Another Five Element Heavenly Spirit Root
He whispered in her ear that she was beautiful, soft and smooth, and he liked her very much.
If it were now, after her bone-washing and marrow cleansing, would he like her even more?
Uh... What was she thinking?
She knocked herself on the head and cursed herself for being such a pervert...
When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw Nanny, Hope, and Claire waiting for her outside.
Nanny's eyes were terribly red—clearly, she'd been crying.
Hope and Claire, on the other hand, were smiling like blooming flowers.
Grace gave them a shushing gesture and said, "I'm heading to the Martial Arts Hall. None of you are coming with me."
Hope made a gesture with her hands, mimicking a ball.
Grace nodded.
"Go on, go on! We'll have breakfast ready for you when you get back!" Hope and Claire chimed in together.
Grace smiled at them, then headed off alone toward the Training Center in the estate.
The Training Center was where Spirit Practitioners trained.
Inside, there were plenty of weapon racks.
And an Elemental Crystal.
In the world of Spirit Practitioners, the Elemental Crystal was a common thing—used to test for Spirit Roots.
It was a crystal orb about the size of a head, with a smaller, fist-sized orb inside.
Around the inner orb were five petal-like things, representing the five elemental attributes for testing Spirit Roots.
At first glance, it looked just like a five-petaled flower blooming inside the crystal orb.
The Elemental Crystal sat in the outer hall, unlocked—anyone could use it whenever they wanted.
Grace arrived early; there was no one else around, so she went straight in and stood before the Elemental Crystal.
Newborns, since their Spirit Roots haven't formed yet, can't be verified with the Elemental Crystal.
Only after they turn one year old does it work.
Legend has it, on her first birthday when she was tested for Spirit Roots, all the important elders of the family showed up, hoping for great things from her.
Everyone believed that since Zhu Minghan and Lena both had Earth Spirit Roots, their child would definitely have a Spirit Root too.
And surely, her Spirit Root wouldn't be weak.
Maybe it would be an Earth Spirit Root, or maybe—if she was lucky—even a Phoenix Heart!
But when her little hand touched the Elemental Crystal, it didn’t react at all.
No one could believe she was actually a dud.
Some even said maybe her Spirit Root was just slow to grow, and she hadn’t developed it by her first birthday.
They decided to try again after a few days.
So, after some time, her parents brought her to test her Spirit Root again.
Still nothing.
Later, they just brought the Elemental Crystal to Jade Hall and had her test every day—she even started treating it like a toy...
But it never lit up.
It wasn't until she turned five that her parents finally accepted the truth— their daughter was a dud with no Spirit Root at all...
......
A Yellow-grade Spirit Root glows yellow.
A Black-grade Spirit Root glows red.
An Earth-grade Spirit Root glows blue-green.
A Celestial-grade Spirit Root glows white.
Grace took a deep breath and placed both hands on it.
Suddenly, the inner orb burst out with a blinding white light.
And all five elemental petals lit up too.
Just like her past life—it's the Celestial Five-Element Root again!
"Nothing's changed!" Grace scratched her head, mumbling in confusion. "How did I jump to third rank overnight?"
Afraid someone might catch her, she finished testing and left the Training Center immediately, taking only the most secluded paths toward Serenity Pavilion.
Still, someone spotted her.
"Chloe Zhu!" The voice sounded anything but friendly.
Grace stopped and said to the newcomer, "Cindy, you're getting ruder by the day. I'm your elder sister, yet you keep calling me by my full name?"
"Pffft!!" Cindy Zhu sneered with utter contempt. "You? A useless waste—how could you ever be my sister? I only have one sister, and she's the Empress!"