Three days passed quickly.
That morning, the square before Cloud-Leveling Hall's mountain gate was already a sea of people. Thousands upon thousands of mortals and cultivators from every direction gathered there. Clouds and mist churned overhead, and the golden hall glittered in the morning sunlight, as though the immortal realm were gazing down upon the mortal world.
A horn thundered, making even the earth tremble faintly. The enormous bronze gates before the hall slowly opened, and a majestic voice descended from the vaulted heavens: "All children under fourteen may enter the square to undergo spirit root testing. Everyone else must remain outside."
The crowd erupted into a clamor. Parents bent down one after another, admonishing the children beside them:
"Remember, if you truly have an immortal destiny, you mustn't ruin your own future!"
"Don't be afraid. Even if you fail, we'll still have food to eat when we get home."
"Stand tall. Remember, you're our family's hope!"
Countless children clenched their fists nervously. Some gritted their teeth, others secretly shed tears, yet all were pushed and pulled toward those gates bathed in golden radiance.
Among the crowd, Qin Yu's mother, Qin Yu, crouched down, holding his shoulders with both hands, her eyes full of tenderness and reluctance to part. Her voice trembled slightly, but she tried to keep it gentle. "Yu'er, whatever the result, Mother will be waiting here for you to return. Remember, whether you become an immortal or remain a mortal, you can always rely on me."
Qin Yu looked at her, his eyes bright, his voice young but firm. "Mm, don't worry, Mother. I'll do my best in the test. I definitely won't disappoint you."
At that moment, Qin Yu's mother could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes, and they tumbled down her cheeks. She reached out and gently stroked the boy's face, struggling to smile through her tears. "Go, child. Whatever you become, Mother will be here."
Qin Yu nodded solemnly, then followed the crowd toward the enormous gates shrouded in golden light, his little cloth bundle on his back.
His small figure gradually disappeared into the tide of people, until he vanished within those solemn gates.
His mother stood where she was, tears swirling ceaselessly in her eyes. Clutching the corner of her clothes, she murmured, "Yu'er... you must stay safe."
Countless parents around her likewise had tears in their eyes, some praying, others reluctant to part. A tense, heavy atmosphere filled the entire square. The gazes of thousands upon thousands of parents all turned beyond those enormous bronze gates-the entrance to an unknown destiny, and the fork in the road of every child's life.
As the enormous bronze gates slowly closed, the clamor of the mortal world was shut outside.
The children stepped inside, and the view suddenly opened before them-a magnificent square large enough to hold a hundred thousand people!
The square was paved with divine white jade stone. Ancient runes were carved into every tile, faintly shimmering with golden radiance, as though the veins of heaven and earth lay beneath their feet. Towering walls surrounded them, carved with immortal birds and divine beasts hundreds of zhang tall, so lifelike they seemed ready to break free of the walls at any moment.
Dozens of floating islands hovered in the sky, crowded with golden halls. Golden bells hanging from the eaves chimed in the wind, sending out clear, far-reaching immortal melodies. Clouds and mist drifted slowly down between the halls like a heavenly river pouring forth, casting the entire examination ground in the likeness of an immortal realm.
An enormous altar towered at the center of the square, its nine tiers rising one above another. At its summit floated a massive Spirit Stone, crystalline and translucent, like a star fallen from beyond the heavens. Intricate runes engraved upon it flashed continually, like a divine eye watching over mortals.
-that was Cloud-Leveling Hall's [Spirit Root Testing Stone].
Whenever its radiance flashed, the golden pillars surrounding the square resonated with it, humming like mighty bells and making the children's hearts tremble.
Thousands of boys and girls stood in lines among the square's steps, their queues winding like long dragons. Some were so nervous their faces had turned pale, some trembled with excitement, and others held their heads high and chests out, as though they already regarded themselves as future immortals.
On the floating islands high above, dozens of Cloud-Leveling Hall disciples looked down, their robes fluttering and their presences flickering in and out of perception, adding an invisible pressure to the entire examination ground.
Suddenly, a deep bell rang through the nine heavens, shaking every rune in the square alight. Golden light swept through heaven and earth like surging waves.
An elder with white brows and a white beard descended from the sky and landed before the Spirit Root Testing Stone, his voice rolling like thunder. "On this day when Cloud-Leveling Hall opens its gates to accept disciples, all children under fourteen may come forward for spirit root testing! Those blessed with an immortal destiny shall enter the immortal sect and cultivate the Dao to attain true immortality!"
At that moment, the hearts of thousands of youths seemed to beat as one, their eyes filled with fear, longing, and hot-blooded fervor.
