Page 14

Wen Xu looked forward to his future life of cultivation even more. Of course, it would be even better if he could form a Golden Core soon and return to take revenge.

So after going in circles, it still all came down to Spiritual Roots.

Generally speaking, cultivators could test their Spiritual Roots at seven or eight years old. This was especially true for those born into Aristocratic Clans, since Spiritual Roots were largely hereditary. For example, if both parents were cultivators, there was a fifty percent chance that their child would also be a cultivator, with a similar Spiritual Root. A Fire Spiritual Root could not produce a Water Spiritual Root, nor would an Earth Spiritual Root inexplicably give birth to a Wood Spiritual Root.

Though the Five Elements generated and restrained one another, they still had to follow the basic laws of nature. Of course, single-element Spiritual Roots were exceedingly rare. Most cultivators possessed multiple Spiritual Roots, so naturally, anything could be born. Thus, every large clan equipped itself with Spirit-Testing Stones to test the children of the lineage in advance. Those with excellent Spiritual Roots would receive focused training and be sent to the major sects to learn their skills, thereby strengthening the lineage.

However, Spiritual Roots could undergo a second development when a cultivator reached adulthood, and this phenomenon was not uncommon. Thus, most major sects recruited people between eighteen and fifty years old. Naturally, the Five Major Sects were stricter; they accepted only those under thirty.

After all, the Qi Refining Stage could not preserve one's looks forever. A fifty-year-old Qi Refining cultivator was already an old man with one foot in the grave. As for someone who had long since reached Foundation Establishment, such cases were extremely rare. Anyone capable of reaching Foundation Establishment before fifty could not possibly have remained masterless until that age. The Five Major Sects did not accept disciples who came carrying their own skills.

Of course, geniuses were exceptions. If Sword Venerable Mei Xi of the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect announced that he wanted to change sects—even if only the faintest rumor leaked out—not to mention the Harmony Sect and Yonglu Mountain, even the Buddhist Cultivators of Bitter Crossing Temple would rush overnight to queue outside the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect's gates to claim him.

Returning to the matter at hand, because Spiritual Roots were not entirely stable before adulthood, the Cultivation Realm did not advocate testing them too early. First, it feared that gifted cultivators would be pulled up by the roots to help them grow; second, it feared that certain malicious people would deliberately destroy others' Spiritual Roots. Yet even if it was forbidden openly, countless people did it in secret. Especially among cultivation Aristocratic Clans—probably everyone in their clan's hidden grounds had a Spirit-Testing Stone.

Wen Xu felt that the cultivation Aristocratic Clans of the Cultivation Realm were not all that different from the nobles and royalty of the Mortal Realm. Only the authority and power in their hands differed.

"What are you thinking about? Don't be so nervous. Look at you—you reached the Second Layer of Qi Refining in just three days. I think you're definitely a genius!" With the Mountain Examination about to begin, Bian Chunchou spoke in a low voice as he followed the flow of people forward.

The Preliminary Trial had eliminated most examinees, yet a hundred Qi Refining cultivators remained. It was said that Yonglu Mountain conducted the Mountain Examination and Mind-Question Trial together. The former tested the examinees' talent in martial arts, while the latter tested their character and temperament. Together with the Preliminary Trial's search for and harvesting of spirit plants, it was not hard to see that Yonglu Mountain recruited disciples with a clear purpose.

Three days was enough for the two to become familiar, and Bian Chunchou was naturally outgoing to begin with. Wen Xu no longer spoke as stiffly as he had at first. "You and I are friends, so naturally you think everything about me is good. If you were an examiner, then I truly would have nothing to be nervous about."

The two spoke quietly, without obstructing anyone, yet someone simply had no sense of boundaries and came looking for trouble. "Two country bumpkins. 'If you were an examiner,' my ass. One blind man and one dirt turtle—don't think that just because you muddled through the Preliminary Trial, you can muddle through the Mountain Examination too."

"You—"

"What about me? Are people not even allowed to speak the truth?" The man wore a Cloud Deer robe, the cloud deer on its hem seeming to flow, run, and leap. It was clearly no ordinary item, and his background must have been impressive. "Wen Xu, I've heard your name. You're quite pleased with yourself for taking first place, aren't you?"

Wen Xu raised his head to "look" at him. With his eyes covered, he could not see the man, but the man's aura alone was deeply hostile. "What do you mean by that, fellow cultivator? We have never met before. I should not have offended you, senior brother, have I?"

Bian Chunchou, who had originally wanted to stand up for his friend: ...Wow. For some reason, he had the strange feeling of watching a chick from his household finally grow up.

"Are you pretending not to understand, or do you truly not understand? Wen Xu, you never registered for Yonglu Mountain's Preliminary Trial, did you? Yet you secretly entered the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm without registering, got lucky and picked Fragrant Elixir King Grass, and that was how you became first in the Preliminary Trial. Are you going to deny it?"

No one had known Wen Xu's origins at first, but after three days, word that he had fallen from the Mortal Realm into the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm had spread without wings. After all, the Cultivation Realm had plenty of special methods for investigating someone's background.

Wen Xu tilted his head, his voice carrying a peculiar chill. "Fellow cultivator, are you questioning me?"

"If you want to think of it that way, I can't stop you."

Wen Xu immediately laughed softly. His smile was actually very beautiful; even with his brows and eyes covered, it did not diminish his handsomeness in the slightest. "You know perfectly well that I am insignificant, and that three days ago I was merely a mortal. How could I possibly influence Yonglu Mountain's decision? If you truly have doubts about my results, why not ask the Yonglu Mountain elder behind you directly?"

At some point, the Yonglu Mountain elder presiding over the Mountain Examination had silently arrived. This time, however, it was not Elder Zhan, but Elder Zhao Qi of the Discipline Hall.

Elder Zhao was quite famous at Yonglu Mountain—famous for defending Yonglu Mountain's reputation. If someone fell into his hands, there was no need to beg for mercy; the best course was to obediently admit fault at once. Unfortunately, the cultivator provoking them face-to-face did not recognize Elder Zhao.

Upon hearing Wen Xu's words, his heart gave a jolt. But when he turned and saw a short, plump middle-aged cultivator with a kindly face who seemed to possess no authority at all, he said, "Then I'll ask. For someone like you, who disregards Yonglu Mountain's rules, am I not allowed to question you?"

Elder Zhao glanced at the blind boy before turning his gaze toward the examinee who had spoken. "Boy, what do you believe Yonglu Mountain's rules are?"

"I..."

"When has Yonglu Mountain ever announced that one must register in order to take the examination? A cultivator's path is meant to follow one's heart. Since this boy had the fortuitous opportunity to enter the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm during the Preliminary Trial, and picked Fragrant Elixir King Grass, that is his good fortune. Yonglu Mountain naturally will not shut such a person outside its gates. But if you dislike Yonglu Mountain's rules, you may go to another immortal sect and seek the rules you want."

What kind of person did Zhao Qi hate most? It was certainly crooked-necked trees like the one before him, spoiled rotten by Aristocratic Clan rules. Did this brat really think Yonglu Mountain was his household? He would never favor anyone because of their background.