"What's happening?" "Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
People were whispering like crazy among themselves; they were not wrong either, no one expected such a thing.
"So beauty alone doesn't do the trick!"
The Third Elder sprawled comfortably in his seat; although ten seconds had passed since the young and beautiful girl took the stage, not even the first level had lit up yet.
Despite this, Nora was calm; her gaze was turned to a single point, to the stand where the Black Lilies were. The trial period was determined between ten and fifteen seconds, and the supervisor, seeing there was no need to wait anymore, was about to open his mouth.
He involuntarily wanted to wait one more second; later when he thought about it, he would understand that this was the best decision he made in his life.
At the thirteenth second, five levels lit up all at once without showing any signs, as if someone commanded them to burn.
"Passed! Bloody Moon Nora, five blood stars!"
This event was unheard of; the difference between each level was huge. Even if only a single digit played, in reality, there would be a distance as big as an unbridgeable chasm between the blood compatibilities of two people.
Five blood stars were the sign that the person would become a great expert on blood techniques in the future; compared to the four stars qualified as talented, their seniority was unique.
As for six stars, it corresponded to a legendary level; no one other than the previous Sheikhs could reach it. Achieving this success in a generation would be a priceless treasure for the Sect, and these people would be raised to become the future Sheikh.
"Wow, Second, did you transfer all your resources to this fiefdom?"
The remaining eyebrows of the harsh-looking man who heard the question furrowed; was the Sheikh this unaware of the situation?
"I wish; when our resources are barely enough for ourselves, we haven't been able to give anything to anyone for years. The Bloody Moon Fiefdom is one of them too, but what is really interesting is that they raised these two gems even though they didn't beg from others like the rest!"
The Third Elder had turned crimson; the stone had hit exactly his head as a member of one of those declaring their independence de facto.
"Interesting, very interesting! This girl's talent is as extraordinary as her beauty!"
The handsome man wetting his lips with his tongue buried himself in drink and women again; his interest in the selections was flashing and fading like a straw fire.
Antuan stepped forward; two members of his clan were left under a fiefdom that could barely take its last breaths, he had the burden of this shame on his shoulders.
The first three levels lit up immediately; the fourth followed them five seconds later. He had reached the fourth level before ten seconds passed; at another time, the young man should have drowned under a flood of interest, but the events before him had made this impossible.
The images of the boy in white illuminating the fifth level rapidly and the girl illuminating five levels all at once in an instant were preserving their freshness in memories.
Veins on his forehead became prominent; Antuan was pushing himself to his last limits.
At the fifteenth second, the fifth level lit up with a dim light; everyone saw there was a light, but unlike the other two, it was faint as if covered with a curtain.
"Passed, Bloody Star Antuan, five blood stars!"
Not much sound came out except for the community brought by the clan; the eyes of everyone on the platforms where the other nine clans were were on the young man at the head of the adjacent line.
Ranking happened according to hierarchy, and if this person was coming after two five-star holders, he was definitely someone to be watched.
"Wait a minute!"
As the Third Elder leaped from his place, he appeared next to the stone where Jashua would be tested; seeing him, the official would bow with respect.
"Today young heroes are like mushrooms sprouting from the ground; I want to come and witness this closely!"
Completing his words, he signaled with his hand for the official at the head of the stone to go; after previous results, he thought the Bloody Moon Fiefdom was cheating.
"Next!"
The Third spoke as if unaware of who would come; this move caused laughter to rise from the section where the clans were.
This time the Second Elder did not intervene; representatives of the supposedly bound clans mocked the charade happening to their hearts' content.
"My registration stone, here you go!"
When Jashua came to his side, the Third had to lift his head to look at him; he was taller than standard, but next to this young boy, he had to feel short.
Jashua pressed his large claw-like hands onto the stone with fury; before a breath's time passed, the first level lit up. Two seconds later, the second level was blood red; in total, only three seconds had passed.
Another three seconds later, the third level also lit up; four seconds more passed and the fourth, five seconds more passed on top of the total time and the fifth level lit up.
"It's over!"
Thereupon the Third shouted harshly; the fifteen-second time limit had expired, but the young man wasn't pulling his hand from the stone.
"Continue!"
Just as the Third Elder, undertaking the role of supervisor, was about to take action, a roar was heard; the sound coming from where the Sect Leader was ensured that everyone in its path fell flat on their faces.
When the sound reached the platform, all attention turned there, and people witnessed a scene they might see only once in their lives.
The swarthy young man standing at the head of the stone had illuminated the sixth level; and how, the Blood Crystal was emitting a red light that would blind eyes.
His hand was still on the stone, but his eyes remained fixed on the Third Elder who would announce the result.
"Passed, Bloody Moon Jashua, six blood stars!"
The thin man stuttered three times while saying passed; he had come here to prevent a cheat, but what he did right now was no different from spitting in his own face.
"Not Bloody Moon Jashua, Count Jashua of the Bloody Moon Fiefdom!"
After pulling his hand from the stone, the broad-shouldered young man spoke in a tone everyone could hear; his gaze swept the crowd gathered in the wide square rapidly.
Then he turned his back and started walking; the breath of people witnessing something that would happen once in a hundred years was taken away.
"What kind of secret is there in these Bloody Moon lands!"
"My Lord, we searched roughly for years, we cut and chopped, we found nothing!"
This was the common topic of conversations continuing in the stands belonging to the clans; the lands where two striking figures, mother and daughter, came out continued to surprise them with their new crops too.
"He couldn't succeed on time, why did they count it valid!"
"The Third Elder announced the result; how did he accept this as the sole responsible for internal affairs?"
Among the crowd, a completely different topic was being discussed; they were aware that the fifteen-second time allocated for each contestant had passed, but the Sheikh immersed in pleasure had ordered to continue.
"Ignorant people, they are not aware of anything!"
"The kid literally flexed his muscles; he illuminated each level exactly after the second mentioned in its name!"
"I am afraid he could illuminate all six levels at the same time if he wanted!"
The answer to the voices rising from within the community was finding a response where the clans were; the interest of all of them turned to the same person, to Jashua descending from the platform with calm steps.
"My Sheikh, I think Bloody Moon participants mixed cheating into the business!"
As soon as the Third Elder returned to his place, he would start his attempt at sedition; he wanted to get out of the funny situation he fell into a moment ago by using the Leader of the Holy Blood Sect.
"I chose you because of the sharpness of your eyes, but I guess there are some times when you are blind too!"
"Turn your head to the Blood Crystal you stood next to a moment ago!"
The Third saw a response he never expected; previously he could solve many problems using the handsome man fond of pleasure.
Now he had curiosity on two subjects; the first was the Bloody Moon youths, and the second was the changing attitude of the Sheikh he thought he had in the palm of his hand.
Fortunately, he would get the answer to one in a short time because the moment Jashua returned to his place, first a thin crack appeared on the giant Blood Stone where the Blood Compatibility test was conducted, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered into pieces with a loud noise.