Chapter 7: The Top Choice

Under the gaze of the two men, the little boy placed his hand on the compass with an indifferent expression.

The next moment, Song Changsheng, who had been somewhat distracted, was suddenly captivated by a dazzling radiance.

A powerful cyan light erupted from the spirit-testing pillar. Song Luding exclaimed, "Five-inch Wind Spirit Root!"

Song Changsheng’s eyes widened abruptly. It was actually a variant spirit root—a variant spirit root that was rarely seen in a century!

"Wonderful! Heaven bless the Song clan! With this child here, the family will surely be able to recreate the glory of the era of Ancestor Taiyi four hundred years ago." Song Luding was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears; he nearly lost his composure on the spot.

Song Changsheng understood why he was so excited. The Song clan’s ancestor, Song Taiyi, had possessed a Wind Spirit Root. His mastery of the fast sword technique was so profound that he was known as "Master Qingfeng." He had once challenged a late-stage third-rank great demon with only a mid-stage Zifu cultivation, making a name for himself across the nineteen prefectures of Da Qi.

After he passed away, the old master recorded all his lifelong insights, intending to continue producing sword cultivation experts for the family.

It was a pity that his descendants were not up to the task. In the hundreds of years since, countless people had practiced the fast sword technique, but none had been able to grasp its essence.

But this boy made Song Luding see hope.

With a variant spirit root aptitude, he was a genuine Zifu-stage seed. If he could achieve something in the way of the sword, he would be the next Master Qingfeng, Song Taiyi!

"Good child, what is your name?" Song Luding crouched down, looking at the boy before him with eyes full of affection, as if he were looking at a priceless treasure.

"Song Xing." The boy’s attitude was somewhat cold, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

"Good, good, good. Go over there and wait." Song Luding’s face crinkled with smiles, and he deliberately lowered his voice, as if afraid of startling him.

Song Xing walked to Song Changsheng’s side, looked up at him, and asked, "Is my aptitude very good?"

Song Changsheng nodded with a smile and said, "The best of the best."

"Oh." Song Xing nodded calmly. Other children were usually incredibly excited when they found out they had spirit roots.

Only in his case did he seem indifferent to everything. From the moment he entered the door until now, Song Changsheng had not detected the slightest emotional fluctuation in him.

This couldn't help but make Song Changsheng feel a bit worried. Such an attitude might not necessarily be a good thing for the family...

Logically speaking, upon encountering such a talent, one should report it immediately and have a Foundation Establishment cultivator come to personally escort them.

But Song Luding was, after all, more seasoned.

Although he was extremely excited, he had not lost his reason. At this moment, no one besides the three of them knew, so Song Xing was absolutely safe.

If they were to terminate the Ascension Conference now, it would instead alert the spies of other factions. That would be like "hiding a hundred taels of silver here" (a futile attempt to hide something obvious). It was better to act as if nothing had happened and report it secretly after the conference ended.

At this stage, there was only one thing to pay attention to: secrecy. Who knew how many people were watching them right now?

The better the secrecy, the safer Song Xing would be. Only when he was safe would he have room to grow.

Geniuses need time to grow; a genius who cannot grow is nothing but rotting flesh on the roadside or white bones in a coffin.

Song Changsheng and Song Luding reached a tacit understanding to act as if nothing had happened and continue the conference as usual until all four cities had been tested.

Only then did they bring the children with spirit roots to the garrison mansion.

The moment they arrived, Song Changsheng took Song Xing to explain the ins and outs of the matter to his mother...

"What? A five-inch Wind Spirit Root!" Xia Yunxue’s expression was identical to Song Luding’s at the time—shock mixed with joy.

"Mother, this matter is of great importance. Should we report it to the family and ask an elder to come and escort him personally?"

Xia Yunxue’s willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly, and she shook her head. "That won't do. The Ascension Conference is not only a grand event for our family but for the entire Ling Prefecture. There is no telling how many people are watching our every move inside and out.

