Chapter 2: Awakening Spirit Roots

“Tang Yu!”

At the call, Tang Yu stepped forward. She was the class’s youth league secretary, a poised young woman with long, straight black hair and gold-rimmed glasses. She stood 165 centimeters tall and wore a school-uniform-style outfit with long black socks. She had always been calm and composed.

The moment she placed her hand on the stele, it hummed and a watery blue light flared. Mist welled up around the black stone, gathering into six rings of water that revolved slowly around her.

【Sixth-Grade Water Spirit Root!】

The elders circling overhead nearly fell off their demonic beasts in their excitement.

“A sixth-grade spirit root! We’ve struck gold!”

“That’s enough to make her one of our sect’s 108 personal disciples!”

“Tang Yu, come to Swordmastery Peak! I’ll speak for my master and take you as his personal disciple!”

“You have a water spirit root. The techniques of Coldwater Peak suit you best. Just say the word, and I’ll send a message to our peak master!”

“Sword Qi Peak can offer a rare-grade water sword art too!”

The elders argued until their faces turned red. The players watching were green with envy.

“So this is how someone with a sixth-grade spirit root gets treated?”

“They said the Qingyuan Sword Sect only has 108 personal disciples in total. Tang Yu gets a spot the moment she arrives? That’s amazing!”

“I wouldn’t even dream of being a personal disciple. I’d be happy as an inner disciple!”

“You? With your second-grade pot-lid spirit root, you should count yourself lucky if you get into the outer sect.”

As the crowd talked, a water-blue magical mirror flew from the hand of the Coldwater Peak elder. It lit up, revealing a woman in white. She glanced at the six rings around Tang Yu and nodded with satisfaction.

“A sixth-grade water spirit root, and a composed temperament.

“Tang Yu, I am Liu Zhihan, master of Coldwater Peak. If you are willing, you may enter my tutelage as my personal disciple.”

The crowd erupted. A peak master was offering to take a disciple in person!

Tang Yu looked up and asked earnestly, “Peak Master Liu, I’ve only just arrived in this world, and there’s much I don’t understand. Before I decide, may I ask what technique I would cultivate at Coldwater Peak and what responsibilities I would have?”

Approval flickered in Liu Zhihan’s eyes. Neither servile nor arrogant—that was the proper attitude for a cultivator.

“Coldwater Peak has a rare-grade technique, the Cold Moon Water Spirit Art. It is an excellent match for your spirit root and will suffice until you reach Foundation Establishment. As a personal disciple, you need only complete three sect assignments each year. The rest of your time is yours to arrange.”

“Your disciple Tang Yu greets her master!”

Satisfied, Tang Yu bowed at once and formally accepted her as master. There was no need to drag the decision out.

【Congratulations! Player Tang Yu has joined the Qingyuan Sword Sect!】

【Main Quest 1 complete!】

【Obtained: one low-grade spirit stone!】

Liu Zhihan also promised that once Tang Yu reached the sect, she would receive a storage ring containing a thousand low-grade spirit stones and a set of high-grade tier-one robes.

Many of her classmates looked at her differently now. In the blink of an eye, she had become one of the immortal sect’s 108 personal disciples. Next time they saw her, they’d have to call her Senior Sister Tang with proper respect.

“Next, Fang Qingyao!”

She walked toward the stele when she heard her name. Behind her, Lin Yang called, “Good luck! Get yourself a good one too!”

“Let’s hope heaven’s on my side.”

Fang Qingyao pressed her hand against the stone. Gold and green light rose from its base, stopping at the third level.

【Third-Grade Metal and Wood Spirit Roots!】

She didn’t mind the result. Third grade was enough to join the Qingyuan Sword Sect. She would have to start in the outer sect, but at least she had set foot on the path of immortality.

Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, the stele trembled again. An azure rune flew out and hovered above her head. The flowers and grass swayed gently, and several blue birds perched on the backs of immortal cranes turned to look at her in unison.

【Innate rune awakened: Voice of All Things!】

【Current ability: Hear the voices of low-level animals and plants! Increased affinity with spiritually attuned animals and plants!】

Fang Qingyao blinked. “I can understand little animals?”

“Chirp, chirp!”

Before she had finished speaking, a small blue bird fluttered down onto her shoulder. To everyone else, it sounded like ordinary birdsong. To Fang Qingyao, it was the indignant voice of a little girl.

“I’m starving! That white-bearded old man promised me spirit rice, but then he went off to eat and forgot all about me!”

Fang Qingyao looked at an elder with a white beard nearby. “She says… you promised her spirit rice and forgot.”

The elder stared, then felt inside his sleeve. Only then did he remember the bag of spirit rice he still carried there.

“I raised this azure spirit bird myself. I did promise her some half an hour ago, but I got caught up in my work and forgot.”

He hurriedly produced a few grains. The bird flew straight over, landed on his palm, and began pecking at them.

An elder from the Beast Taming Hall could no longer sit still. A gray-robed old woman flew directly to the outside of the barrier.

“Voice of All Things! That’s a gift beast tamers dream of! An ordinary tamer has to study and spend years with a spirit beast to understand what it wants. You can understand the azure spirit bird right away!”

The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Being able to communicate directly would make it easier for Fang Qingyao to earn a spirit beast’s trust and ask what it needed. If her innate rune grew stronger, she might one day even speak to plant spirits, powerful demonic beasts, or magical treasures that had gained intelligence!

