Chapter 1: Worthless Spiritual Root

"Wang Yu, worthless spiritual root, eliminated!"

"Next!"

The townspeople who heard the immortal examiner's verdict cast pitying glances at the young man on the platform. However, their private conversations quickly turned to gossip.

"That's one of the Wang family heirs, isn't it?"

"Good-looking kid, but he just doesn't have what it takes to join an immortal sect."

"Spiritual root talent can't be judged by appearance. I'd say the Wang family has done too many wicked things—they had it coming!"

"You can't say that. Young Master Yu isn't like those other spoiled brats—he's never bullied the common folk."

"Ha... just a useless waste. Why doesn't he get off the stage already?"

This last comment didn't come from the spectators.

It came from a youth standing outside the queue—dressed in fine silk robes, with handsome features, a jade ornament at his waist, and a fan painted with a landscape tapping against his palm. His face was full of arrogant disdain.

His name was Wang Wu, Wang Yu's cousin, sixteen years old. He'd already been tested and found to have dual spiritual roots—a genius with potential to reach Foundation Establishment.

Their fathers were brothers, both vying to inherit the position of family head. The rivalry between the older generation had spilled over to their sons, creating bitter animosity between the cousins.

Wang Yu clenched his fists but said nothing, turning to leave the testing platform.

He'd never considered himself a prodigy, but he hadn't expected to have worthless spiritual roots either. With this kind of talent, forget about Foundation Establishment—whether he could even break through to mid-stage Qi Refinement was questionable.

Ever since his reincarnation, when he'd awakened memories from the womb, he'd spent sixteen years in this world of cultivation. He possessed a miraculous "cheat"—something called the Storage Slot!

As the name suggests, it could store things.

But it couldn't hold physical objects. Over the past sixteen years, he'd stored books like "The Thousand Character Classic," "The Eight Methods of the Character Yong," "Detailed Guide to Human Meridians," "The Wonderful Scrolls of Traditional Medicine," and more.

Once he'd skimmed through them, he could place them in the \[Storage Slot], which worked as though another version of himself was constantly studying, researching, and practicing.

Never tiring, never stopping!

For example, after placing "The Thousand Character Classic" in the \[Storage Slot] for several days, he'd completely mastered it. Even though his actual body hadn't done anything, he'd learned to recognize many characters.

This ability would undoubtedly save enormous amounts of time in cultivation, but immortal sects had their own rules for accepting disciples.

The Wang family lived in \[Stone Lake City], which fell under the jurisdiction of the \[Spirit Vulture Sect]. Every year, all sixteen-year-olds in the city would have their spiritual roots tested before officially beginning their cultivation journey.

In this world, everyone had spiritual roots, ranked in six tiers from highest to lowest.

• Single spiritual root, also called Heavenly Spiritual Root—the premier talent below spirit bodies, guaranteed to reach Core Formation, appearing maybe once in a century.

• Dual spiritual root also called Superior Spiritual Root—a high probability of reaching Foundation Establishment, a precious talent, relatively rare.

• Triple spiritual root, also called Medium Spiritual Root—the spiritual root quality of most cultivators. With proper technique, they could basically reach late-stage Qi Refinement before their lifespan ran out.

• Quadruple spiritual root, classified as Inferior Spiritual Root, also called "Mixed Spiritual Root"—poor talent, lifelong difficulty reaching Foundation Establishment.

• Quintuple spiritual root—the worthless spiritual root that Wang Yu possessed. Even refining spiritual energy was difficult; breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement in this lifetime would be nearly impossible.

The final category was "Shattered Spiritual Root"—unable to sense spiritual energy at all, meaning they were mortals incapable of cultivation.

Talent didn't necessarily determine a cultivator's final destination, but it determined their starting point. The difficulties mentioned here referred to the upper limits achievable under the same resource investment.

There were certainly people in the world who could defy fate and change their destiny.

