Chapter 14: The Test
Li Qingfeng flipped through a book aimlessly, his thoughts far from cultivation.
Tu Shanjun noticed.
It was only natural for a young man to be curious about such grand events. It would pass in a few days.
Seeing that he had no intention of focusing, Tu Shanjun simply closed his eyes and began meditating.
Mists curled around him as Li Qingfeng drifted into a dream.
He struck a martial pose and called out loudly, “Brother Ghost, I’ve already defeated the mountain demon spirit, am I qualified to challenge you now?”
Li Qingfeng was eager to test the strength of the primary soul, this ferocious ghost.
Tu Shanjun shook his head. With a wave of his hand, a fierce ghost in black robes appeared before Li Qingfeng.
Li Qingfeng’s expression shifted, this wasn’t just anyone. It was Zhao Shixian, once at the third layer of Qi Refinement.
Now, with Yin energy invading his body and Tu Shanjun’s help in altering his form, Zhao Shixian had become a white-faced demon with crimson ghostly eyes locked onto Li Qingfeng.
Though most of the spirit slaves within the Soul Banner lacked consciousness, they retained an uncanny instinct and the martial skills they had honed in life.
Due to Li Qingfeng’s current lack of spiritual power, many of the banner’s functions remained inaccessible, and the true potential of these ghosts was still unknown.
“You want me to spar with him?”
Having a ghost like Zhao Shixian, once a top contender in the early stages, to serve as a practice opponent was suitable enough.
Meanwhile, as one flower blooms here, another opens elsewhere.
While Li Qingfeng trained diligently, Liu Chuang was participating in the grand selection test.
The test had two parts. First, registration. Once registered, candidates would receive a numbered token, which they would use in the second phase: the actual test.
The venue was the martial grounds of Eight Directions City, spacious and well-prepared.
“The hour has come. Candidates, please come forward according to your number.”
“Number One, Zhang Xi.”
The gentry had long gotten wind of the process. With silver in hand, they bribed the registry officials and secured early numbers.
Of course, this was all by design, the bulk of the bribes flowed straight into the governor’s own pocket.
Otherwise, relying solely on the registration officials, how could they dare to be so bold?
Indeed, the governor had summoned the gentry in advance precisely for this purpose.
As such, Liu Chuang and his group had tokens with very early numbers.
“A pity Brother Qingfeng couldn’t come. Such a spectacle, how could even the imperial exams compare?”
“The civil service exams are crowded too, but they don’t stir the spirit like this quest for immortal fate.”
“Well said!”
Liu Chuang sighed, “We don’t even know if we possess any trace of immortal fate. My old man said that last time, only three people were selected.”
“I checked with the registry, numbers are already up to fourteen hundred and counting.”
“Who’s this Number One?”
“Must be a relative of governor Zhang, his name’s Zhang and he’s first in line. Can’t be a coincidence.”
Zhang Xi took a deep breath, stepped forward, and approached the platform.
He bowed toward the elevated dais and then placed his hand on a large, clear spirit pearl.
Nothing happened.
Three breaths passed, still nothing.
The two seated on the dais remained unmoved.
Zhang Xi left, spirit crushed.
“Number Two…”
The testing proceeded in full swing. Dozens came and went, yet none possessed a spiritual root.
The young man seated above showed no change in expression, as though he had expected this.
Dressed in brocade robes, hair held up loosely by a jade pin, the youth exuded an aloof nobility despite saying nothing.
“Immortal Master, this official has pressing matters to attend and will take his leave,” said the middle-aged man beside him, rising with a fawning smile.
The youth gave a slight nod, unwilling to waste words.
With eyelids lowered and breath steady, he had long since entered a meditative state.
Zhang Wanlong said nothing more, immortals were always like this. They disdained speaking with mortals.
In ten years, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen the Immortal Master.
Only when ghosts or spirits stirred up trouble in Eight Directions would the immortal master emerge from seclusion.
Most days, the Immortal Master was deep in cultivation.
As he left the platform, Zhang Wanlong’s expression turned somber. He instructed the aide beside him, “Keep an eye out. If any candidates with potential are rejected by the Immortal Master, bring them to us.”
