Tai Xuan Sect's leader, Gu Changyue, came to the testing grounds in person.
Yan Song and Luo Qinghe rose and bowed. The disciples nearby lowered their heads as well. Zhao Yuanqing stood among the crowd. He had originally hoped to escape by relying on his second uncle, but now he didn't even dare open his mouth.
Gu Changyue placed the Five Elements Origin-Returning Disk on the raised platform.
The jade disk was gray-white all over, its surface marked with five grooves and a circular array eye carved in the center. It had not been used in many years, and dust still clung to its crevices, impossible to clean away completely.
Li Sanshun descended the Immortal-Asking Stairs.
Yan Song first collected the broken pieces of the Spirit-Suppressing ID Token, then handed him a wooden token without an Array Pattern.
"The Spirit-Suppressing Rune has been destroyed. This test will only record your spiritual roots; it won't drain your cultivation energy."
Li Sanshun placed his hand on the Five Elements Origin-Returning Disk.
Gu Changyue stood beside him.
"Operate the Primordial Origin Art with all your strength. Don't suppress any of your meridians."
Li Sanshun followed his instructions.
A green light shone first, rising just a foot before stopping.
Red, yellow, white, and blue appeared one after another. The result was exactly the same as the Spirit-Testing Stone's. A few whispers rose from the crowd, and Zhao Yuanqing gripped his folding fan.
Even the Five Elements Origin-Returning Disk could only measure a foot. Li Sanshun still had five inferior-grade spiritual roots.
So what if the sect leader had come in person?
A spiritual root's grade wouldn't magically increase just because the ID token was gone.
Han Zhao had already been seized by the enforcement disciples. When he saw the result on the jade disk, he hurriedly shouted, "Sect leader, please judge this fairly! The Spirit-Suppressing Rune only affects the pressure of the Immortal-Asking Stairs. It can't change a person's spiritual roots. He had five inferior-grade spiritual roots to begin with. This disciple did not tamper with the Spirit-Testing Stone's results!"
Gu Changyue did not respond.
Though the five beams of light on the disk rose only a foot, they shone with equal brightness. As the Primordial Origin Art circulated, five-colored spiritual energy flowed along the grooves toward the center.
The five kinds of spiritual energy converged in the array eye.
They did not clash.
Nor did they consume one another.
The central array eye began to turn, refining the five-colored spiritual energy into a colorless stream.
The wind on the raised platform suddenly grew stronger.
The colorless stream rose from the center of the jade disk: one foot, three feet, five feet. It soon surpassed Zhao Yuanqing's previous record of eight feet. The stream slammed into the top of the testing array, and the entire platform trembled with it.
Gu Changyue raised his hand to steady the disk.
Luo Qinghe watched the five grooves and was the first to understand what had changed.
"All five of his spiritual roots really are inferior grade, but the spiritual energy of the five elements has already reached synchronization. Other people with five-element spiritual roots compete among themselves for spiritual energy, but the five elements within his body can make up for one another."
Yan Song looked toward Zhao Yuanqing.
"An upper-grade fire spiritual root only needs to cultivate one kind of spiritual energy, so its early progress is faster. Li Sanshun's five elements flow together. His cultivation speed has yet to be tested, but his foundation far surpasses that of ordinary mixed spiritual roots."
Gu Changyue withdrew his hand, and the colorless stream settled back into the jade disk.
"The Spirit-Testing Stone did not make a mistake. At present, he still has five inferior-grade spiritual roots."
The crowd began murmuring again.
Hearing the first half, Zhao Yuanqing finally felt some of the weight lift from his chest.
But Gu Changyue quickly continued.
"The Primordial Origin Art has refined the five elements into one. His spiritual roots already show signs of a primordial origin spirit embryo. If he can maintain the balance of the five elements over time, all five spiritual roots can grow together."
"No one with synchronized five-element spiritual roots has appeared in Tai Xuan Sect in nearly six hundred years. Even I cannot say how far such talent might go."
Cannot say.
Those four words carried more weight than a direct judgment of upper-grade spiritual roots.
The limits of an upper-grade fire spiritual root could be traced, but there was no precedent for five-element synchronization. The sect leader had used an ancient jade disk in person just to confirm the changes within Li Sanshun's body.
Zhao Yuanqing glanced at the red jade at his waist. His earlier smugness had vanished.
He still wasn't convinced.
"This disciple does not mean to question the sect leader. But the Spirit-Suppressing Rune interfered with the Immortal-Asking Stairs. How should Li Sanshun's score be counted? The sect has only so many places for nurturing talent. We must give the other test takers an explanation."
He had put it reasonably enough.
Yan Song took out a Recording Stone and projected the array's records into the air.
"The pressure on each step of the Immortal-Asking Stairs is recorded. When Li Sanshun reached the three-hundredth step, the pressure he endured had already surpassed what a person would face on the seven-hundredth step under normal conditions. The Spirit-Suppressing ID Token had also drained most of his cultivation energy."
Yan Song pointed toward the Heart-Refining Gate.
"He broke through the illusion on his own within five breaths. No one in this year's intake can match his combined results in the two tests."
The youths in the square turned to look at Zhao Yuanqing.
Zhao Yuanqing had climbed five hundred and sixty-seven steps and had used that result to put others down. Now Li Sanshun had reached three hundred steps while bearing the Spirit-Suppressing Rune. Converted to normal conditions, his score far exceeded seven hundred steps.
There was no room left to argue about the difference.
Shi Xiaohu squeezed up beside the platform, clutching his bundle. His face was flushed with excitement.
"Big Brother Li, I knew you'd get into the sect!"
