The morning sun rose over the Ye family estate.
Ye Feng stood in the testing hall once again.
Around him, whispers spread like fire.
"Look, it's him."
"The one with five spiritual roots."
"Such a waste of resources."
Yesterday's result had already spread throughout the family.
Five roots.
The worst possible talent.
In this cultivation world, spiritual roots determined everything.
The stronger the roots, the faster one cultivated.
Five roots meant slow progress, low efficiency, and almost no future.
On the high platform, the elder responsible for evaluation looked at Ye Feng with cold indifference.
"Ye Feng. Step forward."
Ye Feng walked calmly to the center of the hall.
He could feel countless mocking gazes.
But his expression remained steady.
The elder activated the Spirit Testing Stone.
Light burst out.
Red. Blue. Green. Yellow. Brown.
Five colors lit up the hall.
The crowd immediately burst into laughter.
"Five roots!"
"Trash talent!"
"Even servants have better potential!"
Ye Feng's hands tightened slightly, but he did not argue.
He already knew the result.
The elder spoke emotionlessly.
"Ye Feng. According to family rules, you will not receive further cultivation resources."
"From today onward, you will handle outer chores."
The decision was final.
No one objected.
No one defended him.
Ye Feng bowed slightly.
"Yes."
His voice was calm.
But inside, he felt a quiet fire burning.
After leaving the hall, he walked alone through the courtyard.
Some disciples intentionally blocked his path.
One of them sneered.
"Five roots and still pretending to be calm?"
"Why not just leave the family?"
Ye Feng looked at him directly.
His eyes were clear, without anger.
"I will leave when I am ready."
The disciple laughed.
"Then we will wait and see, trash."
Ye Feng ignored the ridicule and continued walking.
That night, in his small and simple room, he sat cross-legged on the bed.
Even without resources, he would train.
He closed his eyes and began circulating the basic breathing technique.
The spiritual energy in the air was thin.
With five roots, absorbing energy was extremely slow.
Hours passed.
Suddenly—
A faint pulse appeared deep inside his consciousness.
Ye Feng opened his eyes.
The strange feeling from yesterday returned.
This time, it was stronger.
A distant mechanical sound echoed in his mind.
"Synchronization progressing… 12%…"
Ye Feng froze.
The voice was clearer than before.
"System connection unstable. Reattempting link."
His heartbeat accelerated.
Was this real?
Or was his mind playing tricks again?
The voice continued.
"Host detected. Conditions met."
"Activation requirements incomplete."
Then silence.
But this time, Ye Feng felt it clearly.
Something was awakening inside him.
A path that no one else could see.
Outside his window, the night wind moved gently.
Ye Feng slowly clenched his fist.
"Five roots…"
"If this is my fate…"
"Then I will rewrite it."
Deep in the unknown void, the system core responded faintly.
And the countdown continued.