Chapter 219 The Ruthless Senior Brother of the Path of Merciless Path, Used as Cannon Fodder (Part Two) Together...

Of all the children traveling together, Xiao Mo made the light emitted by the spirit-testing stone the brightest. Although Heng Zheng didn't know exactly what level Xiao Mo's spiritual root was, it didn't stop him from placing Xiao Mo at the front when sending him to the Xuan Yang Sect for testing.

As for the idea of ​​testing others first and waiting for Xiao Mo to be the finale? Don't be ridiculous. What if he gets enough people and leaves?

Of course, others also lined up. There was more than one recruitment team for the Xuan Yang Sect. Heng Zheng efficiently divided the people into four teams. He, two guards, and his personal steward Wang Fu each took care of five or six people.

As Xiao Mo stood in line, watching his master walk around beside him, handing him water and snacks, constantly telling him not to worry and to relax, he suddenly felt less nervous.

The line for the Xuan Yang Sect's recruitment was very long; from afar, one could see the light emitted by the spirit-testing stones as others took their tests.

Not everyone has a spirit-testing stone. Among the testing team, only one-tenth have spiritual roots. This ratio is based on the fact that some people have already been tested beforehand.

Ahead of Xiao Mo was a young man dressed in the style of a martial arts world, carrying a sword on his back. He came alone and looked at Xiao Mo with some envy, saying, "Young brother, you are so lucky. Your father is so good to you."

There were adults who accompanied their children to the test, but what they were repeatedly told was how to help their families after being selected, how to bring benefits to their families, and not to forget that their families raised them, and that if they didn't repay them, they would be ungrateful and treacherous, etc.

There were even those who were forced to swear oaths and write contracts on the spot. In the line in the upper left corner, there was even a boy who was forced to swear to send half of the spirit stones he received back to his family every year, or else he would be struck by lightning and die.

Meanwhile, Hengzheng, holding a string of gourds filled with water and several bags of snacks, repeatedly told his young boys not to be nervous, not to be afraid, to do well on the exam, and that if things didn't go well, they could come home with him to inherit the family business.

Xiao Mo smiled and struck up a conversation with the young man: "My father was a little nervous, please forgive him."

All the people under heaven are His Majesty's subjects. The emperor is also a father, so what's wrong with him calling him father?

Seeing Hengzheng's somewhat dazed expression, Xiao Mo smiled sweetly and advised him, "Father, you don't need to bother. We'll let you know if we're thirsty or hungry. Please take a rest."

Hengzheng was held back for half an incense stick's time by that cry of "Father," and opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Judging from the intensity of the light when Xiao Mo tested the spirit stones, he would definitely be selected. Moreover, based on their observations after queuing for so long, he couldn't possibly be a menial servant; at the very least, he would be an outer disciple.

Cultivators always talk about cause and effect. Xiao Mo was an orphan and his karmic connection with An Guo was not deep. Even if he succeeded in his cultivation, he would only need to take care of him slightly to repay this entanglement. But this call of "father" completely connected him with An Guo.

It is said that cultivators must sever ties with the mortal world. Hengzheng knew that if it were for Xiao Mo's sake, he should immediately refuse, so that Xiao Mo could cultivate without any worries.

But behind him were the people of the entire country. Anguo had been targeted by demonic cultivators, and the people were facing increasing hardship. He couldn't bring himself to deny them their hope for survival.

Hengzheng's lips moved, his eyes reddened, and after a long while he whispered, "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry, it was selfish of me, but I had no choice but to be selfish.

Xiao Mo: ………

If it weren't for the late emperor having him as his only son, and if it weren't for the loyal and dutiful officials left behind by the late emperor, His Majesty, with his simple-minded nature, probably wouldn't have even lived to adulthood.

Although he is an orphan, he was raised by the kindness of neighbors, and most of the people in the town have given him food, which is why he is still alive today.

His Majesty personally came to test his spiritual roots and sent him all the way here to study. He took meticulous care of him along the way. He is not a heartless person. How could he sever this affection and abandon Anguo?!

In front of so many people, Xiao Mo didn't explain anything. She just looked at Heng Zheng and said in a soft, coquettish voice, "Father, do you still have the pea flour cakes I bought before? I've been standing for so long and I'm a little hungry."

