Chapter 5

The spiritual root testing had gone on for most of the day before the Su family's turn finally came. As their only legitimate daughter, Su Mianmian naturally went first.

The moment Su Mianmian stepped onto the White Jade Platform, it lit up with red and green light. The red was dazzling, while the green was rather dim.

The disciple recording the results glanced at the stone dial, surprise crossing his face. He had thought the fire-Earth Spirit Root would be the best they saw today, only to encounter someone with even better aptitude.

"Su Mianmian, fire-wood symbiotic Spirit Root. Eighty percent fire, ten percent wood. Superior-grade Spirit Root." The recording disciple thought that eighty percent fire and ten percent wood were scarcely inferior to a seventy-percent single Spirit Root.

A murmur rippled through the crowd below. Even the two Inner Gate Disciples' eyes lit up.

"Su Mianmian, is it? Here's your token." The recording disciple's expression grew noticeably more fawning as he handed it to her.

Su Mianmian took the token and walked back to Su Jiu in a daze. Su Jiu chuckled softly. "I told you that fiery temper of yours meant you had a fire spiritual root."

Su Mianmian waved the token in her hand and said haughtily, "You'd better not turn out to have no Spirit Root at all."

Smiling, Su Jiu shook her head and walked up. Everyone's attention was clearly still on Su Mianmian, however. After all, producing even one superior-grade Spirit Root was a once-in-a-century occurrence for the Su family. No one believed they could produce another.

Su Jiu stepped onto the White Jade Platform. Instead of the waterlike blue ripples that had descended in her previous life, pure white snowflakes drifted up. The crystal tube on the platform's right instantly filled with pure white light. On closer inspection, snowflakes and ice crystals were visible within it.

While the recording disciple was still puzzling over what this was, the Inner Gate Disciple seated on the raised dais abruptly stood and came down to examine the crystal tube himself.

He looked incredulously from Su Jiu to the White Jade Platform. His lips pressed together and his brow faintly furrowed as he hesitated. Finally, he took a slightly yellowed sheet of paper from inside his robes, formed a hand seal, and muttered something under his breath. Moments later, the yellow paper vanished before everyone's eyes.

Su Jiu recognized it. That was a talisman.

The Inner Gate Disciple looked at Su Jiu, his throat feeling rather dry. Perhaps he was too accustomed to acting aloof, or perhaps it had simply been too long since he last smiled. Either way, his smile only sent a shiver through her.

He apparently realized his smile was not particularly pleasant. Rubbing his face, he asked softly, "Could you wait a little?"

Compared with the voice he had used when speaking to the Head of the White Household, this could already be considered exceedingly gentle.

The Outer Gate Disciple had never seen anything like this and naturally did not understand. Seeing Su Jiu step down, he asked the Inner Gate Disciple beside him, "Should we continue?"

The Inner Gate Disciple waved a hand. "Continue."

The Su family's children went up one after another to be tested. Just as they were nearing the end, two streaks of sword light flew in from the horizon. One stopped in midair, while the other descended.

The one who landed was an elderly man with the bearing of an immortal sage. The cuffs and collar of his white robes were orange, and he leaned on a long staff. His hair, beard, and eyebrows were all long, yet meticulously groomed. Most striking of all was the staff in his right hand, set with a dark green orb that was clearly no ordinary object.

The old man was none other than the Azure Tide Sect's grand elder.

She had never seen the young man using Sword Control in the air. Still, the black-and-gold embroidery on his collar and cuffs gave her some idea of who he might be.

"Which one is it!"

The moment the old man stepped off his flying sword, he blurted out that abrupt question.

Just then, the last of the Su family's children happened to finish their test.

The four Azure Tide Sect disciples bowed respectfully to the old man. The Inner Gate Disciple looked toward the little girl behind him.

Both arrivals turned their attention to Su Jiu. She was indeed an exceptionally pretty girl. Even though she had yet to begin cultivating, a cool reserve unlike that of ordinary people seemed to emanate from her very bones.

The old man circled Su Jiu, stroking his long white beard. "Little girl, go stand on the White Jade Platform." What the ears heard could be false; what the eyes saw was proof. He still needed to confirm it himself.

Su Jiu lowered her eyes. Somehow, she felt that this life was turning out rather differently from her previous one.

She stepped onto the White Jade Platform once more. Once more, it became a field of ice and snow, and the crystal tube filled instantly.

The old man sucked in a sharp breath.

