The white-robed youth with a middle-grade spiritual root was escorted to one side by a designated attendant and told to stand there.
The testing continued.
One youth after another took turns walking onto the raised platform.
The crowd's voices rose and fell repeatedly, with few cries of delight and mostly disappointment.
The next hundred or so people were tested in succession, and the results were so uneventful they became tedious.
Most had no spiritual roots or false spiritual roots.
Now and then, a faint streak of azure light flickered, but it only signified a bottom-tier low-grade spiritual root—not even enough to earn a second glance from the elders.
Liu Qing's expression returned to its usual blankness. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze indifferent.
Soon, three youths in fine clothes moved toward the front of the line.
The first, a fair-faced youth in fine clothes, stepped forward and placed his palm against the stone.
A hum rang out.
A distinct streak of azure light appeared, its brightness moderate—not too bad.
"Low-grade spiritual root. Qualified," the registering disciple called out.
The fair-faced youth let out a long breath of relief, then smiled smugly. He deliberately turned and glanced toward the back of the line, as if to show off.
The second and third youths in fine clothes were tested in turn.
They, too, produced azure light. Both had low-grade spiritual roots.
All three qualified.
The servants they had brought immediately clasped their hands and cheered, their faces alight with joy.
"Our young master made it!"
"As expected of wealthy young masters! Their talent really is better than ordinary people's!"
The three youths lifted their chins and strode over to the group of qualified candidates.
Standing together, they all turned their eyes toward Su Yun at the end of the line.
Their gazes were scornful, their amusement utterly undisguised.
"Next up is that poor wretch."
"I bet he has no spiritual root. He came all this way for nothing."
"He's so skinny. If he has a spiritual root, I'll eat this stone right here and now."
They snickered under their breath, brazen and unrestrained.
Quite a few people around them followed their gazes toward Su Yun.
The line slowly moved forward. At last, it was Su Yun's turn.
"Next, Su Yun."
In an instant, a thousand gazes across the plaza pinned Su Yun in place.
There was no anticipation.
No curiosity.
Only mockery, contempt, and a desire to watch the spectacle.
He was a poor loner, sallow and thin, with a frail build and patched homespun clothes.
Nobody believed he could have a spiritual root.
"Finally, it's his turn."
"He's just here to make up the numbers. He's wasting everyone's time."
"Those three rich young masters only had low-grade roots. What could this poor kid possibly compare?"
"I bet the stone won't glow at all when he touches it."
Bits of conversation wormed into his ears—mockery, jeers, and cold-eyed spectatorship.
Su Yun ignored every gaze and climbed the platform one step at a time.
Standing before the waist-high Spirit Testing Stone, Su Yun looked down at the densely packed crowd below.
Everyone was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
He felt calm inside.
One month since his transmigration, he had endured hardship and hunger with no one to rely on. He had long since cultivated a patient, unyielding temperament.
It didn't matter if people looked down on him.
Whether he could cultivate immortality depended on this one stone.
Su Yun slowly raised his right hand.
His palm was slender, his knuckles clearly defined, and a thin layer of calluses covered its center.
He drew a deep breath and firmly pressed his palm against the rough, icy surface of the Spirit Testing Stone.
He focused and steadied his breathing.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The Spirit Testing Stone remained utterly still.
Its surface was murky gray-white, without the faintest glimmer.
There was no reaction at all.
A burst of laughter instantly erupted from below.
"I knew it! Nothing at all!"
"What a complete waste of time. He'd be better off going down the mountain to farm."
"He has no spiritual root and still came to join in? Talk about overestimating himself."
"Mortals are just mortals. They're born without immortal fate."
The jeers grew louder and louder, nearly drowning out the wind atop the platform.
The three youths in fine clothes laughed the loudest, their lips curled in ridicule and their eyes brimming with superiority.
On the platform.
The outer-sect disciple in charge of registration furrowed his brow and casually began to deliver his verdict.
"No spiritu—"
Su Yun's heart sank little by little, and a wave of bitterness welled up inside him.
