The headband was all tangled up, but finally, it was tight enough to hold Lin Zhusheng’s hair. He yawned as he got out of bed, rubbing his not-so-clear eyes while washing up, and then he wobbled out the door.

It was already past noon, and the mist on the mountain had long dissipated. He made his way to the academy and finally met up with other fellow disciples halfway up the mountain. Most of them were heading up just like him.

This was the first time he had seen so many people at the academy.

As he stepped up to the academy, the first thing he noticed was not the familiar tranquil bamboo forest, but rather the bustling crowd.

There hadn’t been this many people during the test yesterday.

The little cat seemed surprised too, poking its head out from his clothes and saying, “So there are this many miscellaneous disciples.”

No wonder they needed several managers to oversee things. When everyone came at staggered times, it looked fine, but when gathered like this, it was quite a sight.

People were coming and going, and since they were all wearing the same clothes, the crowd looked like a gray mass. Lin Zhusheng struggled to find his little buddies among them.

He didn’t find his buddies, but his buddies found him.

“Tap.”

A weight landed on his shoulder, and when he turned his head, he met Song Ming’s lowered gaze. His eyes lit up, and he smiled, saying, “You overslept too?”

He thought Song Ming would have arrived early, but it turned out he was right behind him.

Song Ming acknowledged it and pointed in a direction, saying, “The announcement board is over there; the names of those who passed the test are up.”

As expected from someone with experience in taking tests multiple times, Lin Zhusheng nodded and followed the flow of people in the direction he pointed.

By the time they got there, the crowd around the board had thinned out a bit, and through the many heads, he could clearly see the names on the announcement board.

Lin Zhusheng saw his name in a prominent position, right next to a fellow disciple.

The little cat poked its head out to take a closer look, and its eyes widened when it saw the name on the board. It looked up in disbelief and then glanced at the people around.

Who would have thought that this usually scatterbrained guy, who was always bouncing around, actually had some brains?

“Lin Xiaoyou is quite impressive.”

The little cat didn’t say anything, but a voice came from behind him. Lin Zhusheng turned around to see a few familiar faces from when he bought grass earlier. The one speaking was standing right behind him, and it seemed he had a habit of resting his hand on people’s shoulders while talking, but after a few awkward attempts, he quietly let his hand drop.

Facing the compliment, Lin Zhusheng maintained a smile.

His normal smile was quite different from his polite smile, and the few people with a high favorability rating of eighty suddenly realized something was off and kindly asked, “Is there something on your mind, Xiaoyou?”

Lin Zhusheng didn’t have anything on his mind; he was just thinking about the other few books he had stayed up late reading that weren’t even on the test.

The little cat, the instigator, already understood what he was thinking and quietly burrowed back into his clothes the moment he smiled.

Another person praised Song Ming for finally passing the test and pointed out, “The disciples who passed are over there testing their root bones; it’ll take some time to line up.”

“Some time” wasn’t a euphemism; it really meant a long wait.

After checking the announcement board, Lin Zhusheng and his fellow disciples headed to the root bone testing area. The first thing they saw was a long, winding line.

The line was long but quiet, and on the jade-white platform stood a few people in matching outfits, with a long-bearded old man in a white robe at the center.

If Lin Zhusheng remembered correctly, that outfit should belong to the inner disciples. He had a strong impression of the old man with the braid-like beard, remembering him as the second elder in charge of academic affairs. The others beside him were likely disciples from his peak, brought in to do the heavy lifting.

The senior brother who had been there yesterday wasn’t around, but it wasn’t too disappointing since he hadn’t brought any gifts anyway.

The most eye-catching thing on the platform were two black stone slabs floating in mid-air. There was a faint blue glow beneath them, and it was hard to tell whether it was sci-fi or fantasy.

Disciples were placing their hands on the slabs one after another, and after a faint glow appeared, the slabs gradually dimmed again.

Having never gone through the disciple line before, this was Lin Zhusheng’s first time seeing such a thing, and he curiously looked at it a bit longer.

Song Ming, who had already experienced it once, followed his gaze and explained, “That’s the Gui Stone, used for testing root bones.”

The Gui Stone has a high sensitivity to root bones. During the test, the subject just needs to place their hand on it and try to input their spiritual energy. Once activated by the spiritual energy, the Gui Stone will glow according to the quality of the root bone—the better the root bone, the brighter the light.

When the stone stops changing, it indicates the test is over, and the people on the side will record the results for judgment.

Listening to this, Lin Zhusheng understood.

In simple terms, it was like a plus version of measuring lung capacity; the higher the intensity, the higher the value. The only difference was that measuring lung capacity required some effort, but here, effort didn’t seem to matter.

Almost ten people went up, and none of them were selected. The judged disciples quietly shook their heads, causing the fellow disciples below to feel a bit tense.

