When Mr. Yan finished speaking, all the children's eyes shone as they looked at him. Clearly, even children in the world of the Great Desolate knew the legends of immortals and fantasized about them. There were many great powers in the world, but no one had achieved immortal ascension since the founding of the Qin Dynasty.
But Mr. Yan didn't give them time to ask more. He quickly waved his hands and said, "I have already said what needed to be said. The main decision-making power still lies with your parents. Now, let us begin the unified spiritual root assessment. Please proceed to the back garden of the city lord's manor."
The kids were visibly disappointed—Yu Xin among them. He, too, wished to know more about immortals. To the children of cultivators, immortals were no different from the fairies and angels that mortal children dreamed of.
Jiang Dali didn't dwell on it. He pulled Little Yu Xin up and began heading for the door, saying in a fearful voice, "Brother Yu, I don't want to go to the assessment. Let's just hide in the washroom until it's over."
Yu Xin was also feeling uneasy, but he replied with forced confidence, "Hiding won't change our spiritual roots. You either have one or you don't. Let's just see the results. Maybe we'll have top-grade spiritual roots."
Dali wasn't actually planning to hide; he was just voicing his fear to ease the tension.
The children lined up and began moving toward the back garden. Yu Xin's class merged with another, lengthening the line. They reached the back garden in no time.
By the time all the classes had gathered, the students in the garden numbered about two thousand—a significant figure, considering that those with spiritual roots found it harder to conceive, and many cultivators with good talent didn't have children until their later years, when they had given up hope of advancing further and began thinking about leaving a legacy.
At the far end of the garden, a large stage was set up with black stone and marble, trimmed in red. It was clearly a permanent feature of the city lord's mansion, used to host various events.
Today, it was being used for the Qin Dynasty's unified sect assessment. On the stage were multiple sets of tables and chairs, each occupied by a minor official of the city lord's manor. On each table rested a black, perfectly spherical stone the size of a fist. The stone looked like an ordinary paperweight, but the officials handled it with great care, as if afraid of damaging it.
To the side of the stage, a luxurious open tent had been set up with black cloth and red furniture. Inside, dignified and important-looking individuals sat drinking tea and eating refreshments.
Once all the children had gathered, a young man rose from within the tent and made his way onto the stage. He looked about twenty, pale-skinned with light eyebrows and shrewd eyes—the appearance of a young master who worked too much at night and too little during the day. Standing at the center of the stage, he gave the children below a somewhat obscene smile.
Some of the younger children turned pale, looking as if they were about to cry. Fortunately, the young master on stage began speaking quickly.
"Good morning, little students of our Flame City. Let me briefly introduce myself. I am the only son of the city lord. My name is Ouyang Fang, and I will preside over the assessment to ensure fairness and prevent any issues."
"Without further delay, let's begin the assessment…"
There was no point in elaborating for a bunch of children. It would already be impressive if they understood what had been said so far. Ouyang Fang didn't bother saying more and simply stepped off the stage, allowing the assessment supervisor to begin calling names.
"Xia Linhua."
"Li Erhu."
"Wang Meilin."
The supervisor was a calm, middle-aged man with a goatee, looking very experienced in conducting such assessments. Ten students' names were called at once, as there were only ten sets of tables and chairs—and presumably only ten spiritual root assessment stones.
It took only a few seconds to get the results. The children simply had to place their hands on the spherical stone, and the color and intensity of the light would reveal the grade and element of their spiritual root.
"Xia Linhua, mid-grade water-element spiritual root."
"Li Erhu,low-grade fire-element spiritual root."
"Wang Meilin,low-grade ice-element spiritual root."
The assessment continued normally until the fifth child in the group of ten was called.
"Meng Hao, inferior-grade wood-element spiritual root."
The assessment stone on the table flickered with a faint green light, looking as though it might go out at any moment. It was indeed the sign of an inferior-grade spiritual root.
The shy-looking little boy began crying on the spot. His father and mother were not married; his mother had been a mortal servant in his father's household. His father had avoided marriage because he didn't want responsibility and wished to focus on his cultivation—yet he hadn't restrained himself either. He slept daily with his young mortal servant, who was supposed to be married soon. The Qin Court did not concern itself with the affairs of mortals, as long as no mass murders were committed.
But the father never expected to father a child so carelessly. As a result, Meng Hao was never favored, and his mother had received no nourishing herbs during her pregnancy. It was hardly surprising that he possessed an inferior-grade spiritual root.
Meng Hao was in the same class as Yu Xin, who knew a little of his background and couldn't help but feel sad for him.
The official seated before Meng Hao, however, felt no such sympathy. His gaze turned cold, and he waved sharply at the child, commanding, "Do not make noise here! Be gone!"
Little Meng Hao's sobs caught in his throat. Stiffly, he turned and descended the stage steps on unsteady legs.
As he walked, his demeanor already held a slight resemblance to that of Old Mr. Feng, the elderly carriage driver for Yu Xin's class.
