Everyone looked at him with expressions full of resentment, even malice.

Blatant jealousy.

No wonder they felt uncomfortable. Although these people were also of mortal origin, they were all either rich or noble. Except for Quentin Hughes, who had a gentle temperament, the rest had always looked down on Ian Quinn, this poor boy.

Now, all of them had lost their qualification to open their spiritual roots. They couldn’t compare with the cultivator families, and never expected that this inconspicuous guy would rise above them. Naturally, their hearts were filled with jealousy and hatred.

“Why him?”

“Because he was personally chosen by the elder.” The white-robed immortal envoy’s expression was cold.

“Chosen by the elder?”

“That’s right. As you said, this boy comes from a poor background, just an insignificant child of a humble family. But precisely because of this, when he studied the ‘Seeking Immortality Manual’, he never used any elixirs for assistance, and relied solely on his own effort and perseverance to reach this point.”

“What, he didn’t use any elixirs?”

“Is that true?”

...

With these words from the white-robed immortal envoy, everyone except Quentin Hughes was astonished, their faces showing utter disbelief.

They themselves had suffered plenty to pass the sect’s entrance test, spending thousands of taels of gold every month to obtain the rarest herbs to consume. Even so, every time they circulated their inner energy, it was still a torment worse than death. Yet this boy had never relied on any external aid.

Are you kidding? Is he even human? How did he endure the pain that felt like being devoured by ten thousand ants?

And that wasn’t all. The white-robed immortal envoy’s voice continued in their ears: “Not only that, although you all passed the test, there are still differences in the strength of your inner energy. This boy, among all of you, ranked in the top three.”

Everyone was left speechless.

You have to know, whether it’s the Settling Qi Pill or the herbs, not only do they reduce pain, but they also greatly aid in cultivating inner energy.

This boy didn’t use any external aids, yet his results were outstanding. No wonder the sect viewed him differently.

That’s exactly how it was. Originally, there weren’t enough Settling Qi Pills this time, so the elders had decided to cancel the qualifications of all mortal disciples. But when it came to Ian Quinn, the elders made an exception. The reason? They valued talent!

That’s right. When recruiting disciples, the sect does give priority to children from cultivator families. However, when they encounter outstanding talent, they are unwilling to let it slip away. Clearly, the effort and achievements of Ian Quinn moved them, which is why things turned out this way.

No one could say a word.

But to say they were reconciled was impossible. They didn’t have that kind of magnanimity or grace. Even though they knew Ian Quinn had put in far more effort than they had, and that’s why the sect favored him, understanding this was one thing, accepting it was another.

Envy, jealousy, hatred—their gazes toward Ian Quinn were still full of malice.

Many even muttered curses under their breath. They didn’t dare offend the sect, but when it came to Ian Quinn, they had few scruples.

Clearly, it was their own lack of effort, yet they put on faces full of bitterness and resentment, as if Ian Quinn had stolen their chance at cultivation.

Shameless!

Fortunately, it was pointless. The white-robed immortal envoy didn’t care how frustrated or jealous these people were. Having explained the cause and effect, he had already done his duty. Whether these people accepted it or not was none of his concern.

“Let’s go!”

With a sweep of his sleeve, he casually cast a spell. As he moved, the sword light beneath his feet suddenly grew bright, like a dazzling rainbow, swiftly flying off into the distance.

Those left behind wore various expressions—some dejected and lost, some seething with anger, some beating their chests in frustration, and some looking unconvinced. But at this moment, none of that could change anything.

Chapter 7: Eyes Above the Head

“How could this happen?”

Riding on the sword light of the white-robed immortal envoy, Ian Quinn’s expression was also somewhat confused. On the surface, this upheaval hadn’t affected him, but everything that had just happened had shown him the cruelty of the cultivation world.

Although he had heard some stories before, that cultivators were not truly detached from the world, and that they might face even more troubles than ordinary people.

Ian Quinn had been half-believing before, but this time, he truly learned the lesson.

Just a single qualification to open spiritual roots had caused such a huge commotion. Ultimately, it was because the Opening Spirit Pills were too rare, and this time, something had gone wrong during their refinement, so there were far fewer pills.

On the surface, that was the reason, but the sect’s actions were still chilling.

Because of the shortage of Opening Spirit Pills, they directly canceled their qualifications, without even an explanation, let alone an apology.

All their efforts were wasted. All of this had a huge impact on Ian Quinn’s heart.

Originally, he had been high-spirited at being accepted by the sect, but now he realized that the road ahead would not be as smooth as he had imagined.

The path of cultivation is hard—many books had mentioned this, but to be honest, Ian Quinn had never taken it too seriously before, since he hadn’t experienced it himself.

But now he knew: the road of cultivation is by no means smooth sailing. Even obtaining the qualification to cultivate does not mean you can rest easy.