"Let us do as Steward Lin said. Junior Sister Luo will take Xu Yuxiu to the inner hall to see Elder Zhao, and the four of us will take the rest where they need to go."
With that, Chen Kuan left with the other three children, leaving only Senior Sister Luo and a silent Xu Yuxiu behind.
"Yuxiu, follow me."
Xu Yuxiu nodded and followed Senior Sister Luo toward the inner hall.
Winding through the crowds, they soon arrived before a large doorway guarded by two disciples.
Seeing someone approach, the two disciples put on stern faces and raised a hand to block their path.
"Greetings, Senior Brothers. I am bringing a newly admitted disciple to see Elder Zhao. Here is the passage token."
Seeing their path blocked, Senior Sister Luo quickly presented the jade token given by Steward Lin.
Hearing her words, a distinct change came over the eyes of the two guards.
In their position, they naturally knew what it meant when someone brought a new disciple straight to Elder Zhao.
The two men cast a glance at Xu Yuxiu standing behind Senior Sister Luo. After verifying that the token was in order, they smiled and said, "The token is fine. Elder Zhao is right inside the inner hall. Go on in."
Senior Sister Luo understood the reason behind their sudden change in attitude.
Yet, she had no idea whether Xu Yuxiu truly possessed the potential the guards were imagining. Even so, she thanked the two guards before leading Xu Yuxiu into the inner hall.
The inner hall was considerably quieter and much less crowded than the outer hall.
Glancing around, Xu Yuxiu saw only a dozen or so people inside, among whom were a few Taixuan Sect disciples like Senior Sister Luo.
Seated high upon the dais at the front of the inner hall was an imposing elder in grey robes.
He must be Elder Zhao.
The hall was dead silent, save for a richly dressed youth standing before Elder Zhao. With fair skin and handsome features, he looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, clearly hailing from a wealthy background.
After looking the youth over for a moment, Elder Zhao spoke: "Earth-Wood dual spiritual root, with the wood root reaching sixty percent quality. You may directly become an inner disciple."
With that, he handed the youth a jade token and waved for him to withdraw.
Accepting the token, the youth's face lit up with joy. He hurriedly bowed to Elder Zhao and then followed the disciple who had brought him out of the inner hall.
Taking it all in, Xu Yuxiu secretly compared the youth's spiritual root with her own. She figured that her spiritual root quality was far superior to his; if he could become an inner disciple, surely she could as well.
With this thought, she felt a renewed sense of confidence.
Next, Elder Zhao evaluated several more people in succession, assessing each one with just a single glance.
Almost all of those examined by Elder Zhao possessed dual spiritual roots, with only one exception who possessed a single spiritual root—the so-called heavenly spiritual root.
Xu Yuxiu also looked closely at the holder of the heavenly spiritual root.
It was a child dressed even more crudely than herself, looking disheveled and unkempt like a beggar, seemingly even younger than her.
"Wood-attribute single spiritual root, and the quality reaches seventy-nine percent. Excellent! Truly excellent!"
Elder Zhao clapped in approval, a flash of brilliant light erupting in his eyes so intensely it seemed to illuminate the entire inner hall.
"What is your name?"
Finally calming his expression and shedding his previous indifference, Elder Zhao asked the young beggar in a kindly tone.
Hearing the elder's question, the young beggar stammered in fear, "Replying to the immortal... this one... this one has no name."
Elder Zhao paused. Seeing the child's fearful demeanor, he quickly understood and refrained from pressing further.
"Stand beside me for now. Afterward, I will personally take you to see the Sect Master."
With that, Elder Zhao beckoned to Xu Yuxiu, signaling her to step forward.
Senior Sister Luo also nodded to Xu Yuxiu, who cautiously walked up to stand before Elder Zhao.
Standing close to Elder Zhao and feeling his presence at near range, she felt as though he were a towering, boundless mountain.
Caught in the gaze of Elder Zhao, she forgot how to breathe.It was impossible to tell how much time had passed when a soft exclamation of surprise reached Xu Yuxiu's ears, snapping her out of her daze. She took several deep breaths before the tightness in her chest finally eased.
