Earth Vein Appears

The Imperial City of the Profound Spirit Dynasty, as the capital of the dynasty, was naturally teeming with people and bustling beyond measure. Towering walls that pierced the clouds guarded this flourishing metropolis. Within the city, streets crisscrossed in every direction, shops stood shoulder to shoulder, pedestrians flowed like woven threads, and carriages and horses streamed endlessly. Cries of vendors and shouts of hawkers rose and fell one after another, displaying the vigorous vitality of this ancient capital.

At the gates of the Profound Spirit Imperial City, Zeng Fan, Yuan Jin, and their group arrived slowly. After several days of travel, everyone looked somewhat weary. Their cultivation was still insufficient, and they could not travel as quickly as horses, leaving them no choice but to endure the jolting journey.

"I wonder when we'll be able to fly on swords..." A youth among them gazed at the flourishing capital and sighed.

"Stop dreaming. Get through the selection first. If you've got the ability, you'll naturally be able to do it later. Hurry up and move." Another youth curled his lip.

"Can't I even think about it? Honestly." Though he grumbled, seeing that everyone else had already entered the city gates, he hurriedly quickened his pace to catch up.

After settling into the lodgings arranged by the Profound Spirit Dynasty, the group first went to register with their tokens. After registration, they were free to move about and only needed to wait for those with Spirit Veins from the other cities to arrive before the selection began.

Just as Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin were discussing going out for a stroll, a youth hurried over. "Brother Zeng! Brother Yuan! Wait for me! I heard some huge news!" Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin stopped in their tracks.

"What is it, Wang An? What did you find out?" Yuan Jin asked with a smile.

Wang An was also a youth from Jiuyuan City who had passed the aptitude selection. Though he only possessed a fourth-grade Yellow Vein, he had a lively personality and was extremely enthusiastic toward Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin, the two with Profound Veins. They were all youths, so there were not many hidden thoughts between them. During the journey to the Imperial City, the three had gradually become familiar with one another. After registering here, Wang An had volunteered to gather information for them. He had probably learned something and rushed over to tell them.

"What did you find out? Why are you so flustered? You're about to cultivate immortality—be more steady," Yuan Jin scolded with a laugh.

"What does that have to do with cultivating immortality? Didn't I rush over to report as soon as I heard the news? An Earth Vein appeared among our batch! An Earth Vein!!! One only appears after many years!" Wang An waved his arms dramatically.

An Earth Vein! Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin's expressions turned solemn. They exchanged a glance. "Are you sure it's an Earth Vein? What realm is she at now?" Yuan Jin asked Wang An.

"It's definitely an Earth Vein. When I came out, I heard several people next door talking about it. They said this selection was hers for the taking. Apparently she's a woman named Murong Xue. She has already begun cultivating, and I heard she's from the imperial clan of the Profound Spirit Dynasty. You two had better be careful—she'll definitely be a formidable rival in this selection." Wang An spoke to them earnestly.

Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin exchanged another glance. "This is troublesome. An Earth Vein's aptitude and cultivation speed are astonishing. The gap between every major realm of Spirit Veins is extremely obvious. If this Earth Vein began cultivating around the same time as us, she may have already reached the Body Tempering Bone realm. The pressure on the two of them was no small matter." Yuan Jin was only at Body Tempering Muscle Mastery now, still some distance from Body Tempering Bone.

"I'll work hard on cultivation for the next few days. That should give me a few more chances of success," Zeng Fan said to Yuan Jin. Learning of the Earth Vein put pressure on both of them. They had originally planned to stroll around the Imperial City, but now they had no such mood.

"Fine. Wang An and I will go find out more specific information about Murong Xue. I'll tell you if we learn anything." With that, Yuan Jin left with Wang An.

Zeng Fan returned to his lodgings. "I can only use Spirit Stones to speed up my cultivation. Body Tempering Skin Minor Accomplishment is nowhere near enough for this selection. Every bit more cultivation means another bit more certainty." Zeng Fan slowly immersed his mind and began cultivating with a Spirit Stone in hand.

Night fell, and Zeng Fan slowly opened his eyes. "Yuan Jin and the others should be back by now. I wonder whether they found out anything." Zeng Fan rose and headed outside, just in time to see Yuan Jin and Wang An walking toward him.

"Well? Did you find out anything?" Zeng Fan asked the two of them.

Yuan Jin smiled. "We did. It really is an Earth Vein. She belongs to a collateral branch of the Profound Spirit Dynasty's imperial clan. After that Earth-grade Spiritual Vein was discovered some time ago, the imperial clan brought her into the main line and has been nurturing her vigorously. Fortunately, she began cultivating around the same time as us, so her current cultivation should be Body Tempering Muscle Perfection. Although her cultivation is higher than ours, we can still fight for it. We haven't heard of any more Earth Veins among those selected from the other cities. The ones with cultivation are about on our level as well. Only this Murong Xue needs our attention."

"This one alone is already enough to give us a headache. If a few more came along, we wouldn't even be able to compete for it," Zeng Fan said with a headache.

"Well, there's always a chance. I heard the top three all receive rewards this time. We can secure second or third and fight for first, can't we?" Yuan Jin grinned as he threw an arm around Zeng Fan's shoulders.

"Then we'll have to rely on Brother Yuan to give Murong Xue a good beating and make sure that Earth Vein doesn't look down on us Profound Veins, hahaha." Zeng Fan teased Yuan Jin, and the tension in his heart gradually faded. The trial rankings were certainly important, but as long as they entered the sect, there would sooner or later be other resources they could make use of. There was no need to rush over this moment.

After the three joked and roughhoused for a while, they went their separate ways to make further preparations for the coming selection.

Three days later, a majestic voice rang in the ears of everyone, no matter what they were doing. "I am Shi Yun, envoy of the Five Mountains Sect. The selection has begun. Gather in the main hall at once!"