Tales of Demons & Gods

Chapter 265 - Test

Enforcer Gu had an overjoyed expression on his face. “Send to the West District!” The Skysoul Institute treated every genius as an important individual.

If a Heaven Spiritual Root genius appeared, even Enforcer Gu would be rewarded.

Lu Piao looked at Xiao Yu and asked. “What’s the difference between the West, South, and North Districts?”

Xiao Yu explained, “The North District is the worst. Usually those who score below a 5-grade Man Spiritual Root are rejected by the Skysoul Institute. However, there are some who they can’t turn away because of their identities, or if their parents are in the Divine Feathers Sect. Therefore, they’re sent to the the North District.”

Lu Piao understood it now. Frankly speaking, those sent to the North District were a bunch of useless second generations. If outsiders like them tested below a 5-grade Man Spiritual Root, they wouldn’t even have the qualifications to enter the North District of the institution.

“The South District is slightly better. They’re basically people who are above 5-grade Man Spiritual Root, but below 9-grade. As for the West District, it’s currently the best District you guys can be sent to, as of now. Earth and Heaven Spiritual Roots are usually sent to the West District. Even I’m in the West District right now. Those who are able to raise their cultivation quickly and show sufficient potential will be sent to the East District.”

Lu Piao looked at Xiao Yu and asked, “What about the Central District?”

“The Central District…” Xiao Yu paused for a moment and said in a solemn tone, “That’s an extremely secretive place. No one knows what it looks like. Everything about it is kept confidential and it’s forbidden for the outside world to inquire about it. Only powerful geniuses of the East District might achieve the qualifications to be sent there. They’re also the main force of the Divine Feathers Sect.”

Nie Li went silent. Even during his previous life, he’d only managed to obtain a small quantity of information regarding the Central District of the Divine Feathers Sect.

As they looked ahead of them, they realised that it would soon be their turn to take the test. Nie Li still understood his talent fairly well. In his previous life, he tested as a 7-grade Earth Spiritual Root. Although it wasn’t exceptionally strong, it was still relatively outstanding. Spiritual Roots represented an individual’s talent for cultivation and was related to things like the toughness of the soul. Under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t be any changes in it. Therefore, he predicted that, in this life, he would still have a 7-grade Earth Spiritual Root.

Time dragged on. A few dozen more people finished their tests.

Enforcer Gu looked at Xiao Yu and Hua Ling as he said with a light smile, “Young masters, it will soon be your men’s turn.”

Hua Ling, who stood to one side, smiled. “I’ll go with Enforcer Gu’s arrangements. Xiao Yu and I are just bystanders, after all.”

Enforcer Gu nodded as he pointed a finger at one person and said, “You, come up here and take your test.”

This was a person who had originated from the Little Heaven Realm, a youth in his twenties and who wore a long purple robe.

This youth walked forward. Under the guidance of the two teachers supervised by Enforcer Gu, he slowly placed his hand on a round crystal ball that’s the size of a millstone. He then slowly injected his power into it.

The crystal ball glowed faintly, then became brighter and brighter. Faint orange patterns traced throughout the crystal and distributed into six threads.

Enforcer Gu nodded as he said with a light smile. “6-grade Earth Spiritual Root. Not bad. Send to the West District.”

Hua Ling walked up to the youth and patted him on the shoulder. “Well done!”

The youth nodded with respect before retiring behind Hua Ling. He didn’t seem conceited.

The teachers continued to test the remaining people.

“3-grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.”

“7-grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.”

For the next three tests, all had Earth Spiritual Roots and were sent to the West District.

The people behind them discussed about it.

“These people from the Little Heaven Realm are really formidable! So many people have participated in the test and ninety percent have been Man Spiritual Roots. Out of every ten people, barely one or two are Earth Spiritual Roots, yet those three from the Little Heaven Realm all had Earth Spiritual Root!”

“Yeah! Not to mention that one of them is a 7-grade Earth Spiritual Root. That’s already rare enough!”

The corner of Hua Ling’s mouth twitched upwards. Their Little Heaven Realm had always produced talented younger generations. How could it be compared with other places!

Enforcer Gu pointed at Guan Yi. “You, come and take your test!”

Guan Yi nodded. “Yes.”

Guided by the two teachers, he walked up to the crystal ball and slowly reached his hand over it.

Thanks to Xiao Yu’s introduction of the process, he was already aware that this crystal ball would determine his fate. Therefore, he was a little nervous.

As time passed, the crystal ball emitted a faint light before it glowed brighter and brighter. Scarlet-red threads appeared inside and gradually split into nine.

“9-grade Man Spiritual Root, off to the South District.” Enforcer Gu said after casting a glance at Guan Yi. Although a 9-grade Man Spiritual Root was decent, it couldn’t be considered outstanding.

Guan Yi stared dumbfoundedly at the crystal ball in front of him and muttered, “This is impossible! Something has to be wrong with this test. I want to retake it!”

At Guan Yi’s words, Enforcer Gu coldly said, “It’s impossible for the test to be faulty. Each person can only have one try!”

The two teachers also looked at Guan Yi with anger. Guan Yi could only return the looks with a dazed expression. Although he had passed the test, a 9-grade Man Spiritual Root couldn’t be considered much of a genius. This was a little hard for him to accept. Ever since he was young, he’d always been outstanding within his age group and had always been the one with the highest talent.

Watching Guan Yi walk back, Nie Li calmly said, “Don’t be too bothered about it. Although the grade of Spiritual Roots is connected to the speed of cultivation, it’s not the deciding factor.”

At Nie Li’s words, Guan Yi felt a mix of emotions.

