Spiritual Root Assessment Ceremony Champion, Hundredfold Critical Hit

The blazing sun hung high, scorching like fire.

Red Maple Valley, White Stone Town.

The annual Spiritual Root Assessment Ceremony had arrived as scheduled.

A vast sea of Mortals gathered around the outskirts of the enormous square at the town center. Their gazes were all fixed on the middle of the square, and none of them even dared to breathe loudly.

Because an Immortal Master from the valley was testing the spiritual roots of the town's eligible young men there.

"Qi Chuan, Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root."

In the center of the square, seeing that the results for this batch of young men had come out, the Immortal Master spoke indifferently, his voice echoing in every direction.

At those words, the crowd around the square stirred, and low cries rang out.

Because they all knew that possessing a spiritual root meant one could cultivate immortality.

From this day onward, this young man named Qi Chuan could cast off his Mortal identity and become one of those lofty Immortal Masters.

They had once been given the same opportunity. They had also attended the Spiritual Root Assessment Ceremony at the age of ten, but unfortunately, their bodies had failed to live up to expectations. Spiritual roots were not something just anyone could possess.

They could only remain in White Stone Town for the rest of their lives, bear more children, and hope that one of their juniors would possess a spiritual root.

"I... I actually have a spiritual root!"

At the same time, within the Spirit-Testing Array at the center of the square, a delicate-looking young man opened his eyes amid the faint glow surrounding him. He muttered to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief and delight.

The young man was named Qi Chuan. He had not originally belonged to this world, but had come from an azure planet. He had been an online novelist who stayed up day after day writing, until he finally died suddenly from overwork. Ten years ago, he had transmigrated here and been born in a Mortal Town belonging to the Qi Family of Red Maple Valley, a Cultivation Family.

Ever since learning that this was a Xianxia world, Qi Chuan had longed to cultivate immortality and live forever.

But the odds of possessing a spiritual root were far too low. Among ordinary Mortals, it was one in ten thousand.

Although he was a member of the Qi Family and had cultivator blood flowing through his veins, making his chances somewhat higher—perhaps around one percent—the hope was still slim.

Thus, ever since transmigrating ten years ago, Qi Chuan had always felt uneasy. Did he truly possess a spiritual root or not?

If he did not, then he would remain a Mortal for his entire life.

Of course, even as a Mortal, under the protection of the Qi Family's cultivators, he could live out his life safely so long as nothing unexpected happened—marry, have children, and finally die of illness.

But that was never what Qi Chuan wanted.

Fortunately, perhaps as a transmigrator, he possessed a thread of fortune ordained by the heavens. He would not be so unlucky as to lack even a spiritual root.

"Still, isn't this Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root a little too low?"

As Qi Chuan understood it, spiritual roots were divided into nine grades. Grades one through three were high, grades four through six were middle, and grades seven through nine were low.

An Eighth-grade Spiritual Root was not the very worst spiritual root, but it was close enough.

It did not quite match his identity as a transmigrator.

As a transmigrator, should he not have tested as having a First-grade Spiritual Root, stunned the entire crowd, seized first place in the Spiritual Root Assessment Ceremony, then cultivated immortality with smooth sailing all the way to the peak of the Great Dao?

There had to be something wrong with this Spirit-Testing Array...

"Forget it. Eighth grade it is. At least I can cultivate immortality. As long as I'm a little luckier, pick up a few more fortuitous opportunities or something, immortality won't be a problem."

Qi Chuan ended his daydreaming and accepted reality.

But right then, a line of words slowly emerged before his eyes.

Hundredfold Critical Hit loading: 0%

"This is..."

Qi Chuan froze at the sight.

The next moment, the number in the words jumped again.

Hundredfold Critical Hit loading: 1%

"So it's a Golden Finger..."

After a moment, Qi Chuan came to his senses and smiled faintly.

As everyone knew, transmigrators came with Golden Fingers—except for the unlucky ones.

A Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root did not match his identity as a transmigrator, but adding this Golden Finger into the mix made it a perfect match.

With a Golden Finger, immortality was within reach!

"Still, this Golden Finger needs some time to load. Hundredfold Critical Hit... Hm, I wonder what kind of Golden Finger it'll turn out to be?"

Qi Chuan felt rather curious.

He hoped it would be a better sort of Golden Finger, preferably one that would let him lie flat like a salted fish. He did not want to go outside and fight to the death. After all, the dangers of the Cultivation World were famous far and wide.

He looked at the loading progress. It jumped once every so often, and it was moving quickly. It probably would not even take half a day to finish loading. Then he would know the Golden Finger's effect.

Thus, Qi Chuan set his mind at ease.

Then, he turned his gaze toward the Spirit-Testing Array.

The Spirit-Testing Array was not very large. The area at its center actually used for testing could hold only a few people at a time.

There were two others beside Qi Chuan at the moment. Both looked around ten years old, and both wore dejected expressions.

The faint glow around Qi Chuan was gradually fading, while there was no movement at all around the other two. Could it be that they had no spiritual roots?

"Qi Chuan stays. You two, leave."

