Sect’s Choice

"What?"

Tu Fang's words shocked everyone present, and even Long Chen himself was stunned.

His intuition told him that this stern-faced, unsmiling old man was definitely an unparalleled expert, and he could also sense that this old man was very upright and trustworthy; everyone else was trying to recruit him, yet only he remained silent.

This piqued Long Chen's curiosity; he wanted to know about this old man's School, which was why he had asked that question.

"Elder Tu, we know your School is special, but given Long Chen's talent, this…" one person said, looking somewhat puzzled.

Tu Fang looked at Long Chen and said, "With Long Chen's combat power, entering the Xuantian Branch is not a problem, but he has no Spiritual Root, and his Dantian is completely dead; he will not receive the Branch's key cultivation resources, so entering the Branch is not as good as developing in your Schools."

"How could that be?"

Several Elders couldn't help but be shocked. Without a Spiritual Root, how could he cultivate?

"Young man, excuse me."

One Elder placed a hand on Long Chen's shoulder. Long Chen immediately knew what he was going to do, so he did not resist and let his Spiritual Qi circulate through his body once.

After one circle, the Elder still wasn't willing to give up and checked again before slowly letting go of Long Chen, helplessly shaking his head at the others.

"No Spiritual Root; not even a trash Spiritual Root. It's impossible to even modify it. Sigh!" that person sighed.

In an instant, the enthusiasm of the crowd vanished. The news that Long Chen had no Spiritual Root was like a basin of cold water, completely calming everyone down.

Obviously, the promises made just moments ago no longer counted, let alone anything about the Sect Leader's daughter. Well, this was fine; there was no need to choose anymore.

Long Chen gave a bitter smile. What the hell was this? They had just lifted him up to the clouds, and now that they let go, were they trying to drop him to his death?

"Senior, if I go to the Xuantian Branch, what kind of treatment will I receive?" Long Chen asked. Now, he no longer held any hope of being a Core Disciple; he just needed to be accepted.

Listening to those people's tone, this Xuantian Branch had something very strange about it. His intuition told him that entering the Xuantian Branch would be his best choice.

"Oh right, I'm also an Alchemist," Long Chen suddenly added, giving himself a bit more leverage.

Hearing that Long Chen was actually an Alchemist, several people's eyes lit up.

"If you come to our Sect, I can give you an Inner Sect Disciple position," one person hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Once that person spoke, the others didn't say anything more. They knew that within a Sect, the treatment of an Inner Sect Disciple was very high.

Every year, the Sect would provide them with a large amount of resources, but for the Sect to waste so many resources on a Disciple without a Spiritual Root, even if they were an Alchemist, it wasn't worth it.

Although Alchemists were relatively precious, they could be hired with money, or Medicinal Pills could be purchased directly, which was much more cost-effective than using an Inner Sect Disciple's treatment to trade for an Alchemist.

After all, they were not small Schools, otherwise they wouldn't have absolute say in this region.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but I really want to enter the Xuantian Branch, so I have to apologize to you," Long Chen said politely.

That person nodded. Although Long Chen had refused, his words were pleasant, making people feel that at the very least, this kid didn't lack tact.

Seeing Long Chen was so determined, Tu Fang sighed and said, "The Xuantian Branch recruits new Disciples every three years. If you must come, I can give you an application letter."

Long Chen couldn't help but be overjoyed. As long as he could get in, it would be fine; he believed that with his ability, he could definitely make a name for himself.

The larger the Sect, the deeper its foundation; this was what Long Chen valued the most. What he lacked the most was just an opportunity.

"Senior, can I have three application letters? After all, there are three of us," Long Chen said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Your friend here doesn't need an invitation letter; he can directly enter the Inner Sect, or even become a Core Disciple," Tu Fang said.

Long Chen widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief. A-Man stared with his bull-like eyes, looking blankly at Long Chen, completely failing to understand what was going on.

It wasn't just them; even the other Elders were shocked. One had to know that the Xuantian Branch was famous for its strict selection of Disciples.

"His body is special and somewhat similar to the Physique of a Senior within our Sect. I think that Senior will be very happy to see him," Tu Fang said.

"As for this one…"

"As for this little sister, she belongs to our Heavenly Wood Palace," the beautiful young woman in the crowd who hadn't spoken until now interrupted.

The beautiful young woman walked to Chu Yao's side and smiled slightly, saying, "Little sister, come with me to the Heavenly Wood Palace. Your talent can only be best cultivated at the Heavenly Wood Palace."

Chu Yao was stunned. She looked at Long Chen somewhat timidly and shook her head, saying, "I don't want to be separated from Long Chen, so…"

The beautiful young woman glanced at Long Chen and shook her head, saying, "For a Cultivator, cultivation should be the priority. How can one waste their talent for the sake of petty romance? Kid, this little sister is a rare Wood Cultivator; you wouldn't have the heart to let her waste it like this, would you?"

The beautiful woman was very gentle towards Chu Yao, but she wasn't as polite to Long Chen, calling him 'kid' right off the bat.

Wood Cultivator? What was that? Long Chen couldn't help but be confused, but as soon as the woman's words fell, the crowd gasped in unison.

