Seven Absolutes Sect.
Immortal Seed Valley.
A new batch of Immortal Seeds were brought from various Immortal Ascension Cities and gathered here for three months of introductory training, after which they would be assigned to various peaks within the Sect.
At that time, the top fifty would become Inner Sect Disciples, the top two hundred would become Outer Sect Disciples, and the remaining Disciples would all be Utility Disciples.
Thousands of fourteen and fifteen-year-old youths gathered in a plaza, and the sounds of their hushed conversations continuously reached Su Yuan's ears.
Su Yuan looked blankly at the youths around him, dressed in various clothes—some in luxurious attire, others in tattered clothes, with vast differences in their temperaments.
"Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?"
Su Yuan asked the three Soul-searching questions, and then a large segment of memories flooded in, causing his head to ache.
After a while, Su Yuan was utterly shocked; he had Transmigrated, Transmigrated to a Cultivation world!
A strong sense of excitement and thrill rose in Su Yuan's heart. His wish in his previous life was to live forever and he yearned for brilliant and powerful Immortal Spells, but he also understood that the Cultivation world was a very dangerous place!
From his memories, he knew that on the way to the Seven Absolutes Sect, they had encountered two calamities: one attack by Yao Beasts and one harassment by rogue Cultivators. He heard that some Immortal Seeds had even died before reaching the Sect, which showed how dangerous the Cultivation world was!
Just as Su Yuan was still organizing his memories.
The entire plaza suddenly fell silent.
Su Yuan was startled and looked up.
He saw an old Daoist, who had appeared at some unknown time, flying on a sword. The old Daoist had an immortal demeanor, flowing hair, and billowing robes, looking like an enlightened master of the Dao.
A fervent look reappeared in Su Yuan's eyes; this was flying!
The old Daoist landed on the platform, stroked his beard, and said with a faint smile, "This Venerable One is the Valley Master of Immortal Seed Valley. Today, I will activate the Qi Guiding Array for you all, to help you embark on the path of Cultivation! Sit down immediately and prepare to enter meditation to Cultivate!"
So direct?
Su Yuan saw all the youths find cushions and sit down, so he immediately sat down nearby as well.
He wondered how to guide Qi.
A whisk appeared in the old Daoist's hand, and with a wave, thousands of spiritual lights scattered towards the crowd.
Su Yuan saw a speck of spiritual light enter his glabella, and then a method for guiding Qi into the body and entering Qi Refining appeared in his mind. He instantly memorized all of it.
Such a method left Su Yuan stunned; this was a Cultivation method!
"Qi Guiding Array, activate!"
The old man formed a hand seal, and then colorful lights rose from around the plaza, enveloping the entire plaza!
Then, streaks of colored transparent light pillars descended, precisely enveloping each Immortal Seed. Su Yuan only felt that the surroundings immediately became quiet; he couldn't even hear the wind or birds, and his spiritual platform also became clearer!
"Spirit Guiding Incense, light!"
Next, the old man waved his hand again, and twelve long incenses appeared in his hand, igniting without fire.
With a flick of his sleeve, the twelve long incenses were precisely inserted into the twelve pillars around the plaza, and a fragrant aroma began to permeate the entire plaza.
Su Yuan watched with extreme wonder.
When he came back to his senses, he saw many youths had already closed their eyes to regulate their breathing, beginning to attempt to guide Qi into their bodies!
"I need to start too!"
Su Yuan quickly closed his eyes and entered meditation according to the Qi Guiding method in his mind. For a moment, he couldn't calm his mind, but fortunately, the Spirit Guiding Incense aroma quickly permeated the air, and he unconsciously entered a state of meditation.
In a dark void, he followed the Qi Guiding method to sense the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. In the ethereal Realm, he seemed to see some small red, green, and pale golden dots.
He called out to these light dots a few times, and saw them move a little distance, and then stop, seemingly unwilling to approach Su Yuan.
Before he could successfully call these small dots over, he found that the darkness disappeared, and he woke up.
Su Yuan opened his eyes in confusion, finding that the Spirit Guiding Incenses on the twelve pillars had already burned out!
When he looked forward, he saw more than a dozen youths, who had appeared behind the old man at some unknown time, watching the still-seated crowd with interest.
Those standing should be the Disciples who had successfully guided Qi into their bodies!
"Rest for a moment, then proceed with the second round of meditation and Qi guiding!" Valley Master Lan said calmly, then closed his eyes and remained silent.
Su Yuan took this time to immediately recall the feeling he had just experienced.
He had already sensed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi; next was to absorb this Spiritual Qi into his body!
"My choice just now was wrong. I should have chosen only one type to absorb, focusing on a single point. The red light dots should be fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, the pale golden ones are metal-attribute, and the green ones are wood-attribute! So which one should I choose to absorb?"
Su Yuan thought carefully and decided on the wood attribute.
According to his experience reading books in his previous life, fire-attribute Spiritual Qi should be more active and difficult to control, while metal-attribute Spiritual Qi is sharper and more stubborn, certainly not easy to absorb.
Wood-attribute Spiritual Qi was just right; it had vitality but wasn't overly lively, and it was more compatible with life.
In just a moment, the old man calmly said, "Alright, the second round begins!"
The old man waved his sleeve, and another twelve Spirit Guiding Incenses were inserted into the pillars.
Su Yuan immediately closed his eyes and entered meditation.
Soon, he once again arrived in that dark void. In the hazy expanse, he once again saw red, green, and yellow light dots!
Su Yuan didn't hesitate, focusing his mind and calling out to the green light dots.
