"Sigh..."

In a cramped, shabby room, Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes, letting out a sigh. His slightly darkened face was full of helplessness and desolation.

"So it was another failure? Is the bottleneck from the third to the fourth stage of Qi Gathering really so enormous that I cannot make any improvement despite three months of effort?"

Lu Chen's fists clenched in frustration. This was his seventy-third unsuccessful attempt at breaking through. Since he reached the pinnacle of the third stage of Qi Gathering three months ago, Lu Chen had been constantly trying to break through to the fourth stage. But every attempt had ended in failure, causing even the tenacious Lu Chen to feel disheartened.

Five years ago, he was just a menial worker in a mundane inn. But after being discovered by a cultivator because of his potential, he was brought to the cultivation sect "Falling Cloud Valley" to cultivate. When his spiritual root was tested, Lu Chen turned out to be a mono fire-element spiritual root cultivator!

Spiritual roots come in five varieties: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. And each person may possess a different variety and quantity of spiritual roots. Normally, a person with a five-element root has no potential to cultivate. Only those with four or fewer spiritual roots are pursued by various cultivation sects, chosen to enter the ranks of the sect and granted cultivating techniques.

The fewer spiritual roots one has, the greater their relative talent. Those with three spiritual roots only make up a small fraction in Falling Cloud Valley. Those with two-root cultivators could be considered one in a hundred, while mono-root cultivators are extraordinarily rare, appearing once in tens of thousands. In the entire Falling Cloud Valley, Lu Chen was the only mono-root cultivator.

Lu Chen's unique spiritual root attribute caused a stir within the entire Falling Cloud Valley. All the high-ranking elders scrambled to take Lu Chen as their disciple. Even the Valley Master, who often stayed in seclusion for years on end, showed an intention to take in a new disciple. However, in the end, Lu Chen chose to become the disciple of the most eccentric elder in the sect, Elder Liu Zhanhun, for a very simple reason—Elder Liu Zhanhun had never taken a disciple before.

Lu Chen originally thought that his considerable talent would ensure his cultivation advances at a remarkable speed. However, the reality was far from his expectations. His cultivation speed was not as fast as it should have been for a mono-root cultivator. Instead, it was extremely slow, inferior to even some three-rooted disciples within Valley.

This had subjected Lu Chen to ridicule from his fellow sect members, transforming him from a prodigy revered by all to a bona fide waste.

When Lu Chen managed to cultivate the first stage of "Upper Profound Technique" given by Liu Zhanhun, thus gaining the ability to inspect his inner self, he discovered that his speed of transforming spiritual power wasn't slow at all. Instead, it was quicker than that described for mono-root cultivators in the cultivation manuals. However, most of the newly transformed spiritual power would be absorbed by a black stone in his dantian when it attempted to merge into his cultivation base.

After Lu Chen informed his master Liu Zhanhun of this matter, Liu Zhanhun didn’t have any notable reaction. He only told Lu Chen not to tell anyone about the black stone or its effects.

Liu Zhanhun cared about Lu Chen but also gave him much freedom, providing a general direction for his cultivation and necessary medicinal pills. But when Lu Chen confronted bullying from other disciples, Liu Zhanhun would only provide some healing pills and never considered standing up for him.

Because of the black stone consuming spiritual power, Lu Chen spent five years just to reach the peak of the third stage of Qi Gathering. And still, he had not been able to break through to the fourth stage.

In the path of cultivation, the Qi Gathering stage was just the beginning. Above it lay numerous realms, including Spirit Gathering, Soul Snatching, Returning to Origin, Spirit Silence, Mind Awakening, and Refining Void. With Lu Chen's mono-root talent, he might have walked far along this path. However, if his cultivation continues at the current speed, it would almost be impossible for him to reach the limit of the Qi Gathering stage, the ninth stage, in his lifetime.

The more pressing issue was, Lu Chen's cultivation had reached its fifth year. In Luoyun Valley, if disciples couldn't achieve the peak of the Qi Condensation phase's fourth level after six years of cultivation, they would lose their chance to participate in the newcomer's competition. This signified that Lu Chen would lose his identity as a genuine disciple of Luoyun Valley and would be reassigned to manage affairs in the secular world. If that happened, Lu Chen would become the first Heavenly Spirit Root disciple to be expelled from the valley.

