Yun Jin was a little stunned.
She swore to herself.
This time, she really just wanted to be a low profile pretty girl.
But.
No one told her the Wood Spirit Pearl could do this.
Her expression kept shifting.
Fine, fine.
Even the heavens refused to let her stay low profile, so she might as well...
Yun Jin was just about to speak.
A woman beside her smiled and said, "This should be an accidental situation. If you were someone with a pure wood body or someone who controls the Primordial Wood, the Wood Spirit Pearl wouldn't have reverted so fast. Something probably went wrong with the pearl itself."
Another woman nodded. "That's right. The Wood Spirit Pearl's been used a lot recently. Small malfunctions aren't surprising."
Yun Jin fell silent again.
This... this counts?
She hadn't said a word and the two of them already found excuses for her?
After adjusting the Wood Spirit Pearl, the two women looked at Yun Jin. "It should be fine now. Why don't you try again?"
Yun Jin hesitated.
Her wood attribute spiritual power was too pure. Even a tiny bit of it would cause anomalies.
Why was staying low profile so hard?
She picked up the Wood Spirit Pearl for the second time.
Her gaze flickered as she suddenly remembered something.
"Yun Mu, I need to use the Borrowed Strength skill." She reached out through her Beastmaster space.
Yun Mu responded quickly.
Borrowed Strength was Yun Jin's innate Beastmaster talent. She could channel power from her spirit beast.
Yun Mu's wood attribute spiritual power was strong too, but not strong enough to create jade transformation phenomena. That should be enough to bluff through the test.
Back then...
She tried so hard to grab attention.
Now...
She was trying just as hard not to get any.
Was this what people called growth?
With that thought, she borrowed a strand of Yun Mu's power and guided it into the Wood Spirit Pearl.
This time...
The reaction was much milder.
The Wood Spirit Pearl slowly lit up. A faint green glow spread outward, growing thicker bit by bit until it filled the entire pearl.
Yun Jin finally breathed out.
She could probably stay low profile now.
"Does this mean I passed the test?" she asked.
Then.
Her heart tightened again.
The two women still had strange expressions. They were staring at the now vibrant pearl with open shock.
"The whole pearl turned green!" one of them gasped.
"The entire pearl lit up!" The other looked at Yun Jin with delight. "Your wood attribute spiritual power is incredibly pure."
Yun Jin: "…???"
What did that mean?
She held back so much.
And this still counted as too much?
Seeing her confusion, a woman quickly explained, "You only need a faint green glow in the center to pass. But you filled the whole thing. Your wood attribute purity is extraordinary."
Their gazes held a faint trace of respect now.
[Emotional Value +500.]
[Emotional Value +500.]
The system kept chiming nonstop.
Yun Jin felt numb.
Heavens.
Had she really gotten this good?
Her light truly was like a firefly in the night. No matter what she did, she couldn't hide it.
Fine, she would accept it for now.
"With such pure spiritual power, you'll surely catch the attention of the Saint Attribute Lord once you're on the Sacred Mountain." One of the women carefully returned the spiritual plant Yun Jin had given earlier. "When you rise to greatness in the future, we hope you won't forget us."
Yun Jin quickly said, "No need for that. I don't know anything about the Sacred Mountain yet. I might need the two of you to teach me a lot later. Consider this spiritual plant a small gesture."
Her sincerity relaxed the two sisters, who accepted it after a polite refusal.
The atmosphere among the three turned warm.
One woman smiled. "I'm Qu Qing, and this is my younger sister Qu Hui."
Yun Jin nodded. "I'm Yun Jin. You can call me Xiao Jin."
The sisters were happy to grow closer. Qu Qing smiled. "Xiao Jin, since you're new to the Holy City, you probably don't know anything yet. Now that you've passed the test, I should explain a few things."
"We can talk while heading to the Sacred Mountain," Qu Hui added.
Going to the Sacred Mountain was Yun Jin's goal anyway, so she nodded.
Qu Qing walked to the gate and whistled.
A pair of wings flashed in the sky as a winged heavenly horse descended, pulling a carriage behind it.
The two sisters invited Yun Jin aboard. The winged heavenly horse let out a cry, spread its wings and flew into the distance.
"Thank goodness we met you, Xiao Jin," Qu Hui said with a laugh. "Otherwise we would've taken forever to return to the Sacred Mountain."
Seeing Yun Jin's confusion, Qu Qing explained, "The Sacred Mountain regularly sends people down to search for wood attribute spirit beasts. To return, we must meet a certain quota. My sister and I have been out for months and never hit the target. But you alone are worth a hundred ordinary wood spirit beasts. With you, we've met the quota and can go back to the Holy City."
Yun Jin nodded. Then she asked curiously, "Why does the Sacred Mountain need so many wood attribute spirit beasts?"
Her question made the two sisters look confused.
Qu Hui shook her head. "We don't know the exact reason. But..."
Her voice lowered.
Yun Jin leaned in, listening more carefully.
"A hundred years ago, the Sacred Mountain was like eternal spring. The vegetation never withered. The spiritual energy was incredibly rich, the perfect cultivation place for spirit beasts.
But later, the concentration of spiritual energy slowly declined. Plants began to show signs of withering.
At first, it was rare and quickly recovered. But it got worse and worse. The rivers dried up. Most of the vegetation died. It still hasn't fully recovered.
The scariest part is... recently there's a rumor that the Spirit Spring might also..."
"Qu Hui!" Qu Qing snapped. "Don't say nonsense."
Qu Hui pouted. "Sister, everyone knows already. Xiao Jin's future status will definitely surpass ours. She'll learn about it once she's on the Sacred Mountain anyway."
Qu Qing's face tightened. She couldn't refute that.
"Is it something you can't talk about?" Yun Jin asked sweetly. "It's fine. I don't have to hear it."
Qu Qing sighed. "My sister's right. You'll learn sooner or later. But please, don't spread this outside. If this leaks out, it'll throw the world into chaos."