With his gaze still locked on the spectacle of the clan members disappearing into the Spirit Realm, it was not long before Shen Mo could no longer ignore the growing tingling noise in his head, steadily growing louder as the cooling sensation in his solar plexus became heavier.
Paying closer attention to the ringing sound, he quickly noticed that, just like every other young mortal servant present, he could suddenly perceive a small black space within his mind. Amazed by the sight, he quickly came to the conclusion that the black space was his solar plexus.
As more yellow spirit essence poured forth from the spinning ball hovering above the platform, Shen Mo noticed a shimmering spark of glowing light appear within the dark space. It slowly coalesced into a tiny transparent bubble, almost identical to the spirit marble he had consumed.
Shen Mo could tell he had no control over the process. It unfolded naturally, seemingly triggered by the essence being absorbed through his nostrils. Even the absorption itself was beyond his control, which he suspected was due to the spirit marble he had consumed earlier.
He did not like that he had no control over the process, but with no choice, he simply watched as his core took form. The bubble solidified into a crystallized transparent sphere, then began spinning in slow rotations. Shen Mo finally felt his solar plexus grow heavy, as if a new organ had taken up residence within his body.
Closing his eyes, he viewed his core once more and quickly came to a conclusion. He had inherited his father's core after all. It fit the criteria described for a solid core. There were no cracks to signify a cracked core, nor was it surrounded by spirit essence forming a ring, which would have indicated a refined core. He knew that was impossible anyway, as only prestigious lineages awakened such cores.
He soon noticed liquid coalescing within his core. There was clearly a sphere inside it, and the liquid was colorless, suggesting it was pure essence. Unlike the yellow essence used on the platform, this essence was untainted, not polluted by the mountainous spirits of the Spirit Realm.
Opening his eyes slowly, he let out a long breath, partly due to how mentally exhausted he felt. He glanced around to see the remaining few mortal servants, now all Spirit Masters including himself, though none had yet bound a spirit.
He observed their expressions. Almost all of them shared the same exhaustion, while many brimmed with amazement. Then he squinted slightly as he looked closer at the nearest boy in front of him. From the boy's skin, shining droplets of liquid formed, quickly evaporating into the air.
Shen Mo scanned the group and quickly noticed that it was not just the boy. Almost all the newly awakened youths suffered from the same leakage. He immediately identified it as spirit essence. He checked his own skin and noticed no such thing, which made him pause before reaching a grim conclusion.
Cracked cores. They had all awakened cracked cores.
His face remained expressionless, but a trace of pity surfaced within him. It was the lowest grade of core one could awaken. Worse still, cracked cores constantly leaked spirit essence, making it extremely difficult to bind with any spirit. Even spirits, subconscious as they were, preferred dwelling within a better core where they could thrive.
Shen Mo discarded that pity quickly. This was simply how life was.
He gazed at their happy expressions. Clearly, they had not yet come to the same realization and remained oblivious to their predicament. However, he did notice two others whose skin remained dry.
He knew them. Han Yung and Zei Wei.
Though they were not close, he was certain they too had awakened solid cores, just like him. He was even more certain about Lou Yan. Although she sat farther at the front and he could not examine her closely, he knew she must have awakened a solid core as well. Unlike him, both her parents possessed one.
The three overseers stood before the platform. The hovering ball returned to its transparent state after supplying all the spirit essence it held. As they directed their gazes toward the young servants, they easily spotted those leaking spirit essence, unsurprised. At the same time, they took note of those who did not. Overseer Fei calmly jotted down their names with a nonchalant expression.
"The hardest part has passed," the old overseer said, his tone relaxed. "It is no longer in our hands. All we can do now is wait. Wait for them to bind their spirits, and then I can finally rest my old back."
He felt relieved. At least sixty out of the one hundred and thirty mortal servants had awakened a core, fulfilling the clan's required quota. However, his attention was quickly drawn to the questioning look Overseer Yan directed toward one of the young servants.
"What is it, Yan?" he asked.
Overseer Yan hesitated. "That kid," he said, pointing at a boy with rough neck-length hair and a bruised face. "He isn't leaking spirit essence at all."
"What?" the old overseer exclaimed, turning his gaze toward the boy. Upon closer inspection, it was true. The boy showed no leakage whatsoever. He had awakened a solid core.
"Wait. I thought you said only four of them would awaken solid cores," Overseer Fei said sharply, directing an accusing look at Overseer Yan.
"This was unexpected," Overseer Yan replied defensively. "How was I supposed to know those incompetent fools I assigned to check their backgrounds would do such a poor job?"
"Then maybe you should—" Overseer Fei began, but she was cut off.
"That's enough," the old overseer snapped, his face darkening. "It's fine. One more solid core is not a bad thing. On the bright side, we may even receive praise. Just make sure they are all ready to bind their spirits."
With a snarl, he turned and descended from the platform, leaving the other two overseers with a bitter taste in their mouths at how easily he ordered them around.