Chapter 3: Jia Wood Constitution

Lin Donglai felt as if he had been reduced to a mere background character for a genius. After all, in these kinds of spiritual root tests, it was rare enough to find one or two; even if there were more, they usually appeared much later, after screening through a hundred or two hundred people.

The probability of testing two people with spiritual roots in a row was simply too small.

But as he closed his eyes, the verdant seed suspended in his mind appeared before him, a testament that his fortuitous encounter was real.

"Even if I have no spiritual root... I can still cultivate immortality! As long as I find a way to refine my vital blood, I will surely be able to defy the heavens and change my fate!"

Lin Donglai silently encouraged and affirmed himself.

"Eh? Another one with a spiritual root?"

As Lin Donglai reached out, a gold needle pricked his finger, and he pressed it against the center of the Bagua spirit-testing disk. The moment they made contact, a faint chill drilled into his wound, and the next moment, the Bagua disk emitted a pale green light.

"Five spiritual roots, wood-dominant, inferior grade. The spiritual root is one inch and two fen long; meridian width and resilience are average. Huh? Such poor aptitude? And you have a Dao body as well?"

"The color is green and rigid; it should be the Jia-wood Dao body among the Five Elements spirit bodies. However, the physical strength is average, belonging to the inferior Jia-wood body. It’s comparable to an ordinary low-grade four-spiritual-root aptitude, but only marginally stronger. Grade C-minus."

Li Zeyun did not ask for Lin Donglai’s name. In his heart, he decided that while it was a pity for this disciple to be a mere handyman, his achievements would remain limited. Without a stroke of luck, he would spend his entire life dealing with spirit fields—he was destined to be a farmer.

The heart that had been hanging in Lin Donglai’s chest finally settled! Having a spiritual root was enough! Having a spiritual root was enough! Regardless of whether it was good or bad, having one was better than having none.

Lin Kai, who was waiting in line behind him, looked at Lin Donglai with extreme envy upon seeing that he possessed a spiritual root.

Li Zeyun did not ask for Lin Donglai’s name, but Jiang Biling, who was handling the registration nearby, asked, "What is your name? How old are you this year? What is your birth date and time? Where is your ancestral home?"

Lin Donglai answered one by one, then gathered his courage and asked, "Immortal Lady, if I become a disciple of the Immortal Sect, can I bring my parents with me?"

"There is no need to call me Immortal Lady; just call me Senior Sister. According to sect rules, ordinary disciples are not permitted to bring their parents or siblings along to cultivate."

"Only after becoming an inner sect disciple will the sect allow direct family members to enter as handymen, so that you may see each other often."

"Then how does one become an inner sect disciple?" Lin Donglai pressed.

Immortals were made by men, too. He didn't want to be separated from his parents just because of cultivation, as they said in the storybooks about the divide between mortals and immortals.

"There is only one condition to become an inner sect disciple: having the potential for Foundation Establishment."

"That means you must reach the late stage of Qi Refining before the age of 30, so that you have enough time to break through to Foundation Establishment before the age of 60."

Jiang Biling answered patiently. Her task was to explain the sect rules to new disciples and leave a good impression, fostering a sense of belonging to the sect while also building up some good karma for herself.

Li Zeyun, however, was somewhat impatient. "Why are you telling him this? He doesn't even know if he can break through the bottleneck of the late Qi Refining stage in this lifetime. Becoming an outer sect disciple is already a stroke of great luck; he still wants to become an inner sect disciple?"

Being spoken to this way, Lin Donglai felt a bit indignant, and he immediately set a goal: he would definitely become an inner sect disciple and bring his parents over.

If the Dao seed was truly as mysterious as the memories in his dream suggested, achieving this condition shouldn't be difficult.

Xue Hong, standing to the side, also pricked up his ears and thought to himself, "It seems the inner sect disciples are the core of the sect. I wonder, if I become an inner sect disciple, will my father be able to move up from an outer sect deacon to an outer sect elder?"

