NOVEL WEB Ch. 97
Chapter 97: White Root Bone?
At this moment, all the Old Ancestors were like deflated balloons.
Just a moment ago, they had been eager to break into a fight right there, yet now none of them spoke a word.
Some glanced around, pretending nothing had happened, while others lowered their heads in silence, awkward expressions on their faces.
The woman suspended in midair swept her gaze coldly over the scene.
Her vermilion lips parted slightly.
“All of you hold the status of an Old Ancestor of your respective families. How can you behave so childishly!”
Everyone looked at each other, but no one continued speaking. They returned to their seats.
Once again, only Gu Fan, Lin Yi, and Wu Di remained in the plaza.
At this time, the woman looked at Gu Fan. Her cold and beautiful face showed no emotion whatsoever.
“You, come with me.”
With that, she was ready to leave with the two of them, but this time the Old Ancestors were unwilling to stay silent.
Although they usually harbored great apprehension about this woman’s identity, matters concerning a Nine Rings Disciple were significant enough that even the Sect Master would have to consider everyone’s opinion.
“Fairy Fang! This is rather inappropriate, is it not? This boy is a once-in-ten-thousand-years Nine Rings Disciple. How can you just say you're taking him and do so as you please!”
“Indeed, Fairy. This is no trivial matter. The last Eight Rings Disciple is now the Holy Son of our sect!”
“That's right. With the talent of Nine Rings, perhaps…”
“Silence! The Holy Son is still within the sect. Are you seeking death!”
Someone immediately rebuked, cutting off the discussion.
The speaker quickly came to his senses, a trace of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
At that moment, the woman looked at the arguing group with indifference, the corner of her mouth curling into a cold smile.
“Talent of Nine Rings is indeed rare, but don’t forget—his root bone hasn’t been confirmed. Are all of you so certain his innate root bone is also top-tier?”
When she said this, everyone looked at one another in astonishment. One of the family Old Ancestors laughed and said:
“Fairy, your words are mistaken. We wouldn’t dare hope for both top-tier talent and root bone. But with such talent, as long as the root bone is green, it's more than enough. His future achievements may not be any less than…”
He trailed off, seemingly cautious, but everyone knew he was referring to the Holy Son.
“Exactly. As long as it’s a green root bone, that’s sufficient. Moreover, with such talent, the root bone is unlikely to be poor. There’s even a chance it could be blue.”
“Fairy, aren’t you so eager to take him back precisely because you covet this boy’s Nine Rings talent?”
The woman gazed at the crowd with an indifferent look. Only after they had nearly finished speaking did she say:
“Then let me tell you now—though this person’s talent is indeed top-tier, his root bone is extremely poor. I have other reasons for taking him.”
When the Old Ancestors heard this, they all burst into laughter.
“Fairy Fang, it’s not that we don’t believe you, but this statement is a bit too far-fetched. It truly fails to convince us.”
“I suggest a fair competition. Let each family present their offer and let this lucky boy choose for himself.”
“Agreed. That would be proper.”
The woman spoke again.
“What if I say no?”
The scene immediately fell into silence.
All the Old Ancestors’ expressions turned incredibly dark—one could say their faces were as black as the bottom of a pot.
They didn’t want to offend or confront this woman, that much was true, but it hadn’t come to the point where they would let her step on their faces. After all, they were all Old Ancestors of powerful families. No matter how strong this woman was or how lofty her status, she was still just a disciple!
“Fang Xue, don’t go too far!”
The atmosphere at the scene immediately turned tense and hostile.
Waves of overwhelming pressure erupted, and the opposing forces began to clash visibly.
Gu Fan and Lin Yi simultaneously looked at Wu Di and saw that he too wore an expression like he had a toothache.
“Elder Wu, if we keep waiting like this, we might get caught in the crossfire…”
Gu Fan whispered a cautious reminder.
Wu Di gritted his teeth with some frustration.
“You think I want this? Every one of these Old Ancestors represents a powerful family within the sect. Fang Xue is the second strongest among current disciples, a super prodigy second only to the Holy Son. How was I supposed to know she’d come to fight over you too…”
“Think of something, Elder Wu. If this keeps up, we’ll all be flattened to the ground…”
Lin Yi added, his words coming out with great difficulty.
