Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Luo Hu glared furiously at Li Guanqi, then strode into the transport array. More than three thousand people had reached the top of the staircase, but now, only one thousand and eight hundred remained. They were all ushered towards a mountain called Heavenly Son Mountain for the next event, which was the spirit root test.

The remaining candidates were excited to take the test. Now, Li Guanqi realized that the talisman’s size did not affect the results at all. Li Sheng’an only had a fingernail-sized talisman left but also passed the first examination.

This test was not even a proper examination—its purpose was to test the candidates’ character. They had four hours, and even if they rested for thirty minutes along the way, they would still finish on time. As such, it was merely a test of mental fortitude.

Along the way, many people discussed the recent incident. How could the sect reject a Wood-Fire True Spirit Root disciple so easily? It showed that the Daxia Sword Sect was indeed an extraordinary faction.

If this were another sect, the various elders would surely be fighting over Luo Hu. They might even train him as an alchemist. The difference between a Mixed Spirit Root and a True Spirit Root was huge.

This meant that he had a Generating [1] Spirit Root, which was only ranked below a Single Heavenly Spirit Root.

However, the Daxia Sword Sect’s recruitment criteria were different. Just as Zhou Zhi implied, this was not the kind of faction that only looked at a person’s spirit root and family background.

This was why many people born to normal, peasant families felt that the recruitment process was fair. It also resulted in the rejection of many talented candidates, which was uncommon for a sect.

Zhou Zhi and Jiang Su stood shoulder to shoulder. Jiang Su whispered, “An incident like this happens every year, hehe.”

Zhou Zhi maintained a determined look and replied in a low voice, “The Daxia Sword Sect is small but closely united. We achieve such quality by weeding out the bad ones from the beginning.”Another stone-faced teenager stole glances at Li Guanqi, who looked behind him but could not spot anything unusual.

Li Sheng’an smiled but then noticed Lu Guanqi’s frown. “Guanqi, what’s wrong?”

Li Guanqi relaxed his brows and smiled slightly. “Nothing. I just feel like someone is watching me.”

Li Sheng’an grabbed Li Guanqi’s sleeve and gasped, “Huh? You can see?”

Li Guanqi grinned and pointed at his eyes, “I can’t. I am completely blind.”

Li Sheng’an nodded half-heartedly. “I don’t know if a person with Triple Mixed Spirit Root like me can pass the spirit root test.”

Li Guanqi asked, “Why? Is it tough?”

Standing beside them, Lin Dong interjected, “Do you not know anything about this?”

Li Guanqi shrugged. He only heard his grandfather talk about it occasionally. However, he was childish back then and didn’t pay attention. Furthermore, Su Xuan never told him whether he had a spirit root. Whenever he asked, Su Xuan would merely smile and remain silent.

Li Guanqi did not know what the results of his spirit root test would be. However, the mysteries of his cultivation would soon be revealed.

When everyone arrived at Heavenly Son Mountain, the elders of various peaks were already waiting. There was a gigantic flag bearing the “” (xia) character, flanked by a sword on both sides. On this plaza of a thousand-zhang radius, there were eight spirit root testing daises with a transparent crystal ball on them.

Li Guanqi activated his heart’s eye. Surprisingly, there were many high-level immortal elders on the daises. He hadn’t realized how important the sect’s recruitment day was to them.

Sensing Li Guanqi’s confusion, Li Sheng’an explained softly, “This isn’t the most dramatic it can get. In some sects, even the sect masters attend their recruitment day. The elders will fight over any candidates who show great potential in the test!”

He continued, “Some prodigies may even skip the outer sect and join the inner sect directly! Tsk tsk. Resources in the inner sect far surpass those of the outer sect.”

Li Guanqi noticed an old man with countless wrinkles on his face resting his eyes behind the gathered elders. He had a deep set of eyes, an eagle-like nose, and a short beard similar to a mountain goat’s goatee. The man’s neat gray robes gave him a serious air.

Just one look from those eyes was enough for anyone to feel guilty. This was Qin Xian, the disciplinarian of the Daxia Sword Sect. He was at the mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm.

The crowd of more than a thousand people was divided into eight queues. The ground shook slightly, and then a green, glowing array rose into the air.

The old man on the dais suddenly opened his eyes.

Boom!

The old man retracted his aura and scanned the crowd below with a sharp glare. “I am the disciplinarian of the sect, Qin Xian! Let’s begin the spirit root test!”

***

The subsequent test could be described as good for some but bad for others.

Even if someone wanted to become an errand boy in the outer sect, the minimum requirement was having a Triple Mixed Spirit Root.

Most sects wouldn’t even glance at cultivators of this caliber. Their cultivation progressed at a snail’s pace compared to those with Double True Spirit Roots, and even after pouring precious resources into their training, there was no guarantee they’d ever break through to the Qi Refinement Realm.

Tens of people had been tested so far. Other than a few Triple and Quadruple false spirit roots, some people did not even possess spirit roots.

A young boy in tattered linen clothing from Li Guanqi’s queue stepped forward to be tested. When he placed his palm on the crystal ball, a blinding golden and blue light burst from it.

