33: Chapter 33 I can't control it, so you think you can?

The first round of the Spiritual Root test had just concluded, and the fresh results were sent to the recruitment offices of the four major Sects.

Four recruitment officers sat around a long table, casually flipping through the lists.

When they reached a certain page, four pairs of eyes froze simultaneously.

"Fire-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root? Six years old?"

"A Genius rarely seen in decades! Our Sect barely has a few such talents!"

"I want this kid! I’ll fight anyone who tries to take him!"

The previously lazy recruitment officers instantly sat up straight, their eyes as sharp as vultures spotting prey.

A silent war for talent thus began.

Before Xiao Yan could even choose where to go, he was surrounded by the four groups.

The Hehuan Sect was the first to make a move; a seductive female cultivator winked and said, "Come to our Hehuan Sect. You'll have one-on-one tutoring from a Senior Sister, so your Cultivation won't be boring~"

Not to be outdone, a charming woman from the Jade Maiden Sect slapped the table. "We have famous teachers, plenty of resources, and the treatment of a Personal Disciple!"

The Yunlan Sect also slapped the table. "We provide a full set of Cultivation Techniques, plus a monthly subsidy of one hundred Spirit Stones!"

The Wanjian Sect was the most direct; a burly man stabbed his sword into the ground. "Come to the Wanjian Sect, you'll be an Inner Sect Disciple immediately, and you can pick any sword technique you want!"

The four groups argued back and forth incessantly. Xiao Yan stood in the middle, looking left and right, his little face full of the "who should I choose" dilemma.

Finally, he pointed toward the Hehuan Valley and said in a childish voice, "I choose the Hehuan Sect. They give the most."

The Hehuan Sect recruiter's smile widened—she hadn't even said how much they'd give yet, and he was already impatient.

The other three groups were also stunned. "She hasn't even made an offer yet. How do you know she gives the most?"

Xiao Yan pointed confidently at the Hehuan Sect recruiter's chest. "She has the biggest ones there, so she must give the most."

In Xiao Yan's view, it didn't matter where he went, but he had to eat his fill; this was what his mother had instructed.

The entire place went silent for a second.

The Hehuan Sect recruiter looked down at her proud cleavage, her face reddening slightly, then she smiled even more radiantly. "Little brother, you have good taste!"

The recruiters from the other three groups all looked down at their own chests simultaneously and fell into a collective silence.

Xiao Ye had squeezed through at some point and smacked the back of his son's head. The force wasn't heavy, but his Aura was strong. "Son, the water in Hehuan Valley is too deep; you can't handle it. Listen to your father and go to the Jade Maiden Sect."

Xiao Yan clutched the back of his head, looking aggrieved. "But Dad, doesn't the Jade Maiden Sect only accept female Disciples?"

Xiao Ye said righteously, "You're six years old, so you don't count as a male Disciple, you count as a young boy. Young boys can enter."

Xiao Yan: "...Then why won't you let me go to the Hehuan Sect?"

"I said you can't handle it." As he spoke, Xiao Ye extended his large hand and made a few grasping motions. "It has to be a hand like mine to manage!"

Xiao Yan was completely speechless.

In the end, Xiao Yan was overruled by Xiao Ye and tearfully chose the Jade Maiden Sect.

The recruiter was a charming female cultivator named Chun Meng. Looking at this little sprout who wasn't even as tall as her waist, her expression was like seeing a little lamb enter a wolf's den.

"Little brother, come to big sister~" Chun Meng said with a beaming smile, her voice so sweet it was like syrup.

Xiao Yan reluctantly shuffled into the Jade Maiden Sect's line, looking back at the Hehuan Sect with eyes full of longing.

I want to go to the Hehuan Sect! I'm still a child, I need to grow! — Auntie Gu came from that Sect, so it feels familiar!

Xiao Ye shouted from behind, "Yan'er, Cultivate well and don't think about nonsense!"

Xiao Yan didn't turn around, but his shoulders twitched.

It was Xiao Ye's turn.

He walked to the recruitment desks of the four major Sects, straightened his back, and cleared his throat. "Everyone, I want to sign up too."

The four recruiters all looked up and scanned him from head to toe.

The Hehuan Sect recruiter asked, "Fellow Daoist, how old are you this year?"

Xiao Ye: "Forty."

