Sold. The lot of them were sold for 3 taels of silver, and some strange pills. This left a bad taste within his mouth.

He and the other 12 were asked to wash their faces briefly before entering a gigantic courtyard filled with hundreds and hundreds of children. What seemed common though was that almost everyone had signs of slavery or poverty.

Chattering and whispering filled the courtyard whilst he found a place settle down.

He observed the surroundings; a raised platform, sculptures of seemingly live snakes coiling around the marble pillars and baring their fangs. He had also noticed a wooden plague denoted ‘Misty Clouds Pavilion’, just above the gates when he had entered.

A somewhat calming incense drifted past his nose.

Can’t tell whether this is a demonic or righteous sect. Are we being mass recruited for something?

Soon some of his suspicions were answered, and his excitement in this newfound opportunity grew. Several men and women, some that were old and already grey hair whilst other were young and easier on the eyes, flew down from the sky, landing gently atop the platform. Although, there were clearly more women than men.

"Listen up brats!", one grey-haired elder spoke, his authority making the air heavier to breathe. He waited for silence to spread before continuing, "We, of The Misty Cloud Pavilion, have graciously bought you into our world of Immortals. There are those of you who knew nothing but poverty, stealing and killing every day as if they were your last. There are those of you who were cast away in chains or abandoned by their kin. Here lies an opportunity for wealth, glory and more!”

After pausing, the elder then spoke “There will be several tests to take. But the first will be a spiritual root test to see if you are worthy to take in.”

During the test, Dongfang Yeqiu had learnt the bare basics of the grades of spiritual roots and the types of spiritual roots each associated with a distinct colour.

In the cultivation novels he had read there were different ranks of cultivation level and spiritual roots or the like which separated the chaff from the wheat. The better the grade of spiritual root the higher one’s potential would be in the Path of Cultivation.

The five basic elements in his old world was usually Fire (red), Water (blue), Wood (green), Metal (grey) and Earth (brown). Later, he found out that elements like Ice, Lava, Thunder, Wind, Light and Darkness were all mutated roots. Though, not all, ranked at the top of the charts.

If one did not have any spiritual roots, then naturally that meant one could not cultivate. An old female elder listed the 6 grades from lowest to highest: Mortal (5 spiritual roots), Martial (4 spiritual roots), Terra (3 spiritual roots), Astral (2 spiritual roots), Celestial (1 spiritual root) and Mutated spiritual roots (1 spiritual root)

Mortal spiritual roots meant that these people had the poorest speed of cultivation.

Martial spiritual roots allowed one to cultivate slightly faster than those with Mortal spiritual roots.

Terra spiritual roots had cultivators cultivating many times faster than those with Martial spiritual roots.

Astral spiritual roots allowed one to cultivate much faster than those with lower graded spiritual roots.

Celestial and Mutated spiritual root people, affinities with a single element, cultivated at the same rate by 2-3 times faster than those with Astral spiritual roots. And those with Mutated spiritual roots with the right cultivation method have the potential to be the pinnacle of their own generations. He later found out examples of Mutated roots, whose appearance was extremely rare appearing once or twice every 50 years or so. Examples of such roots included Ice (Wind, Water), Darkness, Light, and Lava (Fire, Earth)

And thus, the children were tested for their spiritual roots. Some feared for their lives whilst others were excited, imagining what the future may hold for them. Those who were found not able to cultivate immediately cried and begged for another chance before being taken away. Though some sighed in relief, perhaps willingly resigned to their fate.

The elders cruelly ignored their plight, waving their hands instead.

A flash of light, a drop of blood. And they were gone, the other children behaving more orderly and fearful. Though sobbing still rang clearly in this wide-open space.