Lin Zhusheng wasn’t too nervous; he watched curiously, occasionally glancing at the fellow disciple in front of him who was so nervous they couldn’t help but stomp their feet quietly.

As long as he could level up to LV2 before the assessment, it would count as having decent root bones. A quick scan of the line allowed him to confirm who might pass the assessment.

As the line moved forward, he and Song Ming got separated, forming two lines in front of the jade-white platform.

Lifting his clothes, he stepped onto the platform, and as the people in front of him became fewer, he and his fellow disciple on the other side stepped onto the high platform almost simultaneously.

He could see what was glowing beneath the Gui Stone now. It was a formation, covered in intricate patterns, slowly rotating, with the light moving along with it.

A few disciples seemed to recognize his fellow disciple, pausing slightly when they saw him, then nodding slightly. The elder also glanced over, stroked his beard, and then returned his gaze.

The disciple in charge of him didn’t look much longer, and after shifting his gaze back, he dutifully asked for his name.

Lin Zhusheng reported his name. The disciple searched for a while and finally found the corresponding name at the very top, looking surprised as he glanced at it again. Then he responded, “Alright,” and explained to the Gui Stone, “Place your hand on it and inject your spiritual energy until the stone stops changing, then you can withdraw your hand.”

Lin Zhusheng rolled up his sleeves and tried it. The moment his hand touched the stone, he felt a slight chill.

Like ice.

“…”

And then there was nothing. His only impression was that the stone was pleasantly cool, and while his hand didn’t move, the stone didn’t light up either. Everything was eerily quiet.

“?”

Having seen so many assessments, even though others hadn’t passed, they would at least show a bit of light. This was the first time he saw a completely dark scene, and the disciple beside him widened his eyes in disbelief as he looked down.

Meeting the disciple’s gaze, they both fell silent for a few seconds in the stillness. Lin Zhusheng finally raised his hand quietly and asked, “By the way… how do I inject spiritual energy?”

Although people often said to use spiritual energy to inject spiritual energy, it only just occurred to him that while he had it, he had never actually used it.

These past few days, he had been learning from morning till night, treating the game as a learning simulator, completely forgetting that this was a fantasy world setting.

“…?”

Looking into the disciple’s incredibly sincere eyes, the disciple finally realized this person wasn’t joking. His mouth twitched as he said, “When you calm your mind, you should feel something flowing in your body like blood. Just draw it out and release it.”

Hmm, a rather abstract statement. In any case, Lin Zhusheng decided to follow the instructions. He lowered his eyes, focusing on his hand.

“Tap—”

In a vast emptiness, something flowed silently, rushing through his meridians. It felt like a stream, but not so calm; there were hidden undercurrents beneath.

In the surging tide, he cautiously tried to borrow a bit of water. Worried about a flood, he really only borrowed a little.

A meager trickle flowed from his palm, slowly seeping into the black Gui Stone.

A faint light gradually appeared, slowly spreading across the stone surface.

Great!

He succeeded on his first attempt, and Lin Zhusheng’s eyes lit up along with the stone. He wanted to give himself a round of applause, but the situation didn’t allow for it, so he held back.

The disciple was surprised that he got it on the first try, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment as a teacher, wanting to applaud, but in reality, according to the evaluation standards, the intensity of this light wasn’t enough to qualify.

Lowering his head to take notes, he was just about to record it when he suddenly saw the light double in intensity, and he looked up in confusion.

—Although he had only tried for a few seconds, the always bold Lin Zhusheng felt he had made significant progress in his technique and tentatively increased the output.

As the output of spiritual energy increased, the stone became even brighter, changing from a slow glow to a sudden brightness, making his little heart race along with it.

【Current Level: LV2 (1002/2000)】

Since the last upgrade, the experience that hadn’t moved for a long time finally increased by two points. Lin Zhusheng raised his eyebrows slightly, a small smile forming.

“Buzz—”

Finding the operation surprisingly simple and a bit fun, he wiped nonexistent sweat from his other hand, planning to tentatively release a bit more spiritual energy. However, a faint buzzing sound came from beside him, so he turned to look.

The light from the Gui Stone beside him disappeared, and his fellow disciple had already finished the assessment. The disciple beside him reported, “Upper grade,” and then called the next candidate forward, and his fellow disciple left.

Choosing between continuing to play and his fellow disciple, he opted for his fellow disciple. He glanced at the stone again, then turned to the disciple beside him, feeling a sudden urge to leave, and asked, “Is it enough?”

The disciple assessed carefully and said, “Almost.”

Lin Zhusheng added a bit more strength, and the Gui Stone instantly brightened again. He looked at the disciple with hopeful eyes.

That gaze was too intense for the disciple to bear, and he quickly replied, “You passed.”

As long as he passed, that was good. With a “snap,” the moment the words were spoken, Lin Zhusheng let go.