Chapter 1: Xianmen Fifth High School

**Name:** Chen Mobai**Age:** 18**Cultivation Level:** Fifth Layer of Qi Refining**Spiritual Roots:** Metal 23, Wood 27, Water 23, Fire 17, Earth 10

In a classroom by the window at Xianmen Fifth High School in Danxia City, a handsome young man took out his thin, jade-like phone and opened his personal data interface.

It was the start of the new semester, and the homeroom teacher was going to check everyone's cultivation progress during the holidays. Chen Mobai edited some information that needed updating.

He connected to the teaching network and was about to click 'send' on his personal panel to his homeroom teacher when he heard a voice beside him.

"Oh, wow, you actually went into seclusion to cultivate during the break and broke through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining." After his deskmate sent his own panel, he glanced at Chen Mobai's, saw 'Fifth Layer of Qi Refining' filled in the cultivation level section, and his tone was slightly envious.

Although the content on the personal interface was self-reported, the school could easily verify its authenticity through various exams. Hardly anyone would falsely report their progress, as being caught fabricating information would result in a permanent record in their file, affecting future academic progression or even allocation to pioneering wars. Within the Immortal Sect, penalties for dishonesty were quite severe.

"I'm different from you. I have true spiritual roots. As long as I put in serious effort, my cultivation will definitely be much faster than your false spiritual roots." Chen Mobai's words carried a hint of pride. This holiday, aside from being taken to the temple by his mother to burn incense, he had spent the rest of his time in secluded, diligent cultivation at home. He had finally broken through his bottleneck with the aid of pills and entered the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

"It's so unfair that your spiritual root attributes can even be classified as true spiritual roots." His deskmate looked indignant, but there was nothing he could do; that was just the rule of the Immortal Sect. A spiritual root attribute exceeding 20 was considered possessing that attribute. When his deskmate was in his mother's womb, the heavens apparently didn't pay attention when allocating talent, distributing it a bit too evenly across four attributes, which categorized him as having false spiritual roots. In reality, his deskmate's spiritual root attribute points were not much different from Chen Mobai's; one could say they were pretty much on par.

"Yes, good. Many of you made progress during the holidays." At this moment, the homeroom teacher at the podium, having reviewed everyone's panels, uncharacteristically showed a smile on his usually stern face. He then called out and praised every student who had made progress. Chen Mobai was among them.

The homeroom teacher's praise made the two beautiful female students in front of him turn their heads, which made Chen Mobai involuntarily puff out his chest, looking very pleased with himself. Reaching the fifth layer of Qi Refining put him among the top twenty in the entire class.

Now that he was in his final year of high school, if he worked hard, he might be able to advance another layer before the Immortal Sect College Entrance Examination. If he reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining, the top four Daoist academies would be out of reach, but he could still hope for a second-tier Daoist academy. As for third-tier academies, such as the local Danzhu and Chixia universities, admission would be virtually guaranteed. And as long as he could enter a Daoist academy after the college entrance examination, he wouldn't be conscripted by the Immortal Sect to participate in pioneering wars for ten years. Perhaps then he would have a chance to establish his foundation.

"Finally, I'd like to especially commend Song Zheng and Yan Bingxuan. I never thought I'd live to see myself guide two students to the late stage of Qi Refining." Chai Deyun had only become a homeroom teacher six years ago, and this class was the first he had guided from start to finish, so his emotions were particularly strong. He put down his tablet with a sigh of emotion, his usually stern gaze suddenly softening as he joined everyone in the classroom in looking at the young man and woman who had stood up.

These were the two top students in their class, also the most gifted with spiritual root attributes. They had indeed lived up to expectations, entering the seventh layer of Qi Refining before the college entrance examination. Such achievements virtually guaranteed admission to a second-tier Daoist academy, and they would have a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment within ten years. If successful, they would become Golden Core Dao Seeds in the future, and even within the Immortal Sect, they would be subjects of intensive cultivation. Chen Mobai also looked envious. Unlike his borderline true spiritual roots, Song Zheng and Yan Bingxuan possessed genuine true spiritual roots, with one attribute exceeding 40, allowing them to cultivate techniques of that attribute with twice the efficiency for half the effort.

"Alright, that concludes today's lesson." Hearing the school bell ring from the highest building, Chai Deyun collected the test papers, summarized them, and dismissed the class. All the students immediately dispersed in a rush.

Chen Mobai, too, grabbed only his phone and jumped out the nearest window, rushing straight towards the cultivation rooms. Fortunately, thanks to his holiday seclusion, his cultivation had advanced a layer, making his movement technique three times faster, allowing him to reach the cultivation grounds before most others. He had no time to choose; spotting an open, empty cultivation room, he rushed straight in.

*Beep*. Chen Mobai swiped his electronic student ID card on his phone, and the "VACANT" sign on the electronic screen by the cultivation room door instantly disappeared, after which the door slowly closed.

"Damn it!" Outside, a student who was a step too late cursed and hurried towards another vacant cultivation room. It wasn't surprising they were so eager. Spiritual energy was truly hard to come by.

After six thousand years of development by the Immortal Sect, the resources on Diyuan Star were almost exhausted. Within the territories occupied by the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, all spiritual veins and primordial qi had been nationalized. The spiritual energy that remained in the world was barely enough for cultivators to maintain basic breathing and circulation.

If cultivators wished to absorb spiritual energy for cultivation, they had to pay a "Merit Contribution" fee to the Immortal Sect. Transporting a low-grade first-tier spiritual vein energy to a residence cost 10 Merit Contribution points per month. For Chen Mobai, at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, low-grade first-tier spiritual energy was no longer very useful. Mid-grade first-tier spiritual energy cost 20 Merit Contribution points per month. And high-grade first-tier spiritual energy had a monthly cost of 40 Merit Contribution points. For Chen Mobai, mid-grade first-tier spiritual energy was only enough to stabilize his cultivation and allow for modest progress. To advance quickly, high-grade first-tier was preferable.

Of course, second-tier or even third-tier spiritual vein energy would be even better. But that was only wishful thinking. Only families of Foundation Establishment cultivators or companies could apply to the Immortal Sect for access to second-tier spiritual veins.

Feeling the spiritual energy concentration begin to rise in the cultivation room, which was about three square meters, Chen Mobai opened the spiritual energy value testing software on his phone. After waiting for nearly a minute, the displayed value finally stabilized.

Spiritual Energy Value: 10

The grade of spiritual vein energy could be measured by its spiritual energy value. According to the regulations of the Immortal Sect, a spiritual energy value of 1-10 indicated a first-tier spiritual vein. A spiritual energy value of 10-100 indicated a second-tier spiritual vein. A spiritual energy value of 100-1000 indicated a third-tier spiritual vein, and so on. The highest-grade spiritual vein in the entire Immortal Sect was said to be in the Grotto-Heaven of the two Soul Transformation Patriarchs, which was a sixth-tier spiritual vein.