Infinite Potential System

The idea of his memories being scanned put William on edge. The idea that he was from a Mortal Realm belonging to an Ascended Cultivator was not inherently strange when compared to the other Magical things that took place in the Celestial Planes, but the System's existence was not worth revealing.

Not to mention, William had done quite a few... questionable things over the last few years. Things that might make the school consider him to be a threat.

I wonder what they would think of the Cultivators I have working in the mines. William pondered to himself.

-They probably wouldn't make it that far. I'd be surprised if anyone was willing to continue scanning your memories after your first ten years.

They have to check my memories from start to finish? William ignored the System's harsh comment.

-Depends on the Technique and strength of the Cultivator, but usually yes. It's a lot like the Dream Stealer Talent that you barely used.

"This is an outrage!" a round-faced male student yelled out as he pushed through the group. His nose was pointy, and a set of twenty tattoos lined one arm while the other was bare.

He pointed a shaky finger at the examiner, "You can't violate our privacy like this! We have personal Family matters that can't be revealed to just any person, much less someone like you!"

Enjoy new chapters from empire

Other students jumped in and argued with the boy, hoping to keep their Cultivation secrets and whatnot hidden from the rest. They even wanted to pull out communicators and contact their Families, but their functions were intentionally blocked so they couldn't cheat during the exam.

The exam proctor crossed his arms in front of him scanning each of the students that stood out one by one. Some of them had simply been roped into the outburst, but he could identify at least two or three whose unique aura seemed masked.

"Ardin Stardan, yet another lackey of the Riverveil Family. How much were you paid to come here?" the proctor said with narrowed eyes.

"What?" Ardin took a step back in shock. "I'm from the Trelius Family, we pay taxes and give out donations every year! You can't make us reveal our secret techniques as well!"

The exam proctor said nothing and pulled out a specialized communicator that wasn't disabled. A few hushed words were said, then a team of twenty guards rushed through the door and encircled Adrin and three other students hidden in the back.

"You four are under arrest for infiltrating the Filem Academy and plotting to kill off new talents." the guards said in unison as they closed in on the students.

Ardin and the rest released their full aura as hidden Deity Realm experts, then tried to resist the guards with their respective Magic. They isolated themselves with a massive Earth Dome, then created holes to launch precise Spells through while the others started to dig.

Before they could tunnel through the school and escape, though, the exam proctor spoke, "Vines restrain my targets."

A green blur flashed past William's eyes, dashing through the holes in the Earth Dome and restraining the four students inside. Their confused screams and nervous grunts rendered the rest of the onlookers silent, even William surprised by the proctor's efficiency.

The Earth Dome fell apart under the combined assault of the guards, revealing four cocoons that were sparsely covered in vibrant green leaves. Finally catching up to what happened, the students gasped in shock.

"Laws! He's using a Primary Law!"

"What? That's what that was? It was so fast!"

"Didn't you hear him speaking the command? That's clearly the Definition is Law Realm. He's actually fully comprehended the Plant Element, the standards of exam proctors here are so high!"

"My dad and uncle can use Primary Laws, he's not that great." someone jumped in.

The two looked at the third party at the same time. One of them said with a sneer, "Isn't your dad the son of your Family Head? Multiply our proctor by three and he can take out your Family's younger generation by himself!"

"Okay, fair, but still..."

"Still nothing! My family has five people that can use Primary Laws, but that doesn't make them any less impressive. Why don't you go over there and tell the proctor what you think?"

"Never mind..."

The proctor approached each of the four restrained "students" at this point and pulled the vines away from their heads, then poked at Ardin's forehead with his pointer finger.

Instead of stopping at the forehead, however, the proctor's finger passed right through the boy's skull, continuing forward until only the base of the first knuckle was visible. Ardin didn't make any noise during the finger's entry, but his eyes closed as soon as the proctor stopped moving.

Nothing happened for more than ten breaths, but no one else dared to make a move.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

What's going on? William asked the System.

-The proctor is battling with the student inside his Sea of Consciousness. If the proctor is successful, he will gain access to the student's mind and can scan his memories freely. If he fails, the proctor's consciousness will be kicked out and he will suffer a backlash.

What are his chances?

-The proctor or the student?

The student. Can someone at his level really withstand something like that? The proctor even knows how to use Laws.

-It all depends on the student's combined Mental Strength, Soul Strength, and support from their World. To effectively break into his memories, the proctor will need to have an overwhelming advantage.

All of that? Why not just Mental Strength? Also, how is Mental Strength different from Soul Strength?

-I can answer all of your questions with the same response for 1.5 million Potential Points.

Sure.

-You've already seen that the Sea of Consciousness houses many things, including your pool of Soul Strength, Mental Strength, your World, and others. Buried very deep and in a random area within your Sea of Consciousness are four things: your Identity, Experiences, Emotions, and Potential. All of these can change with time, but they are the very core of what you are.

-Think of it like a planet. Your Identity is the very core, protected by a mantle that is a combination of your Emotions, Experiences, and Potential. Further outward is the shell, which is your Mental Strength. For an Ascended Cultivator, it is your last line of defense.

-Further outward is your Soul Strength and your World. Your Soul Strength is like the atmosphere, which weakens an enemy attack before it reaches your Mental Strength. Within your Sea of Consciousness, this is the third line of defense.

-The second line of defense is an incarnation of your World, which will automatically target any foreign consciousness without a second thought. As your World grows, your defense will increase.

-The first line of defense is yourself. Most Techniques require one to physically touch their opponent to engage in a true Sea of Consciousness battle, while the Techniques you saw in the Mortal Realms were only viable because neither party had formed a Sea of Consciousness yet.

It was a long explanation, but William managed to understand it all without many issues. He only had a few questions.

What about me? Efretta is strong, but I also have two other Worlds. Will they attack one at a time or all at once? What happens if my Worlds are damaged? What will happen to the Cultivators and other humans inside the Worlds?

-They will all attack at once, but the brunt of the damage will be dealt to an incarnation of your strongest World. The other two will act as support. If your World is damaged, the amount of Mana you can channel into it will be reduced and Cultivators will find themselves more likely to enter Cultivation Deviation.

-That said, there won't be any other significant effects unless all your defenses are broken. If you die or lose your Cultivation, your Worlds will be destroyed, to include all of its inhabitants. This is why most Cultivators choose to conduct Sea of Consciousness battles only when they are truly confident or as a last resort.

William felt more pressure stack on top of him at that moment. If he didn't continue increasing his strength, failing a Sea of Consciousness battle would not only expose the System's existence, but also damage the potential of Cultivators that were still on Reius and Efretta.

The third World, Sunrise, was still incredibly small in size and couldn't host even single cell organisms, much less humans. It would be a very long time before it could grow to a point where it would be useful in battle, but the same should go for the rest of the young Ascended Cultivators.

Five minutes later, the exam proctor had successfully neutralized Ardin's Sea of Consciousness and gained access to his memories, confirming his and seven other students as spies from the Riverveil Faction.

The guards disabled each of the spies, destroying their Cultivation and bringing them back to their starting point, then escorted them through the doors and outside of the dimension.

When they were gone, the exam proctor turned to the rest of the group, "Alright, who's next?"