The next day.
Spirit roots mainly fall into five types, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The vast majority of people have several spirit roots to varying degrees. Generally speaking, the fewer spirit roots one has, the faster one cultivates. The more spirit roots one has, the slower one cultivates. Of course, there are exceptions, namely heavenly spirit roots and Dao bodies. If one possesses either of these, then one is a rare seedling that appears only once in a thousand years.
Sword Sect was a great sect of the present age, and its standards for taking in disciples were extremely high. A three-spirit-root cultivator, who could be considered an inner disciple in an ordinary sect, in Sword Sect could only be an outer disciple. Not to mention four spirit roots and five spirit roots, which were simply not accepted at all. Even so, there were still over a thousand people who passed Sword Sect’s first test of measuring spirit roots.
Shen Guhan stood at a high place, looking down at the densely packed crowd below, and quickly found Ye Jinyun, who was preparing to undergo the trial.
People moved about, bustling and noisy. Ye Jinyun held a sword in his hand and wore white clothes. He did indeed have a bit of the bearing of a fledgling eagle about to spread its wings and soar.
If he were changed into clothes of another color, would he still be like this now?
Shen Guhan thought as he lowered his head.
“Senior Brother, what’s so interesting about watching the disciples’ trial?” Gu Shaoxin still had a withered blade of grass between his teeth, his brows and eyes drooping, and he wished he could immediately run out of the sect.
He always felt that his senior brother had been a little strange lately, but he did not know exactly where the strangeness lay.
“Shaoxin, a friend of mine recently encountered something strange in cultivation.” Shen Guhan shifted his gaze, but in his mind he still kept replaying the scene from yesterday between himself and Ye Jinyun, and his heart grew strange again.
Gu Shaoxin was suddenly called on by Shen Guhan. The blade of grass in his mouth immediately stopped moving, and he asked with a confused look, “Senior Brother, are you calling me?”
Looking at Gu Shaoxin’s foolish expression, Shen Guhan suddenly felt that perhaps he had asked the wrong person. Then he coughed twice and said, “Nothing.”
But Gu Shaoxin shook off his initial confusion. Thinking of the purple-clad girl from yesterday, he leaned close to Shen Guhan with a sleazy grin and said, “Senior Brother, what strange thing did your friend encounter?”
“Nothing.” Shen Guhan’s tone turned cold again. He looked back at Ye Jinyun. Could it be that Ye Jinyun would only accept things if the system issued him a task?
“Greetings, Senior Brother and Brother Gu.” A youth dressed in the clothing of a closed-door disciple walked over, followed by a group of inner disciples.
Shen Guhan nodded lightly, while Gu Shaoxin beside him quickly waved them away, telling them to go do whatever they should be doing.
“Senior Brother!” A youth in fine clothes, not wearing disciple robes, came straight toward them.
“Bad luck, why did he come too?” Gu Shaoxin chewed on the withered grass, tilting his face.
“Senior Brother Gu still likes eating wild grass as much as ever?” The youth in fine clothes lifted his chin very high, not looking at people directly.
“Not as much as Junior Brother Mo, who always sticks to women like glue and can’t be pulled away no matter what.” Gu Shaoxin also unceremoniously shot back.
“You!” Mo Shaoqing was so angry his ears and neck turned red.
The entire Sword Sect knew that Mo Shaoqing, the direct grandson of Elder Mo, was Li Yichan’s fanatic pursuer.
However, Li Yichan, relying on her identity as the chosen one of fate, clung to Shen Guhan. So Mo Shaoqing came to hate Shen Guhan deeply. Every three or two days, he would propose challenging Shen Guhan. Although every time he was ignored by Shen Guhan, he became more and more arrogant each time.
“Mo Shaoqing, you’re here to get beaten again?”
Gu Shaoxin spat out the grass in his mouth and said disdainfully. For someone like Mo Shaoqing, who could only become a closed-door disciple through the back door, he could knock him down with one hand, let alone Senior Brother.
“Hmph,” Mo Shaoqing snorted coldly and directly looked at Shen Guhan in provocation. “Senior Brother, I heard that yesterday you formed a Dao bond with a mortal whose spirit roots were utterly destroyed?”
