Chapter 7

Not long after. 520 official website

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In the southeastern direction of the county town, there was a massive white jade boat. This jade boat, seemingly crafted from white spirit jade, shimmered with a myriad of colors, looking extraordinary and impressive, now hanging quietly in the air.

After familiarizing himself with the area, Cheng Bu Zheng roughly determined that the location was near the county town square. He was about to head there when he noticed many people in the crowd quietly moving in that direction.

"There are quite a few smart people!"

Suddenly,

A person familiar with the terrain pointed towards the distant sky and shouted, "That's the location of the county town square!"

Instantly,

The crowd surged towards the county town square, but there were so many people that the movement was abnormally slow. Cheng Bu Zheng, like a drop of water in the tide, could only flow with the crowd towards the destination.

As time passed, Cheng Bu Zheng gradually approached the county town square. Many constables, who had been waiting for a long time, formed a human wall to block the way.

A middle-aged man dressed in constable attire, with a saber at his waist and a firm grip on the hilt, who seemed to be the leader of the constables, stepped forward and shouted loudly,

"The Immortal has arrived and is recruiting disciples at the square, but only those 16 years old and younger are eligible.

The Immortal has decreed!

From this moment on, only those 16 years old and younger may enter the square!

Do not dare to rush the constables, or we will not spare you for being fellow townspeople!"

After saying this, he retreated back into the human wall formed by the constables, his eyes fixed on the crowd.

As soon as he finished speaking,

The crowd became restless and began to murmur. Cheng Bu Zheng felt as if countless mosquitoes were buzzing in his ears. Soon, the crowd began to flow back, with some people going home to fetch their children, others bringing their daughters who were considered a burden... and so on.

Cheng Bu Zheng did not have the habit of being the first to act and quietly waited for the right moment.

Not long after,

A luxurious carriage approached from the distance. The driver was a burly man, waving a whip to disperse the crowd and shouting,

"The young master of the Zhang family is here, make way quickly!"

Instantly, the crowd in front quickly moved to the sides, leaving a wide path. These commoners dared not provoke the powerful families in the county.

As the young master of the Zhang family arrived, other powerful families also came one after another.

"The young master of the Qian family has also arrived, all the powerful families are here!"

"We commoners dare not outshine the powerful families. If we... don't get selected and offend them, life will be hard in the future!"

"Yes!... Do you remember the son of Old Zhang ten years ago? He dared to outshine the powerful families and wasn't selected by the Immortal. His life is miserable now!"

...

Cheng Bu Zheng listened quietly to the murmurs of the crowd. When he heard about the consequences of outshining the powerful families, his heart tightened.

He stared intently at the familiar luxurious carriage, inside which sat Qian Zhe, the eldest son of the Qian family.

After all the powerful families entered the square, the young boys and girls dared to form orderly queues and enter the square. They knew the power of the powerful families and did not dare to offend them.

After a long while, Cheng Bu Zheng finally joined the long queue.

The queue moved forward continuously, and soon, Cheng Bu Zheng entered the county town square.

The once empty county town square was now blocked by four human walls, forming a large rectangle. Each wall had a long queue of young boys and girls.

At the center of the square, there were nine Immortals. Eight of them looked young, wearing gray robes with a dragon-like pattern embroidered on the cuffs.

The leading Immortal was an old man with a sage-like appearance, wearing a black robe identical in style to the young Immortals' but in a different color. He also had a dragon-like pattern embroidered on the cuffs.

He was sitting cross-legged in the center of the eight young Immortals, eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.

The eight young Immortals were divided into four pairs, each responsible for one of the four queues.

As time passed, many young boys and girls who did not pass the Immortal's test left the square, while those who passed stood respectfully beside the Immortals.

Cheng Bu Zheng noticed that so far, only three young boys and girls had passed the test, out of nearly a thousand who had been tested.

He waited anxiously for his turn, feeling both hopeful and fearful.

Not long after,

Cheng Bu Zheng saw Qian Zhe, who had not passed the test, looking gloomy and walking back with other failed candidates.

He quickly turned his body and, after a long while, turned back to observe quietly. Seeing that Qian Zhe had left the square, he felt a sense of relief.

"Phew!"

The queue continued to move forward, and Cheng Bu Zheng finally saw how the Immortals conducted the test.

The two Immortals responsible for his queue had a crystal ball-like artifact floating in front of one and a jade slip in the hand of the other.

Cheng Bu Zheng found the test simple: just place your hand on the crystal ball. However, even after he could clearly see how the test was conducted, no one had passed yet.

He was quite curious about what would happen if someone passed the test, as it was crucial to his interests.

Suddenly,

The crystal ball emitted four colors: green, red, yellow, and blue.

The Immortal with the floating crystal ball, seeing the four colors, said coldly, "Wood, Fire, Earth, Water, four spiritual roots!... Go register with Junior Brother Huang!... Next!"

The Immortal with the jade slip, more gentle, said to the excited young boy, "Come... register with me!"

The short, thin, and dark-skinned young boy, visibly excited, said, "Immortal... I... I am called Huang... Huang Li!... Thank you, Immortal..."

The Immortal with the jade slip smiled without a word, as if recalling his own excitement when he first joined the sect.

The Immortal recorded the information and, as if creating something out of thin air, produced a white jade token and handed it to the boy.

Cheng Bu Zheng witnessed firsthand what happened when someone passed the test, but the number of those who passed was extremely small.

Some young boys and girls had the crystal ball emit five colors during the test, but the Immortals did not accept any of them. They left the square just like those whose crystal balls did not emit any light.

Could it be that the five colors indicated low potential, and the Immortal sect was unwilling to cultivate them?

After two hours,

After the previous young boy left the square in disappointment, it was Cheng Bu Zheng's turn. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal ball. A cool sensation traveled through his body and then rushed to his brain.

His whole body felt cold as the cool sensation left his brain and returned to the crystal ball. The moment the cool sensation returned, the crystal ball emitted three colors: red, yellow, and golden. The light was much stronger than that of the four spiritual roots.

"Three spiritual roots."

Cheng Bu Zheng finally felt relieved. This was the first threshold on the path to immortality. Fortunately, he had the potential; otherwise, he wouldn't even have the chance to cultivate!

Cheng Bu Zheng then stepped forward and registered his information with the Immortal holding the jade slip.

After recording the information, the Immortal, as if performing a magic trick, produced a white jade token and handed it to Cheng Bu Zheng.