2: I want to join the Double Cultivation Hall

A white jade platform.

After Wang Xiaokang stepped up, the entire platform was gradually suffused with a layer of white mist, which then evolved into an illusory realm.

Within the illusion, Wang Xiaokang had become the Sect Master of the Red Pine Sect, with countless Sect Disciples kneeling before him.

"Congratulations to Sect Master Wang on your succession. May the Sect Master enjoy eternal immortal blessings and may the immortal Dao flourish forever!"

"Congratulations to Sect Master Wang..."

...

"Hahaha!!"

Wang Xiaokang, dressed in a luxurious magic robe, looked down at the crowd of Disciples below and laughed heartily.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure also kneeling before him; it was Li Hua, the examiner who had assessed him earlier.

A trace of displeasure arose in Wang Xiaokang's heart, and he frowned, saying, "This seat dislikes this person. Expel him from the Sect immediately!"

"Yes!"

"As you command!"

Li Hua's face showed terror as he loudly begged for mercy, "Sect Master, spare me! I beg you, Sect Master, do not expel me from the Sect!"

"Hahaha!"

Wang Xiaokang laughed again, exceptionally enjoying the feeling of having great power and doing as he pleased.

"Enough!"

With an angry shout, the illusion vanished, leaving Wang Xiaokang stunned on the platform.

"Wang Xiaokang, from the Wang Family of Yongning, a Qi Refining Family. Ninth-Grade Spirit Root, Dao Academy grades extremely poor, Heart-Nature lowest grade. Assessment failed!"

Li Hua flicked his hand, and a talisman paper recording the assessment information flew in front of Wang Xiaokang.

"Next, Zhao Li."

Wang Xiaokang returned to his seat, dejected, as Zhao Li walked onto the platform.

Zhao Li had an ordinary appearance and wore simple clothing, yet he possessed a steady temperament.

The illusion began. Similar to Wang Xiaokang, Zhao Li became a great Cultivator within it. However, after only a moment, he realized he was in an illusion and immediately sat cross-legged to meditate, calming the distracting thoughts in his heart.

About a quarter of an hour later, the illusion automatically vanished. Zhao Li, sitting cross-legged on the white jade platform, opened his eyes.

"Not bad! Heart-Nature is top grade."

Li Hua finally revealed a satisfied smile and announced, "Zhao Li, from a farming Family in Yongning. Eighth-Grade Spirit Root, Dao Academy grades excellent, Heart-Nature top grade. Assessment passed!"

The Red Pine Sect outer Sect assessment mainly evaluates a Disciple's talent based on four aspects: background, Spiritual Root, Dao Academy grades, and Heart-Nature.

Background refers to one's Family background. If your father is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator or even a Golden Core True Person, you could pass the assessment even without a Spiritual Root.

The Spiritual Root is an innate talent, divided into nine grades; the first grade is the highest, and the ninth grade is the weakest.

The level of one's Spiritual Root signifies the speed of Cultivation and the difficulty of overcoming a Bottleneck. If your Spiritual Root reaches the middle three grades or even the upper three grades, you can pass even if your other aspects are poor.

Dao Academy grades mainly cover cultural common sense and some basic knowledge of immortal cultivation, primarily assessing whether a person is normal.

If you are illiterate and cannot even understand a Cultivation Technique, your Spiritual Root will be greatly discounted, no matter how good it is.

As for Heart-Nature, it is more abstract. The white jade platform in the center of the great hall is called the Illusion Heart Platform; it can stir up the greatest desires in a person's heart to construct an illusion, and the assessment of a person's Heart-Nature is subjectively determined by their performance within the illusion.

The impact of Heart-Nature on cultivation is not absolute, but it can roughly reveal a person's character and serves as a reference for the Disciple assessment.

"Next!"

...

The assessment continued. The memories in Liu Xuan's mind had mostly integrated; he had Transmigrated into the body of a farm boy from Yongning County, also named Liu Xuan.

'How did I Transmigrate when neither side died?' Liu Xuan could not understand this, but he knew that his current consciousness was still the Liu Xuan from Blue Star; the Liu Xuan of this world had only provided some fused memory fragments, and he could not recall many things.

He turned his head to look at the few people beside him.

Wang Xiaokang: A Disciple of a Yongning immortal cultivation Family; his father is a constable in Yongning County, arguably the one with the best background among them.

