Rebirth of Jinxuan

Beneath the red cloth lay a crystal-clear stone, shimmering with a faint rainbow of colors in the sunlight. The children gasped in amazement, craning their necks to get a better look.

"Quiet!" the middle-aged man called out in a low voice, and the children immediately fell silent, staring wide-eyed at the mysterious stone. "This is the Spirit Testing Stone, used to test your perception of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The higher your perception, the brighter the light of the Spirit Testing Stone will be, and the color will change accordingly."

The middle-aged man paused, then continued, "Today, my Martial Hall is recruiting disciples. We don't consider family background; we only look at talent and aptitude. As long as your testing stones can emit light, you will have the opportunity to enter my Martial Hall and become a true martial artist!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cheer erupted from the crowd. The children were all eager and ready to try.

"Now, I declare that the Martial Arts Academy's enrollment has officially begun!" the middle-aged man announced loudly. Behind him, a female disciple dressed in a light purple robe stepped forward, picked up a spirit-testing stone, and walked to the front of the line.

"The first one is Lu Yuhang," the female disciple's clear voice rang out.

Lu Yuhang gripped the hem of his clothes tightly with his small hands, his heart filled with both anticipation and trepidation. He didn't know how the testing stone would react when he was put to the test. His mother had said that he was special, that a powerful force flowed within him. But what exactly was this force? And how should he use it?

He stole a glance at his mother, Lu Jinxuan, standing in the crowd not far away. She was looking at him tenderly, her eyes full of encouragement. Lu Yuhang felt a little calmer. He took a deep breath and told himself not to be nervous.

Lu Yuhang took a deep breath, walked to the Spirit Testing Stone, and gently placed his small hand on it. The Spirit Testing Stone did not react.

The surrounding children began to whisper, some even bursting into laughter. Wang Han and Luo Wenxu stood in the line, a hint of disdain on their faces. Luo Li stood to the side, his eyes filled with mockery as he looked at Lu Yuhang.

Lu Jinxuan witnessed this scene from Jiefeng Tower, and her heart tightened slightly. She knew about Lu Yuhang's special abilities, but she also understood that in this world, spiritual power was the standard by which everything was measured.

Time ticked by, but the testing stone remained unresponsive. Lu Yuhang's face flushed red, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Next," the female disciple said expressionlessly, as if she had already anticipated this outcome.

Just as Lu Yuhang was about to withdraw his hand, the Spirit Testing Stone suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and its color changed from its original transparency to a deep purple!

The surroundings fell silent instantly; everyone was stunned, staring in disbelief at the scene before them.

The smiles on Wang Han and Luo Wenxu's faces froze, and Luo Li's eyes widened as if he had seen something unbelievable.

The female disciple was also stunned; she had never seen such pure purple light before, which meant…

Upstairs in Jiefeng Tower, Zhang Yuxi suddenly stood up, a look of shock flashing in her eyes. "Purple... Purple Rank?!"

Lu Jinxuan also watched this scene in surprise. She turned to look at Zhang Yuxi, "Purple Rank? What's that?"

Zhang Yuxi took a deep breath and slowly said, "The Spirit Testing Stone measures a person's perception and affinity for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It emits light of different colors and intensities depending on the tester's aptitude. From low to high, there are seven levels: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Red represents the lowest, and purple represents the highest. Purple level—that's a genius aptitude that only appears once in a thousand years!"

Looking down at Lu Yuhang, who was enveloped in purple light, Lu Jinxuan felt both joy and worry. She was overjoyed that her son possessed such powerful talent, but worried… “Yuhang…” she hesitated, glancing at Zhang Yuxi, her eyes filled with anxiety, “Will the spirit-testing stone detect… demonic power within his spiritual energy?”

Zhang Yuxi understood Lu Jinxuan's concerns. He gently shook his head and comforted her, "No. I've already taught him how to conceal his demonic power. Unless he releases it voluntarily, no one will be able to detect it." He paused and added, "Moreover, the demonic power within Yuhang's body is not pure demonic power, but a special power that has been fused with your spiritual power, making it purer and more powerful."

Downstairs, the middle-aged man also recovered from his shock. He excitedly walked up to Lu Yuhang, carefully examining the seemingly ordinary little boy, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Good! Good! Good!" he exclaimed three times, his tone full of praise. "I never expected to encounter such a gifted child in this enrollment process! What's your name?"

"Lu Yuhang," Lu Yuhang answered crisply, his little face still showing a hint of confusion, as if he hadn't fully understood what had happened.

"Lu Yuhang..." The middle-aged man repeated his name, memorizing it firmly. "Good! From today onwards, you are an inner disciple of my Martial Hall!"

The surrounding children looked at Lu Yuhang with envy. They had never seen a Spirit Trial Stone emit such dazzling light, nor had they ever heard of anyone directly becoming an inner disciple. Wang Han and Luo Wenxu's faces were extremely ugly. They had originally thought they could easily pass the test, but unexpectedly, an unknown kid had stolen their thunder. Luo Li stood aside, his face gloomy, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes.

The female disciple also came to her senses and respectfully said to the middle-aged man, "Master, according to the rules, the disciple's level and destination can only be determined after the test is over."

The middle-aged man waved his hand and said firmly, "Rules are rigid, but people are flexible! How can a genius like Lu Yuhang be restrained by ordinary rules? My mind is made up, there's no need for further discussion!"

The female disciple dared not say anything more and silently retreated to the side.

After announcing Lu Yuhang's admission results, the middle-aged man turned to the other children and said loudly, "Next, continue the testing!"