The recording disciple had clearly caught on. Here was someone with a Spirit Root, but hers seemed different from the ordinary five-element Spirit Roots. "Grand Elder, how should I record this?"

"Record what!" How could he report someone with aptitude like this? Of course he would keep her as his own disciple.

The Outer Gate Disciple looked utterly bewildered. But if they took her back without recording her, the head count would not match.

The Inner Gate Disciple seemed to have confirmed his suspicions and cast a discreet glance at Su Jiu.

Just then, a streak of sword light suddenly descended from the sky. Su Jiu was seized by the collar and lifted upward. The old man froze for a moment before reacting with a furious shout. "Chu Mojin! Is that any way to snatch someone? Besides, the little girl hasn't even climbed the Heavenly Ladder yet. How are you any different from a bandit!"

Chu Mojin! Su Jiu remembered who he was now. He was a figure who lived in legends, with dual water and ice Two Spirit Roots, his ice Spirit Root reaching eighty percent. Both his swordsmanship and his spells were extraordinarily powerful. In her previous life, however, she had only ever heard of him from her master, the sect leader. She had never met him.

The man looked very young. A wine gourd hung at his waist, and his tall, graceful figure was as elegant as jade. Handsome and carefree, he watched the little girl dangling in midair with a hint of a smile.

Seeing that the girl had no cultivation whatsoever, he had expected to frighten her. Yet he found not the slightest trace of fear in her eyes.

Interesting.

Watching Su Jiu dangle in midair, the Su Family Head and Madam Su could not help trembling with apprehension. Most of the others present had no idea what was happening either.

"Weren't you planning the same thing when you refused to put her details on record?" Chu Mojin's cool voice drifted down from above.

The old man stroked his beard awkwardly. "All right, all right. Put her on record. Whatever else happens, she still has to climb the Heavenly Ladder." No matter how good her aptitude was, the Azure Tide Sect would not accept her if she failed that trial.

Chu Mojin was silent for a moment, then said to Su Jiu, "Little one, you must make it up the Heavenly Ladder."

He set her down, then used Sword Control to leave.

The old man sighed and told the recording disciple, "Ice spiritual root, one hundred percent." With that, he gave Su Jiu a reluctant glance before using Sword Control to fly away as well.

The recording disciple turned to stone. Weren't ice, lightning, and wind Spirit Roots supposed to be extremely rare?

The old man's words were like a drop of water splashing into boiling oil. The crowd instantly erupted.

"An ice spiritual root? Is that the ice spiritual root I'm thinking of?"

"The Su family's adopted daughter actually has an ice spiritual root, and it's one hundred percent! Holy shit!"

"Once Su Jiu returns from her training, won't the Su family sit firmly at the top of the Four Great Households?"

"I heard from my elders that the Chen Lineage and Li Lineage heads were there when Su Jiu was found, too. But in the end, it was the Su Family Head who chose to take her in."

Quite a few people sneaked glances at those two lineage heads.

Sure enough, their expressions were every bit as ugly as expected.

The Inner Gate Disciple on the dais glanced at Su Jiu, who kept looking toward the Su Family Head. He cleared his throat softly. "You have an hour to say goodbye to your families."

Just as they were about to put away the White Jade Platform, a girl in white came running over. She looked fifteen or sixteen, with a gentle, charming appearance.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I'm from the Bai Lineage. Could you test me?" Tears shimmered in the girl's eyes, as though refusing to test her would amount to bullying her.

The recording disciple curled his lip. He had seen plenty of women like this in the sect. Still, she had not missed the final deadline.

Bai Su thanked the recording disciple with a smile and stepped onto the platform, brimming with confidence. The moment she did, yellow, blue, and green light shone from it. Green reached seventy percent, while yellow and blue each reached forty percent.

Bai Su's smile froze on her face. How could this be? Ran Chao had clearly said that undergoing Qi Induction in just three days meant my aptitude was excellent.

This was Su Jiu's first time seeing Bai Su since her rebirth. She had to admit that Bai Su was truly beautiful, with a fragile beauty that stirred pity in anyone who saw her. Never mind men-even Su Jiu, a woman herself, could not help feeling the urge to protect her. She truly was the child of destiny chosen by the Heavenly Dao.

Then Su Jiu's gaze shifted to her right wrist. Sure enough, she wore the Emerald Bracelet. Its appearance was unremarkable, however, and it drew little attention. Later, Bai Su would rely on the pills inside that bracelet to expand her harem and acquire a whole flock of followers.