Who Was the Prey?

The mountain wind whipped fiercely, sweeping dust across the platform.

Han Li stood alone at the head of the crowd. Though his plain clothes were worn, they could not conceal the first sharp edge of his emerging prowess. Behind him, the other candidates climbed onto the platform one after another, most of them battered and wounded, gasping for breath. Their gazes held a tangled mix of awe, fear, and envy, yet not one dared approach him.

The burly man's corpse, which Han Li had casually tossed beside the path, stood as a silent warning that sent a chill through everyone's heart.

The inner disciple in charge of registration had trembling hands. As he wrote down the name "Han Li," his brush left a crooked streak of ink across the paper. Several stewards exchanged glances before the stern Steward Zhang finally stepped forward and said gravely, "Han Li, come with me. Everyone else who passed, wait here for the next test."

His tone brooked no argument and carried a note of scrutiny.

Han Li remained calm, as though he had not been the one who had just killed a man. He nodded slightly and followed Steward Zhang toward a grander hall behind the platform.

The hall was dimly lit, with sandalwood incense curling through the air. Several elders with deep, unfathomable auras sat at its head, all elders of the Seven Mysteries Sect. Their gazes seemed almost tangible as they settled on Han Li, probing and oppressive.

Steward Zhang cupped his hands and reported, "Elders, this boy is Han Li. He was the first to finish the opening test, and... he killed an opponent."

A red-faced elder seated in the middle spoke in a voice like a great bronze bell. "Han Li, how do you explain what happened on the Sword-Grinding Path? Fighting is not forbidden during the tests, but killing is strictly prohibited. Do you acknowledge your crime?"

An invisible pressure spread through the hall. An ordinary youth would already have been trembling at the knees, kneeling to beg for mercy.

Yet Han Li seemed not to notice. He raised his eyes to meet the red-faced elder's gaze and spoke clearly, neither servile nor arrogant. "Elder, that man sought to destroy my future. His attacks were vicious, aimed straight at my vital points. I merely fought back in self-defense and failed to control my strength. Under the sect rules, attacking a fellow candidate already warrants severe punishment. By killing him in retaliation, I also purged a disgrace from our ranks. What crime have I committed?"

He paused, his tone turning cold. "Besides, if I had been weaker, I would be the one lying on that mountain path now. Surely the Seven Mysteries Sect has no need for useless people who cannot even protect themselves."

His words stirred every elder in the hall. What a sharp tongue! What a ruthless disposition! Not only had he washed his hands of all responsibility, he had implied that the other man had brought his death upon himself, while subtly exposing the Seven Mysteries Sect's true nature: the strong devoured the weak.

Another elder, pale-faced and sinister-eyed, snorted coldly. "A tongue that wags like a reed! Your vicious attacks clearly betray a heart full of brutality! Our Seven Mysteries Sect is an upright, reputable sect. How could we admit a villain like you?"

Han Li suddenly smiled, a trace of mockery in his expression. "An upright, reputable sect? Does the elder believe those people down the mountain who secretly tripped others and used dirty tricks to seize the path were acting uprightly? The road of cultivation means defying heaven to fight for one's fate, contending with heaven, with earth, and with other people! If you lack even this much resolve to kill when necessary, you might as well go home and farm, seeking a peaceful hundred years."

"You!" The sinister-eyed elder flew into a rage. His aura surged, and he was about to lash out.

"Enough." The white-haired elder seated in the center, who had remained silent and possessed the deepest aura of all, finally spoke. His voice was calm, yet it instantly dispelled the smell of gunpowder in the hall. He regarded Han Li with an unfathomable gaze. "Young man, an excessive thirst for blood can lead you down the demonic path. Still, your words are not without reason. Our Seven Mysteries Sect did not establish itself in the Heavenly South through kindness."

He changed tack. "However, talent and temperament must still be borne out by strength. At the next test, the Spirit-Testing Platform, let this old man see where your confidence truly comes from."

The Spirit-Testing Platform stood in the center of the square before the main hall. It was an enormous slab of milky-white jade engraved with intricate runes. The hundred-odd youths who had passed the first test were now gathered there, nervously awaiting the moment that would decide their fates.

Spiritual root testing assessed one's aptitude. It was the most fundamental-and cruelest-trial on the road to cultivation. The quality of a person's spiritual roots almost entirely determined the ceiling of their future achievements.

The test was overseen by Steward Wang. Expressionlessly, he called out a name, and the youth summoned stepped forward apprehensively to press a hand against the Spirit-Testing Platform.

Most of the time, the Spirit-Testing Platform gave off only a faint glow, displaying words such as "mixed spiritual root" or "false spiritual root," drawing sighs and disappointment. Occasionally, a "three-spiritual root" appeared and caused a small stir, earning that youth a few extra looks from the elders.

"Next, Han Li!"

At Steward Wang's call, the entire square fell silent. Every gaze turned as one toward the youth in plain clothes. After the killing on the Sword-Grinding Path, Han Li had become the center of attention. Everyone wanted to see what astonishing talent this ruthless fellow possessed.

Han Li walked forward slowly, his expression as composed as ever. Now that I have lived again, reversing yin and yang, so much is different from my previous life. Even the Seven Mysteries Sect has become a major cultivation sect. I wonder whether the people I once knew will be different too. Suppressing the countless thoughts in his mind, he extended his hand and gently pressed it against the cold jade.

In an instant-

The Spirit-Testing Platform showed no reaction!

The milky-white jade lay still as death, without even the faintest glimmer of light!

"What... what's going on?"

"No reaction? Could he... have no spiritual roots?"

"Surely not? How could he be so powerful without spiritual roots?"

