Once Scorned for My Mixed Spiritual Roots, Now They Weep at My Power! - Chapter 4 - Not Even Fit to Be a Servant Disciple

“Mixed Spiritual Roots?   Why does such an impressive-sounding root have such a lowly name?”

“It should be called the Supreme Grade Five Elements Spiritual Roots to match my noble status!”

Before Xiao Yun could ponder further, the Immortal Master, the sect master, spoke: “The disciple below, your Spiritual Roots are quite special;   you can learn the techniques of any peak.   Which Chief Elder would you like to be a disciple of?”

Hearing the sect master’s query, Xiao Yun replied without hesitation: “If possible, I would like to become a disciple of the Immortal Master.”

The Immortal Master gave a slight smile and said, “I no longer take disciples.   Choose one of the other elders instead.”

Xiao Yun sighed inwardly.

Even his unbeatable and extraordinary talents couldn’t pique the sect master’s interest;   it seemed he truly no longer took disciples.

Given the circumstances, he had no choice but to choose from among the Chief Elders.

Xiao Yun glanced around;   three of the five Chief Elders already had disciples.

Joining them might mean he wouldn’t receive focused cultivation.

Better to choose from the two who hadn’t yet taken a disciple with Supreme Grade Spiritual Roots.

The two elders, one male and one female, were naturally good-looking.

Having reached their level of cultivation, ugliness was not an option.

Xiao Yun’s gaze lingered a bit longer on the female Chief Elder of Shuiyue Peak.

Nice, a beautiful Master…   heh, it’s going to be you.

The Chief Elder of Shuiyue Peak noticed Xiao Yun’s gaze and frowned slightly.

Before Xiao Yun could speak, the Chief Elder of Shuiyue Peak suddenly said, “Senior Brother, our Shuiyue Peak only accepts female disciples;   this disciple and our peak are not fated to be.”

The sect master nodded, “That’s only natural.   Did you hear that clearly, disciple below?”

“You can choose from the Chief Elders of Lieyang Peak, Wuchen Peak, Qingmu Peak, or Shenjian Peak.”

Xiao Yun nodded slowly, internally lamenting the missed opportunity.

Such a pity that this beautiful elder couldn’t become his master.

Why stick to such old rules?

Can’t she see my extraordinary talents?

Why not change the standard for accepting disciples just for me?

Xiao Yun was about to give the beautiful elder one more chance and persuade her a bit more.

Suddenly, a crisp voice asked, “Master, what are Mixed Spiritual Roots?”

The question came from Chu Hongyan, the newly accepted disciple of the Chief Elder of Lieyang Peak.

The Chief Elder of Lieyang Peak, in a good mood, laughed and replied, “Since you’ve asked, I’ll explain.”

“Spiritual Roots are a person’s natural talent for cultivation, generally divided into five attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.”

“Ordinary people possess all five attributes, which is what we refer to as Mixed Spiritual Roots.”

“Although Mixed Spiritual Roots can sense the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, their cultivation speed is painfully slow.”

“They can generally only cultivate up to the third or fourth layer of the Qi Refining¹ Realm before they can progress no further.”

“On the other hand, those of us with a single attribute for our Spiritual Roots not only cultivate faster but also face no obstacles before reaching the Golden Core².”

“By rights, our Spirit Sword Sect does not ordinarily accept disciples with Mixed Spiritual Roots.”

“However, since he was chosen by the Xuantian Treasure Mirror and brought here, we can’t just send him back.”

“If he joins our Lieyang Peak, he can barely qualify as a servant disciple.”

“Do you understand now?”

Chu Hongyan nodded slightly, casting a sympathetic glance at Xiao Yun. Earlier, when Xiao Yun touched the Spirit Testing Stone, the commotion was quite startling, giving her quite a scare. She had initially thought she encountered the greatest rival of her life, which prompted her to ask the question. But it turned out Mixed Spiritual Roots were just that.

It seemed her competition would only be with the other two newcomers who also possessed Supreme Grade Spiritual Roots.

Xiao Yun heard every word from the Chief Elder of Lieyang Peak. What? His Five Elements Spiritual Roots had such a flaw? Only able to cultivate to the third or fourth layer of the Qi Refining Realm? Damn it, what’s the point of cultivating then?

