Previously, the elders had only watched from afar inside the Yunshan Hall, taking in disciples who caught their eye by tossing them jade tokens.
Now, because of Jiang Jin, every single one of them sat solemnly on the Fuguang Platform, making the atmosphere considerably more tense.
“Ning Zhou, is it? Bone age sixteen, Mysterious-grade second-tier water-earth dual spiritual root. Not bad.”
The cultivator testing the spiritual roots for this line was Yu Jing.
Just as he looked up and offered his praise, the Fifth Elder tossed a jade token over. “I’ll take this child.”
Catching the jade token, Ning Zhou couldn't hold back his grin at all. He dragged Song Yao, who was hiding behind him, to the front. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I got into the Inner Yard! Lin Mu, it’s your turn! Quick! Didn’t you say you wanted to be a genius? You can definitely do it too!!”
His voice was so loud that dozens of gazes instantly whipped around to look at them.
Song Yao felt a sudden, murderous urge to strangle him.
With a crowd of elders standing right in front of her—any one of whom would gladly tear her to shreds if they knew who she was—her sole intention had been to keep a low profile. Instead, she had been yanked right to the front, and she buried her head like an ostrich.
Everyone wanted to see what this "genius" looked like. Glancing over, they saw only a thin, delicate girl with flushed ears.
She was swallowed up by an overly large, plain Daoist robe. The sleeves hung past her hands, and the hem dragged at her ankles, making her frame look incredibly frail.
Perhaps out of embarrassment, her head was bowed, her messy hair veiling half of her face.
The exposed half of her face was exceptionally pale, as if she hadn't seen the sun in a very long time.
Her features were exquisite—not a flashy, striking beauty, but a cool, serene elegance, like freshly melted snow in the mountains, carrying a natural sense of aloofness.
Quiet and wordless, she seemed highly reserved.
When Yu Jing had first seen her, her face had been covered in dirt, looking as if she had just been dug out of the ground. Now that she had washed her face, she turned out to be such a fine-looking young girl. He couldn't help but smile. “Come, place your hand on the spirit-testing platform.”
Hearing her boast about being a genius, the onlookers couldn't help but look at her with amusement.
Yet the young girl hesitated, refusing to stretch out her hand. After a long pause, she spoke up sheepishly, “Um... I want to leave the sect.”
Yu Jing: “...What?”
The crowd erupted once more. Several elders on the Fuguang Platform also turned their gazes toward her upon hearing this, their brows knitting slightly.
Leaving the sect before even testing one's spiritual root or choosing a master?
What kind of logic was that?
Everyone else was terrified of being rejected.
Braving the barrage of scrutinizing stares, Song Yao steeled herself and repeated, “I want to leave the sect.”
If she didn't speak up now, it would only be more troublesome once she received a jade token.
A figure drifted over gracefully, leaning lightly against the table. A slender finger lifted Song Yao's chin, forcing her to look up. “And your reason?”
The newcomer was the Twelfth Elder.
Song Yao's past relationship with her had been relatively normal. Aside from putting toads in her bath, Song Yao hadn't done anything else malicious to her.
Song Yao pondered for a moment before speaking honestly, “I don't want to cultivate. I just want to be an ordinary person.”
It was an incredibly simple and straightforward reason.
The onlookers looked utterly baffled.
Not want to cultivate?
Who in their right mind wouldn't want to cultivate?
A flicker of amusement flashed through the Twelfth Elder's narrow eyes. She lightly tapped Song Yao's cheek before pulling her hand back. “If you don't want to cultivate, we in the Nine Saints Hall won't force you. You may leave.”
Song Yao was overjoyed. “Thank you—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a flash of light swept past, and someone landed at the front of the platform. “No, you can't.”
Song Yao's vision went dark yet again.
Are you kidding me?
Why is my Fourth Junior Brother here again?
There's no way he recognized me, right?
Catching a glimpse of the moon-white figure walking over, the surrounding disciples instinctively parted to make way, their eyes following him with undisguised curiosity and awe.