The Yunlan Sect recruiter expressionlessly pulled out a Bone Age tester and shone it on Xiao Ye's hand. The device beeped twice, and a line of numbers appeared on the screen—

"Bone Age: Sixty-seven."

The air went silent for a second.

Xiao Ye didn't blink. "The device is broken."

The Wanjian Sect recruiter took the device, tapped it, and tested again. "It's not broken."

Xiao Ye was silent for two seconds, then suddenly puffed out his chest and said righteously, "I look like I'm forty, is that not allowed?"

Everyone: "...???"

The Jade Maiden Sect recruiter, Chun Meng, politely smiled. "Fellow Daoist, we only accept female Disciples... and boys under six. You don't fit either category."

Xiao Ye's lip twitched, and he turned to look at the Hehuan Sect and the Yunlan Sect.

The Hehuan Sect recruiter shook her head and sighed. "Fellow Daoist, it's not that we don't want you. Our Sect's Cultivation emphasizes Yin and Yang harmony, which is hard on the waist. At your age... I'm afraid you'd be carried out after three months."

Xiao Ye's face darkened.

The Yunlan Sect recruiter was even more direct. "Inner Sect Disciples start at the Foundation Establishment Stage. We don't need a sixty-seven-year-old... big brother. Why don't you check out the Loose Cultivator Alliance?"

Xiao Ye almost couldn't stop himself from swearing.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly remembered something. He pulled a Medicinal Pill from his robe and slapped it onto the table with such force that the surface shook.

"I am a Second-rank Alchemist."

The four recruiters were stunned at the same time.

The Hehuan Sect recruiter picked up the Medicinal Pill, examined it from all sides, and then leaned in to smell it. Her expression changed drastically. "A spirit gathering pill with 100% efficacy?!"

Xiao Ye crossed his arms, his chin slightly raised and nostrils pointing to the sky. "Genuine and guaranteed."

The Wanjian Sect recruiter stood up abruptly, his attitude doing a 180-degree turn. "Fellow Daoist! Come to our Wanjian Sect! You'll be a Guest Elder with excellent treatment! You can learn any sword technique!"

The Yunlan Sect recruiter was not to be outdone and pushed the Wanjian Sect person aside. "Our Yunlan Sect is willing to provide a full set of Alchemy equipment, plus a monthly subsidy of five hundred Spirit Stones! Priority supply of Medicinal Pills!"

The Jade Maiden Sect recruiter opened her mouth and then closed it—their Sect truly didn't accept male Disciples, but Guest Elders didn't seem to have that restriction? She hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't speak; after all, there was a difference between a "young boy" and an "elderly man."

The Hehuan Sect recruiter stood up with a smile and walked over to Xiao Ye. Her voice was as gentle as if she were coaxing a child, yet carried a hint of ambiguity. "Fellow Daoist, come to our Hehuan Valley. We have many Senior Sisters and many positions~ Alchemy resources are plentiful, and—"

She leaned closer and lowered her voice, her breath like orchids. "Our Sect has more beauties than the other three combined. And every one of them has a strong waist; you won't have to move, just leave everything to the Senior Sisters."

Xiao Ye's eyes lit up like two small lanterns.

"Deal."

He didn't even haggle over the price and settled it immediately, fearing she might change her mind.

To the side, Xiao Yan was completely dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

He watched helplessly as his father strode toward the Hehuan Sect's line, his pace light as if he'd found money, with a "there's meat for dinner tonight" kind of smile on his face.

Only one thought echoed wildly in Xiao Yan's mind—

"I can't handle it, but it turns out you can?"

Xiao Ye looked back at his son and waved with a smile, a kind expression tinged with a bit of smugness. "Yan'er, Cultivate well in the Jade Maiden Sect and don't think about nonsense. Here, this is the Great Desolate Flame Emperor Art, Cultivate it well. Dad will wait for you at the Hehuan Sect—come when you've grown up."

Xiao Yan: "..."

He suddenly felt like he might not be biological.

He looked at the smiling but 'flat-chested' female cultivators in the Jade Maiden Sect's line, then turned to look toward the Hehuan Sect. That Elder's gulp-worthy milk was what he really wanted!

Xiao Yan's tiny soul suffered tons of damage. If he got hungry at night, he wouldn't even know who to turn to! This was too much bullying for a little guy!