Xuo Mu was the son of Aunt Qing, a widow who stayed across Fang Lin's house. He was precisely the chubby boy who had barged inside just now.
The moment Xuo Mu rushed inside Fang Lin's room, Fang Lin immediately became startled.
At that moment, the mysterious grey stone was still lying openly on the bed beside him.
Without thinking further, Fang Lin quickly grabbed the grey stone and hid it beneath the blanket before standing up hurriedly.
Xuo Mu was panting heavily, yet his face overflowed with excitement.
The moment he saw Fang Lin standing there, he immediately grabbed Fang Lin's shoulders tightly.
Xuo Mu excitedly said, "Fang Lin! The instructor from the Green Bamboo Sect has arrived! He is conducting a selection test in our village! Let us hurry quickly! I really want to join the sect. Even if I become a cook or cleaner, I still want to enter somehow!"
Fang Lin gave him a strange look.
The look clearly meant, "You do not even know how to cook or clean properly."
Xuo Mu immediately became embarrassed.
Then Fang Lin slowly became silent.
His thoughts drifted toward Uncle Wei's sudden disappearance.
The mysterious grey stone.
The jade slip.
Everything that happened since last night.
The more Fang Lin thought about it, the more he felt that Uncle Wei was definitely not an ordinary person.
The way he carved those mysterious sculptures.
The way the Pearl Trading Company constantly visited him.
And now this mysterious stone.
Fang Lin slowly clenched his fists.
A new determination quietly appeared inside his heart.
"If I want answers…"
"…then I must become stronger."
Fang Lin no longer continued drowning in sadness over Uncle Wei's departure.
Instead, his eyes slowly became firm.
Then Fang Lin softly smiled.
Fang Lin said, "Let us go to the village square."
The two boys immediately ran out of the house together.
---
By the time Fang Lin and Xuo Mu arrived at the center of Mylan Village, the place had already become extremely lively.
Village Head Ma Liang stood respectfully near a grey-robed middle-aged man who looked around thirty years old.
Behind Village Head Ma stood several elderly villagers, all respectfully praising the grey-robed man.
Clearly, they held great respect toward him.
The middle-aged man from the Green Bamboo Sect carried a faint smile on his face.
The instructor calmly said, "Village Head Ma, let us not waste any more time. Please gather all children below the age of fifteen. We shall begin the assessment immediately."
Village Head Ma quickly nodded.
Village Head Ma respectfully replied, "Of course, Lord Instructor. Everyone has already been informed."
Then Village Head Ma glanced toward one of the old men standing behind him.
The old man immediately stepped forward and loudly shouted,
"The honorable instructor from the Green Bamboo Sect has arrived!"
"All children below the age of fifteen may now participate in the selection!"
Soon, children between eleven and fifteen years old gradually gathered together in the open field.
Fang Lin and Xuo Mu also joined the crowd.
The Green Bamboo instructor slowly looked at all twenty-three participants before calmly speaking.
"Our Green Bamboo Sect is an illustrious sect that has stood proudly for more than two thousand years."
"We belong under the banner of the Thousand Leaf Immortal Sect."
"We are searching for talented young disciples suitable for cultivation."
As he spoke, the green ring on his finger suddenly glowed brightly.
The next moment, a large transparent crystal appeared in his hand.
The surrounding villagers immediately gasped loudly.
The instructor gently waved his hand, and the crystal floated five feet above the ground.
Everyone stared at the floating crystal with excitement.
One villager exclaimed, "So this is the power of immortals?"
Another excitedly shouted, "That is incredible!"
Some older villagers even sighed sadly.
One man said, "I wish I were younger…"
Another loudly asked, "Lord Instructor! I am sixteen years old. Can I still participate somehow?"
The instructor immediately frowned.
Then he shouted, "Quiet."
The surroundings instantly became silent.
At that moment, the instructor took out a yellow scroll and injected Qi into it.
The scroll immediately transformed into a glowing yellow ring on the ground.
Then the instructor calmly explained,
"All candidates will step inside the ring one by one and place their hand upon the crystal."
"The crystal will test your talent and attributes."
Soon, the first child nervously stepped forward.
The crystal glowed brightly for a moment.
Then it dimmed.
The instructor expressionlessly said, "Not qualified."
The boy immediately lowered his head sadly.
The next child stepped forward.
This time, a faint green color appeared inside the crystal.
The instructor's eyes brightened slightly.