Hua Ling laughed. “Haha, the grade of Spiritual Roots really aren’t the deciding factor. Look at young master Xiao. Although he had a 7-grade Heaven Spiritual Root, isn’t he still stopped in the Earth Fate Realm?”

Xiao Yu coldly stared at Hua Ling and said, “What are you trying to say?”

Seeing Xiao Yu’s glare, Hua Ling instantly “apologised” as he said, “Young master Xiao, I’m so sorry about that. My mouth ran off without me for a moment there. I shouldn’t have mentioned the problem about your Spiritual Root.”

Nie Li looked at Hua Ling and casually smiled. “The grade of a Spiritual Root really can’t decide a person’s future achievements. However, it still has a certain link, especially for those who’ve reached the Heaven Spiritual Root. Has young master Hua Ling seen anyone with Heaven Spiritual Root who permanently stayed in the Earth Fate Realm? As long as one has a Heaven Spiritual Root, it’s basically confirmed that they’ll be able to enter the Heavenly Fate Realm.”

Hua Ling sneered. “So what? Cultivating for decades to reach Heavenly Fate Realm? Such a cultivation speed isn't any better compared to someone with a Man Spiritual Root!”

“Not necessarily.” Nie Li shook his head and continued, “The soul level of someone with a Heaven Spiritual Root will have already reached an extremely astonishing state. But why do some people with Heaven Spiritual Roots remain in the Earth Fate Realm for so long? It’s because Heaven Spiritual Roots will automatically absorb the essence between heaven and earth to increase that person’s soul level. Is young master Hua Ling aware of the spiritual item called the Amethyst Bamboo? The Amethyst Bamboo is a treasured herb that is rarely seen between the heaven and earth. They’re usually buried under the earth, continuously absorbing the essence between the two. Some Amethyst Bamboo popped out from the ground after being nurtured for several hundreds of years. Therefore, when it began to grow, it’ll only grow in few centimeters in a year. After spending a few thousands, or even tens of thousands of years in the earth, the Amethyst Bamboo will germinate and push its shoots aboveground. Once it does so, it can grow up to several meters in height in just a single day and will continue to grow rapidly.”

Hua Ling was stunned, however he quickly recovered and snorted, “Even if what you just said makes any sense, so what? How can the Amethyst Bamboo be linked to the Heaven Spiritual Root?”

Nie Li gave a light smile and answered, “Although it doesn’t appear to be related, if you don’t believe me, you can consult any Martial Ancestor expert to confirm it. For Earth Fate Realm and Heavenly Fate Realm experts who’ve been stuck for a year, reaching Heavenly Star Realm is definitely possible. Two years would guarantee Heavenly Axis Realm. Those above three years are definitely geniuses who can reach the Martial Ancestor Realm! How long has young master Xiao been stuck for?”

“It’s my fifth year.” Xiao Yu looked at Nie Li in half-belief, as he couldn’t figure out if what Nie Li had just said was truth.

Nie Li looked at Xiao Yu and said, “Then I’ll say my congratulations here to young master Xiao. You’ll be able to break through Heavenly Fate Realm soon. After that, your cultivation will suddenly take huge leaps. It’s absolutely not something that a mediocre can hold a candle to.”

Hua Ling coldly laughed. “Tsk, nonsense. Spouting random words as though they’re facts. Hilarious. Could it be that you’ve met a Martial Ancestor expert before? With just your qualifications, the likes of you could meet a Martial Ancestor Realm expert?” He was left feeling uneasy by Nie Li’s words, but he was still unwilling to admit the truth of what he had just said.

“Then we’ll just have to wait and see.” Nie Li shrugged.

Xiao Yu consulted Nie Li, “Nie Li, is what you just said the truth?”

“I was making it up.” Nie Li replied, but he secretly laughed. Everything that he’d just said was half true. He could see that Xiao Yu’s soul had already been refined to a certain level and that he’d soon break through to the Heavenly Fate Realm. With Xiao Yu’s talent, after reaching Heavenly Fate Realm, his cultivation would definitely soar by leaps and bounds.

Furthermore, Nie Li could tell that Xiao Yu was similar to the Nether Master. Both cultivated the [Myriad Dragonroars] cultivation technique. The tyrannical nature of this cultivation technique doesn’t lose an inch to the cultivation techniques that Nie Li had passed to Du Ze and Lu Piao. However, Xiao Yu and the Nether Master’s [Myriad Dragonroars] should only be a shattered portion of the original. Because it lacked some portions, that was why Xiao Yu had remained in the Earth Fate Realm for so long.

However, it was still possible to break through to the Heavenly Fate Realm. After breaking through, his path should be a smooth cruise to the doorway of the Heavenly Star Realm before experiencing difficulty to breakthrough.

“Okay then.” Xiao Yu bitterly smiled. Nie Li had obviously been bluffing Hua Ling, but his words had momentarily lit a hope inside Xiao Yu.

Nie Li smiled and remained silent.

Hua Ling looked at Xiao Yu before turning to Nie Li and snorted. He’s wasn’t willing to believe Nie Li; therefore, he turned his head away and observed his men’s tests.

“3-grade Earth Spiritual Root!”

“6-grade Earth Spiritual Root!”

“8-grade Man Spiritual Root!”

Another six tests completed and five of them were Earth Spiritual Roots with one 8-grade Man Spiritual Root.

Hearing Enforcer Gu’s words, Hua Ling’s face instantly turned black and he coldly snorted. “Rubbish, to actually be a Man Spiritual Root! Scram back to the Little Heaven Realm. I don’t need any Man Spiritual Root trash here!”

The youth who had tested as a 8-grade Man Spiritual Root felt so ashamed from the scolding that his ears turned red.

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