Arthur woke to noise, there were hurried footsteps, it was like a crowd was gathering inside the private estate. For a moment he lay still, today was the day he would meet the sects and today he might be able to find out how to fix the issue with his soul. He rose from the bed, washed up, and got ready.
Yesterday after showing him his room Chen Wei had returned an hour later and he was shifted to a more luxurious room, he was even offered with various exotic dishes. Arthur already guessed they might have noticed how valuable the sword he gave them was so he accepted the differential treatment without any comment.
When he stepped out of the room, a guard was already waiting. The man straightened instantly and bowed.
"What's the commotion about?" Arthur asked.
"Sir," the guard replied, keeping his eyes lowered, "the sect representatives have arrived. People from the city and nearby villages are already gathered inside the compound."
Arthur nodded. "Lead the way."
They crossed stone paths and open corridors until the space widened into an open ground. Hundreds of youths were already assembled, their ages clustering between fourteen and eighteen. Some stood rigid with nervous excitement, others whispered to each other, while some parents waited and watched from the edge of the ground. Arthur's gaze drifted over them without judgment, the children's eyes were filled with hope.
A raised platform stood nearby. Chen Wei was there, speaking with several figures dressed in flowing robes. Their bearing was unmistakable, and from what he sensed these cultivators possessed strength comparable to Master rank martial artists, they were extremely weak in his eyes but each of them were carrying an air of authority. When Chen Wei noticed Arthur, his face lit up.
"Ah… Daoist Arthur," he said quickly, stepping forward. "Welcome! Allow me to…"
Before he could continue, a middle-aged man in pale robes cut in, his tone was mocking. "Patriarch Chen, you address him as 'Daoist,' yet I cannot sense a shred of cultivation from him. Are you certain you weren't deceived?"
The air suddenly stiffened, a few elders glanced at Arthur with open curiosity now, their senses probing him. The next moment their expressions shifted to confusion, they couldn't feel any cultivation from Arthur.
There were only two possibilities, either Arthur had reached Body Integration Realm or he had never cultivated in his life at all. And they were more inclined towards the former as why would such a powerful cultivator be in the mundane world. But they didn't say anything and just waited to see the drama unfold.
Chen Wei flushed, he had assumed Arthur was a cultivator since he had a spatial artifact as nobody would be stupid enough to show such a precious artifact without having the strength to protect themselves. And he had also received a very precious gift from Arthur so he was going to defend him.
He parted his lips to respond, but Arthur lifted a hand gently.
"He's right," Arthur said calmly, turning his gaze to the man who had spoken. "I'm not a cultivator. I simply wanted to see whether I could join a sect."
A ripple of reaction passed through the platform. The man scoffed. "Then join the others for testing," he said in a mocking tone, pointing toward the assembled youths. "Though I'll save you the trouble, the chances of you getting selected is close to none."
But the man already knew Arthur would fail, he just wanted to see him embarrass himself. For him Arthur appeared to be in his twenties and they only accepted someone within the age bracket of fourteen and eighteen as it was the best age to start cultivating. Anyone older than eighteen would start to accumulate impurities in their bodies that block their elemental roots which in turn makes it nearly impossible to start cultivating at that age.
Arthur inclined his head. "We will see."
Chen Wei looked torn, but Arthur gave him a brief glance and a slight shake of his head. It was fine, he stepped away from the platform and joined the back of the forming lines. He could have revealed his strength, and ended the doubt instantly but that wasn't why he was here.
From what he knew these sects wouldn't just hand over their cultivation techniques even if he gave something of equal value as cultivation techniques were the pillars of their sect. And if he revealed his strength they would most probably ask him to become their elders or such and Arthur didn't want to be bound by responsibilities in this world, furthermore he didn't want to bully these people by forcing them to hand over their cultivation techniques.
Half an hour later, the candidates were led to a series of crystal orbs mounted on wooden podiums. A representative explained the process, if a candidate possessed talent to cultivate they must possess an elemental root, the crystal would react and reveal its grade. Elemental roots were classified into five categories, ranging from Common, Rare, Supreme, Earth and Heaven the same as weapon grade.
One by one, the participants placed their hands on the crystal. But nothing happened, then the representative standing near the crystal orbs announced they possessed no cultivation talent so they were rejected, and disappointed youths stepped aside.
This continued for a while when a boy who appeared to be around fifteen years old placed his hand on the crystal and a red glow appeared within it. The representative announced the boy possessed Common grade fire elemental root and asked him to stand in a separate area.
The test continued until there were only two people remaining, Arthur and Chen Wei's daughter.
Chen Wei's daughter waited beside her father. But everyone already knew what her talent was. She was tested before and possessed a Supreme grade Ice elemental root, so there was no suspense for her.
