Miscellaneous Disciples

A spirit boat whistled through the clouds.

Standing at the prow were two young disciples of the Lingxiao Sect with extraordinary bearings, while seven or eight youths stood behind them.

Most of these youths were pale, not daring to look down.

Chen Changming was among them.

Having demonstrated the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade, he had dispelled the Lingxiao Sect disciples' suspicions and was subsequently brought aboard the spirit boat.

Over the following days, the spirit boat descended upon more than a dozen villages, gathering six or seven youths who possessed spiritual roots.

These youths generally had poor spiritual roots; the most outstanding among them was merely a Yellow-grade mid-tier water spiritual root.

Having spent these days alongside the two Lingxiao Sect disciples, Chen Changming had gained a deeper understanding of spiritual roots.

Spiritual roots were divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

Heaven-grade was the best, Yellow-grade the worst, and each grade was further divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers.

Spiritual roots possessed various attributes such as metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. The fewer the number of spiritual roots, the better the aptitude for immortal cultivation; the more there were, the worse it was.

Fewer spiritual roots meant less interference, faster cultivation speed, and greater spell power, which was why a single spiritual root was the ideal sought by many cultivators.

However, this was not absolute.

Throughout the long history of immortal cultivation, there had been individuals who possessed three or four high-grade spiritual roots, but the probability was terrifyingly low—lower even than the birth of a Heaven-grade spiritual root—so later generations tended to ignore this possibility.

Mixed spiritual roots fell below the Yellow grade; like discarded waste, they were not even ranked.

In the eyes of cultivators, multiple mixed spiritual roots were the trash of trash, not worth mentioning at all.

Chen Changming was, unfortunately, the owner of such trashy spiritual roots.

"Hahaha..." A hearty laugh rang out, and soon after, a spirit boat fully loaded with people sped over.

"Junior Brother Zhao, Junior Brother Yu, how was your haul this trip?"

As they drew near, a burly youth at the prow of the boat cupped his hands and asked with a grin.

The disciple surnamed Zhao on Chen Changming's boat shook his head with a wry smile: "The best one is only a Yellow-grade mid-tier..."

"And the worst?"

The burly youth asked again.

"The worst is a five-element mixed spiritual root!" the disciple surnamed Zhao said heavily, then glared at Chen Changming.

The burly youth glanced at Chen Changming and couldn't help but laugh: "Then you juniors are truly unlucky."

The disciple surnamed Zhao shrugged, his expression helpless.

He couldn't control such things; it was all down to luck. Who told the regions they were responsible for to be so disappointing!

"Oh, so that's the five-element mixed spiritual root trash? Come out and walk a few steps, let this young master take a look!"

A youth in brocade robes darted out from behind the burly youth, hands on his hips, squinting his eyes as he laughed: "This is a rare item, supposedly even rarer than a Heaven-grade spiritual root! Hehe..."

The crowd burst into laughter.

All the youths on this spirit boat scanned the opposite vessel with burning gazes, as if determined to ferret out that piece of trash!

The disciple surnamed Zhao's expression shifted.

Seeing the situation escalating, the burly youth quickly lowered his voice: "Junior Brother Zhao, this Shi Kelang has an Earth-grade upper-tier fire spiritual root..."

The disciples surnamed Zhao and Yu both changed color upon hearing this.

An Earth-grade upper-tier single spiritual root was an absolute genius for the Lingxiao Sect.

Although everyone knew that Heaven-grade spiritual roots were the best in the world, in reality, within all the major sects of the Yue Kingdom, there wasn't even a single one!

An Earth-grade single spiritual root was already considered a supreme genius in the Yue Kingdom's cultivation world!

Zhao and Yu fell silent, deliberately playing deaf and dumb to Shi Kelang's provocation. Fortunately, the burly youth reacted quickly and steered his spirit boat away, diffusing the awkwardness.

A cold glint flashed through Chen Changming's eyes and vanished.

He had marked this Shi Kelang; if the opportunity arose in the future, he would surely repay today's humiliation tenfold.

"Chen Changming, you are very sensible..." The disciple surnamed Zhao looked at the calm youth and couldn't help but offer a word of praise.

