Chapter 27: Potential Roots

Six Ocean Sect. Located within the innermost part of a vast mountain range, it has situated itself there for thousands of years. There was a total of around twenty thousand practitioners at this sect, with a majority of them conferred the status of an ‘Outer court disciple’.

The mountains near the sect were enveloped in thick rolling mists, and the constant chirping of life there gave the environment a celestial kind of feel. With lush forests below and seventy two imposing mountain peaks above, the Six Ocean Sect laid within a breath taking surrounding.

On this particular morning, however, the ground below was covered in masses of human cultivators. Several magical items also flew about in the air, stopping only once to drop off a person or two. Each of them could be seen rushing towards one of the mountain peaks. That was where the Six Ocean Sect’s disciple selection shall take place, a tradition that could put many aspiring cultivators into frenzy when held.

To become a disciple of a major sect, even if one was an Outer Disciple, one would experience a huge change in their fortune and status. Coupled with the resources given by such sect, many youths could not resist the temptation and desire of entering a major sect!

At this time, a white carriage could be seen rapidly moving across the forest ground before it slowed down near the mountain peak where the test was held.

“You do not have to come with me. I’ll walk there myself now.” A youthful voice could heard coming within the majestic carriage.

“Yes.” came the reply.

The white carriage’s door creaked open before a youth in white robe stepped out. His snow hair blew gently behind him as he walked towards the mountain peak. This person was no other than Huang Xue.

In his hand right now, was a pearly fan decorated with a lucid black handle. As Huang Xue lightly fanned himself while walking forward, there was an apparent scholarly air that had been reinforced around him.

Before long, Huang Xue had reached the mountain peak. There, in front of him, he could see a large stone ground laid before him. Nearly two thousand cultivators could be seen waiting within that very stone square. Secretly surveying around with his divine sense, Huang Xue found that of all the participants here, none of them seemed to be over thirty years old. The oldest of them felt to be only about twenty eight years old. This was the feeling Huang Xue got when he observed those cultivators.

As he entered the square, several nearby cultivators were attracted by Huang Xue’s appearance. A few of them looked at him with surprise, while others stared at him with strange expressions.

“White hair…and a youth’s face…”

“How could that boy have white hair? What kind of strange technique did he practice in to make his hair become like that…”

“Is he really a youth?”

“Wait, look at that pendant on his waist!”

“Oh my god! Th-that’s the Shen Clan’s symbol! Who is that person? How come I’ve never seen him in the Shen Clan during these past years…”

Murmurs of all sorts rose up within the small crowd as people began to notice Huang Xue’s conspicuous hair color, and only continued to increase as more of them saw the Shen pendant on Huang Xue’s body. Though, just as quickly, the murmurs became soft whispers as the cultivators looked away from Huang Xue, seemingly to fear the latter would take notice of them.

The whole time, the white robed youth did not paid any heed to them as he continued stand there patiently in the crowd.

In reality, since the moment Huang Xue appeared in the Shen Clan, there were already people feeling surprised at the former’s hair color. Thought while his white hair was eye catching, the Shen clansmen did not dare say anything about it due to Huang Xue’s status. But even then, it was actually not that rare for cultivators to possess varied hair colors. This was because there were indeed many people in the world who had strange hair colors, or even styles, due to the type of martial arts they practice in, or their bodily constitution! It was normal for some powerful martial arts to instantly transform a person’s external appearance.

As such, even though Huang Xue’s white hair had caused a small buzz to appear, it was not extremely shocking to the crowd. However, what was shocking though, was the Shen pendant that Huang Xue possessed. It was the emblem that represented the power of one of most major clans in the Long Dynasty, and had a deterring strength like no other!

It such that, as soon as the others caught sight of Huang Xue’s Shen pendant, the conversations around Huang Xue rapidly died down as everyone began to shift their focus on the examination at head.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed out across the stone square, attracting everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, the hour for our Six Ocean Sect’s annual disciple selection has come!”

Everyone looked towards the front and caught sight of a middle aged standing at the foot of the mountain peak. A flight of steps stretched upward behind the elder. The old man had a flat face with high cheekbones, and was dressed in dark blue robe. A round circle, with a picture within of a three tipped wave crashing upward, was stitched on the right chest area of his clothes; this was the symbol of the Six Ocean Sect!*

(*Author note: Six Ocean Sect crest; Looks something like this, in case you’re curious: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/avatar/images/5/50/Waterbending_emblem.png/revision/latest?cb=20130729182922 )

All was quiet while they looked at the elder standing there on top of the large gray boulder. On the right side of the boulder face, there were four blue crystals embedded on it. The dark blue robed elder looked back at the small sea of cultivators for a few moments before clearing his throat and speaking:

“I am the Six Ocean Sect’s Thirteenth Elder, Hong Wu! Today, I will be personally administering the disciple selection exam for our school. The test to enter the Six Ocean Sect is very simple. One by one, you will each come up, announce your name, and place your hand on this boulder while pouring some Qi energy into it. Upon doing so, your age, cultivation rank, and talent shall be revealed.

Regarding the first two criterias, I am sure I do not have to explain what they are. As for the third criteria, talent is graded by No Root, Mortal Root, Earth Root, Clear Root, Heaven Root, and Saint Root. The boulder below me will be used to test this. To be more specific, for each crystal that lights up it will signify a Root talent.

