NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5 - Mysterious Immortal Body, Entrance Ceremony
Chapter 5 – Mysterious Immortal Body, Entrance Ceremony
In the Plum Blossom Room, a young boy and girl who had known each other for years found themselves alone in a room together for the first time.
The curtains of the large bed were drawn by delicate hands, concealing the girl’s figure.
‘She’s turned into an ice doll again,’ Li Mo thought, averting his gaze as he settled onto the soft couch with his blanket.
No matter how he looked at her, she didn’t seem like someone easily swayed by mere words.
Oh well, who knows what she’s thinking…
‘By the way, investments don’t necessarily have to be material objects, right?’ Li Mo pondered, examining the reward he had just received.
[Mysterious Immortal Body]: “The immortal body is refined from the dust of the mundane world, containing countless mysteries, originating from the beginning of the universe”
「Do you wish to claim it?」
The reward was simple, just four characters.
But these oddly out-of-place words made Li Mo raise an eyebrow.
This style seemed completely out of place – this was clearly a martial arts world.
Perhaps it was just a fancy description to make the system sound more impressive?
In any case, it didn’t sound too bad.
With a thought, he claimed the reward.
Instantly, a thunderclap that only he could hear exploded in his ears.
It was as if lightning had torn open the dark clouds in his mind, plunging him into chaos. He could no longer even sense himself.
Buzz—
Buzz—
In the chaos, it felt like a raging storm, the beginning of the world, filled with countless colors and sounds.
Li Mo couldn’t see or hear clearly.
In that moment, he felt both as insignificant as a speck of dust and as vast as the cosmos.
It was as if he no longer existed, yet was everywhere at once.
Who knows how long it lasted before Li Mo lost consciousness.
Not far away, on the bed, frost gradually covered the silk curtains, making them look brittle enough to shatter at a touch.
The young girl hugged her long legs, her lips pale, her eyelashes tinged with snow.
Even her breath carried an eternal chill.
Her entire being seemed trapped in an ancient ice prison.
But she was long accustomed to it, showing no signs of pain or fear, only calm.
Ying Bing knew this torment would end once she mastered the power of Tai Yin (Extreme Yin).
But before that, she needed to open her meridians.
“Pure Yang Pill.”
“Xue Jing is considered one of the top alchemists in Ziyang prefecture.”
Ying Bing picked up the pill and swallowed it.
A slight warmth rose from her dantian, slowly flowing into her meridians.
Opening her meridians before the entrance ceremony wouldn’t be a problem!
Suddenly, she remembered something.
Ying Bing lifted the frozen curtains and looked towards the couch.
The young man lay there peacefully, softly snoring.
Sleeping so soundly?
“Is he… alright?”
…
The next morning.
Li Mo opened his eyes on the couch. His gaze was as deep as a starry sky, calm and clear like a mountain spring.
On the surface, he seemed unchanged.
But even just standing there, he gave off a sense of being one with nature.
[Name: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: Mysterious Immortal Body]
[Realm: None]
[Destiny: ??]
[Evaluation: Bearing an immortal body, fate uncertain, future unknown.]
[Recent encounter: Relationship with childhood sweetheart improved, at least better than strangers.]
Li Mo had thought his destiny might turn purple or even gold.
Instead, it became two big question marks.
“There must be changes.”
“But exactly what’s different, I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
He thought for a moment and decided not to dwell on it.
The system’s investment returns so far, at least from the ‘ice doll’, had never disappointed him.
“I haven’t even started martial arts training yet, so I can only experience it gradually.”
Li Mo picked up the kettle to make tea, only to find the water inside had frozen solid.
The source of all this was the ice doll on the bed.
An astonishing chill emanated from her, yet he felt no cold at all.
It seemed that, at the very least, he had become impervious to heat and cold.
“I shouldn’t have to worry about being eliminated from the entrance ceremony.”
“I should make it into the inner sect at the very least, right?”
Li Mo’s mood brightened.
With nothing else to do, and unable to practice cultivation or the like, he decided to go out and try his luck, see if he could find suitable investment targets.
…
Two days passed in a flash.
Since receiving the Pure Yang Pill, Ying Bing had stayed in the room without leaving.
She didn’t eat or drink anything.
Li Mo wasn’t worried though.
With her extraordinary luck, she wouldn’t starve herself to death.
It was probably due to her constitution, so best not to interfere.
After two days, the chill in the Plum Blossom Room persisted. The furnishings inside were probably ruined. Li Mo had to pay 500 taels of silver in compensation.
During these two days, Li Mo encountered various investment targets.
Most were quite ordinary, with very few blue-quality ones.
Their recent experiences were also wildly varied.
For instance, one with poor grades at school wanted to find a rich older woman.
Another, bored with too much money, wanted to experience poverty.
There was even a burly man who longed to wear women’s clothes…
Li Mo couldn’t help with these experiences even if he wanted to invest.
Of course, normal people were still the majority.
Even a mosquito’s leg is still meat, as they say. And thus he received many rewards, though few were beneficial for martial arts. Most were odd and peculiar things such as paintings, toys, ingredients, fine wine and even a young maiden’s undershirt…
This scatter-shot approach yielded rather lackluster results.
…
The morning of the third day.
“Quality is more important than quantity.”
