The little homestead he'd grown up in appeared in his vision as they walked up the hill, Jiang Tao couldn't help but break into a run, a childish need to show off to his parents filled him. He raced to the tiny home.

“Mama!” he called out with infectious joy as he saw his mother feeding scraps to the wandering chickens. Startled, she turned just in time to be knocked over by her exuberant son.

“Tao, what's going on?” She asked surprised at the unusual behavior from her usually taciturn son. Jiang Tao was never one for physical affection so this was incredibly out of the norm for him.

"I did it!" Jiang Tao exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement. "I've been accepted into the Imperial Sect!"

Xiao Wei, the man who'd escorted him home finally caught up.

His mother gasped, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief.

Jiang Meiying’s face lit up in elation as she spun the boy around in a tight embrace. “My little magpie, I knew you'd succeed!” She praised her son.

“Baofeng! Come quickly! Our son has achieved greatness!” she called out to her husband, who was on the far side of the hill, tending to the small pigsty.

Jiang BaoTao emerged from behind the house, his face lit with a mix of astonishment and pride. He joined his wife, and together they enveloped their son in congratulations, their joy palpable.

Xiao Wei, standing slightly apart, observed the heartfelt scene with an impassive expression. After a moment, he cleared his throat softly, drawing the family’s attention to him.

The family turned their attention to him and finally noticed the man.

“My apologies, young master. We must depart soon,” he said, reaching to unfasten the pouch at his waist.

He presented the velvet pouch with a formal gesture. “The Emperor’s compensation, for your exceptional talent gifted to the Imperial sect. Our Lord, the Everlasting Brilliance, is a generous ruler,” he said, offering the satchel.

Jiang Baofeng accepted the pouch with a mix of reverence and surprise. As he opened it, his eyes widened at the sight of several gleaming gold coins and a single spirit stone nestled inside.

Gold coins? Tao’s eyebrows knitted together in surprise. He had anticipated a modest reward, perhaps a few silver coins at best but gold coins?

That was something he didn't expect. This was his first time ever seeing any, even silver coins were a rarity in Persimmon Peak.

Overwhelmed by the sudden wealth, his father fell to his knees and bowed deeply in thanks. Xiao Wei promptly stopped him from bowing any longer than he needed to.

“There is no need for such reverence,” Xiao Wei said, assisting the astonished man to his feet. “This is merely the Emperor’s token of appreciation.”

Inside the small hut, Jiang Tao’s mother ran to gather her son's few possessions. She placed them into a well-worn knapsack and handed it to him. “These are your best clothes,” she said softly, her voice choked with emotion.

“Tao, my dear boy, Mama is gonna miss you so much. Learn everything you can and stay well, alright?” she added, her voice wavering.

The rush of emotions Jiang Tao felt was overwhelming as he launched himself into her embrace, his eyes shone with unshed tears as he held on to her.

“I'll miss you ten times more.” His throat seizing up as he tried not to choke. This feels oddly bittersweet. He mused to himself as he blinked back tears.

As he reluctantly released his mother, his father’s voice broke through the haze of his emotions. “Don’t forget your father,” Baofeng said, stepping forward.

“Of course not,” He said as proceeded to embrace the taller man.

Ren and Feng! He thought about his younger brothers, he wouldn't be able to say goodbye as they were likely out playing in the fields.

“I’ll say goodbye to Ren and Feng for you,” his father said, reading the worry in Jiang Tao’s eyes. “They’ll be so proud of their big brother.”

“Master Jiang, we must leave now,” Xiao Wei reminded gently as the father and son separated from their embrace.

Before they could Jiang Tao got on his knees and he kowtowed to the people that had raised him in this life. Who knew when he would ever see them again?

“This son will always be eternally grateful,” he said mustering as much respect as he could.

As they walked away from the village, Jiang Tao cast one last, lingering glance at the place of his birth. A deep pang of loss gripped his chest as his home slowly receded from view, the familiar surroundings fading into the distance.

----------------------------------------

Traveling in a carriage was certainly one of the more novel experiences he'd gotten in this new life.

It wasn't as smooth as a car ride but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. What caught him off guard was the speed at which this caravan moved. Horses were quick creatures but this felt ridiculous, what sort of stamina did these things have?

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Yeah, these aren't normal horses. They are speed given form. He concluded as he watched the scenery whiz past.

The red-robed man who introduced himself as assistant prefect Liu Tao chuckled at his awed expression. “We're certainly making good time, I'm sure we’ll reach the capital well before sundown,” he remarked taking a look outside the wooden slits in the carriage.

Before sundown? That didn't sound right. Jiang Tao didn't know how far the capital was from Persimmon Peak but less than a day's journey wasn't what he was expecting at all.

“Truly?” he turned to the man, eyes wide.

Assistant Prefect Tao raised his brows at the question. “The beasts are spirit horses bred for speed and stamina, they are much faster than mortal horses.” He said as if it was obvious.

Of course spirit horses This world is on some weird shit. He nodded as he internalized the information.

Damn I'm gonna be a total rube, aren't I? He realized with no small amount of anxiety.