Hengzheng, who was originally hesitant and uneasy, immediately lost all other thoughts. He quickly and skillfully picked out the oil paper package containing pea flour cake from a pile of pastry packages. The pastry inside had been cut into bite-sized pieces, and a small bamboo fork was thoughtfully provided next to it.

It's clear that they were prepared in advance with care. Each piece is a bite-sized portion, making them perfect for use anytime without getting your hands or clothes dirty.

Xiao Mo ate two pieces, drank a few sips of water from the gourd, and then ate two small steamed buns the size of a thumb before indicating that he was full.

Hengzheng then distributed food to the other boys. The test was actually very quick; it only took half an incense stick to finish testing one boy. By the time everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, their line had moved forward more than halfway.

The young man who stood in front of Xiao Mo and chatted with him for a while was named Shen Ting. According to him, he was also a well-known young hero in the martial arts world, known for his chivalry and helping the weak.

Young Master Shen is nineteen years old this year. The two hit it off and he started telling Xiao Mo a lot of secrets about the martial arts world that were not known to others. Xiao Mo found it interesting and responded with a couple of words. Then Young Master Shen became even more enthusiastic.

It's said that the daughter of a certain sect leader was born to his wife and another sect leader, and that this person knew the truth but was afraid of exposing his own impotence, so he helped them cover it up.

Or perhaps the top ten masters on a certain leaderboard are actually magicians who pretend to be experts to fool a bunch of people, but when someone actually challenges them, they get headaches, fevers, and old injuries that flare up again.

As Xiao Mo listened, he felt that something was not right. According to what the storyteller had told him, shouldn't the real secrets of the martial arts world be about martial arts manuals hidden in rocks on some mountain or legendary weapons hidden somewhere?

Is it this young hero Shen who is being unserious?

Or is the martial arts world he belongs to shady?

Fortunately, Xiao Mo didn't know the people he was talking about, so he just treated it as a story. And to be honest, this young hero Shen had the potential to be a storyteller. The gossip he told—no, the secrets of the martial arts world—was even more interesting than what the old ladies in their town told.

At first, Xiao Mo thought that Young Master Shen was as calm and collected as he appeared, but later she realized that he just talked more when he was nervous.

As the group moved forward, even his constant chatter couldn't ease his tension. Finally, the ever-talkative young hero shut up, his whole body tense, and he walked stiffly, his hands and feet moving in unison.

Xiao Mo clearly saw that this very talkative young hero, Shen, wiped his hands on his clothes eight times when he placed them on the spirit-testing stone, as if he was afraid that the sweat on his palms would affect the test results.

Fortunately, Young Master Shen's test results were good. The golden light almost filled the spirit-testing stone, and the immortal masters who conducted the test all smiled and said, "A superior-grade golden spirit root."

Although there are occasionally one or two people with spiritual roots in the mortal realm, they are mostly low-grade spiritual roots, and mid-grade spiritual roots are rare. This is the best result among all the people tested in the past few days.

The immortal master who conducted the test immediately improved his attitude. If he used to look at others as if they were ants, now he looked at Young Master Shen as if they were his own kind.

Spiritual roots are also a matter of heredity. If two people with spiritual roots are together, their children will most likely also have spiritual roots.

However, those in the cultivation world all pursue longevity and are single-mindedly seeking immortality. How many would be so foolish as to sacrifice themselves to reproduce? After all, mortals suffer considerable physical harm when giving birth.

Even those who become Daoist couples in the cultivation world mostly do so for romance. They can live for hundreds or thousands of years, so who cares about procreation? They'd rather work hard and live a few hundred years longer.

Moreover, if you really want to experience the joy of raising children, you can just take on apprentices. You can even choose the personality, gender, appearance, and spiritual root that suits your teaching methods. Isn't that much more enjoyable than opening blind boxes during pregnancy?

This has led to disciples with good spiritual roots being quite rare and sought after; that young hero Shen has already been addressed as Junior Brother Shen by the immortal master.

On the way, Hengzheng, adhering to the principle of reviewing for the exam, had them use the spirit-testing stone almost every day, just in case someone was nervous during the test and made a mistake.

Although the brightness of the light in the test didn't seem to change much, the light on the group of kids I was teaching lit up much faster during the test. That way, even if their scores weren't good, they could at least get some extra points for their impression.

Xiao Mo placed his hand on the spirit-testing stone, which was as big as a millstone. When he focused his mental energy, a dazzling blue light appeared. Heng Zheng was so focused on it that he was blinded and closed his eyes.