The Twelfth Elder's narrow eyes crinkled as a smile spread across her face. “What is it? Do you know this young girl, A-Zhou?”
Xie Zhou walked up, bowed to the elders with clasped hands, and then straightened up. “Last night, during the raid on the evil cultivators, I was responsible for counting the rescued civilians. This young lady was unconscious and breathing weakly, so Yu Jing gave her a Heart-Clearing Pill and a Qi-Replenishing Pill.”
The Twelfth Elder raised an eyebrow.
Beside them, Yu Jing slapped his forehead in sudden realization. “Right, right, right! I almost forgot about that!”
He smiled at Song Yao. “Your complexion does look much better. However, these medicinal pills are only for disciples of the Nine Saints Hall. If you wish to leave the sect, Junior Sister, you must first pay for those two pills.”
The Twelfth Elder listened with great amusement, her eyes curving into crescent moons as her smile deepened. “Exactly. Our Nine Saints Hall's Elixir Pavilion was blown up a year ago, so pills are scarce and heavily rationed now. You can't just run off without paying.”
She patted Song Yao's shoulder, her tone as gentle as if she were coaxing a child. “So, little girl, are you going to produce two Heart-Clearing Pills and two Qi-Replenishing Pills right now, or are you going to stay and remain a disciple?”
Song Yao: “...”
As luck would have it, the person who had blown up the Elixir Pavilion back then...
...seemed to have been her?
Back then, she had thoroughly enraged her Second Senior Sister. After a massive brawl, they had accidentally broken into the Elixir Pavilion, leveling half of it to the ground.
Talk about shooting oneself in the foot.
She pouted, feeling a sudden urge to cry.
Yu Jing eagerly chimed in, “They're actually not that expensive. A low-grade Mysterious-grade Heart-Clearing Pill is five thousand spirit stones, and a high-grade Earth-grade Qi-Replenishing Pill is six hundred spirit stones. That's five thousand six hundred in total. Oh, by the way, do you have any spirit stones on you?”
Song Yao fell silent.
Yu Jing looked at her expression, then at her oversized Daoist robe, and nodded in sudden realization. “You don't.”
Song Yao: “...”
Suddenly, she really missed the days when she was the one tormenting the entire world.
How had it turned into the entire world tormenting her instead?
Had she actually not resurrected at all, but rather descended straight into hell?
The Twelfth Elder giggled uncontrollably, reaching out to ruffle Song Yao's hair. “Come on, test your spiritual root.”
With all this drama, nearly everyone present shifted their attention to Song Yao.
Song Yao struggled, but ultimately resigned herself to her fate. She slowly, reluctantly pressed her palm onto the spirit-testing platform.
The cool stone surface met her skin, remaining completely still.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
The spirit-testing platform showed no reaction whatsoever.
Yu Jing leaned in, letting out a puzzled hum. “What's going on?”
Before he could finish his sentence—
Buzz—!
The spirit-testing platform suddenly shuddered violently.
A torrent of white light erupted, instantly engulfing the entire Fuguang Platform.
The plain Daoist robes of those nearby were illuminated to the point of near-transparency. The youths instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes as startled cries rang out one after another.
“What's happening?!”
“My eyes! I'm going blind!”
The blinding light persisted for three breaths before gradually subsiding.
Rubing their sore eyes, the crowd eagerly looked toward the spirit-testing platform—
On the platform, the light had not yet fully dissipated. A greenish glow swirled and pulsed continuously, several times more dazzling than the commotion caused when Jiang Jin had just tested for his peak Heaven-grade metal spiritual root.
Yu Jing's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor.
Behind him, the seated elders also rose in unison, quickly stepping forward to surround the platform.
“God-grade... A peak God-grade wood spiritual root?!”
The entire Fuguang Platform fell dead silent for a brief second before completely erupting into chaos.
They had thought the Heaven-grade Jiang Jin was already heaven-defying enough, but now a God-grade had actually popped out!
Had the world gone mad?
Rate on N.U.
