Trial?

Wei Xu could not help but shudder from head to toe.

He had always been proud by nature; otherwise, he would never have declared before the Immortal Master and thousands upon thousands of spectators, "Only today did I know that I am myself."

Yet he was not, in the end, a man of the Cultivation World, and he held a deep reverence for it.

Thus, when he read in books of Karma, he treated it as an unshakable creed and did not dare question it. But after hearing Zhou Qing's words today, he felt his mind suddenly open wide, as though clouds had parted to reveal the sun. Every speck of dust upon his spirit had been swept away, and his whole person became bright and unrestrained.

Wei Xu immediately rose from the banquet table and gave Zhou Qing a deep bow. "Brother Zhou's words have benefited me greatly."

When people carry one another in a flower-decked sedan chair, everyone rises together. Wei Xu was being so humble that Zhou Qing could hardly put on airs.

He hurriedly rose from his seat as well. "Brother Wei's open-mindedness is what truly earns this little brother's admiration."

Wei Xu grew even more modest. His bow nearly sent him burrowing beneath the table. "Brother Zhou's comprehension is extraordinary. This little brother is sincerely in awe, and I hope you will not begrudge me your guidance in the future."

After the two exchanged compliments for a while, each found the other more pleasing the longer they looked. Then laughter suddenly drifted over from the stairway.

Carpenter Wang and Wang Xiaohu were entering the banquet hall.

Upon seeing Zhou Qing and his father, the Wang father and son came straight over.

Carpenter Wang laughed heartily. "Our Zhou Family Village truly is a land of splendid feng shui. This time, two children passed the test at once. The local annals will surely record it in bold, brilliant strokes."

Wang Xiaohu asked in surprise, "Brother Zhou Qing, what are you two doing?"

Zhou Qing smiled. "Brother Wei and I hit it off at first sight and were having a chat when you arrived."

Wei Xu added, "We all belong to Cloud Prefecture City. Once we enter the Cultivation World, we should support one another."

Wei Xu promptly moved his seat to Zhou Qing's table, and the Wang father and son naturally took seats there as well.

The table immediately became lively.

Zhou Qing asked Wang Xiaohu about his test and learned that he possessed an earth-attribute spirit root, with eight spirit roots in total. Among those tested today, he ranked above average.

Zhou Qing, with only one spirit root, naturally ranked at the very bottom.

Wei Xu said regretfully, "With Brother Zhou's comprehension, if you had a few more spirit roots, your future would be boundless. Even Foundation Establishment would not be beyond imagination."

"But Brother Zhou need not be discouraged. Though spirit roots limit cultivation, they are not necessarily fixed forever. For someone like Brother Zhou, with such high comprehension and such a steadfast temperament, I believe even Heaven itself could not restrain you."

Zhou Qing knew Wei Xu was merely comforting him, so he smiled and said nothing.

His situation was far more complicated than Wei Xu imagined.

He did not have one spirit root. He did not even have a single one.

The gap between one spirit root and none was likely even greater than the gap between one spirit root and eighty-one.

The latter was a question of quantity, while the former was a question of existence or nonexistence.

Once he entered the Cultivation World, it was still uncertain whether he could even begin cultivating successfully.

While they spoke, the testing continued without pause, and more newcomers kept entering the banquet hall.

As expected, City Lord Wan had prepared gifts for every person who passed the test.

Some, like Wei Xu, had heard of Karma and therefore did not dare accept the gifts. Others had not heard of Karma, but came from humble backgrounds. Faced with the City Lord's grand gifts, they were as anxious and ill at ease as Old Man Zhou, and did not dare accept them rashly.

In the end, only Zhou Qing's family accepted a residence and even asked for a woman, becoming the most conspicuous people in the room.

By evening, the testing had concluded, and only sixteen Immortal Seedlings had been selected.

Immortal Master Chen Qingxuan was the last to enter the banquet hall.

By usual custom, once the Immortal Master entered, he would soon take the Immortal Seedlings away.

With parting at hand, the people in the banquet hall were excited and uneasy, yet also tinged with the sorrow of farewell.

