A year passed, and Li Lin turned seventeen. With the help of the high-quality Gold Spirit Pills and White Spirit Pills he had mass-produced, Li Xue reached the late stage of the eighth level of Qi Condensation. This year happened to be the decennial disciple recruitment for the Yunjing Sect. All five major sects of Mangyun Mountain held their recruitments simultaneously, throwing every sect into a flurry of activity in hopes of discovering disciples with Heavenly Spirit Root potential.
Li Xue and Li Lin went to watch the spectacle. Normally, Qi Condensation disciples could take on missions to act as guides for applicants, but these were mostly handled by outer sect disciples. Since the rewards were quite generous, Li Xue chose not to compete with them; she knew it wasn't easy for outer sect disciples to earn spirit stones.
The Yunjing Sect’s recruitment was open to any cultivator under the age of thirty within the Qi Condensation stage who resided under the sect's jurisdiction.
The first step was the testing of spirit roots. Those with single or double spirit roots were admitted directly into the inner sect. For those with triple to five-element spirit roots, those whose fire root affinity exceeded sixty percent or who specialized in specific techniques—such as intermediate-stage alchemists or talisman crafters—would have their names recorded in the registers for priority in professional missions.
The rest were recruited based on their performance in the trials. The first trial was an illusion array designed to test a cultivator’s state of mind. Those with poor mental fortitude or weak wills would not go far on the path of cultivation, and neither families nor sects were willing to accept such individuals. The second trial was a martial competition conducted through an elimination system; only the final thirty participants would be selected.
Furthermore, there was a rather harsh rule: if you were eliminated on one stage, you could move to another stage to continue fighting. This was to prevent a situation where the strength levels between different stages were too disparate. Consequently, those who remained at the end were the elite of the elite.
Such a grand event was not unique to the Yunjing Sect; all five major sects of Mangyun Mountain held their recruitment assemblies in the same year. Therefore, every cultivator had to carefully consider which sect they wished to join. Of course, if one had the ability and time to traverse the vast mountain ranges, it was permitted to try another sect if the first failed. However, the sects were separated by tens of thousands of miles of rugged mountains. To fly there personally required a long-distance flying treasure and a cultivation level of at least Foundation Establishment. Using the teleportation arrays for this purpose was strictly forbidden.
This was also a measure to prevent opportunism. Every sect hoped its disciples would be as loyal as possible, rather than being fickle and always looking for something better elsewhere.
The recruitment began in April. On the square in front of the outer peaks, hundreds of tables were set up, forming hundreds of queues. The lines were so long they stretched from the mountaintop all the way down to the base—a truly magnificent sight.
At each table, two disciples of at least the eighth level of Qi Condensation were responsible for testing spirit roots, overseen by a Foundation Establishment disciple. The lineup was quite formidable.
On the right flank, Li Xue and Li Lin were peeking around behind one of the tables; they were clearly there just for the excitement. The Foundation Establishment cultivator beside them, named Chen Sihai, was from Dongyang Peak. He looked at the mother and son with a sense of utter helplessness.
"My two Little Martial Grand-uncles, it is far too chaotic here. Why don't you two sit in the back to watch?" Poor Chen Sihai had never felt so powerless.
"Oh, Chen Sihai, just go about your business. We’re just looking; we won't cause any trouble!" Li Lin said.
Suddenly, the spirit-testing plate in the hands of a disciple ahead erupted with a brilliant green light, drawing the attention of all three. Ignoring the pair, Chen Sihai rushed forward to examine the plate closely.
The applicant was a young boy of seven or eight. The plate displayed his spirit root: the green light shimmered intensely, and after a while, no other colors appeared. This was likely a pure Wood Spirit Root.
Excitedly, Chen Sihai pulled the boy over and asked for his age and identity in detail. He then carefully recorded the information on a jade slip and announced, "Single Wood Spirit Root! Proceed to Building Number One for re-testing!"
One of the several Qi Condensation disciples standing behind stepped forward and led the boy toward the temporary structure labeled Building Number One.
Li Xue and Li Lin exchanged a glance and hurriedly followed. A Wood Spirit Root—that was Heavenly Spirit Root potential! He would surely be snatched up by one of the elders. Since both were Qi Condensation disciples, others assumed they were on mission duty and did not stop them.
Seated inside Building Number One were Perfected Jingfei of Zhengyang Peak and Perfected Jingyuan of Dongyang Peak. They were responsible for verifying single and double spirit roots to ensure there were no errors.
The boy’s name was Cheng Shan, and he had traveled from a remote mountain village. He was six years old and indeed possessed a single Wood Spirit Root. Perfected Jingfei and Perfected Jingyuan were clearly delighted; this was the first single spirit root discovered. It seemed the sect’s younger generation had gained another pillar of strength.
Li Xue pulled the young Cheng Shan over, looking him up and down with great emotion. When Li Lin first came to the Yunjing Sect, he had been about this age. It had to be said—children with such excellent spirit roots had clear eyes and were full of spiritual vitality, their entire bodies radiating a fresh, crisp aura.
Young Cheng Shan was very shy, keeping his small head bowed, though he would occasionally steal a few glances. Clearly, it was his first time seeing so many beautiful older brothers and sisters; no one in his village looked this good.
Li Xue’s eyes crinkled into crescents as she beamed at the adorable little fellow, while Li Lin stood to the side, rolling his eyes.
***