“From now on, unless it’s a special situation, I won’t actively invest in white or gray targets.”
Li Mo pushed open the door and entered the room.
His eyes fell on a graceful figure, gently brushing her silky black hair before a mirror.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Somewhat better than before.”
Ying Bing’s porcelain-like face seemed to have gained a slight blush.
She had successfully opened her meridians.
This meant she was no longer considered to have blocked meridians, and her hidden talents could now be revealed.
This was largely thanks to that bottle of Pure Yang Pills.
“Come on, let’s have breakfast,” Li Mo said with a smile.
Ying Bing picked up her bowl and softly said, “Thank you.”
“What?”
Li Mo froze, his eyes widening.
The ice doll actually said thank you?
He was shocked.
“I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?”
Li Mo was uncertain.
But Ying Bing remained silent, sipping her congee.
By the time the sun was fully up, the two had finished breakfast and went downstairs together.
Today was the day Qingyuan Sect opened its doors to new disciples.
When their carriage reached several dozen li away, it could go no further due to the massive crowd blocking the official road.
They had to continue on foot, a scene that stirred something in Li Mo’s DNA.
Surrounded by youths, it reminded him of his school days, heading to the field for morning exercises.
After walking for about half an incense stick’s time, they could see Qingyuan Sect’s mountain gate ahead, along with many disciples in various colored robes. Seven elders sat at large desks in front of the disciples.
“Dong—”
“Dong—”
“Dong—”
Three morning bells rang out.
“Root bone is the first hurdle in practicing martial arts. If one’s root bone is too poor, it will be extremely difficult to make progress in the martial way, and even with immense effort, it would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.”
“Those with inferior root bones, don’t waste your time here. You may leave now.”
A short, stout elder with a ruddy complexion spoke, his voice rolling like thunder.
No one left.
Those who came here were either confident in their abilities or too stubborn to give up without a fight. They had already reached the sect’s gate, after all.
Since they made it this far, they were going to see it through.
Seeing this, the stout elder waved his hand:
“Then line up properly and come forward one by one for the Root bone assessment.”
As his words fell, countless young men and women, under the guidance of Qingyuan Sect disciples, lined up obediently for their examination.
The elders seemed to have practiced a special technique; with just a pat on the candidate’s shoulder, they could roughly determine their root bone quality.
“Wu Ping, C-grade, proceed.”
“He Hai, D-grade.”
“Qian Ningning, D-grade…”
Qingyuan Sect categorized root bones into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Anyone with a grade C or above qualified to enter the sect.
Many factors determined talent, and a root bone was just one of them. Having a grade C root bone meant one had the basic qualifications for the martial path.
Even so, only one or two out of ten had a grade C or higher.
This first round alone would likely eliminate about 80% of the candidates.
Above A grade?
Those were uniformly classified as A+ grade.
“It’s not always accurate, but the vast majority of those with blue fate or above have passed successfully.”
Li Mo stood in line, his Heavenly Fate Divine Eye constantly active.
“Young lady, step forward,” the elderly woman beckoned.
As Ying Bing stepped out from the crowd, she immediately drew countless gazes.
It was simply because she was too beautiful…
Standing there, cool and aloof, she seemed to create a bubble of silence around her, making it impossible to ignore her presence.
Li Mo stroked his chin.
Based on his experience reading novels, if nothing unexpected happened, there were two possibilities.
Either she was an extraordinary genius, or she was a complete failure.
Given her great luck, she was definitely not someone who would blend into the crowd…
“Hiss…”
Sure enough.
The elderly woman’s brows furrowed instantly.
She became much more serious, sinking her qi to her dantian. Her robes began to move without wind, as she prepared to use her internal energy to examine the girl’s root bone.
This commotion drew everyone’s attention.
Even the other elders became curious.
Even assessing an A grade root bone didn’t warrant such behavior.
The next moment, the elder’s voice echoed across the field:
“Ying Bing, A+ grade!”
Her tone was complex, a mix of amazement and excitement.
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
An A+ grade root bone was rare even in the history of Qingyuan Sect..
Even Murong Xiao, known as the prodigy of Ziyang prefecture, had barely reached A-grade.
And yet, Murong Xiao was still hailed as the greatest genius in a decade.
Li Mo: “……”
It seems she fell into the former category.
Under the gazes of everyone present, Ying Bing became the center of attention.
The young girl herself, however, remained neither joyful nor sorrowful.
Because she knew this wasn’t really anything special.
The reason she was classified as A+ grade was that Qingyuan Sect’s highest classification was A+ grade.
“To remain unmoved by honor or disgrace, that is a rare mindset indeed. This old man looks forward to seeing your performance on the Stairway to Heaven,” the stout elder couldn’t help but praise.
Root bone testing was only to eliminate those unqualified for martial arts practice.
The true comprehensive test of talent would be in the second round.
The Stairway to Heaven!
While root bone wasn’t everything, with an A+ grade Root bone alone, this young lady’s performance in the second round couldn’t possibly be poor.
The entrance ceremony had just begun. Yet it seemed the top candidate had already emerged.
Ying Bing nodded and joined the group of those who had passed.
The pride and self-satisfaction on the faces of the other young boys and girls who had passed the first round now silently faded away.
They were still thinking about how to get into the inner sect.
Ying Bing was destined for at least the true disciple position.
…