This morning, he had heard from his grandfather that Shen Guhan had actually formed a Dao bond with a mortal, and he was almost overjoyed. A Dao bond meant that as long as one side was injured, the other side would also be injured. Usually, Shen Guhan would even find it annoying to look at him one more time. Although he hated Shen Guhan in his heart, he could not even get within five zhang of him. Now that Shen Guhan had formed a Dao bond with a mortal who could not cultivate at all, as long as he made a move on that mortal, Shen Guhan would be maimed even if he did not die.
Shen Guhan naturally knew what Mo Shaoqing was plotting. He bared his teeth, but the smile did not reach his eyes. “What does Junior Brother want to do?”
Seeing that Shen Guhan’s face, frozen for ten thousand years, finally showed some emotion, Mo Shaoqing became even more pleased and said with a smile, “Senior Brother, don’t be anxious. It’s nothing much. There are a few good seedlings in our Mo family’s collateral branch this year. I’m here to take a look and see whether they can be put to good use and serve the sect.”
“Mo Shaoqing, don’t act recklessly. This is a sect trial. Even if the Third Elder is your own grandfather, he can’t protect you.” Gu Shaoxin spat out the weeds in his mouth and said solemnly.
“Relax, I’m just looking around casually. Don’t make people out to be so bad.” Mo Shaoqing said indifferently.
Gu Shaoxin was still about to say something when Shen Guhan pressed his shoulder and said, “The trial has started. Focus.”
Ye Jinyun was not slow, but among the crowd he was not considered fast either. He was only in the middle.
Seeing that Shen Guhan was indifferent to him and that his gaze kept falling on Ye Jinyun, Mo Shaoqing taunted, “So that kid is the one who formed a bond with Senior Brother. I thought he was some exceptional person, but it turns out he’s only so-so. Can he really pass the trial in its entirety?”
“That probably won’t be possible. Since Sword Sect was founded, no one has ever been able to finish this trial staircase, not even the sect master.” The lackey behind Mo Shaoqing said.
“Exactly. I heard Senior Brother wants to let this good-for-nothing without spirit roots pass the trial and enter Sword Sect. Senior Brother, you’ve really cultivated yourself into confusion, hahahaha.” Mo Shaoqing laughed.
Shen Guhan did not say anything, only continued watching Ye Jinyun’s movements.
Suddenly, Ye Jinyun stopped walking, the expression on his face relaxed, as if he had fallen into something.
“Senior Brother, he has fallen into an illusion.” Gu Shaoxin said.
Shen Guhan’s brows furrowed. He wanted to contact 01, after all, Ye Jinyun had too many things he did not know.
But no matter how he searched for 01, he could not find it. It was as if it had disappeared. Shen Guhan lowered his head and felt that something was wrong.
Time passed little by little, and Ye Jinyun was still standing in place, the expression on his face very calm.
“Senior Brother, it seems Ye Jinyun can’t even pass half the trial, hahahaha.” Mo Shaoqing laughed smugly, very pleased.
Looking at the unmoving Ye Jinyun, Shen Guhan thought to himself, had he misjudged Ye Jinyun? But what exactly was that strange 01? Could it be that the old fossils of the righteous path had done something?
As he was thinking, he suddenly felt a pulling force.
Not good, Shen Guhan thought. Then he lost consciousness.
When Shen Guhan woke up, he discovered that he had already followed Ye Jinyun’s consciousness into Ye Jinyun’s illusion. The scenery here was extremely strange, with towering buildings all around, and square iron shells, with people sitting inside. The people coming and going were all dressed especially revealingly.
As for Ye Jinyun, he was likewise wearing clothes that exposed his arms, and his originally high ponytail had turned into a fluffy spiky head. He said to him, “Please move aside.”
“Ye Jinyun.” Shen Guhan grabbed Ye Jinyun, who was about to leave.
“Bro, why are you grabbing me?” Ye Jinyun looked puzzled at the man in hanfu before him. He was handsome, but his brain did not seem to work.
“Are you Ye Jinyun?” Shen Guhan said in a low voice.
