Apart from the first day, when everyone had been required to meet one another, the guests were left to their own devices for the next few days. Xu Ziqing had no desire to go to the front of the residence and trouble himself with socializing, so he kept mostly to his courtyard. Even his meals were brought in by a young servant. As a result, he had no idea when the remaining arrivals came, whom they spoke with, or what alliances they formed.
Sure enough, after three days, the twenty-odd boys and girls were collected by a convoy. Four or five rode in each carriage, with their carriages surrounded in the middle of the procession while experts sent by the main family guarded the front and rear. Xu Ziqing did not dare stare openly, but from a casual glance he could already tell that these people were unlike ordinary martial experts. He overheard some of the more knowledgeable legitimate sons and daughters from the branch family saying that they were all Innate-Realm experts.
Innate-Realm experts were vastly different from Acquired-Realm experts. The names differed by only a single word, yet the gulf between them was enormous. The Acquired Realm was divided into ten levels: Skin Refining, Muscle Refining, Sinew Refining, Bone Refining, Blood Refining, then Skin and Flesh Indivisible, Flesh and Sinew Fused, Sinew and Bone Mutually Transforming, Bone and Blood Mutually Generating, and Blood and Skin as One. Once all ten levels were perfected, with the aid of various top-grade mortal medicinal herbs or several necessary spiritual herbs, a martial artist could cleanse the turbid qi from the body and successfully advance into the Innate Realm.
And the most remarkable characteristic of an Innate-Realm expert was this: flight.
No matter how formidable an Acquired-Realm expert might be, even one who had reached perfect completion of the tenth level, if they could not cross that final threshold, then they could not fly. There was no getting around it.
The Innate Realm was the pinnacle of the martial path. There was no further breakthrough beyond it. Differences in strength came only from the cultivation methods one practiced and the length of time one had accumulated power.
The Acquired and Innate Realms also differed in lifespan. An Acquired-Realm expert could live at most two hundred years. Reaching the Innate Realm added another hundred years, allowing one to live as long as three hundred. An ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts at all, assuming a peaceful life without serious illness or disaster, would generally reach no more than one hundred and fifty years.
One could imagine how lofty and awe-inspiring an Innate-Realm martial artist seemed to these inexperienced youngsters!
Of course, if a few among these youngsters turned out to possess spiritual roots and gained hope of an immortal path, then when they looked upon Innate-Realm martial artists again, they would probably feel quite differently.
The journey took two days in all. Throughout it, the Innate-Realm experts trailed the convoy at either end, gliding slowly through the air with an indescribably proud and commanding bearing. Among the Xu descendants inside the carriages, some watched with yearning, some with fear, and others with ambition.
Eighteen Innate-Realm experts had come on this trip, creating such an intimidating presence that no one foolish enough to attempt a robbery appeared along the road. The journey passed smoothly, and by the evening of the second day, all the horses gave a long neigh at once. They had arrived at Denglin Prefecture, where the Xu main family was located.
The convoy stopped at the city gate. Night had already fallen, and the gates were closed.
One of the Innate-Realm experts leading the procession stood with his hands behind his back and called in a clear voice, “The young prospects from the Xu family’s Fenglin branch have arrived. Please open the city gate at once!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a man flew out from the high city tower. Astonishingly, he too was an Innate-Realm expert. His eyes shone like torches as his gaze swept over the front and rear of the convoy. Xu Ziqing and several Xu descendants sharing his carriage had just leaned out to look at the city gate when that gaze passed over them, and a chill instantly ran through their bodies. The strength of an Innate-Realm expert truly was extraordinary.
The man laughed loudly. “Who’s calling at the gate today?”
The Innate-Realm expert from earlier cupped his fists. “So Brother Xu Qiao is on duty today. Xiao Han pays his respects.”
Xu Qiao also cupped his fists. “The younger generation truly is formidable. Brother Xiao has reached the Innate Realm at such a young age. That is what makes this Xu admire you.”
