Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 186 The Golden Core Seed Assessment Begins

In the outer courtyard of Xuan Yuan Dao Academy, inside the weapon-refining workshop.

All the other disciples had left the hermitage after listening to Instructor Hu's sermon.

Instructor Hu asked Zhou Ling to stay behind alone.

"Peak of Qi Refining, not bad!"

Sensing the change in Zhou Ling's aura, Instructor Hu praised him.

Zhou Ling was someone he personally brought into the Xuan Yuan Dao Academy, and now, among this year's freshmen, he is undoubtedly the well-deserved number one.

This also made him rank first in the academy in terms of teaching points this year.

Of course, many instructors in the academy also had doubts about Zhou Ling's spiritual root.

It is believed that it will be very difficult for him to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in the future.

Although he is now a second-grade weapon refiner, this is probably his limit.

To his delight, Zhou Ling's cultivation speed was not affected by his aptitude.

They are in no way inferior to top-talented disciples like Liu Yu and Ye Zhilan.

This made him quite gratified.

"Zhou Ling, this is the jade token for the Golden Core Seed Assessment that you requested."

Then, Instructor Hu took out a jade tablet, handed it to Zhou Ling, and said with a smile.

"Thank you, instructor!"

Zhou Ling thanked him respectfully and accepted the jade token with both hands.

It has been half a month since he returned from the Ancient Cloud Realm. During this time, he has been fully preparing for the Golden Core Seed Assessment.

Originally, only disciples who had been in the outer academy for more than two years were eligible to participate.

However, Zhou Ling's situation is special; he is the top candidate in the Foundation Establishment Seed Assessment, so he is also able to participate.

“Zhou Ling, although you are already a second-grade technique master, this Golden Core Seed assessment is different from the assessments you participated in before.”

"A Golden Core Seed is already considered a true disciple of the Xuan Yuan Dao Academy. They will become the foundation of the academy in the future, so the difficulty will not be less than the second-grade assessment of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau, and may even be several points higher!"

"The assessment will last for three days, which is a huge test of spiritual power and divine sense."

"Moreover, this process involves many things such as underground fire and material selection, which are highly variable."

"The other participants are all peak Qi Refining cultivators from previous years, who already have the ability to establish their foundation."

"I suppressed my cultivation only to wait for the Heavenly Grade Foundation Establishment Pill from the Dao Academy."

Instructor Hu spoke to Zhou Ling with a serious expression.

"Disciple understands!"

Zhou Ling cupped his hands in reply.

The Golden Core Seed Assessment is the most important assessment for outer court disciples.

After all, in addition to Foundation Establishment Pills and other rewards, one can also be accepted as a disciple by Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators of the Xuan Yuan Dao Academy.

That's a very high starting point.

Therefore, it is also the most difficult.

Disciples participating in the assessment are required to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining and pass the first-grade Technique Master assessment.

Those disciples of the Taoist academy who meet the requirements will generally participate in the assessment.

"The assessment will begin in ten days, so you need to be fully prepared in these ten days."

"Also, you should play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. I see that you have a relative advantage in forging swords."

"Although we don't know what the assessment will be this year, if we can forge a sword, then we should forge one!"

Instructor Hu spoke slowly to Zhou Ling.

"Yes, instructor!"

Zhou Ling replied.

Then they asked Instructor Hu some questions about sword seals and the specifics of the assessment.

After learning more about the place, I left the temple.

······.

He returned home that evening.

Over the course of a few months, the parents gradually got used to life in Qingyun Immortal City.

Moreover, the distillery's business is quite good.

Although it didn't achieve the same sales figures as in Lingxia Immortal City.

But they were able to sell it for a good price and make a considerable profit.

Every day, the father was responsible for purchasing ingredients such as rice, while the mother was responsible for brewing and selling the rice.

Brewing three batches of top-quality spirit wine every day can earn one or two hundred low-grade spirit stones.

The two were quite satisfied with this situation.

Moreover, the courtyard was rich in spiritual energy, which helped them make significant progress in their cultivation.

Knowing that her son was coming back, Li Ru prepared a table full of spiritual food for him.

After drinking a large bowl of spirit chicken soup, Zhou Ling looked satisfied. Although the spirit food outside was also good, it was still the food made by his mother that was the most delicious.

He took out another storage bag and said to the two of them, "Father, these are the blood crystals and body-refining herbs I prepared for you."

"There are also over a thousand catties of spirit rice inside!"

“Ling’er, I still have the blood crystal stones you gave me last time. Keep these for yourself!” Zhou Shan said, shaking his head.

"Father, you can keep it. I have more!" Zhou Ling said with a smile.

Now that his parents are supporting each other through thick and thin, they can peacefully run a small business, earn spirit stones, and improve their cultivation.

That's what he most wanted to see.

However, several months later, the blood crystal stone in the father's hand was still there.

Clearly, the progress of his cultivation is not ideal, and it's all his own fault.

