"Children! Take the pill and sit down where you are. Those whose number plates I call, come forward..."

In an open space outside Longxing Town, an elderly man in a Taoist robe, with an air of divinity, stood with one hand behind his back, looking at the more than thirty children in front of him with eyes filled with anticipation.

These children, ranging from eight or nine to thirteen or fourteen years old, each held a pill containing five colors: gold, green, blue, red, and brown, and their faces were all filled with excitement.

Around the old Taoist and the children, there were crowds of villagers from Longxing Town and nearby villages, mostly the parents of these children. They all hoped their children could be chosen, not only for the sake of cultivating immortality but more importantly, for the silver taels they would receive.

Indeed, Longxing Town was located in Liangzhou, a wilderness in the northeast of the Great Qian Kingdom, where most of the villagers struggled to make ends meet. Although they had little understanding of cultivating immortality, they knew that if their children were chosen by the Taoist master, they would immediately receive one thousand silver taels and have the opportunity to leave the village and live in a better place.

This was what these parents were thinking. As for the children's thoughts, that was unknown.

Amid the expectant gazes and hustle and bustle of the crowd, the children successively swallowed the pills they held and sat down obediently, holding up their number plates and waiting for the old Taoist's instructions.

Seeing this, the old Taoist's small, shining eyes immediately scanned over the children.

Ten breaths.

Fifty breaths.

A hundred breaths...

Suddenly, the old Taoist's face lit up, and he called out, "Number Thirty-Three!"

Upon hearing this, the children turned around and looked at the little girl with a chubby and cute face at the back. They saw a faint misty aura emanating from her and couldn't help but feel envious.

"It's Xiaoyun! Xiaoyun has been chosen! It's great, it's great..."

In the crowd, a middle-aged woman with a sallow complexion wept and was almost overwhelmed with joy, and the villagers beside her quickly helped her steady herself.

"I didn't expect that silly girl to have the qualifications of an immortal. The Ling family must be really blessed. I hope my boy can be more competitive and earn me a thousand silver taels too..."

"Yeah, the Ling family is going to be rich... A whole thousand silver taels."

"..."

Upon hearing the old Taoist's call, the villagers were filled with emotion and admiration. Many of them secretly tightened their grip on their clothes, feeling nervous. They hoped their children could also be chosen.

After a while.

"Number Twenty!"

The old Taoist suddenly looked at an eight- or nine-year-old child sitting in the middle of the third row, and a faint misty aura was also emanating from him.

"Haha, Xiaohu has been chosen!"

Instantly, an exclamation came from the crowd. A muscular middle-aged man trembled with excitement and patted an old man on the shoulder beside him. "Village Chief, did you see that? It's Xiaohu, it's Xiaohu... We're rich!"

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"..."

Two children had already been chosen by the Taoist, and the remaining people became anxious. In previous selections by Qingyang Sect, at most two children were chosen. Now that two had been chosen, the chances for the rest seemed slim.

Time passed, and half a quarter of an hour had gone by.

Unfortunately, after Xiaoyun and Xiaohu were chosen, no one else was called. It seemed as if Longxing Town could only produce two successful candidates at most.

The old Taoist's hopeful eyes gradually dimmed.

The pill he gave was called the Awakening Pill, which could help those who had not cultivated to awaken their Spirit Root. Normally, if they failed to awaken within half a quarter of an hour, it meant that the person did not possess a Spirit Root, or at least not one with five elements.

Those with less than five-element Spirit Roots were called Mixed Spirit Roots, often having seven, eight, or even nine elements. Although Mixed Spirit Roots could also absorb spiritual energy, it would be difficult for them to open a Qi meridian and reach the first level of Qi Cultivation in their entire lifetime.

In the cultivation world, not to mention Mixed Spirit Roots, even five-element Spirit Roots were considered Pseudo-Spirit Roots and were at the bottom. No one would waste resources to help someone with a potential Mixed Spirit Root awaken.

