Master

Bai Hu reached forward with shaky hands and wrapped his fingers around a fire attributed spirit stone. It was warm to touch and didn't cause him any discomfort. He took a deep breath and calmed his turbulent heart.

He was still, then the next moment he ripped the spirit stone out of the formation! He stayed completely still for a few moments, with sweat forming on his forehead. After waiting for a while he concluded that everything was fine.

"Whew!"

He let out the breath he was holding and wiped his forehead. He opened his hand and on his palm was the fire attributed spirit stone. His confidence skyrocketed and he plundered the formation of its spirit stones, leaving just the pair that had a bit of its energy drained.

In his hands were 50 sparkling spirit stones, each giving off pure energy and Bai Hu couldn't help but drool a little.

"I can keep the fire attributed ones and sell the water attributed spirit stones at a high price to someone with the corresponding attribute"

With this, his wealth far surpasses most ordinary disciples!

An elemental spirit stone is usually worth triple that of a normal spirit stone and the price could easily quadruple if it is one of the desired element. A cultivator can directly absorb the energy in the spirit stone without having to go through energy conversion if they have that attribute in their spirit root. If ordinary spirit stones make cultivation 5 times faster, then a spirit stone with your attribute is 20 times faster, thus making elemental spirit stones highly sought after on the market.

Seeing as it was dark outside, Bai Hu put everything away and went right to sleep. He was too tired and collapsed on the bed as if he were dead and didn't stir until next the morning.

The next morning, Bai Hu woke up invigorated and hurriedly put on his uniform before leaving his room and heading for the large platform where elders would give lectures to youths trying to join the sect.

Although he is technically admitted in the sect and would receive monthly resources, he had not yet begun cultivating and thus would have to stay on this mountain for the time being. His monthly resources were guaranteed by Elder Shui and kept in the retrieval hall for now.

He arrived at the platform and found it devoid of people besides an elderly man who sat in a chair overlooking the entire platform.

He had long white hair that was tied into a bun, with a few loose strands hanging on the sides. A wine gourd hung loosely by his side and his gray elder robes looked dimmer than normal, as if it were worn everyday for years.

Seeing as there was no one here, Bai Hu cautiously walked up to the elder. He immediately grimaced as the elder reeked of alcohol. He stood for a moment before bowing with his hands cupped.

"Um, sir?"

"Hm?"

The elderly man stirred and opened one eye. It seems like he was sleeping and only now did he notice Bai Hu's presence.

"What is it kiddo"

"I wanted to ask where everyone is, shouldn't there be a lecture going on?"

The elder peered at Bai Hu with beady eyes. His eyes flashed for a quick moment and he was able to see that Bai Hu had no cultivation base. Then his gaze went to his uniform that signified that he was a part of the outer court, even though he had no cultivation base.

"Hey, where'd you find that uniform? Its only to be worn by outer court disciples"

Bai Hu realized that not everyone was informed of his circumstances and so he took out a jade slip from one of the storage pouches tied to his waist and handed it to the man.

He took it with a suspicious expression on his face and a thin translucent strand appeared from his forehead. It connected with the jade slip and for a few moments he was silent as he appraised the information it contained.

An enlightened expression replaced his previous one as he took another look at Bai Hu. However, his eyes narrowed when he saw 5 different colored lights in Bai Hu's Dantian. With lightning quick speed, he grabbed Bai Hu's arm and sent a strand of his divine sense in.

Bai Hu panicked and instinctively tried to struggle, only to find that all his movements were sealed. He took a deep breath and calmed down.

Meanwhile, the elder's divine sense had just entered Bai Hu's Dantian. It was empty and devoid of qi but just above it were 5 different colored balls. This was Bai Hu's mutated 5 element spiritual root.

A surprised expression mixed in with a bit of shock appeared on his face.

"Lightning and wind! Chaotic spiritual roots!"

He let Bai Hu go and then put on a contemplative expression as he stroked his chin. Bai Hu was so terrified that he didn't even twitch in the slightest. Finally, the elder broke the silence.

"Say boy... Would you like to become my disciple?"

"This..."

Instead of feeling ecstatic, Bai Hu was uncertain as the elder is still a stranger to him. He didn't even know his cultivation base and the reason he wanted him to become his disciple.

The elder seemed to read his thoughts and smiled.

"I may not have the highest cultivation base but I can say that my knowledge can even match some ancient geezer's. Of the things I know, your special spiritual roots are among them"

Bai Hu's expression changed when he heard that, but still didn't give an answer. The man gave his one last push.

He raised one hand with his palm facing up. A blinding light exploded and forced Bai Hu to cover his eyes with an arm. When he regained his vision, he found a fist sized 3 color ball. His pupils constricted as he recognized what this was.

"Golden Core!"

The elder chuckled as if he found his reaction funny "My talent is average and have already exhausted my latent potential. The peak of the Gold Core realm is probably my limit"

He continued "My lifespan has reached around 1000 years and with some treasures I should be able to live up to 1500 years"

He sighed with emotion "For a thousand years I've dedicated myself to pursue ancient knowledge and am left with around a century left to live"

Finally, he looked into Bai Hu's eyes "Will you become my disciple? I can impart you with all kinds of knowledge and help you understand your unique spiritual roots"

After a short moment of deliberation, Bai Hu accepted and kneeled on the ground.

"This disciple Bai Hu greets Master!"

The elder laughed and stood up, "Very good! Remember child, my name is Zhong Xian and from now on, you'll be under my tutelage"