Wang Hong spent the day wandering the streets. When he returned to the courtyard he rented, he gathered everyone together. He took a circular artifact from his storage bag and announced loudly, "This is called a Spirit Sensing Disc. It can test spirit roots and their attributes. I suppose all of you have long wanted to test your own spirit roots. Now, line up and come one at a time."
Everyone below cheered at once. Everything they had seen and heard over the past three months had filled them with yearning for the many marvels of the cultivation world.
Testing one's spirit roots cost ten Spirit Stones. To ordinary mortals, that was simply an astronomical sum. If they had possessed enough Spirit Stones, they would have gone to test themselves long ago.
Yet today, the general had actually bought a Spirit Sensing Disc specifically for them. They could not help but sigh that they had followed the right man, and they eagerly formed a long queue.
All of them hoped they possessed exceptional spirit roots, so that one day they could attain the Great Dao, fly through the skies, burrow through the earth, move mountains, overturn seas, and become capable of anything.
But ideals were plump while reality was bony. Wen Lan was the first to test herself. The Spirit Sensing Disc showed no reaction at all. She had no spirit roots, and she withdrew to the side like a deflated ball.
Xu Lun was second, but the Spirit Sensing Disc still did not react. Luo Zhongjie was third, and there was still nothing. Just as everyone began to suspect that the Spirit Sensing Disc was broken—
The fourth person, Zhang Chunfeng, placed his hand upon it, and the Spirit Sensing Disc unexpectedly emitted three colors: red, yellow, and white.
Wang Hong's eyelid twitched. There was actually someone with Three Spiritual Roots. Back at Qingyang Academy, among so many people, aside from Wang Yi's Heavenly Spiritual Root, only one person with Three Spiritual Roots had appeared. It was not outstanding, but it still counted as average aptitude.
They continued testing more than twenty people, all of whom had no spirit roots. Then, with the twenty-seventh person, another individual with Four Spiritual Roots appeared. There were no more after that.
Out of a total of forty-five people, two possessed spirit roots. Their luck could already be considered quite good.
Wang Hong looked at the dejected faces below and said, "Do you feel disappointed? Before coming to Qingxu City, weren't you all living quite comfortably too? You ate when you should eat and slept when you should sleep.
"So what if you're mortals? There are countless mortals under heaven, and they can live equally brilliant lives, creating civilizations of dazzling splendor. Just a few days ago, a Qi Refining Layer Four cultivator was stabbed into a hedgehog by your spears. Cultivators are nothing remarkable either."
"Martial artists and cultivators are simply two different paths of cultivation. Cultivators absorb spiritual energy through spirit roots, nourish the Primordial Spirit, and primarily cultivate the Primordial Spirit.
"Martial artists cultivate by opening up their meridians and acupoints. They mainly absorb the essence of all things between heaven and earth from food, replenishing themselves as they primarily cultivate the fleshly body.
"An Innate Stage Martial Artist differs from an early Qi Refining cultivator only in artifacts and talismans. In close combat, martial artists are even somewhat stronger. If we can gain methods to use or withstand artifacts and talismans, then in a one-on-one fight, we can absolutely defeat them."
"Does reaching the Xiantian Stage truly mean that martial artists have hit the ceiling? I don't think so. It is only that those before us never advanced further."
"Just because those before us never walked that road does not mean we must stop moving forward. If there is no road, then we will blaze one. If there are no cultivation techniques, then we can create them ourselves."
"I will gather all manner of manuals from the cultivation world and martial cultivation, establish a library, and create a contribution point system. So long as you render merit, you can earn contribution points. In the future, everyone may borrow books using contribution points."
"Whoever can offer a reliable suggestion for the next stage of martial cultivation will be rewarded with one hundred contribution points and one hundred Spirit Stones. Whoever can establish the cultivation technique for the next stage will be rewarded with ten thousand contribution points and ten thousand Spirit Stones."
The previously dejected crowd clenched their fists, their eyes bloodshot and their expressions impassioned. They had originally been iron-blooded soldiers tempered through countless battles, so naturally they possessed an indomitable momentum. Their hopes had merely been too great earlier, and for a moment they had been unable to bear the enormous psychological gulf.
Moreover, the general had pointed out a path for them and offered an enticing reward scheme. For a time, they could not wait to create the cultivation technique for the next stage of martial artists themselves.
Wang Hong dismissed the highly excited crowd, leaving behind the two people whose spirit roots had just been detected. Zhang Chunfeng was a tall man with slightly dark skin. He was usually sparing with words and steady in his work.
He had been one of Wang Hong's soldiers ever since Wang Hong became a centurion. In one battle, he had been struck by several spears, and both the bones in his legs had been shattered. Wang Hong had saved him with a White Jade Life-Extending Pill. Since then, he had remained by Wang Hong's side. Wang Hong had tried several times to promote him, but he had always refused.
