Shen Yuheng turned to face Fang Ren with a measured expression, his shoulders relaxed but his eyes sharp.
"The sect allows such promotions because we've been in decline for the past few years. We've started advancing disciples to the inner sect far more quickly than before," he explained.
One single root and this entire drama unfolds. If I ever revealed I had all the attributes, they would probably make me the sect master itself, Fang Ren thought, forcing himself to maintain a calm facade.
"Just because of that root, you'd let me join as an inner disciple?"
"Yes, that goes to show how much value it holds. Some people might even want to take you as their personal disciple themselves."
They walked through winding stone pathways until the Elder's Hall came into view. It was grand and imposing, with enormous marble pillars supporting its vast structure. Workers moved constantly throughout the corridors, some carrying stacks of documents while others hauled tools and materials for repairs.
Shen Yuheng led Fang Ren through the main entrance and into another chamber filled with cultivators seated at desks. He gestured for Fang Ren to sit on a stool behind him, then approached an elder sitting at the largest desk.
The elder had a slight hunched back and white hair flowing past his shoulders. A thin beard adorned his weathered face, and despite his frail appearance, he was more than two hundred years old.
"Hello, Elder," Shen Yuheng greeted.
"Hoho, child Shen, you're here. Come, sit."
Shen Yuheng looked slightly embarrassed at the casual tone, though it made sense given the age difference between them.
"Today I'm not here for that, Elder. I'm here with this child. He has a void spirit root," Shen Yuheng explained.
The elder's eyes widened with surprise as he lifted his glasses.
"What? A void root? We need to take him in quickly," the elder exclaimed.
"Exactly my thoughts, sir. He's a rogue cultivator with no family, so there would be no problem placing him in the inner hall."
From his position behind them, Fang Ren observed the conversation carefully. This old man is really strong, even more than grandfather. Haha, was I really a frog in a well? I should definitely suppress the rest of my roots. Grandfather said most people have one or two, and even three is the rarest. I have all of them—I need to hide the rest.
Shen Yuheng suddenly pointed toward Fang Ren and waved him forward.
Fang Ren walked over obediently.
"Here, this is the child."
The elder took a quick look at him, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm, he doesn't seem to be from the fiendish side, and he has a solid physical enhancement. Maybe a physique from heaven? Oh... he has more than one attribute," the elder mused.
The elder could sense there were multiple attributes, but not how many.
Shit, I guess it's inevitable that I can't hide all of them, Fang Ren thought, his mind racing.
Shen Yuheng glanced at Fang Ren with raised eyebrows.
"You had more than one?"
"Yes, I couldn't tell you before since the void one caught my attention. My other attribute is fire," he replied.
Shen Yuheng patted his head approvingly.
"Good kid, you shouldn't always let people know all your abilities. Though this is different—fire is the second most common attribute after water, with wood being third. So that's fine."
The elder leaned forward slightly.
"You have to manifest them first. Just having them won't let you enter the inner sect."
Fang Ren nodded and raised his left hand. A small ball of flame materialized above his palm, burning with a steady orange glow.
He lowered his hand and prepared to manifest the void, but panic set in. Shit, I've never actually tried this before. I don't even know what it looks like. He stood there for several moments, concentrating intensely, trying to push energy toward the manifestation.
The elder was about to turn away, clearly thinking Fang Ren was lying, when a soft plop sound suddenly echoed through the chamber.
The elder's head snapped back toward Fang Ren in shock.
A system notification appeared.
[LEARN - VOID BASIC DOT MANIFESTATION?]
Fang Ren mentally accepted the offer.
A small void dot appeared in the air between his fingers, spinning slowly like a miniature vortex. The darkness within it seemed to swallow light itself.
Many cultivators in the chamber suddenly turned their heads, their eyes widening in astonishment.
The elder let out an excited laugh that echoed across the hall.
"Hahaha! Finally! Now even our sect's disciples can soar!" the elder laughed with joy.
The void manifestation held for only ten seconds before Fang Ren's concentration broke and it dissipated.
This is exhausting. Just a few seconds and it's completely drained me. Now I understand why they said it's a technique for later stages, he thought, breathing slightly harder than before.
The elder quickly processed Fang Ren's registration as an inner disciple. He snapped his fingers and several servants appeared immediately.
"Bring this child the necessities."
They returned moments later with a bottle containing ten middle-grade condensation pills, a sect identity stone, a daoist robe, a storage ring, and one hundred low-grade primeval essence stones.
"You'll stay in the temporary dormitory for at least a week. You need to be assigned a master before moving to the inner sect," the elder added.
Fang Ren spent five out of the seven days in cultivation. Now that he had spirit stones, the process became far easier than before.
[DING—HOST HAS SECLUDED FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS. REWARDED: LOW GRADE ELEMENTAL BASIC FORMATIONS AND ARRAY]
A small book and a disc embedded with six stones appeared in his hands.
It turned out to be formations. This is completely new territory.
Formations were typically practiced only by scholar-type clans, and his family was battle-heavy. He'd never studied them before.
Formations were the practice of creating intricate patterns and structures that channeled spiritual energy to produce specific effects—barriers, traps, or enhancements that could protect entire areas.
Fang Ren sighed while reading through the book. The techniques were excellent—among the best formations existing on this continent—but there was a drawback. The lower the realm of the formation's creator, the weaker the formation became. Additionally, if an enemy managed to break the formation, there was a twenty to thirty percent chance the maker would suffer backlash.
He finished reading the entire book in about two to three hours, then carefully destroyed it. Such knowledge shouldn't be revealed. How would I explain having it otherwise?
After absorbing the information, Fang Ren raised his arm with fingers spread wide. A barrier-like ball of energy flew out and expanded rapidly, growing large enough to envelop his entire dormitory room. He didn't make it any bigger—someone might notice.
Good. This is sturdy and strong enough to trap anyone in the mortal realms, all tiers.
However, he immediately realized the limitation. This formation technique could only effectively trap cultivators below the divine realm. Such people rarely existed in this sect anymore—everyone here was at least in the divine realm or higher. That meant this technique would only be useful when he ventured outside the sect.
Still, it was good to have.