Testing

Huo Kai gave Huo Hai no chance to explain or prepare. He grabbed Huo Hai and left. Huo Yuner looked around, then at Little Gold following Huo Hai. After hesitating for a moment, she bounced along after them.

"Xiao Hai, wait here. I'll go get your grandfather. If you dare run away, you'll regret it."

After Huo Kai left, Huo Hai finally had the chance to look around. Sweeping his gaze over the area, he realized he had arrived beside an enormous building. Wasn't this the Scripture Pavilion he had wanted to visit? It seemed that if he failed this test, he could forget about entering the Scripture Pavilion. Huo Hai felt helpless, while his memories began to stir.

Huo Hai's grandfather was indeed the former patriarch. Now that he had stepped down, he served as the Lineage's Grand Elder. In recent years, he had rarely appeared in public. His cultivation had reached the peak of the Spirit Practitioner Realm, and it was said that he had been searching for an opportunity to break through into the Spirit General Realm.

The Huo Family had always passed down through a single line. By the time of Huo Hai's grandfather, things had improved somewhat, with Huo Hai's father and second uncle. But in Huo Hai's generation, it had become a single line again. And that only heir had died, allowing Huo Hai to borrow his corpse and return to life.

Huo Hai grumbled inwardly without stop. Seriously, didn't I transmigrate? Where's the promised cheat ability? Where's the promised fiancée? Where's the promised broken engagement? Where's the promised useless-trash storyline? Why is none of that here? If it's not a useless-trash storyline, then could you at least give me a genius storyline? Why do I have nothing at all? Am I supposed to live out my days in obscurity on this continent?

Just as Huo Hai's thoughts ran wild and he could not help roaring inwardly, several figures approached from afar. Walking at the front was none other than the grandfather he had barely had a chance to see these past few years.

"Seriously, you're comfortable leaving Grandma outside all alone? Aren't you afraid some other old man will snatch her away?" Huo Hai muttered unhappily. Still, he forced a smile and went up to greet him. "Grandfather, long time no see."

"Get lost, you brat! Long time no see? Are you asking for a beating?" That greeting immediately set the old man off. The powerful aura made Huo Hai feel as though he could barely breathe. By the time he came to his senses, he was already in his grandfather's grasp. Like a chicken, he was carried in his grandfather's hand toward the Scripture Pavilion.

As he walked, the old man said to Huo Hai's father, "That boy actually endured my aura without fainting. Not bad. It seems he has been cultivating on his own, though I have no idea what he ate."

So that had been a test. Huo Hai felt deeply frustrated. If you wanted to test me, you could have said so beforehand. Why hit me without a word? If he had not experienced such tremendous pain before, who knew what would have happened?

What Huo Hai did not know was that when cultivating a Spirit Art, one was not merely tempering the body. Spiritual energy also strengthened the soul bit by bit. If one's foundation was unstable, not only would one lack physical strength and affinity with spiritual energy, but even the soul and mind would possess certain flaws. Once one reached higher realms, those flaws would affect one's comprehension of Spirit Arts and spiritual energy.

The Body-Refining Spirit Formation truly deserved its reputation as the finest body-refining Spirit Art. Using the Body-Refining Spirit Formation was not only fast, but completely free of flaws. Everything reached the utmost limit that one's body could achieve. That immense pain was, in truth, also a kind of tempering for the soul.

If it had been any other expert who had just reached the Spirit Blood Realm, even if they did not faint beneath the old man's aura, their spirits would have withered. How could they be like Huo Hai, who merely felt a burst of pressure before becoming lively and energetic again, as though nothing had happened?

At that moment, Huo Hai suddenly felt himself being set down. Looking up, he found that he had arrived in a small room. In truth, the room was not small. It was only called small because it was cluttered with things everywhere, like a storeroom for miscellaneous goods. There was only a tiny open space in the middle, and once several people entered, it was packed.

The old man rummaged through the pile of junk for a while. When he turned around, he was holding a small sphere. "Come, put your hand on it, then inject your spiritual power into it." The old man did not explain what it was, merely told Huo Hai to do as instructed.

Looking at the crystal ball, Huo Hai's heart was full of bitterness. If it is a blessing, it is not a disaster; if it is a disaster, there is no escaping it. I'll risk it. At worst, I'll die. Eighteen years from now, I'll be a fine man again. Though, does this world even have reincarnation...?

While his thoughts ran wild, Huo Hai placed his hand on the crystal ball beneath everyone's watchful eyes. A thread of spiritual power entered it. Then the crystal ball began to glow. Vast amounts of spiritual energy, drawn by the crystal ball, rapidly gathered toward it. The crystal ball grew brighter and brighter, until it finally released a dazzling cyan light, like a giant light bulb.

After a long while, Huo Hai withdrew his hand and carefully asked, "Um, there's nothing wrong with me, right? Does that mean... does that mean I can cultivate the next Spirit Art?" Huo Hai spoke with extreme caution, even bending at the waist.

