This time, it wasn't Yu Hui who bickered with him, but Kong Zhengping:
“What on earth? A suona? You want a little girl to play the suona with you?”
Even Zhong Lian and Zhou Fantong were left speechless by this.
She was such a lovely little girl. Couldn't he recommend an instrument that actually matched her elegance?
What was wrong with the pipa, the flute, or the zither?
Seeing how much they looked down on his suona, Yuan Guanyi said displeasedly,
“What do you know? A sound cultivator's instrument is a dharma treasure meant for killing! The suona has incredible penetration power. Paired with a domineering lightning spiritual root, its effectiveness would easily double!”
“Just because the suona looks ordinary, sounds less than elegant, and is a staple for weddings and funerals in the mortal realm, you shouldn't discriminate against it like this!”
“It is the rogue king of all instruments! Once the suona sounds, who dares to challenge it?”
Watching Yuan Guanyi passionately defend the suona, Wen Jingshu cupped her hands in a polite bow. “Thank you for your kind intentions, Peak Master Yuan, but this disciple currently has no plans to pursue sound cultivation.”
Then, she bowed to Zhou Fantong. “If Peak Master Zhou does not mind, this disciple will prepare a modest gift and visit Talisman Peak to formally take you as my master before the sect secret realm opens.”
Yuan Guanyi glared and huffed, while Zhou Fantong beamed with joy.
Zhou Fantong thought, Today is truly a spectacular start!
After another round of pleasantries, Wen Jingshu sat quietly in her seat, speaking very little. The assessment soon began, and everyone focused their attention on the mirror images displayed before them.
A total of thirteen thousand eight hundred and twenty-five children participated in the assessment this time, but everyone's attention was focused on five specific children.
The most eye-catching among them was Wang Wanting, from a branch of the Wang family, one of the Eight Great Families. At a bone age of five, she possessed a perfect ten-tenths supreme-grade mutated ice spiritual root!
A mutated ice spiritual root with maximum value! In this generation, she was the only one across the Four Great Sects!
Next was Gu Yang, ranked thirty-eighth in the direct lineage of the Gu family, one of the Eight Great Families. At a bone age of five, he possessed a ninety-one percent supreme-grade earth spiritual root.
Then there was Mu Zhenxi, the young master of the direct lineage of the Mu family, a mid-sized family. At a bone age of six, he possessed a ninety percent supreme-grade wind spiritual root.
There was also Liang Xing, the child of mortals in the cultivation world. At a bone age of seven, he possessed a ninety-three percent supreme-grade fire spiritual root.
And the last one was Wei Ruxue, whom Wen Jingshu had brought back from the mortal realm. Upon returning to the sect, her re-testing revealed a ninety-two percent Supreme Derived Water Spiritual Root.
Watching these five children lead the pack at the very front, Wen Jingshu was filled with emotion.
As a talisman cultivator in her past life, Wen Jingshu had also climbed the Heart-Interrogating Steps. Recalling her pathetic state back then as she crawled and stumbled, she probably never would have imagined that she would one day sit in the examiner's seat.
Climbing the Heart-Interrogating Steps was a very tedious process. They could not see the illusions the children were experiencing; they could only see that some children walked swiftly, while others paused with every step.
Among the five geniuses, Wang Wanting led the way, her steps fast and steady. If they hadn't known she was climbing the Heart-Interrogating Steps, they would have suspected she was just here for a leisurely hike.
In last place was Wei Ruxue.
Before being targeted by the Beast Taming Sect, Wei Ruxue was just an innocent little girl who knew nothing about cultivation. Her mind had been filled only with eating, drinking, and playing.
Not only had she been suddenly taken away and forced to cultivate by the Beast Taming Sect, but those people had also ruthlessly slaughtered her family to completely block her last path back to the mortal world.
In just a few days, the little girl had experienced massive upheavals. It would have been strange if she climbed the Heart-Interrogating Steps smoothly.
At this moment, the difference between Wang Wanting, raised by a great family, and Wei Ruxue, who came from the mortal realm, was starkly apparent.
It wasn't that the Wei family was bad, but they were a mortal family with absolutely no way to access cultivation. Even though they had produced a genius like Wei Ruxue with sky-high talent, they had no idea how to nurture her.
Wei Ruxue was already eight years old. If the Beast Taming Sect hadn't found her, she likely would have faded into obscurity among ordinary mortals.
Thus, while talent was undoubtedly important, where one was born was even more crucial.