The other was the complete opposite: small and thin, everyone usually called him Skinny Monkey. His real name was Yang Youwen. Wang Hong had picked him up. During a march, Yang Youwen had fainted from hunger by the roadside, so Wang Hong gave him something to eat and tossed him onto a cart carrying provisions.
After the boy woke up and saw that the army had food and drink, he stubbornly refused to leave. Wang Hong saw that he was quick with his hands and feet, clever, and still young, so his heart softened and he kept him.
Wang Hong reached into his storage bag, and two books appeared in his hand. They were precisely the Earth Thickening Art and Metal Firming Art seized two days ago.
"You two can see whether these two cultivation techniques suit you. If you don't like them, you can choose and buy your own. Bring the receipt back to me, and I'll reimburse the Spirit Stones."
After thinking for a moment, he tossed the Comprehensive Guide to Cultivation to the two of them as well. "Read this book first, then decide which cultivation technique to study."
The two gave Wang Hong a deep salute of thanks and turned to leave.
Wang Hong returned to his room. The moment he shut the door, he entered the space.
The various herbs that had once grown densely throughout the space had become much sparser after being harvested time and again over this period in exchange for Spirit Stones.
Wang Hong planted the Spirit Gathering Grass seeds he had bought, along with the seeds of more than ten supplementary medicinal herbs needed for the Qi Gathering Pill, filling the extra half fen of land beside them.
Spirit Gathering Grass only needed one year to mature. Demand was high, so there was no need to worry about sales, and it could quickly be converted into funds. He urgently needed a large number of Spirit Stones to expand the space. It was still far too small.
After planting everything, he looked it over with satisfaction. Then he went to inspect the Ginseng patch carefully. Several months ago, he had discovered that a few Ginseng plants had mutated. Some of the veins on their stalks had turned red, like blood vessels. After these past few months, even more red veins had appeared.
Comparing them with the Spirit Medicine Illustrated Record, he felt they somewhat resembled Crimson Blood Ginseng, except the red veins on Crimson Blood Ginseng were more numerous. Wang Hong guessed that the mutation might not yet be complete and still required time.
Crimson Blood Ginseng was an extremely rare spirit medicine. They had spent several months in that market district, yet had never seen any.
It was said that Crimson Blood Ginseng was exceptionally picky about its growing environment. Ordinary medicine gardens could not cultivate it, and it was difficult to gather in the wild as well. As for its precise effects and uses, Wang Hong's cultivation was still too low for him to know.
After making a round of inspections, he drifted over to a pile of wine jars. This wine had been brewed by him long ago from Lingzhi Wine and Ginseng Wine, and it now counted as century-old vintage.
He opened the seals a tiny crack, and the fragrance of wine drifted out—rich and mellow, carrying abundant spiritual energy.
Wang Hong brought out ten small bottles and filled each with half a jin of wine, preparing to sell them at the shop outside. He also filled ten bottles with the wine he had brewed from raspberries.
Wang Hong guessed that this should count as spirit wine. In any case, he had tested it himself: a single mouthful could fully replenish his Qi Refining Layer One spiritual power.
He planned to put them in the shop for ten Spirit Stones a bottle and see whether they would sell. He had no confidence in whether anyone would buy them, but it did not matter either way. After finishing this, he also harvested some spirit medicines and took them out of the space.
The next day, after tidying up the little shop, Wang Hong found a board of spiritwood and carved the words "Pioneering Spirit Medicine Pavilion" upon it, taking "pioneering" in the sense of opening new ground and creating anew.
He placed several pots of flowers by the entrance and bought several Thunderclap Talismans. Thunderclap Talismans were extremely low-grade and cheap talismans. Once activated, they produced crackling sounds. They had no offensive power and were generally activated during celebrations simply for the noise, adding a touch of festivity.
After a burst of crackling from the Thunderclap Talismans, the little shop was considered open for business. That day, nearby neighbors also came to offer congratulations, bringing gifts worth around ten Spirit Stones and symbolically buying one or two spirit herbs. Wang Hong returned every gift by giving each person a bottle of spirit wine, leaving everyone delighted.
After the little shop opened, it truly had few customers. It could not sell more than a few items a day. Wang Hong did not care much; arranging for one person to watch it was enough. Every day, he still sent out two teams to set up stalls, buying goods on one side and selling them on the other.
As for Wang Hong, he shut himself in his room and cultivated diligently. Whenever he was not cultivating, he burrowed into the space to read. As a newcomer to the cultivation world, there were too many things he did not understand and too many things he needed to learn.
At the same time, he arranged for Zhang Chunfeng to implement the contribution point reward system. Everyone's years of service in the personal guard, along with the merits they had earned on the journey through Qingxu Mountain Range to Qingxu City, were converted into contribution points. Each person received between thirty and one hundred contribution points. Afterward, they could receive two contribution points each month.
As for merits earned on the battlefield in the past, those had already been rewarded and would not be counted again. Wang Hong had no habit of withholding rewards.
Wang Hong also bought more than a dozen books. His current financial resources were limited, so he could only buy these for now. Once he had more Spirit Stones, he would expand the collection.
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