Qi Sensing Pavilion

Fang Chen stood behind Xu Yi, the wind whistling past his ears.

He looked down and saw a sea of clouds below.

Islands rose from the clouds.

Fang Chen knew they were not islands, but the tops of mountains.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Streaks of rainbow light flew over their heads at even greater speed.

Fang Chen looked up but caught only blurred figures.

Xu Yi kept his eyes ahead and deliberately slowed his flight. "Those were Inner Disciples. In the Glazed Sword Sect, Inner Disciples aren't allowed to fly higher than a thousand zhang..."

Fang Chen listened quietly. None of this was familiar to him.

The Glazed Sword Sect had a strict hierarchy. Servants occupied the bottom rung, followed by Outer Sect Disciples, then Inner Disciples, the Direct Disciples of the various elders, and finally the Holy Son or Holy Daughter.

Outer Sect Disciples had no designated master but were given their own courtyards. They had to complete a set quota of tasks each month, though they received certain benefits, such as ten Contribution Points a month.

Within the sect, Contribution Points could be exchanged for Spirit Stones, cultivation manuals, or Spirit Medicine. They could also buy admission to lectures by elders, Inner Disciples, Direct Disciples, or even the Holy Son and Holy Daughter, to hear them preach and answer questions.

This might be a sect of immortal cultivators, but it was little different from the mortal world. Connections mattered here, as did status and background. Put plainly, cultivators could not rise above worldly concerns. Everything still came down to self-interest.

If you had value, others would draw close and befriend you.

If you had none, they would distance themselves, perhaps even suppress and scorn you.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Xu Yi took Fang Chen straight down into the sea of clouds.

They passed through the clouds and arrived at the foot of a mountain, where buildings stretched in clusters.

Xu Yi landed with Fang Chen before a three-story pavilion. Thick Moss covered its roof tiles, and years of rain had weathered its walls, giving it the worn air of ages past. On the plaque above the entrance were three large characters: "Qi Sensing Pavilion."

"What is this place for?" Fang Chen asked.

A faint smile touched Xu Yi's lips. "The Qi Sensing Pavilion tests cultivation. You'll go in and take the test. Once you pass, they'll issue you a new identity badge. From then on, you'll be an Outer Sect Disciple of our Glazed Sword Sect!"

"I see!"

Fang Chen nodded and followed Xu Yi inside.

Inside the Qi Sensing Pavilion, Fang Chen found more than a dozen servants waiting in line. Not far away, several Outer Sect Disciples sat together, chatting and laughing.

Xu Yi smiled when he saw them. "Looks like we're in luck today. So many people have come to complete their registration!"

Azure Cloud Peak had more than ten thousand servants, but few broke through to the Qi Refining Realm. Sometimes days, even a dozen or more, passed without a single breakthrough.

"You'd better get in line," Xu Yi told Fang Chen.

"All right!"

Fang Chen nodded and went to the back of the line, while Xu Yi headed over to chat with the Outer Sect Disciples.

Like Xu Yi, those disciples were responsible for bringing people here to complete their entry procedures.

The test was simple: place a hand on the imprint of a crystal Compass before a Qi Sensing Pavilion disciple, then circulate one's cultivation technique and pour True Qi into it.

Just then, two more servants came in and joined the line behind Fang Chen.

Before half an incense stick had burned, it was Fang Chen's turn.

Following the Qi Sensing Pavilion disciple's instructions, Fang Chen placed his hand on the crystal Compass and poured True Qi into it.

Hum!

A white ring of light immediately appeared at the center of the crystal Compass, but there was nothing inside it.

The white ring represented cultivation level.

Fang Chen had met the requirement in that respect.

But there was nothing inside the ring.

For everyone else who had met the cultivation requirement, their spiritual root attribute and grade had appeared within the ring.

For Fang Chen, neither appeared.

"What's going on? Why isn't his spiritual root showing?" The Qi Sensing Pavilion disciple frowned.

"Because I don't have a spiritual root," Fang Chen told him.

"Hah! Kid, you're joking, right? How could you cultivate without a spiritual root?"

"Exactly. Do you take us for fools?"

The two servants behind Fang Chen could not help laughing.

Xu Yi came over. "What happened?" he asked the Qi Sensing Pavilion disciple.

"I just tested this Fang Chen, but the Compass didn't show any information about his spiritual root. He says he doesn't have one!"

"No spiritual root?"

Xu Yi froze. He had never met Fang Chen before; he had simply received orders to pick him up from Thousand Bamboo Ridge. He had assumed Fang Chen possessed a spiritual root like every other servant who had broken through to the Qi Refining Realm.

The Outer Sect Disciples who had been chatting nearby came over as well.

They looked at Fang Chen with smiles. "Kid, you can eat whatever you like, but you can't say whatever you like. How could you cultivate without a spiritual root?"

"Right. Everyone knows someone without a spiritual root can't cultivate!"

The other Outer Sect Disciples nodded in agreement.

Xu Yi turned to Fang Chen. "You really don't have a spiritual root?"

"That's right." Fang Chen nodded. "If you don't believe me, you can check my identity badge!"

With that, Fang Chen took out his badge.

The Qi Sensing Pavilion's procedure was to test cultivation first, then confirm identity after a passing result, register the person, and finally make a new identity badge. That was why the disciple had not checked Fang Chen's badge earlier.

Xu Yi took Fang Chen's badge and swept it with his Spiritual Sense. The information on it surfaced in his mind at once.

He frowned slightly. The information recorded on Fang Chen's badge really did say he had no spiritual root.

He handed the badge to the Qi Sensing Pavilion disciple.

The disciple scanned it with his Spiritual Sense and immediately wore the same expression as Xu Yi.

"How is that possible? How can someone cultivate immortality without a spiritual root?"

The disciple frowned at Fang Chen. "How did you do it?"

Fang Chen shook his head. "I don't know either. After I received a cultivation technique, I kept practicing it. Two people tried to kill me today. I fought back with everything I had, and after I killed them, I broke through!"

The disciple shook his head. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible. You can't be without a spiritual root. Most likely, something went wrong with your earlier test, and it didn't give an accurate result!"

Xu Yi spoke up. "It's also possible he hadn't awakened his spiritual root when he was tested, but awakened it afterward without realizing it!"

"Mm. We can't rule that out either." The Qi Sensing Pavilion disciple nodded slightly.

"What are you all gathered around for?"

An aged voice suddenly came from the entrance to the hall.

Everyone looked toward the door and saw an old man in a green robe walk in.