Chapter 3: Potential to Become a Cultivator
Two years passed by in a flash.
Lu Yang was now five years old, nearly 120 centimeters tall, much taller than children of his age, with a refined temperament and handsome appearance.
As a child prodigy, he was immensely doted on by almost every person in the mortal branch.
As he had great hopes of becoming a cultivator, everyone wanted to establish some connections with him, even if they were superficial.
After all, every year, only a few children were selected from the mortal branch who had cultivation talent and brought back to the main family.
Every year, an envoy from the main family would arrive to the mortal branch, possessing an impressive cultivation at the later stages of Body Tempering Realm, to test children aged five to six for cultivation potential.
It was widely known throughout the world that the best time to start cultivation was from five years old, as the bone structure of a child was developed enough to cultivate, and since they were in a growing phase, their cultivation would improve at a faster rate between the ages of five to eighteen.
And today was precisely the day when the envoy came to the mortal branch.
All the children of age were lined up in the vast bluestone grounds outside the many houses and courtyards, some looking nervous, some excited, all sorts of emotions visible on their faces.
Today, their fate would be decided, if they could cultivate to pursue those unimaginable heights or stay mortals for a lifetime.
Lu Yang stood in the middle of the line, his gaze calm and demeanor distinct at a single glance, showing none of the nervousness of his peers, constantly drawing praise from the adults watching over.
Soon enough, a commotion came from outside as an aged but steady figure stepped inside, causing the surroundings to quieten down instantly.
The man looked to be in his sixties, yet the very air seemed to still around him, his tall figure exuding an inexplicable sense of power.
His sharp gaze swept through the children, lingering over Lu Yang for a moment before he nodded in approval.
Indeed... later stages of Body Tempering Realm, possibly the Seventh or Eighth Stage.
Lu Yang thought silently, looking straight ahead.
Walking towards the group of children, the old man stroked his long beard, his voice booming across the clan grounds.
"This old man’s name is Lu Chuan, and I’m the envoy sent by the main family this time to test for aptitude among the branch children. If any of you has cultivation talent today, then I will take you back to the main family for focused cultivation. Let’s begin without any further ado."
Speaking a few words, the old man stepped forward towards the first child in the line, a determined looking girl, and took her wrist.
A stream of Blood Qi gently flowed out, entering her body through her wrist.
A few seconds later, Lu Chuan retracted his hand, shaking his head without much emotional fluctuations: "Poor bone structure, unsuited for cultivation."
It was to be expected; only one among a hundred mortals possessed cultivation aptitude, even if mortals here were all descendents of a genuine Spirit Awakening Realm cultivator, the bloodline had long since diluted, and out of a hundred children, it would be considered excellent if even ten possessed cultivation aptitude.
As the test continued, it was only when Lu Chuan checked the root bone structure of the fifth boy that his eyes finally lit up, and he nodded slowly, "Good, you possess talent. Go and stand there."
Hearing this, the boy’s parents had their eyes light up as they cast gratified looks upon him.
There were a total of 136 children aged five to six in this batch, and by the time it was Lu Yang’s turn to be tested, four had already been detected to possess talent, standing on the other side as they watched the test.
Lu Yang calmly extended his wrist, and as Lu Chuan took his wrist, a hint of surprise flashed past his eyes as he nodded with satisfaction, "Excellent bone structure, go and stand there."
Seeing this, everyone mostly had the expressions of "as expected", while Lu Yang’s parents’ hanging hearts finally dropped.
Even if they knew that their son likely had cultivation potential, believing it was one thing and seeing another.
Lu Yang walked towards the four others who had been selected and nodded in greetings to them.
The so-called root bone structure, or cultivation aptitude, was actually mostly related to genes from what he knew on earth.
Cultivation was a threshold, and to reach that threshold, one must have the baseline bone structure.
In earth’s terms, a person who had a naturally narrow frame could try to make it appear wide by putting on muscles, training extensively, consuming supplements, or even undergoing surgery, but they still couldn’t change the fact that innately, they had a narrow frame and couldn’t compare to someone with a wider frame.
Cultivation aptitude was like having a naturally wider frame, which was the threshold to enter the path of cultivation.
