The Immortal Arrives

Not long after.

To the southeast of the county town, a massive White Jade Boat hovered silently in the air. This jade boat appeared to be crafted entirely from white Spirit Jade, shimmering with flowing light and radiating a magnificent aura; it was an extraordinary sight.

Having familiarized himself with the area over this period, Cheng Buzheng was fairly certain the location was the County Square. Just as he was preparing to head toward the square, he noticed many people in the crowd already quietly shifting in that direction.

There are quite a few clever people out there!

Suddenly.

Someone in the crowd who was quite familiar with the terrain pointed toward the distant sky and shouted:

"That's the location of the County Square!"

Instantly.

The crowd surged, moving toward the County Square. However, there were simply too many people, causing their progress to be exceptionally slow. Like a single drop of water in a tide, Cheng Buzheng could only drift along with the current toward the destination.

As time passed, Cheng Buzheng gradually drew closer to the County Square. A large number of bailiffs, who had been waiting for a long time, formed a human wall to block the path.

A middle-aged man dressed in a bailiff's uniform stood there, a Waist Saber strapped to his hip, his hand gripping the hilt tightly. Judging by his posture, he was likely the leader of the group. With a cold, stern glare, he stepped forward two paces, raised his voice, and shouted:

"The Immortals have graced us with their presence to recruit disciples at the square, but they will only accept youths aged sixteen and under.

The Immortals have decreed!

From this moment on, only youths aged sixteen and under may enter the square!

Anyone who dares to charge the bailiffs, do not blame us for disregarding our ties as fellow townsmen!"

After speaking, he retreated back into the human wall formed by the other bailiffs, his eyes fixed intently on the crowd before him.

The moment his voice fell.

The crowd immediately erupted into a commotion, filled with heated discussion. Cheng Buzheng felt as if countless mosquitoes were buzzing in his ears. Before long, the crowd began to flow backward; some people went straight home to drag their own brats over, while others returned to fetch their "money-losing" daughters.

And so on, it was nothing more than that.

Cheng Buzheng did not have the habit of being the first to stick his neck out, so he waited quietly for the right moment to ripen.

Not long after.

A luxurious carriage approached from the distance. The driver was a burly man who brandished a horsewhip to disperse the crowd in front, shouting as he did so:

"The Zhang Family Young Master is passing through, make way!"

Instantly, the crowd in front scrambled to both sides, leaving behind a wide path. These common folk living on a few pecks of rice could not afford to provoke the powerful families of the county.

Following the arrival of the Zhang Family Young Master, the other powerful families arrived one after another.

"The Qian Family Young Master has arrived too. All the powerful families are here!"

"We common folk dare not steal the spotlight from these powerful families. If we aren't chosen and happen to offend them, our lives won't be easy from here on out!"

"Indeed! Do you remember Old Man Zhang's son from ten years ago?"

"He didn't know his place and stole the spotlight from a powerful family, and then he wasn't even chosen by the Immortals. Look at how miserable his life is now!"

Cheng Buzheng listened quietly to the discussions of the crowd around him. When he heard about the consequences of outshining a powerful family, his heart tightened involuntarily.

His gaze remained fixed on that familiar, luxurious carriage. Sitting inside that carriage was none other than the eldest young master of the Qian Family, Qian Zhe.

Only after all the powerful families had entered the square did the boys and girls dare to form orderly lines to enter. They knew full well that those powerful families were formidable and not something their small, humble households could afford to offend.

After a long while, Cheng Buzheng finally joined the queue, which stretched out like a long dragon.

The line moved forward continuously, and before long, Cheng Buzheng entered the County Square.

The County Square, which had been completely empty, was now blocked off by four walls of people, forming a large rectangle. Each side had a long queue, and those waiting in line were all boys and girls.

At this moment, in the center of the square, there were nine Immortals in total. Eight of them appeared to be young men, dressed in gray robes with a dragon-like pattern embroidered on the cuffs.

The Immortal who appeared to be the leader was an old man with the refined air of a sage. He wore a black robe of the exact same style as the young Immortals, though the color was different, and it also featured a dragon-like monster embroidered on the cuffs.

He was currently sitting cross-legged in the center of the eight young Immortals, eyes closed in meditation, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.

The eight young Immortals were divided into groups of two, each responsible for one queue. The four groups of Immortals corresponded to the four orderly lines facing different directions.

As time passed, many youths who failed the Immortals' test left the square one after another, while those who passed stood respectfully to the side of the Immortals.

Cheng Buzheng noticed that, so far, only three youths had passed the test, even though nearly a thousand had already been examined.

He waited for the Immortals' test with a heart full of trepidation, his mind swinging between hope and fear.

A short while later.

Cheng Buzheng noticed Qian Zhe, who had failed the Immortal's test, walking back with a gloomy face alongside other youths who had also failed!

He quickly turned his body away. After a long while, he turned back and peeked cautiously, feeling a sense of relief when he saw that Qian Zhe had already left the square.

"Whew!"

The line kept moving forward, and Cheng Buzheng finally saw how the Immortals conducted the test.

The two Immortals responsible for the line he was in had a crystal ball-like Immortal Artifact floating in front of one of them, while the other held a jade slip.

Cheng Buzheng realized the test was simple: one just had to place their hand on the crystal ball. However, even though he could now clearly see how the Immortals tested the candidates, not a single youth had passed.

He was quite curious about what kind of abnormality the Immortal Artifact would display if someone were to pass the test.

After all, this concerned his own interests.

Suddenly.

The Crystal Ball blossomed with four colors: cyan, red, yellow, and blue.

The immortal hovering before the Crystal Ball saw the four-colored glow and said coldly:

"Wood, fire, earth, water—Four Spiritual Roots!

Go register over at Junior Brother Huang's side.

Next!"

The immortal holding the Jade Slip was quite gentle, saying to the excited youth:

"Come, register over here!"

The short, thin, dark-skinned youth who had passed the test said with great excitement:

"Immortal, I... my name is Huang Li!

Thank you, Immortal."

The immortal holding the Jade Slip smiled without a word, as if he had seen the image of his own excitement when he first joined the sect.

The immortal recorded the information and, as if creating something out of thin air, produced a white jade-colored Identity Token and handed it to him.

Cheng Buzheng had witnessed with his own eyes what kind of anomaly occurred when passing the Immortal Artifact test, but those who could pass were truly few and far between!

There were also some youths who, when tested, caused the Crystal Ball to emit a five-colored glow, but the immortals did not accept a single one of them.

Just like the youths whose Crystal Balls did not glow at all, they retreated in dejection.

Could it be that the five-colored glow represented aptitude so low that the Immortal Sect was unwilling to cultivate them?

Two quarters of an hour later.

After the youth in front retreated in dejection, it was Cheng Buzheng's turn. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the Crystal Ball. A cool sensation wandered through his body before rushing directly toward his brain.

His whole body turned cold as that sensation drifted out of his brain, left his body, and returned to the Crystal Ball. The moment that cool sensation returned to the Crystal Ball, it blossomed with three colors: red, yellow, and gold.

However, the light was much more intense than that of the Four Spiritual Roots.

"Three Spiritual Roots."

Cheng Buzheng finally set his heart at ease. This was the first threshold on the path to immortality; fortunately, he had the aptitude, otherwise, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to strive for cultivation!

Cheng Buzheng then took two more steps forward, arriving before the immortal holding the Jade Slip, and registered his basic information.

After recording the information, this immortal, as if performing a magic trick, handed the white jade-colored Identity Token that had suddenly appeared in his palm to Cheng Buzheng.