Ye Xun, from an ordinary Yongning resident Family, Ninth-Grade Spirit Root, Dao Academy grades and Heart-Nature were both decent, barely passing the assessment.

Chang Dan, from a Yongning farming Family, Eighth-Grade Spirit Root, Dao Academy grades average, Heart-Nature poor; she failed the assessment for the same reason as Liu Xuan.

Zhao Li, from a Yongning farming Family, Eighth-Grade Spirit Root, Dao Academy grades excellent, Heart-Nature excellent, also passed the assessment.

Yan Qingyao: From an ordinary commoner Family in Yongning City, yet her talent was the best among them, Fourth-Grade Spirit Root, almost reaching the upper three grades. Her other aspects were also excellent; it was said she could directly join the Inner Sect and become a true Red Pine Sect Disciple.

Of the six of them from the Yongning Dao Academy, three passed and three did not, and their life trajectories would be different from this point on.

"Assessment finished!"

Li Hua loudly announced, "Those who passed the assessment, come with me; those who didn't, disperse on your own!"

After Li Hua finished speaking, a portion of the crowd in the great hall happily followed him away, while the other portion hung their heads in dejection and dispersed one after another.

Watching his former companions leave with Li Hua, Wang Xiaokang was so distressed he was almost on the verge of tears.

"Of the six of us from Yongning Dao Academy, I didn't expect that we three would be the ones who didn't pass." He looked at Liu Xuan and Chang Dan, feeling a sense of shared misfortune.

Chang Dan was a young girl of decent appearance; she looked downcast and walked away without saying a word, having no mood to speak more with Wang Xiaokang.

The six of them had come to the Red Pine Sect together from Yongning with the same goal, and as students of the same Dao Academy, they had gotten along well along the way. It was unexpected that after one assessment, their statuses and positions would be so different; it was likely they could no longer get along as they once had.

"Brother Liu, what are your plans for the future? Are you returning to Yongning with me, or joining the Red Pine Sect's Dual Cultivation Hall?" Wang Xiaokang let out a sigh and asked, looking at Liu Xuan.

"Dual Cultivation Hall?"

Liu Xuan was stunned!

"What Dual Cultivation Hall?"

Liu Xuan's memories were incomplete, and he didn't quite understand what the Dual Cultivation Hall Wang Xiaokang mentioned meant.

"Brother Liu, you don't know?"

Wang Xiaokang revealed an expression of extreme surprise, but thinking of Liu Xuan's personality and background, he was relieved and explained:

"We are all Dao Academy students; at the very least, we possess Spiritual Roots for immortal cultivation, so even if we don't pass the assessment, we won't be abandoned. However, our cultivation value is not high, so the Sect will not spend resources on us. If we don't leave, we can only join the Dual Cultivation Hall and rely on ourselves to earn resources."

Dual Cultivation Hall, and earn resources?

"Brother Wang, please elaborate!"

Seeing Liu Xuan's interested expression, Wang Xiaokang thought about how Liu Xuan had actually harbored delusions about Yan Qingyao on the Illusion Heart Platform—he was lecherous enough; this Dual Cultivation Hall was indeed suitable for Liu Xuan.

"The Red Pine Sect has seven great halls: Alchemy, Artifacts, Talismans, Arrays, Spells, spirit plants, and Dual Cultivation. This Dual Cultivation Hall has the lowest requirements; as long as you have a Spiritual Root, you can join."

"The Dual Cultivation Hall has two paths: one is to Cultivate Cauldron Cultivation Techniques to help powerful Cultivators Cultivate and earn resources; the second is to marry the Mortal children of high-level Cultivators within the Sect. Once you produce children with good talent, you can also obtain certain resources and support from high-level Cultivators."

Liu Xuan finally understood. These two paths of the Dual Cultivation Hall, simply put, were selling oneself or being a kept man.

If he didn't have the System, Liu Xuan would have no interest in either of these. However, this path of being a kept man perfectly matched the "More Children, More Blessings" System, and it was very hard for Liu Xuan to refuse!

'Being a kept man it is! Immortal cultivation, after all, what's a little hardship?'

"I won't return to Yongning with you, Brother Wang. I want to join the Dual Cultivation Hall!" Liu Xuan said with a determined face.