'Light and fire affinities are all but confirmed however I still need to see the degree of the affinity. Let's start with fire.' The inscription activates fully, beginning to fill the air with the chosen element. The affinity test has quite the simple concept, really. It measures the natural absorption of a cultivator's body, perfect for new initiates who do not yet have any control over their Qi.

What happens is that a set amount of elemental Qi is generated by the inscription. It waits for a while, then absorbs the Qi back into itself before measuring the difference. The less Qi that is absorbed back the higher the cultivator's affinity to that specific element.

And Kenki's attunement towards fire is…

'Forty percent, abysmal' disappointment spreads through Rinako's body, seeping deep into her bones. 'I will not be able to take him as a personal disciple, a lot of my techniques require at least a seventy percent attunement in both fire and light.' The thought of being able to train a natural cultivator had gotten the woman excited. It would have looked good on her, the achievements of personal disciple are considered the achievements of the master as well, and naturals are almost always high achievers.

It doesn't matter, whatever his main affinity is, she will be able to send him to one of her subordinates. This is the advantage of an Initiator, she can forge the documents, pick and choose what to do with the new blood to her heart's content.

"How is it? Did you feel the Qi entering your body, you did not try to fight it did you?" She asks the youth, to which he shakes his head in denial.

"Not at all, Master Cultivator. I wouldn't have even if I had the ability. It did not make me lightheaded, though"

'Right, I still have to figure out why the Qi in the outer sect is enough for him to get poisoned' She muses. "I will be moving on with the element of light, then. This will take a while since I have to test your affinity with every single element. Tell me if the symptoms of a poisoning return" there's a nod of affirmation from the side of the youth, to which Rinako turns on the inscription once more.

Elemental Qi floods in, some of it is consumed by the boy, the rest is reabsorbed back into the formation.

'Forty percent light affinity' Rinako writes that down impassively, her expectations now thoroughly curbed.

'Next, wind affinity.' Wind is the most common Qi in the outside world, closely followed by light Qi.

Qi floods, some is consumed, some is reabsorbed.

'Forty percent wind affinity.' She writes that down as well 'Three secondary affinities? All of them at exactly forty percent?'

"Wood affinity next" the Qi with the third highest presence in the outer sect.

Forty percent affinity.

'...' Rinako skeptically looks at the inscription, thinking something must be wrong with it. It has been a while since anyone had done any maintenance and she reasons that it is possible for the laws of the world to have shifted, rendering it useless.

'No, if the laws shifted there would have been an imperial notice sent to our sect. This is real, I can feel that he is consuming the Qi, it isn't just bouncing off of him' she moves on to the next element –Earth. Once more the formation releases the Qi. This time however Rinako keeps all her senses focused on the process in front of her, not letting a single miniscule detail escape her notice.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Rinako feels the concentration of Qi lower once the inscription has stopped pumping it out. A sign that is being absorbed, the speed of absorption is not fast, indicating the low affinity to the element. Then, after a set amount of time has passed, the earth Qi is reabsorbed back into the formation.

The woman looks at the result.

'Forty percent again' her astonishment is completely hidden, no outward reaction indicates what she's thinking. 'That's five affinities. This should be the limit, right? I've never heard of a cultivator with six elemental affinities. The most I've ever encountered in the decades working here is four, three of which were minor ones. But then again, I've also never heard of a cultivator with not a single affinity over fifty percent'

The inscription is swiftly tuned to the next element on the list…

.

.

.

=========================

Water, forty percent.

Frost, forty percent.

Darkness, forty percent.

Lightning, forty percent.

Poison..

Metal...

Sound...

"..."

Rinako's inner world was becoming more and more shaken with each subsequent test conducted. She'd broken into a cold sweat, long since having stopped writing the results.

'By the Emperor! What in the hells is wrong with this kid!? No wonder that he was getting drunk just by walking around the outer sect, he was absorbing all the elements at once!' Rinako felt like shouting out loud at the absurdity of the situation. If she did, even she herself wouldn't know if it would have been out of exasperation or out of joy.

'All of them, every single element of Qi that we are aware of, he has an affinity to every single one! The more esoteric ones like time and space as well, even if the affinity isn't large, in the later stages he will still be capable of seeing into the future and creating separate dimensions, and this massive fish has landed right into my lap!' Rinako’s mind was working on overdrive, thinking of ways to rope Kenki in as well as ways to keep his unique situation a secret to the rest of the sect.

'First of all, I need to take care of the most unstable factor in this equation, him'

The inexperienced twelve year old youth is at the most at risk of exposing his unique talent. Even if he desired to hide himself it's highly probable that he would still be found out.

And if word gets out, it's possible that the Patriarch of the sect will get involved. Rinako will not have that stand.

"Kaito" the woman's voice resounds through the room, causing the boy to perk up. He was bored, she could tell even through his attempt to hide it, a whole hour had passed after all.

"Yes" Ken stands at attention.

"You have a high affinity to fire and light as well as three other minor affinities. Those being wind, wood and earth." Rinako lies, this being the best way to keep him secure for now. More concrete measures can be implemented later.

"The reason for the poisoning is because, with the exception of fire, those are the most common elements in the world. Present almost anywhere. Normally it wouldn't pose a problem since your average cultivator only has one to three affinities. But with your affinities you're soaking up all of the Qi that you come across."

"Master Cultivator, weren't your own elements those of fire and light" Kenki respectfully questions with a bow. His actions make Rinako wonder if this is the first time that he's met a cultivator, his movements are practiced and smooth. Probably not when considering his status as a natural, but in the end she decides that it does not matter. What is important is that this boy is in front of her here and now.

"That is correct. And you will be appointed my personal disciple because of that very fact. It's not every day that a natural cultivator with my exact affinities enters this sect." Rinako says with an imperious tone, causing the boy to nod.

'Good. With him sorted I need to get all the other immediate threats out of the way' Rinako forges a new document while she thinks, having burned the previous one with such intense heat that not even the ashes remain. Actions that hadn't remained unnoticed by Kenki.

'There, this should satisfy whoever comes around to investigate. To someone not in the know this would look like I've used my status as 'Initiator' to rope in a natural cultivator. Not something unexpected from someone in my position, it would cause some trouble if exposed but it won't separate him from me. After some political back and forth I’ll just have to part with some resources and the matter will be done' Rinako stores the file in a drawer, satisfied with her work. Now all she needs to do is continue as if nothing had happened.

'The urchins still need to pass the Trial of the Mind–or the Trial of Initiation–as those hateful cats call it.'

A majority of them will die, it is just a simple fact, but those that survive will no longer be mere beggars.

'Oh, right. I nearly forgot'

A piece of enchantment paper is pulled out of Rinako's storage space, she scribbles a quick set of runes on its surface.

"Here" She sticks the freshly made talisman on Kenki's forehead "This will take care of your problem for now, do not remove it."