<h4>Chapter 2: Assessment</h4>


    8 hourster~


    When the stormy weather passed during those 8 hours, Yang Wei woke up despite how unwilling he was.


    He wasn’t going to oversleep himself and miss the time of the sect ceremony.


    If that were to happen, then Yang Wei has tolled for all these years for naught. He is not naive enough tomit such an amateur mistake.


    ‘A good sleep for the sect assessment today should yield a decent result’ Yang thought inwardly.


    Yang Wei never has much sleep in the past 6 years so this could be counted as a luxurious night. His clothes have dried up and it’s still a bit ufortable but not unbearable for him.


    Yang Wei slowly got up and did some morning exercise.


    ‘Although my soul is different and should be an advantage. I have zero methods to cultivate properly and it’s indeed hard to cultivate spiritual qi.’


    Without knowing how to circte true qi around his body, Yang Wei could only do exercise that is simr to those gymnasts on Earth.


    His body is now tone and due to the jobs he did, his muscle and body are proportional. One of his odd jobs included carrying tons of wood to deliver to the restaurant.


    The woods he carries each day are heavy and without enough strength, the wood would crush him down.


    The restaurant usually orders 3-5kg of wood to start their fire because it has a natural smoking seasoning when cooking a dish.


    Although there are restaurants that use fire created from cultivators because they are popr and have immense backing.


    Those restaurants are a luxury for the rich and wealthy people and Yang Wei could never hope to dine in there.


    Fixing his tattered clothes, Yang Wei took a deep breath before heading south to Feather Wind Sect.


    “This is where it shall begin. My cultivator path will be in this kingdom.” Yang Wei said as he walked out of the alley.


    The streets are lively and full of people these days and many are like him.


    Feather Wind Sect is not the only sect that is conducting sect ceremonies as there are many more sects celebrating on this day.


    This is because today’s the day where the Phoenix Kingdom is formed and it’s a respect to the imperial family to have their sect conduct their ceremony in honor of them.


    However, Yang Wei knows that this is simply the sect bootlicking the imperial family and hopes to get on their good side.


    Everything is for benefits and Yang Wei couldn’t agree more with this action.


    ‘I hope to be at the apex one day.’ Yang Wei hopes in his mind as he waits in line for the outer sect elders to inspect their application.


    When Yang Wei was waiting in line, he heard many other youths chatting with excitement and had a carefree look.


    Yang Wei didn’t spare an eye of them as cultivating is not easy and to be this carefree in this ruthless,petitive world, they are simply dreaming.


    Yang Wei’s appearance in the line has attracted much attention from others and the reason was definitely not a good one.


    Although they are all applying in this third-rate sect, most youths have above average clothing while Yang Wei is close to a beggar.


    Yang Wei has seen too many disgusting looks toward him in the past so he is immune to them.


    ‘Appearance does not determine strength. If you’re strong, then even if you’re ugly, people will flock to you.’


    After 30 minutes passed, everyone heard the outer sect elder announced loudly.


    “Everyone be quiet and listen to a few of my words. Today is our Feather Wind Sect epting new disciple and there is a small mountain behind me where you will punch it with all your strength. After that, you will ce your hand in this crystal orb and they will detect your spiritual root.”


    All the chattering haspletely vanished and serious expressions appeared on their faces.


    Yang Wei was not an exception either because the test may seem simple but it will show how much resources that the sect will invest in you depending on your martial talent.


    Punching in the small mountain is to detect how much raw strength a person has and it does not matter much because the power meter will increase as the person cultivates into a higher stage.


    However, the crystal orb is the most important thing of all. They check your innate spiritual root which is determined from birth and cannot be altered ording to the textbook Yang Wei has read.


    Spiritual roots are separated into Earth, Sky, and Heaven level with Earth being the lowest while Heaven being the highest.


    Yang Wei only knows about these three and he hopes to have at least a Sky spiritual root or else his hope of being a cultivator will only continue to dwindle.


