After calming his mind, Lu Yuan continued sorting through the memories of this life.
This time, he focused on the most important matter for any cultivator—his talent and the condition of his body.
Very soon, the answer surfaced clearly in his mind.
He had a Four-Element Spirit Root.
Along with that realization, the spirit root ranking of this world also appeared in his memory once more.
Five-element spirit root—the worst.
Four-element spirit root—poor.
Three-element spirit root—average.
Two-element spirit root—strong.
Single-element spirit root—heaven-grade.
Lu Yuan silently repeated the ranking in his heart.
The disadvantage of lower-grade spirit roots was not that they absorbed some kind of polluted or mixed spiritual qi. That was not the problem.
Their real disadvantage was much more cruel.
A lower-grade spirit root had weaker sensitivity to the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, and its ability to sense and absorb surrounding spirit qi was much slower. On top of that, when a cultivator faced bottlenecks, such spirit roots provided almost no help at all. They could only rely on slow accumulation, external resources, and luck to push through.
Higher-grade spirit roots were different.
The better the spirit root, the faster the cultivator could sense spiritual qi, absorb it, and refine it. At the same time, when cultivation bottlenecks appeared, those gifted cultivators found it much easier to break through naturally.
As for a single-element heaven-grade spirit root, it was simply terrifying.
Such a talent not only cultivated at astonishing speed, but could often advance all the way to the Golden Core Realm without encountering any true bottleneck. Compared to such heaven-favored geniuses, people like him were like crawling ants on the ground.
Lu Yuan slowly let out a breath.
"So this is my talent…"
Poor.
Not the worst.
But still poor.
From the memories of this life, he quickly understood that although a Four-Element Spirit Root was looked down upon in the cultivation world, it still was not the very bottom.
After all, even having a spirit root at all was already an extremely rare thing among mortals.
Most ordinary people, no matter how much they longed for cultivation, could never sense spiritual qi in their entire lives. They would live and die as mortals, forever separated from the path of immortality.
Compared to them, even a four-element spirit root holder at least possessed the qualification to cultivate.
But qualification alone did not mean hope.
Lu Yuan's expression gradually became more complicated.
In this world, cultivators with three-element spirit roots were already considered good talents. Such people were worth nurturing and would normally be accepted into sects as proper disciples.
Those with two-element spirit roots were true geniuses.
Their cultivation speed was much faster, their future brighter, and their value so high that sects and clans would treat them seriously.
As for cultivators with single-element heaven-grade spirit roots, they were extremely rare, so rare that once discovered, major sects would fight to take them in. In a place like Jiang Country, if such a talent appeared, all five major sects would likely move at once.
Thinking of that, Lu Yuan could only smile bitterly.
When sects selected disciples, they generally only chose those with three-element spirit roots and above.
Five-element spirit roots were not even considered.
Four-element spirit roots had almost no chance either.
Only if one had a good background, family influence, or a recommendation from someone important could a four-element spirit root cultivator barely enter a sect and cultivate there. Without that, the sect gates would never open for such a person.
No wonder the Lu Yuan of this life had become a loose cultivator.
This was the common fate of most cultivators with four-element and five-element spirit roots.
They could cultivate.
But they could not rise easily.
And so, most of them ended up wandering as loose cultivators, surviving on whatever scraps they could earn.
Still, Lu Yuan did not dare underestimate such people.
The memories of this world, along with many old stories and bits of history, all carried the same lesson.
Throughout the years, there had indeed been many cultivators with poor spirit roots who rose step by step, broke through their limitations, and eventually became powerful figures. Some reached Foundation Establishment, some stepped into Golden Core, and some even became famous powerhouses whose names spread far and wide.
Lower-grade spirit roots were weak, but they were not absolute despair.
In the end, everything depended on resources and opportunities.
If one had enough spirit stones, enough pills, enough inheritances and enough opportunities then even a poor spirit root cultivator could force a path open.
Of course, compared to true geniuses, that road was much more difficult. Lu Yuan lowered his head slightly.
He understood very clearly that with his current talent, reaching the late stage of Qi Refining was already a dream without sufficient resources.That was the true cruelty of the cultivation world.
Hard work alone could change nothing.
Even if he cultivated day and night without rest, with a Four-Element Spirit Root, his speed would remain painfully slow. Worse still, when bottlenecks appeared, his spirit root would provide almost no help at all. At that time, if he lacked spirit stones, medicinal pills, external guidance, or a better cultivation environment, then he could spend years trapped in one small realm without moving an inch.
This was not a world where effort alone was enough.
To grow stronger, one needed resources and support. Only with the backing of a powerful family or sect could a cultivator develop safely and steadily in this world. Otherwise, even if someone gained a small opportunity through luck, it could easily be snatched away by stronger hands.
Lu Yuan's gaze turned colder.
"This cultivation world… is really cruel."
Even if one only wanted to live peacefully, one still needed a certain level of strength.
Without enough power, no one knew when death would come. Perhaps one would die while hunting in the wilderness.
Perhaps one would be robbed on the road by tribulation cultivators.
Perhaps one would offend someone stronger without realizing it.
Perhaps a family or sect would simply squeeze every last bit of value out of a weak cultivator and throw him aside once he was no longer useful.
This world did not care about fairness.
It only cared about strength.
And then another truth surfaced in Lu Yuan's mind, one that made his heart grow even heavier.
Most loose cultivators in this world were not truly free.
On the surface, they seemed independent, belonging neither to clan nor sect. But in reality, most of them were controlled and manipulated by larger powers.
The loose cultivators hunted demon beasts, gathered herbs, risked their lives in dangerous places and search desperately for resources. Then, in the end, all those things were bought cheaply by families and sect-controlled markets, taxed, resold, or turned into greater profit higher up the chain.
The strong sat above.
The weak bled below.
Families and sects sucked the blood of loose cultivators dry, little by little, year after year.
And without sufficient strength, there was no way to escape this vicious cycle.
That was the despair of being born weak.
Lu Yuan stayed silent for a long time. Then he recalled the age and cultivation of this body.
This year, he was already forty years old, yet still only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
Only now he touched the mid stage qi refining cultivation level. Still standing at the bottom layer of the cultivation world.
This was not the state of someone with a future. This was the state of someone already sinking into hopelessness.
If things continued like this, then ten years later, twenty years later, he might still remain nothing more than an old loose cultivator trapped in Qinshui Town, struggling for broken spirit stones and risking his life for pitiful gains.
Just as Lu Yuan was sinking deeper into those grim thoughts, a knocking sound came from outside the door.
He frowned slightly, got up, and walked over.
When he opened the door, he saw the old woman living next door standing there with a fawning smile on her wrinkled face.