Fang Hao was politely waiting for Great Elder Shi in front of the Bronze Scripture Pavilion. Soon the Great Elder teleported nearby and Fang Hao greeted him earnestly. The Great Elder just uttered a single word "follow" and took him to a back room of the 3rd floor in the Bronze Scripture Pavilion. There was an inner disciple drinking spirit wine, who was flabbergasted at the sudden arrival of a Great Elder. The inner disciple stuttered a respectful greeting but was simply waved away by the Great Elder. There was a crystal pillar nearby which was thicker than Fang Hao.

“Junior, we are here now to test your spirit roots. I will use it to help you determine the most suitable cultivation technique for you. Place your hand on the pillar and allow channel Qi into it.” The Great Elder instructed.

“This junior hears and obeys.” Fang Hao said respectfully as did as he was instructed. He placed his chubby palm on the glowing crystal pillar and started channeling Qi into it. The pillar then started draining his Qi automatically and a shimmering kaleidoscope of colors appeared on the surface of the pillar. As more and more of his Qi was drained the colors got more intense and opaque. After almost half of his Qi was drained in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the colors finally settled on the pillar, making it appear opaque multicolored pillar.

Great Elder Shi observed the splash of colors for almost fifteen minutes, having a stoic look on his face. But inwardly he wasn't sure what to make out of it. “Your spirit roots are a mess really. You have a mixture of innate and acquired spirit roots. Among your innate spirit roots, Earth dominates and among your acquired spirit roots Lightning and Life dominate.” The Great Elder said pointing towards a large muddy brown splash of color near the bottom and glancing at the similarly sized electric blue and blood red splashes of color near the top of the pillar.

“Your Life and Lightning spirit roots are also intertwined closely. Apart from these, your other major spirit root is fire and water, though it doesn't compare to your dominant spirit roots of earth, lightning and life. Theoretically you also have wood and metal spirit roots, but they are simply trash compared to your dominant three spirit roots. Tell me something junior. Do you feel any changes in your body from childhood or as your cultivation level increases?”

Fang Hao was inwardly nervous as he heard about the affinities of his acquired spirit roots. But still he acted ignorant without a trace of worry and said, “Senior, this junior is always hungry from childhood. No matter what this junior eats, this junior isn't satiated for long. Also as junior is approaching Foundation Establishment, junior feels a surging sensation from his dantian.”

The Great Elder Shi just snorted dismissively. 'The surging sensation is normal for peak QI Condensation disciples. But as for the hunger, it is mostly because he is an insatiable glutton. But it might be because he has a dormant bloodline and further cultivation breakthroughs might lead to awakening. In either case, the cultivation method I select for him must have either the Lightning Attribute or the Life Attribute. I am curious to see if he has a possible bloodline. Too bad there is no sure-fire test for bloodlines.'

“Now junior, you have a choice. I have a few Qi Cultivation techniques in mind which are suitable for you. But they have a different focus. Would you prefer a cultivation technique that focuses on speed, defense or offense? A general attribute free Cultivation Technique might suffice till Qi Condensation. But, for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation you should focus your cultivation on your dominant spirit roots.” the Great Elder stated.

Fang Hao had a somewhat dumb look on his face as he said, “Senior, this junior is very unclear about the matter of spirit roots, but this junior would definitely like to cultivate with a focus on defense and speed.”

The Great Elder had a stoic look on his face as he inwardly abused Fang Hao's attitude. 'Defense and Speed, eh? You little cowardly shit you just want to run away and survive. This attitude is truly lacking for Body Cultivators. I thought that after facing life and death battles you would acquire boldness and resoluteness required of Body Cultivator. Hmmph.'

“Spirit Roots are your affinities with various elements. You will find better results and fewer bottlenecks if your cultivation techniques and spells are of elements matching with your spirit roots. Usually, everyone is born with certain spirit roots and can acquire some spirit roots with their experiences and opportunities.”

“However, Spirit Roots are just a general guideline as there are many other factors that decide the compatibility of cultivation techniques. Bloodlines, the nature of your dao-heart, various opportunities you encounter, the cultivation techniques/spells/magic tools you use are some of the major factors which can shape suitability with a specific cultivation techniques/spells. But upto Core Formation Stage, Spirit Roots are very important for Qi Cultivators. Speaking of Cultivation; Junior, how is your body refining progressing?” inquired the Great Elder

“Senior, this junior is starting to face bottlenecks in Body Cultivation. Each step of progress requires a lot of effort and this junior has thus decided to breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Stage before pursuing Body Cultivation further. This junior simply adores the defense provided by body Refining and doesn't plan to abandon body refining.”

There was no noticeable change in expression in the Great Elder's expression, but inwardly he was sighing in disappointment. 'This junior's mentality is starting to become a hindrance in his body cultivation. Without the resoluteness to charge forward into danger boldly, progress of body cultivation is very difficult. I suspect that this junior will be stuck at an equivalent of the peak of Core Formation as a body Cultivator if he doesn't undergo a change in his mindset and will probably end up focusing on Qi Cultivation. But there is still time. This junior needs a baptism of a genuine bloodbath to reaffirm his attitude. There are still several years left for the inter-sect competition for Core Disciples.'

“If you want to focus on defense and speed, the most suitable cultivation manual for you is the Thunder-Rock Carapace manual. It is of lightning and earth attribute. While it is a bit difficult to cultivate and has only two supplementary spells; its suitability for your spirit roots and requirements is without question. This Cultivation Manual has two layers and should be around 50,000 contribution points for both the layers.” The Great Elder than flicked his sleeves and two thumb sized pinkish pills flew towards the fatty who caught them and bowed to the Great Elder expressing his thanks.

“Here are two Foundation Establishment pills. I would recommend you to get the Thunder-Rock Carapace Manual, but have a look at the available ones before you decide. Also get a few more foundation establishment pills before you attempt your breakthrough.” The Great Elder said cooly before leaving Fang Hao alone in the room.

'Looks like the Great Elder isn't too fond of me for some reason. I expected a free cultivation manual and at least half a dozen foundation establishment pills. Looks like my hoarded contribution points need to be spent. At least two foundation establishment pills are better than a big fat nothing. But really stingy behavior here.' grumbled Fang Hao mentally as he stored the two pills in his storage pouch and went to browse through the Cultivation Manuals for Foundation Establishment.