As per annual arrangement, only those who have reached the 8th Di Temporal realm and below the age of twenty will be qualified to take the exam. And only those who have at least Mortal Root talent can enter our Sect and become an official Outer court disciple!

Now that I’ve explained the rules, let us begin! Who shall come up first?”

Hong Wu stared down at the youth cultivators as he awaited for the first participant. All across the Long Dynasty, this was the same procedure that was being carried out at various Sects to determine a person’s potential.

After a brief moment, a handsome youth in red robe stepped forward from among the front of the crowd. A small commotion broke out the moment the former appeared.

“Look, isn’t that the fourth young master, Ji Xiong, of the Ji Clan?”

“It seems the Ji Clan is vying for a spot at the Six Ocean Sect as well!”

The red robed youth named Ji Xiong had a small arrogant smile on his when he heard the whispers around him. Continuing forward, he placed his hand on the gray boulder and shouted out in a loud voice: “I, junior Ji Xiong, would like to take this test! I beg senior Hong Wu to watch over me!”

Immediately, there was a barely visible tremble on the boulder before two lines appeared on the boulder. Promptly, the bottom crystal lit up with a bluish hue at the same time.

Hong Wu gave a faint smile as he nodded his head. “Ninth stage of Temporal Di realm. Mortal Root talent. Sixteen years old. With your talent, if nothing goes wrong, you should be able to step into the Tian Realm in the future. Mmn, you pass! From now on, you will start out as an Outer Disciple of the Six Ocean Sect! Here, take this!”

With a flick of his sleeves, a bronze plate flew out and landed on Ji Xiong’s opened hands. Inscribed on the plate were the following words: Outer Disciple!

A look of excitement and pride surfaced on Ji Xiong’s face as he looked down at the plate. “Junior Ji Xiong pays respect to Thirteenth Elder!” Bowing his head, Ji Xiong respectfully bowed towards Hong Wu.

“Alright, you may climb the steps behind and enter the Sect. Once you reach the top, someone will be there to receive you.” Then, turning back to the crowd, Hong Wu said: “Next!”

Seeing this, everyone began to quickly line up as they tested themselves on the boulder.

“Eighth stage of Temporal Di. 18 years old. Mortal Root talent…pass!”

“Eighth stage of Temporal Di. 19 years old. No Root talent…fail!”

“Seventh stage of Temporal Di. 16 years old. No Root talent…fail!”

“First stage of Jie Hai realm. 26 years old. No Root talent…fail!”

“Ninth stage of Temporal Di. 19 years old. Mortal Root talent…pass!”

The process was quick and smooth, and before long, of the nearly two thousand cultivators, only a hundred was left.

From the small crowd, a quiet girl in pink dress slowly walked forward. The girl looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years of age, and her long flowing black hair matched perfectly with her shapely, jade face. Seeing her, many of the participants, who had failed the test but had chose to stay behind, and current participants all began to breathe heavily.

“Isn’t…isn’t that the first miss of the The Thousand Flower Clan, Mei Hua?”

“Eh? Why is someone like her be joining the Six Ocean Sect?”

“Wahh…her beauty is truly stunning as the rumors had said! Such grace and looks…aiya, I truly envy the lucky bastard who would be fortunate enough to conquer such a flower!”

“Mei Hua? I heard she’s quite talented in the younger generation, being on par with geniuses like Ji Yun and Long Baifeng!”

As Mei Hua walked over towards the boulder, another figure emerged from within the crowd. A young man, who looked to be around the similar age as the girl, wearing a silk green robe calmly followed after Mei Hua, seemingly waiting to test the boulder after the latter. The man had a fierce appearance with thick eyebrows like swords and decent looks. He gave off a dangerous aura to those who dared to stare at him for too long.

When the unsuspecting crowd recognized this person, their eyes suddenly went wide as several of them exclaimed in shock.

“Wh-why would he appear here?!”

“The Yang clan….is actually here…”

“If I remember correctly, that person should be Yang Chen, third young master of the Yang clan!”

With the exception of Huang Xue, many of these geniuses who had come along to take the test had secretly concealed themselves among the crowds. As such, no one noticed them until they each appeared one by one to take the exam, shocking the onlookers.

Mei Hua seemed not to mind the uproar that ensued after Yang Chen’s identity was revealed, as she walked up to the boulder and gently placed her palm on it.

In a clear and melodious voice, she lightly said: “This one is Mei Hua, first young mistress of the Thousand Flower Clan.”

The boulder visibly trembled, a reaction that was a bit greater than when Ji Xiong had tested, and the crystals embedded onto it began to glow.

Hong Wu looked at the crystals before his eyes slowly widened in shock. In a voice filled with excitement, Hong Wu announced.

“Fourth stage of Jie Hai realm. 16 years old….Earth Root talent!”

Hong Wu turned to look down at Mei Hua with a small smile as he said: “With your talent and potential, you may directly enter the Six Ocean Sect with the identity as an Inner Disciple!”

The crowd suddenly went into an uproar as they heard Hong Wu’s words. Although the the word ‘Outer’ and ‘Inner’ was merely a slight change in text, the difference between the treatment of these two statuses were like Heaven and Earth itself! The resources and protection given to an Inner disciple of a major Sect could be said to be vastly greater than that of a normal Outer disciple.

When it all comes down to it, the Outer disciples were like bottom feeders, there to only work and toil for the Inner disciples; while the latters were like the official disciples of the Six Ocean Sect!