A flicker of memory stirred in Yun Jin's mind.
It felt like so long ago.
Back when she was about to join Tianxing Sect, she had been just like the people here now—striving with all her might, undergoing one trial after another.
Inwardly, Yun Jin sighed. "Senior Tian Po, thinking about it now, it feels as if joining Tianxing Sect was only yesterday. Truly, time spares no one. It all slips past so quickly…"
The Tian Po Sword echoed her sentiment with a quiet sigh of its own.
Yun Jin tilted her head, thinking, then laughed. "Wait, wasn't that only half a year ago? Oh—no wonder it all feels so fresh."
[Emotional Value +500!]
At that moment, the Tian Po Sword was seized by an urge to beat her senseless.
A person could be irritating, yes.
But how could someone be this persistently irritating?
Not even sparing a sword?
Yun Jin muttered a few cheeky remarks, collected her Emotional Value, then turned her attention back to the test. Her eyes scanned the crowd, curious, looking for any seedlings with real promise.
If there were any, she was already considering taking some as her personal disciples.
After all—
With her system, a powerful disciple would save her countless hours of cultivation.
Her thoughts wandered further.
If her master Ji Wusi were instead to acknowledge her as his master, would her comprehension of the sword instantly reach invincible heights?
If her master Qing Yun bowed to her as his disciple, wouldn't she instantly ascend to become the legendary alchemist said to surpass even ninth-grade?
And if her master Liu Li called her teacher, wouldn't her command over the soul immediately break through into the sacred realm?
The more Yun Jin thought about it, the more tempting the idea became.
Unable to resist, she asked her system about it.
A moment later, the system floated up… and displayed nothing but a long row of ellipses.
"Say something! What do you mean by ellipses?" Yun Jin was growing anxious.
The system promptly vanished without a trace, clearly refusing to entertain her question.
Yun Jin sat there baffled. Why did so many people react this way? Mid-conversation, then suddenly cutting her off, as if they wanted nothing more to do with her.
People, swords, systems—they were all terribly rude.
She stayed quiet for a short while before her restless nature surged back. Tugging at the Tian Po Sword, she began chattering again. "Senior…"
Grinding his teeth, Tian Po Sword snapped, "Young Master, could you please let me have a moment of peace?"
Never in his long existence had he seen someone with such inexhaustible energy. Couldn't she just sit quietly as a good-luck figure for once?
For the first time, he felt like a weary father struggling to manage a hyperactive child.
"This won't do." Yun Jin rejected the idea immediately. "You're already old, Senior, practically a solitary elder. Recently I've been busy and haven't had time to keep you company. You must have been so lonely, right? But now I'm free, so we can—"
Her endless prattling was suddenly interrupted when the Tian Po Sword shouted, "Young Master, look quickly!"
Look? At what?
Yun Jin turned her head curiously. Her gaze fell on a little girl, five or six years old, walking hesitantly into the testing area.
Outside the boundary stood a middle-aged woman, wringing her hands in worry. She couldn't step past the line; as a mere mortal, entry was forbidden.
The Tian Po Sword had only cried out to distract Yun Jin, never expecting something real to happen. A wave of relief washed over him. As long as she stopped pestering him, anything was worth it.
Taking advantage of the moment, the sword withdrew deep into the sea of consciousness, sinking into slumber to recover its strength. For now, he had no plans of re-emerging.
Yun Jin, however, had already forgotten him.
The little girl's big eyes glistened like water as she gazed up. Yun Jin found herself staring back, intrigued.
"You passed the spirit spiritual root test?" Yun Jin softened her voice, gentle as she spoke.
If she were from a cultivation family, a child at this age might already know the basics of the immortal path. But by her plain clothes, the girl was clearly from a common household. At her age, it was uncertain whether she even understood what "cultivation" meant.
The girl nodded obediently, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Yun Jin. "Big Sister, thank you for saving me."
Yun Jin blinked. For a long moment she simply studied the child's face. Recognition dawned.
"Ah. On that day when the earth quaked, the first person I had rescued had been this very little girl. Who would have thought she possessed a spirit spiritual root?"
Among cultivators, spirit spiritual roots were as natural as breathing.
But for an ordinary mortal child to have one—that was one in a million.
"You want to join Wushuang Sect?" Yun Jin asked softly. Instinctively, her tone was tender when speaking to a child.
The girl nodded vigorously. "Yes! I want to become strong like Big Sister, so I can save many, many people!"
Despite her tiny figure, she wore such a serious expression that Yun Jin couldn't help but find her unbearably endearing.
Reaching out, Yun Jin pinched the girl's soft cheek.
When she let go, the girl tilted her head, clearly disappointed. Then she spoke with disarming honesty. "Big Sister, pinch me again. Ling Ling likes it when you do."
That was far too adorable. Yun Jin gave her another gentle pinch before asking, "So your name is Ling Ling?"
The little girl nodded. "Yes. Su Lingling."
"Good. Ling Ling, among these five stones, which one feels closest to you?" Yun Jin guided patiently.
It couldn't be helped.
Of all those present, Su Lingling was by far the youngest. The rest were at least ten years old. Without careful guidance, Yun Jin feared she might not understand.
The child grew tense.
Her mother had told her this was an important test. Only by passing could she join Wushuang Sect, only then could she become someone as powerful as Big Sister.
Which stone feels closer… what kind of test was this?
"Try walking up to whichever one you like first," Yun Jin encouraged.
Su Lingling nodded and tiptoed forward.
The first stone she chose was red.
Because—
Red meant fire. And Big Sister Yun's fire techniques had looked so dazzling.
Yun Jin watched curiously, taking the chance to probe the girl's spirit spiritual root with her own spiritual sense. The earlier test had only revealed that Su Lingling possessed a spiritual root, not its type.
Now that she was close, Yun Jin examined her carefully. Surprise flickered in her eyes.
Su Lingling had a rare single-element spirit spiritual root—water.
With talent like this, any sect would fight to take her in.
Yun Jin's thoughts turned over.
The five basic spiritual roots began with examples like fire. A single fire spiritual root meant complete affinity with flame, but rejection of all others. Only fire could be sensed and cultivated.
Su Lingling's water spiritual root should mean she could only attune to water.
Dual or triple spiritual roots could sense multiple elements, though never equally. A water-earth spiritual root might perceive both water and earth, but inevitably with one stronger than the other.
For instance:
A fire spiritual root offered one hundred percent attraction to fire, zero to all else.
A fire-wind spiritual root could vary, fifty-fifty affinity or perhaps eighty-twenty.
That uncertainty made cultivation increasingly difficult with more spiritual roots.
A single-element spiritual root naturally meant perfect affinity. The more elements, the weaker each became.
Heavenly Sprit Roots were the exception, able to cultivate any element at full affinity. No wonder Ye Danxia had been treated with such importance.
As for mutated spiritual roots—lightning, ice, storm—these carried unique affinities, making their bearers exceptionally strong.
But Su Lingling was pure water.
Yet here she was, stepping up to fire.
That was a pearl cast into the dark.
Theoretically, she could never sense fire at all, let alone comprehend anything from it.