Chapter 266 - 240: Mutated Spirit Root

On this special day, her parents were both at home.

After becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, Huang Mengzhu had told her father, Huang Datong, that she hoped he would make more time for cultivation instead of spending all of it on farming.

Huang Datong had agreed to this, but in reality, things were different.

With no other choice, Huang Mengzhu could only let her father continue as he was.

"Sister!"

The moment she walked through the door, a little boy came running toward Huang Mengzhu.

"Little brother, have you been misbehaving lately?"

"I’ve been very good."

Huang Mengyang looked guilty, and as his older sister, Huang Mengzhu could tell at a glance.

’He’s at an age where he can’t hide anything,’ she thought, ’just like I was.’

"Your word doesn’t count. I’ll go ask Dad and Mom."

"Huh?" Huang Mengyang yelped, then quickly added, "Sister, I’ve been really, really good! You have to believe me."

"Alright, I’ll believe you this time." Huang Mengzhu smiled faintly.

Huang Mengyang had just started to relax when he saw the smile on his sister’s face, and he immediately tensed up again.

’When Sister smiles like that, it obviously means she doesn’t believe me. She’s saying one thing and thinking another. He could tell.’

"I’ve only been naughty once recently." Huang Mengyang’s voice grew quieter and quieter until he shut his eyes at the end.

’Next would come the scary part.’

However, the punishment he imagined never came.

Sensing no movement, Huang Mengyang slowly opened his eyes, only to see his sister, Huang Mengzhu, nodding at him.

"Mm, that’s more like it."

Huang Mengzhu was still smiling, but it was a completely different smile from before, one that Huang Mengyang could easily recognize.

"You’re ten now, a young man. You can’t be misbehaving and causing trouble anymore, understand?"

"I know."

Huang Mengyang nodded his little head frantically.

The mention of his tenth birthday immediately reminded him that his sister’s return today meant something very important: it was time to test his Spirit Root.

With a Spirit Root, he could become a Cultivator. Without one, he would remain an ordinary person.

Everyone in his family had a Spirit Root; he didn’t want to be the only ordinary one.

Ever since he had learned about cultivation, Huang Mengyang had dreamed of being like his sister, joining the Celestial Cloud Sect and becoming one of its disciples.

After the siblings went inside and closed the gate, the family of four gathered.

Today, Huang Mengzhu was in the kitchen, preparing a wonderful meal for her family.

"Sister, you’re the best cook!" Huang Mengyang exclaimed, his mouth full, offering heartfelt praise.

Still being an ordinary person, he was different from his parents and sister; he ate mortal food.

Mortal food prepared by a Spirit Chef was a delicacy of the mortal world.

After the family of four enjoyed their wonderful meal, it was time to test Huang Mengyang’s Spirit Root.

Huang Mengzhu had already prepared the Spirit-Stabilizing Stone needed for the test.

Spirit-Stabilizing Stones were quite valuable.

She remembered when she was ten and had her own Spirit Root tested; they had to specifically borrow a Spirit-Stabilizing Stone for it.

A single test cost fifty jin of Clear Water Rice, equivalent to five Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

With her current status, it was a simple matter to procure a Spirit-Stabilizing Stone from the sect.

"Little brother, place your right hand here."

"Okay, Sister."

Huang Mengyang’s young face was etched with nervousness, terrified that the test would reveal he had no Spirit Root.

"Don’t be nervous. Just relax."

Under Huang Mengzhu’s guidance, the transparent Spirit-Stabilizing Stone first flashed with a cyan light, then an earthy yellow one. The two colors alternated back and forth before finally settling on a pale cyan.

"This is... a Mutated Wind Spirit Root!"

When the result was revealed, Huang Mengzhu’s face lit up with joy.

Mutated Spirit Roots were exceedingly rare. The Celestial Cloud Sect would only accept a disciple with one every ten or twenty years.

The last disciple in the Celestial Cloud Sect with an Abnormal Spirit Root had been Bai Qinying, who possessed a Mutated Thunder Spirit Root.

Anyone with a Mutated Spirit Root was guaranteed to be taken as a Direct Disciple by an Elder upon becoming an Inner Sect Disciple.

"A Wind Spirit Root!" Huang Datong’s eyes went wide as he stared at the scene in utter disbelief.

His wife, Zhang Chuzhen, also couldn’t believe her eyes.

"Mengzhu, the Spirit-Stabilizing Stone isn’t showing an error, is it?"

"There’s no error." Huang Mengzhu checked again carefully. "My little brother really does have a Wind Spirit Root."

’Before testing Mengyang’s Spirit Root, she had been hoping he would have Three Spirit Roots, just like her.’

The result far exceeded her expectations.

’A Mutated Wind Spirit Root—something that surpasses even Dual Spirit Roots.’

Huang Mengyang, the last to react, was the most ecstatic of all.

"I’m a genius! A once-in-thirty-years genius!"

His parents had taught him the basics about Cultivators.

He remembered them saying that the Spirit Root was the most important thing for a Cultivator, as it largely determined one’s cultivation speed and future potential.

His parents had also mentioned Mutated Spirit Roots, noting that the Celestial Cloud Sect might not see one for twenty years. That was why, in his mind, he was a genius Cultivator who appeared only once in thirty years.

Once his excitement subsided, Huang Mengyang noticed his sister staring intently at him.

"Sister, what is it?"

"A Wind Spirit Root is an excellent Spirit Root Talent. It makes breaking through Realms easier and your cultivation speed will be fast. But even so, you must still work hard in the future. You can’t just play around and waste time..."

Huang Mengzhu began lecturing Huang Mengyang, passing on the wisdom she had gained as his older sister.

"...Brother Fang Yun has Five Spirit Roots, the worst Spirit Root Talent there is. Even so, he still achieved Foundation Establishment early on and became a Sect Elder."

"I know, I know! You’re saying hard work is important, Sister! Big Brother Fang Yun worked really hard, right?"

Growing up, Huang Mengyang had only met Fang Yun once.

It was when he was seven years old.