Chun Xiaobai froze at her words.
All of this is yours?
Isn't that bragging a little too wildly?
Do you think this great king grew up being scared?
He curled his lip, assuming the woman was just trying to scare him before leaving, slipping a tightening headband over him to keep him in line.
"All right, I get it!" Chun Xiaobai nodded.
When he looked up again, there was no one beside him. The woman in red had vanished without a trace.
He looked left and right but found no sign of her.
"Phew-"
Chun Xiaobai let out a huge breath of relief.
"She's finally gone!"
"That woman is powerful, sure, but her brain doesn't work too well. A few smooth words, and she actually believed me!"
"I am everywhere. Watch that mouth of yours, brat."
The icy voice rang out beside Chun Xiaobai's ear without warning, making him shudder. He turned to look behind him, then looked up into the sky, but saw no sign of her.
Chun Xiaobai's heart sank. Did that woman plant some kind of listening device on me?
He immediately felt all over his body but found nothing.
Still, he had heard that powerful cultivators could leave marks on people, using those marks to pinpoint their location and transmit their voices within a certain distance.
He simply hadn't entered the path of cultivation yet, so he couldn't see such a mark.
No!
I have to hurry up and join a sect, learn an Immortal Cultivation technique, and find a way to get rid of this mark. Only then can I shake that woman off for good!
Chun Xiaobai looked ahead.
The square was packed with young men and women around his age, all anxiously running toward the enormous platform on the mountaintop.
He hurried into the crowd as well, casually grabbing a skinny young fellow in luxurious robes beside him and asking a question.
"Brother, why are you all in such a hurry?"
The young man in luxurious robes paused at the question.
Then he looked Chun Xiaobai up and down. Seeing his worn hemp clothing, he finally explained.
"Don't you know? This is the Immortal Sect Recruitment Assembly, held once every ten years."
"I know!" Chun Xiaobai nodded. "But why the hurry?"
"Because every major sect only takes a limited number of disciples every ten years. First come, first served! If you're late, you'll have to wait another ten years!"
With that, the young man shook off Chun Xiaobai's arm and hurried up the mountain.
"First come, first served?"
Chun Xiaobai grew anxious too. He broke into a run, relying on brute strength to shove through the crowds along the way as he raced toward the mountaintop.
He charged onto the platform and looked up.
Hundreds of great banners fluttered in the wind across the enormous platform, each bearing its sect's name in bold, sweeping calligraphy, like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing.
"Limitless Sword Sect," "Hundred Beasts Sect," "Cinnabar Sunset Valley"... beneath each banner, a dense crowd packed together so tightly that not even water could seep through.
Chun Xiaobai swept his gaze across them and immediately fixed on a banner bearing the name "Sunset Glow Sect."
The line beneath this banner was considerably shorter than those at the other sects.
Without another word, he charged over and used his brute strength to force a path through the crowd and squeeze inside.
The moment he steadied himself, he saw a delicate-looking young girl at the front of the line nervously pressing her little hand against a blue-green stone stele half a person's height.
Soon, a bright yellow light burst from the stele.
"Low-grade earth spiritual root. Pass!" A middle-aged steward behind the stele nodded and spoke expressionlessly.
The girl was immediately overjoyed and bowed repeatedly in thanks. "Thank you, immortal master! Thank you, immortal master!"
"Enough. Wait at the back. You'll return to the sect with us shortly."
"Is this the legendary spiritual root test?"
Chun Xiaobai muttered to himself. Seeing a dozen or so people ahead of him, he rolled his eyes thoughtfully, then relied on brute strength to push forward and force himself into third place.
His rough behavior immediately drew complaints from those behind him. One fellow shouted angrily.
"What are you doing? Get in line!"
Chun Xiaobai turned and shot him a vicious glare.
"What? Got a problem? Want to have a go?"
This was the moment that would decide their fate for a lifetime. No one wanted to create extra trouble at such a critical juncture.
Under his fierce glare, the young man finally gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger.
Soon, a young man ahead pressed his hand against the stele. He waited a long while, but the stele showed no response at all.
"No spiritual root. Fail. Next!" the middle-aged steward announced coldly.
At those words, the young man seemed to have all the strength drained from his body. He collapsed on the spot and was carried away by two menial disciples.
"Next!"
This person pressed his palm against the stele, but again, no light appeared even after a long wait. He was ruthlessly carried away, leaving only a string of despairing wails behind.
The third suffered the same fate.
It was Chun Xiaobai's turn.
As the saying goes, nothing happens more than three times. Now let this great king dazzle those damned eyes of yours!
He strode forward with complete confidence and pressed his palm against the cold blue-green stele, ready to welcome a blaze of light soaring into the sky and drawing every eye.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
"No spiritual root. Next." The middle-aged steward didn't even lift his eyelids.
"What?!" Chun Xiaobai froze on the spot. "No spiritual root?!"
He looked at his hand in disbelief.
How is that possible?
This great king was born with divine strength and even possesses divine eyes. How could I not have a spiritual root?
Refusing to believe it, he raised his other hand. "Wait! Maybe this great king didn't wash this hand properly. Let me try the other one!"
The steward grew impatient with his antics and reached out to push him aside, only to discover that the fellow stood as though rooted to the ground, not budging an inch.
"Hiss..." A flicker of surprise crossed the steward's eyes.
In that moment of distraction, Chun Xiaobai had already planted his other hand firmly against the blue-green stele.
The steward let him be.
Unfortunately, even after a long wait, the stele remained dull and gray, without the slightest gleam.
"Fuck! Is this lousy stele of yours broken?!"
Chun Xiaobai panicked.
"Broken, my ass! Get the hell out of the way! Keep making trouble, and I'll throw you straight off the mountain!"
The steward's expression darkened.
"I know you can't accept reality. Look at those people over there. Every one of them dreamed of having extraordinary talent, just like you... and look how that turned out."
"If you have no fate with immortality, then you have no fate with immortality. Accept your lot!"
As he finished speaking, the young man whose place Chun Xiaobai had cut into stepped forward from behind him and pressed his hand against the stele. It immediately erupted with dazzling golden light!
"Mid-grade metal spiritual root. Not bad! Welcome to the Sunset Glow Sect!" The steward instantly put on a smile.
"Uhhh!!!"
Now it was Chun Xiaobai's turn to stare dumbfounded.
So the stele wasn't the problem?
Pushed out of the crowd, Chun Xiaobai was utterly bewildered.
Something's wrong here. This great king has had extraordinary gifts since childhood. How could I not have a spiritual root for Immortal Cultivation?
Refusing to believe it, he ran to another sect's testing station and squeezed inside, only to receive the same result: no spiritual root.
He tried seven or eight sects in succession, and the result was identical every time.
He stood at the edge of the square with a dark expression, watching those fellows cheer on the spot and weep with joy after testing for high-grade spiritual roots. For the first time, he began to question his life.
"Fuck, isn't this great king bringing a little shame on transmigrators?"
"How could I have no spiritual root?"
Before you continue