Already humiliated, Zhao Yuanqing couldn't help snapping when he heard him. "An inferior-grade earth spiritual root dares to make a racket in front of the platform? Tai Xuan Sect's rules are strict. Be careful, or you'll be punished on your very first day here."
Shi Xiaohu stopped in fright.
Li Sanshun walked down from the platform and took his bundle.
"When you can't win, you drag out the Zhao family. When you can't compete, you scare a kid. You might as well carry your ancestral graves here and have your ancestors test your spiritual roots for you."
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Zhao Yuanqing tightened his grip on his folding fan. "Spiritual roots only determine whether you can enter the sect. Cultivation also depends on techniques, resources, and family background. The Zhao family has people in the inner sect, and others who serve as sect stewards. What can a country bumpkin like you possibly use to compete with me?"
"You're the one who chased me all the way from the mountain gate to compete."
Li Sanshun slung his bundle over his back.
"Now that you've lost, you say your family is powerful. If the Zhao family is really so capable, why didn't they give you an extra spiritual root?"
Zhao Yuanqing's face burned, but he couldn't find a retort.
Yan Song had no interest in watching the two continue arguing. He turned to Han Zhao and the Zhao family steward.
"There are three spiritual-energy imprints on the Spirit-Suppressing ID Token. Han Zhao was responsible for activating it, the Zhao family steward handled the array talisman, and the third imprint belongs to a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Zhao Yuanqing finally panicked.
The third imprint belonged to his second uncle, Zhao Chong.
If the investigation led back to Zhao Chong, the place in Xuan Chu Academy would be lost, and the Zhao family would also have to bear the blame for interfering with the sect's recruitment.
"Elder Yan, perhaps there's some misunderstanding. I don't know what the steward did."
Yan Song signaled for the enforcement disciples to take them away.
"Whether you knew or not, you can discuss it at the Law Enforcement Hall. You've already passed the entrance test. For now, stay in the square and don't leave the sect."
Zhao Yuanqing tried to plead for mercy, but Gu Changyue had already taken out a purple disciple token.
"Li Sanshun has passed all three tests. He may enter Tai Xuan Sect's Xuan Chu Academy."
Luo Qinghe stepped forward.
"Medicine Peak is willing to offer him a trial-study place. Five-element synchronization is well suited to caring for spirit herbs. I can open the Five Elements Herb Garden to him so he can study there for a month."
Yan Song spoke up as well. "After discovering the problem with the token, he didn't withdraw. Instead, he used the Immortal-Asking Stairs to bring the evidence to light. Law Enforcement Peak can let him sit in on lessons on formations and sect rules."
A heavy thud sounded in the distance.
A broad iron sword slammed down at the edge of the square, and Xiong Baichuan leaped off it, his arms bare.
"Am I late? Kid, no matter how many five-element techniques you know, you still need a strong body. Come to Zhen Yue Peak for a month of trial study. I'll personally teach you body refinement."
Luo Qinghe glanced at the crater the iron sword had left in the stone.
"You still haven't paid for the spirit stones owed for breaking the training hall last month. If you damage the Xuan Chu Academy's grounds, we'll add that to Zhen Yue Peak's bill."
Xiong Baichuan rubbed his head.
"Floor tiles aren't as important as disciples, are they?"
Gu Changyue raised a hand to stop the argument.
"Li Sanshun will enter Xuan Chu Academy first and spend seven days familiarizing himself with the sect. After that, he can choose a place for trial study. Whether he becomes a personal disciple will depend on his cultivation afterward."
The three peak leaders fell silent.
Li Sanshun accepted the purple token, and his heart eased as well.
He hasn't even picked a master, and three peaks are already fighting over him. This immortal sect isn't much different from the village. When it comes to snatching people, they're just as shameless.
The disciple in charge of registration led the new arrivals away from the square.
Xuan Chu Academy had a rule requiring all new disciples' weapons to be inspected by a Weapon-Appraising Disk, to prevent demonic artifacts from entering the sect.
When it was Li Sanshun's turn, he took out the Gold Blade, wrapped in cloth, from beneath his clothes.
Old Rascal had warned him never to show the Gold Blade lightly.
But weapon appraisal was an entrance rule, and refusing would only invite scrutiny. Li Sanshun didn't draw the blade; he placed it on the Weapon-Appraising Disk with its cloth wrapping still on.
The Weapon-Appraising Disk shone with white light.
[Common-grade, upper-grade weapon. No demonic aura. No blood curse.]
After checking the result, the disciple in charge of registration returned the Gold Blade to him.
Before the white light faded, the mysterious bird pattern at the base of the hilt lit up for a moment. The light was faint, and the nearby disciples were busy registering, so no one paid it any attention.
In the stone corridor behind the platform, a black-robed old man stopped in his tracks.
He looked through a stone window at the Gold Blade in Li Sanshun's hand, and all trace of sleepiness vanished from his face.
Hidden characters in a mysterious bird.
Obeying Heaven and Following Fate.
The black-robed old man hurried into a side hall on the main peak and took out an old command token that had been sealed away for many years. The same mysterious bird was engraved on its front, while the back bore the mark of the Third Prince's line of the Shunchang Imperial Clan.
Two sword-bearing disciples knelt in the hall, awaiting orders.
The black-robed old man put away the old token.
"Investigate Li Sanshun's origins. Where he grew up, who taught him the Primordial Origin Art, and who gave him the Gold Blade. I want the full dossier before tonight."
One of the sword-bearing disciples asked quietly, "Now that the Gold Blade has appeared, should we send word to the imperial capital?"
The black-robed old man gazed out the window. After a moment, he replied,
"Keep the news under wraps for now."
He closed the side hall's stone door.
"Above all, don't let the imperial capital find out."
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