"Next,"
Conscious of his role as Protector, Lu Yang called out obsequiously.
Naturally, following Daoist Xiantian was Vast Sea Daoist Lord.
However, Dai Bufan was unaware of this, knowing only that Daoist Xiantian had come to participate in the Sect's entrance examination.
Vast Sea Daoist Lord possessed the demeanor of an expert, silent and as cold as ice.
Dai Bufan lightly placed two fingers on Vast Sea Daoist Lord's wrist and quickly arrived at a conclusion, "A Mutated Spiritual Root, Thunder Spiritual Root?"
"What is your name?"
"Fang Ya."
Dai Bufan recalled the name, realizing that Fang Ya was not listed in the character assessment; did he come based on reputation?
"Fang Ya, is it? I'll remember you. Make sure you perform well."
Dai Bufan held Vast Sea Daoist Lord in high regard, thinking that if he were to be vigorously cultivated by the Seek Dao Sect in the future, he would at minimum reach the peak of the Body Integration Realm and become a pillar of the Sect.
Being a mortal, Fang Ya was unaware of the good fortune it was to be valued by Dai Bufan, feeling not the slightest shred of gratitude for the goodwill showed to him, he simply rose to his feet and walked to the second trial. It was only after joining the Seek Dao Sect that Fang Ya realized the grand opportunity he had missed today.
Fairy Eternity looked at Lu Yang with astonishment, not understanding why he suddenly embarked on an inner monologue.
"Next." This time, it was Meng Jingzhou's turn to call out.
Dai Bufan's eyelid twitched; he always felt like an emperor seated on the throne, with two little eunuchs by his side chirping out the summons for some lord to attend.
Earlier, when he had Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou drag away those with fake Spirit Roots, he had not without reason hoped to replace them with others. Unfortunately, his plan did not succeed.
Next in line after Vast Sea Daoist Lord was Master of All Laws.
Initially, Master of All Laws had thought of fabricating just any Dual Spirit Roots, but since the three individuals before him all had Single Spiritual Roots, wouldn't his falsified Dual Spiritual Roots pale in comparison?
That wouldn't do. He couldn't accept that.
Master of All Laws extended his hand, letting Dai Bufan probe.
Dai Bufan's Cultivation Technique could investigate the physical condition of another, but it was useless against an opponent of Master of All Laws' caliber.
Master of All Laws was confident that he would not be seen as anything out of the ordinary.
This was the confidence of a Semi-Immortal.
A surprised look spread across Dai Bufan's face, "An Immortal body for longevity?"
From the name alone, this was a body type that possessed a long lifespan, one so rare that not even five instances could be found from ancient times to the present.
Dai Bufan muttered to himself, wondering what was going on. It was one thing for this cohort to be of high quality, but for such occurrences to be successively emerging?
Starting with Gu Junye, this was the fourth person.
The individuals lined up behind began to grow restless, looking at Master of All Laws with envy. Such a physique was sought after voraciously by the Five Great Immortal Sects.
"What is your name?" asked Dai Bufan.
"Gu Xie."
Fairy Eternity stared at Gu Xie for a moment, "Something feels off."
"Is there a problem with this person?" Lu Yang asked.
Fairy Eternity took another two looks, marking his words with certainty, "This man is a Semi-Immortal."
"A Semi-Immortal?!" If Lu Yang hadn't already been accustomed to seeing Immortals and Semi-Immortals, the sheer revelation would have made him exclaim.
"Yes. He has a Dao Fruit Outline; he's definitely a Semi-Immortal," said Fairy Eternity with certainty.
"It seems this matter must be reported to Eldest Senior Sister," Lu Yang thought for a moment. This was beyond Elder Brother Dai's ability to handle; the person hiding their identity to enter the Seek Dao Sect likely had ill intentions.
However, Lu Yang did not immediately return to Sky Gate Mountain, as this could potentially alert Gu Xie, spooking him.
Afterwards, Dai Bufan tested roughly two hundred individuals.
"Dual Spirit Roots of water and wood, and innately compatible with cultivating Spiritual Plants?" Dai Bufan had found another promising seedling.
"I remember your name is Zhou Xing'er?"
This was also a mortal previously examined for their character.
There had been a record in the mission report that Zhou Xing'er was born in a mountain ravine. Mountain villages generally favored boys over girls, and Zhou Xing'er was no exception. Until a year ago, Zhou Xing'er had chanced upon a special Storage Ring that allowed her to plant grains and vegetables which grew exceedingly well inside it.
With this special Storage Ring, Zhou Xing'er had managed to avoid the fate of being married off.
According to Seek Dao Sect's investigation, the Storage Ring was forged by the Fifth Elder. During a high-speed boat chase by the government office, it was inadvertently lost.
Upon learning of this, the Fifth Elder stated bluntly that there was no need to retrieve it.
"Alright, you may go now."
"Thank you, Venerable One."
Lu Yang, seeing that the time was about right, sent a message to Dai Bufan: "Elder Brother Dai, I have something to attend to and need to step away for a moment."
Dai Bufan couldn't have been happier for Lu Yang to leave; he would have preferred if Lu Yang took Meng Jingzhou with him, but unfortunately, Lu Yang lacked the awareness and left alone.
Man Gu took Lu Yang's place.