Chapter 4: What Rank Is It Exactly?
The Jiang family’s martial training ground was quite spacious.
In one corner stood a jade-white stone stele known as the Inquiry Stele.
On ordinary days, Qin Liang’s arrival would hardly attract much attention; everyone was used to it by now.
But today, Qin Liang was accompanied by Jiang Xuehan and Li Hongcai—two well-known figures among the younger generation of the Jiang family. One was exceptionally gifted, the other strikingly beautiful, making it impossible not to cause a stir.
The disciples practicing martial arts all paused and gathered around.
“Qin Liang is going to test his Dao roots again? In these ten-plus years, nobody’s counted how many times he’s tried, yet he still won’t give up?”
“That’s normal. If it were me, I wouldn’t give up either. Who wants to accept a mediocre life?”
Many sighed, their gazes lingering mostly on Jiang Xuehan and Li Hongcai.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Li Hongcai stepped up to the Inquiry Stele, pride radiating from his face.
“Qin Liang, you probably haven’t seen what it looks like to have your Dao roots revealed, right? Today, I’ll show you.”
He pressed his palm against the stele and slowly exerted force.
Soon, a bright crimson glow lit up the stele, and the entire training ground seemed draped in a vast red cloth.
The crimson did not linger long and soon shifted to orange.
Different grades of Dao roots manifested as different colors on the stele. From first to ninth grade, the colors were red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white. The higher the grade, the more remarkable the talent.
When the stele emitted cyan light, everyone on the training ground was bathed in its glow, hearts stirred with admiration.
“Fifth grade—no wonder it’s Master Li.”
Though not a secret, witnessing it again stirred excitement in many.
Listening to the disciples’ praise, Li Hongcai was visibly pleased, a smug smile almost reaching his ears.
“See that? That’s the fifth-grade Dao root you can only dream of reaching.”
Li Hongcai looked at Qin Liang with eager anticipation; as long as Qin Liang failed to detect any Dao roots, the engagement would be called off.
Qin Liang’s expression remained calm, paying no heed to Li Hongcai’s words.
He knew he had Dao roots within him, and quite a few at that. He was confident that at least one would be fifth grade or higher.
“Maybe we shouldn’t test anymore?” Jiang Xuehan said softly, worry in her eyes as she held Qin Liang’s arm.
Their intimate gesture made many envious, while Li Hongcai clenched his fists in anger, his eyes flashing coldly.
Qin Liang patted her hand reassuringly with a gentle smile.
“It’s just Dao roots. Who doesn’t have them?”
Seeing his confident smile, Jiang Xuehan momentarily lost herself and loosened her grip.
Li Hongcai and the others sneered dismissively, thinking to themselves, “You won’t be smiling for long.”
---
Qin Liang ignored the stares and strode directly to the Inquiry Stele.
For eighteen years, he had tested countless times and failed repeatedly. Now, on the verge of success, his heart stirred with excitement.
He placed his hand on the stele and gradually applied pressure.
A faint cool breath traveled from his palm into his body, wandering within without stopping for quite some time.
“What’s going on? Don’t hesitate—just pick any one!” Qin Liang urged inwardly, anxious as the stele remained motionless, fearing the breath was indecisive.
“Hmph, a waste is always a waste.”
Li Hongcai sneered coldly. “Dao root talent is innate. If you don’t have it, you don’t. Just go and call off the engagement!”
Jiang Xuehan clenched her fists tightly. Though she didn’t believe Qin Liang would succeed, the determined and resolute look he had shown earlier now made her unexpectedly nervous.
Suddenly, a flush of red spread across the training ground, as if it had been engulfed by a storm of blood rain.
“The Inquiry Stele is reacting!”
Someone shouted loudly, sending a ripple of shock through everyone. Li Hongcai’s expression changed.
The vivid red quickly faded into orange, then yellow, yet the transformation didn’t stop.
When half the Jiang family was enveloped in cyan light from the stele, no one could remain composed.
Among the younger generation, some had fifth-grade Dao roots, but none shone so intensely.
Even when Jiang Yutong once revealed a sixth-grade Dao root, the light barely covered the training ground. Now, everyone saw as if a veil of cyan haze had settled over everything.
The cyan soon shifted to blue, then purple, and even black.
At this moment, no one could maintain their composure.
The appearance of black on the Inquiry Stele meant an eighth-grade Dao root had emerged—an extraordinary genius worthy of historical legend.
Even the top prodigy of the Star Moon Sect was only seventh grade.
“Who dares to inquire within our Jiang family?”
A grand voice echoed from deep within the Jiang estate.
Moments later, dozens of formidable figures appeared on the training ground, including Jiang Hai and his wife Li Qiumei, their expressions complex with hints of surprise.
These were the high elders of the clan, usually reclusive, yet today all had come forth.
Upon seeing the figure before the Inquiry Stele, disbelief took hold.
“Qin Liang... he actually detected a Dao root?” Jiang Hai trembled with excitement but soon calmed.
---
It was well known that Qin Liang’s parents had once saved the Jiang family’s patriarch, proving they were no ordinary couple. Such parents could hardly have produced a child without potential.
What shocked everyone further was that the stele did not stop glowing but shifted to white.
“Ninth grade? A ninth-grade Dao root?”
Someone exclaimed, and the entire crowd trembled.
Yet just as quickly, the light on the stele dimmed and returned to stillness. Many felt as if waking from a grand dream.
“What just happened? Was it a false alarm?”
The same thought crossed everyone’s mind.
No one had ever witnessed the emergence of a ninth-grade Dao root before, so they guessed perhaps this was what it looked like.
But Qin Liang knew this was only the detection of one of the many Dao roots within him.
The faint cool breath then flowed toward a second Dao root.
The stele soon repeated the same display. People were dumbfounded, confused beyond measure.
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, white—over and over again.
“What grade is it, really?” an elder frowned, whispering.
Jiang Hai shook his head. “The Inquiry Stele has never shown this before. Perhaps Qin Liang’s Dao roots are not deeply rooted, their grades unstable, causing the stele’s readings to fluctuate.”
Everyone nodded, accepting this as the only explanation.
The stele continued to flash through its spectrum dozens of times, unable to determine Qin Liang’s Dao root grade definitively, remaining in a state of observation.
Inside, Qin Liang’s heart throbbed with excitement—so many Dao roots, and all seemed ninth grade?
This was almost too miraculous.
Some began growing impatient watching the light flicker.
At the ninety-ninth cycle, a crisp cracking sound rang out.
A clear fissure appeared on the Inquiry Stele.
As the grade of the ninety-ninth Dao root gradually became visible, the crack spread like a spiderweb.
When the hundredth Dao root was detected, the stele had just shown a brilliant red before it shattered with a thunderous roar.
All the light finally vanished, ceasing to flicker.
“The Inquiry Stele... shattered?”
The Jiang family stood frozen like statues, unable to believe what they had witnessed.