Standing amid the vast crowd, Qin Yu looked up at the towering altar and floating Spirit Stone, his eyes bright. He clenched his little fists, with only one thought in his heart:
-Mother, I won't disappoint you.
The atmosphere in the square was stifling to the extreme. Every step toward that Spirit Stone was a choice of fate.
Silence surrounded the square. Only the enormous Spirit Root Testing Stone hummed and vibrated, releasing endless radiance as its runes flowed.
The first child climbed the altar, trembling, and placed a palm upon the Spirit Stone. A moment later, azure light suddenly appeared on its surface, howling through the air like wind sweeping away scattered clouds.
"Wind spirit root!" a Cloud-Leveling Hall disciple announced loudly.
An uproar immediately rose from the square. Azure light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds, and transformed high above into an eagle with outspread wings, circling the nine heavens in imposing splendor. The child's face flushed with excitement, tears nearly filling his eyes, while his parents outside the gates burst into loud sobs, crying, "Our ancestors have blessed us!"
The second child stepped forward. The Spirit Stone's radiance was much dimmer, giving off only faint specks of earthen-yellow light.
"Low-grade earth spirit root."
This time, the radiance merely spilled out a little, like dust settling to the ground, and soon went out. The child's face paled as he slowly withdrew. The surrounding discussions immediately grew subdued. His parents sobbed helplessly outside the gates, but could only accept the result.
The third child reached out and touched the Spirit Stone. In an instant, golden light exploded, brilliant as a blazing sun, dazzling the surrounding disciples until they could not see.
"Metal spirit root! And a high-grade one!"
On the floating islands overhead, the eyes of several Cloud-Leveling Hall elders flashed. Two even spoke quietly to one another. "Good aptitude. Worth focused nurturing."
The square erupted all the more. Golden light transformed into a divine general clad in golden battle armor, who threw back his head and roared, shaking the universe. The child trembled all over with excitement, barely able to stand, and a disciple personally guided him down.
The testing continued, with hundreds of youths taking turns stepping forward. For some, the Spirit Stone remained dark and lightless, and they were declared to have "no spirit root," collapsing to the ground in tears. For others, light soared skyward, drawing waves of astonished cries from the crowd.
Overhead, the radiance of the five elements alternated constantly: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Sometimes it became divine birds, sometimes enormous beasts, as though phenomena from the immortal realm had descended upon the mortal world. The whole square seemed to be undergoing a baptism of heaven and earth, every burst of radiance setting people's blood racing.
As time passed, the crowd's emotions grew ever more intense. Some went wild with joy, some wept in despair, and others stood frozen for a long time, unable to move. Outside the gates, parents waited in anguish. Cries, laughter, and prayers intertwined, as though every facet of mortal life had gathered in this moment.
At last, it was the turn of Qin Yu's line.
The youths held their breath one after another, watching the small figure walking up the altar.
"Next, Qin Yu."
At that moment, gazes from all around the square converged upon him. Countless people murmured, "Is that the child brought here from a little village? I heard his background is unknown, but the teacher strongly recommended him."
"He's only thirteen, isn't he? He doesn't look particularly remarkable."
"Heh, who knows whether he'll pass this hurdle."
Qin Yu took a deep breath and slowly climbed the nine-tiered altar.
As he approached the Spirit Root Testing Stone, its runes flickered slightly, and its humming grew deeper than before, as though heaven and earth were holding their breath.
Countless Cloud-Leveling Hall disciples up on the outer hall all turned their eyes down toward him.
The square fell utterly silent.
Qin Yu's small figure stood alone atop the nine-tiered altar. He extended a palm and slowly pressed it against the crystalline Spirit Root Testing Stone.
A moment passed... nothing happened.
The Spirit Stone was cold, its markings silent and still. Not even a trace of light appeared.
The crowd below immediately began whispering:
"What's going on? Does he have no spirit root?"
"Ah, I'm afraid he's just a mortal."
"He looks bright and clever, but it turns out he has no immortal destiny after all."
Standing outside the crowd, Qin Yu's mother felt her heart clench painfully, tears swirling in her eyes.
-just as everyone thought the result was settled, the Spirit Stone suddenly shook!
Boom!
A low hum abruptly resounded through the square. The runes lit up in an instant, and the entire Spirit Stone shook violently, as though heaven and earth were responding. Wind howled, pressing down so hard that people struggled to breathe, but it vanished in a fleeting instant.
Countless people stared wide-eyed and cried out in shock, "A Spirit Stone phenomenon!" "How is that possible?"
The Cloud-Leveling Hall elders high overhead also rose one after another, their eyes blazing as they stared at the altar.