Death, or so he presumed, was not a novel sight. At least this time, he did not have to see their cold, dead bodies and witness once again, physically, the fragility of mortals. Compared to immortals, whose powers and knowledge are immense and versatile, mortals can only live like a frog in a well. As Zhunag Zi once said, in the script of Autumn Water [秋水], a frog living at the bottom of the well, carefreely and happily, thinks that the well is the worlds’ largest place, not knowing how vast the sea is outside. The idiom, [井底之蛙], accurately paints this relationship of mortals and immortals. How can a mortal possibly defeat or escape from an immortal? How can a mortal ever fathom how mighty these beings are?

As each time a familiar figure failed and disappeared, grim thoughts shrouded Dongfang Yeqiu’s mind.

All my knowledge comes from these novels, with tinted rose frames. Life is not all sunshine and roses, where the heroes have happy endings. Why was I so short-sighted? Were not the past months already a painful lesson to be remembered?

The useless are culled and the talented are accepted. Would this be the end of the road for me? A new chance of life ended so soon?

The tests continued. More children were spirited away - not a hint of ash or dust - and the others celebrated their own survival by virtue of their spiritual roots.

"Chu, 11 years old, Earth. Celestial spiritual root!!!"

This guy was quite tall for his age reaching the height of roughly 5'1. Compared to his own height of 4'6, he truly wondered what the heck did he eat to grow up so tall.

"Cai Ruogang, 12 years old, Fire and Wood. Astral spiritual roots!"

This time, a pretty girl about 4'10 with a baby face stepped aside from her diagnosis, fear and nervousness slightly reduced. A glimpse of emerald like eyes and flowing red hair disappeared from his sight.

If I remember correctly, Fire and Wood are needed for alchemists or pill refiners. Wonder what they call it here? I might be able to rise and churn in wealth like no tomorrow!

Dongfang Yeqiu, recovering from his previous dark dilemmas, quickly fell into his daydream of wealth, beauties and fame.

"Lei Ming, 11 years old, Metal, Earth, and Water. Terra spiritual roots!"

The 4'8 boy gave a sigh of relief before giving him a quick glance and left to join the next stage of tests.

As the line gradually decreased, he noticed a familiar redhead with her hand on top of the round crystal ball testing tool.

"Hua Xue, 12 years old, Wood, Water, and Fire. Terra spiritual roots!"

Before scurrying off to the side, she gave a small smile backwards.

Soon the lines dwindled, until a little tiger was to be tested. Though slightly stoic, her body trembled nervously and moved stiffly. She slowly placed her hand onto the ball.

“Li, 8 years old, Fire, Metal and Wood. Terra spiritual roots!”

The cheeky little tyke blew a raspberry at Dongfang Yeqiu before hopping off.

Then, after some time, it was his turn to be tested. Time seemed to come to a halt. His hand slowly reached out, to be placed on the testing tool. Dongfang Yeqiu stared at the crystal ball, and a young, scruffy boy was mirrored back at him. As he stared, thoughts swirled chaotically.

What will my fate be? A painless death, or the opportunity to live? Mortal spiritual roots, Celestial or in-between?

Is this the end? Or is this a new beginning?

Which route is the road to Hell and which one is a stairway to Heaven?

Survive, I must. To forge my own path and see the wonders of the world!

A flash of red and blue gave some needed respite. Three more flashes of various colours briefly made themselves known.

"Dongfang Yeqiu, 10 years old, Fire, Water, Metal, Earth, Wood, Mortal spiritual root!!!"

Relief was all he felt. Poor they may be, he had a chance. And a chance was all he wanted.

 “We have weeded out the mortals from within your ranks. After surviving the second stage, we shall separate you into groups according to your grades: Mortal, Martial, Terra. Those with Astral roots or above will automatically become inner disciples and are also eligible to take tests for core disciples!” exclaimed an old elder with a lopsided smile, more sinister than cheerful.

Giving wry smiles to familiar figures, he kept his cool. He did not know what the next test was, but he’d darned well be willing to fight tooth and nail for his own life. A mortal, rebirthed, has begun his journey of immortality.

"A thousand-mile journey begins with but a single step"

                                                       ~Lao Zi