Dongxia City truly lived up to its reputation as a major city in the Cultivation Realm, with towering gates, bustling crowds, and immense activity.
However, entering the city required an entrance fee of three low-grade spirit stones.
I felt around in my pockets and chose to circle around to a corner of the city wall, finding a dog hole to crawl through.
Inside the city:
Shops lined both sides of the streets, selling everything from elixir pills and magic treasures to spirit talismans.
The air was filled with various aromas: the fragrance of spiritual food, the refreshing scent of pills, and the perfume of unknown flowers.
I stood at the entrance of an inn, my stomach rumbling loudly.
I felt my pockets again; those three low-grade spirit stones were still there.
But I didn’t dare spend them, because they were my entire net worth.
I decided to utilize my specialty once again: begging.
At that moment, several men wearing patched clothes inside the main hall took notice of me.
They were very handsome.
Really, extraordinarily handsome.
Sword-like eyebrows, bright starry eyes, high nose bridges, each with a distinct aura.
Yet they shared one common feature: ragged clothes, ruined shoes, and their entire presence practically screaming one single word:
POOR.
One handsome man with a braided ponytail sighed in admiration: “Eldest Senior Brother, look at this little kid, she’s so cute.”
The handsome man addressed as Eldest Senior Brother had a cool and aloof aura. Even wearing a patched white robe, he couldn’t hide his celestial air.
He looked at my dirty clothes, my filthy face, and the ill-fitting ragged shoes on my feet, his brows furrowing slightly.
In the end, he handed over a steamed bun: “It’s leftover from just now, go ahead and eat.”
I took the bun and devoured it ravenously.
After finishing, out of gratitude, I pulled a piece of dried roasted demon beast meat from my little bundle and gave it to him: “My dad said to repay kindness, especially to good-looking people.”
He froze.
The other handsome men froze too.
The ponytail man asked carefully: “Little sister, this is low-tier demon beast meat, where did it come from?”
He paused, then added: “Don’t be scared, we are disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. We aren’t bad people.”
I blinked: “I caught it.”
“C—Caught it?” they asked in unison, their voices changing pitch.
I nodded: “They ran when they saw me, so I chased them. When I caught up, I knocked them out and roasted them to eat. But the meat doesn’t taste good, it’s way too tough.”
The handsome men fell silent, their faces filled with utter disbelief, as if they had just heard a tale as absurd as a three-year-old kid defeating a Nascent Soul monster.
The ponytail beauty asked again: “Little sister, why did you come to Dongxia City? Where are your adults?”
I lowered my head: “There are no adults. My dad couldn’t afford to raise me and told me to find my mom, but my mom… I heard she entered secluded cultivation.”
The ponytail beauty patted my head: “Poor kid, so what do you plan to do?”
I raised my head: “I plan to participate in the major sect recruitment.”
Beside him, a handsome man with peach-blossom eyes frowned: “You have to be at least six years old to register for the major sect recruitment. You look only two? Three years old?”
I puffed out my chest: “Three years old! Rounded up, that’s six!”
Everyone: “…………”
I continued, “Besides age, isn’t talent and spiritual roots also considered? What if I’m a genius?”
That brought a chuckle out of them.
The handsome man with the ponytail leaned into Eldest Senior Brother’s ear: “Eldest Senior Brother, our Heavenly Sword Sect has never had a female disciple. Should we… pick her up and take her back?”
Eldest Senior Brother looked at me for a moment and asked, “Would you be willing to come back with us?”
I shook my head: “No, I want to join the Qingyun Sect. Bye-bye.”
Mainly because at a glance, just like my dad and brother, they had the word “POOR” written all over them.
And my mom’s sect happens to be the second largest sect in the Cultivation Realm!
I turned around and left the inn, missing the helpless smiles on the faces of those handsome men behind me.
The ponytail beauty felt a bit aggrieved: “Eldest Senior Brother, she dislikes us for being poor.”
Eldest Senior Brother sighed: “She’s not wrong. We really are poor.”
I faintly caught their conversation, my footsteps pausing slightly, feeling a warm sensation in my heart.
Although they were poor ghosts, they were good-hearted ones.
The Next Day:
The recruitment square was packed with a sea of people.
The booths of various sects were lined up in a row, with long queues forming in front of each one.
The queue for the Qingyun Sect was the longest, stretching from one end of the square to the other, with at least a thousand people.
Most of those in line were young boys and girls, all dressed impeccably with outstanding demeanor, looking like they hailed from prominent cultivation families at a glance.
