The people from the Helian Family waved their hands, arranging for Shi Jiu's admission into the Helian Family as if it were an insignificant trivial matter.
However, seeing that Shi Jiu was about to join and would henceforth be considered "one of their own," a hint of a smile appeared on their previously indifferent faces.
"Since you are preparing to join the Helian Family, then two days from now, at Chen Shi, gather here again.
You can now register your name and some basic information here, and also collect your subsidy for joining the Helian Family."
Shi Jiu knew that Chen Shi was from 7 AM to 9 AM.
From this, he judged that the Seven Luminaries Sect's Aptitude selection test would likely conclude within these two days.
After all, the later it got, the faster the process would be.
After registering his name and other details, Shi Jiu received a full one hundred taels of silver from another person of the Helian Family.
He then happily returned to the vicinity of the Seven Luminaries Sect's venue, waiting for the other children to finish their tests.
Fortunately, the children from Shi Jiu's village completed their tests that very day.
Approximately 200 children came this time. Besides Shi Jiu, there was only one with Four Spiritual Roots and one with Five Spiritual Roots; none of the other children had any Spiritual Roots.
Upon seeing this, Shi Jiu couldn't help but feel a bit silent. It seemed that Spiritual Roots were indeed not common goods; even his own, the most inferior type of Spiritual Root, was considered rare.
To be directly chosen by such a Cultivation Family, he should cherish this opportunity.
Even if others believed he couldn't Cultivate to a profound level, he absolutely must not be disheartened, and his heart for the Dao must remain firm.
So Shi Jiu explained to the others in his village that he had just tested as having Five Spiritual Roots and had been accepted by the Helian Family, and therefore would likely not be able to return to the village with everyone.
He also shared half of the admission reward he received with the villagers, asking them to take it back for Hou Laohan and Tie Sheng to share, considering it a partial repayment for their help.
The people from Hou Family Village who came with him couldn't help but envy Shi Jiu greatly, and upon hearing that Shi Jiu had given them such a large sum of silver, they felt he was truly righteous.
Everyone present wholeheartedly promised Shi Jiu that they would convey his wishes, especially since not a single child from Hou Family Village had been found to have Spiritual Roots this time.
Shi Jiu originally wanted to see how Hou Laohan's grandson, Hou Liangping, was doing, but was told that Liangping, after coming to the city and being tested as having no Spiritual Roots, had simply stayed to live with his parents.
He should now have been taken by his father to school and would not be returning to Hou Family Village for the time being.
On the morning two days later, Shi Jiu did not greet everyone much. He gently exhaled and walked towards the designated meeting place of the Helian Family.
When Shi Jiu arrived, several people were already waiting there.
Shi Jiu also saw the person from the Helian Family who was in charge on the day of the test. He stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and then stood properly behind that person, alongside the other early arriving children.
"Uncle, you must have also been accepted this year, right? You look much older than us."
Just as he stood still, a small boy next to him blinked several times and asked Shi Jiu.
Shi Jiu felt a bit helpless at this. Why was the age critique so prevalent in the Cultivation world?
He was just over 24 years old now, so how could he be old?
However, Shi Jiu's upbringing was quite good, and besides, he had just arrived and wouldn't inexplicably throw tantrums at others.
So he nodded slightly and smiled, not saying much.
The little boy saw that Shi Jiu seemed to have no desire to continue the conversation, so he turned to the others beside him and started chatting idly.
Although Shi Jiu did not participate in their casual chat, he did gather some information.
For example, this little boy was named Zhang Da, the boy next to him was Feng Ming, and the other little girl was Qin Caier.
Qin Caier had Four Spiritual Roots, while Zhang Da and Feng Ming, like Shi Jiu, had Five Spiritual Roots. Feng Ming's Spiritual Root was even slightly worse than Shi Jiu's.
Shi Jiu had an upper-grade Five Spiritual Roots, Feng Ming had a middle-grade Five Spiritual Roots, and Zhang Da, like Shi Jiu, had an upper-grade Five Spiritual Roots.
After a little over half an hour, another girl arrived, dressed quite lavishly. Her attire alone suggested considerable wealth.
Shi Jiu guessed that she must be the daughter of a wealthy family from the city or a nearby area.
However, seeing the girl's aloof expression, Shi Jiu had no inclination to greet her.
The girl quietly greeted the Helian Family's person in charge and then joined Shi Jiu and the others, standing beside Qin Caier.
Zhang Da, being quite familiar, greeted the girl, but he seemed to receive no effective response.
Shi Jiu secretly chuckled, his mind already conjuring up a melodramatic scene of a poor boy and an arrogant princess.
It seemed that everyone had arrived, and the Cultivator from the Helian Family was about to lead Shi Jiu and the others away. At this moment, a hoarse laugh came from afar:
"Hehe, Helian Tao, it seems your Helian Family hasn't recruited any good prospects this year.
After waiting for half a day, there are only a paltry two or three, and oh, there's even one who's around 30 years old, right? You're truly regressing."