“Rest assured, my lord. I understand.”
“Number Eighty-Seven, Liu Chuang.”
“My turn,” Liu Chuang murmured, nerves getting the better of him.
Following protocol, he bowed and placed his hand on the spirit pearl.
The pearl burst into radiant light.
On the high dais, the meditating young Immortal Master abruptly opened his eyes, spiritual light gleamed within them. His voice rang out like a bronze bell, clear and powerful: “Qualified. Step up and await further instruction.”
Liu Chuang was instantly overwhelmed with emotion, dizziness washing over him as his legs nearly gave out.
Just then, a tremendous force lifted him up, and most of the tension in his heart melted away.
“Thank you, Immortal Master.” He bowed once more and climbed the dais.
He took a seat at the side, beside the Immortal Master’s reserved position, sitting stiffly with reverence.
“Ha! Brother Liu’s been chosen!”
“He really has immortal fate?”
“And he’s the very first!”
As the tokens were called one by one, news of Liu Chuang’s success spread like a stone cast into a pond, no ripples, yet deep impact. It reignited the crowd’s hopes.
They had suspected the whole thing was a sham. Now they knew, it was simply that they had no fate with the Dao.
“Ninety-Two, Meng Zhen.”
Even Liu Chuang on the platform perked up. This was the second of their five-man group.
Meng Zhen suppressed his nervousness.
He bowed, then placed his hand on the pearl.
Again, the light flared.
Meng Zhen’s eyes widened with joy, his whole body trembling.
“It lit up again!”
“Another qualified candidate?”
The young Immortal Master’s gaze flickered with a hint of regret. “Unqualified.”
The light was far dimmer than Liu Chuang’s, it revealed a five-element spirit root.
A five-root required three months just to sense qi.
That’s assuming excellent luck and unwavering willpower.
Otherwise, it might take six months… a year… or a lifetime.
Even with three months to sense qi, it still lagged behind the four-element root by two full months. While others would be already refining essence into Qi, those with five-roots would still be sensing Qi.
With a five-element root, every step was a hurdle.
The mid-stage would likely be the ceiling, with no further advancement.
No fortunate encounters, no success.
No sect would waste resources on someone like that.
In his mind, Meng Zhen had already imagined flying on swords through the skies like in the storybooks.
But that one word 'unqualified' shattered his dreams in an instant.
He staggered, then dropped to his knees.
His face twisted in disbelief as he kowtowed. “Immortal Master, I beg you for mercy!”
The youth’s face remained cold and impassive.
Liu Chuang hesitated. “Immortal Master, why can’t he…”
The Immortal Master cast him a glance. His tone softened slightly as he spoke aloud: “False roots. Aptitude too poor, cannot enter the Dao.”
Seeing that Liu Chuang was about to press further, the youth snapped, “Do not push your luck.”
Liu Chuang quickly shut his mouth, bowing even more respectfully, his posture more restrained.
He was still a mortal. The Immortal Master had only bothered to explain for the sake of his qualified spirit root.
Meng Zhen staggered to his feet, paying no mind as his hairpin fell loose.
Just as he was about to leave, a middle-aged scholar approached. “Young Master, do not despair. Though the Immortal Sect may not have accepted you, the governor’s Office also offers opportunities related to immortal fate.”
The bloodless, dazed look on Meng Zhen’s face vanished as he locked eyes with the scholar, clinging to his words like a drowning man clutching at the last straw. “Truly?!”
“Please, come with me.”
Meng Zhen hesitated. But thoughts of immortal destiny and the pursuit of Dao swiftly washed away his doubts. He followed the scholar.
The testing continued.
Of the remaining two members in their group, neither could even make the spirit pearl glow.
The sun sank low, casting the sky in red-gold hues.
Another seat on the dais was filled.
A young man in simple clothes, nervous, even more reserved and self-conscious than Liu Chuang.
Out of over five hundred tested, only two had been deemed qualified. Including Meng Zhen, who had failed, that made three in total.
Roughly one in two hundred.
“Today’s testing is concluded. We will resume at the Chen Hour(7-9am) tomorrow.”
(Chapter End)