Jing's eyes moved from the crowd to the bustling world beyond them. After reaching the end of the steep slope of the final test, the disciples set foot into a perfectly leveled plateau. It was so leveled that it resembled a natural grass plain. Jing was enthralled by such a ridiculous sight on a mountain.

Exquisite wooden houses lined the area in droves, and the plateau was large enough, wide enough, that the houses had plenty of room between them, and crowded wasn't the feeling one would get gazing at them. Fantastical beasts freely roamed around, and ancient majestic pagodas of different colors sprouted in different places.

At the very end of the plateau was another flight of jade stairs that led beyond the clouds, and its slope seemed even richer with plants and small animals than the previous one. Jing knew that they were now in the outer sect, and beyond the clouds above was the inner sect.

An official disciple donned in a black robe approached Wang Fei, and easily threw the sizeable boy above his shoulders, taking him elsewhere with ease.

The elder who had been responsible for the test thus far noisily cleared his throat and spoke, "Not bad, not bad. Of the original 700 more than six hundred of you remain. That's good." Turning around he pointed toward the wooden buildings on the right side, "This is where you'll be staying from here on out, and the rest of the disciples will explain the rest." Saying that he turned around, and stepped one step forward before he completely disappeared from their view, appearing a hundred meters away.

Most of the new disciples gasped, astonished by such a feat, but others merely shrugged their shoulders as if they were used to such sights.

As the elder said, the uniformed disciples began escorting them into their new home, showing them the place and explaining anything they might need.

Jing learned much about the sect from their mini-tour. Those large pagodas had different uses. One of them was the Scripture Hall for anything related to Outer Disciples, then the disciplinary hall, the treasury, the medical hall, and others could help with cultivation, but the entrance wasn't free.

At the heart of the outer disciples' area lay a vast circular cavity, its stone walls rising imposingly with beautiful craftsmanship, encircling tier upon tier of circular benches hewn from rugged rock. At the very depths of the cavity, one found a spacious arena-like expanse at its base, where disciples gathered for lectures, training, and competitions.

The amphitheater, though not towering in size, commanded a sense of awe with its rugged appearance. Jing learned that it was called the Junior Golden Amphitheater. There were also dining halls, stables, botanic gardens, and other facilities. A testament to the vastness of the outer sect. However, Jing was mostly concerned with its beauty.

He felt as if he was walking in the garden of Eden as never before seen flowers sprouted from the rich verdant ground underneath. Trees of various types grew comfortably and without control nor restraint, giving the whole sect a wild, natural, and untameable beauty. Birds sang to their hearts' content, unbothered with the overwhelmed disciples below.

In the end, each group of disciples was led to their specific dorm rooms, and because they had the freedom to choose their dormmates and each room had four, the group stayed together. Although Wang Fei was still absent and they learned that he had been taken into the medical hall, they had reserved his spot.

The disciple who was guiding them left them with the words, "Rest well, tomorrow will be the day of integration." And a wide mysterious smile.

What did those words meant, Jing didn't know, but time would tell he reasoned. What was in his mind as he rested on the bottom bunk bed to the right was to simply rest. Both his lungs and legs were still burning, and even that seemingly easy stroll around the place had exhausted him plenty.

However, he knew that time was the only thing he didn't have. The day after tomorrow would be the day when all of the human players will compete. The manner of competing was still a mystery to him, but that information was enough for him to understand the severity of his situation.

At the top of the bunk bed to his left Zho Tu seemed deep in meditation, and Shen Yun was asleep in the one at the bottom. Jing mirrored his cross-legged posture and began cultivating. But before that, he remembered all of the things he had been putting off.

"Aukhman," He whispered, and the demon responded to the call by appearing beside his bed. "What is it?" He asked.

"Explain those spiritual roots to me," Jing said.

"Well," Aukhman said as he walked on air before he sat down on the wooden chair beside Jing's bed. "Before I explain what each one of them does you need to understand what spiritual roots are." A pondering expression overtook his face, as if he was thinking of the best way to explain it before he said, "It's pretty simple, what is complicated is just their origins and how they facilitate cultivation. What you need to know is just this, there are different types of spiritual roots, and according to the type they make cultivation easier for you, and thus make you stronger."

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"How would the three that I have help me?" Jing said. "And which one should I choose to begin with?"

"The number three wasn't accidental," Aukhman said from his chair. "Because cultivation could be separated into three different dimensions. Body, Soul, and Spirit."

Confused, Jing asked, "What is the difference between Soul and Spirit?" From his understanding, those two were often used to mean the same thing.

"They are very different," Aukhman said. "Just like Soul Purity, the soul is responsible for filtering, handling, and managing your Qi, it's the way a cultivator connects with the energies of the outside world. Soul and Qi are often times more than not interchangeable. The Soul is what builds your cultivation base, what stores your Qi, and everything else. You were Qi Condensation in the beginning, so you must've seen your Ethereal Body. A movement of energy that gets reflected inside your Inner Eye."