"Little sister, I have a piece of Earth Spirit Wood here. Inject your Origin Spiritual Qi into this piece of wood," the beautiful young woman handed Chu Yao a piece of dead wood that looked like a short rolling pin.

Chu Yao blankly took the piece of dead wood. Seeing everyone staring at her intently, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here. Just give it a try," Long Chen whispered, comforting her.

Hearing Long Chen's voice made Chu Yao much calmer. She closed her eyes, tried to relax as much as possible, and mobilized the Spiritual Qi in her Dantian, slowly injecting it into the piece of dead wood.

The so-called mobilization of Origin power meant directly inputting the Spiritual Qi from the Dantian without it being amplified by the acupoints; this was the most primitive form of Spiritual Qi.

As soon as Chu Yao injected it, Long Chen and the others all watched that piece of dead wood in shock, seeing that it had miraculously sprouted a tender shoot.

With Chu Yao's input, the tender shoot grew slowly, and when it grew to three inches, a small flower actually bloomed.

When the beautiful woman saw that small flower, a satisfied smile appeared on her face; all of this was within her expectations.

When she first saw Chu Yao, as a Wood Cultivator herself, she immediately felt a connection, but she didn't know how much Wood-attribute energy she possessed.

Now that she saw the first small flower appear, it meant that Chu Yao already possessed the conditions to practice Wood-attribute Cultivation Techniques. It could be said that she had gained the most this time, because Wood Cultivators were truly too rare, one in a million.

Just as she was thinking about how to show off to others after returning, the tender shoot grew another section and actually bloomed a second small flower.

Looking at the second small flower, the beautiful woman's eyes immediately lit up, with undisguisable shock and excitement in them.

But that wasn't all; the tender shoot continued to grow, and soon a third flower bud appeared.

"Ahem, alright, alright. Your talent is decent. Don't tire yourself out, hurry up and rest," the beautiful woman grabbed Chu Yao's hand and said with concern.

"Big sister, I'm not tired, I can still…"

"I know you can still hold on for a while, but this is your first time, so you shouldn't use too much of this power," the beautiful woman said seriously.

"Yes, big sister," Chu Yao said.

"Little sister, you are so beautiful. My name is Hua Yu. From now on, you can call me Sister Hua. Having such a beautiful little sister makes me so happy," Hua Yu said excitedly, looking as if she had become much younger all of a sudden.

"Congratulations, Elder Hua, your School has added another member," Tu Fang said.

Tu Fang was very familiar with Hua Yu and understood the Heavenly Wood Palace very well. It was very difficult for them to recruit Disciples, and every time one was born, they cherished them immensely, just like their own children, which was why they referred to recruiting new Disciples as 'adding a new member'.

"Hehe, congratulations to you too," although Hua Yu tried her best to appear calm and collected, she couldn't hide the excitement in her heart.

"Big sister, I don't want to be separated from Long Chen," Chu Yao looked at Long Chen and said with a troubled expression.

"Oh, silly little sister, the Heavenly Wood Palace and the Xuantian Branch are neighbors. They are only separated by one mountain, which is just a stone's throw away. You can meet whenever you want," Hua Yu chuckled.

"Really?" Chu Yao asked.

"Of course it's true. Would big sister lie to you? If you don't believe me, ask them. Tell the truth, isn't it?" Hua Yu said to the others, clearly asking them to testify.

"I can testify, it is indeed only separated by one mountain," one Elder said solemnly.

"It really is just a stone's throw away," another person also helped testify.

However, for some reason, Long Chen always felt that there was something strange between them. Just as he was about to speak, the beautiful woman came to Long Chen's side, smiling as she took his arm, and said affectionately:

"Long Chen, if you really want what's best for your little sister, you should let her come to our Heavenly Wood Palace. In the future, when you grow stronger, she won't be left behind, right?"

"This, Senior… I…" Long Chen was startled. Hua Yu's intimate actions made his scalp tingle.

"What Senior? Call me big sister. You're making me feel old calling me that. So, that means you agree, right?"

After saying this, Hua Yu used a voice that only the two of them could hear and gritted her teeth, saying, "Kid, if you dare to disagree, I'll make you regret it."

Long Chen looked strangely at this expert who had a gentle face but could still threaten people with her words, and for a moment, he was dumbfounded.

"Long Chen, if Chu Yao doesn't go to the Heavenly Wood Palace to cultivate, it would truly be a waste of natural gifts," Tu Fang finally couldn't help but advise.

"Then let it be as Senior suggested. It's just a mountain, right? If we want to meet, we can just climb over it," Long Chen smiled.

Hua Yu then let go of Long Chen and smiled, "Little brother, you're great. Now that's a real man."

After praising Long Chen, she gave him a look, which meant: You're a sensible kid.

Long Chen was speechless. Could it be that people with high cultivation all had brain problems, or was the thinking of experts something that we newbies just couldn't understand?

Finally, it was decided that Long Chen and A-Man would go to the Xuantian Branch, while Chu Yao would go to the Heavenly Wood Palace. A few days later, after the details of the mine here were handled, they would set off.

When Long Chen left with Chu Yao, Hua Yu was smiling again, but gritted her teeth as she warned:

"Kid, before Chu Yao reaches the Innate realm, she must remain pure and untainted. If you dare to mess around, I will cut that thing of yours off and feed it to the dogs."

"…" Long Chen.