Chapter 4

"Good! Good! Good!! What's your name?" The old man said the word "good" three times, staring intently at Han Yu, his eyes gleaming with excitement, as if he wanted to devour the boy.

The little boy, with a proud air, answered calmly, "Han Yu!"

"Good name! And a good boy, come here to me!"

The old man nodded, smiling and beckoning Han Yu over. He took the boy's small hand, beaming with delight, as if he was afraid someone would snatch away a precious treasure.

Han Yu stood beside the old man, head held high, looking proud. Though young, he appeared more mature and steady than his peers.

This reaction made the old man nod in approval, even more satisfied in his heart.

The testing continued, and the old man's face showed even more anticipation.

However, among ordinary people, those who could naturally awaken their spiritual roots were few and far between.

In a blink, another thirty or so children were tested, but none had spiritual roots.

The old man remained calm, not too disappointed. He occasionally glanced at Han Yu, his eyes full of enthusiasm.

To him, whether there were others was no longer important. As long as he could cultivate this seed, he could certainly change the status of Luofu Peak within the Yun Ge Sect.

At this moment, only two people remained in the field, Su Shier and a chubby boy.

Su Shier noticed that the chubby boy was dressed in fine silk, with a rosy complexion, clearly the child of a wealthy family.

Before Su Shier could step forward, the chubby boy ran up to the spirit testing stone, placing his plump little hand on it nervously.

The next second, the spirit testing stone trembled slightly but showed no change.

The old man, seeing this, said expressionlessly, "Unqualified, leave!"

However, the chubby boy was clearly prepared. He did not leave but instead knelt on the ground, banging his head on the ground repeatedly, "I am Zhu Hanwei, the son of the mayor of Huilong Town, greeting the immortal sir! I am devoted to the path and hope..."

"...the immortal sir will give me a chance."

"This is a gift my father asked me to give to the immortal sir!"

As he spoke, Zhu Hanwei, in a panic, pulled out a sandalwood box from his chest.

"Hmph!" The old man's expression hardened, and the temperature in the air dropped a few degrees.

Zhu Hanwei shivered, trembling, and the wooden box fell to the ground.

The old man was about to scold him but, seeing the cracked box, his pupils contracted. He snatched the box and, upon closer inspection, his face lit up with joy, "Hmm? A hundred-year-old cold jade? I didn't expect that a mere mortal like your father could gather such a treasure."

The old man's eyes twinkled with delight.

A hundred-year-old cold jade was a material for forging artifacts, and even he found it difficult to collect. In comparison, admitting a boy without spiritual roots into the sect was not a big deal.

He quietly put away the cold jade and, with a serious expression, stroked his beard, "Alright, since you are devoted to the path, I'll give you a chance."

Zhu Hanwei was both surprised and delighted, bowing his head, "Thank you, immortal sir! Thank you, immortal sir!"

The old man waved his hand, "Alright, go stand over there."

Zhu Hanwei got up and walked to the right side of the old man, passing by Han Yu with a friendly smile.

However, Han Yu did not look at him. Zhu Hanwei smiled awkwardly, not daring to be angry. From the old man's attitude toward Han Yu, he knew that Han Yu would have a high status in the future, someone he could not afford to offend.

At this moment, Su Shier, with a nervous face, walked up to the spirit testing stone.

Hesitating for a moment, he bit his lip and placed his hand on the stone.

The spirit testing stone suddenly trembled and emitted a colorful light. However, the light was dim and flickered weakly.

Seeing the light, Su Shier's heart leaped with joy, "Thank goodness, I have a spiritual root."

But just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed the old man's grim expression, and his heart sank again.

At this moment, a woman beside him exclaimed, "Master, this child actually has a rare complete set of spiritual roots?"

The old man pursed his lips, "What complete set of spiritual roots? Each of his spiritual roots is so weak, it's as good as none. It's clearly the worst mixed spiritual roots! Such a person can only cultivate to the seventh or eighth level of the Qi Condensation stage in his entire life."

After saying this, the old man looked at Su Shier, "Unqualified! Leave!"

Hearing the old man's conversation with the woman, Su Shier's heart had already cooled by half. Hearing these words, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

For him, if he could not join the immortal sect to learn immortal techniques, how could he avenge his grandfather?

Su Shier's thoughts were in turmoil. Hesitating for a moment, his body trembled slightly, and he said, "Immortal sir, but... I have a spiritual root. Didn't you say that having a spiritual root means I can join the immortal sect?"

The old man said coldly, "What kind of spiritual root is this? I've been cultivating for over two hundred years, and I've never seen a worse one. Your talent is so poor that admitting you to the sect would only waste resources and delay your own time!"

Su Shier gritted his teeth, quickly glancing at Zhu Hanwei, feeling indignant but not daring to show it. He said softly, "But... he doesn't have a spiritual root, and he was still admitted to the immortal sect, right?"

A person without a spiritual root could be admitted to the immortal sect through a gift, which shocked Su Shier. The legendary immortal sect seemed not as perfect as he had imagined.

The old man, who appeared high and mighty, behaved no differently from the village's greedy Second Dog's father.

"Boy, are you teaching me how to do things?" The old man's face showed anger, and an invisible pressure emanated from him.

Su Shier's breathing paused, his heart racing, and he looked fearful, unable to speak. This powerful pressure made him feel as if he were back in Xiaoshi Village, being suppressed by the black-clothed man.

Seeing this, the woman beside him frowned, looked at Su Shier a few times, and said, "Grandfather, this child does have a spiritual root. Why not give him a chance? Cultivation is not easy. If he can't persist in a few years, we can send him down the mountain then!"

Seeing his granddaughter pleading, the old man's expression softened slightly. He said to Su Shier, "Alright, go stand on the right. Your talent is only slightly better than that chubby boy. You'll both be laborers!"

Su Shier breathed a sigh of relief, sending a grateful look to the woman, and then stood to the side.

At this moment, with Su Shier's test complete, there were no other children left in the field.

In total, only five people had passed the test, including Zhu Hanwei, who had connections, and Su Shier, who was admitted due to someone's plea.

The old man turned to look at the few of them and said calmly, "Although you all have spiritual roots, don't be too happy yet! The path of cultivation is long!"

"Next, I will take you to the sect for cultivation! From now on, the path of immortality will separate the mortal from the immortal. If you have any regrets now, it's still not too late."

With that, the old man waved his hand, and a flying sword shot out from behind him. Driven by true essence, the sword grew to over ten meters long in the blink of an eye.

The flying sword hovered about a meter above the ground. The old man, with Han Yu, leaped onto it.

The others, at the woman's urging, climbed onto the flying sword one by one.

As they were about to part, except for Su Shier and Han Yu, the other three children all had tears in their eyes, looking back at their families in the distance with reluctance.

The old man's expression was calm, having seen such farewells many times over his years of cultivation.

True essence surged within him, forming a protective shield around everyone. Then, the sword rose into the air, carrying them all, and flew toward the distance.