Could it be?
I transmigrated here, with no cheat, no connections, and in the end, no spiritual root either?
Am I fated to be nothing but a lowly ant in this world of immortal cultivation?
Just then.
BOOM!!!
A deep, muffled explosion suddenly burst from within the Spirit Testing Stone!
The jade-like surface, dull and murky just moments before, abruptly blazed with a golden radiance so dazzling it hurt the eyes!
The golden light burned with domineering heat, instantly filling the entire Spirit Testing Stone.
The whole plaza fell dead silent.
The wind stopped. All sound ceased.
Every smile, every sneer, every look of amusement froze rigid on the faces of the crowd.
Su Yun himself was stunned, his pupils contracting sharply.
He stared blankly at the golden light surging wildly beneath his palm, his mind going completely blank as he stood rooted to the spot.
What was going on?
There hadn't been a glimmer of light just a moment ago.
How had it suddenly burst into such terrifying golden radiance?
The next second.
"Th-That light—what is it?!"
"Golden... Is that golden light?!"
"Holy crap! It's gold!"
"The highest grade the elder mentioned earlier—could it be a heaven-grade spiritual root?!"
Shocked cries rang across the entire plaza.
A thousand pairs of pupils shrank as mouths fell open, every face blank with astonishment.
In the qualified section, the three youths in fine clothes who had been feeling so pleased with themselves just moments ago froze in place.
Their faces turned paper-white in an instant, and their legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
Panic—utter, overwhelming panic—clawed at their hearts.
That frail, poor kid they had just mocked and looked down on without restraint—
Had he tested as having the heaven-grade spiritual root they didn't even dare dream of?
Impossible!
How could this be!
The fair-faced youth's lips trembled. "N-No... That can't be... How could that poor wretch..."
The round-faced youth beside him turned deathly pale and swallowed hard. "We were just laughing at him... I..."
A chill ran down all three youths' backs, and a bone-piercing cold shot from the soles of their feet straight to their scalps.
The more arrogant they had been, the more terrified they were now.
On the platform.
The dignified, unflappable elder in charge, Liu Qing, had been steady as ever.
The moment the golden light appeared, his whole body stiffened.
His aged eyes flew wide, their cloudy pupils filled with incredulous shock.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
Even his fingers were shaking.
Heaven-grade!
It really was a heaven-grade spiritual glow!
Liu Qing had served as an Azure Cloud Sect steward for a hundred years. He had seen countless prodigies, yet only a handful with upper-grade spiritual roots. As for heaven-grade spiritual roots, in his entire life he had only seen records of them in the sect's ancient texts!
The next instant.
Liu Qing could no longer maintain even a trace of an elder's composure. A flash of spiritual energy sparked beneath his feet, and he shot forward.
With a sharp swish, he rushed to Su Yun's side in near-undignified haste, staring fixedly at the Spirit Testing Stone, blazing with golden light.
His breathing grew ragged, his chest heaving violently.
"Gold... Golden light... It really is golden light!"
Liu Qing's voice trembled, hoarse. His aged hand couldn't help reaching for the stone, but he feared disturbing the spiritual glow and stopped it abruptly in midair.
He turned sharply and studied the frail youth before him, his expression solemn.
A lean face, plain clothes, and an utterly unremarkable appearance.
Yet this very youth—
Had tested as having a heaven-grade spiritual root, one rarely seen in a thousand years!
The plaza erupted into an uproar.
Everyone talked frantically, their voices surging like waves across the entire mountain gate plaza.
"Good heavens! This is the first time in my life I've seen golden light!"
"Who said he had no spiritual root? Step forward!"
"Those three rich kids were just mocking him. Now they've had their faces slapped swollen!"
"A middle-grade spiritual root is already considered genius. What does heaven-grade even mean?!"
"One step to the heavens! This is what a real leap to the heavens looks like!"
Countless gazes converged on the frail figure atop the platform.
All the contempt, mockery, and scorn from before transformed into searing shock, awe, and envy.
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