How Much For Your Soul

"Young masters, it will soon be your men's turn."

"I will follow Enforcer Gu's arrangements. Xiao Yu and I are just bystanders, after all." Hua Ling was quick to agree as he smiled at Xiao Yu derisively, it was clear he was about to use the test to belittle Xiao Yu just like in canon.

Enforcer Gu approved, pointing his finger at a person wearing a purple robe. It was clear he was from the Little Heaven Realm.

"You come up here, it is your turn."

The youth walked forward, and under the supervision of Enforcer Gu, he slowly placed his hand on the round crystal ball the size of a millstone. When he injected his power into it, it glowed faintly, then became brighter and brighter. Faint orange patterns covered the crystal and divided into six threads.

"6th grade Earth Spiritual Root. Not bad, send to the West District." Said Enforcer Gu, nodding towards Hua Ling to show his approval.

One after another, the people from Little Heaven Realm were tested, and the results were all Earth Spiritual Roots causing Hua Ling to puff out his chest in pride. He glanced at Xiao Yu and couldn't help but boast about the men he had chosen.

"Don't worry Xiao Yu, I'm sure that the people you brought from the Tiny World are just as impressive as my men! Enforcer Gu, how about we test a few of their men?"

Picking up on the stereotypical young master's plan, Enforcer Gu pointed at one of the followers Shen Yue had brought with him.

"You! Come and take your test."

Guided by two teachers, one by one, the three minions were tested. They walked up to the crystal ball and placed their hands on it, injecting their soul force into it.

Lu Han - 3rd grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

Zhao Bei - 2nd grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

Sun Jin - 2nd grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

Just as Shen Yue was about to go up and be tested so they could leave, Enforcer Gu switched back to picking people from the Little Heaven Realm. Aware of Hua Ling's feud with Xiao Yu, he could not let them go before they were suitably humiliated. An Earth Spiritual Root was an acceptable result, but they had all been on the low side. Enforcer Gu was sure that among the remainder of the people from Little Heaven, there was bound to be a Heaven Spiritual Root that would shame Xiao Yu's group's average performance.

-9th grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

-6th grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

-7th grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

-5th grade Earth Spiritual Root, West District.

-8th grade Man Spiritual Root, South District.

Another six tests were completed, with five of them Earth Spiritual Roots with one 8th grade Man Spiritual Root.

Hearing Enforcer Gu's words, Hua Ling's face instantly turned black. With a sneer adorning his face, he looked coldly at the youth as if he was dogsh*t.

"Garbage, to actually be a Man Spiritual Root! Scram back to the Little Heaven Realm. I don't need any Man Spiritual Root trash here!"

Even after Enforcer Gu tried to smooth things over, Hua Ling was adamant about rejecting the poor guy whose only crime was to fail his expectations. Instead of downplaying an undesirable result and quietly dismissing the man, Hua Ling acted like a retard and loudly condemned the man in front of everyone. With his outburst attracting the attention of the waiting would-be students, his next words were even more unreasonable.

"We don't need a Man Spiritual Root waste in my Little Heaven Realm, you should scram back home by yourself. Or do you want me to kick you back? I would be ashamed to show my face at the Skysoul Institute if I was you!"

The youth was so embarrassed that his ears turned red, while tears threatened to escape his eyes. He had come to the Draconic Ruins full of confidence, ready to become powerful, make his family proud and to represent the Little Heaven Realm. But now he was publically humiliated by the man he had sworn to serve, there was no way he could return to face his loved ones. He hung his head in shame and disappeared into the crowd of students.

Shen Yue gave a nod to Sun Jin. Knowing that Hua Ling would drive the person that had the 8th grade Man Spiritual Root to suicide, he planned ahead and sent a minion after him. Since Shen Yue would be in the West District, he needed someone to take control of the South District for him. After all, even though it was more efficient to enslave the prominent young masters that already commanded an army, they were continually under the scrutiny of the elders of their Clans.

Especially with the Acting Sect Master competition that would take place in the next couple of years. Any influential young master was being groomed to take up a leadership position in either their Clan or the Sect. If Shen Yue enslaved them, it would raise all kinds of red flags if they started to suddenly act submissively to some random nobody or their personalities drastically changed.

Much better to recruit an army of people that were thought of as trash and give them hope, techniques and resources. A soul mark to ensure loyalty, and Shen Yue would create a powerful faction that could not be traced back to him. This was the big boy league, he would need to take advantage of every opportunity to succeed in defeating anyone that would oppose him. Which would be everyone in this universe! After all, this was a place where might was right, and nobody wanted to bow their head to someone else.

Luckily, nobody noticed Sun Jin leave as there attention was focused solely on the bombastic Hua Ling. Since Shen Yue never heard the shocked cries of witnesses to a suicide, Sun Jin must have succeeded in gaining the embarrassed man's interest in revenge. One man's trash was another's treasure! Since mediocre Spiritual Roots was not an end-all condition to the Heaven's Path Library, there was a perfect chess piece that would now belong to Shen Yue.

After such a dramatic situation, everyone's eyes were on Shen Yue as he was next in line to be tested. He slowly placed his hand on the crystal ball, slightly apprehensive at being under the scrutiny of hundreds of people. Even though he knew he would pass, it was somewhat embarrassing to receive an average result and be mocked for it. But showing off in a situation like this would only create future problems, much better to grit his teeth and bear it for now.

The crystal ball glowed with a red colour that slowly started to change to orange. As soon as three threads appeared, Shen Yue removed his hand and pretended to sigh in disappointment. He did his best to convince Enforcer Gu that this was his limit and that he had tried his hardest. Thankfully, as someone aligned on Hua Ling's side, Enforcer Gu was more than happy to believe him.

Hua Ling casually glanced at Xiao Yu. "Your people from Tiny World don't seem to be very useful, only four low ranked Earth Spiritual Roots! I supposed it was inevitable with a failure like you as their leader, having a Heaven grade Spiritual Root but being unable to reach the Heavenly Fate Realm after all this time. Pathetic!"

Even though the people from the Little Heaven Realm didn't have anyone with a Heaven Grade talent, twenty new students with Earth Spiritual Roots were better than four! There were also a few high ranked Earth talents! Things did not go the same as they did in the story. Without Nie Li there to spout bullsh*t and show off Heaven defying talent, Xiao Yu suffered scathing insults that shamed her publically. The gathered crowd could only look on in pity as Xiao Yu bowed her head in defeat.

Of course, Shen Yue could have easily turned the situation around, but unlike Nie Li, he was not going to paint a massive target on his back just for the sake of winning a petty argument. The tallest trees were the first to fall in a storm. Those that stand out from the crowd quickly gained everyone's jealousy and envy. Without strong backing, they would be stamped down and blocked at every opportunity. Nobody wanted some new kid on the block to usurp their authority and upset the current power balance.

Shen Yue watched Xiao Yu slink off like a beaten dog and let her go, he made no effort to run after her and console her. Her adopted father had introduced him as a promising youth from the Divine Continent and the student of a new ally. They were not friends, and Shen Yue had already planned to distance himself from the trouble magnet as soon as he could, now was as good a time as any. Twenty minutes later, Sun Jin returned with a smile on his face. It seems like there was a new minion of the Empire in the Draconic Realm.