The other Foundation Establishment cultivators were startled by these words, and the looks they gave Wang Yu immediately changed.
Before they could speak, however, Senior Brother Gu shook his head and said:
"It isn't a true half-extreme spirit flame. The second-tier power used to activate the spirit talisman merely forced out a manifestation of his fire spirit root's potential. He still has a superior spirit root; it hasn't reached the half-step supreme-grade level."
"So it's only potential. That gave me a fright-I thought we'd nearly overlooked a disciple with a half-step supreme-grade spirit root." The gaunt old man let out a relieved breath, clicking his tongue.
"Potential is only potential. The gap between a superior spirit root and a half-step supreme-grade spirit root is as vast as that between heaven and earth. Hoping to nurture a superior spirit root into a half-step supreme-grade one someday is all but impossible." The black-armored man, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke as well, his voice as grating as metal scraping against metal.
"Still, this shows that the little fellow's spirit root is of exceptionally high quality, already very close to half-step supreme grade. Otherwise, it wouldn't have produced such a manifestation of potential. If the Patriarch hadn't already asked for him by name, I'd genuinely like to grant him inner disciple status and see what fortune awaits him." The woman in colorful robes studied Wang Yu as she spoke thoughtfully.
"Junior Sister Yun, what formidable fire-attribute cultivation arts does your Azure Dragon Mountain have? Stop stirring things up. Besides, inner disciple status is precious. How can we give it to a disciple whose cultivation will be so slow and who has no hope of Foundation Establishment?" the gaunt old man said, his beard bristling and his eyes glaring.
"A slow cultivation