Testing

Huo Kai gave Huo Hai no chance to explain or prepare. He dragged Huo Hai away. Huo Yuner looked around, then at Little Gold following Huo Hai. After hesitating for a moment, she skipped after them as well.

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

After Huo Kai left, Huo Hai finally had the chance to look around. Sweeping his gaze over the area, he realized that 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, and memories began surfacing in his mind.

Huo Hai's grandfather was indeed the previous family head. Having stepped down, he was now the Lineage's Grand Elder. Over the years, he had rarely appeared in public. His cultivation had reached the Spirit Adept Peak, 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. Things had been better in Huo Hai's grandfather's generation, when there had been Huo Hai's father and second uncle. Yet in Huo Hai's generation, it had become a single line again. And that only son had died, leaving Huo Hai to borrow his corpse and return his soul.

Huo Hai grumbled inwardly without pause. Seriously, haven't I already transmigrated? Where's the promised cheat? Where's the promised fiancée? Where's the promised broken engagement? Where's the promised useless-trash storyline? Why is none of it here? If there's no useless-trash storyline, then at least give me a genius storyline, okay? Why do I have nothing? 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 very front was none other than the grandfather he had barely had a chance to see over the past few years.

"Seriously, you're not worried leaving Grandma out there alone? Aren't you afraid some other old man will snatch her away?" Huo Hai muttered unhappily. Still, he forced a smile and went forward. "Grandfather, long time no see."

"Scram, you little brat! Long time no see? Are you asking for a beating?" That greeting immediately set the old man off. The powerful aura made it difficult for Huo Hai even to breathe. By the time he reacted, he had already fallen into his grandfather's grasp. His grandfather carried him toward the Scripture Pavilion as though he were a chicken.

As he walked, he said to Huo Hai's father, "That brat actually withstood my aura without fainting. Not bad. It looks like he really did cultivate by himself. I just don't know what he ate."

So that had been a test. Huo Hai felt thoroughly depressed. If you wanted to test me, you could have said so beforehand. Why did you suddenly hit me with it without a word? If he had not endured tremendous pain before, who knew what state he would have been in?

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

The Body-Refining Spirit Formation truly deserved its reputation as the finest Body Refinement Spirit Art. By using the Body-Refining Spirit Formation, not only was the speed fast, but there were not the slightest flaws. Everything reached the utmost limit that one's body could attain. That immense pain was, in truth, also a kind of tempering for the soul.

If any other expert who had just reached the Blood Spirit Realm faced the old man's aura, even if he did not fall unconscious, his spirits would be listless. How could he be like Huo Hai, who merely felt a burst of pressure before becoming lively and vigorous again, as though nothing had happened?

At that moment, Huo Hai suddenly felt himself being set down. Looking up, he discovered that he had arrived in a small room. In truth, the room was not small. It was only called small because it was crammed with things everywhere, like a storeroom for miscellaneous junk. There was only a tiny open space in the middle, and a few people entering would make it crowded.

The old man rummaged through the pile of junk for a while. When he turned around, he held out 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 for and simply told Huo Hai to do as instructed.

Looking at the crystal ball, Huo Hai felt full of gloom. If it's a blessing, it's not a disaster; if it's a disaster, I can't dodge it. I'll stake everything on this. At worst, I'll just die. Eighteen years later, I'll be a good man again. Though, does this world even have reincarnation...?

With his thoughts running wild, Huo Hai placed his hand on the crystal ball under everyone's watchful eyes. He injected a thread of spiritual power into it. Then the crystal ball began to glow. Vast amounts of spirit energy were even drawn in by the crystal ball, rapidly gathering toward it. The crystal ball grew brighter and brighter until it finally emitted a dazzling azure light, like a giant lightbulb.

After a long while, Huo Hai withdrew his hand and asked carefully, "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, his waist bent low.

