Chapter 3: Nirvana Returns

He quickly sat cross-legged, holding his breath and concentrating.

The cracking sound in his ears grew increasingly intense. Initially, it was a faint buzzing, like a mosquito, then it grew to the sound of torrential rain, and finally, it roared like war drums. Finally, a thunderous roar, powerful enough to shatter mountains and rip the earth, seemed to erupt right next to his ear, causing Jiang Fan's vision to go black.

In the darkness, he saw a tender sprout breaking through the soil. Its emergence seemed to startle some supreme entity, which sent down world-shattering bolts of lightning, attempting to force it back underground. The tender sprout slowly unfurled, effortlessly absorbing every incoming lightning bolt, and grew vigorously at a visible pace.

One inch, two inches, three inches...Ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet...A hundred feet, a thousand feet, ten thousand feet...

Jiang Fan watched, mesmerized, as a single seed devoured the thunder of heaven and earth as nourishment, transforming into a colossal, sky-piercing tree that stretched beyond his sight! The lightning, realizing its inability to halt the growth, gradually subsided.

Just as Jiang Fan thought it was all over, a mighty roar, imbued with divine power, reverberated through the air: "How dare you seize the divine tree of my Primeval Void Clan? No matter who you are, no matter where you are, we will find you! We *will* find you!!!"

The roar assailed his ears, causing his head to split with pain and his soul to feel as though it would shatter under the immense divine power.

At this critical moment, the Primeval Void Tree emitted streaks of green light, which flowed into Jiang Fan's body. The tearing sensation gradually faded, and under the influence of the green light, a spiritual root began to form in his Dantian.

Jiang Fan, having narrowly escaped death, was deathly pale. Who was that? A single roar, separated by untold amounts of time and space, had nearly destroyed him? And why did he claim this tree belonged to the Primeval Void Clan? Hadn't his father given it to him?

It took him a while to calm the turmoil within his heart. He subconsciously looked down at his abdomen, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.

"A spiritual root! I have a spiritual root!" he exclaimed, overjoyed. The transformation he had awaited for eighteen years had finally come!

Immediately, he sank to his knees, his eyes filled with sorrow and awe: "Father, do you see this? Your child has manifested a spiritual root; now I can protect myself. May your spirit in heaven now rest in peace!"

He bowed deeply, his eyes glistening with tears. Before his father's death, his greatest worry was that Jiang Fan was still vulnerable, and there would be no one to protect him as he grew. Now, he had a spiritual root. The child his father had protected his entire life had finally grown up!

After a long moment, Jiang Fan composed himself and carefully examined his spiritual root. What he saw made him freeze.

"Transparent?" His spiritual root was transparent, completely devoid of color! "There are red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white spiritual roots, but no transparent ones, are there?"

Xu Yining's spiritual root was deep blue, indicating she possessed a sixth-grade spiritual root. Legend had it that the highest grade was a white spiritual root, representing ninth grade. But a transparent spiritual root—he had never heard of such a thing!

"It seems I'll have to go to the Testing Hall to confirm this," Jiang Fan murmured to himself.

On the continent, there was an ancient power known as the Heaven's Secret Hall. The prestigious Qingyun Sect was merely one of its nine major subordinate sects. It had established a testing tower in every city, offering free spiritual root testing to everyone. If an outstanding spiritual root was detected, one could apply to the local testing tower master to join a sect within that territory.

For instance, Xu Yining, whose sixth-grade spiritual root was detected at the testing tower, caught the attention of a Qingyun Sect elder, who then exceptionally designated her as a true disciple. It was said that if one's talent was truly extraordinary, it might even alert the Heaven's Secret Hall itself, leading to direct recruitment as a Heaven's Secret Hall disciple. However, this was merely a rumor; since the establishment of the Lonely Boat City Testing Tower, no one had ever been directly recruited by the Heaven's Secret Hall. To enter the Heaven's Secret Hall, one first had to cultivate for three years in one of the nine major sects. Only the most exceptional prodigies who emerged during that period had a chance to be selected by the Heaven's Secret Hall.

He wondered what grade his transparent spiritual root would be.

Just then, Jiang Fan suddenly noticed that the lush Primeval Void Divine Tree was laden with enormous, transparent fruits. Inside the lowest-hanging fruit, a cultivation technique was sealed.

