The next day.
Before dawn, Huilong Town was already like a pot of boiling water, bursting into an uproar.
Countless vendors flooded the streets, shouting their wares at the top of their lungs.
Figures came in groups of three or five, some on foot, some riding ox carts or horse carriages, converging on Huilong Town from all directions.
Immortals from Luofu Peak of the Yun Ge Sect accepted disciples once every three years, taking only children between ten and twelve years old.
This had become an established custom. Whenever it was time to accept disciples, it was also the time for Huilong Town's grand market gathering.
From all the villages within ten miles, any family with children of the right age brought them along to try their luck.
First, they could buy daily necessities.
Second, if their child was fortunate enough to be chosen as an Immortal's disciple, it would be even more glorious than passing the imperial examination as the top scholar. Even their ancestors' graves would be smoking with green incense.
Su Shi'er mingled with the crowd and entered the town as well.
The road from Little Stone Village to Huilong Town was rugged and difficult. Su Shi'er had only come here once before with his grandfather when he was young. Fortunately, he had a good memory. Stumbling and staggering all the way, he finally arrived at dawn.
However, his clothes had been torn beyond recognition, and he was filthy from head to toe, the very picture of a little beggar.
As Su Shi'er walked, he pricked up his ears and looked around.
He had come alone and had no idea where the Immortals would be accepting disciples. But he knew that among the parents bringing children around his age, there would surely be some taking their children to become disciples.
Before long, Su Shi'er followed the crowd to an open space in the middle of town, surrounded by adults.
Nearly a hundred children around his age had gathered there.
From the passersby's conversations, Su Shi'er learned that this was where the Immortals would soon accept disciples.
All the children hoping to become disciples were waiting here for the Immortals to test their talent.
Su Shi'er hunched over and squeezed into the crowd, then found an empty corner and plopped down on the ground.
After walking mountain roads all night, he was exhausted and hungry, and his feet had swollen up. Right now, all he wanted was a good rest.
Just then, clouds drifted through the sky, and a flying sword flashed over like lightning.
It tore through the air.
The flying sword was broad and wide. Two elegant figures stood upon its blade.
"Immortals! The Immortals are here!"
On the ground, everyone raised their heads to look up. Men and women, young and old alike, all stiffened, holding their breath.
The whole of Huilong Town, which had been buzzing with voices moments ago, fell silent in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the flying sword passed above the open ground. The two elegant figures leaped down from it, descending from the sky and landing squarely in the center.
In midair, the flying sword shone brightly, swiftly shrinking into a three-foot sword before settling onto one of their backs.
"Immortals?"
Su Shi'er's spirits rose, and he hurriedly turned to look at the newcomers.
One of them wore a long green robe. His face was ruddy, his hair white as a crane's feathers, and he looked to be sixty or seventy years old. A thick, grizzled beard drifted before his chest. Yet his eyes were bright and piercing, and his whole body carried an aura of unworldly grace.
The other was a delicate young woman of seventeen or eighteen.
She had arched brows and pearly teeth, red lips and white teeth. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her pale green dress swayed in the wind, making her seem like a Fairy descended to earth.
"So that's a Fairy? She's far too beautiful!"
"I never thought this old man would live to see such a beautiful Fairy."
"They say the princess of the Song Kingdom is beautiful as a heavenly maiden, but compared to this Fairy, she would probably still fall short by a fair margin!"
The moment the woman came down, the crowd stirred restlessly. Faced with such a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms and cities, every mortal present lost their composure.
On the open ground, the nearly hundred children, Su Shi'er included, were also dumbstruck.
After landing, the woman curiously surveyed everything around her and sighed, "Ten years have passed in a flash. I've finally come down the mountain!"
"I never expected Huilong Town to have so many more people after only ten years!"
The old man smiled at the woman. "Enough, don't be so busy sighing. Let's handle business first. If we can't suppress Tianhua Peak this time, that old bastard Fu Boren will laugh me to death!"
The woman nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I won't delay your business! Quite a few people came for the test this year. We'll definitely find several good seedlings."
As she spoke, she waved a hand, and a square table appeared before them.
A strangely shaped stone sat atop the table. It was the Spirit Testing Stone the sect used to test disciples' Spiritual Roots.
The old man nodded. His gaze swept over the children on the open ground, and his eyes suddenly turned cold. In a voice devoid of emotion, he said, "Among you, only a very few will be chosen to join our Yun Ge Sect."
The cold, merciless words made everyone present fall silent as cicadas in winter.
Su Shi'er shrank his neck, his heart growing even more uneasy.
"Spiritual Roots are the foundation of cultivators. Next, I will test each of your Spiritual Roots. Now, all of you form a line and come forward one by one. Place your hand on this stone." The old man spoke indifferently, casually pointing at the Spirit Testing Stone on the table.
At his words, the children formed a sparse line.
Su Shi'er stood at the very end of it, clenching his fists nervously as he craned his neck to watch.
At the front of the line, a child who was relatively brave cautiously stepped forward and placed his hand on the Spirit Testing Stone.
The Spirit Testing Stone trembled slightly, lighting up with a dim red glow.
The old man remained expressionless as he said calmly, "Low-grade Fire Spiritual Root! Qualified. Stand on the right!"
Hearing this, the child's eyes lit up with delight. He hurried to the right and stood there quietly, while a husband and wife in the crowd grew excited.
Then another child stepped forward.
This time, the Spirit Testing Stone showed no reaction.
"Unqualified! Leave!"
"Unqualified!"
"Low-grade Earth Spiritual Root. Stand on the right!"
In the blink of an eye, more than half the children had been tested. Only two children with low-grade Spiritual Roots now stood beside the old man.
Looking at the few children remaining, the old man's brows clearly furrowed, and impatience showed on his face.
Low-grade Spiritual Roots were merely the most ordinary, most commonplace Spiritual Roots in the Cultivation World. Those who possessed such Spiritual Roots had extremely limited prospects in the future.
After coming all this way, if he only recruited these two, he would surely become a laughingstock when he returned.
Just then, a dark-skinned little boy dressed in coarse linen clothes walked up to the Spirit Testing Stone.
The instant he placed his hand on it, the Spirit Testing Stone shook violently. Then, a dazzling golden light and a brilliant red light lit up at the same time.
The lights shone in all directions, faintly giving off a sharp and intimidating aura.
Everyone was stunned by the sight.
The old man's face lit up with joy, and he cried out, "What?! Top-grade Metal Spiritual Root and Top-grade Fire Spiritual Root?! Dual Spiritual Roots! Hahaha, I didn't come here for nothing this year!"
The old man was beside himself with excitement. Even his voice trembled, and he made no attempt to hide his delight.
It was no wonder he was so excited. For cultivators, Spiritual Roots were the foundation of everything, determining the speed of cultivation. If one's Spiritual Roots were poor, cultivating would yield half the result for twice the effort.
For ordinary people, possessing mid-grade or high-grade Spiritual Roots was already quite good. If a top-grade spiritual root appeared, that person would be a one-in-ten-thousand genius.
As for Supreme Dual Spiritual Roots, they were geniuses among geniuses. Such Spiritual Roots could not merely be called rare—they were practically unheard of. In the Yun Ge Sect's hundreds of years of history, only one such case had ever appeared: the sect's founding patriarch, Venerable Yun Ge!
Beside him, the pretty woman said nothing, but the joy in her eyes as she looked at the little boy was unmistakable.
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