After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Chapter 115 Rookie Assessment

He shook his head: "Master, I am just a spiritual plant cultivator with five spiritual roots and a Qi Refining Level 2. What qualifications do I have to compete with those geniuses for rankings? I'd better not register."

"Really not going to give it a try?"

Zhao Demao added another word of advice, "Your performance recently has been no worse than anyone else's."

"When the Spirit Corrosion Disease just ended, the Spirit Plant Palace even sent people to collect samples. Their contribution was considerable."

"Although the rookie assessment is supposed to be a competition of magical abilities, it also takes into account contributions to the sect. What if something unexpected happens?"

Lu Qingchen smiled and shook his head again.

Seeing this, Zhao Demao didn't say anything more and nodded to show his understanding: "Alright, since you're not interested, I'll pass on your message."

"Anyway, this assessment is mainly for the inner sect's geniuses. Our village's spiritual plant growers really can't get involved in that kind of excitement."

He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then looked back at the spirit field shrouded in a pale blue light before slowly walking into the manor.

Two days later, Lu Qingchen received a letter from Li Si, delivered by someone else.

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The letter was written by several people.

Wang Ming's words took up the most space, his handwriting was messy, with several ink splatters, clearly written hastily during a break from forging in the weapon-refining hall. He said that he and Li Si had already registered, and both of them had made progress in their cultivation recently, only one step away from the third level of Qi Refining. If they could break through before the assessment, they might be able to compete for a high ranking.

Qian Wanliang and Zhao Ming also signed up, but Wang Ming wrote bluntly in his letter: the two of them were just there to make up the numbers, since signing up didn't cost spirit stones, so they might as well sign up.

At the end of the letter, Wang Ming specifically asked Lu Qingchen if she wanted to sign up for the assessment.

After reading the letter, Lu Qingchen couldn't help but chuckle.

He immediately spread out paper and pen and replied to the letter.

To put it simply, since my cultivation level is not high enough, I won't sign up to join in the fun. It's more practical to stay in Qingmu Village and honestly farm.

However, since they have all participated, he will definitely return to the sect to cheer them on on the day of the assessment.

After writing the letter, he called Sun Han over.

Sun Han came in leaning on a wooden stick, took the letter and was about to leave when Lu Qingchen called him back.

"The sect's new talent assessment is in a few days. I'm planning to go back and check it out. Do you want to come with me?"

Sun Han paused, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

But soon, he looked down at his right leg, remained silent for a moment, and shook his head.

"I'd better not go. My legs are like this, I can barely walk, and I'd only be a burden to you if I went."

Lu Qingchen looked at him but didn't try to persuade him further.

He understood Sun Han's thoughts; after getting a leg tumor, he no longer liked to show his face in public.

When Sun Han met Li Si and Wang Ming in the side room of the sect last time, he didn't say anything, but he seemed a little uncomfortable the whole time.

This was a hurdle in his heart; as long as his leg injury didn't heal, he wouldn't be able to get over it.

"Alright, then you stay at the manor and keep an eye on the spirit field for me."

Lu Qingchen didn't press the matter, and changed the subject, "What stage have you reached in your cultivation recently?"

"Marrow cleansing".

Sun Han scratched his head. "Progress is very slow. I've been stuck for a long time and haven't even touched the threshold of fetal breathing yet."

Lu Qingchen sighed silently in his heart.

Sun Han, like him, possessed the lowest grade of the five spiritual roots, but he had neither a Dao stele nor a spiritual body; he was a true mixed spiritual root.

After being demoted to a menial job, he worked day and night in the mine, and his cultivation almost completely came to a standstill.

If he hadn't pulled Sun Han out of the mine, Sun Han would still be in that dark and gloomy mine tunnel, fighting for iron pickaxes. Forget about marrow cleansing, he would probably even have regressed in tendon cultivation.

Lu Qingchen carried a large bag of spirit rice out of the house and handed it to Sun Han.

This bag weighs at least twenty pounds; it's made from spiritual rice that he harvested from the spiritual fields outside, rice that has been lightly infused with spiritual energy.

Although it cannot compare to the high-quality, deeply infused spirit rice from the Spirit Protection Field, it still has a much higher spiritual energy than ordinary jade spirit rice.

"This is my carefully cultivated Jade Spirit Rice, which has a higher spiritual energy than ordinary spirit rice. Take it and eat it; long-term consumption will help with cultivation."

Sun Han glanced down at the weight of the bag, his expression changed slightly, and he took two steps back: "Qingchen, this—it's too much! You need to eat for your own cultivation, I can't take this much."

"Take it."

Lu Qingchen didn't stand on ceremony with him, shoving the bag into his arms with a light touch, but not a firm one.

"Eating is also a form of cultivation. Right now, you're in the marrow cleansing stage and need to replenish your essence the most. Ordinary spiritual rice isn't enough. Focus on getting your Qi into your body first, and we'll talk about the rest later."

Sun Han held the bag of spirit rice, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only managed to squeeze out two words: "Thank you."

He turned around and slowly walked out, leaning on his wooden cane.

The heavy weight of the rice pressed down on my chest and on my heart.

Some things don't need to be said aloud—Lu Qingchen pulled this life back from the mine, and this gratitude is etched into his very bones.

I will repay it tenfold or a hundredfold in the future.

Ten days later, the day of the rookie assessment arrived.

Lu Qingchen asked Zhao Demao for two days off and returned to the sect by spirit horse carriage.

Three martial arts arenas had already been set up in Mingfafeng Square, lined up in a row, with people surrounding them in layers.

The disciples and elders of each peak and hall sat according to their area. The elders were in the front row, the outer disciples were in the middle, and spiritual plant growers and servants like Lu Qingchen were squeezed on the gentle slope at the edge of the square.

