Chapter 64 - 64 The Unashamed Wei Martial Spirit
The next day, Tianxiang Pavilion reopened for business.
Yu Qingtan also began working again.
However, possibly because the beast tide had just ended, business within the inner pavilion was rather bleak.
In contrast, the outer pavilion’s business was booming.
Perhaps cultivators who had experienced life-and-death crises needed to let off steam.
After becoming a core disciple, Yu Qingtan gained more freedom and simply chose not to perform dances during these days.
Her commute was spent squeezing in time to study and learn the Spiritual Tailoring Skill legacy that Li Xingruo had given her.
This was a rather complete legacy of first-stage Spirit Tailoring, including the foundational twenty-seven Artifact Bans, while Wen Jin had only learned nine of them.
The minimum number of Artifact Bans for low, medium, and high-grade first-stage garments were nine, eighteen, and twenty-seven respectively.
Yu Qingtan, who had reached a minor level of proficiency in Spiritual Tailoring Skill under the guidance of Wen Jin, quickly mastered the nine Artifact Bans she knew and then began attempting to create Magic Artifact garments.
With the materials purchased by Steward Liao, Yu Qingtan, after more than ten attempts, finally made her first piece of low-grade first-stage Magic Artifact clothing using the Shadowless Needle.
A brassiere.
After all, she had the skill to make brassieres.
This was her fourth day back at work, which coincided with the grand opening of Zhi Lan Pavilion in Suichuan Immortal City.
Wen Jin was appointed by Tower Master Gongsun Yurong as the manager of the Zhi Lan Pavilion.
At the same time, Gongsun Yurong designated a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator from Tianxiang Pavilion, who was also a first-stage high-grade Spirit Tailor, as the technical director of Zhi Lan Pavilion.
On its opening day, Zhi Lan Pavilion was extremely popular, with prepared merchandise selling out by midday.
This was because Gongsun Yurong directly invited the City Lord’s wife, the wives of the heads of the three major families, and Meng Xiyao, the deacon of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, to the opening ceremony.
Thanks to the Magic Artifact-grade brassieres given as gifts, all invitees arrived.
With such a turnout, how could it not be popular?
Unfortunately, Yu Qingtan was unable to attend.
Nevertheless, she received a Communication Talisman from Han Daniu of the Green Wolf Gang, informing her that the profits from Golden Spear Pill had been placed in a certain residence.
Furthermore, with the Green Wolf Gang’s Hall Master of the Medicinal Hall perishing in the beast tide and his advancement to the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation, he became the new Hall Master of the Medicinal Hall within the Green Wolf Gang.
That evening, Yu Qingtan quietly left her home using the Invisibility Technique and the Breath-Concealing Technique, made her way to that residence, retrieved a Storage Talisman, and left behind a new Communication Talisman.
Indeed, Communication Talismans could only be used once, so they were not widely utilized.
The second-stage Message-Transmitting Flying Sword, on the other hand, could be used repeatedly because it would fly back after delivering a message, though generally only Foundation Establishment cultivators could afford them.
Once back home, she opened the Storage Talisman and found ten Medium Grade Spirit Stones, a Communication Talisman, and a letter inside.
The letter expressed gratitude and admiration for Qingtan.
The profits from Golden Spear Pill were not that substantial; Han Daniu had added some himself, rounded it up, and even specifically converted it into Medium Grade Spirit Stones.
Yu Qingtan smiled wryly.
Upon opening the system panel, she indeed saw Affection Value +1, and the list of Devotees gained an additional line. Your next read is at m v|l-e’m,p| y- r
[Han Daniu, Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, 80 Spirit Stones for a quarter of an hour]
…
The following day, another major event occurred in Suichuan Immortal City.
Sunset Gate and Tianxiang Valley were hosting a large-scale disciple recruitment event.
Li Xingruo and Wen Jin were still in Suichuan Immortal City, also due to this matter.
The disciple recruitment was held once every five years, targeting children aged five to ten.
However, due to this year’s beast tide, Sunset Gate and Tianxiang Valley suffered numerous losses among their cultivators, so they significantly lowered the recruitment standards and also took in a certain number of young Loose Cultivators.
The news had already spread throughout the Immortal City days ago, with many cultivators full of anticipation.
