THE RULE KING

On that day, the sky was clear and cloudless. In the courtyard of the Outer Sect Elder, Elder Cao was as usual. He was holding a book and reading leisurely, looking just like a retired old man. Xu Shan waited beside him without showing any signs of impatience, quietly observing the other's reaction. Zhang Biao was still in the ring on his hand, but it seemed that the other party didn't notice at all... This was actually a good sign.

Today, he had come to ask Elder Cao for a cultivation technique. These past few days had been the most enjoyable he had ever experienced. With the problem of his spiritual root solved, his cultivation speed had increased. He also had a companion by his side now. He could chat with him about the outside world when he had nothing to do, and he could also brag a bit to relieve stress. Although there were still many hidden concerns, a large part of his psychological pressure had already been lifted.

However, even with the current progress and cultivation experience, in just one month's time, he still couldn't be sure that he could break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. If he forced a breakthrough and failed, resulting in a serious injury, it would be even worse. He still had to take the final Outer Sect examination, and there was no way to avoid it. But with the blessing of Zhang Biao as a spiritual root... His performance in terms of the circulation, control, and recovery of spiritual power had almost shown a leap. His condition was much better than before. Even without learning this spell, his success rate in passing the examination had increased significantly.

After a while, Elder Cao finished reading the last page. He closed the book, stood up, and said, "Let's go." Before Xu Shan could answer, he felt a force envelop his entire body, and then they shot straight up into the sky. When he recovered from the shock, he had already landed on the ground. In front of him was the Sutra Pavilion of the Inner Sect.

Elder Cao said leisurely, "Go and choose a basic spell that suits you. If you don't understand anything, ask Elder Sun, who guards the pavilion. He will give you some guidance."

Xu Shan bowed and then turned to walk towards the Sutra Pavilion. As soon as he entered the pavilion, Xu Shan felt a sudden sense of openness in his chest. The pavilion had three floors, with a hollow in the middle. Each floor had a very high ceiling. Dense collections of books and a small number of jade slips were placed on the bookshelves. Since Xu Shan had joined the sect, he had often heard that the Xinglan Sect was much smaller in scale compared to other sects. He never expected that it would be so magnificent here, with so many books in collection. It truly deserved to be the most crucial place in the sect, which showed that it still had some foundation.

In the center of the hall, there was a long table. Only an old man was sitting behind it, holding a book and not even looking up. Xu Shan walked straight up to him and said, "Disciple Xu Shan pays his respects to Elder Sun. Following Elder Cao's instructions, I have come here to select a cultivation technique."

The old man raised his eyes and said, "Oh, you're a disciple participating in the final Outer Sect examination, right? According to the rules, you can freely choose any of the spell jade slips on the south side of the first floor of the pavilion. But it's better to choose the one that suits you. Do you need me to give you some advice?"

"Thank you, Elder Sun," Xu Shan said.

Elder Sun nodded, took out a white jade array plate for testing aptitude from his Qiankun Pouch and placed it on the table. "Put your hand on it," he said.

Xu Shan reached out and put his hand on the array plate. Seeing that the jade plate didn't react at all, Elder Sun raised his eyebrows and pulled the array plate back to check it.

"Hmm... Is it broken?"

Xu Shan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. Zhang Biao was completely curled up in the ring, so naturally, it was testing his own aptitude. He remembered that when he first joined the sect, even with a lower-grade spiritual root, the array plate would emit light. Now, his spiritual root was so weak that it couldn't even be detected by this array plate...

"Forget it. The thing is broken. What kind of spiritual root do you have?" Elder Sun asked, looking up.

"A lower-grade Fire Spiritual Root."

"Lower-grade... Hmm, not bad. It shows that you've put in a lot of hard work to reach your current cultivation level with this kind of aptitude," Elder Sun said with a faint smile. "The most suitable spell for you is only the most common Fireball Spell. Of course, you Outer Sect disciples have often heard of the Fireball Spell, and you might look down on it. You can choose by yourself, but don't touch the spells that don't match your spiritual root. Even if you can use them, you won't be able to unleash any decent power. Also, don't even think about stealing anything. There are forbidden arrays set up in the hall. Once you're discovered, you'll be expelled from the sect immediately."

Fortunately, he could still choose one more. He might as well give it a try. "Where should I start choosing from?" Xu Shan asked, feeling a bit confused in the face of the countless books and jade slips in the pavilion.

Elder Sun pointed to the left and said, "All the jade slips you can choose from are over there. Just choose from there."

"Can I choose those other books on the shelves?"

"Our Xinglan Sect is poor. Those are all miscellaneous books bought from the folk and are just placed there to make up the number," Elder Sun said.

"..." Xu Shan was silent for a while and then walked to the place where the jade slips were placed and checked them one by one. There were the Fireball Spell, Water Arrow Spell, Blazing Wind Palm, Light Body Technique... After scanning through a large number of them, he couldn't see any difference. They were all of similar ranks.

Xu Shan frowned and paced back and forth in front of the bookshelf. Until he reached the last row, his eyes stopped. There was a jade slip placed in the gap between two jade slips... A completely different jade slip! The jade slips on the shelf were all rectangular white jade, but this one was a palm-sized rhombus-shaped cyan jade slip. There were runes engraved on the outside, which was very different from the ordinary jade slips, and there was no introduction written on the shelf. This thing was so extraordinary, and his luck had been good recently. This was the one!

Xu Shan immediately put down the book he was holding, took the rhombus-shaped jade slip, and went back in front of Elder Sun. With a nervous sweat on his forehead, he said, "Disciple has already selected the cultivation technique." He couldn't steal it. If it was really a good thing, it was very likely to be taken away. He could only place his hope in Elder Sun's character.

Elder Sun had already picked up the book again and was reading. He casually waved his right hand. A flash of silver light passed over the outside of the rhombus-shaped jade slip.

"Okay, the restriction is lifted. Take it... Hmm? Wait a moment!"

Xu Shan had wanted to run away with the jade slip, but unfortunately, Elder Sun turned his head and took a glance, and slapped the jade slip down with his palm. Xu Shan's heart immediately rose to his throat.

Elder Sun picked up the jade slip and observed it with a frown. "This jade slip..."

It was over. The good thing he had found was going to be taken away! Xu Shan thought something was wrong in his heart, but his expression remained calm as he said, "Elder Sun, why is this jade slip different from the others?"

"Hiss... I can't remember. It looks very familiar." Elder Sun squinted his eyes and tried hard to recall. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead. "This is one of the ancient jade slips. Where did you find this, kid?"

An ancient jade slip! Xu Shan's heart ached...

Elder Sun looked at him with a slanted gaze and smiled. "This thing is really rare. I don't even know what cultivation technique is recorded in it. How dare you take it? You're about to participate in the final examination, and you only have one chance."

"What's so special about the ancient jade slip?" Xu Shan asked.

"There's not much difference. It's just a special kind of jade slip that has long been eliminated," Elder Sun said as he pressed his hand on the jade slip and channeled his spiritual power into it.

Suddenly, a ray of colorful light shot out from the tip of the rhombus-shaped jade slip and formed a light screen in mid-air. In the light screen, a cultivator dressed in strange clothes could be clearly seen circulating his cultivation technique! The figure quickly formed a large fireball in his hand and then threw it far away. At the same time, the jade slip vibrated, and a deep male voice sounded, continuously explaining the experience of using the Fireball Spell...