Chapter 46: Tests - III

Qing raised his hand and slowly moved it toward the circular Formation embedded in the center of the tablet. ’Now let’s see...’

The moment his palm touched the Formation, the translucent tablet immediately responded, and a strange phenomenon appeared beside him. A small mass of Shadow suddenly formed to his left, its unnatural shape constantly twisting as though the surrounding space itself was being distorted by its presence.

The intensity of the Shadow Element was so great that even Qing could faintly feel the space around it bending. ’I knew it, my greatest affinity is still with the Shadow Element. These newly evolved Spiritual Roots would never be able to surpass that.’

Before Qing could think any further, another mass of Elemental Energy appeared beside the Shadow. This one was also black, but its presence was fundamentally different from the Shadow Element, and its size was noticeably smaller. Qing narrowed his eyes as he carefully observed it before a thought surfaced in his mind. ’Is that the Space Element? Hmm...’

A moment later, several more elemental manifestations appeared around him at the same time. Water, Fire, Wood, and Metal gradually formed around his body, and Qing raised an eyebrow when he noticed that their intensity was almost identical to that of his Shadow affinity.

After them came a brilliant yellow radiance representing Light, followed by a white-colored Element that Qing couldn’t immediately identify. Finally, a deep black manifestation appeared, its darkness blending faintly with the Shadow around it and giving off a completely different sensation from the Shadow Element itself.

Then it stopped.

No additional Element appeared.

The entire test area fell into silence as everyone stared at the numerous elemental manifestations surrounding Qing. Even Qing himself remained slightly surprised because he knew the tablet was not supposed to stop there if it could detect everything he possessed.

The Sect Master, however, seemed to reach a different conclusion as she calmly observed the results before speaking. "I would have called you a Heaven-defying genius after seeing so many Elements, but... you are actually mediocre. No, even less than that. If you possess an affinity with this many Elements, you will need countless years just to reach the Mahayana Realm."

The Sect Master’s words were blunt, but Qing could only raise his head and nod in agreement without saying anything. Her conclusion was actually reasonable according to what she had seen, because cultivating multiple Elements simultaneously would make every major breakthrough far more difficult than it would be for someone with only one or two Elements.

She had no way of knowing that the tablet had already reached the limits of what it could detect, nor that Qing possessed several other Elements that had remained completely invisible to it. "Next, let’s see your Spiritual Roots."

The Sect Master snapped her fingers, and the translucent tablet immediately began floating upward until it stopped at the same height as the floating seats where the Elders were observing the test.

Its body suddenly expanded several times, and lines of information appeared across its translucent surface before the name of Qing’s detected Spiritual Roots became visible to everyone in the surrounding area.

Even disciples standing nearly half the distance across the enormous test area could clearly see the result. The Sect Master, Grand Elders, and Elders all narrowed their eyes as they read the name displayed across the tablet.

"Six Sovereign Spiritual Roots, I see why you possess so many Elemental Affinities."

The Sect Master’s voice echoed throughout the test area as she continued explaining the result. "These Spiritual Roots provide an immense boost to one’s cultivation and grant the ability to wield multiple Elements simultaneously, the last known person to possess these same Spiritual Roots was the Sovereign of the Heavenly Manor in the Immortal Realm, but after a millennium, he suddenly vanished, and no one was ever able to discover where he went."

The revelation immediately caused the surrounding Elders to react. Several of the Grand Elders widened their eyes, while others stared at the tablet with expressions of disbelief. Grand Elder Gin narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the Sect Master and asked, "Sect Master, are you implying that this child possesses the same potential as the Sovereign?"

The Sect Master calmly nodded. "Yes, that is what it means, but his future will depend entirely on his own hard work and the resources available to him. Even with these Spiritual Roots, it could take him a million years to reach the same level of power, especially because he possesses one of the strongest Elements—the Space Element."

Her words caused another wave of astonishment throughout the test area. The Space Element was already considered extraordinarily difficult to comprehend, and combining it with six Sovereign Spiritual Roots made Qing’s potential even more unusual in their eyes.

To them, his path was simultaneously filled with extraordinary potential and unimaginable difficulty. They had no idea that the artifact had only identified a fraction of what actually existed within Qing’s foundation.

Yue, who had been watching everything from the far side of the test area, stared at Qing in disbelief. ’Q-Qing is this talented? I knew he was a genius at Formations, but he is also a heaven-defying genius in combat and possesses such incredible Spiritual Roots?!’

A strange feeling of pride appeared within Yue as she watched him, but it was quickly accompanied by another feeling that she didn’t fully understand. For a brief moment, she felt as though Qing was already moving farther and farther ahead of her, leaving her behind despite how hard she had cultivated.

Yue immediately dismissed the thought instead of allowing it to affect her and returned her attention to the test.

Qing, meanwhile, could only stare at the enlarged tablet floating above him. ’I knew it. That tablet must have reached its limit. Even in the Upper Realm, there probably isn’t a single person who possesses even the Nine Sovereign Spiritual Roots, let alone the Twelve Sovereign Primordial Roots created through the changes brought about by myself and Bifrost.’

A small chuckle sounded within Qing’s mind as he finally felt relieved. He had already noticed that the tablet had failed to detect several of his Elements as well, including the Time Element and other deeper aspects contained within his Primordial Roots. ’That white one must have been the Star Element.’

Before Qing could think any further, the Sect Master’s voice once again attracted his attention.

"Alright, now we will test your Comprehension." The moment she finished speaking, the enlarged tablet automatically compressed back into its original size. It descended toward the levitating platform before sinking into the floor, disappearing completely from sight.

The Sect Master then snapped her fingers once more, and three rolled scriptures suddenly materialized in front of Qing. One was green, another was black, and the third was white, with the white scripture positioned on the far left.

"Choose one of these scriptures and attempt to comprehend only the first page. Once you succeed, all of your tests will be complete, and you will qualify to become a disciple of our Sect."

Qing nodded as he examined the three scriptures. His gaze remained on them for only a moment before his hand suddenly reached toward the black scripture, which radiated a faint but distinctly ominous aura.

The moment his fingers touched it, Qing’s expression remained calm, but his eyes became colder, ’Trying to set me up during the final test, I see, she really is colluding with the Demons.’ He immediately knew all the three scriptures were same, just the exterior looked different, trying to fool him completely.

Qing gritted his teeth but said nothing as he firmly grasped the black scripture. He already understood exactly what it was, and the knowledge only made his killing intent rise slightly. ’This is a Dreamland Scripture created by the Demons. Once someone opens it, their consciousness will be drawn into an artificial dimension created by Demonic techniques. Damn bitch... I will kill you and rescue my Master. I just need some time.’