Qin Yu's palm was held fast against the Spirit Stone. An indescribable force seemed to be probing his bloodline and marrow. Wild radiance appeared on the stone's surface, yet it did not erupt into the five colors of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Instead-"Humm-" Gray! Only utterly unremarkable gray radiance.
A wisp of gray Qi like smoke slowly seeped from the Spirit Stone, curling upward. It had no dazzling radiance, no magnificent divine manifestation, only the most monotonous fluctuations of the lowest-grade spirit root.
Everyone froze. "What's going on? Why was there a trace of a phenomenon just now?"
Then a disciple announced loudly, "Gray spirit root, the lowest spirit root qualifying for admission! This child has passed the test!"
As his voice fell, the square instantly erupted.
"What?! The lowest-grade gray spirit root?!"
"What was that phenomenon just now, then? It turned out to be a gray spirit root? Could something be wrong with the Spirit Stone?"
"That's far too much of a contrast!" "Probably a coincidence. I reckon something unusual happened with the Spirit Stone." "But even so, surely it shouldn't be a gray spirit root."
Some parents sighed; others shook their heads. The amazement and shock of a moment ago turned into disappointment and mockery in an instant.
Only Qin Yu's mother finally let her tears fall. She pressed her lips together tightly, telling herself over and over:
Whether it's a gray spirit root or the lowest grade, he has a future as long as he passes. As long as he has a thread of immortal destiny, I'm content.
Qin Yu slowly withdrew his hand, and the gray Qi dispersed. He turned to look beyond the square. Despite the sea of people between them, he spotted his mother at once.
He broke into a grin, his gaze innocent yet resolute.
At that moment, a wave of aching sorrow rose in his mother's heart, yet hope unlike any she had felt before also caught fire.
-no matter how others mocked him, in her eyes, this child was already more precious than any heaven's chosen blazing with boundless golden light.
The gray Spiritual Qi dispersed, but the uproar in the square had yet to subside. Some sighed, some sneered, and others shook their heads with feeling. Yet amid this clamor, Qin Yu's small figure suddenly rushed down the altar and hurried through the crowd.
"Mother-!"
He threw himself into his mother's arms, wrapping both hands tightly around her waist, a smile unlike any before on his face. "Mother, I passed!"
His voice was young, but filled with irrepressible joy and pride.
His mother froze for a moment, then wrapped her trembling arms around the boy, finally unable to keep her tears from pouring out. She bent down, resting her forehead against the crown of his head, and answered through sobs, "Yu'er... good child. I knew you could do it."
Amid the surging crowd in the square, mother and son embraced tightly, as though only the two of them remained between heaven and earth. The surrounding discussions faded into nothing at that moment. Only this scene remained reflected in every mother's eyes, bringing a trace of moisture.
As the last group of children finished testing, a clear voice rang out across the square. "All who have passed the spirit root test may enter Cloud-Leveling Hall to cultivate. Their parents and relatives may receive travel funds for the return journey, in recognition of their efforts."
The disciples then handed out cloth pouches, filled with neatly arranged spirit coins and dry rations. Every child's parents received one, a small gesture of Cloud-Leveling Hall's consideration for mortals.
With tears in their eyes, parents offered instructions or lingered in reluctance, but ultimately withdrew slowly through those towering gates.
As the crowd receded, Qin Yu's mother bent down one last time, holding his shoulders with both hands, her voice gentle but firm. "Yu'er, remember, whether you have a gray spirit root or are a heaven's chosen, I'll be waiting for you at the village entrance. Study well and live well, then come back to find me someday."
Tears glimmered in Qin Yu's eyes, but he tried hard to puff out his little chest, answering in a young yet certain voice, "Mm! Don't worry, Mother. I'll definitely return after completing my studies!"
His mother gazed deeply at him, seemingly holding a thousand things to say in her heart, but in the end they became only a soft murmur. "Good child..."
She turned away, tears blurring her eyes once more. Clutching the cloth pouch of travel funds tightly, she walked with heavy steps toward the far end of the crowd.
The gates slowly closed, cutting off mother and son's view of one another. His mother looked back one final time. The boy's figure could no longer be seen beyond the gates. Only those words still echoed in her ears-
"Mother, I passed!"
Now, countless parents outside the square departed one after another, their crying and laughter intertwining into the truest joys and sorrows of the human world.
And within Cloud-Leveling Hall's gates, Qin Yu's entirely new destiny had only just begun.
As the bronze gates closed completely, the cries and reluctance of the outside world gradually faded into the distance, leaving only the newly admitted disciples in the square.
A disciple serving as a steward in Cloud-Leveling Hall stepped forward, his voice clear but allowing no question. "All children who passed the test, follow me to the outer courtyard. Lodgings will be assigned according to spirit root grade. Those with high-grade spiritual roots or above will enter the inner courtyard directly. The rest will take their places according to rank. No noise!"
