Climbing the mountain, the five of them talked.
"Junior Brothers and Junior Sister, what you might not know is that a cultivator's talent is deeply attached to their Spiritual Roots! Our Extreme Jade Sword Sect allocates resources based on your Spiritual Root grade, the higher your Spiritual Root grade is, the higher the chance of you getting better resources," Senior Brother Liu said. This is how the cultivation world was; cruel and placing emphasis on talent.
To the three people from the Wu Clan, Wu Bailian, Wu Yang and Wu Li, the term Spiritual Root was new to them.
Wu Bailian had no idea about how talent is measured, so Spiritual Roots are new to her.
As for Wu Yang, back when he selected his reincarnation's talents, he only saw the Physiques and Talent option and he didn't see anything about a Spiritual Root.
He heard about this term in the cultivation novels that he had read before, but he thought that this cultivation world only measures talent in a one-dimensional way.
Wu Li, on the other hand, had a powerful grandpa hiding inside his ring!
Liang Xia, the old monster sneered, "Spiritual Roots aren't all that important! Cultivation talent is too complex to be measured by only one variable. What about Physiques, Spirit Bones and powerful Bloodlines?"
"Not to mention, Physiques are born from chaos! Every single person who has a Physique, entering the Soul Palace Realm within a few hundred years of cultivating is what the lowest Physique is capable of!"
Wu Li listened intently at what Liang Xia was saying. He then realized that the world is bigger than he had thought!
He was also filled with pride. He, this genius, has a heaven-defying Physique that was rarely seen in the Blue Sky Mortal Realm!
The Divine Lightning Physique!
Wu Yang unfortunately couldn't hear what Liang Xia was muttering inside Wu Li's mind and he was left to speculate about the intricacies of the Spiritual Root.
...
"We have arrived inside the Talent Testing Hall!" Senior Brother Liu said.
Inside the Talent Testing Hall, there weren't just the five of them. There was an Elder who was wearing a blue robe. His cultivation seemed unfathomable to everyone inside the hall.
"Look, there are newcomers as well! I didn't know that there were other people taking the Entrance Test as well!"
One person looked at the five of them and quickly recognized Liu Shizi and Chen Yu's identities. He was very well informed.
Both Liu Shizi and Chen Yu had to leave since they had to go and collect their mission rewards as well as cultivate.
He didn't think much of them and looked at the three other people in their group.
He saw a dashing and imposing youth with black eyes who was at the peak of the Foundation Building. It seemed like he advanced a few days ago. His aura didn't seem to threaten him, but he looked promising.
It was precisely Wu Yang! He just recently condensed his eighteenth Pillar. He could already start building his Core, but he was told to wait until he joined one of the Twelve Extreme Peaks.
Then he looked at Wu Bailian and shook his head, both in disappointment and in disgust. Not only was her cultivation level not high, but her looks aren't really that good.
Next, he took a glance at Wu Li. His short, curly hair and his bright-yellow imposing eyes stared back at him with fighting intent.
The youth, Yang Chen, sneered.
...
"Good, since everyone has arrived, let me tell you some common information about Spiritual Roots. Every person has a Spiritual Root inside their Dantian, although since you come from the secular world, you haven't heard of this term before. Spiritual Roots have affinity with the Five Elements, as well as other rare Elements. People with the highest affinity in their Spiritual Root for variant elements have a Mutated Spiritual Root, and they are usually stronger than people with normal Spiritual Roots!"
"At the end of the day, even though you might have a Mutated Spiritual Root, your Spiritual Root might be trash! Spiritual Roots are divided into the Yellow, Black, Earth, and Heaven Grade. Yellow Grade Spiritual Roots can only take you to the Foundation Building Realm and they are useless, as for Black Grade Spiritual Roots, they can take you to at most the Nascent Soul Realm!"
"Earth Grade Spiritual Roots are extremely rare, and on the Jiaolong Continent, there are a little bit more than ten thousand people with such Spiritual Roots! As for the legendary Heaven Grade Spiritual Roots, they are only recorded in legends and their existence is questionable,"
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The Elder then continued, "Good, since I introduced to you to some basic information, let's measure everyone's talent. If you have a Black Grade Spiritual Root, you are considered to have passed. As for the three juniors that aren't taking the Entrance Test, they will be able to pass with any Spiritual Roots."
Everyone looked displeased when they heard that the three people that just arrived will pass regardless of their Spiritual Root Grade.
Yang Chen looked extremely displeased as well.
Even he, this kind of genius, had to take the Entrance Test, so who were these people with lower cultivation base than him to be able to enter the Extreme Jade Sword Sect without needing a good Spiritual Root?
"Elder, I don't think this is fair! If I have a trash Spiritual Root, I won't be able to get in the sect, but if these three people have a trash Spiritual Root, they will be able to enter. How is that fair?!"
Yang Chen was an arrogant and domineering youth. He was also very calculative and knew beforehand what the Elder's robe meant. It meant that this Elder in front of him was an Outer Elder.
Did he, this kind of a genius, have to respect an Outer Elder who is at most in the later stages of the Nascent Soul Realm?
In his eyes, the Nascent Soul Realm is achievable!
Other than Yang Chen, there were also fifty-three other people who had passed the Entrance Test so far. This was their last test and they had worked a lot to get to where they are now.
Most of them also got bold when they heard Yang Chen talk to the Elder like that.