Under his mental guidance, these green light dots slowly and leisurely approached Su Yuan.
Su Yuan remained calm, not exiting his meditative state due to excitement, and slowly guided them.
Soon, a few green light dots finally made contact with him first.
Immediately, a cool sensation began from his glabella, flowing down through his Meridians, eventually stopping in his lower abdomen. The coolness then turned into warmth, which delighted Su Yuan!
"Succeeded?"
Su Yuan suddenly found himself exiting the darkness again.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the old man looking at him with a smile.
Su Yuan was startled, and immediately cupped his hands, saying, "Su Yuan greets Valley Master!"
The old man smiled and nodded, "Not bad, you are the two hundred and ninety-ninth Disciple to successfully guide Qi. Judging by your Spiritual Root, you were quite fast. Your Comprehension Ability is fair; stand over there!"
"Yes!" Su Yuan bowed.
Then he obediently walked to the back.
Behind the old man, nearly three hundred people had already gathered, forming six rows!
The fifty youths standing in the first row displayed obvious arrogance, confidence, and pride.
The Disciples in the second row, while joyful, also showed some anxiety, their gazes frequently falling on the Disciples in the first row.
However, the Disciples in the third row appeared much more relaxed, without a hint of anxiety.
The Disciples in the fourth row, while slightly pleased, still carried a sense of solemnity and unease.
As for the Disciples in the fifth and sixth rows, their faces clearly showed anxiety and unease.
Su Yuan knew the reason: because in three months, during the Cultivation assessment, the top fifty would enter the Inner Sect, and the top two hundred would enter the Outer Sect.
Although this was just the beginning, guiding Qi into the body could actually reveal personal Aptitude, Comprehension Ability, and other factors influencing Cultivation. This initial Rank might even be quite close to the final Rank!
Su Yuan stood at the very end of the sixth row, a hint of worry on his face. He looked at the Disciples still in meditation and sighed inwardly, he had actually taken a shortcut, and his actual Cultivation talent Rank might be even worse.
This meant that becoming a Utility Disciple was practically set in stone for him. However, Utility Disciples were too pathetic; not only did they have endless chores, but their benefits were also meager!
The Disciples in the fifth row might still be able to squeeze into the top two hundred if they pushed hard, but he, being second to last in the sixth row, was basically out of luck for becoming an Outer Sect Disciple.
What should he do?
[Ding, Reputation Value +1]
Su Yuan's eyes widened as he saw the fleeting text prompt before him.
Reputation Value?
He quickly looked at others, especially the Valley Master, and found that the Valley Master had not noticed his movement, nor did the Disciples beside him show any abnormality. Only then did he cautiously search for the change that had just occurred.
Soon, he saw a System panel in his mind.
[Name]: Su Yuan
[Region]: Qingke Continent
[Rank]: Unknown (1/100)
[Realm]: Qi Refining First Layer (0/100)
[Entry 1]: To be selected
[Entry 2]: To be unlocked
Su Yuan was startled; he was a bit confused when he saw the name in the Rank column. Was this System's upgrade method based on increasing Reputation?
People fear fame just as pigs fear getting fat; this was even more true in the Cultivation world. The greater the Reputation, the faster one died. Without solid strength, the consequence of fame was death!
"System? Can you explain?"
His inquiry received no response. Apparently, this System might not have intelligence!
Su Yuan tried to touch Entry 1.
Soon, three paragraphs of text appeared out of thin air before him.
He glanced at the others, found that no one had noticed his abnormality, and then carefully read the text.
[Choose one Entry]
[Late Bloomer]: Your destiny is to be a late bloomer. The closer you are to your Lifespan limit, the faster your Cultivation speed, and the probability of Breakthrough greatly increases.
[Work-Life Balance]: You are very good at balancing work and rest. The longer your rest time, the better your Cultivation effect.
[Sword Cultivator Genius]: You are very good at Sword Cultivator Cultivation. Your Sword Cultivator Cultivation speed increases, and your Comprehension effect improves.
"Three choices?"
Su Yuan frowned in thought. Actually, the first one was quite good. What was the most difficult part of Cultivation? Was it Cultivation speed?
No, it was breaking through Bottlenecks!
Late Bloomer included the effect of breaking through Bottlenecks, and it was a significant increase. It could be said that if one could live peacefully until the end of their Lifespan, Breakthroughs would not be an issue at all.
But this was the Cultivation world; how many out of ten people could live until their Lifespan was nearly exhausted?
This Entry was good, but it was too Late Stage!
The third one was also good. Sword Cultivator was a renowned Cultivation path in the Cultivation world, top-tier in terms of attack power and speed.
But Sword Cultivator always gave him a feeling of being fragile and short-lived.
Moreover, this Entry couldn't show its effect in the Early Stage because he wouldn't be able to start Spell Cultivation for a long time. The most important thing in the Early Stage was to Cultivate basic Cultivation Techniques!
Currently, he urgently wanted to obtain the Outer Sect Disciple status. He didn't want to do too much work. He had been a beast of burden enough in his previous life, and he didn't want to be one in this life.
Therefore, he chose the second one: [Work-Life Balance]!
[Work-Life Balance]: You are very good at balancing work and rest. The longer your rest time, the better your Cultivation effect.
This Entry was perfect, combining Early Stage Cultivation, and it could also play a role in Spell Cultivation in the Middle Stage. It should also have a certain effect on breaking through Bottlenecks, and he could also be lazy (crossed out), making it the most suitable choice for his Early Stage.
When his mind clicked on the second Entry, the other Entries disappeared, and [Work-Life Balance] appeared on the System panel.