----------------------------------------

He realized they'd arrived in the citywhen the horses had started to slow and more and more people started appearing on the roads. The trickle turned into a torrent as they entered the city proper.

“Welcome to the ever-lit city, Suns rest,” Assistant Prefect Liu Tao said as the caravan entered the towering city gates.

Jiang Tao couldn't disguise his awe as he watched the throngs of people moving outside the carriage.

The last he'd seen this many people in one place had been back on earth. After being in a small village for the majority of this life being a city was pretty exciting stuff.

Over a couple of hours, the traffic slowly ebbed as the scenery changed from slums, markets, and houses to what looked like grand estates as they ventured further into the inner ring of the city.

He looked on in sheer wonder as he took in the glorious views, colossal pagodas dotted the horizon towering over the greenery, and canals were a common sight everywhere he looked.

Mansions with incredible architecture appeared to be commonplace here. He couldn't imagine the costs, what he would give to live here.

He shook his head, he already had a better deal but it didn't hurt to think about it.

We’re probably gonna stop soon. He guessed.

His guess proved to be wrong as they traveled further in, the greenery around them getting sparser as the ground got more paved.

Finally, they passed a large ornate gate and the caravan finally slowed to a stop.

The doors of the carriage were opened as attendants rushed forth to unload the caravan. Jiang Tao found himself led away.

He was escorted to a spacious dormitory with neatly arranged wooden beds, each adorned with a thin mattress, what looked to be a set of robes and a small table beside it.

The walls were adorned with intricate tapestries depicting scenes of ancient battles and legendary heroes. The air was filled with the cloying scent of incense.

“Please pick any of the beds, you shall be escorted to sect grounds by the morning,” His escort said with a bow before leaving him.

The room's other occupants gave him appraising glances as he picked a bed. He placed his knapsack on the bed and turned to look at the people he assumed would be his fellow sect disciples.

The people in the room were of varying looks but Jiang Tao noticed one common thread, they were loaded. They dressed in finery with ornamentation and jewelry.

Most seemed to have dismissed him going back to their own devices, some eyed him questioningly and others giggled and snickered in ridicule.

His face and ears reddened as he looked down at his robes noting the fraying hems and poorer material.

Ah, shame it had been a while since he'd experienced it. Humiliation flooded him as he pulled his gaze away.

He let out an exhale to calm his anxious nerves. Why was he getting embarrassed these were just kids, ‘I'm a grown man for god's sake… scratch that a gaggle of teens was kinda scary back on earth too.’

‘At least I won't stick out too much when we start putting on the uniform’ he thought eyes on the sect robes arrayed on the bed.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. A boy around his age, dressed in regal blue brocade robes adorned with silver cloud patterns, with short dusty brown hair and green eyes, came over.

He gave Jiang Tao a friendly nod. "Junior Brother, I’m Zhou Yixing from the esteemed Eastern Zhou Clan."

“Umm, my name is Jiang Tao of Persimmon Peak. Nice to meet you?” he replied unsure of himself.

“Excellent! Brother Jiang Tao. I'm sure we'll be fast friends!” a blinding grin split the boy's face as he plopped down on Tao's bed.

Tao could not help the puzzled look that crossed his face. Ok… that's one way to make friends I suppose.

Zhou Yixing proceeded to get more comfortable and threw his hand around his neck. “Persimmon Peak huh… Where is that located?” he asked.

Jiang Tao looked at the arm draped around his shoulders askance. The other boy clearly had no boundaries but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. If some rich clan kid wanted to be friends he would gladly allow it.

“It's a village located in the west, it's pretty tiny. Doubt you'd have heard of it” he replied.

“A village? I’d assumed it was a minor city somewhere. That must be an interesting experience. I don't think I've ever seen one” Zhou Yixing said earnestly his eyes wide. “You’re a pretty rare sight yourself too”

The other boy gave him an appraising glance. “I didn't know peasants could participate in the War, you must be talented”

Jiang Tao tilted his head quizzically “The War? I'm not sure I get what you mean?” His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of it.

There was a war going on? Everything seemed pretty calm on the way here plus the testing seemed too selective to be some sort of conscription. His expression must have shown his confusion cause the boy proceeded.

“Oh! You really don't know why we're here do you?” the other boy asked.

To become cultivators? But he nodded and Yixing continued.

“Well let this elder brother illuminate you,”

“So there's a war brewing and as the disciples of the celestial illumination sect were are going to be the participants,” he said

“So from what my tutors and my parents have said the Imperial sect is the grounds for a succession war, this is the first time it has been reinstated since ten millennia which means the emperor plans to pick a successor,”

“Wait, wait, wait ten thousand years? Why is it being reinstated now?” Tao asked trying to make sense of the absurd timescale.

“Guess he's tired of ruling, I mean ten thousand years as Emperor is pretty long.”

Tao shot Zhou Yixing an incredulous stare. The Emperor’s been ruling for ten thousand years?! Holy hell this world is more bullshit than I thought.

Zhou Yixing laughed at his bemused expression. “You really came here clueless, didn't you? Don't worry this Yixing will look out for you”

“Anyways it's not too bad, my tutors said the imperial sect is a guaranteed path to power, just have to be on the winning team in the end,”