bookbashuk Chapter 116 Unqualified
Chapter 116 Unqualified
On the stage, the members of the Suyang Sect sat upright and solemnly.
In the very center was a large armchair covered with snow-white spirit beast fur, and an old woman with a full head of silver hair sat on it.
She had a kind face, wore a simple gray Taoist robe, and had a dark green jade belt tied around her waist. The belt was inlaid with a green gemstone the size of a pigeon's egg, which had a restrained spiritual light and was obviously not an ordinary object.
She rested her hands on her knees, her gaze calmly sweeping over the rogue cultivators queuing below the stage for their tests, occasionally shaking her head slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with these promising talents.
Behind the old woman stood a veiled young woman.
She wore a light blue long dress with silver cloud patterns embroidered on the hem. The fabric was thin and fluttered gently in the breeze.
Her face was covered by a thin veil, revealing only her eyes, which were clear as water yet deep as a pool, as if they could see through people's hearts.
Her hair was tied up high and secured with a white jade hairpin, revealing her slender neck and a pair of delicate earlobes.
Her gaze casually swept over the crowd below the stage, passing over the rogue cultivators in line, and then moving to the family members resting in the pavilions on both sides.
Some of the family members were talking in hushed tones, some were resting with their eyes closed, and some were nervously clutching the hem of their clothes, waiting to go on stage for the test.
Her gaze continued to move, sweeping over the scattered corners at the edge of the square, where some members of first-level families, who weren't even qualified to enter the pavilions, sat, some meditating, some lost in thought.
Then, she saw Zhao Fan.
He sat in a corner at the very edge of the square, with the wounded Blood Shadow Wolf beside him, a pale-faced Su San next to him, a limping woman, and a weary-looking young man.
Their clothes were tattered, and they bore wounds, making them stand out starkly from the well-dressed monks in the square.
The woman's gaze froze.
She looked at Zhao Fan's familiar face, a meaningful smile appearing on her lips.
The smile was faint, almost imperceptible, but the light in those eyes brightened slightly.
She gently withdrew her gaze, as if nothing had happened, and remained quietly standing behind the old woman.
But her hand moved almost imperceptibly.
Her fingertips gently caressed a jade pendant inside her sleeve.
……
The tests on stage proceeded at a moderate pace.
Each person goes up one by one, first walking to the center of the stone platform and placing their hand on a stone tablet about half a person's height.
The stone tablet was covered with spiritual patterns. When you placed your palm on it, the spiritual patterns would light up. Based on the degree and color of the light, you could judge the cultivator's cultivation level and the strength of their spiritual sense.
Next is the spiritual root test. Place your other hand on a crystal ball, and different colored halos will appear in the crystal ball, representing different spiritual root attributes.
If both criteria are met, the candidate passes and stands aside to await the final selection. If either criterion is not met, the candidate is eliminated.
One after another, independent cultivators took the stage, only to be eliminated one after another.
Most of them were independent cultivators, either lacking sufficient cultivation or being too old; most of them were directly eliminated.
The cultivators of the Suyang Sect on the stage remained expressionless. Occasionally, someone would pass by, and they would simply nod slightly and enter their name into the jade slip.
The old woman remained silent, simply sitting quietly, her gaze calmly sweeping over each person who came up on stage, occasionally shaking her head slightly.
The masked woman standing behind her didn't speak either, just watched quietly, her gaze occasionally sweeping over that corner at the edge of the square.
……
"Next."
The monk on the platform shouted.
Su Zixin stood up, handed the Frost Sword to Su Ziyan, and limped onto the stone platform.
Her leg injury hadn't fully healed, and she walked with a slight limp, but her back was ramrod straight, and there was no fear on her face.
Some people in the audience were whispering among themselves.
"Who is this woman? She's limping, how can she come for the test?"
"Judging from her clothes, she seems to be from a top-tier family."
"A first-tier family, what's so special about that..."
Su Zixin ignored him, walked to the stone tablet, and placed her hand on it.
The spiritual patterns lit up, one, two, three... until the seventh one before the light stabilized.
She was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and her spiritual sense was also above the standard. The cultivator on the platform nodded slightly, signaling her to proceed to the second item.
Su Zixin placed her hand on the crystal ball, and three clear halos appeared within it: gold, cyan, and blue. The crystal ball possessed the three spiritual roots of metal, wood, and water, of above-average quality.
"pass."
The monks on the platform entered Su Zixin's name.
"Next."
Su Zixin stepped down from the stone platform and returned to the corner. Su Ziyan gave her a thumbs up, but she just nodded faintly, her face showing little joy.
"Next, Zhao Fan."
The monk on the platform called out his name.
Zhao Fan took a deep breath, stood up, and walked towards the stage.
He walked up to the stone platform and stood in front of the stone tablet.
The cultivator on the platform glanced at him, his gaze lingering for a moment on his tattered clothes and the scars on his face, but he said nothing, only speaking calmly.
"Put your hand on it."
Zhao Fan placed his right hand on the stone tablet.
The spirit runes lit up. One, two, three... all the way up to the seventh, the light was steady and did not flicker.
Zhao Fan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to move his hand away when the cultivator spoke again.
"Don't move, this is a test of your spiritual sense."
Zhao Fan stopped pressing his hand on the stone tablet again.
The spirit runes continued to light up, and in the blink of an eye, five runes lit up.
Moreover, the light was very faint, almost extinguished.
The monk on the platform frowned.
"Try again."
Zhao Fan's heart sank. He concentrated his mind and poured all his divine sense into the stone tablet.
The spirit runes lit up again, but the result remained unchanged at five.
The monk shook his head and made a note in his notebook.
"Divine sense strength: Low-grade."
Zhao Fan's face turned pale.
He hadn't expected his spiritual sense to be so weak.
"Spiritual Root Test"
Upon seeing the results of the spiritual sense test, the cultivator's voice already carried a hint of impatience.
Zhao Fan steadied himself and placed his left hand on the crystal ball.
Three clear halos emerged from the sphere, representing the three spiritual roots of metal, fire, and wood, with qualities similar to Su Zixin's.
This result isn't bad, but it's not good either. It's considered decent among independent cultivators, but in the eyes of a major sect like the Suyang Sect, it's barely acceptable.
The cultivator glanced at it, then looked at Zhao Fan's spiritual sense test results in his hand, and his brows furrowed even more.
"His cultivation level and spiritual root are up to standard, but his divine sense is too weak."
He closed the notebook and looked up at Zhao Fan.
"With a spiritual sense at the seventh level of Qi Refining, you only have the level of the fifth level. With such spiritual sense strength, there is no hope of Foundation Establishment. Go down."
Zhao Fan was stunned.
"What do you mean by this, fellow Daoist? Is the strength of one's spiritual sense related to Foundation Establishment?"
The cultivator on the stage was already impatient and waved his hand, signaling him to step down.
"Go ask someone else yourself."