“Fang Qingyao, I am Bai Lingsu, an elder of the Beast Taming Hall. Your spirit roots are only third-grade, but that innate gift is exceedingly valuable. Though our hall belongs to the outer sect, if you join us, I’ll give you treatment no worse than an inner disciple’s and personally teach you the art of beast taming!”

“I will!”

Fang Qingyao was delighted to join. She had read novels too, and knew that people in cultivation worlds were always fighting and killing. If she could raise little animals and tend flowers and plants in the Beast Taming Hall, far from danger, that would be wonderful. Besides, the hall intended to invest in her, so her future cultivation resources were secured.

【Congratulations! Player Fang Qingyao has joined the Qingyuan Sword Sect!】

【Main Quest 1 complete!】

【Obtained: one low-grade spirit stone!】

Several dozen more people finished their tests, all with spirit roots between first and third grade.

“Next, Huang Bin!”

Huang Bin narrowed his eyes and walked toward the stele. As he passed Lin Yang, he fixed him with a stare. Then he reached the stone and put his hand on it.

Boom!

A shaft of golden light shot into the sky. The black stele shook violently, its surface instantly covered in dense sword-shaped markings. An ancient golden tree, hundreds of feet tall, materialized behind Huang Bin!

Its branches resembled unsheathed swords. As its leaves stirred, they produced clear ringing notes like swords singing, rather than an ordinary rustle.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Thousands upon thousands of golden streams of sword qi spiraled around the tree. Their sharp aura spread in every direction, making the skin of those nearby prickle.

【Seventh-Grade Sword Tree Spirit Root!】

Every elder and player present was stunned.

Seventh grade! The highest grade to appear that day! And the Qingyuan Sword Sect, the very sect recruiting here, was a major power specializing in sword cultivation.

“A seventh-grade sword tree spirit root!”

“This boy is destined for my Greatsword Peak!”

“Bullshit! With a sword tree spirit root, Swordmastery Peak is where he belongs!”

“Stop fighting! I’m sending word to the peak master!”

The elders broke into an argument on the spot. Just then, a resounding sword note rang out across the sky. A vast spiritual sense swept over from the direction of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, followed by an imposing voice that echoed across the entire Fishing Platform.

“A seventh-grade sword tree spirit root is exceptionally suited to the orthodox techniques of the Qingyuan Sword Sect.

“I shall take this boy as my disciple personally!”

At the sound of the voice, every Qingyuan Sword Sect elder and disciple bowed toward its source.

“Greetings, Supreme Sect Master!”

What? The Supreme Sect Master?

The players on the Fishing Platform erupted again—not literally, but the shock was just as explosive. The master of the Qingyuan Sword Sect had personally spoken across the distance to claim a disciple!

The imposing voice continued, “Huang Bin, from this day forth, you are my personal disciple and a core disciple of the sect.

“I grant you twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones, and a private cave abode on Qingyuan Peak!”

The reward made many players’ eyes turn red with envy.

“Twenty thousand spirit stones!”

“We only get one for finishing the quest, and he gets twenty thousand right off the bat!”

“Six hundred buys the epic weapon, three thousand the epic treasure, and twelve thousand eight hundred the epic technique. As soon as Huang Bin gets his stones, he can buy the first three newcomer packs!”

Three tier-one epic treasures! Huang Bin had only just joined and could already snap up the first three packs.

“Your disciple Huang Bin greets his master!” He dropped to his knees and bowed at once.

He felt as if he were floating. A seventh-grade sword tree spirit root, the sect master’s personal disciple, a core disciple, and twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones! He wasn’t merely getting a head start; every step from now on would be faster too.

At the thought, he couldn’t resist looking back at Lin Yang.

Back on Blue Star, Lin Yang had surpassed him in grades, popularity, and ability. Even the several women Huang Bin had feelings for were closer to Lin Yang. Now that they were in a cultivation world, he finally had the chance to grind Lin Yang beneath his heel!

You had a little money before and made me lose face in front of everyone. But this is a cultivation world. What good is all your money here? Can you bring your Blue Star assets with you?

Hmph!

【Congratulations! Player Huang Bin has joined the Qingyuan Sword Sect!】

Liu Feng and several others immediately crowded around him.

“Young Master Huang, I knew you were destined for greatness! A seventh-grade sword tree spirit root—that’s incredible! The Supreme Sect Master took you as his disciple personally. You’ve shot straight to the top!”

“Now that you’re joining Qingyuan Peak, you’ve got to look after us! We stuck together on Blue Star, and we need each other even more in this world.”

Liu Feng’s fifth-grade metal spirit root wasn’t enough to make him a personal disciple, but he could enter the inner sect directly. The others had less talent, yet Huang Bin was now a core disciple under the sect master; he would need people around to run errands for him.

An elder of Qingyuan Peak glanced at them. “Liu Feng may enter Qingyuan Peak’s inner sect. The rest of you will cultivate in the main peak’s outer courtyard for now. Once you reach the third level of Qi Refining, you may take the inner sect examination.”

“Thank you, Elder!”

They accepted at once and clustered around Huang Bin, already considering themselves his entourage. The other classmates watched, each with different thoughts. Some were envious; some wanted to introduce themselves; others were already wondering whether they should follow Huang Bin too.

He was the sect master’s personal disciple, after all. Even a little help from him could make them safer.

“Next, Lin Yang!”