The Three Yang Technique was extremely difficult to cultivate to begin with, and I was only able to make smooth progress because of my talent.

I originally thought that with my own insights into cultivation, it would be much easier for my father to cultivate.

However, the actual situation is not like that.

This also led to the father's slow progress in cultivation.

Faced with this situation, Zhou Ling thought for a moment and took out two jade scrolls from his storage ring, handing them to his father. "Father, these are two body-refining techniques that I obtained by chance: the Ancient Ape Body Refining Technique and the Mountain Moving Technique."

"Which cultivation method do you think is more suitable?"

Upon seeing the two incantations, Zhou Shan's eyes lit up. He took the book and began to read it.

"Ling'er, have a chicken leg." Li Ru picked up a still-steaming chicken leg and put it in Zhou Ling's bowl.

"Mom, you eat too!" Zhou Ling picked up the chicken leg and started eating.

After exchanging a few words with his father, his mother had already filled his bowl with sacred food.

"Mother has food to eat every day!"

Li Ru said with a broad smile.

"Tiger sent a letter a couple of days ago, along with the more than 1,000 low-grade spirit stones he had earned over the past five months."

Li Ru continued.

"Earning over a thousand yuan in five months is not bad!" Zhou Ling said with a smile.

"That's because I wasn't there, and I brewed far less wine every day," Li Ru said with a smile.

However, with a slightly helpless expression, he said, "The winery is doing quite well."

"Tiger is good at dealing with people; he recruited several members of the original medicine-finding team to help out at the winery."

"However, your Uncle Chu didn't go."

"Tiger mentioned in his letter that Brother Chu bought Foundation Building Pills two months ago."

"I was preparing to establish my foundation last month, but I failed in the end. My cultivation level has regressed instead of progressed."

"Uncle Chu failed to establish his foundation!" Zhou Ling was also surprised to hear this.

"Yes, Brother Chu, all our savings over the years will probably have to be put down, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"It's incredibly difficult for a rogue cultivator to successfully establish their foundation!"

At this moment, Zhou Shan also spoke up.

Zhou Ling didn't know what to say for a moment. Uncle Chu was already fifty years old, and this time he failed to establish his foundation.

It will be much more difficult to successfully establish a foundation in the future.

Li Ru seemed to sense the somewhat heavy atmosphere, then smiled and said, "Also, there's something else: Tiger's wife is pregnant!"

"Tiger is about to become a father!"

"Tiger is going to be a father!" Zhou Ling was also surprised.

That kid's got something!
He's a few months older than me, only fourteen years old at most, and he's going to be a father!
This is definitely a big win in life!

Then, Li Ru also mentioned the situation of other people in Lingxia Immortal City to him.

Instructor Fang, Master Lu, and others.

It seems that Tiger knows Zhou Ling well, and he made a point of learning about him before writing the letter.

After comparing the two cultivation techniques and the Three Yang Technique, Zhou Shan finally decided to cultivate the Mountain Moving Technique. Zhou Ling naturally supported his father's choice.

······.

On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, the examination day for Golden Elixir Seeds at Xuan Yuan Dao Academy arrived.

"This year's Golden Core Seed Assessment at Xuan Yuan Dao Academy."

"It will begin at 9:00 AM on June 9th and end at 7:00 PM on June 12th."

"This assessment will last for three days. All disciples participating in the assessment, please prepare to enter the assessment area."

······.

On the square of Xuanyuan Taoist Academy, Dean Zhong's deep voice resounded throughout the entire square.

In the southwest corner of the square, Zhou Ling was sitting on a futon.

Beside him were Zhou Shan and his wife, as well as Wang Xin and Sun Dajie.

They all came to watch Zhou Ling's assessment.

Zhou Ling listened to Dean Zhong's introduction.

They quickly understood the situation regarding this assessment.

It will last approximately four days, starting from the hour of Yi (巳) on June 9th and ending at the hour of Xu (戌) on June 12th.

The reason why the assessment time has been longer this time is mainly due to the change in the assessment content.

Nowadays, in addition to the assessment area, there are also a materials area and a ground fire area in the square.

Each mage can go to the materials area to select the materials they need. They can choose freely, and the materials can even be of second-tier superior quality. There is no limit to the quantity.

You can also guide the fire in the fire zone.

Then the refining process begins.

Even someone like Zhou Ling, who is a weapon refiner, has to forge his own tools.

Talisman masters, on the other hand, have to refine the talisman paper themselves.

Therefore, the time required is longer, the energy consumption is greater, and the requirements for cultivators in all aspects are also higher.

The Taoist academy's judges will pay attention to the assessment process.

There are two criteria for evaluation: first, the quality of the treasures produced after the assessment; and second, the quantity of the treasures.

This time, there was no stipulation that only one treasure needed to be crafted.

Therefore, the number of treasures produced is also a standard of measurement.

Because it is a Golden Core seed assessment, it is necessary to demonstrate a disciple's overall potential.

