Chapter 56: Competition for a Disciple
Li Changsheng smiled slightly and crouched down, saying, "Here, let me check your aptitude."
Ximen Xiong's face lit up with excitement. Could it be that this cultivator had noticed his extraordinary talent and wanted to introduce him to a sect?
"Heh!" sneered a richly dressed youth at the fourth level of Qi Refining. "Fellow cultivator, you don't actually think there's a genius among these lowly mortals, do you?"
"Exactly," another chimed in. "Only the descendants of cultivators have a real chance of possessing spiritual roots. These lowly mortals are lucky if they even have five-element spiritual roots and reach the third level of Qi Refining!"
The others echoed similar sentiments.
At that moment, Zheng Xuanyue and the young man in luxurious attire also emerged from the cabin and appeared on the deck. They happened to overhear the youths' comments and turned their attention to the corner of the deck with interest.
"Xuanyue, do you think that young sibling pair has spiritual roots of three elements or above?" the young man in luxurious attire asked Zheng Xuanyue, a hint of hidden fervor in his eyes.
Without spiritual roots of at least three elements, it wasn't worth wasting a Foundation Establishment Pill. Even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, those with four or five-element spiritual roots would struggle to progress beyond Foundation Establishment. Only those with three-element spiritual roots or better had the potential to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment or even ascend to the Golden Core stage.
"Highly unlikely," Zheng Xuanyue replied coolly. "In the past thousand years, have you ever heard of a genius emerging from the mortal population?"
"True," the young man in luxurious attire shook his head slightly.
...
Ximen Xiong's face flushed red.
Li Changsheng ignored the comments and placed a finger on Ximen Xiong's arm.
A warm current flowed through Ximen Xiong's arm and quickly spread throughout his body.
"Is this the legendary spiritual energy?" Ximen Xiong's face was filled with delight, and he no longer had any doubt about the identity of the young man in green robes before him. He was definitely a cultivator.
"Immortal Master, how is my aptitude?" Ximen Xiong asked hopefully.
Li Changsheng didn't answer. Instead, he placed a finger on Ximen Xue's arm to check her spiritual roots.
After a moment, Li Changsheng looked at Ximen Xiong with a serious expression and asked, "Are you two really siblings?"
Ximen Xue had indeed given him a pleasant surprise. Not only did she possess the Divine Demon bloodline, but her spiritual roots were also quite good—a dual-element fire and wood spiritual root. Such aptitude would be highly prized even in a Nascent Soul sect.
However, Ximen Xiong not only lacked even a pseudo-spiritual root, but under Li Changsheng's careful examination, there was no trace of the Divine Demon bloodline either.
"Immortal Master, what do you mean?" Ximen Xiong's heart sank as he asked in a low voice.
"You don't have any spiritual roots," Li Changsheng sighed.
Although the truth was harsh for the young man, it was the reality. Without spiritual roots, even if Li Changsheng refined a Marrow Cleansing Pill, it would be useless to Ximen Xiong.
What?
Ximen Xiong's face turned ashen. The purpose of this journey was to join a cultivation sect, but he had just been told on the ship that he had no aptitude for cultivation.
"Hahaha!"
"See, I told you! Such lowly mortals actually think they can join the Sea Worship Sect!"
"Exactly! These lowly mortals dare to compete with us for opportunities!"
The richly dressed youths sneered with disdain.
Zheng Xuanyue and the young man in luxurious attire also shook their heads slightly. They had initially thought that the young man in green robes, who seemed to come from a decent background, had discovered something special and was testing the siblings' aptitude. But it turned out to be the same old result.
"Would you like to become my disciple?" Li Changsheng ignored the others and looked at Ximen Xue, speaking softly. "Your aptitude is excellent, and your future achievements will be limitless. Joining the Sea Worship Sect would only waste your potential."
"Huh?" Ximen Xue's mouth opened slightly as she looked at her brother, Ximen Xiong.
She had only come along because she couldn't take care of herself due to her mobility issues and had never imagined she had any aptitude for cultivation.
"Xue'er, agree quickly," Ximen Xiong urged. "Only this way can your legs be healed."