But Wang Yu had lost at the starting line. The Spirit Vulture Sect wasn't some top-tier immortal sect, but they wouldn't accept disciples with worthless spiritual roots either—they didn't have the resources to waste.

Even for manual labor positions, quadruple spiritual roots were preferred.

Wang Wu's dual spiritual root talent meant that once he joined the Spirit Vulture Sect, he'd immediately become a Foundation Establishment seed, receiving preferential resource allocation. The succession battle was already over.

The testing platform was set up in the city lord's mansion plaza. Wang Yu left without looking back. Some friends who'd previously gotten along with him turned their heads away, not even daring to greet him. Such was reality.

Human warmth and coldness, the harsh ways of the world—everything could change in an instant.

The Wang Family Compound.

Wang Yu pushed through the door, looking somewhat guiltily at his father, who was burning incense before his mother's memorial tablet.

"You already know?"

"Yes."

Wang Chongwen bowed lightly before the altar, inserting three incense sticks into the burner, and spoke in a low voice.

"If Wang Wu only had triple spiritual roots, I'd still have a fighting chance. But he just had to have dual spiritual roots."

"The Spirit Vulture Sect will become his backing, and the city lord's mansion will favor him too. Pack your things and prepare to leave Stone Lake City."

Wang Yu couldn't help but ask, "Are you worried Uncle will try to kill me?"

"He won't. Wang Wu will."

"..."

Wang Yu fell silent for a moment.

One's life couldn't be entrusted to others' mercy. The succession battle was already intense, and Wang Wu was a troublemaker with a history of trampling people with his horse, forcibly taking women, and even whipping servants to death. He was Stone Lake City's infamous spoiled rich brat.

Considering his behavior today, seeking revenge once he gained power would be perfectly natural.

"I understand. I'll go pack right away."

"No need to pack. There's a carriage at the back gate that will take you to Thousand Autumn City to live out your days in peace."

"You're not leaving?"

"The family elders will protect me. A clan that wants to grow strong can't tolerate brothers killing each other. Once you're gone, my lineage will have no heir, so I'll pose no threat to the succession."

Wang Yu fell silent again. Ever since his mother died in childbirth, his relationship with Wang Chongwen had been distant. Even though he'd been known as a child prodigy from a young age, he'd never received the slightest praise.

Originally, he hadn't cared, but now that trouble had come and his path forward had been arranged, he felt somewhat moved.

Cultivation—he wouldn't give up on it!

"Father, I'm leaving."

"Mm, safe travels."

As the door closed, Wang Chongwen let out a long sigh, opened his bloodshot eyes, and whispered to the memorial tablet.

"Rou'er, Yu'er has been exceptionally clever since childhood. Even without cultivation talent, he can live well. I hope he can spend his life peacefully in Thousand Autumn City, not end up as pathetic as me."

"Before long, I should come join you, too."

Wang Yu naturally had no idea what happened in that room after he left, much less that Wang Chongwen had already decided to die. The talent assessment was just the spark that lit the fuse.

The spirit root testing continued, but Wang Yu was already seated in the carriage, preparing to travel far to Thousand Autumn City, leaving behind the whirlpool of conflict within the Wang family.

Meanwhile...

In a servant's room behind the Stone Lake City lord's mansion, a black-robed figure threatened in a hoarse voice.

"The Spirit Vulture Sect is just a third-rate power, controlling only these dozen or so cities. Their strongest member is just one Core Formation cultivator. How can they compare to my Reverse Spirit Blood Sect?"

The Stone Lake City lord's tone was cold and hard.

"The Spirit Vulture Sect may not match your Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, but this is righteous sect territory. Demonic cultivators are like rats crossing the street here. If you want people, pay spirit stones."

"Ten spirit stones for each quintuple spiritual root, fifty spirit stones for each quadruple spiritual root. Triple spiritual root and above are not for sale."

The black-robed figure spoke with some anger.

"Ten stones even for worthless spiritual roots? Why don't you just go rob people?"