Recovering from his shock, the old man casually tossed a thin booklet to Huo Hai. "All right, there's no problem with the test. You can leave now. This contains the Foundational Spirit Arts for the Blood Spirit Realm and Spirit Bone Realm. Cultivate them properly. If you have nothing else to do, you can look around in the Scripture Pavilion. You probably haven't cultivated any combat techniques yet, so train well."

After saying that, the old man drove Huo Hai out. Once Huo Hai left, Huo Yuner followed him out as well. At that moment, the expressions of those remaining in the room changed. The old man's expression was especially grave.

"You all know what that phenomenon just now means, don't you? Even with my current cultivation, I cannot achieve that." The crystal ball glowed again, though not as dazzlingly as before. This time, it only gave off a faint, hazy azure light.

This crystal ball was not used to test one's combat strength, but to test the compatibility between spiritual power and spirit energy. Spiritual power had much to do with one's physique. The better one's physique, the greater one's compatibility with spirit energy, and naturally, the greater the compatibility between one's spiritual power and spirit energy. For it to emit that light just now meant that Huo Hai's compatibility with spirit energy had reached a terrifying level.

"Could the crystal ball be broken? Xiao Hai cultivated our Lineage's Foundational Spirit Art. It shouldn't have such a great effect. He has never gone anywhere else either, so it is impossible for him to have learned a High-Level Spirit Art."

Huo Kai frowned as he thought it over. Even the great Lineages of the Imperial Capital in the Southern Cloud Empire seemed not to possess a Spirit Art capable of doing 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 immediately replied, "That's right, they were open. Every Spirit Vein required by our Lineage's Spirit Art has been opened, along with many other Spirit Veins. I truly don't know how that brat cultivated." Normally, when someone reached the Blood Spirit Realm, they could only open their 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 extra Spirit Veins. When Huo Kai tested him with his own spiritual power that day, he discovered that all the Spirit Veins he examined were open. Yet he did not dare imagine that every Spirit Vein had been completely opened.

The old man lowered his head and said softly, "A powerful mind, extreme compatibility with spirit energy, and fully opened Spirit Veins. Even the Foundational Spirit Art attached to a Profound-rank Spirit Art could not achieve this. There is no need to test Xiao Hai's foundation any further. It is better than ours."

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

The old man glared fiercely at him. "What do you know? Xiao Hai must have consumed some Spirit Medicine, and it must be something extremely rare, something that releases its medicinal power slowly. Otherwise, how could he cultivate so quickly and with such good results? Judging by the effects, what Xiao Hai ate was no ordinary Spirit Medicine. Once he completely absorbs its medicinal effects, he may even become stronger than us."

At this point, the old man suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Heaven has not treated the Huo Family poorly! If Xiao Hai can reach the Spirit Practitioner Realm before the age of twenty, our Huo Family will become the strongest Lineage in the Western Frontier!"

The old man was advanced in years, but his ambition had not diminished in the slightest. If possible, forget becoming the strongest in the Western Frontier—even unifying the Western Frontier was something he would attempt. 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 in the Western Frontier, what top Lineage did not have several Spirit Practitioner Realm experts? In contrast, the Huo Family had few members, and its strength was somewhat 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 entire Western Frontier would leave absolutely no one daring to say another word.

"Can this 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 family head, I was only a little older than Xiao Hai is now. Didn't I make it through just fine? Children need to be tempered. I know you dote on your son, but if you keep letting him go on like this, that is what will ruin him."

Huo Kai thought about it and realized that it was indeed true. All this time, he had never allowed Huo Hai to be placed in danger. That was why Huo Hai did not understand how powerful Spirit Beasts were and did not even know what Spirit Beasts lived near the Lineage.

So he had gone with several guards to capture Spirit Beasts and had ended up injuring himself. Huo Kai could not protect him every moment of every day. Since Xiao Hai had encountered a fortuitous opportunity and consumed high-grade Spirit Medicine, they should not waste it. He needed to develop his own strength and raise both his power and temperament. Only then could he truly be safe and protect those around him.

Huo Kai nodded firmly. "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 gratified.