Though he was deeply disappointed, Ximen Xiong still encouraged his sister.
One of his reasons for desperately wanting to cultivate was to heal his sister's legs. Now, even though he couldn't cultivate, his sister could, which was still a good outcome.
"Xue'er pays her respects to Master."
After hearing her brother's words, Ximen Xue solemnly bowed to Li Changsheng.
"Playing tricks!" the young man in luxurious attire frowned slightly.
He stepped forward, took out a spiritual root testing array disk from his storage pouch, and placed Ximen Xue's hand on it.
A green and a red light slowly rose from the array disk, stopping at seven inches high.
"She really has dual-element wood and fire spiritual roots!" The young man in luxurious attire looked at Ximen Xue with a burning gaze.
Dual-element spiritual roots were highly sought after treasures in any region of Tiannan. If he could bring this dual-element talent into his family, it would be a great achievement.
"Little girl, would you like to become my disciple? I can offer you resources and treatment that no one else can match!"
At that moment, Captain Xie Zhicheng also appeared on the deck. He looked coldly at Zheng Changtian, who had appeared beside him, and said, "Fellow cultivator, these are all people heading to the Sea Worship Sect to become disciples. Isn't it inappropriate for your Zheng family to snatch disciples on our ship?"
"Fellow Xie, you jest," Zheng Changtian smiled faintly. "These people haven't joined your Sea Worship Sect yet, so they aren't your sect's members. Whoever can take her in will be her master."
Although they were on the Sea Worship Sect's ship, the young man in luxurious attire had a status too lofty even for the Zheng family's ancestors to disrespect. The only option was to apologize to the Sea Worship Sect.
"Today, I'll see who dares to snatch a disciple from our Sea Worship Sect's ship!"
Xie Zhicheng made a hand seal, activating the ship's formation, and a transparent barrier enveloped the entire vessel.
Boom!
Above everyone's heads, bolts of lightning crackled, each strike powerful enough to kill a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!
The young man in luxurious attire showed no fear at this sight. Instead, he chuckled coldly.
"It seems your Sea Worship Sect wants to be erased from the Starry Sea!"
Xie Zhicheng frowned slightly.
"Fellow Xie, you'd better deactivate the formation," Zheng Changtian sighed. "This is the young master of the Long family. If you anger Young Master Long, the Long family's wrath would be too much for your Sea Worship Sect to bear."
"The Long family?"
Xie Zhicheng's heart tightened, and his legs trembled, nearly causing him to collapse on the deck.
While others might not know of the Long family, the Golden Core forces in the Starry Sea were all too familiar with them. The Long family was the supreme power in the Starry Sea. Once, an elder from a Nascent Soul sect offended the Long family, and the entire sect was annihilated overnight—even the Nascent Soul stage Grand Elder couldn't escape!
"Young Master Long, please forgive me! This old man was foolish and has offended your might. Please forgive me!"
Xie Zhicheng's face twisted into a worse expression than crying. He knelt on the deck, kowtowing repeatedly, until blood oozed from his forehead, but he didn't dare stop.
The onlookers on the deck were stunned. A mere mention of the Long family's name had terrified a Foundation Establishment cultivator from a Golden Core sect. Just how powerful was the Long family?
Ximen Xue and her brother were also dumbfounded, unsure of what to do.
Long Haotian's gaze swept across the deck, and everyone lowered their heads.
"Would you like to become my disciple? With your dual-element spiritual roots, I can guarantee you'll reach the peak of Foundation Establishment within a hundred years. As for Golden Core, that will depend on your own fortune."
Long Haotian looked at Ximen Xue and spoke calmly.
"I already have a master," Ximen Xue said softly, leaning closer to her brother.
"That's right, my sister has already taken a master!" Ximen Xiong also stammered.
Long Haotian frowned slightly, only then remembering that Ximen Xue had already pledged herself to the young man in green robes.
Looking at Li Changsheng's youthful face, Long Haotian's expression was filled with disdain.
"Kid, I want to take her as my disciple. Do you have any objections?"
Li Changsheng raised his eyelids slightly and calmly uttered three words:
"Get lost."