"...Why does the common name sound more like a scholarly name than the scholarly name itself?" Lu Yang muttered under his breath from behind.
"Because the very first senior with a Pure Yang Spiritual Root called his own root the Bachelor Spiritual Root." Yun Zhi's cultivation was unfathomably deep; Lu Yang's quiet mutterings were no different from speaking directly into her ear, heard with crystal clarity.
Yun Zhi paused, then added, "The cultivation world has a tradition of respecting bachelor seniors."
As if saying this extra sentence lent her explanation more weight.
Meng Jingzhou naturally passed the first trial, and after him came Lu Yang.
"Huh?! Another single spiritual root?!" Dai Bufan's pupils constricted slightly. Just a moment ago, he had been grumbling about toiling for half a day without seeing a single one, and now two had shown up back-to-back.
"Me? A single spiritual root?" Lu Yang pointed at himself, his heart thumping wildly. He felt as though he were hearing things, yet the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.
"That's right. You have a mutated single spiritual root—a Sword Spiritual Root." Dai Bufan nodded affirmatively. He had never made a mistake when checking root bones.
A Sword Spiritual Root: a born sword seed, unstoppable and peerless in offensive might!
Eldest Senior Sister Yun Zhi cast a slightly surprised glance at Lu Yang. Agreeing to ride in the carriage had merely been an idle whim; she had not expected both people aboard to be top-tier cultivation geniuses.
The gazes of the onlookers grew increasingly fervent. Many began calculating the marriageable young women of matching age in their clans, itching to spirit Lu Yang away and marry him into their backing factions as a matrilocal son-in-law.
Unlike Meng Jingzhou, who was backed by the Meng Clan, Lu Yang was clearly of mortal origin, with no faction behind him.
Supreme talent and zero backing—he was practically the ideal candidate to marry into a prominent family.
Most importantly, he could actually get married and father children!
Lu Yang sensed the strange looks everyone was giving him and hurried on to the second trial.
Behind Dai Bufan lay a bamboo forest, where the second trial was to take place.
"Well? What kind of spiritual root do you have?" Meng Jingzhou had quickly shaken off the gloom of having a Bachelor Spiritual Root and eagerly questioned Lu Yang.
So what if he had a Bachelor Spiritual Root? The path to immortality was paved with withered bones, and female beauty was nothing more than a pink skeleton! What need did he have for pretty fairy maidens at his side? He didn't need them at all!
Lu Yang, on the other hand—though he had passed the first trial, a transcendent talent like Meng Jingzhou surely came only once a generation. Lu Yang was probably just at the dual spiritual root level.
As a peerless genius with a single spiritual root, Meng Jingzhou felt obligated to show care for mediocre talents.
"A Sword Spiritual Root."
"Fuck your grandmother."
"Huh?" Lu Yang was completely baffled.
Another half a day passed, and the applicants queued behind trickled into the second trial one after another as Dai Bufan weeded out everyone whose root bones failed to meet the standard.
Overhearing the chatter from behind, it seemed a few more candidates with unusual constitutions had turned up. Before Lu Yang could inquire about the details, Eldest Senior Sister Yun Zhi appeared before the crowd. She tossed out an airy sentence—"The second trial begins now"—and then vanished on the spot, leaving everyone thoroughly bewildered.
A thick mist gradually rose, swirling like smoke and rolling like waves, surging like water to shroud everything in the bamboo forest beneath a vast veil of gauze.
Instinctively, the applicants tried to struggle, but it did little good. Their limbs went limp, and their consciousness steadily sank.
This was the Illusion Bamboo Forest, a component of the sect protection array—how could people like them hope to resist it?
Yun Zhi casually traced a circle with her hand, dispelling the mist and clearing an open space. The disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect stood respectfully behind her.
Dai Bufan chuckled. "Once they sink into the Illusion Bamboo Forest, they forget their identities, forget the test, and forget everything else, leaving them to react purely on instinct. I just wonder how many will pass the second trial this time."
