The young man’s body suddenly straightened, not showing any sign of pain, but rather as if stimulated by some profound force.

The surface of the bronze mirror abruptly erupted with a blinding red light!

A crimson light pillar shot into the sky, instantly occupying nearly ninety percent of the mirror’s height!

The intensity and purity of that light seemed to raise the temperature of the entire hall by several degrees.

Beside the crimson light pillar, only a few extremely faint, almost negligible wisps of other-colored energy flickered briefly before vanishing.

“This… what is this?!”

“Single Spirit Root! A fire-attribute Single Spirit Root!”

“So pure! So powerful!”

“Heaven blesses our Sect! Heaven blesses our Sect!”

Several green-robed Cultivators in front of the hall almost simultaneously exclaimed in shock, their faces filled with astonishment and ecstasy.

Their previously indifferent expressions vanished completely. One by one, they stood up excitedly, their gazes fixed intently on the bronze mirror and the young man standing before it.

Hum!

A sharp whistling sound suddenly came from outside the hall.

Everyone only saw a flash of purple before their eyes. A middle-aged Daoist in luxurious purple robes, whose aura was as deep and vast as the sea, had already landed on a brilliantly glowing flying sword, hovering in front of the bronze mirror.

His gaze was sharp as lightning, instantly locking onto the young man before the red light had fully dissipated. An astonishing brilliance erupted in his eyes.

“Good! Good! What an excellent single fire Spirit Root!”

The purple-robed Daoist’s voice carried irrepressible joy, resonating through the hall.

“This child, my Blazing Sun Peak claims him! From this moment on, he is a true disciple of the Blazing Sun Peak!”

Before his words had even faded, he had already gracefully descended from his flying sword and walked up to the young man named Zhou Teng. A warm smile appeared on his face as he began asking questions in a gentle tone, completely disregarding the envious or awed gazes of the other green-robed Cultivators around him.

Soon, the purple-robed Daoist took Zhou Teng—who still seemed somewhat dazed but whose eyes were now filled with excitement and wild joy—back onto his flying sword. Transforming into a streak of purple light, they vanished from outside the hall in an instant.

The hall fell silent for a moment before suppressed exclamations and discussions broke out.

The remaining Servant Disciples looked in the direction where Zhou Teng had disappeared with complex expressions, their eyes brimming with envy.

The Manager stood at the side of the hall, his gaze also carrying a trace of shock before it quickly returned to calm. However, when his eyes swept over the remaining servants, they appeared even more indifferent.

“Next.”

The green-robed Cultivator presiding over the test steadied himself. His voice regained its previous composure, though that excitement did not seem to have completely faded yet.

Chen Ping took a deep breath, suppressing the ripples in his heart caused by witnessing a genius’s rise. He stepped forward toward that massive bronze mirror.

He came to a stop before the mirror. Its surface reflected his slightly blurred figure. Beneath his calm expression, his heart thudded heavily in his chest.

The moment that would decide his fate was now.

The green-robed Cultivator glanced at him and repeated the same motion: pressing his palm against the mirror frame.

Hum!

A soft white light instantly surged from the bronze mirror, enveloping Chen Ping’s entire body.

Unlike the others, Chen Ping felt no pain or discomfort.

The moment the white light entered his body, his blood and Qi—tempered far beyond ordinary people through long-term Cultivation of the Vitality Technique—boiled instantly, like water droplets thrown into scalding oil!

An indescribable sensation of scorching heat erupted violently from every limb and bone, every organ and viscera.

Sweat immediately soaked through his inner garments.

He clenched his teeth, forcibly suppressing a groan back into his throat. His body remained ramrod straight.

The white light persisted for several breaths.

As the light faded away, that searing heat also receded like a tide, leaving behind an exhaustion akin to emptiness.

Everyone’s gaze focused on the surface of the bronze mirror.

Light swirled across its surface, soon changing.

Five beams of light rose from the mirror almost simultaneously!

Red, yellow, blue, brown, cyan.

Crimson like fire; earthy yellow like soil; azure like water; deep brown like wood; pale cyan like wind.

Five beams of light, each a different color—representing all five elements present together.

What was even more astonishing was that these five light pillars were almost identical in height.

Like five precisely cut pillars standing side by side on the mirror’s surface, each occupied roughly one-fifth of its height—not an inch taller or shorter—displaying absolute balance.

“This… what is this…?”

The green-robed Cultivator presiding over the test was stunned. Looking at the mirror’s surface, confusion and disbelief appeared on his face for the first time.

His fellow disciples nearby also leaned closer. Seeing those five unnervingly balanced lights, they all frowned. Their eyes were filled with puzzlement and… a trace of barely concealed pity.

“Five Elements… balance?”

One green-robed Cultivator muttered to himself in a strange tone.

“I’ve never seen such balanced Five Elements Spirit Roots…”

Another shook his head.

“Five Elements Spirit Roots are already inherently impure and difficult to cultivate. This child’s five elemental forces are completely equal—mutually restraining and annihilating each other… This…”

A third sighed softly.

The Manager also clearly saw what was reflected in the mirror. The muscles on his face twitched almost imperceptibly. The last remnants of suspicion in his eyes were instantly replaced by an almost cold indifference.

When he looked at Chen Ping now, there were no more ripples—as if looking at a stone by the roadside.

Although this boy possessed a Spirit Root, his future was already predetermined.

Investigating the matters behind him would face no resistance; there was no risk at all now.

Once it was determined how he obtained those five Spirit Stones… he would definitely be made to spill all his secrets.

The green-robed Cultivator presiding over the test steadied himself again and spoke in a complex tone.

“Chen Ping: Five Elements Spirit Roots—metal, wood, water, fire, earth all present. The five elemental forces… absolutely balanced.”

He paused briefly as if weighing his words before finally delivering that cruel verdict.

“Identified as… Waste Spirit Root.”

Waste Spirit Root?!

Those three words struck Chen Ping’s heart like icy hammers.

He felt as if the air around him had frozen solid.

The good news: he had a Spirit Root.

The bad news: he possessed the one-in-ten-thousand Waste Spirit Root—even more useless than ordinary Five Elements Spirit Roots—the Five Elements Balanced Waste Spirit Root.

“Alright. The test is complete.”

The green-robed Cultivator no longer looked at Chen Ping—as if having finished appraising a piece of scrap—and turned toward those remaining servants.

“Next.”

The Manager walked up to Chen Ping expressionlessly.

“The results are out. First, come with me to receive the basic Cultivation techniques issued by our Sect. As for what choices you make afterward… handle them yourself.”

He lightly patted Chen Ping’s shoulder several times.

“As for the Hundred Herb Garden… continue serving as Manager there without slacking off.”

These words were merely meant to stabilize Chen Ping so he wouldn’t run away prematurely. His tone remained flat, without any extra emotion whatsoever.

Chen Ping stood where he was, silent for several breaths.

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

His voice remained steady, without any audible fluctuations.

Although it was called a Five Elements Waste Root… he still possessed the Jade Pendant space.

Relying on the Black Earth within the Jade Pendant space, perhaps he could forge out his own path through heaven and earth!

He came here merely to determine whether he possessed any kind of Spirit Root at all.

As for the quality of the Spirit Root? For him, that was not a problem whatsoever.

With the Black Earth providing an endless supply of spirit herbs and medicines…

He truly refused to believe he would achieve nothing.