With Wang Wanting absolutely dominating, the people behind her appeared somewhat ordinary in comparison.
Gu Yang panted heavily behind Wang Wanting, gritting his teeth as he struggled to keep up with her pace.
He had thought that with his talent and background, he would definitely take first place on the Heart-Interrogating Steps, only for Wang Wanting to appear out of nowhere.
A perfect ten-tenths mutated ice spiritual root! The Wang family had certainly hidden her well!
Gu Yang felt resentful. Why was he suppressed by those geniuses in his own family, only to come to the sect and be suppressed by the Wang family's genius as well?
He also possessed a supreme-grade earth spiritual root! Wang Wanting was only slightly better than him!
The moment this thought crossed his mind, his eyes turned vacant, and his steps ground to a halt.
Clearly, he had fallen into an illusion.
Mu Zhenxi, who was close behind him, easily overtook him.
As Mu Zhenxi passed Gu Yang, a trace of disdain unconsciously slipped into his gaze.
So what if he was from the Gu family, the head of the Eight Great Families? So what if he had a supreme-grade earth spiritual root? His mental fortitude was nothing more than this.
An hour later, Wang Wanting successfully reached the top.
Seeing no one else at the summit, she showed no excess excitement, simply finding a spot to sit and rest with her eyes closed.
Seeing Wang Wanting's calm and unhurried demeanor, the assessing Peak Masters praised her one after another.
Zhong Lian also looked highly pleased as she observed Wang Wanting's steady composure.
They didn't know which masters the other disciples would choose, but Wang Wanting's arrangement had long been decided within the sect.
The Wang family, one of the Eight Great Families, was famous for having many clansmen with lightning spiritual roots. Perhaps because of this abundance of lightning cultivators, the Wang family's values were upright and unyielding, which aligned closely with the principles of the Qingyun Sect.
Although Wang Wanting belonged to a branch family, the Wang family had recognized her uniqueness from birth and had begun nurturing her early on.
However, in addition to Wang Wanting, the Wang family also had a direct descendant named Wang Yanci, who possessed a perfect ten-tenths supreme-grade mutated lightning spiritual root.
To produce two top-tier monsters in a single generation, the Wang family truly enjoyed immense fortune!
Unlike sects, families harbored too many internal schemes and rivalries. Fearing that malicious individuals might sow discord between the two geniuses, the Wang family had sent Wang Wanting to the Qingyun Sect.
This not only prevented resentment from brewing between the two geniuses but also served as a form of protection for her.
It so happened that the Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect was also looking for a successor, and Xu Haoguang had met Wang Wanting beforehand and was very pleased with her.
Looking at her now, the Wang family had indeed raised her exceptionally well, making her worthy of the position of the Eldest Personal Disciple of the Qingyun Sect's main peak.
As for the other four geniuses, many Peak Masters wanted to take them as personal disciples. Since they couldn't reach an agreement, they decided to leave the final choice to the children themselves.
Three hours later, all five geniuses had successfully reached the top.
Though Wei Ruxue suffered greatly under the illusions, her natural talent was so absurdly high that she still reached the top faster than the children with multi-element spiritual roots and high comprehension.
“This wind spiritual root seedling is quite good, perfect for my Sound Peak.”
“Nonsense! A wind spiritual root should walk the path of a sword cultivator!”
“This earth spiritual root kid looks sturdy. He is practically a born artifact refiner.”
“Mhm, this earth spiritual root boy is indeed not bad. I happen to have an Earth-grade sound cultivation heart mantra suitable for earth spiritual roots.”
“A supreme-grade fire spiritual root is excellent! My Pill Peak's future is bright!”
“A fire spiritual root paired with a guqin, a melody to summon a phoenix! Splendid!”
“A fire spiritual root is also suitable for specializing in artifact refining!”
“I am quite interested in this little child with the derived water spiritual root. Following me to become a spell cultivator is the most suitable path for her.”
“A derived water spiritual root is also very suitable for sound cultivation!”
“Yuan Guanyi, can you please shut up!”
According to him, was every single one of the remaining four geniuses—excluding the pre-selected Wang Wanting—supposed to join the Sound Peak?
Indeed, there was a reason Yu Hui detested him!
Yuan Guanyi didn't get angry at being scolded, maintaining his good-tempered demeanor as he said,
“Why is everyone so hot-tempered? How about I give each of you a Tranquility Pill?”
The group of people chose to ignore him entirely.
They didn't want any Tranquility Pills; they just wanted to throw him out.
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