The boy bit his lip and stood ramrod straight.
William looked at him and froze. A moment later, he lifted his eyes and said, “Knight, Domain Aptitude.”
The moment those words fell, a low wave of murmurs ran through the crowd.
Even Xilan raised a brow, clearly surprised.
The boy suddenly looked up. Shock flashed through his eyes, followed by wild disbelief and joy. His tightly clenched fists trembled faintly.
Count York’s face, however, sank instead, showing none of the joy one should have felt at the appearance of a clansman with Domain Aptitude.
“That bastard is actually Domain Aptitude. Then that adulterer must be...”
After the boy stepped away, William said, “Next.”
Time slipped by quietly as one figure after another came forward.
The aptitudes among the York Family’s descendants truly were impressive. More than half had Silver Aptitude, twenty or thirty had Golden Aptitude, and two even turned out to have Sky Aptitude, drawing repeated sideways glances from the members of the other families.
Then an infant wrapped in a brocade swaddle was brought before him, and William saw the halo of Domain Aptitude.
“Mage, Domain Aptitude,” he said in a deep voice.
Before the servant carrying the child could even bow, Count York rushed over like a gust of wind.
He carefully snatched the baby into his arms, the wrinkles on his face opening into a full blossom of joy. He planted several kisses on the infant’s pink, pudgy cheeks in a row.
Startled by the sudden burst of affection, the baby began to cry, kicking his little legs and babbling incoherently.
Only then did Count York restrain himself a little. He hurriedly handed the child back to the servant, his voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity.
“Watch him carefully for me. Give him the best milk and the finest cloth. If he loses even a single hair, you can go claim your own death!”
The servant was so frightened that his face turned white. He nodded frantically, then quickly carried the baby off toward the back hall, as though he were holding a priceless treasure.
The members of the other families present looked rather displeased. Some could not help curling their lips and muttering under their breath.
“What absurd luck...”
“It’s only one with Domain Aptitude. Look how pleased with himself he is.”
Their words were stiff, but they could not hide the envy in their eyes. Domain Aptitude was rare enough that one might not appear in a hundred years. It was enough to secure a family’s standing for three generations.
But even more of them were staring at William on the main seat.
This child really could see through a person’s aptitude.
Some of them had not believed it before, but now they did.
They might not be able to judge Sky Aptitude or Legendary Aptitude, but Silver Aptitude was still something they could recognize.
It could be said that as long as they had him, they would never lack powerful experts in the future. The look in their eyes gradually turned into naked possessiveness as they all stared at William.
Xilan noticed the crowd’s increasingly heated gazes and let out a cold snort. The aura of a Legend spread directly from him.
“What? Are you thinking of taking him for yourselves?”