I originally thought that, based on the brightness of the light, my little Mo was not as good as this young hero Shen's superior spiritual root, but I didn't expect that my spirit testing stone was too bad.

Then, he heard the Xuan Yang Sect disciple, who had been calm and collected, exclaim in surprise: "Top-grade Ice Spiritual Root!"

Upon hearing this, Heng Zheng felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Xiao Mo was sure to be selected this time, and there was a high chance that he would become an inner disciple. If he was lucky, he might even become a personal disciple.

The disciple in charge of the test quickly relayed the message to his elders. Before long, a more refined-looking immortal master flew over. Judging from the respect shown by the immortal masters present, he was probably the person in charge here.

The immortal master was very kind, and even Heng Zheng, who was accompanying him, received a good look from him. This was the first immortal master in history to give him a proper look.

With Xiao Mo's influence, all the other children Heng Zheng brought were accepted, including three whose aptitude was barely enough to be outer disciples. It was truly a cause for celebration.

Hengzheng was not only happy that his other children had become inner disciples, but he was even happier about the attitude of those people towards Xiao Mo. The more they cared about Xiao Mo's thoughts, the greater Xiao Mo's future achievements would be.

Seeing that the person was about to leave with the immortal master, Hengzheng also called to the two guards and Wang Fu, preparing to leave, but as he turned around, Xiao Mo grabbed his sleeve.

He was given a cloth bag containing twenty low-grade spirit stones, which was the settling-in fee given by the immortal master when he entered the sect.

Seeing that the other children were about to hand over their cloth bags, Hengzheng quickly waved his hand, "You all keep them yourselves. You've just arrived at the Immortal Master's sect, and you don't necessarily have to do anything yet. Having money in your hands will give you peace of mind."

Heng Zheng glanced at it and saw that Xiao Mo's bag contained twenty low-grade spirit stones. The three outer disciples each received four stones, while the other servants each received one stone.

After some refusals, Hengzheng finally accepted the five low-grade spirit stones that Xiao Mo insisted on giving him, feeling quite embarrassed. He didn't accept the money from the other children because it was too little, and then watched as the group of children were led away by the immortal masters of the Xuan Yang Sect.

"Father, please take care of yourself." Xiao Mo turned around, reached out and hugged Heng Zheng, her voice firm, "From now on, I'll be called Heng Mo, okay?"

Just how powerful is a top-grade spiritual root? You don't need anyone else to say it; just look at how much importance the Xuan Yang Sect attaches to it, and you'll know it's no ordinary thing. Such a promising immortal master, however, recognized a father for himself before he even began his cultivation.

Hengzheng waved and patted his back, choking back tears as he replied, "Okay!"

Apart from that one word, he didn't say anything more about reluctance, pleading, or hoping for Xiao Mo's early return until Xiao Mo left.

Hengzheng stood there, watching as the group of children he had brought back boarded the Xuan Yang Sect's flying magical artifacts, and within a few breaths, they were nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Mo, ignoring the immortal master's introduction to the flying boat, leaned against the railing, looking at his motionless emperor, and finally couldn't help but have her eyes redden slightly.

Compared to others' exaggerated crying and heart-wrenching expressions of reluctance, Hengzheng remained calm. But the more calm he was, the more Xiao Mo knew that he genuinely hoped everyone would be well.

The flying boat was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, the people behind it disappeared from sight. It traversed the clouds and soared through the sky, giving one the illusion of a completely different world.

The Xuan Yang Sect recruits students every three years for one month, and only sends the recruits back to the sect every so often. It has only been two days since they last sent someone back, but today they found out that one person has an excellent ice spiritual root and the other has a high-grade gold spiritual root. To prevent any unforeseen problems, it is safer to send them back to the sect.

To prevent any problems along the way, the Xuan Yang Sect specially arranged for Qingmu, the sect leader's personal disciple, to bring the person back quickly with the top-grade spiritual artifact, the Flying Feather Boat.

Xiao Mo listened to Senior Brother Qingmu's introduction for a long time with a lot of confusion, and only roughly understood one thing: the place where they were testing was about 5,000 miles away from Xuan Yang Sect, and the Flying Feather Boat was particularly powerful. It could carry a group of about 100 people and arrive in just one hour.