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“Please Cha Ming, call me Aunt Xu, and call my husband Uncle Hong. Xun, how about you take your new friend upstairs to take a bath and get a change of clothes? You’re roughly the same size, so finding something shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Hong Xun nodded eagerly and motioned for Cha Ming to follow, explaining that he had turned seventeen earlier in the year. He quickly brought Cha Ming upstairs to clean up. Xun was a very obedient child, and while he was quite curious about their guest, he didn’t dare delay in his task. There would be plenty of time to talk over supper.

  The pair were done a half hour later, with Cha Ming wearing blue robes. His shoulder-length brown hair had not yet dried. In contrast to his previously haggard appearance, he now seemed like a proper, handsome teenager.

  It was now time for the family supper. The first family supper he’d had in a whole year.

  Chapter 2: Green Leaf Academy

  Hong Jin’s whole family was sitting at the table when Cha Ming walked in. They let out a loud gasp once they saw the cleaned-up youth in pristine robes. He now looked like a young scholar, one who was in the process of preparing for the government official examination. His hair was tied back with a pin, leaving only his wavy bangs hanging. His hazel eyes were a glaring contrast to the usual dark brown or black eyes in this part of the world.

  “Wow! Second brother Xun is so skillful, he can make Cha Ming so handsome in just a half hour!” Xin exclaimed. Her almond-shaped eyes were now perfectly round.

  “It’s not just Xun’s hard work,” said Madam Xu. “Cha Ming is clearly naturally quite handsome. I’m sure anywhere he goes, all of the young women will be chasing him.” She put her hand to her mouth while chuckling.

  Hong Jin cleared his throat. “I’m sure Cha Ming is starving. Let’s eat!” he said, gesturing to the table full of vegetable and tofu dishes. “My apologies on the meager fare. Our family follows Buddhist traditions, and so we usually eat vegetarian food.” He shook his head apologetically.

  Cha Ming smiled politely. In his past life, he had also been a vegetarian—he rather liked the idea of not causing harm to others when it was within his ability. It was very difficult to behave this way in this world, where everyone was struggling to survive. Like most things, it was also easily achievable once a family attained a certain level of wealth.

  “I sincerely appreciate your family for having me over for dinner, and Madam Xu for cooking the meal. I have lived as a vegetarian in the past, and although it has not always been possible these past years due to poverty, it is surely something I would like to get back into.”

  Cha Ming helped himself to several dishes. While he was starving, he held himself back, as overeating would cause him a stomachache. The Hong family had clearly not planned for his arrival, and it seemed a few extra dishes had been prepared just after his arrival. He didn’t want to deprive the rest of the kids from the unusual feast that had been prepared due to his presence.

  Throughout the meal, Xin and Xun asked him about the many places he had seen on his journey to the city. Ling paid attention while quietly eating his meal. Due to his low level of strength, he would never get to explore the world like his little brother and sister would. Any information from outside the city was quite useful for his future business. He listened attentively, and the conversation continued until the meal was complete.

  Once everyone else was full, Cha Ming shyly ate up the remaining dishes, causing Madam Xu to let out a small laugh. He blushed; he had been this way as far back as he could remember.

  “Little Ming, you’ve just arrived, and tomorrow is the last day of the Green Leaf Academy recruitment. Do you intend to participate?” Hong Jin asked curiously.

  Cha Ming had heard of Green Leaf Academy, of course; every city government was quite avid in educating young cultivators, since these cultivators would become the core of the city’s economy, defense, and prestige.

  “I…” Cha Ming said hesitantly. “I am interested in going to take the test, but I am unsure if I have the talent.” Talent was something someone was born with and was passed down in the family; his parents had never practiced cultivation, and as such he was unsure of their talent, if any.

