The psychological test was of no concern to Su Zhou; others had already vouched for him. Of course, he was free to take it if he wished, and Professor Zhang Fucheng even brought over a copy of the test for him to see.
"Isn’t this just a basic ethics test?"
After a quick glance, Su Zhou saw nothing out of the ordinary. It didn’t seem particularly different from the various personality tests circulating online, except for a faint, discordant feeling emanating from the paper itself...
"Huh." Su Zhou murmured, having noticed sothing. He looked up curiously. "This test paper has so sort of magical effect?"
"You can tell?" Zhang Fucheng looked up, his expression a mixture of surprise and anticipation. "It seems your Spiritual Vision Talent is excellent... Correct. This is called ’Heart Testing Paper.’ Like litmus paper, it generates two different Spiritual Power reactions when exposed to answers that align with one’s true feelings versus those that don’t. Afterwards, we just need to observe the paper with Spiritual Power, and we can see at a glance which answers were lies and which were the truth."
This paper was originally used by ancient Sects to screen disciples; now, it’s used for psychological tests.
Curious, Su Zhou selected a few options on the paper. To his Spiritual Vision, the choices he marked indeed glowed with different colors. For example, to the question, ’If you possessed Extraordinary Power and witnessed a theft on a bus, you would:’, he chose ’Look the other way.’
The result was a massive black halo, visible to anyone with Spiritual Vision, that pulsed around his written answer, perfectly illustrating the vast difference between his choice and his true intentions.
’How interesting,’ Su Zhou mused. ’The Dao of the Extraordinary really isn’t just about combat; it has so many other fascinating aspects.’
That was the gist of it. After discussing the details of the upcoming physical exam with Principal Qiu and Professor Zhang, Su Zhou followed his horoom teacher back to his classroom to wait for his classmates to return as they finished the test.
The physical fitness test was scheduled for before New Year’s Day, while the Spiritual Power test would be held concurrently with the Holy Ascension Selection Test. There was still plenty of ti.
’I’m not worried about Qiming. As long as his values are sound and he isn’t a sociopath, there’s no way he’ll get screened out.’
’It’s my own situation I need to think about. If I want to reach the Extraordinary Critical Point before the physical, I need a plan.’
Su Zhou sat at his desk, staring up at the classroom ceiling as he sank into thought. ’If I were to advance using just Sacred Geotry, I could do it right now. But neither Yara nor I want to just follow the beaten path.’
’Lately, my Extraordinary Knowledge has grown enough for to understand the Five Extres Divine Thunder True Technique. I can use its Thunder Spirit Technique, fueled by the Wood Qi from the Wisdom Tree, to enhance my Soul. This would replace part of the Sacred Geotry Secret Ceremony and set on a path similar, but not identical, to Yara’s.’
For now, it was just a matter of trimming, splicing, and borrowing from the legacies of others. Even so, he was consciously choosing not to walk the wide, paved road to guaranteed glory, but to instead take a rugged path into the unknown.
A choice like that certainly required courage and confidence.
’But this is the only way I can truly be myself—besides, the last thing I want is to beco so kind of long, coiled-up thing!’
He thought back to the phantom Ouroboros Yara had shown him when they made their pact. Su Zhou nodded, then shook his head. It was undeniably powerful, but it just wasn’t his style.
Snapping out of his reverie, Su Zhou saw Shao Qiming walk into the classroom with a smile. He gave Su Zhou a thumbs-up, clearly having had no trouble with the psychological test.
Su Zhou smiled and returned the gesture.
’Co to think of it,’ Su Zhou thought, ’compared to a guy like whose thought processes might be a little questionable, Shao Qiming’s values are perfectly normal. Of course I had nothing to worry about.’
’Wait... are they really normal?’
For so reason, Su Zhou suddenly recalled a few snippets of mory...
When he had talked about dealing harshly with criminals, especially human traffickers, Shao Qiming’s response had been sothing like, "Make it grueso. Rub chili powder in their wounds before they die."
And when he had sworn to grind the bones of those wicked Transcendents from the Tang Family into ash and toss them into the Nanjiang River, Shao Qiming had nodded in agreent. "I’m with you! Let ’em all feed the fishes!"
’Maybe... Shao Qiming’s personality wasn’t as harmless as he’d imagined?’
But that wasn’t important. ’Birds of a feather flock together,’ as they say. Su Zhou quickly put the thought out of his mind, though a part of him felt a pang of regret. ’Oh, right. I completely forgot to burn those three Transcendents from the Tang Family to ash and toss them in the Nanjiang River to feed the fish.’
’But it’s no big deal. The corpses of Ghost Tars are so full of yin energy, the fish would probably get sick from eating them! And it wouldn’t be right to harm innocent lives.’
As more and more students returned from the test, the classroom grew lively. They had already heard the full story about the psychological test back in the auditorium, so no one was surprised that Su Zhou didn’t have to take it. After all, they had all been in the Spiritual Energy Class with him. Who there didn’t know about his Talent?
So classmates he knew ca over, curious about where he’d been. Su Zhou just smiled and gave them so vague answers to brush them off.
The day passed quickly. After the testing, it was back to regular classes. High school seniors didn’t have much ti for gossip—improving their own grades was far more important than worrying about what others were doing.
Due to the heavy snow, the buses were running less frequently and were incredibly crowded, so Su Zhou hitched a ride ho in Shao Qiming’s car.