Little Yu Xin was startled by this realization. An old man with one foot in the grave and a child of about five—how could they be similar?
The only commonality Yu Xin could think of was that both Old Mr. Feng and Meng Hao had inferior-grade spiritual roots. But Meng Hao had always had an inferior-grade root; it simply couldn't be tested before because it hadn't fully developed. Why did they share a similar demeanor now, but not before?
Unfortunately, there was no one to answer his questions. Instead, the assessment continued as before. In that group, two more children were found to have inferior spiritual roots. Then came the next group, and the next.
Just like that, the assessment proceeded until Jiang Dali's name was called.
Jiang Dali immediately paled and said to Little Yu Xin, "Brother, I'm not feeling well. Let's go to the medical hall. We'll be back quickly."
Little Yu Xin ignored him, stood on his toes to pat his friend's shoulder, and said solemnly, "Good luck, my friend. I will remember our friendship until the end of this lifetime."
Then, he gave Jiang Dali a gentle push. With Jiang Dali's relatively large stature, he was easily spotted by the supervisor, who called him up to the stage.
Jiang Dali said nothing, only looked at Yu Xin with a resentful gaze—as if betrayed by the one he trusted most.
And so, he turned and began walking toward the stage. His back looked incredibly majestic, like a hero facing death with courage.
He climbed the stairs, each step purposeful and measured. The air around him seemed thick with anticipation, as though he were marching toward an unknown fate.
He even drew a few glances from the dignitaries inside the black tent. A few had already decided that even if this boy had no spiritual root, they would contact him to work in their family's or sect's opera troupe.
Jiang Dali reached the top of the stairs and approached his assigned counter. First, he presented his identity jade slip—issued by the city lord's manor when he began enlightenment class at around three years old.
Then, he placed his hand on the assessment stone, which glowed with an earthy yellow light. Judging by its intensity, it appeared to be medium-grade.
Sure enough, the official seated there announced, "Jiang Dali, medium-grade earth-element spiritual root."
He drew a fair amount of attention. Most of the children looked at him with envy and admiration, while several dignitaries from body-refining sects took note.
This was no surprise. By now, nearly a thousand children had been tested, and fewer than a hundred had medium-grade spiritual roots. Moreover, the earth element held slightly higher standing in the Qin Dynasty, and earth-element body cultivation techniques were more widespread than those of other elements. Jiang Dali, with his medium-grade earth spiritual root and clear physical gifts, stood out to many sects in the central region.
This outcome was not coincidental. Both of Jiang Dali's parents had low-grade earth spiritual roots and were body cultivators. They earned more than Yu Xin's parents by constantly risking their lives in the mercenary guild. Qi Refining cultivators could make good money in high-risk roles, but cultivation arts themselves were less profitable at the Qi Refining stage due to intense competition.
Aunt Jiang had spent many hard-earned spirit stones on nourishing herbs during her pregnancy. This result was not luck but the fruit of his parents' labor and sacrifice for his future.
After his assessment, Jiang Dali was directed to a side tent to decide which sect to join, while the other children returned to the stands—as sects generally did not recruit those with spiritual roots below medium grade.
Soon after, the supervisor's voice rang out again. This time, the first name called was all too familiar to Yu Xin:
"Yu Xin."
It was his own name. Yu Xin tried to appear calm and nonchalant. He walked out of the line and climbed the steps to the stage. Only now did he realize how much pressure Jiang Dali must have felt climbing these same stairs.
Pushing the thought aside, he reached the top and approached an available counter.
A kind-looking middle-aged woman sat there. Noticing the cute-faced Little Yu Xin, she smiled and said, "Your identity jade slip, young master."
Little Yu Xin handed it over. It was black with fiery red text:
```
Name: Yu Xin
Father's Name: Yu Jin
Mother's Name: Liu Hua
Address: 14th, Spiritual Farmer Lane, Ox Horn Village,
Southern State Realm, Qin Dynasty.
```
The "Southern State Realm" referred to the part of the southern region under Qin Dynasty territory. Similarly, there were Northern, Eastern, and Western State Realms.
After confirming his identity, the female official continued, "Yu Xin—meaning 'Jade Heart.' What a beautiful name! Your parents likely want you to grow into a kind and warm person, one who helps others without losing a pure and innocent heart."
Little Yu Xin, at a loss for such elegant words, simply stood there blushing.
Seeing this, the woman laughed gently and decided not to tease him further.
With a smile, she said, "Alright. Now place your hand on the assessment stone."
Little Yu Xin laid his small hand on the stone, which began to glow with a gentle white light.
It was not the sharp, metallic white of the metal element, but a pure, luminous glow that seemed to carry the very breath of life.
Little Yu Xin was stunned—and uneasy. He had not seen this color in any of the thousand or so assessments before his own. He didn't know whether it was a good sign or a bad one.
Just then, the female official announced in a slightly surprised voice:
"Yu Xin, low-grade wind-element spiritual root."