Chapter Six: Su Wan Without a Spiritual Root
A few days later, Ye Chentian and Xiao Yi arrived at Wuwei City.
“This Wuwei City is more prosperous than I imagined,” Ye Chentian remarked as he glanced over the bustling streets. His gaze was soon drawn to the commotion at the central square.
Today happened to be the once-in-a-decade sect disciple recruitment assembly. The square was packed with people, and dozens of raised platforms were filled with cultivators from various major sects.
The most eye-catching was undoubtedly the platform bearing the plaque of the Bi Luo Sect—one of the top hundred sects in the Immortal Alliance, a name that drew cultivators from all over Wuwei City like moths to a flame.
“Bi Luo Sect is recruiting disciples! Anyone aged fifteen to twenty with spiritual roots may be tested! Entry requires a tribute of one hundred lower-grade spirit stones!” The voice of the cultivator on the platform boomed like a bell, causing an uproar from the crowd.
“One hundred lower-grade spirit stones? That’s enough to sustain an ordinary family’s livelihood for a lifetime!”
“The threshold of a top hundred sect in the Immortal Alliance is truly high!”
“No money, no talent—better stop dreaming of cultivation…”
The crowd buzzed with mixed feelings of envy and helplessness.
At that moment, a frail figure caught Ye Chentian’s attention.
A young girl, clad in a faded, tattered cloth shirt patched repeatedly, with dirt smudged across her gaunt cheeks. Beneath her disheveled hair, her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, radiating a stubborn defiance.
She was Su Wan.
“Next!”
Su Wan took a deep breath and tremulously stepped onto the testing platform. A middle-aged cultivator from the Bi Luo Sect waved his hand, summoning a spirit stone array; a faint blue halo enveloped her.
Yet the light flickered for a moment and responded with nothing.
“No spiritual root?” The middle-aged cultivator frowned, his tone instantly growing cold. “No spiritual root and you dare to join the fun? Waste of time!”
Su Wan’s face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling as she pleaded, “Senior... I am willing to serve as a menial worker—only seeking a chance to cultivate…”
“A menial worker?” A tall cultivator nearby sneered and kicked her off the platform. “Our Bi Luo Sect’s menial workers must possess at least a medium-grade spiritual root! A useless wretch without even a root like you deserves nothing!”
“Hahaha! Such overconfidence!”
“Looking like a poor farmer and still dreaming of cultivation? Go home and farm!”
The surrounding laughter pierced Su Wan’s heart like needles. She bit her lip hard until it bled, tears welling in her eyes, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Just then, a clear voice rang out: “Senior, I wish to join the Bi Luo Sect.”
The crowd turned to see a finely dressed young lady step onto the platform. She was delicate in appearance, with a bulging storage pouch at her waist.
With a casual air, she produced two hundred lower-grade spirit stones, speaking with an air of superiority, “I am Lin Qin, with a low-grade Water Spiritual Root. Is this sufficient?”
The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes brightened, the frost on his face melting instantly. “Sufficient, sufficient! Lin, your talent is remarkable. Please take a seat!”
Discreetly, he tucked the extra one hundred spirit stones into his sleeve, his gaze filled with approval toward Lin Qin.
A new murmur of admiration arose from the crowd, while the looks cast at Su Wan grew even more disdainful.
[Notification: Discovered disciple with profound aptitude—Su Wan! Constitution: Innate Sword Body (inactive)!]
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Ye Chentian’s eyes sharpened; he had found her!
Pushing through the crowd, he approached Su Wan directly.
Su Wan, still crying, noticed the shadow and looked up to see Ye Chentian’s gentle gaze upon her.
“Your name is Su Wan?” Ye Chentian’s voice was low but carried a strange penetrating power that drowned out the surrounding noise.
Su Wan nodded blankly, puzzled why such an extraordinary cultivator would pay attention to her.
A faint smile touched Ye Chentian’s lips. “I am Ye Chentian, sect leader of the Xuanyuan Sect. Little girl, would you be willing to join my sect?”
The entire assembly fell silent.
Everyone was stunned. Had he not seen the test results just now? He was actually recruiting a rootless waste as a disciple?
“Is he mad? Didn’t he see the girl’s test?”
“No spiritual root! Recruiting such a person is just asking to be laughed at!”
“Trash even the Bi Luo Sect rejects, and he wants to pick it up? Probably some strange fetish…”
Voices of doubt, ridicule, and contempt wove a web, threatening to drag Su Wan back into the abyss.
She bit her lower lip hard, lowering her head further, her nails digging blood into her palms.
“But… I… have no spiritual root…” Her voice was faint as a mosquito, heavy with despair.
