Cannon fodder in a classic cultivation story

...Su Jing found herself in a weird situation.

Everything around her was blurry. She tried to look around and distinguish things, but as if someone covered her eyes, Su Jing could not sense anything. Only a ringing sound could be heard hitting her ears, scratching her mind as it was getting stronger and stronger.

Tension built up in her body, and she felt a sharp ache in her chest. It was then she realized that she had been holding her breath all this while. Desperately trying to take a deep breath, Su Jing struggled to gain control over her body.

"Your three roots of water, earth and wood are too weak for our sect's standards, little girl."

The voice was loud enough to kick her senses awake.

Su Jing froze and rapidly respired as a rush of air hit her lungs. This was almost painful, chilling her throat. 

Shapes slowly morphed into recognizable objects, and gradually, she realised how she was in the centre of a crowd. The numerous eyes that were looking made her inner turmoil worse, her whole body hurting from their stares.

Who are those people?

Su Jing felt her legs go weak, not knowing how to handle this. Her hand clenched unconsciously.

She sensed a cold surface in her palm, one that was, in fact, a milky white sphere. In its interior were bits of colour, like green or blue, making it look like a gorgeous artefact.

Closely looking at it, she raised her hand, not understanding what this thing was. Was it hers? Su Jing didn't remember where she took it or when she saw this ball.

She didn't remember anything.

Her mind was whiter than a sheet of paper, blanc, only her name being on it.

Su Jing.

"The young lady should give me back the testing sphere."

The man had his voice again be heard, holding out his hand. He looked to be in his sixties, the long white beard giving him the air of an unavoidable respectable person.

Su Jing couldn't do much but listen to him, feeling how an odd thrill of energy was leaving her as she gave him the ball. In the next moment, it turned white in his fingers, making her gasp at how this was even possible.

"You are free to go now since the test has finished. May you be happy and prosperous in your journey."

He made a polite salute, forcing Su Jing to do the same, although it was a mystery if she was supposed to act like this.

Her only option was to walk away, leaving the elder and putting herself through the masses of people. So many close-up faces made her nauseous. Su Jing tried to shield her face down away from anyone's eyes. 

What is happening?

She trembled a bit, massaging her inner palm as she looked back towards the old-timer, who was now talking with another young female. This whole event didn't make sense. Why was she here?

Su Jing tried to search throughout her clothes for hints about her identity, but she only found a few coopers and a bunch of old red fruits. 

The situation wasn't looking too good. Su Jing could only persist in assessing the affair here. The lady from before had the sphere in her hands, used like a measuring tool.

Su Jing curiously glanced at her, finding her, in a way, extremely eye-catching. Even though the blue dress she wore was a little coarse, it enhanced how good her natural beauty was. Her traits were also beautiful with a small white face, doe-looking black eyes, and long silky hair in a ponytail. 

She continued to hold the sphere, making it shine in many pretty colours - red, green, blue, grey, and even gold! The globe was more glamorous than when it was in Su Jing's hands.

The crowd, however, didn't look like they found this that fascinating.

"Having an affinity with all five elemental roots—water, wood, earth, fire, and metal..."

Confused, the man continued to look at the sphere as if still not believing it was an all-elemental root. The people instead erupted in an uproar, laughing and making multiple jokes about the girl. 

"Can you believe that the so-called esteemed daughter of the Feng family possesses such limited talents?"

"I couldn't agree more! She's getting what she deserves!"

"It appears the Feng family has disgraced themselves. I'm curious about how they intend to salvage their tarnished reputation."

The people snickered, perplexing Su Jing, who looked at how indifferent the lady looked. She did not care about their words, leaving the master fast and going in Su Jing's direction.

Closely, she was even more pretty, but Su Jing didn't get to glimpse too much at her since she disappeared in the crowd.

Su Jing couldn't help but feel a strange feeling of deja vu.

Am I affiliated with her? But the young miss didn't look like putting her in the eyes at all... 

This happening didn't take too much because a new character showed up, this time a young man with a proud expression. 

"Who is that?"

"I heard he's from the famous immortal Zhu clan. He was sent to the mortal realm to be personally taught by a big master. "

"The most promising one!"

Probably aware of the intense discussion below, the man burst into laughter, making Su Jing frown.

"You heard right! The one and only - Zhu Taichang of the Zhu Immortal Clan! The most talented cultivator you'll ever have the privilege of witnessing, mortals."

His words made the crowd silent, creating a rather weird atmosphere. 

