Chương 48: Ren Qingquan, Who Immediately Found A Strong Backer. (Still In Seclusion)

(Still In Seclusion) After the Sect Master presented both Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang with two choices, they fell silent. Fatty Zhang looked at Ren Qingquan, who was lost in thought, and said, "I wish to join the Pure Wave Sect." Then, Fatty Zhang also expressed his desire to join. The Sect Master patted Ren Qingquan's shoulder and said, "The Miscellaneous Hall Master will escort you to the testing site. Good luck."

After this, the Sect Master whispered to a fat middle-aged man using a secret voice transmission, "Take good care of him. Don't be too proud, but also don't be overly humble." The fat middle-aged man, somewhat resembling Fatty Zhang, frowned briefly before leading the way outside as if nothing had happened. Before Ren Qingquan departed, I quickly used [Scan] on all five experts, including the Sect Master and the Miscellaneous Hall Master.

These five individuals possess remarkably high energy levels, indicating they are very powerful. Since one of them introduced himself as the Sect Master, to stand together with the Sect Master means all of them are undoubtedly key figures in the Pure Wave Sect, which Ren Qingquan will soon join. After Ren Qingquan agreed to join, the other four people departed at an astonishing speed. The Miscellaneous Hall Master also used a technique to slightly raise Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang from the ground.

Once they both floated in the air, I immediately saw Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang moving in a blur. They quickly passed the corridor that had taken Ren Qingquan a long time to walk through. A few seconds later, I saw them leaving a large, intricately decorated palace. From what I observed, the palace sits atop a tall mountain peak that surpasses the clouds. After leaving the palace-like structure, the Miscellaneous Hall Master pulled an abacus out of a small pouch attached to his waist.

No matter how I look at it, that abacus couldn't possibly fit into such a tiny pouch. This suggests that the pouch is likely the famous storage bag from Xianxia. Honestly, I wish I had one of those storage bags. After all, what kind of cheat System doesn't include a storage space? After taking the abacus, the Miscellaneous Hall master threw it in the air. As he threw it, the abacus enlarged before growing to the size of a car. Simultaneously, a forcefield appeared above it.

My [Scan] also examined the inside of the abacus and concluded it was a spirit tool or even something stronger, as it contained an enormous amount of energy. I believe that if Ren Xuan used his unusual technique to explode the abacus-shaped spirit tool, it could nearly match a nuclear bomb's explosion. While my thoughts drifted, the Miscellaneous Hall Master floated above the abacus's forcefield, carefully placing Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang.

Once all three stood above the abacus, it suddenly lifted into the air, emitting clicking and rattling sounds as its beads slid along the rods. The speed was several times faster than that of the Miscellaneous Hall Master's earlier teleportation-like movement.

"Whoa, we're flying!" Ren Qingquan exclaimed, leaning over to look downward.

"But I don't feel quite safe flying on an abacus. Even with this invisible shield thingy, the gap between the beads makes me feel I might accidentally fall."

"Hahaha. No need to be afraid. I've taken people on rides on this Spirit Treasure for nearly a hundred years, and no one has ever fallen off," the Miscellaneous Hall Master assured him. Ren Qingquan, intrigued by the term "Spirit Treasure," asked, "What's a Spirit Treasure? Also, did senior pull this abacus out of a storage bag?"

"The bag is indeed a storage bag. Mine, however, is quite costly because it holds a hundred cubic meters of space inside," the Miscellaneous Hall Master replied, patting the pouch at his waist.

"Regarding Spirit Treasures, they are one of the grades for cultivator's weapons. Below them are Spirit Tools, and above are Spirit Artifacts, which are incredibly valuable." Before Ren Qingquan could ask more, the Miscellaneous Hall Master said, "We've arrived." The Miscellaneous Hall Master jumped from his abacus while Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang floated in the air before gently falling. Upon touching the ground, Fatty Zhang immediately kneeled on the ground while trembling.

It seems flying on top of an abacus gave less sense of security than flying on a bird. Even Fatty Zhang, who could ride a giant bird while escaping the Capital City, still trembled after riding a flying abacus for less than half an hour. While waiting for Fatty Zhang to recover, I took a closer look at the place Ren Qingquan arrived at. In front of them, there's a complex of buildings resembling historical East Asian architecture from Earth.

Like the palace-like building he left earlier, these structures are also on a tall mountain with a peak piercing the clouds. However, they are built between the middle and lower parts of the mountain, not at the peak. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. From a simple [Scan], I observed nearly a hundred people moving between various buildings.

Those who entered Ren Qingquan's [Scan] range exhibited energy levels at least equal to a Martial Saint, indicating they are Qi Refining realm cultivators. It may seem unbelievable, but there's more. While Ren Qingquan is flying, my [Scan] detected several hundred Foundation Building realm cultivators and even dozens of Golden Core realm cultivators, corresponding to the Martial Lord and Martial Emperor realms, respectively.

This made me realize that Ren Qingquan has reached a higher-level map with more advanced NPCs and monsters. Escaping from a Martial Emperor in the Martial Arts world is already challenging, so in the Cultivation World, Ren Qingquan must be even more cautious. Otherwise, he might not even realize how he died.

Once Fatty Zhang recovered somewhat, the three of them entered a relatively large building. Above the building's door, there's a sign that reads 'Disciple Registration Hall.' When Ren Qingquan entered, I glanced inside and realized that the Disciple Registration Hall vaguely resembled a public service center. There was a lounge for waiting, with several people sitting behind desks, talking to visitors. The Miscellaneous Hall Master pointed to a nearby chair and said, "Wait here for a moment."