The hoarse voice laughed heartily as he spoke, seemingly amused by the Helian Family's new recruit situation this year.
Upon hearing this, Shi Jiu knew he had been inexplicably hit with an age critique again, but since he didn't understand the situation yet, he couldn't retort.
"Hmph, I wondered who it was, turns out it's Yang Zemu, that scoundrel from the Yang Family.
I heard your famous elder brother was beaten flying in the first round of the Seven Luminaries Sect's internal competition, right?
He was boasted about like something else before, but I didn't expect him to be a good-for-nothing. As for the brother of that good-for-nothing, I can't even imagine what he is."
Upon hearing this voice, Helian Tao seemed to recognize who it was. He frowned slightly and retorted with quite malicious sarcasm.
The Yang Family Cultivator named Yang Zemu seemed not to have expected Helian Tao to say such words. His face instantly flushed red, and he angrily said:
"Helian Tao, how dare you insult my brother Yang Zeshui! Be careful, my brother will chop you down when he returns from the Seven Luminaries Sect!
My elder brother was just unlucky this time; he happened to encounter Qian Hui, who is the top Outer Sect Disciple of the Seven Luminaries Sect this year, in the first match. Otherwise, he would definitely be at the level of the top four."
Helian Tao snorted coldly after hearing this, seemingly quite wary of Yang Zeshui, whom Yang Zemu mentioned.
Afterward, he quietly told Shi Jiu and the others behind him to follow, then walked straight ahead, no longer paying attention to Yang Zemu.
And Yang Zemu, after hearing Helian Tao mock his brother, also seemed to have no desire to say anything more.
Fearing that Helian Tao would say more insulting words, he cursed under his breath and walked in another direction.
After leaving that area, Helian Tao turned to Shi Jiu and the others and said:
"The person just now was Yang Zemu, an Outer Sect Disciple of the Cultivation Family, the Yang Family.
The Yang Family and our Helian Family have had continuous friction and many small conflicts over the past decade due to issues of territorial division.
This Yang Zemu himself is unlearned and unskilled, just an ordinary Yang Family Outer Sect Disciple.
But he has an elder brother named Yang Zeshui, who has a lower-grade Dual Spiritual Root and can be considered a Genius, so he was sent by the Yang Family to the Seven Luminaries Sect for Cultivation."
"You won't encounter people from the Yang Family for now, but if you do in the future, you must be careful.
However, there's no need to be afraid. Our Helian Family's Old Ancestor is also a Core Formation Immortal Master, just like theirs, and even older in qualification, so you must be firm."
When Helian Tao mentioned his own Core Formation Old Ancestor, he seemed quite proud, even puffing out his chest slightly.
"Immortal Elder Brother, what level of Immortal is this Core Formation Old Ancestor? He must be very powerful, right?"
Qin Caier, who had been following behind, quietly asked Helian Tao. This was exactly the question Shi Jiu had just wanted to ask.
"Uh, this..." Seemingly taken aback by the question, Helian Tao paused slightly and explained:
"It's not your fault for not knowing. In fact, after entering our Helian Family, there will be deacons who will explain it to you. But never mind, I'll explain a bit to you in advance.
The Cultivation Realms are divided into Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Soul Transformation. The Qi Refining Realm is divided into 10 levels, while the other Realms are divided into Early, Middle, Late, and Great Perfection stages."
"Like me, I am at Qi Refining 7th level. That Yang Zemu just now was only at Qi Refining 5th level. His brother, Yang Zeshui, is at Qi Refining 10th level.
And in Sects like the Seven Luminaries Sect, Disciples at Qi Refining 10th level, as long as they achieve excellent rankings in the Sect's grand competition or make other contributions, will be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill by the Sect, thereby having hope for Foundation Establishment."
"Elder Brother Tao, will our Helian Family also bestow Foundation Establishment Pills upon us?"
Zhang Da immediately asked.
"This, yes, of course.
However, although Cultivation Families like ours have a much greater chance of obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills than Loose Cultivators outside, we certainly don't have as many as Sects like the Seven Luminaries Sect.
They are prioritized for the Family's Core Disciples. If you and I want to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, then we must diligently Cultivate and strive to become Core Disciples."
"May I ask, Elder Brother Tao, is Foundation Establishment absolutely dependent on this Foundation Establishment Pill?"
"That's not necessarily true. Theoretically, you don't need a Foundation Establishment Pill; you just need to refine your internal True Qi to be thick and solid, compressing it infinitely, to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment.
However, this is only theoretically possible. Who has the time to continuously compress and condense True Qi?
And even if one has the time to compress, the compression and condensation of True Qi become increasingly difficult as you progress.
The key is the extremely high difficulty of removing Impurities from the body. You'll understand naturally once you truly begin to Cultivate."
When Helian Tao spoke of this, he seemed to yearn for Foundation Establishment but also felt quite helpless about its intricacies.