Holy crap! Heavenly Grade Spirit Root!

"Holy crap! A Heaven-grade spiritual root!" The white-robed youth with the mid-grade spiritual root was led aside by a dedicated attendant to stand in place.

The spiritual testing continued.

One youth after another took turns stepping onto the high platform.

The clamor of the crowd rose and fell repeatedly; there were very few surprises and mostly disappointments.

For the next hundred or so people in line, the results were so dull they were tedious.

Most possessed either no spiritual roots or false spiritual roots.

Occasionally, a faint green light would flicker, but it was merely a bottom-tier low-grade spiritual root, not even worthy of a second glance from the elders.

Liu Qing had returned to his expressionless state, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze indifferent.

Soon, three youths in brocade robes reached the front of the line.

The first fair-skinned youth in brocade stepped forward and pressed his palm against the spirit stone.

Hum.

A clear green light shone forth; the brightness was moderate, not too bad.

"Low-grade spiritual root, qualified," the recording disciple shouted aloud.

The fair-skinned youth let out a long sigh of relief, a smug smile appearing on his face. He deliberately turned his head to glance toward the back of the line, as if showing off.

The second and third brocade-clad youths were tested in turn.

Both lit up with green light, all of them low-grade spiritual roots.

All three qualified.

The servants they had brought with them immediately cupped their hands and cheered, their faces full of joy.

"The young master made it!"

"As expected of a wealthy family's son, his talent is just better than a commoner's!"

The three youths in brocade held their heads high and chests out, walking quickly to join the group of those who had qualified.

Standing together, their gazes fell in unison upon Su Yun at the end of the line.

Their eyes were filled with contempt and undisguised amusement.

"It's almost that poor wretch's turn."

"I bet he has no spiritual root and wasted his time coming here."

"He's so skinny; if he can test for a spiritual root, I'll eat this stone right here on the spot."

They chuckled in low voices, unbridled and reckless.

Many people around them followed their gaze to look at Su Yun.

The line moved slowly forward until, finally, it was Su Yun's turn.

"Next, Su Yun."

In an instant, a thousand gazes in the square were pinned squarely on Su Yun.

There was no anticipation.

There was no curiosity.

Only mockery, disdain, and the desire to watch a spectacle.

A lone pauper, sallow and thin, with a frail frame and wearing patched, coarse cloth clothes.

No one believed he could test for a spiritual root.

"Finally his turn."

"I think he's just here to make up the numbers, wasting everyone's time."

"The three rich young masters just now were only low-grade; what does this poor kid have to compare with?"

"I reckon the moment he touches the stone, there won't be a glimmer of light."

The fragmented whispers drilled into his ears—ridicule, sneers, and cold, detached observation.

Su Yun ignored all the gazes and stepped onto the high platform, one step at a time.

Standing before the waist-high spirit stone, Su Yun raised his eyes to look at the dense crowd below the stage.

Everyone was watching, waiting for him to make a fool of himself.

His heart was calm.

After transmigrating for a month, suffering through hunger and having no one to rely on, he had long since tempered a patient and enduring disposition.

It didn't matter if others looked down on him.

Whether or not he could cultivate immortality depended solely on this stone.

Su Yun slowly raised his right hand.

His palm was lean, the knuckles distinct, with a thin layer of calluses on the center of his palm.

He took a deep breath and pressed his palm firmly against the rough, ice-cold surface of the spirit-testing stone.

Focusing his mind, he calmed his breathing.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The spirit-testing stone remained deathly silent.

It was murky and gray, without a single glimmer of light.

There was absolutely no reaction.

A wave of mocking laughter erupted from the crowd below.

"I knew it! He's got nothing!"

"A total waste of time. He'd be better off going down the mountain to farm."

"Coming here to join the fun without even a spirit root—he really doesn't know his own place."

"A mortal is just a mortal; born without any affinity for immortality."

The jeers grew louder, almost drowning out the wind atop the high platform.

The three youths in brocade robes laughed the most brazenly, their lips curled in derision and their eyes filled with a sense of superiority.

On the high platform.

The outer sect disciple in charge of registration frowned, ready to deliver the verdict.

