"Quick, quick! The City Lord's Manor is almost done testing children for Spiritual Roots. Miss this chance, and there won't be another!"
"I wonder if my little one has Spiritual Roots."
"Take the child to be tested and you'll know. If they have Spiritual Roots, they'll have some standing in the Lineage someday, won't they?"
"That's right. I heard that if their talent is decent, they might become a disciple of the City Lord's Manor. Their family will even get a hundred taels of silver!"
"Oh my! It used to be only fifty taels. We can't let this chance slip away—it's doubled!"
"Come on, hurry!"
"..."
Jiang Lu heard the crowd talking. Her ears twitched, and she poked her head out of the roadside grass. Her hair was disheveled, her face flushed with urgency and smudged with dirt. She looked a little worse for wear.
The trees around her, the village in the distance, and what those people had just said all proved that she had left familiar Blue Star far behind.
For a moment, she looked lost. Then an unbelievable thought rose in her mind.
I think I've crossed into another world.
She looked down at her clothes. Thank goodness. I'm still wearing what I had on before. I haven't ended up in someone else's body.
That morning, she had been at a gathering of her hanfu club.
That evening, her boss had asked her to work a little overtime. Just as she was about to head home, the lights had started flickering, and she had blacked out.
When she opened her eyes, she was here.
I don't want to be in another world!
She had finally found a dream job: weekends off, no overtime, full benefits, seven thousand yuan in take-home pay, easy work, and a kind boss.
How unlucky can I be?
It had been her first time working overtime in the six months since she joined. She had even found it a bit novel. Who would have thought it would also be her last?
At least she was an orphan. Still, it was a shame about the ten thousand yuan in her bank account. She had saved for so long. She wondered whether she would ever have a chance to go back.
She sighed. But she had always been one to make the best of things, and remembering what the crowd had said, she felt a secret thrill.
Spiritual Roots!?
Barring some strange mistake, she seemed to have crossed into a world where people could cultivate.
At least it isn't just ancient times. She let out a breath and felt much lighter.
She climbed straight out of the grass. Plenty of people on the road were alone, just like her, so she did not stand out.
But she did not believe this place would be like the novels she usually read. Even foreign countries back home could be chaotic, let alone an immortal cultivation world where people fought the heavens for their lives. Whether this was a higher-dimensional world or a lower-dimensional one, it lay beyond what an ordinary person raised in peaceful times could imagine.
Until she understood the rules for surviving here, she could not act rashly.
She followed the crowd for a long way. By the time her lips were dry and cracked and her clothes were disheveled, she finally saw a towering city wall, twice as high as any ancient city wall she had ever seen.
She stopped to catch her breath. Many people were leaving with their heads hanging, while others hurried excitedly toward the city gate.
She looked to either side. More than ten stalls had been set up beside the city, and the people who had run here with her were lining up in front of them.
She quickly found a shorter line and joined it. Before long, plenty of people lined up behind her. Good thing she had run fast.
"Put your hand here."
Soon it was Jiang Lu's turn. Before her mind caught up, her hand was already outstretched. The voice was so commanding that she had obeyed without thinking. Perhaps the speaker was a cultivator.
"Twelve years old. Eligible."
Jiang Lu placed her hand on a round red stone. Twelve circles appeared on its surface, and the man handed her a wooden token.
"Take this inside to have your Spiritual Roots tested."
Then he called to the people behind her, "Next."
Jiang Lu took the token and stepped aside to watch for a while. Only then did she understand: this was an initial screening. Only those aged twelve or younger could go on to have their Spiritual Roots tested.
Children from major lineages generally had their Spiritual Roots tested at six. At twelve, she was already a little late.
But she was... twelve? She had become ten years younger!
She had barely grown since she was twelve—only from a meter and a half to a meter fifty-eight—and her weight had hardly changed. No wonder she had not noticed. Did this mean she might still grow taller?
She had only been a meter fifty-eight before. If she had Spiritual Roots and began cultivating, surely she had a chance of reaching a meter seventy?
She glanced around, then headed into the city. At the gate, she was stopped. She showed her wooden token to the two imposing guards beside it, and they let her through.
She could not help stealing a careful glance at them before quickly looking away. Her body tensed. There was no mistaking it: ordinary people could never possess that kind of presence.
Then excitement surged through her. Cultivating to become an immortal, soaring through the skies and traveling beneath the earth—she had yearned for it in her very bones!
Who among us back home hasn't dreamed of cultivating immortality? I have to have Spiritual Roots. And if I don't, as long as I'm alive, I'll find a way to cultivate. Her resolve settled firmly in place, quietly soothing the restlessness brought on by her sudden arrival.
Jiang Lu watched the crowded street and walked along with everyone else. Suddenly, someone shouted a warning. People immediately scrambled to either side of the road. The crowd shoved her aside, and silence fell, so complete that she could have heard a silver needle drop.
Jiang Lu cautiously looked up. Two processions were approaching from the far end of the road. At their head walked a white giant elephant with long, tusk-like fangs. Its trunk swayed gently as it moved. A rune marked its brow, and endless ferocity churned within its dark eyes.
A palanquin sat atop the elephant, gleaming with white light. Inside sat a veiled woman.
The people in the two lines behind her rode elephants as well, though theirs were much smaller than the one in front.
They all gave off a sharp, cold aura. A thunderous roar burst from the lead elephant's mouth, and everyone immediately covered their ears.
The processions passed in front of Jiang Lu. No one dared obstruct their path. Only after they disappeared from sight did the street fill with chatter again, though it was far quieter than before.
"Who was that? How dare she swagger through the city like that? Isn't she afraid the guards will give her trouble?"
"You don't even know who she is?"
"Oh? From the sound of it, you do?"
"Of course. She's He Xiao, the niece of West River City's lord. She's only twenty, and she's already reached Qi Refinement, Fourth Level!"
"Qi Refinement, Fourth Level. No wonder she can afford to be arrogant."
"And what kind of power is the He Clan?"
"The He Clan is based in West River City's territory. It's one of the few Foundation Establishment lineages around here. They have three Foundation Establishment cultivators that everyone knows about, and more in secret."
"And look at the elephant she's riding. That's a third-tier Spirit Beast—a Tusked Giant Elephant. The He Clan has a beast tamer, so they carry some weight in West River City."
"I see. No wonder she dares to swagger around here."
Before you continue