"Fine," said Lan Yue, jumping over to her husband and poking him on the chest. "But we'll be taking your treasured Giant Flying Sword to reach the Core Sect."
'That's something Father values more than his own life,' Xue Ren thought while observing the face of betrayal Fang Ren was making. 'Mother does not play around…'
"V-V-V-V… Ver…"
"You broke him," Linghua laughed, circling her glitched-out father in a playful way. "I don't think anything puts him more on the fritz than talking about his Giant Flying Sword."
"Humph!" Lan Yue crossed her arms under her breasts. "Back in our Sect days, it was a female pursuer of his that gifted him the treasure. I bet he only cares so much about the stupid thing because of lingering feelings for the gifter!"
Snapping out of it, only to realize that he was rurally fucked, Fang Ren stuttered, "M-My love, you know that isn't true," whilst nervously rubbing her fair shoulders.
"Whatever, let's just go already."
Lan Yue gave him the cold shoulder, not opening her eyes or moving from her spot until he painfully summoned the Giant Flying Sword from his Storage Ring.
"H-H-Here it is… Please don't scratch it up; I'm begging you…!"
Ignoring the pleadings of her husband, Lan Yue carelessly leapt up onto the hovering sword that was a couple of meters in width and five meters in length.
All the color drained from Fang Ren's face, looking more like a ghost than a human being.
"M-My Baby…" he repeatedly murmured, his brain functions pausing.
They remained as such all the way up until they made it to that same pagoda from 6+ years ago.
"Oh?" came the wizened voice of Elder Gu as he opened up the pagoda doors. "To think that Little Miss Linghua has already reached the 5th Layer of Foundation Establishment. As expected of a Heaven's Chosen."
"But I know you're not here for her," Elder Gu continued, his sunken eyes falling on the apathetic boy staring at him with minimal intrigue. "You're here for this little one."
"Quite a strong body he has," he noted while stroking his long gray beard. "Possibly among the best I've ever seen for someone yet to enter the path of cultivation. His progression through the Body Refinement Realm should be smooth sailing, with little to nothing obstructing him from reaching the Half-step Qi Condensation Realm. Very impressive."
"Thank you for the praise, Senior Gu." Fang Ren cupped his hands in respect. "And we appreciate you going out of the way for us this time as well. Without you, things would be quite tedious."
"It's no problem," replied Elder Gu, still stroking his beard while staring at Xue Ren. "Your first child is an unheard-of genius, so I'm curious to see how this one will turn out. His temperament is very good from the looks of it, thus my hopes are high."
After a brief pause.
"Follow me," Elder Gu instructed while turning around and heading deeper into the pagoda. "I assume you want to see the results of his Awakening as soon as possible."
"Y-Yes, of course, Senior Gu!" Fang Ren pulled his family along with him as they trailed behind the composed Elder Gu.
A few seconds later, they arrived at the same glowing sphere they saw 6 years ago.
"Go on then," said Elder Gu. "Let's not dilly-dally."
Xue Ren looked to his parents for permission.
"It's okay, my baby boy." Lan Yue smiled kindly, kicking her husband out of the way. "Momma will be here to protect you in the event that something happens."
Xue Ren stared unblinkingly at his mother before shifting his dead gaze over to the large sphere. It seemed to loom over his entire world, acting as the Harbinger of his Fate.
This was a make-it-or-be-broken moment.
And he wasn't aiming to be broken!
With calm, calculated steps brimming with ridiculous physical power, Xue Ren walked up to the large sphere. The cheers of his mother and sister were gradually zoned out when he made it within touching distance.
'This is it,' he thought, with a fire burning fiercely inside him. 'I can't falter here. If I want to strive to be the strongest in this life as well, then I have to awaken with the best Spiritual Roots and Elements.'
He had to acquire the best—
BLING…
The light that erupted from the large sphere was so dim and lame that even a candle would be more appealing to look at. Worse yet, the light only lasted for a second at most before dissipating.
{[Awakening Results]}
[Spiritual Root(s): Empty Spirit Roots (Lowest-grade) ]
[Element(s): Fire (Highest Affinity), Blank (Highest Affinity) ]
The room went silent.
Even the dropping of a pen could be heard…
"T-This is…" Fang Ren sputtered. "Is this thing broken or something!? How could my son possibly awaken the worst and most useless Spiritual Roots of all time?!"
"I say we destroy it for insulting my Xue!"
Linghua was already in the process of conjuring up a giant lance of starry light.
This was her 1st Innate Skill, |Star Lance|, and she planned to use it to obliterate both the giant sphere and everything else in a hundred-meter radius!
"My poor baby boy…" Lan Yue held her hand to her mouth, tearing up while looking at Xue Ren's backside. "He must be so devastated…!"
"I don't want to believe it myself, but there's no possible way to fool the results of the High-rank Talent Testing Stone." Elder Gu sighed, feeling that a great loss occurred today. "With his prospects, he'll be fortunate to even reach the Qi Condensation Realm in this lifetime. And he only has the smallest of chances because his physique is already so developed that he can easily break through to the Half-step Qi Condensation Realm.
But I fear… that might be his limit…"
Everyone in the room made complicated expressions, each refusing to believe the facts that were presented to them.
Well, everyone except for one…
— Next time on Spamming Fireball: Just a Chill Guy, The Talent Testing Stone Shatters! —