The scripture tablet of the Dragon Spirit Pathway was over ten feet tall, with a deep brown body, standing on Mount Zong for over a thousand years, enduring rain and wind, yet showing little wear.
There are a total of nine horizontal lines on the tablet, each about the thickness of a finger, and the user only needs to place their hand on the tablet to detect the grade of the spiritual pathway.
Starting from the highest to the lowest, each of the nine horizontal lines will light up in nine different colors, namely scarlet, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, gray, white. There are nine colors corresponding to nine types of spiritual pathways. The highest horizontal line corresponds to a celestial grade spiritual pathway and subsequent lines go down in rank with the lowest white line corresponding to a waste grade spiritual pathway.
As Chen Mo placed his hand on the tablet, the crowd around him immediately held their breath and focused intently on him, all expecting a miracle to happen.
At the same time, from afar among the peaks, several individuals in white robes were all curiously watching the changes on the tablet.
"I've heard that there is a person named Chen Mo in the imperial capital who has recently awakened a waste spiritual vein, yet he was able to defeat those who opened spiritual veins. I wonder if the legendary Chen Mo before me is the same as the one in this legend."
"Martial artists have a stronger physique than ordinary people. Waste spiritual veins are destined to be ordinary throughout their lives. Even if one only opens the spiritual vein, it is not something an ordinary person can compare. In my opinion, this is just a rumor."
"No wind, no waves. If that man named Chen Mo can stir up such a storm in the imperial capital, he can't be an ordinary person. I've heard that while he was in the imperial capital, he even made some remarks about the 'Three Thousand Great Dao...'."
"Ha! What are those three thousand paths? There is only one true path in this world, and that is the path of martial arts. If there were three thousand paths, why is it that to this day only martial arts flourish? It's just a delusion of a bunch of inferior people before they die... In my opinion, his claim of defeating someone who has opened their spiritual vein using a waste spiritual vein is completely fabricated."
"It's time to take the donkey or horse out for a test drive. Look, the results are in."
"..."
As the voice of one fell, all eyes were drawn to the spiritual path tablet.
The tablet emitted a radiant glow, subtly luminous. In a flash, the first horizontal white light lit up, followed by the gray light of the second horizontal line.
"Dong---"
Everyone widened their eyes in anticipation of a miracle.
However, the gray light dimmed immediately after it lit up and never came back, while the white light remained unchanging and persistent.
"Silence"
In an instant, the entire square fell into a deathly silence, everyone's eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at Chen Mo.
Is that all?
Testing the spiritual vein of a queue-jumping person, is that all?
The middle-aged man on the high platform had an awkward expression on his face, expecting that the person designated by the sect master would be a talent of heavenly origin, but he hadn't expected such a result.
As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassment is all on others.
Chen Mo had his hands behind his back and coughed lightly to break the awkwardness, "I'll just demonstrate for you, Elder Fu, you take over."
Elder Fu looked around, all he saw were a group of young men, and he was an old man who wanted to be tested, which was really embarrassing. But the young master had put him on display, and it would be a bit awkward if he didn't take the opportunity.
So, under the eyes of everyone, Elder Fu had to muster up his courage and approach.
Chen Mo also felt curious about the level of the spiritual vein that Elder Fu had.
It was said that when Elder Fu was young, his family was poor and, despite awakening a spiritual vein, they could not afford the expenses of a martial artist. Therefore, he didn't test the level of his spiritual vein and went to work as a bodyguard right away. He has been doing this for several decades.
On the stone tablet, a dazzling light once again illuminated, with white light, gray light, purple light... One line after another gradually moved upward, the colorful glow continuously flashing across the square.
The originally disinterested crowd because of Chen Mo's waste spiritual vein once again became excited, their eager gaze fixed on the stone tablet, and even the group of white-clad elders far away couldn't help but show surprised expressions.
"Blue, superior spiritual vein"
"Green, super-grade spiritual vein"
"Yellow, imperial grade spiritual vein"
"It is yellow, it is imperial grade spiritual vein, it is imperial grade spiritual vein."
As the horizontal line of light on the tablet settled on yellow, the crowd in the square erupted in a series of shouts of amazement.
An imperial grade spiritual vein is a rare high-grade spiritual vein. In the past hundred years, only one person in the vast Kuai Mountain Sect has had it.
Elder Fu widened his eyes, and that tired old gaze suddenly became bewildered: when he was young, his father was bitten by a beast in the mountains while hunting, and became disabled; his mother was weak and often needed to take medicine; there were several younger siblings at home, and all the responsibilities of the family fell on him alone.
Even though he had dreams of wandering the nine states, when he turned around and saw his parents' expectant eyes and his younger siblings' helpless looks, he eventually abandoned his ideals in his heart.
But every time he passed the awakening platform, he couldn't resist looking over at it, as if that was the only way he could find satisfaction.
As the yellow light grew more radiant, two streams of scalding tears suddenly fell from Elder Fu's tired old eyes. He shouted madly, "Imperial grade spiritual vein, imperial grade spiritual vein! I have an imperial grade spiritual vein!"
The entire square erupted into chaos in that instant, only to fall silent the next.
"An imperial grade spiritual vein, this is a rare talent in the Tianlong Royal Court. If he had come fifty years ago, he would definitely have been a prodigy of our Kuai Mountain Sect, and the position of the head may not have been mine."
"With such a talent, yet it was wasted for fifty years"
"An imperial grade spiritual vein has a high potential, but with age, even the highest talent is of little help. Ah, what a waste."
"..."
After shouting several times, Elder Fu's legs became powerless and he collapsed to the ground, sobbing like a child.
The things unattained in youth will haunt one for a lifetime.
The missed fifty years of time cannot be made up for, it's too late. Everything is too late. Even if he still carries the dream of his youth, it's too late to start now.
Chen Mo came behind Elder Fu and gently patted the old man's shoulder who was crying like a child. The latter stopped crying but couldn't stop the tears that streamed down his face, "Nothing wrong with the old man, just a bit sad. Master doesn't need to worry"
Chen Mo nodded slightly, saying nothing to comfort Elder Fu, just silently accompanied him for a while while he cried. Eventually, Elder Fu's tears stopped, and he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve before standing up, "Don't let the young master laugh at me."
"It's alright"
Chen Mo lightly waved his hand, preparing to jump off the high platform when he noticed a white-robed youth suddenly appear from the crowd, bowing and saying, "My name is Zhang Jin, a disciple of Kuai Mountain Sect."
Chen Mo gave a slight glance at the disciple named Zhang Jin and then looked at the white-robed disciple who had led him to the spiritual vein test. Suddenly, he realized something and smiled, "I am Chen Mo."
Zhang Jin smiled and said, "I've heard that there is a person named Chen Mo in the imperial capital, with a waste spiritual vein, but claiming to be a disciple of Taoist Origin. I wonder if it's you."