Even if the parents are cultivators, the chances of children having a Spirit Root may only be slightly higher, but the quality of the Spirit Root is entirely random.
Therefore, many loose cultivators who have no hope in their own cultivation pin their hopes on their children having an exceptional Spirit Root.
Early in the morning, Hao Can and a woman brought a little boy to a huge square on the west side of the Immortal City.
The woman, clad in plain robes, exuded a charming grace, and although she wore a veil, her large, captivating eyes could hook one’s soul.
She was none other than the widow of the former leader of the Adventure Group that Hao Can used to belong to, Jiang Jinyue.
The little round-faced boy beside her was her nine-year-old son, Shen Tinglan.
Although they arrived early, there were already quite a few people in the square.
The three of them went to the registration desk to register Shen Tinglan, and then they waited.
"Can Brother, do you think Tinglan will have a good Spirit Root?" Jiang Jinyue stroked her son’s head, her eyes filled with concern.
"Sister-in-law, Tinglan will surely have an exceptional Spirit Root and will definitely be able to join Sunset Gate!" Hao Can comforted her, but in truth, he was unsure, as Spirit Roots could only be detected with special magic artifacts or formations.
Ever since he had started to take care of the late group leader’s wife and child, he had encountered many opportunities and resolved many troubles.
Some friends had advised him to take Jiang Jinyue as his woman, and she might not have refused. However, his savior’s body was not yet cold, and it would be a shameless act for him, Hao Can, to do such a thing.
"Mother, I don’t want to join Sunset Gate, I want to join Tianxiang Valley."
At that moment, Shen Tinglan looked toward the high stage in front and spoke out loud.
On the stage, to the left, a flag bearing the name Sunset Gate flapped in the wind in front of a white-clad young man who sat with his eyes closed, while on the right, a flag bearing the name Tianxiang Valley stood in front of two lovely women in conversation.
They were Sunset Gate’s sword cultivator Zhuge Jian and Tianxiang Valley’s true disciples Li Xingruo and Wen Jin.
"Hey, this kid has good taste; I also wish for my son to join Tianxiang Valley. The trouble is, Tianxiang Valley mainly recruits female disciples, and boys have a chance only if they have exceptional talent." A young male cultivator standing next to them said upon hearing Shen Tinglan’s words, his eyes, however, drifting towards Jiang Jinyue.
Without changing his expression, Hao Can stepped in front of Jiang Jinyue and said, "Tinglan, indeed, it is harder to get into Tianxiang Valley. Let’s consider Sunset Gate instead."
"No, I want to go to Tianxiang Valley."
"Pfft, that’s laughable. You think you’re picking cabbages? Don’t end up with such poor aptitude that no one wants you," another chubby woman sneered.
"You..."
"Hao Brother, let it go," Jiang Jinyue said, holding back Hao Can, who was about to erupt in anger.
By this time, the crowd in the square had swelled to over ten thousand, and more cultivators kept arriving.
"Silence, the apprentice-acceptance ceremony begins now!"
A loud voice rang out, belonging to the leader of the first Enforcement Team of the City Lord’s Mansion, Ouyang Wuqing.
The apprentice-acceptance ceremony was presided over by him.
After he spoke, various colored spiritual lights appeared on the reserved empty ground, forming intricate patterns before gradually fading away, leaving behind ten equidistant circles.
This was the Spirit Testing Formation.
A member of the Enforcement Team loudly called out ten names.
Then, ten children, guided by another member of the Enforcement Team, walked to the centers of the ten circles.
After standing in position for three breaths, the circles emitted gold, green, blue, red, and brownish-yellow lights, occupying different areas of the five sectors.
These represented the five types of Spirit Roots—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—and their respective affinity values.
Among the ten children, three possessed affinity values below fifty for all five types of Spirit Roots, indicating almost no aptitude for cultivation, and were termed as having false Spirit Roots.
There were two with inferior quad-Spirit Roots, two with inferior triple-Spirit Roots, one with an inferior dual-Spirit Root, one with a medium and two inferior triple-Spirit Roots, and one with two medium and one inferior triple-Spirit Roots.
The fewer the Spirit Roots with high affinity values, the better the cultivation aptitude—take for example Ge Wenxiong’s exceptional single Metal Spirit Root.
"None of these children have remarkable Spirit Roots," Shen Wanning said to Qing Tan.