It tests not only one's cultivation level, but also one's endurance and mindset.

After all, disciples who can enter the inner courtyard have a great chance of reaching the Golden Core stage, let alone the Foundation Establishment stage.

Golden Core cultivators are already the backbone of the Dao Alliance.

Moreover, these disciples are all masters of magic, making them of utmost importance.

Therefore, the assessment must be comprehensive.

This is also in line with the Xuan Yuan Dao Academy's consistent pursuit of excellence.

As Dean Zhong's voice fell, one disciple after another walked toward the assessment platform.

Zhou Ling also met Liu Yu and Ye Zhilan.

Several Foundation Establishment disciples participated.

Liu Yu and the others had different expressions when they saw Zhou Ling.

No one expected that in less than a year, this guy, who was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining and had not yet passed the Foundation Establishment test of the Dao Academy, would achieve such a remarkable turnaround.

He's already at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Is this guy really a low-grade spiritual root?
At this moment, these disciples all had the same question in their minds.

Prodigies like Liu Yu and Ye Zhilan looked particularly unwilling.

From the moment they entered the Taoist academy until now, they have been suppressed by Zhou Ling in every way.

Therefore, they were all thinking about finding an opportunity to defeat Zhou Ling.

This assessment is undoubtedly the best opportunity.

Otherwise, there would be no point in defeating Zhou Ling after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

After all, Zhou Ling has a low-grade spiritual root, and it is already quite an achievement that he has been able to establish his foundation.

Even if they successfully establish their foundation, things will be completely different for them by then.

Of course, the reason why people like Liu Yu did not prepare to establish their foundation was to compress their spiritual power to the extreme.

Good impact on Earth-grade Foundation Building, even Heaven-grade Foundation Building.

Zhou Ling didn't pay much attention to that; when he saw someone he knew, he just smiled and greeted them.

Soon after completing the identity verification, he entered the assessment area.

Having learned from the previous second-rank assessment by the Heavenly Crafts Bureau, Zhou Ling entered the assessment area.

They discovered something unusual.

"As expected, the spiritual energy and earth fire are different for each assessment location."

Zhou Ling glanced at them, thinking to himself.

Of course, this is the result of intermediate observation and intermediate analysis.

There were about three hundred disciples participating in the assessment, mainly senior disciples from the Taoist academy.

There are only eight Foundation Establishment seeds in Zhou Ling's generation.

Since there are no regulations on the types and quantities of treasures that can be refined, most disciples will definitely refine more than one type.

Moreover, you can choose to refine what you are best at.

So when I have time, I will definitely refine a few more.

Therefore, the selection of materials and the choice of the jade platform for assessment are extremely important.

“The spiritual energy in the eastern area is evenly distributed and contains all five elements.”

"The west side is even closer to the earth's fire veins."

"The fire-attribute spiritual energy is more concentrated in the southern area, but it is relatively mixed."

"The northern area has a relatively strong wood element, which is beneficial for the recovery of the soul."

Zhou Ling carefully scanned the area, using his [Intermediate Observation] ability to observe the condition of each jade platform.

All jade platforms are now open, which means that all disciples must find their own jade platforms.

This can also be considered a test of spiritual perception.

"The power of the spiritual flame within me is now sufficient to temper tools, so the earth fire is unnecessary. Therefore, the western region can be ruled out!"

After comparing the options, Zhou Ling headed towards the eastern area.

They quickly found the jade platform with the most abundant spiritual energy.

With the talent of [Five Elements Gathering Spirit], he doesn't need to worry about insufficient spiritual power.

"It's that little guy again, the first one to enter the jade platform!"

"And he's even at the peak of Qi Refining! Not bad!"

As Zhou Ling entered the jade platform first, Dean Zhong on the judging panel couldn't help but smile and say something.

He now has a deep impression of Zhou Ling.

Although his cultivation level was not high, his weapon-refining skills were extremely sophisticated.

He was quite surprised to have reached the peak of Qi Refining in such a short time.

"How did he do it?"

At the same time, Zhang Daojian, who was standing next to him, also looked surprised.

Besides the two of them, there were also instructors like Hu on the judging panel.

Among them were several middle-aged men, three men and one woman, whose auras were even more robust.

They were all instructors in the inner courtyard and also Golden Core cultivators.

He's either a third- or fourth-rank technique master.

As a judge this time, I'm also here to see if there are any promising talents.

"With a low-grade spiritual root, how did he manage to reach the peak of Qi Refining at such a young age?"

A middle-aged man with a ruddy complexion also spoke out with curiosity.

He is Ji Changqing, an instructor in the inner court.

"Could it be a hidden spirit?"

Another middle-aged man with a square face said.

"That shouldn't be the case. He didn't pass the Foundation Establishment test when school started last year!"

"Most spirits can pass the Foundation Establishment test!"

Zhang Daojian shook his head and said.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Core instructors all looked surprised.

(End of this chapter)