So he asked, "Senior Sister, how many outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples does our Green Wood Sect have?"

"Outer sect disciples—speaking only of ordinary outer sect disciples, excluding those who have put in the years to become outer sect deacons or elders—number about twenty-seven or twenty-eight hundred."

"Inner sect disciples number just over two hundred; to be precise, there are currently 214."

"Hiss! Then those two Senior Brothers and Senior Sister are all inner sect disciples; they must have the potential for Foundation Establishment!"

"Foundation Establishment is hard to say." Facing Xue Hong's question, Li Zeyun answered quite carefully. "I am 27 this year and have just barely reached the seventh level of Qi Refining, meeting the threshold to become an inner sect disciple."

Xue Hong thought about his own father, who had low-grade four spiritual roots and had spent thirty years as an outer sect disciple, only reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining. Unable to break through the late-stage Qi Refining bottleneck, he had applied for an external posting as an outer sect deacon, married, and had children, which led to him.

A goal his own father hadn't achieved in a lifetime, this Senior Brother before him had reached by age 27. If he had joined the sect at his own age, wouldn't that mean he had only been cultivating for about 10 years?

Terrifying!

If his own spiritual root aptitude was so highly regarded by this Senior Brother, did that mean he also had a chance at Foundation Establishment?

Lin Donglai listened without a hint of envy, distracted only by looking for his parents. Before leaving for the Immortal Sect, there were always things he wanted to say.

Lin Kai had tested his spiritual roots earlier than Lin Donglai and had none. Looking at Lin Donglai, who possessed aptitude, he couldn't help but feel a bit sour, though he comforted himself: "Brother Lai and I grew up together, wearing the same pair of pants. It's the same if he cultivates immortality. We're so close, he wouldn't forget me, would he?"

He was suddenly startled. "Right, Brother Lai's parents are still at the market! They don't know Brother Lai has a spiritual root yet! I have to go tell them!"

He ran for a while and, upon seeing Lin's father and mother, offered his congratulations: "Uncle, Aunt, Brother Lai has been chosen!"

Meng Qing wanted to ask for clarification, but Lin Meng held back his excitement. "Xiao Qing, Yangyang has a spiritual root! Our family is going to produce an immortal!"

"Brother Kai, take us there!"

Immediately, there was another round of pushing through the crowd.

Li Zeyun was still testing on the stage. Those who came up later had no spiritual roots. Although the testing continued, the number of people was dwindling. This spirit-testing in town had been added temporarily by the Supreme Elder to gather fortune and luck; later, they would have to go to the county seat to test again.

Excluding Xue Hong, there were actually only two people with five-spiritual-root aptitude; the harvest wasn't particularly large.

These two five-spiritual-root youths had ordinary appearances, and their "qi" looked unremarkable. Because they had spiritual roots, they were only slightly better than ordinary people; they didn't look like they had encountered any fortuitous events.

Xue Hong had some luck, but it was very limited. Moreover, he was the son of an outer sect deacon, so he could be considered reliable.

After the testing was over, Jiang Biling stopped talking to the three youths and let them familiarize themselves with each other.

Xue Hong originally didn't intend to get to know Lin Donglai and the other youth, feeling that he was definitely going to be an inner sect disciple, while these two would struggle even as outer sect disciples.

But then he thought, building a bit of good karma didn't cost anything.

After all, his own father was an outer sect disciple who started with low-grade four spiritual roots. In case these two managed to become deacons one day, it would at least be another path.

"I am Xue Hong. In the future, we will likely be fellow disciples, so please take care of each other."

Lin Donglai was still excited and couldn't come up with anything clever, so he just repeated, "I am Lin Donglai. Please take care of me, Brother Xue."

"I am Ding Zhen." The first youth to test positive for a spiritual root gave a simple, honest smile. "Brother Xue, Brother Lin, you can just call me Little Ding."