System, aren’t you going to show up? How long are you going to play dead?

Xiao Yun’s call received no response; there was no system to grant him any special abilities. His mouth twitched awkwardly. After traveling such a long distance to the Spirit Sword Sect, was he really going to end up as a servant disciple? No, he wouldn’t accept that!

Xiao Yun forced a smile, trying to maintain a cheerful expression. He grinned at the Chief Elder of Qingmu Peak, who hadn’t yet accepted a disciple with Supreme Grade Spiritual Roots, and asked, “Elder, if I join your faction, could I become an outer disciple?”

At this point, Xiao Yun wasn’t hoping to become a direct disciple; he just didn’t want to be a servant disciple!

The Chief Elder of Qingmu Peak snorted coldly, “Your aptitude is too poor. You’re not even fit to be a servant disciple at our Qingmu Peak, let alone an outer disciple. Such arrogance!”

Xiao Yun’s expression froze, feeling his face burn with embarrassment. Even being a servant was rejected; it was utterly humiliating. But he couldn’t just leave the mountain in disgrace, could he? Staying at Spirit Sword Mountain still held a glimmer of hope; leaving would mean blending into the crowd.

Xiao Yun’s gaze shifted back to the Chief Elder of Lieyang Peak. Perhaps being a servant disciple wasn’t so bad. Maybe he could build a good relationship with Chu Hongyan, who joined the sect at the same time, and get some guidance from her.

Just as Xiao Yun was about to speak, he noticed the Chief Elder of Lieyang Peak’s expression had turned extremely sour. The Chief Elder shot a glare at the Chief Elder of Qingmu Peak, feeling quite displeased. He had just said he could accept this Mixed Spiritual Roots kid as a servant disciple, and here was Qingmu Peak claiming the kid wasn’t even qualified to be a servant at their peak.

What was that supposed to mean? Clearly, it implied Qingmu Peak was superior to Lieyang Peak, right? Who did Qingmu Peak think they were, looking down on Lieyang Peak like that?

In truth, the elder from Qingmu Peak didn’t mean to belittle Lieyang Peak. He was just feeling a bit annoyed that others had received disciples with Supreme Grade Spiritual Roots while he hadn’t. When Xiao Yun, with his Mixed Spiritual Roots, wanted to join Qingmu Peak, he was naturally displeased. Everyone else was accepting Supreme Grade Spiritual Roots, and he would be bringing back a Mixed Spiritual Roots disciple-how humiliating!

Thus, he refused Xiao Yun.

Seeing the Chief Elder of Lieyang Peak’s displeased expression, Xiao Yun decided not to ask further, avoiding further embarrassment. He glanced around and noticed that since the Chief Elder of Qingmu Peak had declared him unfit to be a servant disciple, all the Chief Elders looked at him with disdain. The message was clear: Xiao Yun wasn’t worthy of being a servant disciple under any of them.

If Qingmu Peak didn’t want him, none of them did either. Taking him in wouldn’t be a point of pride.

Xiao Yun felt like crying without tears. If only he had directly joined Lieyang Peak as a servant disciple. Now, he couldn’t even be a servant disciple. Was he really going to leave Spirit Sword Mountain in disgrace?

No, he couldn’t live a mundane life; he wanted to cultivate, to achieve immortality!

Just as Xiao Yun was feeling lost and helpless, his eyes suddenly landed on an empty chair. Aha! These Chief Elders could refuse him face-to-face, but the elder of that empty chair wasn’t here. He couldn’t refuse him from afar, could he? Besides, the sect master had instructed him to choose any elder to apprentice under. If he chose the elder of the empty chair, even if the elder returned and was displeased, he wouldn’t necessarily kick him out of the mountain, right? It was the sect master’s order that allowed him to choose. If the elder wasn’t present to refuse him, it was too late once the decision was made!

With his mind made up, Xiao Yun looked at the sect master and said, “I’ve made my decision. I wish to apprentice under this elder.” As he spoke, Xiao Yun turned his gaze toward the empty chair.

Footnote:

1. Qi Refining(炼气):A practice aimed at cultivating and enhancing one’s Qi, often through meditation, breath control, and physical exercises.

Golden Core(金丹): A significant achievement in Taoist cultivation, representing the creation of a refined inner essence that grants immortality and spiritual power.