If we rashly use a sound-transmission flying sword, there is a risk of it being intercepted halfway, which would be troublesome."

"Then what should we do? If he travels with us, it’s over four hundred miles; I’m afraid something might go wrong."

They had traveled on a paper kite, arriving in half an hour, but the return journey would be different. With over a dozen more people, the paper kite couldn't carry them; they would have to walk.

"How about this: when you leave, I will take Song Xing and go ahead to secretly send him back to the family."

"But you are responsible for guarding the city. If you leave your post without authorization, what if..." Song Changsheng didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

"It doesn't matter. At my speed, even without flying on a sword, it will take no more than an hour or so to go back and forth. Nothing will happen in such a short time," Xia Yunxue said with confidence.

"Alright then, I will go notify the clan uncle to set off as soon as possible, so as not to invite trouble with delay."

Song Changsheng arrived in the main hall and found that Song Luzi, who had arrived a step later than them, was also smiling and talking to Song Luding.

"Clan uncle, it seems you had a good harvest over there," Song Changsheng asked with a smile.

Song Luzi was in high spirits. "Indeed, we found a child with an Earth-Metal dual spirit root. A medium-to-high aptitude!"

Song Changsheng and Song Luding exchanged a glance and smiled. If it were in the past, a dual spirit root would indeed be a very good harvest.

Unfortunately, with Song Xing’s variant spirit root this time, it paled in comparison. Of course, the fewer people who knew about this, the better, so naturally, they couldn't tell him.

"Worthy nephew, what did the Fifth Elder say?" Song Luding signaled with his eyes.

"The Fifth Elder said it is best to set off quickly to avoid any complications. I have already obtained the request-for-aid jade slip; if anything happens, she will come to support us," Song Changsheng said with a wink.

"In that case, brother, let us listen to the Fifth Elder and set off early." Seeing that Song Xing hadn't followed them out, Song Luding understood immediately.

Song Luzi was in such a good mood that he didn't notice the subtle exchange between the two and nodded in agreement.

Half an hour later, the five people who had arrived, plus the fourteen clansmen with spirit roots, set off on their return journey. At the same time, Xia Yunxue secretly took Song Xing out of the city.

On the road, Song Changjiu said with some regret, "I thought there would be many people, but it turned out to be just these few."

"It’s already quite good. Although the number is small, the quality is high," Song Changsheng said with a faint smile.

With the variant spirit root, everything else was unimportant.

Song Changjiu thought he was talking about the dual spirit root child and muttered, "I thought we might find a Heaven Spirit Root. It was hard enough to come out here."

"You, you'll have plenty of time to spend outside in a couple of years," Song Luding said, stroking his beard with a smile.

Song Changjiu scratched his head, chuckled, and said no more.

When they were on the mountain, they all wanted to go down, but only after going down did they realize how precious that time on the mountain had been...

The few of them used their spiritual power to protect the children, chatting and joking while moving quickly through the jungle.

Little did they know, danger was quietly approaching...

From the moment they left the city, they had been targeted by a group of people!

"Boss, I saw it clearly. There are only five cultivators: two mid-stage, two late-stage, one Great Perfection, and fourteen brats."

A person shrouded in a black robe, exuding a foul aura from head to toe, reported respectfully to the figure in front wearing an iron-skinned Rakshasa mask.

The masked man nodded in satisfaction and said in a hoarse voice, "As long as we plunder this batch, the mission given to us by the Deacon will be complete."

"Boss, they are people from the Song clan. Are we really going to make a move on them?" one of the black-robed men hesitated.

Although the Song clan had fallen on hard times, they were not to be trifled with in the Ling Prefecture; crushing them would be easy, but...

The masked man said displeasedly, "Hmph, have you forgotten who we are working for? The Song clan is nothing. Surround them and wait for my command. Anyone who dares to resist, kill them all without mercy!"

"Yes!"

...

Thanks to the fellow Daoists for the votes and tips, thank you very much~

(End of chapter)