Sure enough, not far from the array, the Qi Family Immortal Master stood with his hands behind his back in Daoist robes and spoke coldly, declaring the fate of the two.

The two did not dare disobey. They respectfully bowed, then departed in a daze.

Qi Chuan, meanwhile, walked out of the array and stood to one side.

He was not among the first batch tested. Another dark-skinned young man was already standing there.

"Brother, hello. You have a spiritual root too, right?"

Seeing this, Qi Chuan cupped his hands and asked curiously.

"Clan Brother, I am Qi Li. I only have a Lower Ninth-grade Spiritual Root, far inferior to Clan Brother's Eighth-grade Spiritual Root. As fellow Qi Family disciples, I hope Clan Brother will look after me in the future."

Qi Li solemnly returned the salute, immediately addressing Qi Chuan as Clan Brother. A trace of envy showed in his eyes.

"Uh... I'm Qi Chuan. Sure, sure. We'll look after each other."

Qi Chuan hesitated. There was not much difference between eighth and ninth grade, was there? Besides, they were both ten years old. Who was older and who was younger was still unknown.

Afterward, the two said nothing and stood there awkwardly.

The Spirit-Testing Array continued operating, testing three people at a time. The Immortal Master's voice occasionally sounded out.

"No spiritual roots. All of you, leave."

"All of you, leave."

"All of you, leave."

"Lower Ninth-grade Spiritual Root. You may stay."

"Clan Brothers, I am Qi Huo. Lower Ninth-grade Spiritual Root. As fellow Qi Family disciples, I hope Clan Brothers will look after me in the future."

Soon, another black-robed young man walked out of the array and cupped his hands toward Qi Chuan and Qi Li.

"Qi Li, Lower Ninth-grade Spiritual Root. We'll look after each other." Qi Li glanced at Qi Huo and raised his hand in return.

"Sure, sure. I only have a Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root myself. Eighth or ninth grade, they're all the same. We'll look after each other from now on." Naturally, Qi Chuan returned the salute as well.

"So Clan Brother has an Eighth-grade Spiritual Root!"

Hearing that, Qi Huo looked at Qi Chuan in surprise. Then he nodded and walked aside to stand there.

At this point, Qi Li and Qi Huo stood on Qi Chuan's left and right. At a glance, they strangely gave off the faint impression of treating him as their leader.

Qi Chuan stood with his hands at his sides, swept his gaze left and right, and immediately felt a little uncomfortable.

In the peril-ridden Cultivation World, standing out too much was no good thing. As the old saying went, the tree that rises above the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

So he furrowed his brow and quietly took two steps back, retreating behind the two.

Given the size of White Stone Town, at most one or two hundred ten-year-old children participated each year. With three tested at a time, the testing was quickly finished.

Another four people emerged from the array in succession, both boys and girls, and all of them had Lower Ninth-grade Spiritual Roots.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the four stood to one side. Together with Qi Li and Qi Huo, they faintly formed a cluster around Qi Chuan.

"What kind of Seven Star Formation is this?!"

Qi Chuan looked at how he had been surrounded in a circle, with nowhere left to retreat, and felt utterly speechless.

He had originally thought that his Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root was already terrible. With so many people being tested at the ceremony, a few better spiritual roots could easily crush him.

Yet who would have thought that he had actually taken first place!

"Congratulations, Clan Brother Qi Chuan, on winning the Spiritual Root Assessment Ceremony! If you become rich and powerful, don't forget us!" Qi Li could not help but congratulate him, as though the words came straight from his heart.

"Congratulations, Clan Brother Qi Chuan, on winning the Spiritual Root Assessment Ceremony! If you become rich and powerful, don't forget us!"

Hearing this, Qi Huo's heart tightened. Unwilling to be outdone, he echoed him.

Seeing this, the remaining four exchanged glances, then immediately voiced the same congratulations to Qi Chuan.

Qi Chuan fell silent, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

Were these people perhaps a little abnormal in the head?

He looked around, hoping only that another Immortal Seedling would appear. Even a Lower Seventh-grade Spiritual Root would do, as long as it stole the limelight from him.

But the testing had already ended, so naturally, no more Immortal Seedlings could be found.

"Ah, I really am just too outstanding..."

Qi Chuan could not help sighing as he accepted reality.

Not far away, the Immortal Master had already withdrawn the formation. He then looked toward Qi Chuan and the other seven, and it was impossible to tell whether there was joy or a sigh in his eyes.

If one said the results were poor, this year's spiritual root testing in White Stone Town had produced seven Cultivation Seedlings. The ratio was quite good, one of the best across all previous years.

If one said the results were good, all of them had Lower Ninth-grade Spiritual Roots, save for a single Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root.

Those with greater authority in the family had long since secretly tested their juniors' spiritual roots early on, bringing anyone with spiritual roots into the valley's Main Vein for cultivation.

There were also some who displayed especially unusual traits in childhood and had a relatively high chance of possessing spiritual roots. Once reported, they too were tested earlier.

But in the end, they were still far too poor. There was not even a single Lower Seventh-grade Spiritual Root among them.

The chances of these people even reaching the middle or late stages of Qi Refining were likely slim, were they not?