"Profound-grade, High-tier mental cultivation method: the Dragon-Seeking Scripture." Reading the words on the cultivation method, Jiang Fan was stunned. The Xu family, a long-established power in Lonely Boat City, possessed a clan-protecting cultivation method that was merely a Yellow-grade, Mid-tier sword technique, yet it ranked among the top ten cultivation methods in Lonely Boat City. Throughout the Xu family's history, numerous crises had been triggered by others coveting this very technique. A Profound-grade, High-tier technique, however, was enough to plunge the entire world into chaos!

His breath hitched. He rushed to the tree, attempting to leap up and grasp the fruit. However, an invisible force pushed him back down to the ground. A wisp of information slowly appeared in his mind.

"The lowest fruit can only be picked by those in the Foundation Establishment Realm."

Immediately after, the dark world before his eyes gradually faded, and he found himself back in his simple room. He was momentarily stunned; the recent experience felt dreamlike. Yet, the spiritual root in his abdomen assured him that it had all been real.

"The Dragon-Seeking Scripture, Foundation Establishment Realm." Jiang Fan excitedly licked his lips, practically itching to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm right then and there.

Unwilling to waste a single moment, he left the Xu Residence, half-walking and half-running, arriving at the Testing Tower, breathless. It was still early morning, and the Testing Tower had not yet opened its doors. Young boys and girls, ready for their tests, waited in front of the tower.

"Zheng'er, it's your re-test today, so please don't be nervous. The Tower Master said that last time, your anxiety caused your test result to be below your normal level." Wang Yingfeng stood with Lu Zheng in front of the Testing Tower, waiting for it to open. "You're at least a superior third-grade, but because of your nerves, you only tested as a mid-tier third-grade! It's this single grade difference that prevents me from securing more resources for you within the Xu family."

Lu Zheng nodded gravely. The Xu family's resources were already limited, with most allocated to Xu Yining. The remainder was distributed according to individual talent. Many among the Xu family members possessed third-grade spiritual roots. If he was a single grade lower than others, the resources he would receive would be significantly reduced. Therefore, for this re-test, he had to prove his true level.

"If you test as a superior third-grade, your aunt will do everything in her power to persuade the Xu family elders to make an exception and allow you to cultivate the Xu family's "Xu Clan Sword Art." " For the sake of her nephew, Wang Yingfeng was going all out, even planning to pass on the Xu family's core secrets to this outsider.

What? Lu Zheng was overwhelmed with excitement! The "Xu Clan Sword Art" was a Yellow-grade, Mid-tier offensive technique, a highly ranked and powerful cultivation method in Lonely Boat City, accessible only to core members of the Xu family. He had spent ten years living under the watchful eyes of others in the Xu family, and finally, he could access their most fundamental techniques!

Amidst his excitement, his peripheral vision caught sight of a familiar figure, and he couldn't help but feel surprised: "Jiang Fan? What are you doing here?"

Jiang Fan calmly wrote down a note: "Same as you." Before his strength reached a certain level, it was better to continue feigning muteness to avoid suspicion from the Xu family members.

"Same as me? Heh." Lu Zheng shook his head, his eyes filled with disdain. He was there to re-test for a higher-grade spiritual root. Jiang Fan had been tested countless times. What was the point of a re-test for him?

He patted Jiang Fan's shoulder, a hint of mockery in his voice: "Spiritual roots are innate; you either have one or you don't. What's wrong with living your life as a mortal? Why pursue something you can never obtain?"

Jiang Fan secretly clenched his fists. Why should I be destined to remain a mortal for life, while you are a revered martial artist?

Just then, the doors opened. The Testing Tower Master, a languid old man who had performed the same task for decades, was long past caring. He spoke expressionlessly: "The old rules apply: those who demonstrate excellent aptitude will receive a cultivation method as a reward."

Everyone looked indifferent because the reward was something ordinary people simply couldn't attain. In recent decades, the only one who had received it was Xu Yining, whose sixth-grade spiritual root talent earned her a Yellow-grade, Low-tier mental cultivation method as a reward. Relying on this mental cultivation method, Xu Yining had reached the eighth level of Qi Condensation in just half a year. If a sixth-grade spiritual root only merited the lowest-tier cultivation method, others needn't even dream of it.

Jiang Fan's eyes, however, gleamed. "There are cultivation methods to be had?"