Wang Han, the young master of the Wang family, was the first to rush forward… clutching a few silver coins tightly in his hand, he handed them to the female disciple in charge of registration. “I’ll go!” he announced arrogantly, walking to the testing stone, taking a deep breath, and dramatically placing his hand on it. His henchmen behind him also pulled out their silver coins, eager to try…

Wang Han closed his eyes, trying hard to sense the spiritual energy around him, imagining himself surrounded by dazzling light like Lu Yuhang. However, after a while, the spirit-testing stone still didn't react, just like an ordinary stone.

"What's going on?" Wang Han opened his eyes in confusion, looked at his hands, then at the spirit-testing stone, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.

"Try again!" one of his henchmen encouraged him. "Maybe you weren't prepared just now."

Wang Han nodded, took a deep breath, closed his eyes again, pressed his hand firmly against the spirit-testing stone, and tried to concentrate, sensing the surrounding spiritual energy. Time passed second by second, but the spirit-testing stone remained unresponsive. The surrounding children began to whisper, and some mocking voices gradually reached Wang Han's ears.

His face flushed crimson, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He opened his eyes again, his gaze filled with despair. "Impossible! I must be able to sense spiritual energy!" he roared in a low voice, pressing his hand against the spirit-testing stone once more, using all his strength to try and elicit a reaction from it.

However, the testing stone remained motionless, emitting no light whatsoever. The surrounding laughter grew louder, and some children even began to imitate Wang Han's actions, exaggeratedly closing their eyes and placing their hands in the air, pretending to sense spiritual energy.

"Haha, Wang Han, you don't actually have any spiritual power at all, do you?" a child laughed loudly.

"Yeah, look at him, he looks like an idiot!" another child chimed in.

Wang Han couldn't hold back any longer. He abruptly pulled his hand back, plopped down on the ground, and burst into tears. "I have no spiritual power! I have no spiritual power! Waaah..."

His followers exchanged bewildered glances, unsure how to comfort him. They had assumed Wang Han would pass the test easily, but instead, he had made a complete fool of himself.

Wang Han's cries attracted a larger crowd, with people pointing and whispering among themselves. Some parents also began to worry about their own children, fearing that they too might be unable to sense spiritual energy, just like Wang Han.

The female disciple in charge of registration sighed helplessly, walked up to Wang Han, and said softly, "Don't cry. Maybe you're just not feeling well today. Try again next time."

Wang Han cried even louder, shaking his head between sobs, "No, I don't want to try again! I never want to come back!"

His cries grew louder and louder, eventually turning into wailing. His little followers scrambled to help him up and tried to take him away.

"Han'er!" A middle-aged man rushed over and hugged Wang Han tightly. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Wang Han cried uncontrollably, "Father, I have no spiritual power! I have no spiritual power!"

The middle-aged man's face darkened. He glanced at the surrounding crowd, then at the unresponsive spirit-testing stone, and understood the situation. Suppressing his anger, he said to Wang Han, "Stop crying, let's go home!"

Wang Han's lackeys also left with them. Watching the Wang family slink away, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. Luo Wenxu walked to where Wang Han had stood, a cold smile playing on his lips, and pulled a gold coin from his pocket… “Let me try.” He tossed the coin to his female disciple, its gleaming gold seemingly reflecting his current smugness.

He walked up to the Spirit Testing Stone, took a deep breath like Wang Han, but did not close his eyes. Instead, he glanced defiantly in the direction Wang Han had left before placing his hand on the Spirit Testing Stone.

Almost instantly, the Spirit Testing Stone emitted a faint white halo. Although the halo was not strong, it was enough to prove that Luo Wenxu possessed spiritual power and was qualified to enter the Martial Arts Hall.

"Hmph, nothing special." Luo Wenxu withdrew his hand, casually dusting off his sleeves, but a hint of smugness lingered in his eyes. His lackeys immediately cheered, shouting in the direction Wang Han had left: "See that? That's real spiritual power! Unlike some people who can't even light a spirit-testing stone!"

Luo Wenxu was enjoying the praise from everyone and was about to leave when a clear voice rang out behind him: "I'll do it."

The speaker was a small, thin boy, dressed simply, but standing straight with a determined look in his eyes. His name was Luo Li.

The female disciple took the silver and glanced at him with slight surprise. This child looked even younger than Wang Han, yet he possessed a composure beyond his years.

Luo Li walked to the Spirit Testing Stone, took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, and gently placed his hand on the Spirit Testing Stone.

The crowd fell silent instantly, everyone holding their breath and watching the changes in the Spirit Testing Stone.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Just when everyone thought Luo Li would fail like Wang Han, the Spirit Testing Stone suddenly lit up!

The light was not a pale white, but a dazzling cyan, much brighter than when Luo Wenxu had tested it, and it even illuminated the faces of the children around him.

A gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd, even the female disciple in charge of registration looked astonished. Luo Li slowly opened his eyes, looked at the Spirit Trial Stone radiating a blue light, but showed no pride on his face. He simply calmly withdrew his hand and turned to leave.

Luo Wenxu watched Luo Li's departing figure, his fists clenched tightly. The brilliance gained from a gold coin was less than that from a few pieces of silver... He suddenly felt the light in his hand was somewhat dazzling.

"Young Master..." A lackey tugged cautiously at Luo Wenxu's sleeve. Luo Wenxu forcefully shook off the lackey's hand, his face ashen. He never expected to be outdone by Luo Li. And in front of so many people!

The crowd remained noisy and buzzing with discussion. Lu Yuhang's astonishing talent had become the biggest topic of conversation during the martial arts academy's admissions process.

At this moment, a tall, richly dressed middle-aged man walked over with a group of people. Behind the middle-aged man were several children, one of whom was Wang Han.

The middle-aged man walked up to the female student in charge of admissions, handed her a heavy money bag, and said arrogantly, "These people have all passed."

The female disciple weighed the money pouch in her hand and gave a professional smile: "Yes, Master Wang."