Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Zhao Lin was slightly taken aback. ’This Daoist knew my name the moment he saw me,’ he thought. ’Huang Zhusong and Lv Qing must have described me to him beforehand.’ He replied, "That’s me. May I ask for your name, Daoist Master?"

The middle-aged Daoist waved his hand casually. "No need for formalities. My surname is Xun. I’m a few years older than you, so just call me Senior Brother."

As he spoke, he gestured inside. "Please, Junior Brother, come into the temple and rest. Not everyone has arrived yet. We’ll probably set out in a day or two."

Zhao Lin nodded. "I’ll leave it to you, Senior Brother."

As they spoke, the two entered the temple. Though it looked dilapidated from the outside, the interior was clean, tidy, and serenely elegant.

Just inside the entrance was an incense burner. In the main hall, a divine statue was enshrined, its features blurred and indistinct, likely from age.

They passed through the main hall and arrived before a row of dormitories built with green bricks and gray tiles.

Senior Brother Xun pointed to the dormitories. "The first three rooms and the last one are occupied. Junior Brother, you can pick any of the empty rooms. Our humble abode is quite simple, so please don’t mind."

Zhao Lin thanked him. "You’re too kind, Senior Brother Xun."

Just then, a small head poked out of the window of the first dormitory room, exclaiming in delight, "A new person’s here!"

The head belonged to a round-faced boy with his hair tied in two topknots, his face still full of childish innocence. After shouting, he pulled back.

Then, he came running out of the room and stood before Zhao Lin, curiously looking him up and down.

The doors to the second and third rooms also opened one after another, and two slightly older boys walked out.

Seeing these three youngsters, Zhao Lin finally understood how Senior Brother Xun had been able to recognize him at a glance.

All three were in their teens. The round-faced boy was the youngest, looking to be only eleven or twelve, while the other two were no more than fifteen or sixteen.

Compared to them, whether in age or stature, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

CREAK... The door to the last room also opened. A young girl walked out, her eyes red and swollen as if she had just been crying.

Senior Brother Xun smiled. "These few are just like you, new disciples of the sect. In the words of scholars, you’re of the same class. You should all get to know each other. I’ll go wait out front so I don’t miss anyone else who arrives."

After speaking, he walked out, leaving Zhao Lin to stare at the four youths.

The round-faced boy wasn’t shy. He looked up at Zhao Lin and asked, "Uncle, are you also going to cultivate the Dao?"

Uncle?

Zhao Lin was stunned for a moment upon hearing this unfamiliar form of address, then he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The boy who had come from the second room, who had fair skin and delicate features, almost jumped when he heard this. He cried out, "Zhu Cong, you’re so clueless! How can you call another cultivator ’Uncle’? You’re supposed to call him Senior Brother!"

The round-faced boy quickly corrected himself. "Sen... Senior Brother, what’s your name?"

Zhao Lin didn’t mind. In fact, he found it rather charming. Besides, though his martial arts training made him look like he was in his early twenties, he was actually thirty-one.

’When you really think about it, it’s not at all out of line for the boy to call me Uncle.’

He smiled. "My name is Zhao Lin. Just like you all, I’m going to the Chenghua Sect to cultivate."

The round-faced boy asked curiously, "How come you’re so old? Did the resident cultivator just not discover you?"

People with a Spiritual Root usually manifested it after the age of ten, and almost never later than eighteen. Zhao Lin had heard Huang Zhusong mention this, so he naturally understood what the round-faced boy meant.

He shook his head gently. "My Spiritual Root just manifested late. You can’t blame the resident cultivator."

"Then what grade is your Spiritual Root, and what are its attributes?" the round-faced boy asked next.

Zhao Lin smiled but didn’t answer. "If you’re asking about my Spiritual Root’s grade, you should tell me yours first, shouldn’t you? By the way, what are all your names, and where are you from?"

"My name is Zhu Cong..."

"My name is He Shaoqun..."

The two boys scrambled to introduce themselves.

The round-faced boy’s name was Zhu Cong. He was only twelve years old and had a Middle Grade Spiritual Root with two attributes: Water and Wood.

He Shaoqun was three years older than Zhu Cong and had a Low Grade Spiritual Root with dual attributes of Metal and Wood.

The boy who came from the third room had a wooden expression and seemed somewhat timid. Under Zhao Lin’s gaze, he finally managed to speak. "My name is Li Sancai. Low Grade Spiritual Root... with Water, Fire, and Earth, three attributes."

The young girl introduced herself last. Her surname was Bai, and her given name was a single character: He. She had a Middle Grade, single-attribute Wind Spiritual Root.

’Two Middle Grade, two Low Grade... It seems what Huang Zhusong and Lv Qing said was true. Most cultivators’ Spiritual Roots fall within the three grades of high, middle, and low.’

After that thought, Zhao Lin’s gaze swept over the group. "As your senior brother, I have a Middle Grade Spiritual Root, but it manifested too late. I can’t compare to you young talents."

He casually changed the subject, glossing over the matter of his Spiritual Root’s attributes.

The boys all gave Zhao Lin sympathetic looks. Although they didn’t understand cultivation, they knew that for learning anything, the earlier, the better.

Bai He comforted him, "Senior Brother, you’re only a few years older than us. I heard the resident cultivator say that the most important thing in cultivation is perseverance. As long as you’re determined, starting a little late doesn’t matter."

He Shaoqun also said, "For us to even have a Spiritual Root is a blessing of three lifetimes."

Zhao Lin laughed heartily and patted his chest. "Don’t worry! I may be old, but I’m as vigorous as ever, with the heart to pursue my goal until my hair turns white!"

His words made them all laugh, and even the perpetually expressionless Li Sancai cracked a smile.

Among those present, everyone except Zhao Lin was leaving home for the first time. They all subconsciously wanted to talk to others and seek comfort.

Zhao Lin, being worldly-wise, quickly livened up the atmosphere, and everyone gradually became more familiar with one another.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Lin suddenly remembered something and asked, "You’re all so young. Do your families know that you’re traveling so far to the Xuanyuan Continent to cultivate?"

"They know!"

Zhu Cong was the first to answer. "My parents couldn’t bear to part with me, so they decided to come with me."

Zhao Lin glanced into the room and asked, "Where are they?"

Zhu Cong said, "The resident cultivator said that family members travel on a separate ship from the disciples. They were picked up two days ago." After saying this, he lowered his head and rubbed his sad eyes.

"I only brought my mother."

He Shaoqun hesitated for a moment before telling his own story.

He came from a large household where his father had one wife and three concubines. His own mother was merely a maidservant, and both mother and son were never well-regarded in the family.

So when he learned he had a Spiritual Root and could cultivate, he decided without hesitation to take his mother and leave the family, departing without a word and leaving only a letter behind.

Bai He’s situation was different. Her father was a high-ranking official in the prefectural city, and of her two older brothers, one was the master of a martial arts hall and the other was a wealthy merchant.

Although her parents agreed to let her pursue immortality, they couldn’t bear to part with their vast family fortune and were unwilling to accompany her to the Xuanyuan Continent. So, she could only come here alone.

Zhao Lin thought for a moment and asked, "So, your parents know about your cultivation?"

Bai He nodded, then shook her head. "The resident cultivator explained everything to them, but they didn’t agree. So, the Daoist Master used a Magic spell and erased their memories of the past four hours."

’There’s even magic that can erase memories?’

Zhao Lin was secretly shocked.