Although Xiao Han was proud by nature, he still showed some courtesy to Xu Qiao, who was both a fellow Innate-Realm expert and a member of the Xu family. “I have important duties to attend to and cannot keep the Immortal Masters waiting. Another day, I’ll invite Brother Xu for a drink.”
Xu Qiao’s expression shifted. “Indeed. When the time comes, I’ll be sure to drink my fill with you.” Then he waved a hand. “Open the city gate!”
The city gates swung open, and all the Innate-Realm experts descended to the ground. Denglin Prefecture was full of people with prospects for the immortal path, so they did not dare fly about casually here.
The convoy entered in single file. When Xu Ziqing looked outside again, he saw that the roads were paved entirely in bluestone, giving the city a solemn air. The streets were four or five times wider than those of Fenglin City, with countless shops lining both sides. Many pedestrians moved either silently and lightly or with bold, vigorous strides, and every one of them seemed to possess martial skill.
Compared with Denglin Prefecture, Fenglin City truly was no more than a small place.
Within Denglin Prefecture, on the finest stretch of land in the east, the sprawling residence of the Xu main family seemed to stretch across half the horizon.
The moment the carriages stopped, the Xu descendants were asked to disembark. Only then did they get a clear look at the Xu family’s main gate. No one knew what material it had been made from, but it stood dozens of meters high and more than ten meters wide. The family gate was scarcely inferior to the city gate itself.
Side gates stood on either side, because the Xu main family was not a place one could enter casually. Apart from those whose spiritual roots had already been confirmed and honored guests coming and going, ordinary people were not permitted to enter through the main gate.
Even when entering by a side gate, these newly arrived youngsters were not allowed to ride in. To show respect for the clan, they had to proceed on foot.
As Xu Ziqing inwardly marveled at the rules of these so-called “ancient” great households, he followed along with the crowd, neither at the front nor the back. After entering through the side gate, they walked for nearly an hour before finally reaching a magnificent hall.
It turned out that the moment they passed through the side gate, they had entered the Xu family’s Outer Hall. The great building before them was the highest-ranking hall within it: the Spirit Observation Hall.
The Xu main family occupied an immense area that was difficult to measure, but it was divided into the Inner Hall and Outer Hall. Only Xu descendants confirmed to possess spiritual roots could enter the Inner Hall, and every steward holding an important position there was a member of the Xu family. The maids and those responsible for miscellaneous work were exceptions. They could also come from smaller families attached to the Xu clan who possessed an immortal affinity, or from rogue cultivators.
The Outer Hall, meanwhile, was managed by Xu family members who lacked an immortal affinity. Some handled the family’s businesses, while others entered the Dao through martial arts and became Acquired- or Innate-Realm experts. There were also martial artists attached to the Xu family, as well as people without an immortal affinity from dependent minor families, who protected the Outer Hall’s businesses and the safety of its people.
During the walk from the side gate to the great hall, a sweetly smiling maid had specially explained the situation of the Inner and Outer Halls to the young descendants. She did not go into detail about their strict hierarchy, but those who connected her words with Xu Mengqian’s earlier explanation of the main family became quietly cautious. Others, however, were so dazzled by the main family’s grandeur that they failed to notice any of it.
The Spirit Observation Hall was where Xu descendants had their spiritual roots tested. Inside stood a fifth-grade formation once laid down by an ancestor of the Xu family. Formations in this world were divided into nine grades, and the fact that the Xu family possessed a fifth-grade formation was enough to demonstrate the depth of its foundations.
Maintaining the formation required the Xu family to spend an enormous, undisclosed fortune. Once the formation was activated, however, testing the spiritual roots of someone carrying Xu blood incurred no further cost. If the person did not possess Xu family blood, the drain on the formation doubled.
After they entered the hall, a middle-aged man strode forward. He was the steward responsible for receiving each group of Xu descendants who came to have their spiritual roots tested, and he held considerable authority in the Outer Hall.
