Within the jade wall, a faint thread of green light kindled at the core. At first it resembled a single blade of emerald grass. Then it transformed into green radiance that spread continuously outward, while the color itself grew paler and paler.
In the end, the entire jade wall took on an extremely light green hue, gentle and peaceful, as though it had merely been veiled in a layer of green gauze. The color was thin and hazy, yet still completely pure, perfectly even in shade, without the slightest flaw.
“The jade wall has no mixed colors! Could this be another single spiritual root?”
“This Xu Ziqing actually has a single spiritual root too! And an even rarer single Wood spiritual root!”
“The Rogue Cultivator Alliance has produced two single spiritual roots this year!”
“Since when have single spiritual roots become so common? This is unbelievable!”
“The Rogue Cultivator Alliance has stolen the limelight this time. Where does that leave the dignity of us great sects and famous schools…?”
The feeling was different from when Su Xin had shocked everyone just before. Su Xin’s case had been surprising, but his roots had ultimately been purified with the Scarlet Flame Fruit. This little-known “Xu Ziqing,” however, was entirely different. No one had ever heard his name before, and the moment he appeared, he caused such a sensation. How could people not begin talking?
Moreover, Xu Ziqing’s spiritual root was a genuine natural single spiritual root.
Tang Wenfei’s brows moved slightly. “Young Friend Xu, since your aptitude is that of a single thin spiritual root, you should have been holding a green ruyi rather than a white one.”
Xu Ziqing replied humbly, “I was tested once in the past and judged to have the lowest aptitude. This junior did not know the truth was otherwise. Please forgive me, Senior Tang.”
Tang Wenfei gave a cold laugh. “I don’t know what crude testing method they used, but it was truly ignorant and shallow!” Yet when he addressed Xu Ziqing, his voice softened somewhat. “Very well. Go sit beside Young Friend Su. Since the two of you both belong to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, I imagine you’ll find it easier to speak with one another.”
Xu Ziqing bowed with a smile. “Many thanks, Senior Tang.” After speaking, he turned and walked toward the right side.
Unlike Su Xin’s fiery momentum, Xu Ziqing moved neither quickly nor slowly, natural and composed. His words and actions were gentle and refined, making him seem warm and approachable at first sight.
Xu Ziqing had only just sat down beside Su Xin when Su Xin punched him lightly on the shoulder.
Su Xin scolded him with a grin. “You actually kept this from me. Brother Ziqing, that’s hardly loyal of you!”
Xu Ziqing shook his head with a smile. “I truly didn’t know. How could I have been hiding it from you?”
Su Xin raised a brow. “Even if you didn’t hide this, you’ve hidden other things. Tell me, who was the idiot who judged you to have the lowest aptitude? That was unbelievably careless.”
Xu Ziqing sighed softly. “Those are old matters, tangled up in too many things. I’ve already put them behind me. It isn’t that I refuse to tell you. I simply don’t know where I would begin…”
Su Xin was not truly trying to dig up Xu Ziqing’s past. After teasing him a few times, he let the matter drop and said with a laugh, “Our Rogue Cultivator Alliance has really made a name for itself today. Brother Ziqing, those so-called famous sects have always looked down on us. Just look at their faces now. It’s wonderfully satisfying!”
Xu Ziqing glanced around and smiled as well. “Brother Su, don’t be too ostentatious. Senior Tang is still watching.”
Only then did Su Xin restrain himself somewhat, though the delight in his eyes and brows remained impossible to hide.
Two single spiritual roots had appeared one after another today, both from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance. If the other favored talents had merely felt some jealousy before, they no longer knew what to think. The seniors sent by the other sects to protect their disciples were likewise filled with differing calculations.
The people most deeply moved by the situation, however, were the Xu siblings, especially Xu Zitang.
She had recognized Xu Ziqing the moment he stood up to test his spiritual root.