The disciple performing the test smiled and announced, “Li Niu, age thirteen! Metal-Water True Spirit Root! He may enter Heavenly Metal Peak or Heavenly Water Peak! From today onwards, he shall be a disciple of Daxia Sword Sect’s outer sect. While he is with the sect, his parents shall receive a hundred taels of gold and silver.”

Finally, a True Spirit Root had appeared! Metal and Water had Generating interactions, which made it even better. This teenager’s main spirit root was Metal.

On the dais, a man in golden robes smiled at the Heavenly Water Peak’s elder and said, “Elder Lan, why don’t you let Heavenly Metal Peak have him? He’s not a female cultivator anyway, so why don’t you let us take the glory this time?”

The female elder in ice-blue robes huffed and said, “Meng Linhai! You can have him for five hundred spirit stones.”

The elder of Heavenly Metal Peak, Meng Linhai, laughed. He waved, and a pouch flew out. “Fine, fine. I will give you the five hundred spirit stones. He’s worth the investment, haha.”

The other elders smiled too.

One of them said softly, “I wonder how many Heavenly Spirit Roots we’ll get in this batch of disciples.”

Someone else said, “That’s hard to know. Heavenly Spirit Roots are rare.”

“Just a few True Spirit Roots will be excellent enough. Heavenly Spirit Roots are just too rare.”

Then, the elder of Heavenly Wood Peak let out a sigh. “I wonder if I can get my kids a new Junior Brother this year. Why are Wood Spirit Roots so rare?”

The complaint upset another elder who had been resting his eyes. His eyes sprang open as he pointed at the Heavenly Wood Peak elder’s nose and scolded, “Why are you complaining? Didn’t Heavenly Wood Peak get almost twenty disciples last year? Heavenly Lightning Peak hasn’t even gotten a new disciple in three years! Three years! Do you know how much I’ve suffered?!”

Li Guanqi wondered why the elders on the stage had begun arguing. Among them, a thin old man was especially emotional.

Li Niu burst into tears and squatted on the ground, sobbing. He had never thought that he would get to join a sect one day and have the chance to cultivate.

Then, a disciple in the sect’s uniform took him away. Li Guanqi noticed that the symbol on that disciple’s uniform differed from the symbols on the other outer sect disciples’ uniforms.

The symbol on his chest was a mountain peak piercing through clouds, and his shoulder had golden embroidery. Li Guanqi guessed that he was from the Heavenly Metal Peak.

As the test went on, more and more disciples were recruited.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. A ray of blinding golden light had burst from one of the crystal balls. The eight peak elders, who were watching onstage, suddenly appeared in the sky above.

“Metal Heavenly Spirit Root!”

The youth was unsurprised, seemingly having expected this situation. The Heavenly Metal Peak’s elder smiled so wide that many folds appeared on his wrinkled face. In a flash, he appeared next to the youth. “Hahaha! Nice one! It’s a Heavenly Spirit Root! What is your name?”

The teenager had handsome and defined features, though his thin lips gave the impression that he was not easy to get along with.

The youth bowed at the man, then turned to look at Li Guanqi. With a hint of mockery in his tone, he said gently, “Elder, my name is... Zhao Yuanlin!”

Looking down, Li Guanqi jolted. The grin on Zhao Yuanlin’s face widened.

Meng Linhai smiled and said, “Good, good! From today onward, you shall join the Heavenly Metal Peak and officially become one of our inner sect disciples. I will also take you in as one of my core disciples. What do you think?”

Meng Linhai was a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm, so naturally, he was qualified to recruit core disciples. However, Zhao Yuanlin was arrogant and a mere Heavenly Metal peak elder was not enough to move him. His goal was to become the Heavenly Metal peak master’s direct disciple.

Therefore, Zhao Yuanlin merely gave a small smile and did not reply.

Meng Linhai returned his smile and did not take offense. Prodigies were usually more arrogant, so it was understandable. Whether or not the Heavenly Metal Peak Master wanted him was a separate matter.

When he saw that Zhao Yuanlin did not intend to leave immediately, Meng Linhai asked, “What’s the matter? Do you still want to watch?”

There was a twinkle in Zhao Yuanlin’s eye as he replied loudly, “Of course. There’s another person from my hometown here. I want to watch.”

Meng Linhai did not dwell on the matter. It was common for friends to continue supporting each other after joining the sect, so he didn’t mind.

“Oh? Are you guys close?”

However, Zhao Yuanlin’s subsequent words were like a boulder falling into a still lake, causing waves of shock.

“No, no. I wouldn’t be close to a person who would exchange his sister’s life for ten strings of coppers. I’m just curious... would the Daxia Sword Sect want a person like this?”

All the elders frowned in unison and glared fiercely. They did not want someone with a character like that, no matter how talented they were.

Suddenly, all the candidates who had not been tested yet fell silent.

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed with ice-cold killing intent.

1. In the scheme of the Five Agents (Wuxing), the five agents—Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth—interact with each other. There are two types of interactions: Generating and Overcoming. Generating interactions result in positive outcomes, and it can be said that both agents complement and boost each other. Overcoming interactions cause both agents to diminish. Wood and Fire are said to have a Generating Interaction. Source:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxing_(Chinese_philosophy)