The village chief immediately gathered the children and made them stand at the other side of the table where the young lady sat.
Soon, under the encouraging gaze of the village chief and the old man in charge, the first child gathered courage and stepped forward to the table.
The first child who stepped forward bowed to the young lady and the old man. Following the old man's instructions, he placed his hand on the nearest crystal.
The crystal slowly began to light up, with various lights swimming inside. Gradually, the lights began to fade, leaving only three groups of light remaining in the crystal.
The old man cheerfully announced three elemental spirit roots of fire, wood, and earth, then asked the young child to place his hand on the other crystal.
Everyone in the square felt joy when they heard that the first child tested had a spirit root, taking it as a sign of good fortune.
Then the child happily placed his hand on the second crystal, when the crystal lit up and the child's body stiffened in pain, he held his head after a few minutes of placing his hand on the crystal.
The old man who was in charge of the announcement announced high-grade mortal comprehension as the test result and asked the child to stand beside him.
The child happily stood behind the old man and imitated the young people demurely who came with the village chief by raising his head high proudly.
Soon the test commenced, and the next child was rejected as he only got pseudo spirit roots but had medium-grade mortal comprehension and was by the old man to study hard and come to the capital of the empire where he could attempt the imperial exam and get the job while handing over a jade as token of appreciation.
The child happily returned to his parents and presented the token, which they safely kept in a wooden box.
Soon, the next 10 members collectively received the Jade token and an invitation to visit the capital once they turned 15 years old.
It was only now that Ryan noticed the old man and the young lady were from different forces. The young lady who handled spirit root testing is aloof and might be from a superior force, while the old man managed kingdom affairs while recruiting the young children and is from the subordinate force.
Soon it was the Doctor's granddaughter's turn, and she stepped forward, encouraged by the village chief and others, and placed her hand on the first crystal.
The lights lit in the crystal and slowly dispersed with only one bright green color present on the crystal.
The old man stiffened with shock after seeing the single bright green color which represents a single spirit root of wood.
The young lady stood up from the chair, took the child's hand in hers, and pulled her close, chatting happily.
The old man smiled wryly, announced the single spirit root, and passed without conducting the other test.
The Old doctor began dancing with joy as he heard his granddaughter had an immortal fate. Everyone came to his side and started congratulating him.
Ryan observed that the young lady was protective of the doctor's granddaughter and didn't send her to the old man's side and didn't allow further tests.
Ryan also learned while observing the test that the fewer spirit roots a person had in their body, the more valuable they were considered.
Soon the old man smiled forcefully and announced the continuation of the test.
The next child stepped up to the table and placed their hand on the crystal. The crystal lit up with five different colors, and the old man announced that the child had five spirit roots and medium-grade comprehension. He then asked the child to stand beside him.
In the next hour, eight members were tested. Three of them were declared pseudo spirit roots and received jade tokens as appreciation, while the other five, all 15 years old, had five elemental spirit roots.
Ryan observed that the older the child, the more likely they were to have a spirit root, but of lower quality.
As the test was conducted the young lady didn't stand up from the chair and ask the village chief while showing Ryan why he didn't participate in the test.
The village chief saw Ryan who had a bandage on his head and called him to the stage.
Ryan apprehensively got up and Asked Old John to be seated while he went to meet the village chief.
The village chief went down the stage took Ryan's hand and walked him to the stage.
"Child, why weren't you participating in the test, while others participated?" asked the young lady in doubt.
"Beautiful Sister, I'm only ten years old and I was informed that the test will be only conducted for the twelve-year-old children, so I sat at the edge and watched the ceremony." Replied Ryan without any fright.
The young lady's face lit up with joy when the child called her beautiful, and she giggled happily, embarrassed.
She then asked him to place his hand on the crystal to check if he had already manifested any spirit root.
Ryan obediently placed his hand on the crystal, which lit up with a cool energy that passed through his palm, rotated his entire body, and then went back into the crystal.
The crystal began to display various colors and revealed that his spirit roots had not yet manifested.
He then placed his hand on the other crystal, much to the disappointment of the young lady. However, when the comprehension score came out, it made her happy.
The old man, surprised, announced that the comprehension score was high-grade earth level. He handed over a different token, rainbow-colored and smoothly polished, and asked Ryan to visit the capital when he turned fifteen, as the capital needed such talent.
He then instructed the village chief to provide Ryan with high education in all the arts and cultural studies available in the village.
The village chief agreed immediately, believing that Ryan could become a high-level officer from the village if he studied properly with his high-grade earthly comprehension.
The villagers may not grasp the significance of earth-grade comprehension, but he is certain that Ryan will succeed in life. If Ryan develops spirit roots, he will undoubtedly become a great cultivator.
When Ryan was about to leave the stage, the young lady called him back and tapped him on the forehead, transferring the general details and methods of cultivation directly into his brain.
She cast a spell to heal Ryan's wounds while Ryan stood with his eyes closed, taking in the details.
After a few minutes, he slowly opened his eyes and saw Old John standing next to him while everyone was preparing to leave the square.