"Hopefully more will pass. There are several promising sprouts in this batch; it would be a shame if they stumbled on the second trial."
The reason Yun Zhi had not expelled Meng Jingzhou and Lu Yang from the trials was that the leaked test questions Meng Jingzhou had purchased were not from this year at all, but from twenty years ago.
"Who knows which elder sold them."
"Junior Brother Dai, who do you think will pass the second trial?"
"Naturally that ancient barbarian. The ancient barbarian tribe is renowned for their simple and pure hearts; his disposition is beyond question."
"I think that Bachelor Spiritual Root and the Sword Spiritual Root look quite promising too. You can tell they're honest men at first glance."
Recalling how Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had schemed to cheat inside the carriage, Yun Zhi felt that neither of them had anything to do with being 'honest.'
...
"Where am I?" The burly youth from the ancient barbarian tribe was named Man Gu. He looked around in confusion, having forgotten what had just happened.
Holding a worn-out axe in his hand, he stood beside a river. The water rippled with glistening light, exceptionally lovely.
Man Gu's hand slipped, and the worn axe tumbled into the river. Just as he leaned down to fish it out, bubbles began gurgling up from the water, multiplying and swelling until a fountain surged skyward. An ethereal, divine figure appeared, with three axes of differing designs floating before him.
"Young man, I am the river spirit. Did you drop this worn-out axe, or this spiritual tool, the Mountain Cleaving Axe, or perhaps this immortal tool, the Heaven Splitting Axe?"
The spiritual tool Mountain Cleaving Axe and the immortal tool Heaven Splitting Axe were two illustrious weapons throughout the Central Continent. Even an untalented mortal who obtained either of them could soar to the heavens and become a titanic figure.
Man Gu blurted out, "The worn-out axe."
The river spirit offered a gentle smile. "What an honest young man. In that case, all three axes are yours."
Man Gu passed the second trial.
"See? I told you Man Gu would pass the second trial. Now let me see how the Bachelor Spiritual Root and the Sword Spiritual Root choose." Dai Bufan watched on with great interest.
The second trial tested honesty, and the requirement to pass was obtaining all three axes.
The river spirit was no illusion; he was born from the river encircling the bamboo forest, a naturally bred spirit of heaven and earth.
He divided himself into countless incarnations to enter the illusions and test each candidate.
The river spirit favored honest people. There was only one way to pass the second trial: answer his question honestly so that he would bestow all three axes upon you.
...
"Huh? Why did my axe fall into the river?" Lu Yang found it odd; he felt as though some inexplicable force had compelled him to drop it.
The river spirit appeared once again and inquired warmly, "Young man, I am the river spirit. Did you drop this worn-out axe, or this spiritual tool, the Mountain Cleaving Axe, or perhaps this immortal tool, the Heaven Splitting Axe?"
Lu Yang squatted down, his gaze sweeping across the three axes. He looked up at the river spirit as if staring at a fool, his eyes dripping with pity. "Two of those axes belong to you. Don't you know which two axes you own, that you have to turn around and ask me?"
The river spirit's smile stiffened. For a moment, he had no idea what to say, so he could only play along. "I indeed do not know which two axes are mine."
Lu Yang eyed the river spirit warily. "Then if I pick an axe, don't you go suddenly regaining your memory and claiming you remembered which two were yours."
"Absolutely not," the river spirit vowed solemnly.
"Hand all three axes over and let me have a look."
The river spirit passed all three axes to Lu Yang.
Lu Yang casually flicked his wrist and tossed all three axes straight into the river. "Now, could you ask that question again?"
By reflex, the river spirit asked, "Did you drop the worn-out axe, or the spiritual tool Mountain Cleaving Axe, or perhaps the immortal tool Heaven Splitting Axe?"
A beaming smile spread across Lu Yang's face. "I dropped all of them."
River Spirit: "..."
Gritting his teeth, the river spirit said, "What an honest young man. In that case, all three axes are yours."
Chapter 3