Just then, a somewhat thin and weak-looking young girl timidly placed her small hand on the crystal.
The moment her hand touched the crystal, the crystal, which had originally only been emitting a faint glimmer, suddenly hummed and lit up!
A soft white light bloomed from within the crystal; though not intense, it was clearly visible!
"It lit up! The crystal lit up!"
A burst of exclamations erupted from the crowd.
Annia's eyes also suddenly brightened, and she walked quickly to the young girl's side.
"What is your name? What did you feel?"
The young girl looked at her somewhat fearfully and said in a low voice:
"I... my name is Aya."
"I felt... I felt like there were many warm little points of light inside the crystal."
Annia's heart skipped a beat!
This was a typical Light Element Affinity Constitution!
Although very faint, it was indeed a magical talent!
"Very good! Aya, you have passed the first test!"
A trace of a smile finally appeared on Annia's face.
"Go over there and wait for the second test."
This successful case was like a shot of adrenaline, making everyone cheer up again.
The subsequent tests went much more smoothly.
One after another, several more people made the crystal react.
Some lit up with a faint red light, some with blue, and some with an earthy yellow glow.
The first round of testing ended; out of more than five hundred testers, a total of fifteen people passed.
Although this proportion was still very low, at least it wasn't zero.
"Very well, now for the second test: the Mental Strength Intensity Test."
Annia led these fifteen people to another stone table.
On the table lay a larger, low-level magical beast crystal core brought back by Akomann's hunting team.
"This test requires you to concentrate and try to use your will to trigger the energy within the crystal core. Like this..."
As she spoke, Annia extended her finger and pointed into the air.
That magical beast crystal core trembled slightly, and a faint halo appeared on its surface.
The fifteen people stared with wide eyes.
"Wow..."
"Now, it's your turn, one by one."
The difficulty of this test was clearly much higher than the first.
Everyone took turns stepping forward, their faces turning red from the effort, but the crystal core remained motionless.
"Concentrate! Imagine your thoughts are a hand reaching out to touch it!"
Annia instructed sternly from the side.
Just then, the young girl named Aya stepped forward.
Following Annia's example, she closed her eyes, extended her small finger, and aimed it at the crystal core.
Everyone held their breath.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... the crystal core still had no reaction.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on the girl's forehead, and her face turned somewhat pale.
Is it still not working... Annia sighed in her heart.
However, just as she was about to tell Aya to give up, the magical beast crystal core suddenly shook gently!
Although the movement was small, it definitely moved!
"It moved! It moved!"
Another burst of exclamations followed.
Annia looked at Aya in surprise.
In her first attempt at mental guidance, she actually triggered the magical beast crystal core.
This was an excellent talent!
Her own perception of elements surpassed ordinary people, but even she had only been able to barely achieve this after several years of systematic education.
This girl named Aya was simply a piece of unpolished jade!
"A genius! This is definitely a genius!"
Annia was pleasantly surprised.
She suppressed her inner excitement and let the testing continue.
Ultimately, out of the fifteen people, only four, including Aya, successfully passed the second test.
One light element affinity, two fire elements, and one earth element.
These were the first batch of apprentices for the Black Rock Tribe's magic school.
"Congratulations, from today on, you are the first batch of Magic apprentices of the Black Rock Tribe."
Annia looked at the four people before her.
Just then, she suddenly felt a sensation in her heart.
Glancing not far away, Wu Liang was leaning against a tree, waving to her.
Annia's cheeks felt slightly hot.
Wu Liang watched all this, quite satisfied in his heart.
This girl Annia really had good capability.
In such a short time, she had set up the framework for the magic school and actually found a few good prospects.
Especially that girl named Aya; her talent was quite good.
[Ding! Detected that the Host's faction has unlocked a new profession: Magic apprentice. Tribe civilization progress accelerated!]
[Reward: magic technology tree unlocks a new branch—'Element Resonance Array' (Elementary)!]
[Element Resonance Array (Elementary): Can build a small magic array to slightly increase the concentration of specific elements within a designated area, accelerating the meditation efficiency of Magic apprentices and the growth of magic plants.]
Oh? An unexpected harvest?
Wu Liang looked at the system prompt, his mood greatly improved.
This Element Resonance Array came at just the right time.
With it, the teaching efficiency of the magic school could reach another level.
It seemed it was time to give Annia more responsibility and teach her some more advanced things.
He hooked his finger at Annia, signaling her to come over.
Seeing Wu Liang's summons, Annia immediately ran over and stood respectfully before him.
"Chief."
"Well done."
Wu Liang patted her shoulder.
"You must teach these four tribesmen diligently."
"Yes, I definitely will."
Annia nodded seriously.
"Just having apprentices isn't enough; we also need a better cultivation environment."
As Wu Liang spoke, he transmitted the blueprint for the Element Resonance Array he had just received to Annia through the system.
Annia's body trembled slightly as a vast and profound stream of information suddenly filled her mind.
She processed it for a moment, and a look of wild joy appeared on her face.
"This... this is... a magic array that can gather elements? Heavens! Chief, how... how did you..."
"There are many things I know how to do."
Wu Liang interrupted her.
"I'll leave the construction of this magic array to you."
"Whatever materials you need, report them directly to Florgloria."
"Yes!"
Seeing Annia full of drive, Wu Liang nodded in satisfaction.
The Great Prospecting Plan was proceeding in full swing.
Half a month later, the first batch of exciting news returned from the depths of the Great Desolate Mountain.
"Reporting to the Chief!"
A travel-worn scout rushed into the meeting room, kneeling on one knee, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Captain Sa Lan sent me to report urgently! In the Roaring Canyon three hundred miles to the east, we have discovered another massive open-pit coal mine!"
"According to preliminary prospecting, the reserves... the reserves are immeasurable!"
"What?!"
In the meeting room, all the Tribe high-level officials stood up abruptly, their faces filled with shock and wild joy.
An open-pit coal mine!
Immeasurable reserves!
Coal is the lifeblood of industry.
The coal mine reserves in Black Wind Valley were very substantial, but as the number of steam engines grew and the scale expanded, there were many more scenarios requiring coal.
And now, the discovery of this massive open-pit coal mine was great news!
"Good!"
Wu Liang also slapped the table and laughed loudly.
"Sa Lan did a great job! Pass my order: establish a permanent mining camp on-site for extraction, and set up transport stations and roads!"
"Yes!"
The scout took the order and left.
But this was only the beginning.
Over the next few days, good news flew back to the Tribe like snowflakes, one after another.
"Report! A large copper mine has been discovered on the edge of the Southern Swamp!"
"Report! Tin ore and lead-zinc associated ore have been discovered in the Gravel Mountains to the west!"
"Report! In..."
A huge map of the Great Desolate Mountain was quickly filled with various colored markers.
Iron, copper, coal, tin, lead, zinc... these minerals, which represented the industrial lifeblood in Wu Liang's eyes, were being found one by one.
The entire Black Rock Tribe was boiling with excitement.
Florgloria and Lolia were busy non-stop, coordinating mining teams composed of tribesmen and naturalized Roland captives.
Under the coordination of the logistics department, they were continuously sent to the various newly discovered mining areas.
While solving the resource problem, Wu Liang also set his sights on cleaner and more efficient energy.
His gaze fell on a winding blue line on the map.
That was a major river that ran through the Great Desolate Mountain.
"Suina, look here."
Wu Liang's finger pointed to the downstream of the Roaring Canyon, a stretch of the river where the mountains closed in and the current was swift.
"If boiling water can generate power, can the rushing river water also generate power?"