Although it was a bit far from the training ground, the view from the vantage point was still quite clear.

He found Li Si and Wang Ming in the crowd.

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Both of them were dressed in clean outer disciple robes today. Li Si was unusually well-dressed, and Wang Ming's hair was tied up neatly with a cloth strip, unlike when he usually had his hair disheveled when he was forging iron in the weapon-refining hall.

Upon seeing Lu Qingchen, Wang Ming strode forward to greet him, exclaiming, "I knew you'd come!"

Lu Qingchen looked him up and down, then glanced at Li Si.

The aura emanating from Li Si was much more solid than when they last met, and the fluctuations of spiritual energy around him subtly showed a sense of harmony, indicating that he had broken through to the third level of Qi Refining.

"Where's Sun Han?" Li Si looked behind him. "Didn't he come with you?"

"His leg hasn't fully healed yet, and he has difficulty walking, so he didn't come," Lu Qingchen said.

The two were silent for a moment.

They all knew how Sun Han injured his leg.

Those days in the mine were not easy to get through.

The group tacitly refrained from asking further questions; some things were best left unsaid.

"You've broken through?" Lu Qingchen changed the subject.

Li Si nodded, his tone as calm as ever: "So-so. I just broke through a few days ago, and it just so happened to be the time for the assessment."

"What do you mean by 'so-so'?"

Wang Ming exclaimed from the side, "You have no idea, I was with him the day he broke through, and he was so smug, he wanted the whole sect to know! But when will I be able to break through to the third level of Qi Refining?!"

He grew increasingly dejected as he spoke, finally sighing, "I'm still a little short, but I'll be there soon!"

"You?"

Li Si's lips curled into a smile as he glanced at him. "You're always forging iron until midnight, and you've wasted all your cultivation time by grabbing that hammer and swinging it. It would be a miracle if you could break through."

Just as Wang Ming was about to retort, Zhao Ming and Qian Wanliang squeezed through the crowd.

Zhao Ming remained sullen, while Qian Wanliang was quite excited, pulling out several crumpled talismans from his sleeve.

"Look! I drew this fireball talisman myself! Although its power can't compare to that of a genuine talisman master, at least it can still produce fire!"

Li Si glanced at it and calmly said, "Just be careful not to burn yourself."

Qian Wanliang, enraged and embarrassed, retorted: "You're just jealous!"

Lu Qingchen couldn't help but laugh at their antics, and the group found a spot with a good view on the gentle slope to sit down.

The rookie assessment officially began amidst their chattering discussions.

The assessment is conducted by drawing lots to form groups, with one-on-one battles where the winners advance and the losers are eliminated.

The rules are simple and straightforward: stepping out of bounds means you lose and the fight is over. If someone intentionally hurts another, the elders will intervene on the spot, but some physical injuries are inevitable during the fight.

Qian Wanliang was the first to go on stage.

He spent over a year drawing talismans in the Talisman Hall, accumulating dozens of low-level talismans of decent quality, including fireball talismans and water arrow talismans.

The Wind Blade Talismans are complete in variety, but none of them are of high quality.

In the first round, he faced a Qi Refining Level 2 array cultivator. Before the opponent could even set up the array, he threw out three fireball talismans, and three fireballs exploded one after another, which was quite impressive.

However, the cultivator managed to set up an earth-elemental array wall before being engulfed by the fireballs, and it withstood three fireballs without sustaining any damage.

After throwing away all the talismans, Qian Wanliang had almost no spiritual energy left, so he had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender and leave the arena amidst good-natured laughter.

Zhao Ming didn't have that much of a presence anymore.

He was also eliminated in the first round. His opponent was a sword cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining. After only a few exchanges, he was forced back by a single sword strike and had no choice but to leave the arena.

He wasn't discouraged after stepping down; he just sighed and said, "Luckily, I didn't have high hopes."

Wang Ming drew a favorable opponent in the first round: a pill refiner, who was good at alchemy but not at fighting.

Wang Ming rolled up his sleeves and rushed forward, his iron hammer whistling through the air. He slammed the hammer into the defensive spell in front of the opponent, causing spiritual energy to scatter and forcing the alchemist to retreat several steps.

After several consecutive blows, the opponent finally couldn't hold on and conceded defeat, allowing Wang Ming to advance to the second round.

Unfortunately, they ran into a tough opponent in the second round: a sword cultivator at the peak of the third level of Qi Refining, whose Fire Blaze Sword was both fast and fierce.

Wang Ming spent his days forging iron in the weapon-refining hall, which gave him strength, but he was not flexible enough in using his spiritual power. He was forced to the edge of the arena after only a quarter of an hour and was eliminated in the first round.

He wasn't discouraged when he stepped down; instead, he told Lu Qingchen that he had already gained a lot by exchanging so many moves with such a formidable opponent.

Li Si fought the longest.

The first opponent was a rogue cultivator with four spiritual roots at a mid-grade level. His attacks were complex but lacked rhythm.

Li Si first set up three layers of array patterns around himself, with an earth element array wall for defense, a wood element array to entangle and delay the opponent's movements, and a metal element array to counterattack and injure people at the opportunity.

The three array patterns are interlocked, and the opponent broke through two of them but had no way to deal with the third.

After fighting for nearly half an hour, the opponent exhausted his spiritual energy and voluntarily surrendered.

Li Si advanced to the second round, but unfortunately encountered another disciple at the peak of the third level of Qi Refining.

When the opponent swung his sword, the spiritual energy was far more refined than in the previous round. Two layers of the array pattern were broken in one go. Li Si gritted his teeth and held on to the third layer, but was directly cut through by the second sword.

I ended up in the top twenty and received a few spirit stones as a reward.