Through these days of interaction, he had developed quite a liking for this honest and steady youth.

Chen Changming smiled slightly.

In truth, he had long since prepared various psychological contingencies. After all, he possessed the trashiest spiritual roots in this world; if he joined a major sect like the Lingxiao Sect, it was inevitable that he would be looked down upon, mocked, neglected, insulted, suppressed... or even targeted with lethal intent.

Thus, he had prepared himself to survive in the Lingxiao Sect by keeping a low profile.

Before he possessed absolute strength, he would not strike at those who bullied him. But once he did strike, he would annihilate the enemy with the force of a thunderbolt, leaving no clues behind.

An hour later.

The spirit boat flew into the Lingxiao Sect and landed on a plaza at the mountain peak.

As soon as Chen Changming stepped down, he heard the disciple surnamed Zhao instruct: "You all go wait on the east side. Chen Changming, you go to the west side!"

"Immortal Master, why is he being treated differently?"

A young boy asked curiously.

The disciple surnamed Zhao shrugged, watching Chen Changming's retreating back, and said helplessly, "Because that side is where those with the worst aptitude go..."

The boy immediately shut his mouth, his eyes filled with sympathy.

As Chen Changming walked into the crowd on the west side, a fatty approached him with a grin, "Haha, another one arrives. Brother, what is your spirit root?"

"And you?"

Chen Changming smiled calmly.

The plaza on the mountaintop was vast. There were hundreds of people standing on the east side, while the west side was sparsely populated, with only eighty or ninety people.

Perhaps having long since realized their future fate, those on the east side generally appeared high-spirited and vigorous, while those on the west side were significantly lacking in energy and spirit.

"I have a water-fire mixed spirit root."

The fatty scratched his head and laughed.

Chen Changming nodded and said slowly, "I have a five-element mixed spirit root."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

"I never imagined that the legendary five-element mixed spirit root actually existed..."

The fatty took two steps back, his face full of shock.

Ignoring the reactions of the crowd, Chen Changming chuckled, "Why wouldn't it exist? I've even seen one before."

"Haha, trash belongs with trash!"

Not far away, a burst of wanton, mocking laughter rang out from the crowd on the east side.

Chen Changming closed his eyes and fell silent.

It was Shi Kelang speaking again. This guy relied on his superior talent to disregard the rules; one day, he would pay him back twofold.

Seeing Chen Changming standing as still as a block of wood, the people around lost interest in mocking him and began chatting among themselves, the atmosphere in the plaza becoming quite lively.

After waiting for several hours, no more immortal ships descended.

By now, the plaza was packed, and even the west side had gathered nearly two hundred people.

Next, the high-ranking members of the Lingxiao Sect appeared in full force, including the Sect Master, the various Peak Masters, and the Elders. After a fierce competition, they took away all the young geniuses from the east side.

And Shi Kelang, that arrogant figure, naturally became an inner disciple of Skyfire Peak.

"The immortal path is long and arduous. Have you all come here to seek the Dao?"

An ethereal voice rang out. An old man in white robes floated in the void, looking down from above at the group of youths remaining in the plaza.

This was an Executive Elder.

After the high-ranking members of the Lingxiao Sect had finished selecting their disciples, they had all departed, leaving the fate of those youths with poor aptitude to be arranged by this Executive Elder.

"Immortal Master, we have naturally come to seek the Dao."

A youth said loudly.

"Good!"

The Executive Elder smiled faintly and waved his hand, causing a beam of light to descend and transform into a mysterious yellow ancient tower.

"Your aptitudes are poor, but if your resolve is firm, you may still walk further on the immortal path... This Heart Demon Tower is the place for your trials. If you can persist inside for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you may become a chore disciple of the Lingxiao Sect."

The Executive Elder pointed a finger.

The Heart Demon Tower trembled slightly, and its four gates opened simultaneously.

A chore disciple?

So, the aptitude of a five-element mixed spirit root could only earn one the position of a chore disciple!

Chen Changming touched the token at his chest, sighed to himself, and was the first to walk into the Heart Demon Tower.