"No spirit..."

Su Yun's heart sank, a bitter, stinging sensation welling up in his chest.

Could it be?

I traveled through time, only to have no golden finger, no background, and in the end, not even a spirit root?

Am I destined to be nothing more than an ant at the bottom of this cultivation world?

Just then.

BOOM!!!

A low, muffled explosion erupted from deep within the spirit-testing stone!

The previously dull and murky surface of the jade suddenly ignited with a blinding, extreme golden light!

The golden radiance was overbearing and scorching, instantly flooding the entire stone.

The entire plaza fell into an instantaneous, deathly silence.

The wind stopped; the noise ceased.

The smiles, mockery, and playfulness on everyone's faces froze solid.

Su Yun himself was stunned, his pupils contracting sharply.

He stared blankly at the golden light surging wildly beneath his palm, his mind a complete blank, standing rooted to the spot in shock.

What was happening?

There hadn't been a shred of light just a moment ago.

How could such a terrifying golden light suddenly burst forth?

The next second.

"Th-that, what is that light?!"

"Gold... it's golden light?!"

"Holy crap! Golden light!"

"Is that the highest grade the elder mentioned, a Heaven-grade spirit root?!"

Shocked roars echoed throughout the arena.

Thousands of people had their pupils constricted and mouths agape, their faces frozen in disbelief.

In the qualifying area, the three brocade-clad youths who had been so smug just moments ago saw their smiles instantly wither.

Their faces turned paper-white in a flash, and their legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

Panic—extreme, frantic panic—crawled into their hearts.

The scrawny, poor kid they had just been wantonly mocking and looking down upon...

Had tested for a Heaven-grade spirit root, something they hadn't even dared to imagine?

Impossible!

How could this be!

The fair-skinned youth in brocade robes trembled, his lips quivering. "No... it can't be... how could that pauper..."

Beside him, the round-faced youth turned deathly pale, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard. "We were just mocking him a moment ago... I..."

A chill crawled up their spines, a bone-deep cold surging from the soles of their feet straight to their crowns.

The more arrogant they had been before, the more terrified they were now.

On the high platform.

Deacon Elder Liu Qing, who had always been composed and indifferent, suddenly froze the instant the golden light ignited.

His aged eyes widened abruptly, his murky pupils filled with incredulous shock.

His body trembled uncontrollably.

Even his fingers shook.

Heaven-grade!

It really was Heaven-grade spiritual light!

He had served as a deacon in the Azure Cloud Sect for a century and had seen countless geniuses, yet high-grade spiritual roots were few and far between. As for Heaven-grade spiritual roots, he had only ever seen them recorded in the sect's ancient texts!

The next moment.

Liu Qing could no longer maintain even a shred of his elder's composure. With a flash of spiritual energy beneath his feet, his figure suddenly accelerated.

Whoosh.

He rushed to Su Yun's side in a near-panicked sprint, staring fixedly at the spirit-testing stone that was erupting with golden light.

His breathing was ragged, his chest heaving violently.

"Gold... golden light... it really is golden light!"

Liu Qing's throat trembled, his voice hoarse. His aged hand reached out, wanting to touch the spirit-testing stone, but he stopped mid-air, terrified of interfering with the spiritual light.

He whipped his head around, solemnly and seriously scrutinizing the frail youth before him.

With a lean face and simple attire, he looked utterly unremarkable.

Yet it was this very youth.

Who had tested for a Heaven-grade spiritual root, something unseen in a thousand years!

The plaza erupted into total chaos.

Everyone was discussing it frantically, their voices boiling over and sweeping across the entire mountain gate plaza like a tidal wave.

"My heavens! This is the first time in my life I've seen golden light!"

"Who was it that said he had no spiritual root just now? Step out!"

"Those three boys in brocade robes were mocking him earlier; their faces must be swollen from the slap now!"

"A middle-grade root is already considered a genius, but what does Heaven-grade even mean?!"

"A meteoric rise! This is a true meteoric rise!"

Countless gazes focused on the thin figure on the high platform.

All the previous contempt, mockery, and disdain had transformed into scorching shock, awe, and envy.