Seeing Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang sit patiently, I turned my attention to the Miscellaneous Hall Master's [Scan], feeling curious about what he was going to do. After a few minutes, I found it quite boring. He simply approached a disciple and asked to borrow a device called a 'comprehensive talent testing tool'. After writing some form, he returned with both Ren Qingquan and Fatty Zhang and led them into another building. This building had just one room.

Inside, there was a prominent stone pillar covered with various engravings. These carvings depicted various shapes, from fire and water to other fundamental elements, as well as engravings with unknown meanings. On another side of the room, a large octagonal mirror, about twenty meters wide, lay on the floor with its reflective surface facing upward.

Once inside, the Miscellaneous Hall Master explained while placing a few stones into the pillar filled with engravings, "The usual disciple recruitment process involves several additional tests to assess a prospective disciple's willpower, background, intelligence, and more.

However, both of you can start directly with the spirit root test and the final assessment," I take a look at the stones he placed into the pilla's hole and concluded those stones must've been the famous spirit stones, a staple of Xianxia stories. Once the spirit stones entered the pillar, it lit up brightly before dimming.

The fat Miscellaneous Hall Master examined the pillar and pointed at Fatty Zhang, saying, "You, the fat one, touch the pillar with your palm and don't resist when you feel energy entering your body. This pillar is our most comprehensive tool for testing spirit roots. As long as it's a spirit root documented in history, this pillar can identify it." Fatty Zhang stepped forward and touched the pillar.

Using [Scan], I detected that the pillar rapidly channels several slightly different types of spirit qi into Fatty Zhang's body. About a hundred different energies entered before being released back. Once those spirit qi returned after circling Fatty Zhang's body, five engravings on the pillar representing fire, water, metal, wood, and Earth lit up. Two of the lights are very dim, one shines slightly brighter, and the remaining two are much more luminous than the others.

The Miscellaneous Hall master nodded, "Top grade Fire and Wood spirit root, and a mid grade metal spirit root. An incredible talent, especially for alchemy. It seems you won't waste the Sect Master's reward just to enter the sect."

"Are there grades for spirit roots? Is Fatty's talent considered good?" Ren Qingquan inquired.

"Yes, there are. They range from low, mid, high, top, earth, to the rare heaven grade spirit root, which appears only once every thousand years. Our sect's minimum requirement for disciple recruitment is a mid grade spirit root."

"With his talent, your friend could attain the Golden Core realm within a decade or two, with a very high chance of reaching the Nascent Soul realm."

"What are the Golden Core and Nascent Soul?" Fatty Zhang asked this time. Since he knew the answer, Ren Qingquan quickly demonstrated his knowledge: "Golden Core is equivalent to the Martial Emperor realm, while Nascent Soul has surpasses the Martial Emperor realm." Fatty Zhang opened his mouth agape. The Miscellaneous Hall Master silently listened before motioning to Ren Qingquan, "Alright, it's your turn now." Ren Qingquan slowly stepped forward, pondering, 'Look at my powerful heaven-grade spirit root!

Wait, shouldn't protagonists typically start with a low-grade spirit root and face humiliation before making a comeback? So, should I wish for a heaven-grade or a low-grade spirit root? After all, I have the System, so it would be more fitting for my main character persona to have a low-grade spirit root. But I don't want to start from nothing, so perhaps a mid-grade spirit root would be better?' I was a bit speechless at Ren Qingquan's mental gymnastics. Just touch the pillar already, damn it!

As if hearing my silent complaints, Ren Qingquan finally reached out and touched the pillar. When he touched the pillars, seven engravings lit up. Five of them, representing the five elements of fire, wood, metal, earth, and water, glowed faintly. Meanwhile, two engravings resembling the sun and moon shone with a brightness that surpassed even Fatty Zhang's best spirit root. The Miscellaneous Hall Master looked at the engravings in surprise and then excitedly exclaimed, "Incredible!

I never thought I'd see someone with dual Earth-grade mutated spirit roots! These are even rarer than Heaven grade! Furthermore, it's a Yin and Yang Spirit root, symbolizing two extremes."

"So, how does my talent compare to others? Is there anyone with better talent than me?" Ren Qingquan asked eagerly, seeing the Hall Master's amazement. The Hall Master replied, "Actually, possessing a rare spirit root isn't necessarily a good thing. Even a good spirit root needs a suitable cultivation method and element to reach its full potential."

"Your Yin Yang spirit root is especially tricky. If it's solely a Yin or Yang spirit root, many cultivation methods are available. Some sects, like the Eternal Frozen Sect or the Pure Yang Sword Sect, specialize in Yin or Yang cultivation methods. However, a cultivation method that fully integrates both Yin and Yang is extremely rare, and typically is a dual cultivation method. Such methods convert Yang in men to women, and Yin in women to men, aiming to achieve balance and boost cultivation levels."

Ren Qingquan stayed silent until the Miscellaneous Hall Master patted his shoulder.

"Why do you look sad? I mentioned your cultivation method is rare, not nonexistent. You're actually quite lucky to have joined our sect. One of our strongest grand elders, who is still in secluded cultivation, also practices the Yin and Yang dao. When her seclusion ends, she will probably want to take you as a disciple. But I suggest you explore the outer sect first to gain more worldly experienve. The grand elder will likely find you herself later." I was utterly shocked.

Damn, is Ren Qingquan truly a child of destiny like the two individuals the Sect Master mentioned? Otherwise, how did he get accepted as a grand elder's disciple so quickly? Sure, he hasn't been officially accepted yet, but judging from how the Miscellaneous Hall Master spoke, it seems to be a done deal already.