Back when the conflict between the Tian and Xu families had first begun intensifying, no one in the Xu family had imagined how badly the situation would eventually turn against them. Nor had they known that the Tian family’s wolfish ambition had existed for so long, waiting only for the right moment to destroy the Xu family completely.
Xu Zitang had been rescued by a green-robed youth in the secret realm. She had assumed she would surely find him once she returned to the Xu family, only to discover that the young man had vanished without a trace. They searched for some time, and Family Head Xu Zhengtian was just preparing to investigate within the clan when the Tian family launched its assault. The matter was gradually set aside.
Who could have expected that she would meet that green-robed youth again here on Wolong Peak?
At last Xu Zitang could clearly see his face. Just as his bearing suggested, he was elegant and gentle. What she had never imagined was that he actually possessed a single Wood spiritual root.
She could not help wondering whether the young man had never truly been a member of the Xu family and had lied to them back then, or whether the Xu family had unknowingly lost such an extraordinarily gifted talent.
And the name “Xu Ziqing” also felt extremely familiar to her.
Xu Zitang’s elder brother, Xu Zifeng, was similarly shaken. He too remembered the name. Although the memory had grown somewhat blurred, he could still recall that years ago someone had taken a small boy named “Xu Ziqing” hostage in order to threaten him. For the sake of the family’s interests, Xu Zifeng had abandoned the boy. He knew his choice had not been wrong, yet that did not mean he had never thought about it. A member of the Xu family had died because of the Tian family while Xu Zifeng stood nearby and could only abandon him. To Xu Zifeng, that had also been proof of his own powerlessness.
Thinking carefully now, that boy had indeed left an impression somewhat similar to this Xu Ziqing. Could he have encountered some other fortunate opportunity? If that were truly the case, then Xu Zifeng had allowed a peerless genius capable of revitalizing the family to slip away for nothing. Whoever had misjudged Xu Ziqing’s aptitude back then would absolutely have to be punished severely.
But were these two Xu Ziqings really the same person?
The brother and sister each had their own thoughts, and both wore rather complicated expressions.
They exchanged a glance. Xu Zitang sent her elder brother a voice transmission about being rescued in the secret realm. Xu Zifeng frowned slightly and found the possibility even more likely. Yet back then he had stood by while Xu Ziqing’s dantian was destroyed. Xu Ziqing had now joined the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and was even close with its Young Alliance Leader. It would probably be extremely difficult to win him back.
Whatever the Xu siblings were thinking, Xu Ziqing himself did not dwell much on the matter.
His and Su Xin’s positions had already been settled. Unlike the other cultivators, they no longer had anything to worry about. They only needed to wait for everyone else’s spiritual-root tests to finish before entering Tenglong Peak together.
After a little while longer, Tang Wenfei had examined everyone’s spiritual roots. Aside from the unexpected result with Xu Ziqing, there was nothing else unusual among the remaining cultivators.
Even one exception was already quite satisfactory. Tang Wenfei showed a faint smile and rose. “Many thanks for your cooperation. We may now enter Tenglong Peak.”
The cultivators all stood. They had feared that more tests might follow and had been on edge, but now it seemed this had merely been a routine procedure. Their hearts eased, and many let out relieved breaths.
Tang Wenfei then said, “Any accompanying seniors of those who were not admitted on the basis of spiritual roots may not enter the peak. Say your farewells here.”
Many experts at Foundation Establishment or above stepped out from among the group. Behind the few cultivators standing on the right, however, there was still one senior accompanying each. Elder Peng and Elder Wu had originally expected one of them to return, but now that Xu Ziqing had unexpectedly been revealed as possessing a single Wood spiritual root, both could remain.
Whether Elder Peng or Elder Wu, both were delighted by this unexpected turn concerning Xu Ziqing.
The high-level cultivators who had stepped out bade farewell to their respective juniors and companions, then summoned winds and leapt onto the cloud road. The cloud road carried them aloft and swiftly away.
Those remaining turned toward Tang Wenfei and quietly awaited his next words.