The old man came back to his senses and casually tossed a thin booklet to Huo Hai. "All right. There's no problem with the test. You can go now. This contains the Foundational Spirit Arts for the Spirit Blood and Spirit Bone Realms. Cultivate them properly. If you have nothing else to do, you can look around in the Scripture Pavilion. You probably have not cultivated any combat techniques yet, so practice them well."

Having said that, the old man drove Huo Hai out. After Huo Hai left, Huo Yuner followed him out as well. At that point, the expressions of those remaining in the room changed. The old man's expression was especially solemn.

"You know what that phenomenon just now meant, don't you? Even with my current cultivation, I cannot accomplish that." The crystal ball lit up again, though not as brilliantly as before. This time, it gave off only a faint, hazy cyan glow.

This crystal ball was not used to test combat strength, but the compatibility between spiritual power and spiritual energy. Spiritual power was closely related to one's physique. The better one's physique, the higher one's compatibility with spiritual energy. Naturally, one's spiritual power would also possess a greater compatibility with spiritual energy. The light Huo Hai had just produced showed that his compatibility with spiritual energy had reached a terrifying level.

"Could the crystal ball be broken? Xiao Hai cultivates our Lineage's Foundational Spirit Art. It should not have such a tremendous effect. He has not gone anywhere else in ordinary times, so it is impossible for him to have learned some high-level Spirit Art."

Huo Kai furrowed his brow as he thought. Even among the great families of the Southern Cloud Empire's imperial capital, there seemed to be no Spirit Art capable of allowing someone to achieve this. What exactly was going on? For this to happen to Xiao Hai was simply too strange.

"You said that day that you tested Xiao Hai's Spirit Veins, and they were already open, correct?" the old man suddenly asked Huo Kai.

Without even thinking, Huo Kai answered directly, "That's right, they were open. Every Spirit Vein required by our Lineage's Spirit Art had been opened, along with many other Spirit Veins. I truly have no idea how that boy cultivated." Normally, upon reaching the Spirit Blood Realm, one could only open the most important Spirit Veins. The other Spirit Veins had to be opened little by little during cultivation.

Only exceptionally powerful Spirit Arts could open those additional Spirit Veins. When Huo Kai had tested him with his own spiritual power that day, he had discovered that every Spirit Vein he examined was open. But he did not dare imagine that all of Huo Hai's Spirit Veins had been completely opened.

The old man lowered his head and said softly, "A powerful spirit, compatibility with spiritual energy **, opened spiritual veins... even the foundational Spirit Art attached to a Mystic-grade Spirit Art could not achieve this. There is no need to test Xiao Hai's foundation. It is better than ours."

Huo Kai cautiously said, "Then what should we do? Are we really going to let him continue cultivating like this? What if he ate some special spiritual medicine? I'm worried that it might cause him some harm."

The old man glared fiercely at him. "What do you know? Xiao Hai must have consumed some spiritual medicine, and it was the extremely rare kind that slowly releases its medicinal power. Otherwise, how could he cultivate so quickly, with such remarkable results? Judging from the effects, what Xiao Hai ate was no ordinary spiritual medicine. Once he completely absorbs its medicinal power, he may even surpass us."

At this point, the old man suddenly laughed. "Hahahaha! Heaven has truly treated my Huo Family well. If Xiao Hai can reach the Spirit Practitioner Realm before the age of twenty, then our Huo Family will one day become the strongest Lineage in the Western Frontier."

The old man was advanced in years, yet his ambition had not diminished in the least. If it were possible, let alone becoming the strongest in the Western Frontier, he would even seek to unify it. Unfortunately, he lacked the ability. At his age, he was still only in the Spirit Practitioner Realm and had failed to break through.

Among the many Lineages of the Western Frontier, which top-tier Lineage did not possess several experts in the Spirit Practitioner Realm? In contrast, the Huo Family had few members, and its strength was slightly inferior to that of other Lineages. If Huo Hai could break through into the Spirit General Realm, then the Huo Family would become a first-rate Lineage in the entire Southern Cloud Empire. Controlling the whole Western Frontier, no one would dare utter a word of objection.

"Can it really work? I'm just afraid Xiao Hai is too young to bear such a heavy burden," Huo Kai said with some concern.

"What are you worried about? When I became patriarch, I was only a little older than Xiao Hai is now. Didn't I make it through just fine? Children need tempering. I know you dote on your son. But if you keep treating him this way, that will be what ruins him."

Huo Kai thought about it and realized that it was true. All this time, he had kept Huo Hai from dangerous situations. That was why Huo Hai did not understand the strength of spiritual beasts and did not even know what spiritual beasts lived near the Lineage.

So Huo Hai had gone with several guards to capture spiritual beasts and ended up injuring himself. Huo Kai could not remain at his side every moment to protect him. Since Xiao Hai had encountered a fortuitous opportunity and consumed high-grade spiritual medicine, they should not waste it. He needed to diligently develop his own strength, improving both his power and temperament. Only then could he truly be safe and protect others.

Huo Kai nodded forcefully. "I understand. From now on, I will not shield Xiao Hai from every danger. A sapling beneath a great tree can never grow." Seeing Huo Kai like this, the old man felt greatly relieved.