Chapter 144 - 141: Surge_2

Words : 1108 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

``` "Let’s begin!" Li Zhizhun announced, struggling to contain his excitement. The first to be tested were the children of cultivators, the smallest group, numbering just over a thousand. However, they had the highest chance of being born with spiritual roots and attracted the attention of everyone. The first batch of three hundred children entered the formation. Moments later, the formation activated, and various spirit lights danced around, searching for children with spiritual roots. "One, two... twelve!" an elder quietly counted the children with spiritual roots. The parents of these twelve children were ecstatic, in stark contrast to the dejection of the other parents. The children’s reaction was even stronger; having grown up in clan territory, they had been exposed to cultivators from a young age, understood them better, and aspired to be like them even more fervently. Without a spiritual root, they would have to move out of clan territory and separate from their parents after the age of twelve. Li Zhizhun was very pleased; with just three hundred children tested, twelve were found to have spiritual roots. If the same ratio held for the remaining descendants of cultivators, then there would be dozens of children with spiritual roots! But there was some regret, as the best among them only had Three Spiritual Roots. "Come out now, it’s time for the others," Li Zhizhun reminded them. The formation continued to activate without pause, and the number of tested children with spiritual roots kept increasing. By the end of the first day, there were more than seventy children with spiritual roots, most of whom were of Li family blood. After three days of testing, a total of two hundred thirty-seven children with spiritual roots were identified, more than half of whom were from commoner backgrounds. It’s worth mentioning that among them, there was one with a Golden-Fire Dual Spiritual Root. His mother was the fourth sister of Li Zhirui’s generation, and his father was a Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivator who had married into the Li family, earning a significant reward from the clan. Other clan members who had brought forth offspring with spiritual roots also received Spirit Stone rewards as set by Li Zhirui. Although not much, it incentivized all clan members, who became even more eager to procreate. Discover hidden stories at novelhall.Côm "In ten years’ time, the family won’t have to worry about a lack of manpower," Li Zhirui, who had learned about the spiritual root testing event from a clan member, said with satisfaction. After all, the abundant presence of children with spiritual roots was thanks to his measures from years prior. However, Li Zhirui didn’t pay too much attention to this matter; with so many Elders in the family, they would cultivate these talents properly. His main task now was to rapidly increase his own strength and to nurture Xiaoqing, helping him achieve Foundation Establishment as soon as possible so he could assist Li Zhirui in battle. To achieve this goal, Li Zhirui began a new round of secluded cultivation. But before doing so, he told the clanspeople guarding Nine Springs Island that this was just a routine cultivation seclusion and if anything truly urgent occurred, they could call out to him. "Da Qing, this time during my seclusion, you watch over Xiaoqing for me. Don’t let him run around everywhere," he instructed. After entrusting Da Qing, Li Zhirui turned to Xiaoqing with a serious expression and said, "You’d better work hard at your cultivation during this time, otherwise I’ll lock you in the Spirit Beast Bag!" For Xiaoqing, who yearned for the sky and freedom, the cramped space of the Spirit Beast Bag was the greatest punishment! Chirp chirp chirp! Xiaoqing chirped in assurance. He actually couldn’t understand Li Zhirui’s words, but the sight of him patting the Spirit Beast Bag provoked an intense reaction. Satisfied, Li Zhirui nodded and then took out the Spirit Pills and Spirit Fruits required for their cultivation, handing them all to Da Qing for safekeeping and distribution. After arranging everything, Li Zhirui could cultivate in peace. In the quiet chamber, Li Zhirui concentrated on his cultivation technique. His Dantian expanded and contracted with each breath, absorbing the external spiritual energy. When the spiritual energy reached a certain concentration, Li Zhirui’s body began to emit blue and green spirit lights that intertwined and wreathed around him. They then entered his body through his mouth and nose, traveled along his meridians into his Dantian, and turned into fine mist, merging into his Sea of Magic. Periodically, Li Zhirui would wake from his cultivation to take Spirit Pills to accelerate his progress, but also to check if Xiaoqing was cultivating earnestly and to receive messages from the outside world. "The He Family was mysteriously annihilated?" One day, upon emerging to retrieve messages left by clan members, Li Zhirui’s face showed utter astonishment. He then frowned and muttered to himself, "Could someone be deliberately framing our family?" The animosity between the two families was well-known. If the Li family were to take action, they wouldn’t choose this moment. There had been rumors that a senior Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Yuanming Sect had taken a Gold Core Formation Pill and was in seclusion to break through. If successful, the Yuanming Sect would have three Golden Core cultivators. At such a critical juncture, how could the Li family dare provoke the Yuanming Sect? As a result, Li Shiqing had to come forward to swear an oath asserting that the Li family had nothing to do with the He Family’s fall, in order to prove their innocence. When Li Zhirui read this, his expression suddenly darkened. He suspected that this incident might have been a self-staged plot by the Yuanming Sect, aimed at forcing the Li family to bow their heads! Though constrained by the rules set by Shen Leishan, which prevented the Li family from becoming a vassal to the Yuanming Sect, in practice, they could make annual offerings, and how was that different from being a vassal? This thought wasn’t unique to Li Zhirui; many other clan members believed the same, and even some Loose Cultivators had come to this conclusion! Powerless to change the situation, Li Zhirui could only continue to focus on his cultivation, striving to break through to the Golden Core as quickly as possible, so the family would have enough strength not to suffer any more humiliation from the Yuanming Sect! But what Li Zhirui didn’t know was that as he continued his secluded cultivation, Yu Qing, the Green Sword Sect’s lone Golden Core cultivator, quietly visited Da Rong Island under the cover of night. ```

Chapter 144 - 141: Surge_2

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