fifty-three.

This was the number of grains of sand Bran Ai had accumulated thus far.

To understand this number we have to look at a spirit or spiritual stones worth in terms of grains of sand.

In general without any sort of cultivation technique like the special meditation done by all the children in this case, one who has activated their spiritual roots will gather spiritual energy at a rate of one to ten grains of sand passively throughout the week.

This number being only a generalization rather then the set amount one can gain.

The cultivation technique they currently have does not create more pathways from which the energy enters, instead it creates a sort of zone around them that attracts the surrounding energy toward each kid.

It being the most basic of basics, it has little to no negatives for the children or anyone else that may be eligible to practice it.

Meaning if a kid diligently cultivated daily they could earn anywhere from twenty to forty grains of sand in a seven day period, given they practice for two hours daily.

This would be without any additional support like the soup given to the kids daily.

Most of the energy from that initial spiritual stone having been consumed by the activation of the each kids spiritual roots and veins, it did not factor in to Bran Ais current fifty-three grains of sand.

This activation generally was not needed, the kids could have activated their own spiritual roots given enough time to gather energy.

A single low quality spirit stone like the one the children had been given on the second day they arrived would amount to two-hundred and fifty grains of sand, this single spiritual stone would save twenty-nine or more days of time to a lazy cultivator or in this case about a months worth of time.

Bran Ai was in general a little below average in this case.

This was not his fault, he had been trapped inside the vine cocoon for six days unable to cultivate like everyone else.

Considering that, he was a rather good spot for not having cultivated at all.

Why was this? Was he more talented then others? No, He simply had luck.

That flower had been gathering energy from the surroundings for years turning it into a liquid that could be consumed in order to attract potential prey, Bran Ai had stolen the flowers hard work by simply surviving the encounter.

Considering this energy would only amount to sevens days worth of energy, it wasn't much.

One fifth of a spiritual stone, that was all the energy Bran Ai held was worth.

To the spectators watching, anyone below fifty grains of sand was considered a waste.

Bran Ai had escaped the worst outcome for his future by a small margin.

"Shame, so many have dropped out already. Maybe the sect master made the correct choice by bringing in all those babies earlier" hovering above the air one of the elders that had participated in the meeting a week earlier watched with disappointment.

"No matter, even waste can have its use"

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This was elder Qez, the one in charge of the golden city expedition.

"We have passed the sixty mark, these can be considered as worthy of taking in"

Kiara watched the final grain of sand leave her body 'How many is that? Is this enough?'

The small pile of sand above her had reached sixty-four grains, what could be considered a good number for those who had just began cultivating.

She was one of the few here who knew the exact number needed to be considered as having 'passed', the only hiccup being that she did not know how to count to sixty.

Everything above sixty was a good prospect regardless of how long the next phase of the test takes.

"The little one with the braids, I want her in my department"

"The chubby little one has a similar look to me, I will take him as a disciple no one objects right?"

"I want to take that one, but his elements aren't similar to mine at all. I will pass him onto you then"

Each of these spectators had their own requirements in a disciple, some might want one similar to them in every way to teach them everything they have learned with less effort.

They wanted this not only so that it would be easier to teach them but also so that they can observe from a spectators view how they cultivated in the past.

Through this method they might find errors that they may have done in the past and correct them.

Any errors they personally may have done in the past would also be more apparent to them.

This way both the child and mentor would be continually improving on what may have otherwise been a flawed technique.

Other's might want the complete opposite of them, they would watch and observe as the student trains so that they might gain something from it.

"This one is about to reach seventy grains, If he can I will take him in" this guy gestured towards Man-shik.

"Hmph, you aren't the only one interested in him" another one said.

"Same here" one more behind them perked up.

Three people all looked at each other with a little hostility.

"I guess we will have to see who can offer him more"

"So it seems"

Kao sighed in his heart.

So far everything was going as expected.

Over eighty kids had dropped out already, every moment another joining them feeling sick to their stomach.

The number of kids dropping out had started to increase while the number of grains of sand had not really changed much.

'Given a couple more grains of sand a good twenty will probably drop out'

Just as he had thought that fifteen children all recoiled at once.

'Ah I guess they are a little worse still'

"Our boy is still in it, this is not good master! The longer he last's the harder it will be for us to take him" the elder man who commented about the boy interested in formations in panicked.

His master knew this as well.

The more potential one showed the more others would be interested.

"Don't worry, even if he can reach eighty grains nothing is guaranteed yet. The second test is the most important for those above seventy grains"

An old man among the crowd laughed "Generally one would want for the future disciple to do well, how can you call yourself a good potential master if you wish him ill?"

"I wish no ill will upon him, It's just that I don't wish for him to attract to much attention is all" The old master knew this old man, neither giving a bad reaction or good one.

Man-Shik felt good right now, half of the kids sat down unable to stand anymore leaving him as part of the group staring down at them.

'The teacher said that this really didn't matter all that much but how could that be true?' he had his own thoughts into the current situation.

'Kiara lasted only this much, the skinny one lasted even less, only Kao and me are still standing. Guess it was pointless to share my food with them, well I guess they can still be my followers'

Man-Shik had a good intuition into the situation, he could feel that his current state had surpassed what was expected of him.

Kids started to fall like flies now as the number passed seventy and entered the eighties.

"We have passed the eighty mark only forty-nine remain, from this point on it will all depend on the second test"

"Mmm, those still standing have already successfully entered the second stage of Qi gathering. We can't accurately judge anymore"

Many kids as aforementioned had come from cultivation families, meaning they had one or more generations of parents born into the cultivation world.

Unlike orphans or the kids recruited from the outside they had already achieved a certain level of cultivation.

Not only that but some children may start gathering Qi even in the womb, how can one give a proper assessment with a single test?

The first test was more for the children to see where they stand.

It impacted the kids from outside the sect more then those born inside, a good score here would elevate them in the eyes' of others.

The following test would be would give a more accurate read into the children's potential.

"Once we pass 90 the first test will be concluded" Aakriti spoke at this instance.

The spectators approved of this while the kids breathed a sigh of relief.

Kao and Man-shik looked fairly well neither breathing hard in the least.