“Who the hell are you? Don’t pull me. I’m about to be late for school.” Ye Jinyun struggled hard, trying to break free from Shen Guhan’s hand, but no matter how he struggled, he could not break free. In the end, he said helplessly.
Seeing that Ye Jinyun had completely forgotten him, Shen Guhan knew that Ye Jinyun had completely fallen into the illusion and could only wake up on his own.
So he let go.
Feeling Shen Guhan release him, Ye Jinyun ran off like the wind.
After accidentally entering Ye Jinyun’s illusion, Shen Guhan was not in a hurry to leave. He walked and stopped on the street, taking in this place that was different from the Long Life Realm where he was.
Ye Jinyun felt that today had terrible luck. Early in the morning he had run into a madman, then he was late and was punished by the homeroom teacher to stand for an entire morning reading session. He only returned to his seat after class ended.
“Yezi, it seems our class is getting a transfer student today, and he’s super handsome.” The person in front of him turned around and said to Ye Jinyun.
“What does that have to do with me? Stop talking nonsense and let me sleep.”
Ye Jinyun was the bottom of the class, the kind of academic failure whom the homeroom teacher especially disliked. He had been arranged to sit at the very back of the classroom. Last night he had stayed up all night playing games, and just now he had almost fallen asleep while being punished to stand. At this moment he was so sleepy he could not even open his eyes.
“You pulled another all-nighter last night? You’re really amazing. It’s already high school senior year. Aren’t you scared?” Fatty asked.
Ye Jinyun had his whole face pressed against the desk, and faint snores came from him.
“Ding-ling-ling.” The class bell soon rang.
Huang Zihe was teaching the first class. When he stepped into the classroom, everyone saw the transfer student behind him.
Except for Ye Jinyun, who was still pressed against the desk, completely unmoving.
“Wow.”
“So tall.”
“He’s really fucking handsome!”
A wave of exclamations rose in the classroom.
“Yezi, wake up. Your rival has appeared.” Fatty used all his strength to pat Ye Jinyun on the back.
Ye Jinyun seemed to have been patted painfully. He struggled to lift his head and, with drowsy eyes, looked toward the podium. Wasn’t this the madman from this morning’s cosplay? How had he suddenly become a transfer student?
Shen Guhan stood on the podium, his gaze fixed on Ye Jinyun, who was still not fully awake, with a large patch of red on his face.
“Quiet.” Teacher Huang forcefully slapped the lectern with the ruler. After the class quieted down, he said, “This is the new transfer student to our class, Shen Guhan. Everyone, give him a warm welcome with applause.”
Amid the enthusiastic applause, Teacher Huang quickly said again, “All right, Shen Guhan, sit next to the podium.”
Shen Guhan looked at the empty seat next to the podium. It was too far from Ye Jinyun.
“Teacher, I’m tall. Can I sit in the back?” He pointed to the empty seat beside Ye Jinyun.
Huang Zihe also did not want to waste any more time. Since Shen Guhan wanted to sit in the back, then he could sit in the back. He only warned, “Don’t talk in class. Listen carefully.”
“Okay.” Shen Guhan nodded, then strode over to Ye Jinyun’s side. “Please move aside.”
Ye Jinyun rolled his eyes and lazily stood up to make room for him.
Because the space was too narrow, Shen Guhan practically rubbed against Ye Jinyun’s back as he went in, which made Ye Jinyun very unhappy. “Can you be gentler?”
The corners of Shen Guhan’s lips curved, a few glimmers flashing in his eyes, and he said with a soft laugh, “Sorry.”
Seeing that Shen Guhan was at least polite, Ye Jinyun did not say much and continued lying there like a dead body.
Along with the endlessly talkative voice on the podium, Ye Jinyun slept to the point that he was almost drooling.
Shen Guhan looked at the slightly parted lips, his lips and even the tip of his tongue pink, making one unable to resist the urge to press down on them.
“What are you doing?” Ye Jinyun felt that something cold had suddenly entered his mouth. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Shen Guhan’s face enlarged right in front of him.
Shen Guhan did not show the slightest guilt at being caught. He held a piece of paper in his hand and said, “I saw you were drooling in your sleep, so I helped you wipe it. Don’t mention it.”