Chapter 2: Spirit Testing and Awakening

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The youth in the white robe began to form hand seals, chanting softly under his breath. In moments, the array on the ground shone brilliantly, and from the stone tablet at its center, characters floated out one after another, circling around the boy.

As these characters emerged, the boy’s body underwent visible changes: his ears elongated and spread out, becoming fin-like; on either side of his cheeks, gill-like organs appeared, opening and closing with each breath.

At the same time, the base of the stone tablet glowed, half blue and half green, and the light climbed upward a small section.

“Lingyu bloodline, inferior grade water-wood spiritual root!” The white-robed youth nodded toward the boy, taking out a jade token and handing it to him. “This is your spiritual root certificate. With it, you may proceed to Huiyang City to participate in the immortal sect selection three days from now.”

“Thank you, Immortal Master!” The boy eagerly accepted the jade token and skipped out.

“Next.” The white-robed youth gestured for the second to step forward, finishing the process even more quickly this time.

“Silver fox bloodline, no spiritual root. Next…”

The line of people stepped forward one by one, and in just half an hour, over a dozen had been tested.

Qiuci watched from behind. Out of dozens, only a handful possessed spiritual roots, the probability perhaps two or three percent, all of inferior grade. The stone tablet lit up only one or two segments, the highest being three.

She surmised the spiritual roots were likely divided into three grades: one to three segments lit signified inferior grade, four to six indicated middle grade, and seven to full meant superior grade.

“Sister Qiuci, it’s almost my turn?” With the crowd thinning, Feng Ting, who stood ahead, nervously grasped her hand.

Qiuci glanced at her, and her own anxiety settled. Since they were here, they might as well try.

Just as she was about to speak, the white-robed youth signaled forward.

“Next!”

Feng Ting released her hand and walked toward the array.

The white-robed youth rubbed his brow, weariness evident from hundreds of awakenings. He swallowed a pill, then rallied himself to activate the awakening array once more.

White light flared again, and fuzzy characters floated from the stone tablet, swirling around Feng Ting. Her body changed, two green ears sprouting from her head, and a slender tail grew from her back.

At the same time, the stone tablet shone with dazzling yellow light, overwhelming the white glow of the array, and the light began to swiftly climb upward.

One segment, two, three… five, six…

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It finally stopped at the seventh segment.

“Su… Superior grade earth spiritual root!” The previously lethargic white-robed youth was suddenly wide-eyed, even abandoning the array in excitement as he strode forward, his face alight. “Excellent! Wonderful! Who would have thought North City would produce a genius with a superior spiritual root—but your bloodline…”

The white-robed youth looked Feng Ting up and down, gaze lingering on her peculiar greenish ears and the slender ox tail, his face full of regret. “It’s a green ox bloodline, and instead of horns, it manifests as ears? And that color…”

He seemed to recall something, formed another hand seal, and murmured, “Bloodline manifestation!” The ground’s white light gathered and rushed toward Feng Ting, coalescing into a translucent scene.

It revealed an ox-shaped creature, entirely greenish, hornless atop its head, shrouded in wind and rain, and most astonishingly, it possessed only one foot.

“This is… a bloodline mutation?” His expression collapsed, sighing deeply. “Ah! What a pity…”

The green ox bloodline was widely regarded as useless; it rarely produced spiritual roots. Though the girl possessed a superior root, the ox’s missing limbs and lack of horns was unmistakably a mutated bloodline, and seemingly a reverse mutation.

Such a bloodline, even with a superior root, would likely not progress far.

The white-robed youth handed Feng Ting a jade token, but unlike the others’ white tokens, hers was red.

“This is your spiritual root certificate. Though your root is excellent, your bloodline is too low. You qualify for entry to the immortal sect; try your luck in Huiyang City in three days.”

“Thank you, Immortal Master!” Feng Ting happily accepted the token.

The youth nodded, his manner gentle. “With such a spiritual root, it’s only a matter of time before you become a sect disciple. My name is Fu Haoyu; just call me ‘fellow cultivator.’ If you need anything in the future, seek me at Qingling Sect.”

Though her bloodline was considered useless, a superior spiritual root guaranteed her path as a cultivator, and who knew what fortune might await her—better to make friends early.

“Yes, thank you, Fellow Fu.” Feng Ting, delighted at the prospect of joining the sect, paid no mind to his comments about her bloodline, gleefully examining her token.

Qiuci, however, gazed at the fading apparition of the strange ox in the air, lost in thought.

Greenish hue, one foot, hornless, accompanied by wind and rain—if only there was a thunderous roar, could it be… the divine beast Kui Ox?

“All right, you’re the last. Come forward.” Immortal Master Fu Haoyu beckoned her into the awakening array.

Feng Ting gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up.

Qiuci’s heart pounded wildly; gritting her teeth, she stepped into the array and, as others had done, placed her hand on the stone tablet.

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Let it be; do or die!

The awakening array flared around her. Qiuci felt a gentle warmth suffuse her body, something entering her, searching within her, passing through her again and again.

She sensed something emanating from the stone tablet. Countless talismanic characters appeared, whirling madly around her like a storm of words.

The previously blurred talismanic script gradually grew clear, and Qiuci realized it was written in Chinese characters. Unfortunately, they spun too quickly for her to read more than a few: “core,” “resolve,” “gather,” “spirit,” and similar terms.

Just as she tried to read them aloud, the characters faded swiftly, vanishing completely within moments. At the same time, the stone tablet began to glow.

Three segments, four, five…

The brightness intensified, almost seeming ready to burst to the top.

Immortal Master Fu stared in shock at the stone tablet. “This is… superior… another superior…”

Bang!

Before he could finish, the fully lit stone tablet exploded, shattering into fragments, and all the surrounding light instantly went dark.

At that moment, a voice devoid of any emotion suddenly sounded.

[Ding! Intelligent AI system successfully bound. Please activate…]

!!!!!

What the—

So… she awakened a system?!

=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰●|||)