Meanwhile, in the center of the scene, Fang Xue herself felt a wave of irritation.
These Old Ancestors were all individuals of high status. Although their strength was only at the Yang Spirit Realm, in terms of one-on-one combat power, they were quite average.
However, the pressure formed by so many people combined was still terrifying. Even she, at Half-step Yang Spirit Realm, dared not confront it head-on.
Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Gu Fan. A flash of inspiration struck her.
If that wouldn’t work, then she’d directly activate the Gambling on the Stones right here and now. She wanted to see if anyone would still fight her over someone with trash root bone!
With that thought, a glint of golden light flashed through Fang Xue’s eyes, and an invisible energy shot straight toward Gu Fan’s body.
The speed was so fast that Gu Fan didn’t even have time to defend.
Immediately, a surge of energy exploded within his Sea of Qi, and in the next moment, it dove straight to the bottom of the sea.
Buzz!!
A burst of white light erupted violently from Gu Fan’s entire body, forming ripple after ripple, spreading outward in all directions!
“Impossible! It’s actually a white-grade root bone!”
“Damn, what a waste of talent! A Nine Rings talent paired with a white root bone. Why am I so angry!”
“Hmph, I thought he was someone capable of rivaling the Holy Son. Who would’ve thought it was just a white root bone.”
“What a waste of our time. You all can fight over this so-called genius. A white root bone means a low ceiling by default!”
Just moments ago, all the family Old Ancestors who had been fighting over Gu Fan now waved their hands in frustration.
Some left directly, not even willing to cast another glance.
Gu Fan gasped heavily, somewhat helpless.
But he wasn’t worried. He had already bonded with the Annihilation Evil Lotus, a treasure of heaven and earth. Strictly speaking, what his root bone was didn’t matter at all.
Low ceiling? That was a joke!
The Annihilation Evil Lotus was inherently a growth-type treasure. The greater the world, the higher its potential ceiling. Otherwise, how could it be called the Annihilation Evil Lotus?
As long as the Evil Lotus kept growing, he would continue to grow stronger, without needing to worry about so-called foundation issues.
It just seemed like things had returned to the original script. From now on, the sect likely wouldn’t think much of him.
He didn’t mind. The world of cultivators was just that straightforward and brutal.
There were fewer false pretenses, and more direct interests.
If you were a genius, countless people would curry favor with you and invest in you.
If you were trash, even passing dogs would come to pee on you.
At that moment, someone struck Lin Yi beside him with a wave of energy, and a cyan light halo appeared.
“Huh! This Five Rings actually has a blue root bone. What a pleasant surprise!”
“I’ll take him. Boy, are you willing?”
Lin Yi glanced at Gu Fan and shook his head.
Gu Fan was his brother. If these people wouldn’t take Gu Fan, he naturally wouldn’t go with them either.
At that moment, an old man with white beard and long hair floated over and landed in front of Lin Yi.
“I am the Old Ancestor of the Zhu Family from the Brahma God Sect. Your master Zhu Yang contacted me recently. Lin Yi, come cultivate with me in the Zhu Family. It will be much better than being just an ordinary core disciple.”
The mention of Master Zhu Yang surprised both of them. They hadn’t expected that Zhu Yang had also descended from the Upper Realm.
Seeing Lin Yi a bit hesitant, Gu Fan immediately smiled and said:
“Lin Yi, go! My root bone might stop me from progressing in cultivation later on. By then, I’ll need you to cover for me!”
Lin Yi’s expression changed slightly.
Gu Fan’s cultivation halting in the future—if this had been said before, Lin Yi would never have believed it.
He knew very well that Gu Fan could sometimes break through several levels in a single night. How could someone like that be restricted by so-called root bone limitations?
But now, so many people were saying that root bone determined potential.
Even Lin Yi began to feel a bit worried.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yi nodded heavily.
“Brother Gu, once I achieve success in cultivation, I’ll definitely help you!”
Gu Fan nodded with a smile. He understood his own situation clearly. To him, the so-called root bone was meaningless.
There was no need to delay Lin Yi because of it.
The Zhu Family’s Old Ancestor gave Gu Fan a grateful nod, then left with Lin Yi.
Before long, the once lively plaza was left with only three people: Wu Di, Gu Fan, and the proudly hovering Fang Xue in midair.