This was talent, just like how an ordinary bodybuilder could only achieve by taking steroids what a person with top tier genes could achieve within two years of training.
Of course, this was just an analogy, only used as a rough reference.
Soon enough, the testing was complete, and a total of eleven children were selected, possessing cultivation aptitude.
Among them, Lu Yang undoubtedly had the best talent.
Lu Chuan stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over the eleven, and he nodded, speaking in a gentle yet stern voice, "You all possess talent for cultivation and will become the future foundation of my Lu Family. No matter how your life until now has been, but from this moment forward, you must persevere in your cultivation, adhere by the clan rules, and be loyal to the family. The family will support you so you can support the family; it is not just the grace of raising you, but a mutually beneficial relationship between you and the family. There is a world of difference between having a power behind you and not having a power behind you when walking the world. I hope you all understand everything this old man says clearly. Pack your things and say goodbye to those around you, we shall set off for the main family tomorrow."
Saying this, he waved his sleeve and left, with a few elders leading him to his temporary quarters.
The eleven children were all in deep thought, pondering over Lu Chuan’s words.
Lu Yang stared at the old man’s back silently.
He knew best out of everyone present just what a powerful background represented.
Even as the outer disciple of a powerful sect, one had to fight for everything, from resources to opportunities, and it was even harder for those loose cultivators who did not have any attachments to a force.
Unless one inherited the true teachings of a faction, had a master, or was the direct descendent of a great clan, with only hard work but no talent or a special quality, with nothing else but a will to rely on, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven to achieve anything significant.
Although Lu Yang did not know how high his talent truly was in this life...
He did not intend to hide it in the slightest.
Only by displaying his formidable qualities and unquestionable talent could he gain access to more resources, more opportunities, and more powerful teachings within the Lu Family.
Only by displaying his worth... could he gain the chance to defy fate in this lifetime.
Perhaps in a future lifetime, he would no longer need anyone’s support to shine brilliantly, but this was clearly not that kind of lifetime yet.
At evening, in Lu Yang’s house.
On the dining table, the atmosphere was exceptionally quiet, with only the faint sound of bowls clinking ringing out from time to time.
Neither Lu Yang’s parents nor did Lu Yang speak first, waiting for the other party to say something.
Finally, Lu Yu couldn’t take it anymore and said, "Son, you’re about to head to the main family, don’t you have any thoughts about it?"
Feng Xiaoxiao also stopped eating, looking at Lu Yang.
Lu Yang paused his movements, his chopstick hanging still in the air.
"What instructions does dad have?"
Hearing his words, a bitter smile appeared on Lu Yu’s face, "Your dad does not understand the intricacies of cultivation, and neither did your grandfather, so I cannot give you any advice regarding that. However..."
His voice turned a few degrees serious, "The main family is not as harmonious as it appears on the surface. There are many factions involved in it; you can easily get into trouble for minor inconveniences. Although with your temperament, I’m a bit relieved, but you must always be careful with your words and actions in the future, do not provoke those heirs of the main branch, try to endure as much as possible, and lay low if you need to. It doesn’t matter if you can’t achieve much, just remember that you always have your mom and dad behind you."
By the end, Lu Yu’s voice softened again, reaching out to pat Lu Yang on the head.
Lu Yang’s muscles tightened reflexively before he slowly loosened them, looking up to truly see the face of his father carefully for the first time in this lifetime.
It was the face of a young man in the prime of his life, barely thirty, filled with emotion and a hint of pride deep within those eyes.
Just then, Lu Yang was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace, a soft hand gently stroking his face as his mother’s voice reached his ears.
"Alright, stop sounding so serious on this joyful occasion. Yang’er has been sensible since childhood and surely has his own thoughts."
Feng Xiaoxiao scolded with a playful smile, having unknowingly come to Lu Yang’s side when he wasn’t paying attention.
Just then, Lu Yang’s calm but firm voice rang out, "Don’t worry, mom, dad, I will definitely not do anything to reach the point of no return. I will bring you two back to the main family based on my own efforts!"
His eyes were deep and voice resolute, as if affirming not just his parents, but also his own self.