The elder on the side looked a bit annoyed by his words."You've made your grand entrance clear enough, young master Zhu."

Zhu Taichang approached him unbothered and took the sphere in his palm, doing the same ritual as the girl and Su Jing had done before.

"How could I not? After seeing so many trashes before me."

The sphere sparked a bit when Zhu Taichang touched it, like a flame coming to life. Su Jing never saw such a clear red colour, her eyes burning by only watching it be lit. She covered her eyes in a pitiful attempt to amend the stinging pain.

The sphere looked like a beating heart of fire, surging hot waves of energy as Zhu Taichang played with it. Everyone tried to dodge it, covering themselves with clothes or anything near.

"Wow, he's so powerful!"

"What did I say. Zhu Taichang is a proud son of the heavens!"

If before people were mockingly talking about the girl and her Feng clan, this time their attitudes were reversed, admiring and praising the young teen.

Su Jing opened her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down her trembling hands, which were bloody red. Everyone was in the same situation as her, showing discomfort through their admiration towards Zhu Taichang.

"Single fire root, with an impressive value of 94."

Zhu Taichang's words didn't seem to be unfunded.

Letting go, the man put his hands inside his sleeves as a formal salute. Zhu Taichang, still unruffled by the chaos he had caused, simply grinned.

"Thank you, elder. It was an honour to showcase my abilities for the sect."

Even though Su Jing was far from them, she saw how the elder grimaced in annoyance.

Zhu Taichang went down the stage towards a group of teenagers, probably the ones already accepted, full of smugness. No one came near him, some of them being frightened by his show of power from before.

 Su Jing also found him scary.

Not much time passed, and the next person came, changing everyone's attention towards them. Her way of walking was delicate and graceful, looking as if she was not even touching the ground.

Su Jing noticed her curls were also beautiful, like a deviation from her apparent elegant look.

She passed by the same process, and once Su Jing saw the deep blue colour engulf the sphere, she was sure this lady was related somehow to water or ice.

Her predictions came true, the girl's flux of energies giving this time a cold, watery feeling when encountered. Chunks of translucent quartz were created close to her, showing everyone how strong her powers were.

"Single ice root, purity 89."

As the girl descended the stairs after being accepted, Su Jing couldn't help but notice how Zhu Taichang was long staring at her as if in a trance.

This attitude of him seemed to not click with his usual arrogance.

" To think even Bai Xiuying will appear in this selection... " a person beside Su Jing murmured, some other people joining in the gossiping.

" Isn't she too young? She barely reached the age of fifteen!"

Su Jing raised her eyebrows when she heard that, not understanding the rules for this selection. Wouldn't it be better for the contestants to be as young as possible so they get to train earlier?

"Ah, her parents just love her too much! They let her do as she pleases! Even her being here in our realm was because she heard of young master Zhu coming down..."

This reply seemed to startle everyone, glancing at the old woman who looked happy to receive all this attention.

"Madam, how would you know about the affairs of the immortals? "

Su Jing was interested since their talking informed her of how this was "one realm" and the other with "immortals". Was this a world where gods and humans walked alongside?

"I was a maid at her estate when she stayed in the Fengzu Capital! This matter was quite known by everybody, so it is not a secret at all. Even the Princes were aware of this, so they didn't dare to court her for fear of offending her and Zhu's family."

As Su Jing listened, she had the vibe that this madam was hitting that Bai Xiuying and Zhu Taichang had a more complicated relationship than it first looked - but that wasn't in tune with what she had just seen! Shouldn't Miss Bai at least greet Zhu Taichang if that were the case? She didn't even glance at him!

Su Jing looked around to see them, and they were in their own business, one playing with their sword and the other carving something on ice. Involuntarily, she also saw Miss Feng, who had long been gone from her proximity, staying on the most isolated side. She had her eyes closed as if she was trying to meditate.

So the three of them are supposed to be from influential families?

The crowd started to disperse little by little when the root testing was over, going towards another place, potentially where the next part of this event was happening.

Su Jing debated whether to follow them - after all, she was all alone in an unknown place.

Sitting here just made her have more anxiety. She had no idea how she came here, and this place didn't bring any closeness.

So, after catching up with the people, Su Jing captured the moment when the elder started to chant some kind of spell.

A soft glow enveloped the area, and the air seemed to hum with energy. Her reason was shattered when the trees and earth began to move, making way for the grey rocks to deform and change shape. 

In Su Jing's eyes appeared instantly an endless line of stone stairs. The rocks were circling the mountain till their way was lost in the clouds, where the summits couldn't be seen.