Remembering this, Lu Chen heaved a sigh and grabbed a low-grade Blaze Talisman he had crafted from the table beside him, heading towards the valley's exchange assembly.

Luoyun Valley held a newcomers' exchange assembly every three months, during which the newly admitted disciples could exchange items they desired. Although Liuzhan Soul had gifted him numerous pills, as a Heavenly Spirit Root, the speed at which he could refine the pills was much quicker than the average person. Therefore, the more pills, the better.

Lu Chen did not go alone, but with another genuine disciple named Xu Shan. Xu Shan was a year younger than Lu Chen, only fourteen, and had a rather delicate appearance, far better than the average-looking Lu Chen.

When Lu Chen met up with Xu Shan, he was surprised to find Xu Shan's aura had increased slightly compared to three months ago. Puzzled, he asked, "Did you break through to the fourth level?"

Xu Shan nodded, "I did, just last month. What about you, Brother Chen?"

"Not yet," Lu Chen replied with a wry smile. "In the past three months, I've attempted to break through seventy-three times, all ending in failure. It seems that a year from now, I'll be kicked out of Luoyun Valley and assigned to the secular world."

Although Xu Shan started at the same time as Lu Chen, Lu Chen had joined half a year earlier. Thus, Xu Shan did manage to surpass him. Although Lu Chen was somewhat happy for Xu Shan, he still couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Xu Shan had a look of complaint on his delicate face. "It's all because Elder Liu didn't teach you well. Otherwise, with your talent, you should've broken through to the sixth level a long time ago. I've talked to my master about this, asking him to take you as his disciple. How come you're not willing?"

"After all, he's the master who's taught me for many years, so there's some emotional tie there," Lu Chen shook his head, feeling bitter inside. He was well aware why his cultivation speed was slow, and realized switching to another teacher would barely make a difference.

The two continued their conversation as they reached the venue of the exchange.

It was still early in the morning, so there weren't many people around. Only a dozen or so stalls were selling various items such as talismans and pills. Some even sold rare treasures like spiritual artifacts, which slightly tempted Lu Chen. However, given his limited budget, he didn't intend to make a purchase.

Lu Chen did own a spiritual artifact, a flying sword that could change size. However, it was merely a common item given when he first entered the valley. Its flying speed was even slower than his running speed, almost useless except for practicing the most basic "Foundation Sword Technique."

The two wanted to exchange for some pills to expedite their cultivation. Items for exchange were typically some talismans or healing pills given by the sect. These items held no immediate value to them, as cultivation was their priority, but for disciples who didn't have a fourth spiritual root and weren't accepted by any elder, these items could effectively improve their strength, the exact purpose of the exchange assembly, each got what they needed.

Lu Chen had a remarkable comprehension. When he was tired from cultivation, he quickly learned how to make some talismans. He earned more medicinal pills through exchanges than other disciples.

Lu Chen and Xu Shan, full of interest, browsed the stalls for a while. They failed to find anyone willing to exchange medicinal pills that could enhance their cultivation, so they headed straight to their own stall.

Their stall was located on the periphery of the exchange fair. As they walked over, they noticed a group of disciples from the valley gathered there, discussing something. Amid the crowd, there were sounds of things being smashed. Seeing Lu Chen and Xu Shan approaching, the crowd revealed strange expressions, some even looking like they were enjoying the drama.

A few disciples in front of them stepped aside to reveal a burly young man, slightly older than Lu Chen, smashing the table and other objects at their stall.

"Stop it!"

Enraged by the vandalism, both of them shouted out. Xu Shan couldn't help but roar.

The burly young man paused and slapped his hands together. He looked at Lu Chen and Xu Shan playfully and said mockingly, "Oh, so the losers in charge of these two stalls have arrived. Zhao Shidi said he doesn't like the look of you two, so he asked me to wreck your stalls. With me, Zhou Ting here, you won't have to participate in the exchange fair anymore!"

"By what right?" Lu Chen's face was dark, and he asked coldly.

Zhao Yuan was the only disciple with two spiritual roots who enrolled in the valley at the same time as Lu Chen. He should have been outstanding, but he fell behind Lu Chen, who had a heavenly spiritual root. Consequently, he bore grudges against Lu Chen and often manipulated other disciples to suppress him. This time, he had clearly leveraged another senior brother who wanted to curry favor with him.