In the car, he told Shao Qiming the details about the upcoming physical and Spiritual Power tests. He also passed on the cultivation thod for ’Thousand Miles Solo Journey,’ the Qinggong technique he had acquired from the Divine Wood World.
As for the Rigid Shooting Technique, he decided against it. Shao Qiming had recovered a lot, but he was still a long way from being strong enough for Archery.
In return, Shao Qiming handed Su Zhou two small boxes.
He knew what was inside without even opening them.
One held a translucent, green piece of jadeite; the other, a box of finely ground Jade Powder.
These were the ritual materials Su Zhou had asked him to find. Because Su Zhou’s standards were so high, tracking down suitable raw materials had cost a significant amount of ti and money.
But that was nothing.
With the Spiritual Energy Revival, the Extraordinary properties of many Gemstones were being discovered, causing their prices to skyrocket on the international market. However, Su Zhou knew that for most common rituals and Magic Materials, synthetic Gemstones were perfectly good substitutes.
Only the most demanding rituals, like his own advancent ritual, required perfect natural Gemstones—or perfect synthetic ones that had been steeped in an Earth Spirit Vein for so ti.
The current spike in Gemstone prices was just a bubble, destined to pop in a month or two. Of course, that was more than enough ti for Shao Qiming to invest, then pull out and make so fast cash before the market crashed.
He could earn back the money he’d just spent several tis over.
And for Su Zhou, investnt opportunities like this were everywhere.
Knowledge is wealth, after all!
Back ho with the materials, Su Zhou’s life fell back into a familiar rhythm. He began the happy, fulfilling routine of studying regular subjects at school by day and Extraordinary Knowledge at ho by night. Truly, learning brought him joy.
And this blissful routine continued for a few days, until the Wisdom Tree Essence Soul in his Soul Space finally awoke from its Sleep.
"Lala~"
He could faintly hear the Wisdom Tree sapling, which had awakened thanks to the boon from the Great Will·Tree of Great Dao, making a simple, happy sound. Its Essence Soul was far more vibrant than before, and the light from its leaves was gradually shifting from their original erald green to a brilliant, translucent cyan-white.
Su Zhou communicated with it via his Soul, asking to borrow so of its Wood Qi for his advancent. The Wisdom Tree seed to know full well who was responsible for its good fortune, and it happily agreed.
"Hungry!"
But it had a request: it wanted to be watered with more Spiritual Liquid to speed up its growth. Right now, it was like a Giant in spirit but a Dwarf in body; its Essence Soul had grown and advanced, but its physical form was still just a tiny potted plant.
’That’s not a problem,’ Su Zhou mused, ’but where am I supposed to plant you when you get bigger...’
Though the future placent of the Wisdom Tree was a concern, he could shelve that problem for now. Su Zhou took out the White Crystal cup his friend had acquired for him and used a small silver knife to make a shallow cut in one of the sapling’s branches. A pale, cyan Wood Liquid trickled out.
*Pain, pain, pain—*
Despite the pained cry, the Wisdom Tree’s Essence Soul wasn’t reacting much. It seed to be laying it on thick. After a few words of comfort and the promise of a treat, it naturally cald down.
After filling the small cup with about fifty milliliters, Su Zhou used so of the Jade Powder to seal the wound on the tree.
As soone who had already eaten a Wisdom Fruit, this amount was more than enough for his advancent. Besides, this Wood Liquid was different from the Wood Qi that the National Preceptor Demon Emperor had siphoned from the Divine Tree; this was the very lifeblood of the Wisdom Tree, a Divine Tree in its own right. Of course, such a small amount wouldn’t be enough to damage the sapling’s Primordial Qi.
For this ceremony, Su Zhou had planned out all the steps himself without any instructions from Yara. The Snake Spirit watched from the side, smiling as Su Zhou ticulously began the ritual.
A flicker of Spiritual Light could be seen on a custom-made plate of tempered glass.
The Jade Powder, turned into a translucent solution via a Secret Technique, was mixed with rcury to draw a small Array. At the Array’s center, the green jadeite—which had been inscribed with the relevant Runes and charged with a massive amount of electricity from the modern power grid—flashed with dazzling cyan-blue arcs.
Su Zhou used the Qi Condensation and Object Manipulation Technique to guide the vial of Wood Liquid, evenly coating the prepared jadeite.
Instantly, amidst the flashing Spiritual Light of the Array, the entire piece of jadeite dissolved, transforming into a translucent, pure-cyan liquid. Within this liquid, tiny electrical currents crackled into miniature tableaus of lightning, while clouds ford from Spiritual Qi churned and roiled.
’Don’t be nervous. Everything’s going smoothly.’
He told himself, taking a mont to calm down. A few seconds later, Su Zhou used his Spiritual Qi to levitate the fist-sized sphere of cyan Thunder Jade Liquid and bring it before him.
The Jade Liquid exuded a fresh fragrance, like aloe mixed with mint. The scent brought a sense of Soul Clarity, yet it also held a strange, stimulating quality. Gazing into the liquid, his mind filled with images of thunder-serpents slithering across the sky and the Heaven-Reaching Divine Wood, which could thrive in even the most hostile environnts.
Su Zhou took a deep breath. Then, he opened his mouth and swallowed the sphere of Jade Liquid in one gulp!
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