"This is..."
"One color, a single attribute. According to Comrade Lu, this should be the talent with the fastest cultivation speed!"
"Those books also recorded that a Heavenly Spirit Root was a one-in-ten-thousand prodigy's aptitude, even in the immortal cultivation world."
"A dragon among men, a dragon among men!"
"Good, hahaha, wonderful!"
Excited voices came through Li Tao's earpiece, before Ji Chang'an spoke and settled the matter.
"Old Li, bring him over separately after the testing. I want to meet him in person!"
"Yes, Chief!"
Chief?
What sort of person could someone addressed as Chief call Chief?
Li Tao's response sent a secret jolt of shock through everyone present, including the man who had just tested as having a single-attribute Spirit Root.
He stood frozen in place.
He watched the chief approach with a broad grin.
The chief affectionately patted his shoulder, and an exceedingly gentle voice sounded beside his ear.
"Good lad, what's your name?"
"Reporting, Chief, my name is Zhang Weiguo."
Defend the nation?
"Good, a good name. Come, stand here and wait a moment. I'll take you to meet the chief shortly."
Which chief?
Could it be...
Zhang Weiguo dared not imagine it. The highest-ranking leaders he normally dealt with were merely regimental officers.
He had seen higher-ranking ones too, but only ever glimpsed them from afar.
Only a few dozen people remained to be tested.
No unexpected surprises appeared.
Of ten thousand people, five were ultimately found to possess the aptitude for immortal cultivation.
The odds were very low, but for something like immortal cultivation, which existed only in fantasy and legend, they were not all that low.
The novels all said that aptitude for immortal cultivation was one in ten thousand.
Here, they had five in ten thousand.
Li Tao hurried away with the five, including Zhang Weiguo and Li Qi.
After taking them to a room in the safe house, he took Zhang Weiguo separately to meet the chiefs.
Zhang Weiguo's heart was in turmoil the entire way.
When had he ever seen such a grand gathering?
"Phew, don't be nervous, don't be nervous!"
He tried hard to soothe his emotions, only to find that he could not calm down no matter what.
When he reached his destination.
At the sight of Great Xia's chiefs, whom he had only ever seen on television, Zhang Weiguo's adrenaline surged immediately.
He straightened and saluted.
"Greetings, Chiefs!"
His bearing and vigor left everyone watching even more satisfied.
Ji Chang'an even stepped forward warmly and took hold of both his arms.
"Good!"
"Just what we would expect of a soldier of our Great Xia!"
"The nation's peace and stability depend entirely on your protection. Thank you for your hard work!"
Those words of thanks nearly brought Zhang Weiguo to tears.
So the nation remembered people like them at every moment.
"It's no hardship!"
"You're the ones working hard, Chiefs."
Ji Chang'an smiled and patted his shoulder, bringing the pleasantries to an end.
Mostly, he and the other chiefs all wanted to see the results of immortal cultivation as soon as possible.
"Old Li, has the cultivation chamber been built?"
"It was finished long ago."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry over!"
The cultivation chamber was a room built from the latest nanomaterials.
Its airtightness was the finest in all of Great Xia.
Its soundproofing went without saying; neither high nor low frequencies, nor even ultrasound, could penetrate it.
It had been prepared specifically for the immortal cultivators who were about to emerge.
Zhang Weiguo was very honored.
He would become Great Xia's first immortal cultivator.
On the way, Ji Chang'an briefly explained the situation to Zhang Weiguo.
When Zhang Weiguo heard that the nation wanted him to "cultivate immortality," his brain crashed for a moment.
Cultivate immortality?
Was it the immortal cultivation he understood?
Riding a flying sword through the skies.
Commanding a sword to take an enemy's head from a hundred li away.
Weren't those all myths and legends fabricated in novels?
What were the chiefs...
Filled with astonishment and doubt, Zhang Weiguo entered the cultivation chamber.
Inside was a meditation cushion, surrounded by a pile of glowing stones.
An open book lay directly ahead.
An unfamiliar voice came through his earpiece.
"Sit cross-legged on the meditation cushion."
Zhang Weiguo did not know who the speaker was, but he understood that he only needed to do as instructed.
In another room, dozens of experts had gathered, watching the large screen directly ahead with solemn expressions.
It showed a live feed from inside the cultivation chamber.
Leading them was Jiang Daocheng, the current head of Great Xia's Daoist Mount Longhu.
His study of Daoist teachings could be said to have reached the very summit, and every other expert in the field bowed to his mastery.
Unfortunately, he had been born in the wrong place.
After studying the Basic Qi Refining Instruction, Jiang Daocheng had discovered that many of its descriptions resembled records in Daoist classics from High Antiquity.
That was why he had confidence in guiding Zhang Weiguo's cultivation.
Never mind how profound the Basic Qi Refining Instruction was; even the surface meaning of those words put together was beyond Zhang Weiguo's understanding.
If he could not understand it, how could he cultivate?
"Sit naturally cross-legged. Imagine yourself as an ancient pine, its roots sunk deep into the earth, thus keeping your footing firm upon the ground..."
"Raise your chin slightly, until you feel an invisible thread gently drawing the Baihui acupoint at the crown of your head upward, leaving your head as though suspended in midair and your neck naturally straight..."
"Bring your shoulders slightly forward, relaxing them inward. Do not hunch your back. Draw a little strength back in and open the shoulder blades along your back, making your chest as open as a mountain valley and your back as spread as a bird's wings..."
"Imagine your shoulder joints as mountain peaks, slowly sinking downward. Then let your elbows droop naturally, relax your fingers, and cup your palms slightly as though gently stroking a round ball, placing them at either side of your body..."
"Yes, just like that. Next, gently close your eyes, or gaze at a spot one foot ahead. Draw the light of your spirit inward and gently rest the tip of your tongue against your upper palate. This forms the 'magpie bridge,' connecting the Ren and Du meridians. Slowly move your attention to the Dantian deep within your lower abdomen..."
"Breathe in and out naturally, using natural abdominal breathing. As you inhale fresh air through your nose, feel your lower abdomen rise slightly. As you gently exhale the turbid air within your body, feel your lower abdomen draw inward slightly. Your breathing must be deep, long, even, and fine, like a spring silkworm spinning silk, continuous and unbroken..."
"As the spirit hides, spiritual perception manifests. Practice these key instructions repeatedly until you can sense the Spiritual Qi within the Spirit Stones beside you..."
Spirit Roots, Spirit Stones, Spiritual Qi.
Jiang Daocheng's eyes were filled with envy.
This was true immortal cultivation, something he had dreamed of yet could never obtain.