The maid who had brought them there withdrew once her task was complete. After handing the group over to the middle-aged steward, she disappeared from sight. Only then did the young descendants realize that the maid herself was also an expert.
At that moment, an elder spoke from within the hall. “Xu family descendants, come forward to have your spiritual roots tested!”
He was an Inner Hall elder specifically responsible for activating the formation. He emerged from the Inner Hall only when the formation needed to be opened, and his status was highly respected.
The young descendants looked up. The Spirit Observation Hall was incomparably grand, its ceiling rising several zhang overhead. A black moon hovered above the formation disk, scattering specks of black light that seemed profoundly mysterious.
Elio’s Notes: A zhang (丈) is a traditional Chinese unit of length. The source uses it directly for the hall’s height, so I’ve preserved the original unit rather than silently converting it.
Everyone stared in dazzled fascination, almost as though their minds were about to be drawn away by the formation. Only when the Inner Hall elder gave a light cough did they finally come back to themselves.
Xu Ziqing quietly took a step backward. In the world where he had lived before, he had never seen anything so wondrous. He was deeply curious, yet at the same time intimidated by the faint aura leaking from the formation.
Seeing that the young descendants had settled down, the Inner Hall elder turned and sent a beam of blue-green light into the black moon. The moon immediately began to spin wildly. In an instant, black light poured down like a flood, spreading across the entire formation disk. A black curtain of light also appeared in front of the disk, enclosing a square space about two meters across.
At this point, the Inner Hall elder’s aura seemed somewhat diminished, and the middle-aged steward from earlier took over the remaining work.
He called the first name. “Xu Zian, step forward to have your spiritual roots tested.”
A short, stocky boy immediately emerged from among the young descendants. He had an honest-looking face. Somewhat apprehensively, he walked forward a few steps and, at the middle-aged steward’s signal, entered the black curtain of light and nervously closed his eyes.
Xu Ziqing knew him. He was one of Xu Mengqian’s concubine-born sons, though the two of them had never had much to do with one another.
The curtain of light trembled slightly. A white patch of light about the size of a human head appeared above the boy, but it remained pure white, perfectly still, with no further reaction.
The middle-aged steward shook his head. “No spiritual roots. Go stand over there.” He pointed to an open space on the left.
The honest-looking boy showed a trace of disappointment but quickly pulled himself together and walked over to the open area. He truly had no spiritual roots, but that was not necessarily the end of things. Once this round of screening was over, several elders and guest elders from the Outer Hall were said to come looking for disciples suited to martial training. If one of them took an interest in him, he could still remain with the main family.
The middle-aged steward then called, “Xu Zishu, step forward to have your spiritual roots tested.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a pretty young girl stepped out of the crowd. She wore a pale-yellow dress, her hair arranged in two small buns, and looked very charming.
This was Xu Zishu, the girl who had once gossiped with others outside Xu Ziqing’s courtyard. She seemed fairly bold. Although the grandeur of the main family had clearly shaken her somewhat, she had mostly regained her usual liveliness, and her eyes were bright and animated.
She walked gracefully into the curtain of light, her eyes full of expectation.
This time, the curtain reacted differently. A head-sized patch of white light appeared first as before, but in the next instant, it trembled and a multicolored pillar of light as thick as a little finger suddenly emerged from it.
Looking closely, the pillar contained three colors: gold, blue-green, and brown. The blue-green light was the brightest, while the gold and brown were slightly dimmer.
The middle-aged steward’s expression shifted. “Metal, water, and earth spiritual roots. Their thickness is nearly even. Aptitude: lower-middle. Not bad. Go stand on the right.”
At that single “not bad,” Xu Zishu was overjoyed. She skipped cheerfully toward the right-hand side, a hint of pride appearing on her face.
More than ten young descendants were tested after that. Among them were two with five spiritual roots and one with four spiritual roots. Their aptitudes were all rated low or lowest, and they joined Xu Zishu in the area on the right.
Then it was Xu Ziqing’s turn.