Then he calmly asked, "What is your name?"
The little girl nervously replied, "Xue Ji…"
The instructor nodded.
"Level Three Wind Attribute. Not bad."
"Stand beside me."
Xue Ji's face immediately filled with happiness.
Meanwhile, her parents almost cried from excitement.
The testing continued afterward.
"Not qualified."
"Not qualified."
"Level One Fire Attribute. Pass."
"Not qualified."
One child after another stepped forward.
Eventually, it became Xuo Mu's turn.
Xuo Mu hurried forward excitedly before pressing his hand against the crystal.
A pale yellow light slowly appeared within it.
The instructor calmly said, "Level One Earth Attribute."
"You pass."
Xuo Mu's eyes immediately became red from excitement.
Then he quickly ran toward the selected group.
Finally, only Fang Lin remained.
The entire village gradually became quiet.
Fang Lin slowly stepped forward.
Then he entered the yellow ring and placed his hand upon the crystal.
The crystal instantly exploded with bright light.
The surrounding villagers gasped loudly.
Then several different colors slowly appeared within the crystal.
White.
Black.
And icy blue.
The Green Bamboo instructor's expression immediately froze.
His eyes widened in complete shock.
Then he quietly muttered under his breath,
"Level Five Light Attribute…"
"Level Five Darkness Attribute…"
"And Level Four Ice Attribute…"
"Monster…"
Meanwhile, Fang Lin himself quietly looked toward the crystal with curiosity.
Then he carefully extended his spiritual sense inside the crystal.
The moment he did, his eyes widened slightly.
Inside the crystal, Fang Lin saw white energy filling the upper half while black energy occupied the lower half.
Between them flowed icy blue energy.
However, hidden deep inside the icy blue energy was a tiny sparkling grey light.
The exact same grey color as the mysterious stone hidden in his room.
Fang Lin immediately withdrew his spiritual sense silently.
Nobody noticed what he had done.
However, his heart had already become restless.
The instructor slowly regained his composure.
Then he quickly asked, "What is your name?"
Fang Lin calmly replied, "Fang Lin."
The instructor slowly nodded.
Then he said, "Stand beside me."
Village Head Ma immediately noticed the instructor's unusual reaction.
Curiosity instantly filled his heart.
Village Head Ma carefully asked, "Lord Instructor… Fang Lin's attribute…"
Before he could finish speaking, the instructor immediately interrupted him.
The instructor calmly replied, "Level Four Ice Attribute."
Village Head Ma instantly understood.
The instructor clearly did not wish to reveal more.
So he wisely stopped asking further questions.
However, the way the instructor looked toward Fang Lin afterward completely changed.
It was the gaze of someone looking at a priceless treasure.
Finally, after all selections ended, the instructor calmly announced,
"We will depart tonight."
"Go home and say farewell to your families."
---
Xuo Mu immediately shouted, "I need to tell my mother!"
Then he hurried away excitedly.
Meanwhile, Fang Lin quietly returned home alone.
The house suddenly felt extremely empty without Uncle Wei.
Fang Lin quietly sat upon his bed while holding the letter in his hands.
Memories slowly surfaced inside his mind.
Uncle Wei teaching him stories.
Cooking for him.
Laughing with him.
Carving sculptures late into the night.
The sadness inside Fang Lin's heart quietly returned.
Then Fang Lin's eyes slowly moved toward the mysterious grey stone hidden beneath the blanket.
He slowly picked it up and carefully examined it once again.
The stone looked completely ordinary.
Nothing about it seemed special.
Then Fang Lin suddenly remembered Uncle Wei's instructions from the letter.
Uncle Wei had written that he should drip blood upon the stone.
Fang Lin quietly picked up a small needle from the nearby table before lightly pricking his fingertip.
A small drop of blood slowly emerged.
Then Fang Lin carefully allowed the blood to fall upon the grey stone.
The moment the blood touched it—
The stone immediately absorbed it completely.
A faint grey light flashed briefly.
Then suddenly—
Whoosh!
The mysterious stone transformed into a streak of grey light and shot directly toward Fang Lin's forehead.
Fang Lin became completely startled.
He immediately touched his forehead repeatedly.
However, nothing appeared there.
Fang Lin quickly closed his eyes and inspected inside his body with his spiritual sense.
The moment he looked inside his spiritual sea, he froze completely.
The mysterious grey stone was quietly floating above the silver spiritual sea.
