While they were returning to the sect
In some distant bushes, two cultivators were watching them with greed.
"Boss, they look like easy prey," said one of the cultivators.
"One of them is a mortal, but the other is a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although judging by the fact that he isn't flying, it indicates that he recently reached the Foundation Establishment realm," the boss responded.
"With your cultivation at the mid-level of Foundation Establishment, it should be easy to kill them," said the other cultivator.
"You never know, they might be hiding their power, but it's worth the risk since we are running out of spirit stones," the boss replied.
Spirit stones are used as currency and as a consumable to speed up practice.
"We will surround them, and under the siege of the two of us, I don't think they will be able to resist," ordered the boss.
…
"How much longer until we arrive?" asked Xiao Lan while on Li Wei's back with a backpack containing her belongings.
"At this rate, it will take us 4 days," Li Wei responded while running at high speed.
'If I had learned the flying technique, it would take half the time,' thought Li Wei, but his thoughts were interrupted by a masked figure swinging his sword at his neck at high speed.
Seeing the sword coming, he turned his body to the side, narrowly avoiding it, and threw Xiao Lan to the ground.
"Who are you!?" asked Li Wei angrily, but what greeted him was another sword coming from his side from another masked person.
Unlike the previous one, this sword was much slower, allowing him to dodge and counterattack the masked cultivator.
The blow struck the figure's chest, pushing him back and knocking down 2 trees before stopping with a cry of pain.
"He is a physical cultivator. Retreat and leave him to me," said the first cultivator who attacked, not knowing that his companion was already dead from the blow Li Wei had given him.
'Wrong, I'm not a physical cultivator,' thought Li Wei upon hearing him.
When the cultivator's sword was about to reach him, Li Wei stopped it with his hand, showing that his physical training was focused on defense, receiving only a small cut.
After stopping the sword and immobilizing the attacker, Li Wei pointed with his other hand and cast the only wind spell he had learned and mastered to a great degree.
'Wind sword'
"Damn, he's a dual cultivator!" cried the cultivator in panic as he saw Li Wei summon a wind sword.
A sword formed from wind appeared in Li Wei's hand and shot through the enemy's chest.
After killing him, he went to check on the other cultivator and discovered that he had died after being struck in the chest.
"Are you okay?" Li Wei asked Xiao Lan.
"Yes, who were those people?" Xiao Lan asked coldly.
"I don't know, most likely they were cultivators who don't belong to any sect since they didn't use any spells despite being spiritual cultivators," Li Wei replied.
There are many people who find an inheritance or an opportunity and become cultivators without needing to join a sect to learn.
Most of these people don't have spells because the knowledge is highly protected by the sects, and the only ways to learn are to pay an astronomical price to a commerce chamber or find it in the inheritance of a dead cultivator.
But the mid-level Foundation Establishment cultivator did know a spell. The reason he didn't use it was because he was overconfident and arrogant, and before he could cast it, Li Wei pierced his chest with his wind sword.
…
6 days later
"We finally arrived at the sect," said Li Wei.
"We took longer than you said," Xiao Lan said reproachfully.
"It is because you made me stop to rest many times," Li Wei said.
"It's normal, after all I am a mortal," Xiao Lan said.
After that brief chat, Li Wei and Xiao Lan approached the reception at the gate.
"Who are you, and what is your purpose in entering the sect?" asked the external disciple in charge of the reception.
The ranks of the disciples are divided into: handyman disciple, external disciple, internal disciple, and true disciple.
"I am the internal disciple Li Wei, and due to the journey, my disciple attire was damaged, but I still have my badge," Li Wei said, taking out the badge and giving it to the external disciple.
After inspecting the badge, the disciple took out a device to measure Li Wei's spiritual energy and verify his identity.
The sect has a system where each disciple registers their spiritual energy to identify them. It works like an ID card since each person has a unique spiritual energy.
When Li Wei placed his hand on the device, he let a little of his spiritual energy flow, and moments later, it emitted a green light confirming his identity.
"Very well, your identity has been confirmed, and I suppose you brought that mortal as a servant," said the external disciple.
"No, I brought her to measure her talent," Li Wei said.
"Okay, head to the measurement room through that door," said the external disciple, pointing to a door.
While walking to the measurement room, Xiao Lan said, "I thought you brought me as your servant."
"No, the real reason I brought you is because I believe you have good talent," Li Wei said, looking at Xiao Lan's future opportunity.
[Future Opportunity: An internal cultivator of the Eternal Flower sect brought you to test your talent, and it turned out you had the celestial water root. The sect master was very moved by your talent and named you his disciple.]
Talents are divided into: quintuple spiritual root, quadruple spiritual root, triple spiritual root, double spiritual root, celestial root, and divine root. There are very rare cases where an element mutates into a rarer one but not necessarily a better one.
Li Wei possesses the triple spiritual root with the elements of wind, earth, and wood.
'Xiao Lan will be an important ally who will help me in the future, and this confirms the way to unlock the secret in the book,' Li Wei thought.
After entering the room where talents are measured, another external disciple guided Xiao Lan through the process.
When Xiao Lan placed her hand on an orb that identifies the level of the spiritual root, the orb emitted a very strong blue light, alarming the external disciple who ran out to call his superior.
Moments later, an elder entered the room and said to Xiao Lan:
"Very good, very good, you have great talent. Would you be willing to take me as your master?"
"Sorry, but who are you?" Xiao Lan asked calmly.
"I see you have a great temperament, that's good. Child, I am Mei Long, the master of the Eternal Flower sect, and I would be willing to take you as my disciple."
"Okay, I accept," Xiao Lan responded with a bit of excitement in her voice.
And on the side, Li Wei was watching this situation with horror at the new opportunity Xiao Lan had.