"Oh, it's you. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you. Thought you might not be coming." The golden-crowned youth remarked upon seeing Leo.

  "You jest, senior. I have painstakingly gathered the required spiritual items precisely to join the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Why would I not come?" Leo replied.

  "Junior Brother Houth, you know him?" The thin woman asked.

  "I've seen him once. This kid is rather strange. He collected a bunch of spiritual herbs needed by Verdant Pill Palace but sold them all off to join our Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Isn't that odd?" The golden-crowned youth chuckled.

  "Is that so?" The elderly man named Sam suddenly emitted a piercing gaze from his eyes, like two golden sword beams stabbing towards Leo.

  Leo felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he were walking naked through a frozen wasteland. Beneath the old man's gaze, he felt he had nowhere to hide. The disparity in their cultivation was too vast; Leo couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance and could only endure it.

  "Go register." After a long moment, the elderly man named Sam withdrew his gaze and said expressionlessly.

  "Senior Brother Sam, do you find this boy suspicious?" The short, dark old man at the table, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

  "Indeed. The demonic sects have been stirring lately. The Palace Master has repeatedly ordered us to be vigilant against demonic spies infiltrating the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. We must be cautious with anyone of questionable origin." The elderly man named Sam nodded.

  The golden-crowned youth, Houth, glanced at the spiritual root test results and couldn't help but laugh. "Even if they wanted to send a spy, they'd send someone decent, at least with some strength. This kid is a bit peculiar, but he's certainly no gifted genius. At best, he might reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining in his lifetime. There are tens of thousands of Qi Refining cultivators in the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Even if he were a spy, what trouble could he possibly cause?"

  Seeing that the colors on the jade plate showing Leo's spiritual roots were still jumping and showed no sign of stopping, the elderly man named Sam looked astonished and couldn't help but feel a twinge of embarrassment. It seemed he had been overly cautious.

  "May this senior enlighten this junior—what spiritual roots do I have?" Leo was also somewhat perplexed. The black-robed old man had tested him before but couldn't explain it. He was no longer a novice just entering the cultivation world; he knew the importance of spiritual roots. Since these were powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators sent by a major sect, they should surely know more.

  "This..." A flicker of embarrassment crossed the elderly man's face. He had never witnessed such a strange phenomenon during a spiritual root test. "Your spiritual roots are indescribable, unclear. They don't resemble any of the inherited spiritual roots. I cannot explain it either. However, since you have completed our Palace's sect task, you have some fates with our Palace. Perhaps you could try techniques of various elements and see which one suits you best. That should be the element corresponding to your roots."

  "Alright, the test is done. Go wait in the small courtyard out front. When we've finished testing and registering all the new disciples, we'll notify you when it's time to leave." The elderly man named Sam was unwilling to waste more time on Leo.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  After seeing Leo's poor spiritual roots, the menial Qi Refining disciple couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids. With such mediocre aptitude, even if he managed to sneak into the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, he would never amount to anything.

  Leo rubbed his nose and, following the menial disciple's guide, left the pavilion and entered the small courtyard below. There were already twenty-five or six cultivators in the yard. The oldest was a fat, elderly man dressed like a country squire, at the late stage of Qi Refining.

  Van Gus, who had clashed with him earlier, seemed to have met some acquaintances and was chatting amiably with several other cultivators from Moonwatch Immortal City families. Freed from the oppressive atmosphere of the Foundation Establishment seniors in the pavilion, Van Gus immediately reverted to his true colors. He sneered at Leo, "Oh, so it's you. I was wondering who dared to be so arrogant in front of me before. Turns out you're just some guy who doesn't even know his own spiritual roots. How pathetic. I don't know how you've managed to get this far."

  "What? Doesn't even know his spiritual roots?" The other cultivators from cultivation families burst into laughter.

  A sharp glint flashed in Leo's eyes, but this was no place for a fight. The glint disappeared as quickly as it came, and Leo, seemingly oblivious to Van Gus's words, found himself a corner and sat down.

  Over half of the people in the courtyard came from Moonwatch Immortal City's cultivation families. Only a few were of loose cultivators origin. People like Van Gus, with the help of family resources, found it much easier to gather the spiritual items required for sect tasks than ordinary loose cultivators.

  Aside from these old acquaintances gathering together, the other scattered cultivators formed small, separate groups. The two sides were clearly demarcated.

  The red-faced man from earlier had also finished his registration and entered the yard. Seeing Van Gus's arrogant demeanor, he snorted, but noticing the man had plenty of friends, he didn't approach Leo too closely this time.

  They had only met by chance, so Leo didn't expect him to share any sense of solidarity. He briefly scanned the cultivators around him, then closed his eyes and began to meditate. He had recently advanced to the sixth layer of Qi Refining and had consumed quite a few pills over the past two days. The boundary space was filled with floating spiritual energy. He needed to refine this energy as quickly as possible to consolidate his current cultivation.

  After completing one cycle, he heard a fawning remark that piqued his curiosity. Opening his eyes, he saw a sturdy youth dressed almost like a farmer, with a strong, rustic air about him. The youth ingratiatingly produced a Fire Spirit Stone and offered it to the young menial cultivator who had tested their spiritual roots earlier. "Big brother, a small token, just a little something. Could I ask you about something, big brother?"

  "What 'big brother'? I joined before you, and my cultivation is higher than most of yours. My surname is Hawk. You should call me Senior Brother Hawk. One low-grade spirit stone? You giving alms to a beggar?" The menial cultivator, Hawk, scolded with a stern face.

  The family cultivators burst into raucous laughter, with Van Gus and a young man surnamed Lucin laughing the hardest.

  The sturdy youth's face flushed with embarrassment, his already dark complexion turning a deep, mottled purple. This sturdy youth was named Kael. Originally a peasant, he had stumbled onto the path of cultivation by accident. After several life-and-death ordeals in the Moonwatch Mountain Range, and nearly exhausting all his spirit stones, he had narrowly managed to collect the necessary spiritual items. He had only a few low-grade spirit stones left. Forcing himself to offer one, only to be mocked like this, filled him with shame and indignation. He didn't dare argue with the cultivator named Hawk and retreated in dejection.

  "Senior Brother Hawk, I'm Van Gus. A small token of my esteem, please accept it." Van Gus took out ten low-grade spirit stones and pressed them into the sturdy youth's hand.

  "Well said, well said." Senior Brother Hawk's eyes lit up. People from families really knew the ropes, understood the rules, and were generous. But these spirit stones were only enough for a few questions. If he were asked to do anything, he would absolutely refuse.

  "When I came to register earlier, I saw four Foundation Establishment seniors chatting and laughing in that pavilion. May I ask, Senior Brother, who are these four seniors? What do they like or dislike? We'd like to avoid offending them or crossing any taboos." Van Gus asked with a flattering smile, still shaken from being scolded by Old Man Sam earlier. This was why he was so attentive to this matter.

  At Van Gus's question, everyone else perked up their ears. What Van Gus wanted to know was exactly what everyone else wanted to know.

  Senior Brother Hawk had also endured countless hardships to join the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Seeing the expressions of the disciples in the yard, he understood their thoughts perfectly. But Van Gus was the one paying. Why should he let others easily find out? He leaned close to Van Gus and whispered a few words.

  "Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother Hawk. I'm deeply grateful." Van Gus said with profound feeling.

  "No need. You paid, so it's only natural I give you a few tips. Unlike some stingy disciples who not only want something for nothing but also try to freeload off others. Since when does the world work that way?" Senior Brother Hawk snorted and pocketed the spirit stones.