When they reached the testing ground, Elder Su planted his foot into the earth. A tremor rolled outward before the soil split apart, a colossal pillar erupting from below, rising well over ten meters into the air.
"This is a Spiritual Roots test pillar. Four levels in total — the colors it displays will reflect the grade of your spirit root. As you are no doubt aware, spiritual roots determine one's talent and define the ceiling of one's cultivation. With that said…"
"This stage is different from the test before. Only the top seventy-five spiritual roots will advance."
Ling Tian absorbed the words without any particular unease. He knew precisely where his spiritual root stood, more than sufficient to see him through without difficulty.
A high-grade Mortal spiritual root was uncommon enough on its own. That both he and Yun Xi sat at peak level made it rarer. He had every reason to be confident.
"The testing begins," the elder announced, as the inner disciples began arranging the groups.
The first to be tested took a step forward.
A young man appeared to be in his end of his teens, and his cultivation of the Fifth stage of the Elementary Spirit Realm was exactly right at the requirement.
"Place your hands upon the pillar." The elder's weathered voice pulled him back to the present.
The young man obeyed, pressing his hands against the pillar, which immediately blazed with flames as a few lights began to light up.
"Oh..." The man's eyes twinkled, thinking he had succeeded, but the world of cultivation was cruel.
"Fire spiritual roots, Mortal Grade - Mid, Next!" Elder Su called out, his voice echoing through the tense silence that dominated the place.
Hundred more were called, and most of them is Mortal Grade - Low or Mortal Grade - Mid.
Until Han Jian stepped forward. Stopping in front of the pillar, he took a slow breath and pressed his hand, releasing his Qi.
The pillar was surrounded by a silvery aura, trembling as the three lights slowly came on.
Elder Tian's eyebrows rose slightly, but soon a smile took over his face.
"As expected of Young Master Han. Sword spiritual root, Mortal Grade - High. Next!"
As he joined the rest of the passers, Han Jian cast a teasing glance in Ling Tian's direction again.
Let's see if your spiritual roots are better than mine; you are just a commoner who has had a lucky encounter! Han Jian thought, trying to convince himself to think that he was better than Lin Tian.
Then the test continued until there were only Yun Xi and Ling Lian left.
"Next!" Elder Su's voice rang out as Yun Xi stepped forward with a graceful step.
Yun Xi placed her palms against the cold stone. For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the pillar burst into a cascade of deep, rippling azure, like sunlight fracturing through fathomless ocean water. A low, resonant hum filled the air as four lights flickered to life in swift succession, each blazing a rich, watery blue.
Elder Su's eyes went wide as he leaned forward. "Sea Spiritual Root... Mortal Grade — Peak." Genuine shock colored his voice.
A true genius, as anticipated!
A murmur swept through the remaining candidates.
As expected, my future wife, she is so talented. Han Jian's smug expression changed into a wide smile.
A quiet satisfaction settled in Ling Tian's chest as he watched.
Time to show them what a commoner can do.
"Next!" Elder Tian called.
Ling Tian walked forward, ignoring the stares. He pressed his hands to the pillar, letting his qi flow.
The response was instant and violent. The pillar shuddered, then blazed with a riot of color.
Flame red, earth brown, ice white, watery blue, light yellow, and vibrant green all swirl together in a brilliant rainbow color. Four lights ignited simultaneously, burning brighter than any before.
Elder Su sees the pillar with a stunned look.
What is this? There is no way there is a spiritual root with multiple affinities… And at Peak Mortal Grade?
Then he raised his hand, and a figure appeared next to him.
"Call the vice sect leader, tell him the situation." Elder Su whispered to the figure, and after that, the figure disappeared.
"Mortal Grade - Peak." Elder Su announces the result.
The crowd stirred, whispers rippling through the gathered candidates.
"Why didn't Elder Su announce the affinities?"
"Did something go wrong?"
"Who was that figure?"
"Silence!" But Elder Su cut off those whispers, and a voice rang out.
"With this, the spiritual root test finishes; those who only have spiritual roots with mortal grade - low, fail."
The candidate who called out began to leave, since they had already seen Elder Su throw out a guy, and they didn't raise any complaints.
The numbers had dropped again; the one hundred and twenty who had passed the first test, now only one hundred were left.
"Follow me," Elder Tian's voice rang out across the testing ground, cutting through the murmurs of the remaining candidates with practiced authority.
"We proceed to the Sect arena for the combat test." Without waiting for a response, he turned and began walking, his robes trailing behind him.
The arena reserved for the Azure Dragon Sect was an imposing structure, a vast platform of polished white marble that stretched nearly five hundred square meters across.
The surface had been worn smooth by countless battles fought upon it over the years, yet it remained immaculate, gleaming faintly beneath the open sky.
Surrounding it rose a grandstand of tiered stone seating, constructed on a scale grand enough to accommodate thousands of spectators, though today only the candidates and their observers filled its lower rows.
"The final test for entry into the Sect will be conducted through individual combat against our outer disciples with the same cultivation," Elder Tian announced once everyone had gathered, his hands clasped behind his back as his gaze swept across the assembled candidates.
"I do not expect that you will defeat them. What I do expect is that every last one of you gives everything you have. The fifty candidates who perform best will earn their place among us."
His gaze then shifted deliberately toward the outer disciples assembled on the far side of the arena, standing in neat rows with expressions ranging from bored indifference to quiet curiosity.
There were roughly a hundred of them in total, each one seasoned enough to serve as a reliable measure of a recruit's true capability.