"Dual Water and Fire Spiritual Roots, with both root qualities reaching the absolute perfection of ninety-nine."
As Elder Zhao's words registered, Xu Yuxiu looked up and saw that the elder was frowning slightly, as if pondering something.
Seeing Elder Zhao like this made Xu Yuxiu's heart sink with worry.
Earlier, the others had only needed a single glance from Elder Zhao before their assessments were made and their placements decided. But when it came to her, Elder Zhao remained silent for a long time, causing what little confidence Xu Yuxiu had to begin to waver.
Just as her heart was about to hit rock bottom, Elder Zhao suddenly clapped his hands together as though he had just remembered something. "I once read in an ancient text that in ancient times, there was a way to resolve perfect-quality Water and Fire Spiritual Roots. But since the destruction of the ancient era, countless inheritances have been lost. Ah, what a pity!"
Hearing these words and the final sigh, Xu Yuxiu's heart skipped a beat.
"A dual spiritual root of perfect quality, though consisting of water and fire, is no worse than other dual spiritual roots. It is simply destined to make Foundation Establishment difficult, and you will likely remain stuck at the Qi Condensation stage for the rest of your life. You may as well become an outer disciple; it cannot be considered burying your talent. Go on, then."
Elder Zhao waved his hand to signal that she could leave.
Xu Yuxiu said nothing more, silently accepting the arrangement. With a heavy heart, she left the inner hall alongside Senior Sister Luo.
As they reached the doors of the inner hall, the two guards noticed them and proactively inquired, "Which peak is this Junior Sister heading to in the inner sect?"
In their view, anyone emerging from the inner hall was practically already an inner sect disciple. While ordinary inner sect disciples weren't quite enough to make them go out of their way to curry favor, there was no harm in taking the opportunity to get acquainted. On the path of cultivation, having one more dao friend was always better than having one more stranger or enemy.
Hearing the question, Senior Sister Luo didn't quite know how to respond, and Xu Yuxiu naturally remained silent.
"Two Senior Brothers, this Junior Sister has traveled a long way and must be tired. I'll take her to settle into her quarters first, and we can chat another time if the opportunity arises," Senior Sister Luo said politely to the two guards before hurriedly leading Xu Yuxiu away.
Seeing the two of them hurry off, the expressions of the guards turned cold. "An outer disciple and a newcomer to the inner sect—how dare they refuse to give us face. Hmph!"
Guided by Senior Sister Luo, Xu Yuxiu arrived at the outer sect's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
The outer sect's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall was responsible for distributing and exchanging cultivation resources for outer disciples. The interior was vast, with many outer disciples in uniform robes walking in and out, moving between various counters.
Senior Sister Luo brought Xu Yuxiu to one of the counters to handle her initiation procedures, assign her living quarters, and collect the standard items for a new disciple.
The outer disciples of the Taixuan Sect were divided between two peaks: male disciples lived on Xiaoyang Peak, while female disciples resided on Qingzhu Peak.
After Xu Yuxiu's quarters were assigned, the disciple behind the counter produced a storage bag and placed it before her.
"These are the provisions issued to you, all inside this storage bag. Check them yourself; once you leave the counter, we are not responsible."
Hearing this, Xu Yuxiu picked up the palm-sized storage bag, which resembled a small pouch and was made of an unknown material, a troubled look on her face.
Seeing this, Senior Sister Luo explained, "You don't have cultivation yet, so you can only use the storage bag by pressing it against your forehead. Give it a try."
"Thank you, Senior Sister Luo."
Xu Yuxiu thanked Senior Sister Luo, then followed the method she had been taught and pressed the storage bag against her forehead.
Instantly, she felt as though a third eye had opened on her forehead, gazing upon a multitude of items.
Then, with Senior Sister Luo's help, she began checking the contents of the storage bag against the provided list. Once she had verified that everything was correct and accounted for, she carefully tucked the storage bag away into her tunic.