Tang Wenfei smiled. “If any of you have beast companions, you should make contact with them now. Otherwise, I’m afraid they won’t be able to enter Tenglong Peak with you.”
At once, everyone looked at one another.
Xu Ziqing looked somewhat embarrassed, realizing the words were directed at him. He curled his fingers and gave a sharp whistle.
A fierce wind immediately tore through the air as a dark shadow plunged down at great speed. With a whoosh, it shot to Xu Ziqing and stopped before him.
Xu Ziqing again!
Everyone turned at once and saw a magnificent eagle covered in golden feathers standing proudly upon Xu Ziqing’s right shoulder. Its imposing appearance was enough to draw sincere admiration.
Xu Ziqing composed himself and apologized. “Many thanks for the reminder, Senior Tang.”
Tang Wenfei nodded slightly, unconcerned. “Everyone, remain still. I am about to cast a spell.”
Everyone nodded. The next instant, heaven and earth went dark. It felt as though all of them had been swept into an extremely dark place. The surrounding walls were hard, yet when touched, they somehow also seemed soft.
Someone suddenly cried out, “This is ‘Universe in the Sleeve’! Senior Tang’s spell is incredibly profound!”
Xu Ziqing was astonished as well. Could they truly be inside Tang Wenfei’s sleeve right now? He reached out and felt the “wall.” Sure enough, it was very pliable and quite similar to cloth. Yet it was also smooth, and when he tapped it, a sound like metal striking metal rang out.
To sweep several hundred people inside with a single spell, what level of cultivation was required to accomplish such a thing?
The young talents remained inside the sleeve for only a moment. It seemed as though just a few breaths had passed before bright daylight suddenly returned. Their footing shifted, and they dropped from the completely sealed Universe in the Sleeve onto solid ground.
When they looked up again, a great hall stood before them. It appeared to have been carved from a single enormous piece of smooth stone, the entire structure without so much as one visible seam.
How marvelous! Truly workmanship beyond mortal hands!
Before they could marvel for long, the doors of the hall swung open. Beyond them lay a spacious inner hall furnished in an ancient, weighty style. Everything was grand and dignified, without the slightest trace of vulgarity.
Countless long tables filled the inner hall in rows on the left and right. A principal seat stood at the center, with another long table before it identical in size and style to the others.
Tang Wenfei entered the hall and went directly to the principal seat. Lifting the hem of his robe, he sat first.
The cultivators saw that the seating had clearly been arranged by rank and did not take places on their own initiative.
Tang Wenfei spoke first. “Young Friend Su and Young Friend Xu, please take the first two seats on the right. Everyone else may choose their own places.”
With single-spiritual-root aptitude taking precedence, no one could reasonably resent such different treatment. Su Xin took the first seat, while Xu Ziqing sat to his left. The person seated immediately beside Xu Ziqing was Xu Zitang.
Xu Zifeng stepped back and, according to the rules, sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion behind his younger sister.
The seats were not very far apart. Since Xu Zitang possessed dual spiritual roots, one thick and one thin, her sitting there was not improper. Xu Ziqing had always thought rather well of her, yet seeing her hurry over like this gave him a faintly strange feeling. It seemed she had deliberately come for him.
And Xu Zitang had indeed come for him.
The moment she sat down, Xu Zitang turned toward him and spoke softly. “Clan Brother saved my life two years ago. Why did you leave without a word? Zitang searched everywhere for you and truly didn’t know how I could ever repay you.”
Xu Ziqing looked at her, his own expression somewhat complicated.
Among the Xu family, he had always held a fairly good impression of both siblings. Xu Zitang was proud but not unreasonable, while Xu Zifeng was resolute and capable. Even though Xu Zifeng had abandoned him for the sake of the family, Xu Ziqing later gained fortune from disaster, met Brother Yun because of it, and hatched Chonghua. Thus what he had felt was mostly disappointment, not deep resentment.
Yet now he had encountered the two of them again under these circumstances.
Xu Ziqing sighed and said gently, “Miss Zitang, if there is something you wish to ask, then ask.”