  “I understand,” said Hong Jin. “Xin has already undergone the entrance examination and will be starting at the academy in two days. Xun is currently in his second year. Ling, however, is eighteen, but he was evaluated and determined to have no talent for cultivation. He is currently being educated as an appraiser at a prestigious auction house as he is quite intelligent and has financial talent. There are many paths to walk in life, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t have cultivation talent. Less than one in a hundred of the general population have this talent.”

  Despite his encouraging words, it was plain that Hong Jin had a proud smile on his face—with two younger generation cultivators in his family, their family’s future was guaranteed. He was a cultivator himself and knew very well how much preferential treatment they received. He was a guard captain, after all, and even regular city guards had to have a minimum cultivation requirement.

  But Hong Jin’s words also surprised Cha Ming. He had known that not everyone could become a cultivator, but he had never known the odds were so stacked against him. Then again, he had been reborn in a very strange way, and thinking back to the image of the clear staff, he found it very difficult to believe that he would not be able to cultivate after his miraculous rebirth.

  “I’m… somewhat confident for some strange reason. I will give it a try tomorrow and see if my luck pays off. Then Xin and Xun and I could be schoolmates.” Xin and Xun responded to his words with encouraging looks.

  “Daddy, maybe… It can be quite embarrassing if he goes to test his talent in front of so many people. Could we maybe try with the last affinity-testing talisman?” Xin asked, looking at her father with an embarrassed expression. It was not something she should have asked, because affinity-testing talismans were quite valuable.

  “This…” Hong Jin stopped to think. While the talisman was valuable and a single-use talisman, it would not get used up if Cha Ming had no talent. If it did trigger, his kids would have another friend in school. Although he still had an affinity talisman out of the set of three he had bought for his children, it could be sold for money. However, he would also be able to save Cha Ming some embarrassment if he was not talented.

  “All right, let’s try it out. If it gets used up, be sure to help make sure Xin isn’t bullied when you get into Green Leaf Academy!” said Hong Jin. He then wandered off upstairs and came back with an ornate wooden box. He opened the box using a brass key around his neck and took out the elemental affinity talisman.

  “Cha Ming, look closely. This is a lesser-five-elements affinity-testing talisman. The first requirement for using this talisman is that a practitioner helps you circulate the qi inside your body. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done it before. Once your qi is circulating inside your body, you will keep trying to circulate it as hard as you can while you hold the talisman in both hands.”

  He motioned with his hands to show what came next. “You will then attempt to force the circulating qi into the talisman—it doesn’t take a lot. The reaction of the talisman will depend on the elemental affinity you have. If you have affinity to wood, the talisman will split up into green leaves and fall to the floor. If you have an affinity for fire, the talisman will burst into flames. If you have affinity for earth, the talisman will crumble into sand. If you have affinity for metal, the talisman will turn rigid and shiny, like gold. If you have affinity for water, the talisman will melt into a puddle of water.” Hong Jin said all this calmly. He had guided his three children through the process.

  “I will do my best. Many thanks for helping me,” said Cha Ming. The family migrated to the living room. Aunt Xu proceeded to clean up the dishes, and Ling went upstairs to study. Only Xun, Xin, and Uncle Hong1 remained in the living room with Cha Ming.

  As Cha Ming sat down in a meditation pose, Hong Jin pressed h
is hand gently on his back to start the circulation of qi. Slowly but surely Cha Ming became aware of the strange but invigorating feeling of having his qi circulate through his meridians. Once the flow was maximized, Uncle Hong removed his hand, and Cha Ming continued to try and circulate. The flow dropped down to one-tenth of its original flow, but there was still circulation.

  There is hope! he thought.

  Uncle Hong placed the talisman in Cha Ming’s hands about a minute later. After building up his courage, Cha Ming stared at the talisman and started forcing the circulating qi toward it. At first, there was no reaction. Then something strange happened. The talisman did not flutter, burn, crumble, shine, or melt. Instead, it started drifting off little by little. In ten seconds, the talisman had completely transformed to a soft white mist that drifted off into the air, never to appear again.

