"
"Young Master Xiao, that's a bit standoffish of you," Hua Ling said with a smile. "Your father and my father are both Overseers at the Yu Shen Sect. There's no need to act like I'm your enemy every time we see each other."
After speaking, Hua Ling's gaze swept over
Hua Ling's words carried a sharp barb, and his eyes held a trace of contempt as he looked at Nie Li's trio.
Behind Hua Ling stood more than twenty strong cultivators, all at the Demigod Level—just a step away from the Heavenly Fate Realm. Their gazes toward Nie Li's group carried unmistakable hints of provocation. They had clearly sensed that Young Master Hua Ling was on bad terms with Xiao Yu, and since they would all be looking to Young Master Hua Ling for support in the future, they naturally fell in line behind him.
Nie Li condensed his voice into a narrow thread and asked Xiao Yu, "Who is this Hua Ling?"
"His father, like my foster father, is an Overseer at the Yu Shen Sect's outer division. He's competing with my father for the position of Chief Overseer. Just ignore them—they can't touch you here," Xiao Yu transmitted back.
Nie Li understood now. So that was why Hua Ling and Xiao Yu were at odds. As for these political squabbles, Nie Li had zero interest.
Hua Ling's cold gaze swept toward Nie Li. He didn't know what Nie Li and Xiao Yu had been discussing, but it was probably nothing pleasant.
"The Spirit Root testing is about to begin. I'm quite curious to find out what grade of spirit roots these so-called geniuses from the Small Linglong World possess!" Hua Ling said, a provocative edge in his smile as his eyes swept over Xiao Yu and the others. "Young Master Xiao here has a Heavenly Spirit Root, Grade 7. Surely these guests from the Small Tianyuan World are at least comparable?"
"That's none of your concern." Xiao Yu's tone was utterly cold. He found Hua Ling so irritating that even a single word in response felt like too much.
Seeing Xiao Yu's dismissive attitude, Hua Ling snorted coldly and turned away. Heavenly Spirit Root, Grade 7—and still no Fate Soul. What was there to be proud of?
Even though Hua Ling had already reached the Three Fate Realm while Xiao Yu still hadn't condensed a Fate Soul, Hua Ling couldn't shake his deep-seated anxiety. He regarded Xiao Yu as a formidable rival.
First of all, a Heavenly Spirit Root of Grade 7 was the stuff of legends. In the entire Heavenly Spirit Court, fewer than a hundred people had achieved that grade, and every one of them had cultivated to astonishing heights—each a regional powerhouse. By all rights, someone with a Heavenly Spirit Root Grade 7 should have cultivated at a breakneck speed that ordinary people could never hope to match. Yet Xiao Yu had been unusually slow to condense his Fate Soul.
Normally, such a person shouldn't have posed a threat. But there had always been a legend circulating within the Heavenly Spirit Court: the longer a Heavenly Spirit Root powerhouse lingered in the Earth Fate Realm, the more explosively their cultivation would surge once they finally condensed a Fate Soul—far beyond what any ordinary cultivator could achieve.
This power of the Heavenly Spirit Root had kept Hua Ling perpetually on edge. His own test had revealed only an Earth Spirit Root, Grade 7—decent talent, to be sure, but absolutely nothing close to that of a true prodigy.
The number of people waiting to be tested continued to swell.
"Human Spirit Root, Grade 9—assigned to the Southern Court!"
"Human Spirit Root, Grade 7—assigned to the Southern Court!"
Those who achieved an Earth Spirit Root remained rare among the results. The instructors from the Yu Shen Sect who were conducting the testing scanned the participating disciples with looks of mild disinterest. Talents had been dwindling over the past few years, a trend closely tied to the gradual decline of the Yu Shen Sect. The truly exceptional geniuses who had options tended to choose other divine sects instead.
The lead instructor among those conducting the test was a middle-aged man in blue robes. He carried an air of authority and had been watching the results closely. Two other instructors beside him were recording the outcomes at a brisk pace.
"Earth Spirit Root, Grade 6," another result was announced.
"Not bad—assigned to the Western Court!" The blue-robed middle-aged man nodded approvingly.
Hua Ling frowned. With several thousand people waiting in line here, who knew when it would be their turn.
He strode over to the blue-robed middle-aged man and greeted him with a smile. "Overseer Gu, it's been a while."
"Young Master Hua Ling—what brings you here?" The blue-robed man's expression softened somewhat upon recognizing Hua Ling.