“What does a spiritual root matter?” Ye Chentian smiled lightly, his tone laced with unshakable confidence. “In my Xuanyuan Sect, even if you’re a stubborn stone, I can carve you into a jade gem! It’s not impossible for you to become an immortal sword cultivator one day!”
“Immortal sword cultivator?” She recalled stories told by her childhood tutor—an immortal sword cultivator could sever a thousand miles with a single thought, and their sword aura could cut through rivers and mountains! They were beings even the most elite cultivators revered!
Could she really become an immortal sword cultivator?
Su Wan’s pupils contracted sharply as her heart pounded uncontrollably.
“Arrogance!” The middle-aged cultivator from Bi Luo Sect roared furiously, “Who is this rogue cultivator spouting nonsense here? Without a spiritual root, cultivation is impossible! This is heresy!”
“Hahaha! What a stray dog, daring to recruit a rootless waste? Hope you choke on your tongue!”
“Xuanyuan Sect? Never heard of it! Probably some scam sect from a corner of the world!”
The waves of mockery surged, harsher than the humiliation Su Wan had suffered moments ago.
Cultivators crossed their arms, watching the spectacle with contempt overflowing in their eyes.
Just then, a young cultivator in a blue robe pushed through the crowd. His expression was arrogant, and a jade pendant of the Bi Luo Sect hung at his waist.
“Hmph, even without a spiritual root, you want to become a peerless talent?” He sneered quietly but loudly enough for all to hear. “I am Lin Yi, an inner disciple of Bi Luo Sect. I advise you to leave Wuwei City immediately and stop deceiving people here, or I won’t be so polite!”
Lin Yi’s Foundation Establishment first stage aura subtly radiated, silencing the nearby cultivators, whose eyes now brimmed with reverence. In Wuwei City, reaching Foundation Establishment was akin to walking unchallenged.
“Impertinent!”
A sharp command exploded as Xiao Yi stepped forward. His Qi Condensation ninth stage aura burst forth, colliding fiercely with Lin Yi’s Foundation Establishment pressure, holding his ground without faltering.
“My master’s affairs are none of your concern, you pompous little clown!”
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Lin Yi’s pupils tightened. “Qi Condensation ninth stage? You can withstand my pressure? Interesting… but before a Foundation Establishment, you’re still an ant!”
He sneered and waved his hand; a sword aura tore through the air, carrying a bone-chilling coldness aimed at Xiao Yi. “Die!”
“Blazing Heaven Palm!”
Xiao Yi’s “Blazing Fire Scripture” surged at full throttle, his Fire Spirit Saint Body igniting, flames soaring a yard high around him.
He struck out a palm, a crimson fire imprint roaring like a mountain-burning, sea-boiling force, colliding fiercely with the sword aura!
Boom!
The shockwave swept in all directions, dust swirling. The two were evenly matched!
“Impossible!” Lin Yi screamed in disbelief. His strike as a Foundation Establishment first stage cultivator was blocked by a Qi Condensation ninth stage?
It must be known that between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment lay an insurmountable chasm!
The spiritual power of Qi Condensation cultivators was like a stream, scattered and weak; Foundation Establishment condensed spiritual power into a core, flowing like a raging river, vastly more powerful.
Typically, a Qi Condensation ninth stage cultivator could not withstand three moves against a Foundation Establishment first stage, let alone a direct clash!
“Bi Luo Slash!”
Lin Yi brandished his long sword. A jade-green sword light surged upward by nearly a yard, howling as it ripped through the void toward Xiao Yi.
“Fire Spirit Wheel!”
Xiao Yi advanced instead of retreating, concentrating the flames into a spinning fire wheel in his palm. The heat scorched the ground black.
Another earth-shattering explosion!
As the dust settled, Xiao Yi’s mouth bled, yet he stood tall like a pine tree.
Lin Yi lay sprawled, pale-faced, his chest torn open—clearly gravely injured.
Silence engulfed the assembly!
A Qi Condensation ninth stage defeating a Foundation Establishment first stage? What kind of prodigy was this?!
The surrounding cultivators gasped, voices rising in astonishment:
“Heavens! Xiao Yi actually blocked Lin Yi’s Bi Luo Slash!”
“A Qi Condensation ninth stage cultivator blocked a Foundation Establishment first stage attack and severely wounded him?”
“Xiao Yi is incredibly strong. What on earth is this Xuanyuan Sect?”
Wiping blood from his lips, Xiao Yi flashed forward, appearing before Lin Yi in an instant. His right fist engulfed in roaring flames slammed hard into Lin Yi’s chest.