After she said those words, she paused, taking in the reaction of the children and their parents.
Her two fellow cultivators started speaking as well.
"Remember, once you awaken the spiritual root, you will automatically join our sect."
"You might feel it forceful, but this is the truth. We, cultivators, risk our lives fighting Demon Beasts for you, mortals."
"But out of hundreds of mortals, only one is born with the spiritual root. Because of this, even if you don't have much talent, you will be taken to the sect."
"After joining the sect and reaching the age of eighteen, you will marry someone from the sect and have children with spiritual roots."
"So, this is your last chance to choose your future!"
When he said that, only one person had his eyes widened in shock. Or rather, Shanks was stunned after he heard that female cultivator.
After all, he wasn't trying to become a cultivator because he was worried about affecting his family.
If he could change that, if his luck didn't affect his family, what reason did he have to stay mortal?
Especially when he was given a chance to change his destiny.
Spiritual Root was the gift of Heaven. A person's fate was sealed from the moment of their birth.
So, it was impossible to awaken the spiritual root later in life. That's why these cultivators were setting such ridiculous rules.
But this also meant that the panel was something that could defy fate.
Shanks could no longer hesitate. In his mind, he had already thought of upgrading his spiritual root.
[Upgrade Spiritual Root!]
With just a thought, the panel appeared in front of him, and a new box appeared with different text.
[No Spiritual Root found!]
[Spiritual Root Awakening Initiation Started]
[Consuming 20 Luck Points]
[Note- Spiritual Root Awakening is decided by Host's Luck]
Suddenly, he felt a strange dread in his heart. He immediately connected it to the loss of his luck.
Reading the last text on the panel, his expression turned pale.
Even though he might awaken the spiritual root, it definitely wouldn't be good.
Because his luck was currently minus 15.
At this moment, he felt a strange heat in his stomach, but that quickly disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"Mom!"
Shanks placed Selena in his mother's arms before saying.
"I am going to take the test."
Hearing his words, his parents were surprised and ecstatic. After all, what kind of parents wouldn't want their children to thrive?
There was probably nothing better than becoming a cultivator.
"Go, go, you will definitely awaken the spiritual root!"
His father pushed his son towards the podium.
Soon, nearly two hundred children were standing in front of the podium. The female cultivator took out a large black jade.
She placed it next to her and said.
"You will come forward and place your hand on this!"
She placed her own hand, showing them the changes in the jade. In just a few seconds, the black jade shone brightly with green, yellow, and red light.
"These colors represent your Spiritual Root. Red represents fire, blue represents water, green represents wood, yellow represents metal, and brown represents earth."
"Each of these five elements are essential part of the cultivation. So, your awakening determines what path you will choose."
"Now, come forward!"
Hearing her command, the child in front walked forward excitedly and touched the jade.
But a few seconds later, there was no reaction. Seeing this, a look of horror appeared on his face as he turned his head towards the female cultivator.
The pitiful look on his face didn't gain any sympathy from the female cultivator. She simply replied.
"No spiritual root! Go back!"
Since the first one didn't have the spiritual root, it made many other children hesitant about their future.
Maybe some of them were shaking in fear.
Only Shanks was standing with a nonchalant expression because he knew he already had the lowest grade spiritual roots.
Soon, one by one, teenagers started testing their spiritual roots.
"No spiritual root! Go back!"
"No spiritual root! Go back!"
The same sentence was repeated again and again until the black jade finally showed three different colors.
"Earth, Metal, and Water Spiritual Roots! Good!"
When the jade changed for the first time, the female cultivator finally cracked a smile and said.
"Go and stand behind us!"
"Welcome, Junior Brother!"
Two of the male cultivators immediately pulled them closer with a fawning smile on their faces.
Shanks was watching this the whole time, and as time passed, he realized that these immortals weren't that different in terms of emotions from mortals.
In fact, their emotions were even more volatile as they would directly ignore two children who had awakened five elements spiritual root.
The female cultivator was a little better, but this gave Shanks a clear conclusion that having fewer spiritual roots meant better talent.
In other words, he wasn't much different from them. Because he also had five-element spiritual roots.
More importantly, his luck was also negative.
Soon, it was his turn. As he walked forward and placed his hand on the jade, it immediately gave a reaction.
Five different colors appeared on the jade.
"Five-Element Spiritual Roots! Move!"
The female cultivator's voice sounded a bit colder than before. But Shanks couldn't do anything about it.
After all, he chose this path. He silently walked behind the male cultivators, ignoring the look of disdain in their faces.
Only two children looked at him with a look of pity. Because they were also the ones who awakened the five-element spiritual roots.
Soon, all two hundred children were tested, and only six people had spiritual roots.
The highest talent was still the boy who awakened three-element spiritual roots. The other two awakened four-element spiritual roots.
And the final three awakened six-element spiritual roots.
After finishing the test, the female cultivator asked everyone else except for the families of these awakeners to leave.
The mortals didn't dare to contradict the immortals, so they immediately left.
"Go and have a proper talk to your family! There is no need to bring any clothes or food."
"After we leave, you might never come back. So, bid a proper farewell!"
Saying that, she started putting away the black jade that instantly disappeared.
Although Shanks saw this for the second time, he was still stunned.
He quickly turned his attention towards his family.
"Mom, Dad, I am going to become a cultivator. Take good care of yourself!" He said with a solemn voice.
He didn't even say he would visit them, as he didn't want to make any connections with them until he figured out his luck problem.
"Brother, will you visit Selena?"
The little girl who seemed very excited before looked at him with tears as she asked.
"I'm sorry, Selena! I can't promise you anything. But you must take care of yourself and grow up to be a good girl."
He patted her head and hugged his parents tightly.
Both of his parents were in tears as they watched their son walk towards the immortal.
It was at this moment that they knew they might never see their child again.
But neither of them had any regret or sadness. Because they believed that being an immortal was more important than being with their family.
Unlike others, Shanks took very little time with his parents. Others were crying their eyes out while he didn't even shed a single tear.
It was at this moment that the female cultivator nodded her head towards him.
"You've a strong resolve to become a cultivator."
She took out a triangular gold token with a blue sword carved on it.
"This is your sect token. With this, you can join the Azure Sword Sect. Remember not to lose it!"
Shanks took a deep breath and took the token from her hand. At this moment, he felt something strange to him.
He couldn't understand what it was, but based on their previous words, he concluded that his fate with his family was severed.
That meant he didn't have to worry about passing down his bad luck to his family.
With their current wealth, they wouldn't have to worry about living a good life.
He tightly held the token in his hand and opened the panel in his head. Because he found something different in his panel from the black jade.
[Host: Shanks Storm
Age: 12
Realm: None
Cultivation Technique: None
Spells: None
Martial Arts: None
Spiritual Root: Fire (18%), Water (18%), Earth (18%), Metal (18%), Wood (20%), Lightning (2%), Wind (2%), Ice (2%), and Space (2%),
Luck: -15]
'So, I have a total of nine different elements in my spiritual root, and they have been divided in percentage.'
'But what do they represent? Why does having more elements with a lower percentage matter?'
'I need to ask them.'
At this moment, Shanks looked at the female cultivator and asked.
"Immortal Master, isn't more always better? Why does having more spiritual roots mean less talent?"