  Hong Jin frowned deeply. Surely Cha Ming had cultivation talent, but it was definitely not in one of the five elements. “This… I’ve never heard of this reaction from a lesser-five-elements affinity-testing talisman before. The good news is, I’m one hundred percent sure you have some level of cultivation talent. The bad news is, I’m not sure what element it would be in. This isn’t actually bad news. In fact, it's good news! There are two possibilities.”

  He had the children’s full attention. “The first possibility is that you are gifted in more than one element, and this grade of talisman is not at a high enough level to detect it. This is an advantage. For starters, this gives you a choice of elements if you want to cultivate a single element, and certain combinations of elements are superior to only having a single element. In addition, certain professions require the cultivation of multiple elements, such as an alchemist, a spiritual blacksmith, or a spirit doctor.

  “The second possibility is that you’re not gifted in one of the five elements but something much rarer. This could be wind, thunder, light, darkness, and in some very rare cases, space. That is definitely an advantage. Either way, Green Leaf Academy will be able to inform you specifically on your talent. Congratulations! I’ll take some time off and take you to Green Leaf Academy to register tomorrow.”

  Uncle Hong got up and patted Cha Ming on the back. Cha Ming was quite touched by the care and attention he was receiving. Everyone continued to talk for a couple of hours, then they went to sleep. Cha Ming shared a bed with Xun.

  They had a long day ahead of them since the lineups for testing at Green Leaf Academy were always quite long. Cha Ming and the other children woke up early in the morning. Xun and Xin wanted to tag along with Cha Ming to the academy as they were very curious as to what kind of results he would achieve. The strange behavior with the talisman indicated that his test would be anything but ordinary.

  The group set out before sunrise and lined up behind what had to be at least ten thousand people. These people had clearly been waiting a good portion of the night, not wanting to miss out on the last day of testing. The line snaked back from the main square, where Green Leaf Academy had set up a temporary testing facility. The tests were to be conducted out in the open, not so much for the sake of transparency but more for advertising and public relations.

  In front of the test square, several chairs were set up for representatives from the different departments at Green Leaf Academy: the city lord’s faction, the city guard, and various high-profile merchant associations. There was only one covered pavilion, and it was clearly there for someone of very high stature. The heads from the different departments in the academy were there to see if any particularly talented individuals popped up to be recruited to their respective groups.

  The various other factions in the city were also there to keep track of any budding talents that should be recruited or roped in before they graduated. After all, these children wouldn’t go to school their entire lives.

  A little goodwill up front would go a long way into strengthening their respective factions.

  * * *

  1 In Chinese culture, calling someone of the older generation with whom you are on friendly terms with, aunt and uncle is appropriate. This is especially so if they are your friend’s parents. Likewise, calling someone your older or younger brother, or older or younger sister, is also appropriate between friends.

  Chapter 3: Zhou Li

  Du Cha Ming, his two new friends, and Uncle Hong stood in line for the entire morning. It was lucky that they had decided to leave so early. They were now roughly 200 meters from the stage. Although they would have liked to temporarily step out of line to take shelter from the hot noon sun, it would be regrettable if they lost their spot in line. The queue behind them still looked just as long as when they’d arrived. It was unlikely that even twenty percent of the youngsters would be tested by the end of the last day of recruitment.

  While they progressed toward the stage, Uncle Hong explained the various tests to Cha Ming. He would be evaluated according to three metrics: talent, attribute, and soul. The test of talent came first and was used to screen the various would-be students. If they failed this test, there was no need to take any others. Since the schools were set up by the state, anyone with at least a Grade 1 talent would be accepted into Green Leaf Academy. Talent was divided into five grades, with Grade 1 talents being the least talented and meeting the bare minimum for cultivation, and Grade 5 talents being super-talented geniuses.