Who would have thought that this year's rules would differ from those of the past?

Immortal Master Chen Qingxuan walked to the front of the banquet hall, took a swig from his wine gourd, and smiled. "City Lord Wan, I have a matter for which I need your assistance."

City Lord Wan hurriedly said, "Immortal Master, please give your orders."

Chen Qingxuan swept his gaze across the faces of the Immortal Seedlings and smiled. "They will remain at this Immortal Gathering Pavilion for three days. During those three days, I want you to lay out lavish feasts here and entertain their relatives, friends, and neighbors, so they may enjoy glory to their hearts' content."

"You must also scour Cloud Prefecture City and the surrounding prefectures and counties for fine wine and delicacies, beautiful women and lovely maidens, and every kind of pleasure, for them to enjoy."

Huh?

Everyone in Immortal Gathering Pavilion was dumbfounded.

Chen Qingxuan smiled. "Could it be that City Lord Wan finds the expense too great?"

City Lord Wan hurriedly replied, "Even if the expense were multiplied tenfold or a hundredfold, Cloud Prefecture City could afford it. It is only that there has never been such a rule before, so this humble one does not understand."

Chen Qingxuan said, "The fact that there was none before does not mean there will be none in the future. What rules apply to each test is for the Immortal Master overseeing it to consider and decide. This is my rule. You need only carry it out."

City Lord Wan asked no further questions and immediately gave the orders.

He had been wishing for a chance to build closer ties with these Immortal Seedlings who were about to enter the Cultivation World, but had never had the opportunity. Now that the Immortal Master had given the order, not only did he not find the expense burdensome, he was overjoyed.

Nor was it only City Lord Wan. The wealthy merchants and landowners throughout Cloud Prefecture City, upon hearing of the Immortal Master's rule, all opened their purses and donated generously, hoping to borrow a little immortal aura from the Cultivation World.

In less than an hour, fine wine and delicacies, entertainers and amusements, even beautiful women and lovely maidens, came flowing in from Cloud Prefecture City and the nearby prefectures and counties.

Among them were women from brothels, respectable girls from good families, and even quite a few young ladies from prominent households.

Even scholarly families hoped to bear descendants who could become Cultivators; for that, even so-called chastity and reputation were not worth mentioning.

For a time, the entire Immortal Gathering Pavilion seemed to have become a nest of pleasure, filled everywhere with brocade splendor, rich colors, fragrant breezes, and silken finery.

The Immortal Seedlings of Immortal Gathering Pavilion were all at a loss before this strange new rule. Since they did not know what the Immortal Master truly intended, none dared act rashly.

Yet as the scents of fine wine and delicacies filled their nostrils, and the faces of jade-like beauties filled their eyes, their hearts swayed and their spirits drifted, until their whole beings seemed to float.

Wang Xiaohu stared at the sliced pig head meat that had just been delivered from Drunken Immortal Restaurant, saliva welling in his mouth. Several beautiful girls newly invited from Cloud Prefecture City had joined their table.

One of them was only thirteen or fourteen. Dressed in a light green gauze skirt, she had a sweet and charming face. Seeing through Wang Xiaohu's thoughts, she smiled and used jade chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and hold it to his lips.

Wang Xiaohu blushed with embarrassment, but he did not dare move carelessly. He pushed the girl aside, then leaned close to Zhou Qing's ear and whispered, "Brother Zhou Qing, what exactly is going on?"

Wei Xu, too, was being entangled by a woman until his whole body went weak. At that moment, he hurriedly broke free from her soft, tender hands and leaned over, wanting to hear Zhou Qing's opinion.

Zhou Qing smiled. "Didn't the Immortal Master say that we should enjoy ourselves properly?"

Wei Xu said, "That may be so, but perhaps the Immortal Master has a deeper meaning. We should think it over carefully."

"This little brother has heard that some sects test Immortal Seedlings by creating scenarios to examine their temperaments. Do you think the Immortal Master might be using these worldly pleasures to test our hearts? If we cannot resist the temptation of such pleasures, we may fail the test and lose our chance to enter the Cultivation World?"