Test for Spirit Roots First

Shen Jingchuan didn't immediately agree. He turned to Elder Yang and smiled, "Elder Yang, what do you think?"

Elder Yang, holding his teacup, pretended not to understand, looking completely bewildered. "Young Friend Shen, what you're saying... what do you mean by that?"

Shen Jingchuan chuckled inwardly, but didn't reveal his thoughts. He simply said slowly, "Your precious granddaughter says she wants to learn martial arts from me and wants to be my disciple."

Elder Yang then pretended to have just found out, his eyes lighting up as he exclaimed happily, "That's great!"

"I don't expect her to learn all your skills. Even if she learns just a little bit, just the basics, that would be enough."

"I just don't know if this will be too much trouble for you Young Friend Shen, or put you in a difficult position."

Shen Jingchuan feigned helplessness and waved his hand. "Since you've put it this way, how can I possibly disagree?"

Yang Xiao was quick-witted. Upon hearing this, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed respectfully.

"Master, please accept my bow!"

Shen Jingchuan couldn't directly reach out to help, so he secretly channeled his Spiritual Power and gently lifted the person up steadily.

"Wait, where did you learn this whole apprenticeship ritual?"

Yang Xiao felt an unknown force lifting him up. His master was amazing; what kind of skill was this?

She was determined to become his disciple. Standing up straight, she declared confidently, "I don't know either. Isn't that how it's always like this in TV dramas when someone becomes a disciple?"

"Oh right, shouldn't there be a formal apprenticeship gift? I'll ask my dad to prepare a proper one."

Her eyes darted around, and she ran over to Elder Yang, hooking her arm around his and pleading, "Grandpa, what good things do you have? Please take them out and help your precious granddaughter out. I finally managed to get this opportunity!"

Wang Lezhi, who was talking to her brother, hadn't noticed this side until she looked up and saw that Yang Xiao had already bowed, and she immediately understood.

She jumped up and rushed to Shen Jingchuan in a few steps.

"Brother Shen, you can't be biased! If you take her in, you have to take me in too."

"I'm graduating this year. I'm a member of the school's martial arts association, and I even won a prize in last year's women's martial arts competition for universities in Capital."

Yang Xiao scoffed from the side, showing no mercy. "Your skills are all show and no substance, all style and no substance. I can take you down in less than three moves, believe it or not?"

Wang Lezhi stiffened his neck and retorted, "Tch, stop bragging. We've fought before, I was just too embarrassed to use my full strength. If you're so tough, let's have another match, who's afraid of who?"

The boys, though too shy to act like the two girls, kept their eyes on them, their expressions revealing a hint of interest.

Yang Siqi remained seated. She had no interest in learning martial arts, but she couldn't help but think about how prestigious it would be to have such a master.

However, she knew her own nature and couldn't endure that hardship, so she only thought about it.

Elder Wang, standing to the side, saw his granddaughter rush forward and nodded to himself, thinking, "This girl isn't stupid." He then spoke up.

"Young Friend Shen, it's the same whether you bring one or two. Lezhi, that girl, has the same temperament as Xiao'er; they've loved martial arts since they were little, and they always get together to spar."

"I'll swallow my pride; this apprenticeship ceremony will be extravagant."

Looking at the grandson he had brought, Elder Li sighed inwardly. His family's entire generation was full of bald boys, and his only granddaughter had long since married.

His grandson, Li Zhixing, chimed in, his tone sincere. "Mr. Shen, I don't ask to learn anything; I'd be content just to run errands for you."

"If we are destined to meet, I would benefit immensely from even a simple pointer from you."

Seeing that the matter was escalating, Shen Jingchuan decided to test their Spirit Roots first. Whether they were destined to be together depended entirely on luck, and not all of them were necessarily compatible.

He took a Spirit Testing Stone from his Ring and gently placed it on the table.

All eyes turned to them, and no one spoke.

Shen Jingchuan slowly said, "The Cultivation Method I practice can be understood as Daoist Qi Refining, not ordinary martial arts."

"But not just anyone can cultivate this Cultivation Method. First, you must have Spirit Roots."

The older men were completely confused, while the younger ones seemed to understand but not quite.

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up, and he asked first, "Master, what you're talking about, could it be cultivating immortality?"

Shen Jingchuan waved his hand. "It's too early for you to call me master. Let's test you first. Without Spirit Roots, I can't take you in even if I wanted to."

Yang Xiao asked anxiously, "Brother Shen, how do we test it?"

"Place your hands on the stone, relax, and don't think about anything."

Yang Xiao did as instructed, placing his hand on the Spirit Testing Stone and holding his breath.

After waiting for a while, the stone didn't move at all.

Shen Jingchuan, however, focused his Divine Sense and examined it carefully.

Others couldn't see it, but he could see it clearly: a faint spiritual light flowed deep within the stone, hidden extremely well— Yang Xiao possessed Spirit Root, a Hidden Spirit Root.

He suddenly hesitated.

If I really want to teach her, I have to open up her Spirit Vein first, which will inevitably involve physical contact.

Meng Ke's affair was already enough to give him a major headache. He knew his own problem: he couldn't refuse, he couldn't say no. If he got involved with another one, there might really be no turning back on Meng Ke.

This time, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and decided to learn to say no.

So, without changing his expression, he calmly said, "It seems you're not destined for this."

Yang Xiao's anticipation vanished instantly. She slumped into her chair, muttering, "This... this stone, is it accurate?"

Shen Jingchuan said, "Very accurate, there's no mistake."

Wang Lezhi, refusing to believe it, immediately rushed over, shouting, "Brother Shen, I'll do it!"

She placed her hand on it and waited for a long time, but the Spirit Testing Stone still did not react.

The boys couldn't contain themselves any longer and crowded around, asking, "Mr. Shen, can we try too?"

Shen Jingchuan thought to himself, "It wouldn't hurt to take on a male disciple," and nodded. "Come on. But you must be prepared; those with Spirit Roots are extremely rare."

Yang Wei said, "There's no harm in trying. What if it works? I'll go first."

He was the first to place his hand on it, but there was no response. He tried the others in succession, and the result was the same; none of them had any Hidden Spirit Roots.

In the end, only Yang Siqi remained.

Seeing that no one else had tested positive, she didn't want to join in the fun, but all eyes were on her.

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I... I think I'll pass the test."

"None of you have Spirit Roots, and I certainly don't either. Besides, I'm really not interested in this; I'm a researcher... I don't like it..."