Joe Di glanced at the wallet Jing Moshuang had given him. Inside were ten silver coins and several dozen copper coins.
Joe Di was no stranger to gold, silver, and copper coins. Although Ji Nation was technologically advanced and used paper currency, gold and silver coins were still in circulation.
Joe Di thought this money would last him a few days, but as he started looking for an inn in Riverdale City, he realized it was nowhere near enough.
Even the worst inns in Riverdale City now charged one silver coin per night, and that didn’t include meals. Slightly better inns cost more than five silver coins a night. The worst part was, these were just the prices—there were no available rooms anywhere, as every inn was packed full.
With no other choice, Joe Di headed to Ascendant Square, planning to make do for the night at the edge of the plaza.
Ascendant Square was originally called Riverdale Plaza, but after Riverdale City hosted the Ascendant Gate Ceremony, the plaza was renamed and expanded. The new square was now at least ten times larger than before.
When Joe Di arrived, he found that plenty of people were in the same predicament. Since overnight stays weren’t allowed in the center of the square, many had set up simple tents along its edges.
It was just one night, after all. Joe Di planned to find a slightly empty spot at the plaza’s edge to get by. Before his meridians were severed, he could spend more than half a month in seclusion cultivating at a time. Sitting here for a night was nothing to him.
After searching nearly the entire perimeter, Joe Di still couldn’t find a suitable place to sit—he had simply arrived too late.
“Brother, there’s nowhere left to sit now. I arrived two hours earlier than you. Why don’t you spend the night beside me?” A rough, hearty voice called out to Joe Di.
Joe Di stopped. He saw a gray-black mat, picked up from who-knows-where, covered in spots and looking filthy. Sitting on the mat was a burly man. When Joe Di looked at him, the man awkwardly touched his short hair—it was he who had just called out to Joe Di.
Next to the burly man, there was indeed a small empty space. It wasn’t big, but it was enough for Joe Di to get through the night.
“Thank you,” Joe Di said, sitting down beside the burly man.
The burly man quickly pulled out an even dirtier little cushion from his oilcloth bundle and said, “Brother, you can sit on my big mat. I have another one here.”
Joe Di hurriedly waved his hand. “No need, this is fine.”
Honestly, the bluestone slab beneath him was much cleaner than the burly man’s mat.
Afraid the burly man would insist on giving him the mat, Joe Di quickly asked, “So you got here two hours early just to claim this spot?”
“No, no, I was originally over there, but later I moved here.” The burly man pointed to a spot not far away.
That spot was clearly more spacious and ventilated, and was now occupied by two young men.
“But that’s odd,” Joe Di wondered aloud. “Even if you gave up your spot, isn’t there still space next to it?”
The burly man scratched his head again and said, “I gave up my spot a few more times, and finally ended up here.”
Joe Di was speechless. This burly man could win a trophy for helpfulness. Thanks to his generosity, Joe Di had a place to stay.
Seeing Joe Di’s confusion, the burly man grinned honestly. “My mother always told me to be courteous and humble when I’m out in the world.”
Joe Di wasn’t familiar with the burly man, so he simply said, “Your mother’s right, but don’t give away what’s yours too easily.”
He could tell the burly man was kind-hearted. Joe Di had been through a lot and knew that kindness was important, but it depended on the situation. Like how this burly man had given up several spots and ended up in this corner—not everyone appreciates such generosity. Many people think your courtesy is just what they’re owed.
“Yes, yes! Brother, my name is Garrett Lance. What about you?” Garrett Lance was easygoing and didn’t mind Joe Di’s words at all.
“I’m Joe Di.” Joe Di found Garrett Lance’s name curious—a strong, burly man with a name that included the word ‘Lance’.
Garrett Lance was quite talkative. Without Joe Di even asking, he explained that he came from a distant mountain village. By chance, he’d heard about the Ascendant Gate Ceremony opening in Riverdale City and had spent half a year traveling here.
Joe Di didn’t learn much from Garrett Lance. He came from a remote mountain village and knew nothing about the continent’s powers or dynastic changes. As for the Ascendant Gate Ceremony, he probably knew even less than Joe Di.
......
The night passed quickly. Joe Di had barely closed his eyes when the area grew noisy. He opened his eyes to see Garrett Lance already packing up his mat, his face full of excitement as he watched the various sects enter Ascendant Square for the ceremony.
When he saw Joe Di wake up, Garrett Lance hurriedly handed him a water bottle. “Brother Joe, wash your face. I heard that when the sects recruit disciples at the Ascendant Gate Ceremony, you have to look neat and tidy.”
“Alright, thanks.” Joe Di quickly wiped his face, straightened his clothes, and followed Garrett Lance into the plaza.
“Brother, I have no idea which sect is best.” Garrett Lance said, rubbing his hands as he gazed longingly at the row of sect emblems.
Joe Di was just as clueless, so he replied, “I’m the same as you—I don’t know which are the major sects and which are the minor ones. When the time comes, let’s see which sect claims the biggest territory; that’ll be the major one.”
A nearby voice chimed in, “All the top sects of the Northern Domain are here this time. Look—Trueblade Sect, Rainbowspire Sect, Thunderwing Sect, these are the top-tier ones. Jinghai School, Xinghe School, Wanfagong, and Liuli Valley are second-tier sects; the rest are third-rate or fourth-tier.”
Joe Di looked over. Sure enough, Trueblade Sect, Rainbowspire Sect, and Thunderwing Sect occupied the largest areas, and their displays were the most grand.
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“Brother Joe, let’s get in line too.” Seeing many people already queuing for the test, Garrett Lance couldn’t help but say.
Joe Di also wanted to find out as soon as possible what grade his spiritual root had mutated into. “Alright, let’s stand behind Trueblade Sect.”
The line behind Trueblade Sect was the longest, making it clear that Trueblade Sect was the largest among all the sects.
Although many people had come to participate in the Ascendant Gate Ceremony, Joe Di saw that the testing process was extremely fast. Participants simply stood on a device and placed their hands in two grooves. Beams of light would flash behind the device: one beam meant a single spiritual root, two beams meant dual spiritual roots, and so on—up to three or four roots.
After watching for a while, Joe Di figured out how the sects judged the quality of spiritual roots. Trueblade Sect recruited a genius with a pure wood spiritual root—a single root. The green beam was a full three meters tall, dazzling and vibrant.
But not all single spiritual roots were good. If the beam wasn’t pure in color and was mottled or messy, the candidate wouldn’t be accepted.
There was also a dual-root candidate: one red beam less than a meter tall, and the other an earth-yellow beam nearly three meters. Because the earth-yellow beam was pure, the candidate was accepted as a genius.
Some candidates with three spiritual roots were accepted too, but all successful disciples had one prominent beam—at least over a meter and a half tall—and the color had to be pure, without any mottling.
Few candidates with four spiritual roots were accepted—only one made it. Joe Di saw a few with five spiritual roots, but none of them were chosen.
“Brother Joe, it’s my turn!” Garrett Lance called out excitedly after the previous person finished testing, and quickly stepped up to the Trueblade Sect’s testing station.
“Good luck!” Even though Joe Di knew saying it wouldn’t change anything, he still cheered him on.
Garrett Lance stepped up to the device, placed his hands in the grooves, and a mottled blue beam shot up over two meters.
Joe Di stared in surprise at the blue beam behind Garrett Lance. After observing a hundred or two candidates, it was the first time he’d seen blue light.
“Hmm, a mutated lightning spiritual root... Too bad, the root is far too mottled. Otherwise, you’d be the top genius here...” The cultivator running the test shook his head and gestured for Garrett Lance to step down. “Not qualified. Next!”