At the same time, the silver spiritual sea seemed to be slowly absorbing energy from the stone itself.
Then Fang Lin suddenly noticed something shocking.
His spiritual perception had expanded once again.
Previously, he could only sense thirty feet around him.
But now—
He could clearly sense nearly three hundred feet around him.
Fang Lin's heart trembled violently.
Then suddenly, he felt a strange connection toward the grey stone.
It felt as though he could freely control it with a thought.
The next moment, the grey stone suddenly emerged from his forehead once again before falling into his hand.
Fang Lin's breathing immediately became hurried.
Then he carefully injected his spiritual sense inside the stone.
The moment his spiritual sense entered, Fang Lin completely froze.
Inside the stone existed a hidden space nearly one hundred cubic feet in size.
Fang Lin's eyes widened in disbelief.
He carefully tested the stone by storing several small objects from his room inside.
Everything disappeared perfectly.
Then Fang Lin immediately took the objects back out again.
They appeared instantly before him.
Fang Lin became increasingly shocked.
Then he took out the short sword hidden inside.
The sword looked ordinary, but six strange markings were engraved upon it.
Fang Lin quietly observed it for a while before storing it back again.
Then his eyes slowly moved toward the jade slip once more.
However, before he could continue investigating further, footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
Then the door opened.
Village Head Ma slowly walked inside.
Village Head Ma sighed softly.
Then he said, "That Uncle Wei of yours really chose a strange time to disappear."
Fang Lin quietly lowered his head.
Village Head Ma's expression immediately softened.
Then he gently patted Fang Lin's shoulder.
Village Head Ma warmly said, "Come. Your Aunt Ma prepared food for you."
"You will be leaving tonight."
"We do not know when you will return again."
Fang Lin quietly nodded before following him.
---
When Fang Lin arrived at Village Head Ma's house, Aunt Ma immediately welcomed him warmly.
Aunt Ma always treated Fang Lin like her own child.
The moment she saw him, her eyes instantly became red.
Aunt Ma gently touched Fang Lin's hair before softly saying,
"Lin'er… you must return to visit us sometimes after joining the sect."
As she spoke, tears slowly appeared in her eyes.
Village Head Ma helplessly sighed.
Then he smiled toward Fang Lin.
Village Head Ma said, "If not for this old man, then at least return for your Aunt Ma."
Fang Lin quietly nodded.
That night, Aunt Ma prepared many dishes Fang Lin liked.
Since awakening his spiritual sense, Fang Lin had not eaten properly at all.
So he ate hungrily.
Seeing this, Aunt Ma happily continued placing more food into his bowl.
Before Fang Lin left, Village Head Ma suddenly handed him a small package.
Village Head Ma seriously said, "Keep this."
"Do not refuse."
"Otherwise your Aunt Ma will become unhappy."
Fang Lin quietly accepted it.
Inside were several pieces of gold and a small blue stone.
Although Fang Lin did not know what the stone was, he still carefully stored everything away.
------
Night gradually arrived.
The selected children slowly gathered once more at the village square.
Many villagers had come to send them off.
Fang Lin quietly stood beside the instructor while silently observing everyone.
Then suddenly, crying sounds echoed nearby.
Xuo Mu and his mother slowly walked toward the square while crying heavily.
Xuo Mu's mother tightly held him while tears continuously flowed down her face.
She softly cried, "You must return often to visit mother…"
Xuo Mu himself was crying loudly too.
Then he stubbornly wiped away his tears before saying,
"Mother, do not worry."
"I will become very strong and very rich!"
"I will definitely return for you!"
Seeing this scene, Fang Lin unconsciously looked toward Aunt Ma.
Aunt Ma also looked toward him with tears in her eyes.
At that moment, Fang Lin suddenly felt warmth inside his heart once again.
Then suddenly, a giant silver eagle descended from the sky.
Its enormous wings stretched nearly fifty feet wide.
The surrounding villagers immediately gasped loudly in shock.
The instructor calmly waved his sleeve.
Gentle Qi wrapped around all six selected children before lifting them onto the eagle's back.
Then the instructor calmly sat near the eagle's head.
The surrounding villagers quickly shouted their farewells.
"Become immortals!"
"Do not forget the village!"
"Return safely one day!"
Finally, the giant eagle slowly rose into the night sky.
As Mylan Village gradually became smaller below him, Fang Lin quietly looked downward one final time.
Then slowly—
His journey toward the world of cultivation truly began.