An hour later.
The registration began.
Within the capital, five points had been set up.
Of them, four were open to ordinary mortals. At these four stations, anyone could freely test whether they had a spiritual root.
Those who already cultivated, or who were certain they possessed spiritual roots, could head straight to the fifth station.
This time, Yun Jin directly brought out the Wushuang Sect's old tool for testing spiritual roots.
The Spirit-Seeking Pearl.
Its function was simple: to identify the existence of spiritual roots.
It was crafted by an expert within the Wushuang Sect, able to cover thousands of people in an instant. Within moments, it revealed the results, making it astonishingly efficient.
Ji Wusi and the others watched the proceedings from afar through a scrying artifact.
Seeing this scene, Ji Wusi could not help but sigh.
"Compared to the Four Holy Lands, the Wushuang Sect truly breeds talents one after another. A tool like this would never even occur to those in the Holy Lands to create."
"Likely because, for the Four Holy Lands, such a tool is unnecessary." Liu Li arched her brow slightly. "Over the years, the threshold to enter the Holy Lands has only grown higher. From mortals to sects, to even higher realms of sects, true geniuses inevitably carve their way into the Holy Lands' sight on their own. Even if some talents are missed, the Holy Lands care little."
Her tone carried a faint trace of mockery. After all, she had risen without background, clawing her way step by step into her current standing. At first she had joined a small sect, then advanced slowly, with countless sacrifices, until at last she entered a Holy Land and earned her place.
The Four Holy Lands demanded that geniuses walk into their gates by their own strength.
As for those who could not reach them? The Holy Lands did not care.
For centuries, the Holy Lands had towered arrogantly above the common people.
But now…
Perhaps that arrogance was about to be shattered.
Liu Li herself was uncertain what she felt. Yet part of her even envied these mortals. Back when she was still a mortal, her poor birth meant even the chance to test for spiritual roots was hard-won. But now these mortals had the chance laid before them for free.
"Wushuang Sect," Qing Yun sighed softly, "perhaps the heavens truly are about to change."
All of them were beneficiaries of the current order, and held great influence within the Holy Lands. But none of them tried to stop Wushuang Sect's rise. Not only because Yun Jin was their disciple. But because, standing so high, they could feel it clearly.
The world itself needed to change. If it did not, the ones who would perish would not be others, but the Holy Lands themselves. As they spoke, their gazes remained fixed on the tests being conducted.
One glance after another brought only sighs.
The chance of finding a spiritual root among mortals was vanishingly small, one in ten thousand, sometimes one in a hundred thousand.
Across the five points, thousands were tested in seconds.
By the time a hundred thousand had been tested, only eight bore spiritual roots.
A terrifying ratio.
Not even one in ten thousand.
And even among these eight, most had the most ordinary, mediocre roots—likely doomed to remain forever at the Qi Refining stage. To rise further was yet another one-in-ten-thousand chance. The path of cultivation was cruel. At every step, countless lives were eliminated. This was the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao being merciless.
By the end of the afternoon, nearly every soul in the capital had tested themselves. Among millions of citizens, only six hundred eighty-three were confirmed to have spiritual roots. An exceedingly small fraction. And among them, the chance of producing a true genius was nearly zero.
Even across the vast Canglan Kingdom, a talent of Holy Land caliber might not appear. Not because geniuses did not exist. But because the sects had already harvested them long ago. Finding an unclaimed top-tier genius among mortals was like fishing a needle from the ocean.
Lin Xiao too was watching the Wushuang Sect's recruitment. At this point, he gave a cold laugh.
So this was Yun Jin's grand plan?
He had thought she might surprise him.
But this?
These so-called talents—most weak, many not even cultivators. Even if, by some chance, a prodigy appeared among them…
How long would it take that prodigy to grow?
Could it affect the Sect Ranking Conclave three days from now?
All of Yun Jin's actions, in his eyes, were meaningless. Her show of divine power earlier was meaningless too. Mere mortals—so what if they saw her as a goddess? What could that change?
As expected, Yun Jin was still a child at heart, obsessed with showing off.
Lin Xiao's contempt grew, though his past experiences still urged caution. This time, he would not allow accidents. He would keep watch, never allowing Wushuang Sect even a sliver of chance to rise. Only those proven to have spiritual roots were permitted to the fifth station—the true entrance test.
Wushuang Sect did not look at aptitude, only at comprehension. Naturally, they had their own methods. At first glance, the testing grounds seemed simple, almost crude.
Yun Jin had merely placed five towering stones in separate areas.
Gold. Brown. Blue. Red. Yellow.
They represented metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—the five elemental foundations of the Dao.
For all the myriad Daos in this world, their root lay in these five elements.
The test for new disciples began here.
Each candidate could choose whichever stone they felt most attuned to, and remain within its area. The stones looked unassuming, but in Wushuang Sect's hands, naturally they were not ordinary. They were Elemental Stones, which could only absorb their corresponding elemental energy.
These particular stones had once lain deep beneath the River of Enlightenment, washed countless times by its waters. Over time, they gained a faint trace of Dao resonance. Within Wushuang Sect, such stones were called Enlightenment Stones.
Though they did not impart knowledge as directly as fragments of Law, their resonance subtly helped those with good perception sense the truths of the world.
The first trial was not strict. If a candidate could, within the allotted time, step across the threshold of Dao comprehension, they would pass.
Comprehending the Law was both difficult and simple. Even peak experts rarely mastered an entire Law .
Yet those lofty Laws splintered into countless fragments.
Superior Intents, High-grade Intents, Middle Intents, and Elementary Intents—each was a shard of the Law.
For an untrained mortal, even faintly sensing an Elementary Intent within the time limit was enough to advance. If one directly comprehended an Elementary Intent, they could become a disciple of the Wushuang Sect immediately.
At this moment, Yun Jin presided over the test grounds, watching the nervous crowd with lively interest.