Su Qing looked at the somewhat aloof Immortal Master.

Then he looked at the glass orb-like object in the man’s hand.

’This isn’t the time to be thinking about this.’

He reached out and gently took the glass orb.

Su Qing’s body was already tense.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the Immortal Master.

If the glass orb showed no obvious change, Su Qing was fully prepared to lash out and attack the Immortal Master.

’I must fight back.’

Su Qing watched as the glass orb, having left its master’s hand, began to turn cloudy.

He tensed up completely.

The colors on the glass orb gradually began to shift.

In barely a second,

the transparent orb began to display five colors.

Red, yellow, green, blue, and gold.

"A Five Elements Spirit Root?"

The male Immortal Master’s Dantian stopped stirring. Just moments before, his Magical Artifact had been ready to strike.

If the orb had remained colorless for ten seconds, the Magical Artifact in his Dantian would have shot out and pierced Su Qing through.

Su Qing had been just as prepared.

Fortunately, the glass orb had actually changed.

The palm-sized glass orb had saved Su Qing from a desperate confrontation.

"Congratulations. You’ve successfully proven you are not a Demon Cultivator."

"With Five Spirit Roots, you could actually join the Zhengxuan Sect as a Servant Disciple."

The male Immortal Master broke into a gentle smile, as if to say, ’See? We’re not enemies.’

Su Qing shook his head.

"I had an agreement with Xu Ningying to act as her Guardian Dao for one month, that’s all."

The male Immortal Master shook his head.

He shook his head again, glancing around at the surroundings.

"It seems you have no idea what you’re passing up."

"Given your narrow perspective, I imagine your view of the Zhengxuan Sect is just as flawed."

The male Immortal Master didn’t extend the invitation again. Instead, he waved a hand at Su Qing and Xu Ningying.

"You two may leave."

Xu Ningying, who had been watching from behind, had been incredibly nervous.

That testing process just now had been truly terrifying.

The atmosphere had been charged.

Xu Ningying had felt as if both men were on the verge of unleashing some incredible power.

But in the end, he had passed the test.

Su Qing shook his head.

He nodded at Xu Ningying.

’I don’t blame Xu Ningying. I can only blame myself for not being strong enough.’

’As for the Spirit Root that showed up in the test,’ Su Qing mused, ’it was probably thanks to my Five Qi God Demon Body.’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

There was a line in the description of the Five Qi God Demon Body: "To command the Five Elements..."

Only now did Su Qing understand what "to command the Five Elements" actually meant.

’It means I don’t have to worry about Spirit Root tests.’

As for anything else, Su Qing didn’t bother digging deeper.

He still didn’t know the full meaning of "to command the Five Elements."

But this incident had at least demonstrated a part of it.

"Miss Xu, I believe this is where we part ways."

Su Qing said gently, nodding to Xu Ningying.

However, both his tone and his form of address had changed.

Xu Ningying sensed the change in Su Qing—the unfamiliar tone, the distance created by his words.

It made her understand that Su Qing had changed.

"Yes... you too," Xu Ningying replied, feeling deeply wronged. ’This wasn’t what I wanted,’ she thought. ’The Immortal Master said that any attendant I brought for miscellaneous tasks had to be a mortal. If they weren’t, they had to be tested for a Spirit Root.’

Su Qing nodded.

He left without a backward glance.

If Su Qing had known how wronged Xu Ningying felt, he would have been furious.

Not that he could have cursed her out.

’It’s all because my Synthesizer is too powerful.’

Su Qing didn’t dare reveal a thing.

After returning home, Su Qing quietly took stock of his physical condition.

’So powerful.’

’But I still don’t know what level my current power is at.’

’I need to cultivate the Divine Concealment Technique as soon as possible.’

After a moment of silent thought, Su Qing turned and entered his familiar home.

...

「Nightfall.」

"The aura is right here."

A figure, roughly two meters tall,

hovered above Su Qing’s house.

He held a device in his hand, something far beyond the technology of ancient times.

On its surface were a red dot and a green dot, which had now converged into one.

Meanwhile, the clothes he wore provided the power that kept him aloft.

An aura of wind swirled around him.

This was none other than the Immortal Master Su Qing had met that morning.

’This kid definitely has a secret.’

Another object appeared in the Immortal Master’s hand—a longsword.

The longsword seemed almost fluid in its structure, its surface covered in numerous runes that glowed faintly.

Not only that, but he also produced two Talismans and pressed them against his body.

Once activated, the Talismans transformed into a thin, invisible shield that enveloped his body.

Tonight, he was sure Su Qing was his.

’Elder, you always said the world is full of infinite opportunities and possibilities. I wonder what kind of opportunity I’ll find this time.’

The man’s eyes were filled with fanatical excitement.

The longsword shot from his hand.

It hovered high above Su Qing’s house, aimed precisely at the red dot’s location on the Compass.

SWOOSH—

Like a streak of light, the Flying Sword pierced through the house and plunged downward.

The sound of it slicing through roof tiles and wooden beams was almost inaudible.

The Flying Sword struck its target.

Half a minute passed.

There was no sound or movement.

The man, still hovering in the air, broke into a delighted smile.

’Dead?’

Overjoyed, the man slowly descended, landing at the door to Su Qing’s room.

He gently pushed the door open.

Inside, a person was lying on the bed, a sword impaling their torso.

The man relaxed instantly at the sight.

"An ignorant mortal, just as I thought."

The man laughed.

He threw the door wide open.

Despite the loud noise, the person impaled by the sword didn’t stir.

He once again took control of his Flying Sword.

Just as the longsword was about to pull free—

CLANG!

KRRRCH!

His protective shield instantly shattered.

’That’s the sound of my clothes and the Magic Robe underneath being torn apart! How can there be Sword Qi?’

Even though the man managed to recall his Flying Sword and strike at the suddenly-appeared Su Qing, it was useless.

Su Qing twisted his body to avoid a fatal blow.

But—SLICE!

The Flying Sword viciously slashed through his left shoulder.

His left arm was severed.

However, Su Qing’s right hand had already plunged into the Immortal Master’s chest.

He crushed the man’s heart.

He pulled his blood-drenched hand back out.

The male Immortal Master’s vision flooded with red before he collapsed backward, lifeless.

His final thought was, ’Elder, I regret not listening to you...’

The whole exchange happened in a flash.

So fast that neither Su Qing nor the Immortal Master had time to fully process it.

Su Qing quickly picked up his own severed arm.

Enduring the excruciating pain, he pressed the severed limb back against his left shoulder.

Su Qing surveyed his blood-spattered house, the metallic tang of blood heavy in the air.

The stench made him wrinkle his nose and frown.

His heart was still pounding in his chest.

’Who would have thought this Immortal Master would actually come for me in the middle of the night, just to kill me.’

Fortunately, Su Qing’s physical body was powerful and his hearing was sharp. The Immortal Master’s heartbeat and breathing had given him away the moment he arrived above the house.

’If I had to rely on my Gathering Spirit Cultivation, I never would have noticed him.’

As for the person on the bed, it was one of poor Wang Li’s Demonic Puppets.

One Puppet was now ruined.

More than half of its body had been destroyed.

That sword was strange.

It was imbued with a dense Fire Spiritual Qi. From a distance, Wang Li’s Demonic Puppet didn’t look too damaged, but up close, it was clear that it had been completely hollowed out and was now a wreck.

Pain and an itching sensation plagued Su Qing.

The pain and itching on his left shoulder were persistent.

Right now, Su Qing could only put his faith in the regenerative abilities of his Chaotic Life Body.

...