After waiting for a while longer, the old Taoist shook his head helplessly and said to the children sitting on the ground, "Alright, the Awakening Ceremony is over. You don't have Spirit Roots and are not destined to cultivate immortality. You may all leave now."

Upon hearing this, the children looked crestfallen, and a chorus of sighs came from the crowd. The parents approached to take their children back.

"Cultivating immortality, huh? I didn't expect that I, who's so fat, can't cultivate immortality."

The muscular boy placed his hand on the shoulder of the skinny and dark-skinned boy beside him and muttered as they walked, "Mud Monkey, do you think I ate too much and blocked my Spirit Root?"

The boy named Mud Monkey was also feeling depressed. He rolled his eyes and said, "How would I know?"

"Mud Monkey, Chen Fatty, wait for me."

At this moment, a lean boy of about the same age caught up and placed his hand on Mud Monkey's other shoulder, saying intimately, "Mud Monkey, it's understandable that Chen Fatty and I, being uneducated, can't cultivate immortality. But you shouldn't be like us. You've read so many books since you were young."

"Sigh, it's fate," Mud Monkey shook his head, unable to hide his disappointment.

His father was once the village teacher in Dashicun Village, and he indeed read many books when he was young. But what was the use? This world was not ruled by scholars.

If reading books made one powerful, his father wouldn't have been eaten by wild animals in the mountains.

Mud Monkey's real name was Lu Li. Because he was as skinny as a monkey, he was nicknamed Mud Monkey by his friends.（The original "mud monkey" is "Nihou", which means a monkey made of mud and is translated as "mud monkey". ）

The three of them were from Dashicun Village, twenty li away from Longxing Town. Besides Lu Li, the fatty was named Chen Zhong, nicknamed Chen Fatty, and the other lean boy was named Qin Shouren, nicknamed Qin Shou .

All three were thirteen years old this year and had grown up together, sharing a close bond. They were all capable of taking care of themselves in Dashicun Village, so Chen Zhong and Qin Shouren's parents didn't accompany them for the awakening ceremony.

As for Lu Li, his mother died when he was born, and his father unfortunately died in a wild animal attack two years ago.

Since then, he had wanted to cultivate immortality to strengthen himself, but fate had other plans. He didn't have the qualifications of an immortal.

Another nine-year-old boy named Li Xiangyun from Dashicun Village followed them. His parents didn't come this time and entrusted him to Lu Li and the other two.

It was a hot and stuffy day in June.

Soon, they arrived at a small river. Since Qin Shouren didn't want to go back and help with the farm work, they decided to catch fish in the river and play until it got dark before heading back.

The river was named Tanhui River. Lu Li and his friends often came here to bathe and were familiar with the water conditions. They jumped into the river without even taking off their clothes.

Li Xiangyun was young, but he loved playing in the water and was a good swimmer. Seeing this, he shouted and followed them in.

"The water is deep here, Xiangyun. Go downstream," Lu Li said as he swam deeper, beckoning Li Xiangyun to go to the shallow water downstream. Although Xiangyun could swim, accidents could happen, and Lu Li wouldn't be able to face Xiangyun's father if anything went wrong.

"Okay," Li Xiangyun replied and obeyed, swimming towards the shallow water downstream.

"Haha, I caught a seven-star! I caught a seven-star fish!" Just then, Qin Shouren suddenly emerged from the water, holding up a yellow-brown seven-star perch and shouting happily.

"I caught one too!" Chen Zhong's big head also emerged, holding a loach.

"Look at mine!"

Not wanting to be outdone, Lu Li dove into the water and started searching in the crevices. Suddenly, he frowned. He felt something that wasn't a fish—it was rough and bumpy, and a bit jagged.

He tried to pull it out to see what it was, but he accidentally used too much force and cut his hand on a sharp crevice, causing blood to flow. In pain, Lu Li let go of