"Yeah! I haven't been able to sleep while I was inside the Myriad Clouds Forest at all since I was afraid of getting eaten by a Demonic Beast! Who are these people to not take the Entrance Test and enter the Extreme Jade Sword Sect so easily?"
"Yes, yes! I wasn't able to sleep comfortably on a soft bed for a week! I was getting bitten by ants constantly, while these punks are allowed to directly enter the Extreme Jade Sword Sect?"
Of course, not all people were yelling at the Elder. Some smart teenagers were silently watching the situation unfold.
What if these people are extremely talented? Although their cultivation bases are low, everyone needs to start somewhere.
And they were able to enter the backdoor of the Extreme Jade Sword Sect, they must have some sort of connection to a powerful Elder, otherwise they wouldn't be able to.
"Silence!" The Outer Elder, Xu Wen, sneered. How can he not know what goes through these people's mind?
They are clearly looking down on him.
"If you have any complains, go and talk to Peak Master Zhu! He's the one who arranged this," Xu Wen continued.
The people that were complaining just now shut up.
Talk to Peak Master Zhu? He's one of the big shots of the Extreme Jade Sword Sect...
'Damn it!' Yang Chen gritted his teeth in anger. He encountered a metal plate!
...
Xu Wen cleared his throat and said, "Since you all stopped spewing dirt, let's just start this..."
The people that were complaining were furious! This Elder clearly knew how to put salt on one's injury! The worst part is, they couldn't do anything...
"You, come here!" Xu Wen pointed at a teenager and he arrived in front of the Elder.
He was somewhat afraid since he was also someone who was complaining earlier, he was even complaining about how he was bitten by ants.
"What's your name, kid?" Xu Wen asked while looking at him in amusement.
"My name is Lin Dong, sir!" Lin Dong replied quickly in fear.
Xu Wen nodded and smiled, "Place your hand on this crystal!"
"Yes, sir!" Lin Dong said.
After placing his hand on the crystal, it quickly displayed Lin Dong's Spiritual Root information.
[Metal affinity: 36 - Wood affinity: 30 - Water affinity: 29 - Fire affinity: 27 - Earth affinity: 21 - No mutations]
[A/N: You can look at the Glossary to see more information. 0-10(Yellow), 11-40(Black), 41-80(Earth), 81-100(Heaven)]
Xu Wen looked envious at Lin Dong and sighed, "Good kid, you have a Black Grade Spiritual Root! "
Lin Dong looked happy with entering the sect. Although he didn't have an Earth Grade Spiritual Root, he wasn't disappointed since he didn't have any expectations from himself.
...
"Li Hua, Earth Grade Mutated Spiritual Root!"
"Yang Chen, Earth Grade Spiritual Root!"
...
Overall, there were only forty-five people who passed this test out of the fifty-three. There were eight people who had Yellow Grade Spiritual Roots, which deeply disappointed them.
Now, it was Wu Bailian's turn. Since the fifty-three youngsters have tested their aptitude, it is now their turn.
Some teenagers with mediocre aptitudes were staring at Wu Bailian with a lustful gaze. Even though she didn't look extremely beautiful compared to other girls in their groups, their talent wasn't able to secure a place in their heart.
Wu Bailian placed her hand on the Aptitude Measurement Crystal and she looked at her affinities. She was somewhat disappointed.
[Metal affinity: 30 - Wood affinity: 35 - Water affinity: 34 - Fire affinity: 25 - Earth affinity: 28 - No mutations]
Xu Wen nodded and said, "You have a Black Grade Spiritual Root, you can go back. You can join one of the Extreme Peaks, although I recommend you the Frozen Cloud Peak. There are mostly female cultivators there,"
Xu Wen was providing more information to Wu Bailian because these three people have been personally invited by a Peak Master. Although he had no idea what relationship they had with a Peak Master, he doesn't want to risk offending.
Wu Yang's turn finally came and he cupped his hands.
The Elder, Xu Wen, nodded and signaled to go and test his aptitude as well.
Wu Yang placed his hand on the Aptitude Measurement Crystal and he looked at the information displayed.
[Metal affinity: 40 - Wood affinity: 50 - Water affinity: 49 - Fire affinity: 53 - Earth affinity: 28 - No mutations]
Wu Yang finally knew what the Talent option referred to in his Great Saṃsāra System. They represented your highest affinity.
Wu Yang, back then, chose 53 Talent Points, and now, his highest affinity has the value of 53.
The Elder, Xu Wen, was impressed.
"Earth Grade Spiritual Root!"
The others looked astonished as well.
Although there were two people with Earth Grade Spiritual Roots in their batch, one of them being a Mutated one, Wu Yang's affinity was higher than Yang Chen, but lower than Li Hua's.
"Elder, I have a question. My clan cultivates a Wind attribute cultivation method, what should I do?"
Xu Wen looked sad and smiled bitterly, "Although you haven't entered the Core Formation Realm, your future achievements will still be a little bit worse if you started cultivating using a Fire attribute cultivation method than if you were to start from the beginning using a Fire attribute cultivation method,"
Wu Yang didn't faze when he heard that. It was to be expected.
"Is it better for me to switch from my current Wind attribute cultivation method to another one with the Fire attribute?"
Elder Xu was impressed at Wu Yang's calmness and smiled, "Yes, it is better. The Wind attribute is a variant attribute, and since you don't have any mutations, it will be harmful for you to continue,"