  Grade 1 and 2 talents would pay a tuition fee, but this fee could be deferred until graduation, like a student loan. Various groups would rope in students by offering to pay their tuition fee upon graduation along with an offer of employment. Grade 3 to 5 talents would obtain free tuition, room, and board, with each additional grade in talent obtaining the students increasingly preferential treatment. Students could apply for graduation after five years or once the student reached foundation establishment, whichever came first. A five-year stay was common.

  As their small group approached the testing platform, Cha Ming noticed that a group of youngsters was accumulating on the platform. Every once in a while, someone from the line would walk onto the platform while the rest of the people in line dispersed into the city, clearly unsuccessful. Right before they arrived at the platform, Uncle Hong leaned over and whispered:

  “Cha Ming, it’s all up to you now. You’ll first have to cross a boundary onto the test platform prior to being tested. The boundary doesn’t let anyone pass unless they meet certain conditions. First, their bone age must be greater than fifteen years old but less than seventeen years old, which is the maximum recruitment age for the academy. Fifteen is the minimum, since a cultivator’s meridians aren’t normally fully developed before then unless one gets fed many precious herbs as a child. These people wouldn’t normally attend Green Leaf Academy, so this is normally not considered. Certain noble families can apply for early admissions as an exception if they can prove that their child’s meridians are fully developed and it’s clear cultivating early won’t damage their foundation.

  “The second condition the boundary evaluates is whether or not the person has at least a Grade 1 talent. Everyone passes the first test before ascending the platform, but the platform evaluates their individual performance and allows the academy to grade students based on their potential. In turn, they will assign the appropriate cultivation resources to each student based on their potential—spirit stones don’t grow on trees after all. Anyway, go up there and do your best! We’ll wait down here until you are done.”

  Cha Ming already knew he would pass the first hurdle, and so he proceeded through the boundary without any hesitation. Right behind him, a youth attempted to run through the boundary and use his momentum to force his way through the boundary. This ended unsuccessfully, of course, and the youth walked off with a bloody nose amidst the jeering crowd.

  There were many spectators, as it was a public event. Most of the spectators were divided into two camps. The first camp was there purely to take pleasure in other people’s misfortunes. The second camp was made up of parents who had brought
their children to look and either encourage them to become cultivators or to show them that the odds were against them and that they should focus on other avenues in life.

  As Cha Ming walked onto the dark wooden stage, he noticed there were another nineteen youths waiting in a group—thirteen boys and six girls. The number of girls who became cultivators was much lower than the number of boys. That wasn’t to say that their talent was inferior but that lower class society typically frowned upon their daughters becoming cultivators, preferring to marry them off so they could have a safe life and raise children. As a result, the girls who stepped forward typically had at least one parent or grandparent as a cultivator, which increased their odds of passing the test. Cultivation talent was hereditary, and so with fewer applicants, one out of every ten girls passed the test instead of one out of every hundred boys.

  The group was separated into cliques. The most obvious cliques were those belonging to nobility and to the lower class, and they were equal in number. Nobles had naturally higher chances of producing cultivators, but the lower class was much larger in comparison, making up for their terrible odds with sheer numbers.

  There was one youth who stood apart from the rest of the crowd. He stood alone in his pristine white robes and seemed very uninterested in the test. The expression on his face told Cha Ming that he already knew the results and was only carrying out a dog and pony show.

  This man isn’t simple, he thought.

  As if reading his mind, the boy turned his head toward him. His gaze seemed ice cold and devoid of emotion, while at the same time burning through Cha Ming, causing him to sweat a little. His long black hair and eyes were contrasted by an unusual pair of red pupils. After looking at him for a few seconds, the boy turned his head and continued gazing at the middle-aged man on the platform.

  The middle-aged man had shoulder-length black hair, a thin beard, and was wearing Green Leaf Academy’s standard garb. His simple uniform was adorned with a golden token with the characters for “Elder” embossed on it. Everyone quieted down as the Elder1 stepped forward to speak.