I squeezed my way to the Qingyun Sect’s registration desk. The disciple in charge of registration didn’t even raise his head: “Name, age, place of origin.”
“Fu Pin, three years and one month old, Mo… Mo City.” I almost let it slip.
The disciple finally raised his head, saw me, and froze for a moment: “Little kid, the major sect recruitment requires you to be at least six years old.”
I blinked my eyes: “But I heard geniuses can make an exception?”
The disciple laughed: “Then you have to prove you’re a genius first. Registration fee is ten low-grade spirit stones.”
Me: “…”
I didn’t have money, so I debated with him for a long time before he gave in (or maybe just got a headache from my noise) and reluctantly let me register.
However, he jotted down a small note on the registration form: “Age does not meet requirements, pending.”
First Trial: Testing Spiritual Roots
I walked up to the Spiritual Root Testing Stone and placed my little hand on it.
The stone lit up.
Red, yellow, blue, green, and brown—all five colors present, multicolored and dazzling.
However, the glow was extremely faint, resembling five ribbons that could vanish at any moment.
The testing elder furrowed his brows: “Five Spiritual Roots, balanced in the five elements, but every single attribute is extremely weak.”
Whispers began floating around:
— “Five Spiritual Roots? Isn’t that the standard for trash?”
— “Exactly! The speed of cultivation is one-percent of a single spiritual root; in this lifetime…”
“It’d be impressive if she could even reach Foundation Establishment.”
— “What a waste of such a cute child…”
I panicked a little: “Elder… are Five Spiritual Roots… bad?”
The Elder sighed:
“Child, having Five Spiritual Roots means you must simultaneously cultivate techniques of five different elements. You need five times the resources of others, yet your progress will only be one-percent of theirs.”
“There is a saying in the cultivation world: ‘Better to have a single spiritual root like a blade of grass than five spiritual roots like a whole forest.’”
My heart sank.
Second Trial: Testing Physical Aptitude (Bone Structure)
I stepped into a formation array. Golden light flashed and swept across my body.
Beside me, the bone-testing jade pillar instantly burst with blinding light, shooting straight from the bottom all the way to the top!
“Ex—Exemplary Bone Structure!” the Elder exclaimed in surprise. “This child’s physique is comparable to a genius body cultivator!”
The watching crowd went wild again:
— “Exemplary Bone Structure? Doesn’t that make her great candidate for body refinement?”
— “But with Five Spiritual Roots… her path in spells and techniques is basically useless.”
— “Yeah, if she had a single spiritual root paired with this physique, she’d be an peerless genius.”
Hope flared up within me again.
Third Trial: Heart Mirror Realm (Testing Mindset and Determination)
I walked into an illusion array, where all sorts of temptations appeared: mountains of spirit stones, forests of magical treasures, and oceans of gourmet food.
I took a glance, and then… kept walking forward.
How could any of this be more important than my mom?
My dad said that once I find my mom, I’ll have all of these anyway!
Then the illusion shifted to various horrors: ferocious demon beasts, monstrous fiends, and heavenly tribulations.
I curled my lip. Demon beasts always turned tail and fled whenever they saw me.
Monstrous fiends? My dad is the biggest monster of them all.
As for heavenly tribulations, they were far less scary than when my dad got angry.
When my dad got angry, the entire Demon Palace would shake—now that was terrifying.
With a mind as calm as still water, I walked out of the illusion.
The Elder cried out in surprise once more: “An unshakeable mindset! This child is extraordinary!”
Having finished all three trials, the elders of the Qingyun Sect gathered together to deliberate.
Looking at my test results, they had complicated expressions on their faces.
— “Five Spiritual Roots—basically trash at spellcasting.”
— “However, she has exemplary bone structure and an unshakeable mindset; she’s a fantastic candidate for body cultivation.”
— “But our Qingyun Sect focuses primarily on spells, talismans, and alchemy. We aren’t skilled in the path of body cultivation.”
— “Besides, she’s only three years old, far too young. Who would take care of her if we brought her back?”
After discussing for a long time, in the end, I was still rejected.
My eyes turned red, and I almost burst into tears.
A white-bearded elder patted my head: “Little kid, although you have no destiny with the Qingyun Sect, this old man knows of a place that is very suitable for you.”
My eyes lit up: “Where is it?”
The white-bearded elder: “The Heavenly Sword Sect!”
The moment these words were spoken, the disciples of the Qingyun Sect all burst out laughing, and the surrounding crowd joined in as well.