Their many years as registered disciples in the outer court had by no means been wasted. The branch academy's Teaching Hall had long since taught them these fundamentals of the Spirit-Taming World through various means.
Everyone already knew that the Spirit Command Dao had originated in high antiquity and had deep ties to the Heavenly Saint Church and even the Ancient Immortal Kingdom. It had evolved from the foundations of Daoist arts passed down through the orthodox lineage of the Mystic School.
By middle antiquity, the Skyvault Gate, one of the seven great immortal sects, had branched off into an entirely new sect founded by the Spirit-Taming Daoist, called the Spirit Taming Sect. With this path as its foundation, it had pioneered the attainment of immortality through the Spirit Command Dao, transforming the Spirit Taming Sect from a fringe Dao Path with dim prospects into a proven new road to immortality.
But because that had been an age when spell cultivation flourished, with countless wondrous divine abilities, arts, and roads to immortality, this Dao Path had received little attention.
The Spirit-Taming Daoist himself had been only an ordinary figure among the mighty immortals. The sect he founded had always existed as a dependent of the Skyvault Gate, never rising to prominence.
Only in late antiquity, as the immortal sects declined, had it gradually grown from another sect's dependent into a power across the heavens.
The sect's Daoist arts had originally been methods for cultivators to command Spirit Creatures to aid their cultivation and combat. But toward the end of late antiquity, wars with far-reaching consequences had erupted across the heavens. An unrivaled mighty cultivator had used supreme means to Sever Heaven from Earth, destroying the spiritual energy foundation on which spell cultivation depended. Natural disasters had subsequently spread, causing spiritual energy to dissipate throughout the heavens. Cultivators could no longer cultivate magical power, and the entire Dao Path of spell cultivation had fallen into decline.
Only then had someone discovered that, by improving the Spirit Taming Sect's secret arts, they could actually use Spirit Creatures to commune with heaven and earth and wield divine abilities and spells.
Thus, all manner of lost divine abilities and spells had been revived. The Spirit Command Dao had begun to flourish and develop, eventually becoming the mainstream in this world.
Spirit tamers, as the name suggested, were cultivators who commanded Spirit Creatures. The Great Dao itself offered no arts; spirit taming borrowed them. Only through Spirit Creatures could they commune with heaven and earth and gain the ability to wield all manner of divine abilities and spells. Naturally, the spirit communion trial was indispensable.
"Bring them up!"
After finishing his explanation, the Institute Master beckoned, signaling the attendant disciples waiting nearby to bring up a series of bulbous earthenware jars the size of human heads, their lids tied down with knotted straw cords, and arrange them neatly on the long table.
Red paper labels were pasted to the bellies of the jars, each bearing the two large characters for "Swift Eagle."
These bulbous earthenware jars were among the lower-grade spirit-sealing treasures, and Swift Eagles were likewise among the lowest-ranked spiritual creatures, making them ideal for the spirit communion ceremony of newly admitted disciples.
Any discussion of the origins of Spirit Creatures had to mention the various rare birds, exotic beasts, and demons. They often possessed innate gifts that humans lacked, enabling them to sense heaven and earth in the Age of Dharma Decline. Yet humans were the most spiritually gifted of all beings, and through these creatures, they could make use of those gifts as well.
Most Spirit Creatures had corresponding original forms in the physical world, such as Demon Beasts, strange spirits, and monsters. The principal method of creating Spirit Creatures was to kill or convert these beings, extract their true spirits, then use reincarnation formations devised through formation arts to perform spirit communion and rebirth.
This method could only be used on living beings whose will to resist and true-spirit strength did not exceed the practitioner's capacity to withstand them. Thus, not everyone could succeed.
"As the saying goes, the first step is always the hardest. To become a spirit tamer, communing with your first Spirit Creature is the key. This is also an opportunity to determine whether your Spirit Essence and spirit sea meet the requirements for becoming a spirit tamer."
The Institute Master spoke.
"When you hear your name in a moment, come forward, place your hand against a treasure, and attempt spirit communion."
"The Swift Eagle spirits contained in these treasures have all been tamed by high-ranking spirit tamers and are relatively mild in temperament. As long as your Spirit Essence is sufficiently pure and your spirit sea sufficiently broad, they will willingly acknowledge you as their master, and the spirit communion ritual will be complete."
"If you successfully establish spirit communion, you can draw on its innate gift, cultivating life and spirit together to perceive the corresponding Heaven and Earth Essence."
"At that point, your Spirit Essence and spirit sea will undergo a qualitative transformation, advancing to human rank first turn."
"Once you reach human rank first turn, you will be a true spirit tamer and shall enter the inner court as a formal disciple."
"Each of you has only one chance. Remember to put your usual lessons to good use!"
He did not say what would happen to those who failed. Registered disciples who could not even achieve spirit communion were not worth mentioning.
Most of those present had thought of this as well, and their hearts tightened. Those lacking confidence could not help growing nervous.
The Institute Master nodded, signaling an attendant disciple beside him to step forward and call the names, then returned to his seat to watch.
The first name called belonged to a youth named Huang Youde.
With a slightly nervous expression, he walked onto the platform, placed his hand against the rightmost jar on the long table as instructed, and closed his eyes.
Three breaths later, the jar strangely emitted a faint blue-green glow, but it soon vanished again.
After that, no matter how Huang Youde tried to commune with it, he could not make the jar respond again.
Sweat broke out on Huang Youde's forehead in his anxiety, but he had no solution and merely gripped the jar tighter in vain.
The attendant disciple called decisively, "Stop!"
Huang Youde shuddered and opened his eyes.
The attendant disciple told him, "You failed. Next, Zhu Zhi!"
Huang Youde could only walk down with a mournful face, replaced by another, slightly plump youth who came up to try.
In the end, this youth named Zhu Zhi could not even make the jar glow, and his face turned ashen.
After ten breaths, the attendant disciple glanced at the elders on the platform, shook his head inwardly, and called, "Stop! Next, Huang Yong."
Zhu Zhi withdrew dejectedly, and another youth mounted the platform with an eager expression.
But this youth likewise only managed to make the jar flash with light. Unable to achieve spirit communion, he was stopped and sent down.
"Another failure..."
"Ah, we only have a one-in-ten chance of becoming spirit tamers. It really is hard!"
"Just watching is making me panic. What should I do?"
The successive failures inevitably left the disciples watching below the platform uneasy.
Watching from below, Fang Qianyuan also pondered silently. The Institute Master was right. Only one in ten passes the spirit communion trial. But aside from those whose aptitude is poor and who have yet to meet the requirements, anyone who performs badly at the crucial moment will also be eliminated.
When it comes down to it, the number who succeed must be even lower than one in ten. Some people only pass after taking the assessment several times in succession, by which point they're already seventeen or eighteen, or older.
A spirit tamer's cultivation advanced body and mind together. Besides possessing sufficient Spirit Essence, their own spiritual sensitivity and mental faculties were also extremely important aspects of their aptitude.
The reason the branch academy kept registered disciples like them in the outer court for years was to wait for every aspect of their development to mature.
Even so, this trial remained extremely difficult for most people. More than twenty people went up to try in succession without a single success.
Only later, when a registered disciple named Zhou Pengfei appeared, did the situation begin to change.