Traversing the path of life and death

Chapter Sixteen: Cultivation Test

As Lin Yu watched the fireball appear so quickly, then scorch the surrounding air and create ripples, and the spiritual seed within his body turned from white to fiery red, the speed at which it condensed external elements was several times faster than before, Lin Yu knew that it was thanks to the "Five Elements Technique" he was cultivating, which greatly enhanced the condensation of elements in the spiritual seed it produced.

"Teacher, the spiritual seed has been successfully cultivated. What should we do next?" Lin Yu asked the old shaman, looking at the changes in the spiritual seed within his body.

"After successfully cultivating the Spirit Seed, it can greatly increase the speed of condensing elements, which will greatly help you improve in the realms of Spirit Seizing, Spirit Gathering, and Spirit Communication. Reaching the Spirit Transformation stage is when you can truly cultivate the Five Elements Technique. At that time, you will face even more severe challenges," said the old shaman.

"What you need to do now is to continuously improve yourself. In many challenging situations in the future, you will need to strengthen your body. Body refinement will remain your main development direction, and you are very suitable for it. Spiritual cultivation will also be a challenge for you. The two can be said to complement each other, but each one is very difficult to cultivate. Only by working hard can you improve your strength. Of course, luck is also indispensable in this world," Elder Wu said earnestly.

Hearing his teacher's words, Lin Yu felt that his strength was very insignificant, and he was still a frog in a well. Only by going out and competing with other cultivators could he see his own shortcomings in the process and make great progress. A desire to go out slowly took root in Lin Yu's heart.

The Lin family in Qingshan Town was filled with excitement on this day, because it was the family test held once every five years.

At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Lin Yu was absorbing fire elements in his courtyard when there was a sudden knock on the door. He opened it, and his father, Lin Qingyun, appeared.

Lin Qingyun looked at Lin Yu with a kind expression, then entered Lin Yu's small house. Lin Yu looked at his father coldly and said, "What are you doing here?"

Hearing Lin Yu speak so calmly, Lin Qingyun said kindly, "I came to see you. Since your mother passed away, I have been busy with the family and have not been able to come here as often. As your father, I hope you can understand."

Lin Yu was surprised to hear this, not expecting his father to say these things today, and then fell silent.

Seeing that Lin Yu didn't say anything more, Lin Qingyun sighed and continued, "You left before the last innate attribute test was over. Some people who don't understand the innate five attributes might think that the five attributes are very weak, but that's not the case. Cultivating the five attributes is extremely difficult. Throughout history, it's rare to find a strong person with all five attributes. Most of the people who have appeared are those who are cultivators of a single attribute at their extreme level. So they might subjectively think that people with all five attributes at their extreme level are superior, but that's not the case. Once a person with all five attributes has successfully cultivated, they will surely break through the clouds."

“Ever since you went back that day, I have been secretly watching you for a long time. I saw you going to the back mountain of the family to cultivate every day. I was very pleased at the time. You were not defeated by that boring test, but chose to face the difficulties and rise to the challenge. Now it seems that you have been working hard to cultivate. Can you tell me what level you have reached now?” Lin Qingyun said.

Seeing his father's expectant gaze, Lin Yu revealed his fifth level of Body Solidification, because he always believed in his father: "I have reached the fifth level of Body Solidification."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingyun was immediately shocked. He had originally thought that no matter how fast Lin Yu cultivated, he would only have the strength of the third or fourth level. He never expected that Lin Yu would say that he had the strength of the fifth level of Body Solidification. How could he not be shocked?

Seeing his father's shock, Lin Yu continued, "I've also reached the first level of Spirit Seizing." The release of that fireball by Lin Yu indicated that he had reached the first level of Spirit Seizing, which is why he said that.

Having just recovered from his calm, Lin Qingyun hurriedly asked, "You still cultivate spirit?" when Lin Yu said that he was still at the first level of the Spirit Seizing Realm.

Lin Yu nodded in agreement.

Lin Qingyun's palms were sweating. He never expected that his son would grow to such an extent in just over three years, and that he could cultivate both spiritual and physical abilities. He really didn't know how his son had managed to get through these past few years.

Then, with a kind look in his eyes, he looked at Lin Yu and said, "Spiritual cultivation and physical refinement complement each other and can be said to be mutually beneficial. Your choice has its advantages, but a person's potential is limited, and you must have a focus. Whether physical refinement or spiritual cultivation is more important is up to your own feelings to decide."

Lin Yu had already decided in his heart which of the two was more important. He believed that since he had chosen both, he should do his best to cultivate both to the extreme and work hard to cultivate both.

"Whether it's spiritual cultivation or physical refinement, I will work hard at it," Lin Yu said calmly.

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Lin Qingyun said nothing more.

After a moment, Lin Qingyun said to Lin Yu, "This afternoon is the Lin family's once-every-five-years cultivation test, to test your own cultivation level. Don't forget to go then," and then turned and left.

After watching his father leave, Lin Yu quickly closed the door.

"Teacher, after the innate attribute test, every day when I go to the back mountain, does my father follow me?" Lin Yu asked anxiously.

The old shaman slowly said, "There was indeed someone who followed you for about a year. I found that he did nothing to harm you, so I didn't tell you. I suppose that was your father."

Hearing his teacher say this, Lin Yu felt a little more understanding of his father. "So he's always been by my side," he thought to himself.

In the afternoon, the Lin family's training ground was already packed with people. Lin Yu walked out of his house and headed straight for the training ground. Along the way, he encountered one Lin family servant after another, and everyone was looking at him. Lin Yu ignored them and strode forward.

Still dressed in a pristine white training uniform, his simple, jet-black hair loosely draped over his shoulders, Lin Yu strode into the doorway with bright eyes fixed on it.

Inside the training ground, everyone gathered around the central area. Originally, the center was a detection stone for detecting innate attributes, but now the detection stone was gone, and the central area was divided into two parts, separated by a thick wooden board. One side was labeled "Test for Body Refiners," and the other side was labeled "Test for Cultivation." Each side had a crystal stone. One crystal was transparent, without a single impurity in the center, while the other was jet black and shiny. Clearly, these two crystal stones were used to test cultivation levels, Lin Yu thought.

Looking at the crystals on both sides, Lin Yu suddenly walked to one side, where it read "Spirit Cultivator Test".