The group immediately split into several lines. Children with the five-colored radiance of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were led into different areas in turn. Qin Yu's line was the sparsest, with only a handful of youths, all giving off faint traces of gray spiritual presence.
They lowered their heads, some anxious, others ashamed, not daring to meet the other children's eyes. People nearby cast contemptuous glances at them, mocking quietly, "Gray spirit roots, the lowest-ranking disciples. They'll probably never amount to much on the immortal path."
Qin Yu heard them, but merely clenched his fists. Remembering his mother's tearful instructions, his gaze instead grew even more resolute.
The gray spirit root disciples were led to a corner of the outer courtyard, an area of bamboo houses built against the mountain. Wooden houses stood one after another, roofed with blue-green tiles, their walls simple and crude. Inside were only a wooden bed, a writing desk, and a water jar. The conditions were extremely austere.
The steward disciple said indifferently, "You will live here. From now on, when the morning bell rings each day, you must go to the outer courtyard's martial training ground to attend lectures and cultivate. If you complete your assignments, you may exchange them for Spirit Stones and rations. Though Cloud-Leveling Hall distinguishes between ranks, it abandons no disciple."
With that, he swept his sleeve and left.
Outside, the bamboo grove swayed in the wind, leafy shadows dancing, bringing the cool sound of the breeze. Compared with the magnificent halls and the splendor of the inner courtyard, this place seemed utterly desolate.
Yet when Qin Yu entered his little house and put down his cloth bundle, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.
Though the wooden bed was hard, it was much cleaner than the straw bedding in the village. Though the writing desk was old, it truly belonged to him alone to use. There was a water jar outside, so he could draw water to wash whenever he wished, far more convenient than carrying water in the village.
He reached out and stroked the desk, a sense of peace he had not felt in a long time rising in his heart.
"This place... is much better than the village," the boy murmured, his eyes shining.
Night gradually fell. The bamboo grove rustled as a light breeze passed through. Sitting in his new home, Qin Yu clutched his calligraphy copybook and silently swore in his heart:
-whether I have a gray spirit root or am the lowest-ranking disciple, I will never disappoint Mother!
Beneath the bamboo house's dim lamplight, a boy's path of Dao cultivation quietly began.
Early the next morning, the morning bell thundered like a mighty tide from Cloud-Leveling Hall's lofty halls, sending echoes through the mountains and rivers. The gray spirit root disciples emerged from their bamboo houses, filed along the stone steps, and gathered at the outer courtyard's martial training ground.
The martial training ground spanned a full thousand zhang, paved with white jade and surrounded by towering golden pillars. Disciples with different spirit roots stood in separate formations: the metal spirit root disciples stood at the very front, bright and splendid, their robes neat and their waist ornaments exquisite; the mid-grade spirit root disciples were arranged on either side, less dazzling than those with metal spirit roots but still brimming with vigor; the gray spirit root disciples were assigned to the remotest corner, near the bamboo grove's shadows, looking neglected.
Qin Yu stood among them, his gaze clear, yet he could not help feeling that invisible divide. Many disciples with high-grade spirit roots cast contemptuous looks at them, and some mocked quietly, "Gray spirit roots... they'll probably never get far beyond the immortal sect's doors."
"They're only here to make the others look good."
Qin Yu lowered his eyes but did not argue. He remembered his mother's instructions: whatever the result, Mother would be waiting for him.
Just then, a hearty laugh sounded beside him.
"Hey, you're a new gray spirit root disciple too, right? My name's Yang Zheng. I'm fourteen this year."
Qin Yu looked up and saw someone half a head taller than himself, sturdily built, with dark skin and bright, lively eyes. He wore a long gray cloth robe. Though its hem had several patches, it had been kept perfectly clean. His smile was open, carrying an honest warmth.
"My family's on the Northern Cold border. We're hunters. We're poor, and my parents scrimped and saved to send me here for the test. As for the result-haha, look, I've got a gray spirit root too."
As he spoke, he scratched his head, his smile showing not the slightest inferiority.
A trace of surprise flashed in Qin Yu's eyes. He said softly, "I... my name's Qin Yu."
Yang Zheng paused, then burst out laughing. "Good name! From now on, we're companions. Who cares whether our spirit roots are high or low? Since we got into Cloud-Leveling Hall, it can't be worse than staying in the village, right?"
Qin Yu smiled faintly, a rare ease appearing on his young face. "Mm."
Beneath this magnificent immortal sect, two gray spirit root disciples of the lowest rank met in a corner, just like that.
Though their silhouettes were unremarkable, they were like the faintest starlight in the night sky, striving to shine.