"Hah, so he's just a mortal with nothing but brute strength! And he was so arrogant earlier!"

After a brief silence, whispers and stifled laughter broke out. Those who had feared Han Li seemed to have found an outlet, their gazes turning contemptuous.

Steward Wang frowned deeply as well. He glanced at the Spirit-Testing Platform, then at Han Li, and said gravely, "Han Li, try again."

Han Li pressed his hand against it once more as instructed.

The result remained the same-the Spirit-Testing Platform stayed utterly motionless, like an ordinary lump of stone.

On the raised dais, the elders also looked surprised. The sinister-eyed elder sneered aloud. "A useless wretch after all! You have no spiritual roots, yet you dare spout such grand words here! Someone, take this boy..."

Just as he was about to order Han Li expelled, a sudden change occurred!

Hum!

The Spirit-Testing Platform began shaking violently. Rather than emitting light, its entire body shifted from milky white to a deep, dark gray, and an indescribably heavy, deathly still aura spread outward! The intricate runes on its surface rapidly turned pitch-black, as though soaked in ink, then began twisting and warping, giving off heart-shaking fluctuations!

"What... is happening?" Steward Wang blanched and stumbled backward. In all his years overseeing spiritual root tests, he had never seen such a phenomenon!

The elders on the dais rose to their feet in unison, their expressions changing drastically. The white-haired elder's gaze was sharp as lightning as he stared fixedly at the pitch-black Spirit-Testing Platform, which seemed connected to the netherworld's deepest reaches. His voice carried unprecedented gravity:

"It isn't that he has no spiritual roots... it's... a variant spiritual root! And one... never recorded before... a dark-attribute variant spiritual root!"

A dark spiritual root!

Those words exploded like thunder in everyone's ears. The square fell utterly silent. Every mocking, contemptuous expression froze, then gave way to boundless shock and horror!

Variant spiritual roots were one in ten thousand! Any cultivator possessing one was a treasure that the cultivation world's great powers would fight over! A dark spiritual root was an even stranger and more powerful existence of legend, a supreme variant spiritual root symbolizing destruction and annihilation!

Han Li slowly withdrew his hand. The pitch-black Spirit-Testing Platform gradually returned to normal, but its deathly still aura remained deeply branded in everyone's heart. He swept his gaze around the square, taking in the faces stricken with horror, and his lips curved into a cold smile.

Useless?

He had no need to prove anything to anyone. This so-called Spirit-Testing Platform was nothing but a joke. His true foundation was the Slaughter System in his mind and the knowledge he had gained by reaching the summit in his previous life! The quality of his spiritual roots had long since ceased to be a shackle.

The news seemed to sprout wings, swiftly spreading throughout the Seven Mysteries Sect.

In an elegant little courtyard in the disciples' residential area, a pretty, lively girl dressed in purple listened to her personal maid's report.

"A dark spiritual root? Really?" Her lovely eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the jade hairpin she was playing with. "That Han Li who killed someone down the mountain? Well, well, I never imagined he was a freak you wouldn't find in ten thousand years! How interesting. I'll have to see whether he really has three heads and six arms!"

Meanwhile, in another, more secluded villa in a valley planted with exotic flowers and herbs.

A woman dressed in white, her face covered by a light veil, played the zither beside the water. Its ethereal notes faltered slightly when she heard the news her maid brought.

"A dark spiritual root..." the woman murmured. Beneath her veil, her eyes shifted, as though ripples were stirring within them. "Is the wind... about to rise in the Heavenly South?"

Deep within the Seven Mysteries Sect, inside an apothecary chamber.

Mo Juren listened to his trusted disciple's detailed report, especially the account of the Spirit-Testing Platform's transformation. At last, his formerly placid face revealed irrepressible ecstasy, and his fingers trembled slightly with excitement.

"A dark spiritual root... hahaha! Heaven is helping me! Heaven is helping me!" He laughed softly, his eyes burning with frightening intensity. "Such a perfect vessel comes once in ten thousand years! If I can successfully possess his body, with the aptitude of this dark spiritual root, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, even the great path to Nascent Soul will all be within reach!"

After his ecstasy, however, he quickly calmed down, and a deeper wariness flashed through his eyes.

"This boy is ruthless by nature, certainly not someone easily controlled. And a dark spiritual root is strange and unfathomable... I must plan the possession carefully and ensure that nothing can go wrong!"

After pondering for a moment, he instructed his trusted disciple, "Go. In my name, bestow three Peiyuan Pills and a hundred spirit stones upon him. Say... that I congratulate him on passing the tests and hope he will cultivate diligently so he can serve the sect soon."

The trusted disciple accepted the order and left.

Watching his disciple's retreating back, Mo Juren revealed an inscrutable, cold smile.

First, offer him a small favor to keep him settled. Once I have uncovered his secrets and prepared a foolproof plan, there will still be time to possess him.

Han Li, oh, Han Li, you are destined to become my stepping stone on the path to immortality! Only, this stone seems far harder and more dangerous than I expected.

At that moment, Han Li, who had just been assigned a private courtyard, looked at the pills and spirit stones arranged on his table as the system's notification sounded in his mind again:

[Ding! Received a "gift" from Mo Juren containing a concealed tracking mark. Side quest triggered: Turn the Tables. Quest requirements: absorb the resources, increase your strength, and lull Mo Juren into complacency. Quest reward: a small increase in cultivation.]

Han Li picked up a smooth, round Peiyuan Pill and rolled it between his fingers, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

Old fox, you couldn't resist setting out your bait already?

Very well. I'll use your resources to help me rise swiftly. Once my wings have fully grown, it will be the day your soul scatters to oblivion, you old body-snatching ghost!