Jing furiously nodded as that was indeed one of the most magical things he had ever seen.

"That could be said to be your soul," Aukhman said. "In non-cultivators it's invisible, but cultivators can see it because it reflects the Qi stored within their souls. Now, Spirit on the other hand is a different matter. It's a very complicated thing but as with anything, it can be simplified. You can think of it as a different form of Qi and energy that is very associated with your mental state. And at the same time, the spirit could be said to be the gates of the soul. A sword regardless of how mighty it is would never be able to directly touch the soul, it can only indirectly eliminate it by killing the body. The Spirit on the other hand is different, it could ravage the soul without ever touching the body, and that is where its importance lies."

"And yes," He said as if remembering something. "There is something called Spiritual Sense that cultivators can unluck once their Spirit Sea is opened. They gain the ability to project their spirits outward, and because that spirit is a part of them it sends inputs back directly into their brain. Just like how you have a brain and you use your hands and other senses to navigate the world, this one is much more complex than just the mortal five senses. It's a wholly different sense with which cultivators explore their inside and outer worlds."

"Damn," Jing muttered in astonishment. "All that?"

Smiling, Aukhman said, "Of course. Now, those three roots you received are separated into these categories. The Golden Vajra Root: Body. The Verdant Serpent Root: Soul. The Purple Crystal Lotus Root: Spirit. Whichever you choose will help you in exceeding in that particular realm, how exactly will be clear to you later."

After thinking it over for a while, Jing smiled, his choice had been clear all along. "Golden Vajra Root," He said to the demon, "that's what I'll get."

"You're certain?" Aukhman questioned with a frown.

However, to Jing, to increase his physical capabilities would bring him the most satisfaction. For someone who had been crippled and watched their body deteriorate into a fragile unsightly mess, reaching the peak of his physical form would be a wonderful dream. In those five years in the hospital, Jing wasn't just observing his bland white ceiling, he had the internet. Thus, watching all of those people around his age with perfect muscular bodies whereas his body was but a skeleton brought him much insecurity and self-loathing.

Though his body now was reasonable, he was taller than most, his arms were strong, and his hands were rough. He wanted something more. If he were to get the Golden Vajra Root, his physical body would go through a qualitative transformation. He would grow even more taller, stronger, and muscular. To Jing, there was nothing that could top that.

Lost in his daydreams as a muscular stud, Jing mindlessly nodded.

"Wait, wait." The demon said urgently. "You need to be objective about this. There is something that I haven't told you yet."

"What's that?!" Jing fearfully asked, afraid the demon might give him a reasonable reason to change his mind.

"People who have Spirit-related spiritual roots have a huge advantage compared to the others," Aukhman said with a serious voice. "Their Spiritual Sea becomes mature at the Qi Condensation stage. If you chose the Purple Crystal Lotus it'll give you a big advantage over others of the same realm. And remember, you only have two days left before the cross-race event begins."

Jing frowned at those words, and what he was afraid of really happened. The benefits mentioned by the demon were alluring enough that he began doubting his decision.

"There's more," Aukhman said with a faint smile witnessing his pondering expression. "I am not entirely sure, but from what I remember from the previous games I had studied, you might also get a cultivation manual that will accompany the spiritual root you chose. I remember one in particular, Aurelius Stormblade. After he chose a Body Spiritual Root in his First Blood achievement, he received a Cultivation Manual for it. Although he died in the end, his whole run was nothing short of legendary."

"Why didn't this Aurelius guy choose a Spirit-related Root?" Jing asked.

"Well," Aukhman chuckled. "I don't know if you can imagine from reading his last name but he came from a long family of sword warriors so his decision was rather set in stone. Some people even argue that if he had chosen a spiritual root that early on, it could have compounded through his run into other benefits that would have allowed him to win in the end. After all, he was amongst the last five champions, so you can imagine how terribly fearsome he was."

Jing had an understanding expression as he nodded, "Makes sense I suppose," He muttered. "So there is a high chance that the first blood and the third blood will get Spirit Roots?" He asked.

"Absolutely," Aukhman said with rigid certainty. "Because of the choice of the series, the reincarnators. The representatives will have much more leeway to affect their players because they would be more malleable after finding themselves in a new world." Witnessing the guy's strange look, he smiled and said, "This is a good thing. The representatives understand the game and they are incentivized to help you. Our interests align so you don't have to worry."

Feeling that it made sense, Jing continued thinking it over for a few seconds before he gritted his teeth and made his decision. All he had to do was think, 'System,' and the Window Status interface would appear and on top of it were all of the other ones he hadn't touched yet.