"Because you are trash, and Zhao Shidi is a genius!" Zhou Ting mocked.

"Brother Chen, let's fight him!" Xu Shan clenched his fists, glaring at the conceited Zhou Ting with rage in his face. His inner spiritual power roared. Without waiting for Lu Chen's response, he rushed up with his fist.

A smirk appeared on Zhou Ting's meaty face. He exuded the overwhelming aura of a Qi gathering fifth-stage cultivator. He grabbed Xu Shan's fist with one hand and slapped Xu Shan's face with the other.

"Smack!"

Xu Shan was knocked away, rolling on the ground. A dark palm mark was left on his face, and he passed out with his head tilted to one side.

"You don't even know a single Dao technique, yet you dare to fight me!" The burly youth scoffed. He was only one level higher than Xu Shan, but he had learned a Dao technique called "Giant Spirit," which could double his spiritual power for a short time. He easily defeated Xu Shan.

"You're next!"

The muscular young man leaped forward, his hand mercilessly slashing down towards Lu Chen, intent on leaving a mark.

Lu Chen initially wanted to endure the blow. However, seeing that Xu Shan was being beaten, the anger in his heart surged. He pulled out a talisman from his hand and was about to throw it towards Zhou Ting.

"Scram!"

Zhou Ting abruptly changed his move, kicking Lu Chen in the chest. Lu Chen was sent flying like he had been struck by a boulder.

Seeing this outcome, the surrounding crowd watching the fight felt sympathy towards Lu Chen. Zhou Ting had already reached the fifth level of the Qi Condensation stage, facing Lu Chen, a mere level three cultivator, he didn't even need to use sword tactics. He could easily defeat him with just physical melee.

"Ah, Lu Chen was once so promising when he was identified as a Heaven Spirit Root, but it's sad to see him like this now."

"And that Xu Shan, insisting on associating himself with this worthless one, now he was beaten because of it as well."

"Such a waste of a Heaven Spirit Root, stuck at the third level of Qi Condensation stage even after over five years. In a year, this good-for-nothing will be expelled from the valley. A Heaven Spirit Root getting kicked out...heh, that would indeed be a story for the ages."

Lu Chen was thrown back over ten feet, his whole body feeling like it was fractured. But Zhou Ting only had to take one leap to land beside him. Stepping on Lu Chen's back, Zhou Ting smirked triumphantly, "Ah, our fellow disciple Zhao Yuan is second grade genius and already at the fifth level of Qi Condensation stage. Yet, you, with your Fire attribute Heaven Spirit root, are only at the third level. You truly are a born loser, wasting such a good spirit root property."

Humiliation! This was a great humiliation!

Being stepped on by Zhou Ting, Lu Chen was filled with a huge sense of humiliation. Once he was a respected genius, but now, he could only be stepped on by others.

"I won't accept this!"

Lu Chen roared inwardly. A murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He poured his spiritual power into the talisman in his hand and, after a moment's pause, he threw it upwards fiercely.

"This maniac!" Zhou Ting was startled and quickly crossed his arms, infusing spiritual power into them. Just as he lifted his foot from Lu Chen's back, the talisman exploded with a "bang".

The explosion from the talisman sent Zhou Ting flying backwards and he only stopped after retreating seven or eight steps, his arms were bleeding badly.

Fear showed on Zhou Ting's face. He was now a bit afraid of Lu Chen. Sect rules forbid using spiritual tools and talismans during disputes among fellow disciples, otherwise, they would be stripped of their cultivation and ejected from Luo Yun Valley. It appeared that Lu Chen was daring enough to completely ignore the rules. Even more importantly, Lu Chen dared to pause while charging the Talisman with his spiritual power and throw it upwards, which was extremely audacious. The slightest mistake could cost him not only an arm, but his life.

Zhou Ting narrowly escaped being heavily injured and he cursed, "This Lu Chen is absolutely a lunatic!"

Now, regret began to arise in Zhou's heart for trying to please Zhao Yuan by picking on Lu Chen. Meanwhile, Lu Chen was slowly getting up from the ground. Despite the swelling on his face, he exuded a menacing aura. He flipped his hand and threw another talisman.