    These are things that he couldn’t control and he could only ept that it’s heaven’s will to prevent him from being a cultivator ever.


    Yang Wei quietly waits in line as many youths continue to take their test.


    “Strength 78 Sky Spiritual root”


    “Strength 65 Earth Spiritual root”


    “Strength 97 Earth Spiritual root”


    The sect elder announced many results of the test and some youths are jubnt while some are devastated to know their spiritual root level.


    Yang Wei knew that he is probably in the Earth’s Spiritual root despite hoping to be Sky at least. But he won’t give up because spiritual root only means your talent in martial arts but it’s simply a factor.


    Dedication is the true factor to be a sessful cultivator. They could have a Heaven Spiritual root but if they’rezy then they could also be surpassed by those with lower talent who work hard.


    After 100 or so youths, the sect elder finally announced something that put everyone into disbelief.


    A female who is around 16-17 years has a strength of 294 and Heaven Spiritual root.


    “Amazing, she’s even a beauty and with this amount of talent.”


    “Wow, we get to be in the same sect.”


    “We are so blessed!”


    Many youths or more specifically, the male has their perverted and lustful expression shown in their face. Yang Wei however remained expressionless because he couldn’t care less about other’s achievements even if they’re a beauty.


    Yang Wei knows the term a frog trying to eat a swan would only result in one thing, death. Without power nor background, he doesn’t even have the qualification to chase after a beauty, not to mention one with extreme talent.


    While everyone was discussing this peerless beauty, no one noticed that the sect elder was shocked not because of the result, but the identity of this person.


    This beautiful 16 years old identity is not something he can handle nor be disrespectful to. As he tried to open his mouth to speak, the girl suddenly red fiercely at him.


    The sect elder instantly shut his mouth and bow lightly to not alert anyone else. However, he sneered in his mind and cursed his luck.


    He was trying to use this assessment to obtain some benefits from people who didn’t achieve a great result to increase his fortune.


    Now he can forget about doing any of that because this girl, no it should be the princess of the beloved emperor that governs the Phoenix Kingdom.


    Her father dotes on this girl a lot and the emperor is in the Peak 8th stage Houtian rank, and not many are able to even step into the Houtian rank.


    Sweats start trickling down the sect elder’s back as he announced to have the next person be tested. The princess has made it clear to have him shut his mouth so he wouldn’t be a fool to go against her wish.


    He would have to find timeter on after the ceremony is over before he can inform the higher up. Having a beloved princess of the emperor in their third-rate sect could either be a blessing or a disaster.


    Finally, after another 50 people became tested, it was Yang Wei turns to be tested. Yang Wei took a deep breath and punch with his full strength at the small mountain.


    *Bam*


    The small mountain indicates a number and everyone was looking at a freak because the number shows 311. A quiet and beggar-looking youth has this much raw strength despite having no cultivation.


    The princess who is also known as Meng Yan was about to leave before hearing a loud boom in the test. She eyed the youth who looked ridiculous for the first time as she didn’t pay much attention to anyone.


    She was talented and haughty because no one could match against her in martial arts to those of the same age as her. Plus most of the male youth approach her for her beauty and background.


    She was disgusted and had enough of them which is why she decided toe to a third-rate sect and not her family-owned sect, the Phoenix Sky Sect.


    A slight smile appeared on her face as she eyes this youth who has crystal clear eyes and determination as he slowly ces his hand into the crystal orb.


    The sect elder announced an Earth Spiritual root on Yang Wei despite his overwhelming performance in the small mountain strength test.


    Yang Wei nodded at this assessment and received his outer disciple token which is just an indication of him having taken the test.


    The token does not guarantee him of being sessful in being an outer core disciple.


    Yang Wei was not disheartened by this result and gossip from other youths who were saying how they were scared of another monster but turns out it’s only an Earth Spiritual root.


    These youths who can only gossip and sneer at other’s innate talent are destined for anything but great in the future.


    Yang Wei slowly left the testing area and waited on the other side where youths have been tested because they still need to wait for further instruction.