By now around twenty participants were selected as they possessed various grades of elemental roots out of the hundreds that gathered here and others had to leave with a heavy heart.
Before Arthur could step forward and place his hand on the crystal orb, the same elder who mocked him spoke again. "We should test Chen Yan first," he said smoothly as he looked at Arthur with narrowed eyes. "Even though we already know it, to show everyone that we are impartial, we need to test her before everyone."
Arthur shrugged and stepped back.
Chen Yan approached the podium, her posture composed. When her hand touched the crystal, it lit up in an icy white-blue glow that spread through the orb and lit up the area.
"Chen Yan," the representative announced, with his voice raised, "Supreme-grade Ice elemental root."
Gasps rippled across the field. Even among cultivators, Supreme-grade roots were rare that too a hybrid type, and it was not everyday you get to see such a sight.
The sect elders also started to congratulate Chen Wei, and from the smile on his face it was clear his pride was unmistakable.
Then the representative turned towards Arthur, "It's your turn."
Arthur stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal.
For a second, nothing happened. Then the orb erupted in blinding white light, and before anyone could react, a deep red glare ignited within it, followed by crackling arcs of lightning. A faint green color followed, and the crystal started to vibrate violently.
Arthur frowned slightly and before it could become any more exaggerated he withdrew his hand.
The whole place was pin drop silent, and the sect elders had their eyes widened to the fullest.
The representative stared with his mouth wide open. "H… Heaven-grade," he stammered, then gathered himself, and barely steadied his trembling voice, "Heaven-grade… along with multi-elemental root."
The field exploded into an uproar, everyone present there was stunned. And the sect elders rose to their feet after they gathered themselves.
The man who had mocked Arthur earlier went pale. "H-How is that possible…?" he muttered.
Chen Wei looked as though he'd been struck by lightning, who would have imagined Arthur was a heaven defying genius even better than his daughter. His gaze flicked instinctively to his daughter, and calculations were already forming inside his head to bind him to his family.
The elders moved quickly and surrounded Arthur with practiced smiles and eager tones.
"Join our sect. I will take you as a personal disciple."
"Our sect master would accept you directly." Hearing that the other felt they should have offered it earlier and was regretting it.
So someone said, "I can guarantee resources beyond what you imagine."
And the person who was feeling the most regretful was the man who was mocking Arthur earlier, he knew there was no chance Arthur would join their sect after he mocked him but he still tried.
He stepped forward as well, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Daoist Arthur, earlier my words were… a misunderstanding. I can petition my sect master…"
Arthur raised a hand to stop him. "I appreciate the offers," he said evenly. "But I have a condition, I'm looking for a method to strengthen the soul. If your sect can provide that, I'm willing to join."
The elders had a contemplative look on their face and exchanged looks. Then a woman in her thirties stepped forward, her demeanor composed.
"I am from the Spirit Furnace Sect," she said. "A subsidiary of the Spirit Pagoda Sect of the Central Continent. Our cultivation focuses on awakening martial spirits, manifestations tied directly to the soul which strengthens our soul, exactly what you are looking for. If you join us, I can personally request the sect master to contact the main sect to accept you."
Arthur was going to ask more questions when the others followed quickly, pitching their own paths, emphasizing balance, body and soul together. Arthur listened carefully, asking pointed questions.
And what he came to know was there was no cultivation technique that was solely used for strengthening the soul, at least these cultivation sects didn't possess one, but the Spirit Pagoda's path came closest to what he wanted.
After asking for details he found this sect used a special awakening crystal only found in the sect's heavenly treasure the 'Spirit Pagoda' that the sect master had found from an ancient ruin to awaken martial spirits which could be considered an aspect of the soul or its manifestation.
So, Arthur decided to join this sect, "I'll join the Spirit Pagoda Sect," he turned towards the lady and said.
Relief and triumph crossed the woman's face, the others had ugly expressions but masked it quickly.
At that moment, Chen Wei stepped forward with his daughter. "Elders," he said respectfully, "my daughter has also made her choice."
Chen Yan inclined her head. "I wish to join the Spirit Furnace Sect as well."
The decision landed like a final blow. The Spirit Furnace elder beamed, while the others could only swallow their frustration. They wanted to protest but they couldn't say anything as the Spirit Furnace sect was backed by The Spirit Pagoda sect from the central continent.
Then they begrudgingly chose from the other twenty selected participants.
And Arthur finally sighed as he had found a hint to solve his problem.
***
Become a patreon member and read 30 Chapters ahead!
patreon.com/New_Horizon1
You can join my discord channel to discuss my novel and find artwork of this novel!!
https://discord.gg/PmkQsrAdMY