Spirit Root Attributes

"Brother Lin Chuan, you... you're all right?" Bu Lianshi gazed at Lin Chuan with her wide eyes, seemingly still not fully recovered from her earlier unconsciousness.

"I'm fine now. What about you? I just treated your external injuries, but there's nothing I can do about internal ones. How are you feeling? Any better?" Lin Chuan asked softly.

Bu Lianshi looked over her body and saw that nearly all the wounds, both large and small, had disappeared, leaving only a few faint scars. It was only a matter of time before she fully recovered.

"Brother Lin Chuan, you know healing spells too?" Bu Lianshi asked, staring at him in amazement.

"I only know the simplest ones. I can treat minor injuries, but there's nothing I can do about anything too serious!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

Even after Lin Chuan said that, Bu Lianshi still looked at him with shock and admiration, as if there was nothing he couldn't do.

The scene outside that cave, where he'd used a single fire spell to kill nine people instantly, remained vivid in Bu Lianshi's mind. The blazing, scorching flames seemed to have crossed through time, burning from that moment all the way to the present.

"Brother Lin Chuan, why can you use spells while you're still in the Qi Refining Stage? Aren't only Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators able to use them?" Bu Lianshi asked curiously.

Although this sort of impossible thing happening with Lin Chuan could no longer shock Bu Lianshi—she'd already grown numb to it—she was still a little curious.

"My spiritual energy is a bit greater than other people's, so I can use a spell in the Qi Refining Stage. But I can only use it once!" Lin Chuan explained vaguely.

"Oh!" Bu Lianshi nodded. "Then that means you have a fire-type Spirit Root, Brother Lin Chuan? That's pretty good, too. Among the five elemental Spirit Roots, fire is considered the most explosive."

The five elemental Spirit Roots—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—were the most common types in the cultivation world. Metal had powerful offensive strength, fire had astonishing explosive power, water and wood were more often used for support, and earth leaned more toward defense.

The five types of Spirit Roots generated and countered one another. Two mutually generating Spirit Roots could amplify each other's power, while when two cultivators with mutually countering roots were evenly matched, the one whose root was countered would be at a disadvantage.

For example, metal countered wood. In a fight between two cultivators of equal strength, one with a metal Spirit Root and the other with a wood Spirit Root, the metal cultivator would certainly have the upper hand. But that wouldn't decide the outcome outright; their combat experience, cultivation techniques, spells, magical treasures, and many other things would all affect the result.

These were common facts in the cultivation world, all of which Lin Chuan could find in his former memories. Whenever he had a break from cultivating, he would look through those memories to learn about the power system of this world.

"By the way, what type of Spirit Root do you have, Bu Lianshi?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

Spirit Root attributes could only truly come into play after reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, since that was when cultivators began practicing spells of each type.

"When my Spirit Root was tested before, it was found to have both water and wood attributes. But the Lin Clan doesn't know that. They only recorded me as having a wood-type, low-grade mortal Spirit Root!" Bu Lianshi revealed her greatest secret without the slightest hesitation.

"You..." Lin Chuan stared at Bu Lianshi in surprise. Someone with dual-attribute Spirit Roots was unquestionably a genius, regardless of the quality of their roots.

Lin Chuan's earlier judgment had been right: neither Bu Lianshi nor Qin Lang had a simple background.

The fact that they both had protective magical treasures made that clear. But Lin Chuan could tell that Bu Lianshi didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't press her. It was best to wait until someone chose to share such things. That was how you showed respect for your companions.

"Brother Lin Chuan has a fire-type Spirit Root. Does that mean you have Spirit Roots of other attributes, too?" Bu Lianshi smiled sweetly, blinking at Lin Chuan with eager anticipation as she waited for his answer.

"Uh... I have Spirit Roots with five attributes: water, fire, earth, wind, and lightning..." Lin Chuan said with an embarrassed smile, scratching his head. He didn't mention his yin and yang attributes directly, because he didn't know what those two attributes meant in the cultivation world.

In the next moment, Bu Lianshi's mouth fell open into a perfect O.

Thud!

Qin Lang, who had just woken up, fell back to the ground. "I must be dreaming. I'm not awake yet! Mm! I need to sleep a little longer!"

Smack!

Lin Chuan patted Qin Lang. "If you're awake, stop pretending to be asleep. Get up and check if anything's wrong with your body. If there is, hurry up and cultivate to recover. It's bad for you to drag it out!"

Lin Chuan was nowhere near as gentle with Qin Lang as he was with Bu Lianshi. He teased him freely, laughing and scolding him in equal measure.

Who could compete with that? How was anyone else supposed to live with talent like his? Anyone who'd once prided themselves on being a genius was nothing but trash next to Lin Chuan!

Five attributes, not to mention two mutated ones—wind and lightning. Qin Lang suddenly felt that his whole life had gone dark, the sort of darkness where the sun would never rise again.

Seeing that neither of them was in any serious trouble, Lin Chuan turned away and went back to cultivating on his own. He had nothing to hide about his attributes. Since he'd decided to trust the two of them, he would have had to tell them sooner or later. And since Bu Lianshi had asked, he'd simply told her.

Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi hid in a little corner and drew circles on the ground for ages. In the end, they returned to Lin Chuan with the same aggrieved expressions.

"I always thought my dual fire-and-lightning attributes were already outrageous. I never imagined there'd be someone even more outrageous!" Qin Lang said helplessly. He finally understood what it meant to be driven mad by comparing yourself to others.

Lin Chuan wasn't particularly surprised that both of them had dual attributes. He'd long since seen that they were extraordinary. The only thing that puzzled him was why two people like them had been assigned to the same group as him. There had to be something he didn't know.

The three of them chatted as they recovered their cultivation. Qin Lang also gave Lin Chuan a rough account of what had happened after he'd passed out.

"What? Han Qing came to save you?" Lin Chuan asked in surprise. He hadn't known he had that much charm—that one time he'd stepped in had been enough to win Han Qing over.

Then Lin Chuan remembered something, and his expression immediately changed. "Oh no! While you two were still unconscious, I saw Han Qing being chased by someone. He looked pretty battered. At the time, I didn't know he'd helped us. I hope he hasn't been killed already!"

As soon as Lin Chuan finished speaking, he activated the Byakugan. Han Qing was nowhere within its range, so he immediately shifted his Byakugan into the Tenseigan. When his sky-blue eyes appeared, the sight of Han Qing and the other two fighting desperately, covered in blood, finally came into view.

"Stay here and cultivate to recover. I'm going to save them!" Lin Chuan dashed away as soon as he finished speaking, flashing out of the cave.