CHAPTER 5: The Assessment Part 1

Mother Yi swiftly left after she said everything she had to. Luo Ling was very thankful that she took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions. Thanks to her, he had now gotten a somewhat detailed idea of the world he was in and also learned about the true powerhouses of the world. With a clear path ahead, he could save a lot of time.

As the first light of dawn painted the sky in soft hues of pink and orange, the world stirred from its slumber. The gentle caress of the morning breeze carried the sweet scent of dew-kissed flowers, mingling with the earthy aroma of freshly turned soil. Birds greeted the day with joyful melodies, their songs weaving through the tranquil stillness of the morning air.

Standing by the window, Luo Ling greeted the first rays of the sun with a gentle smile on his face. It was going to be a memorable day, not only for him but also for all the children who were nine years or older. Whether they would stay mortal or embark upon the path of a cultivator would be decided today.

“Meridian coils,” He mumbled under his breath, recalling Mother Yi’s words from the previous night.

Cultivation is the process of absorbing the energy of the world and using it to refine the shackles in the body. However, to absorb the energy of the world, also known as Qi, a person must possess opened meridians. The link that connects these meridians to form a chain is known as a meridian coil.

According to Mother Yi, a meridian coil was something one was born with. There was no other way to obtain it. Divided by their quality, there were four known variations of meridian coils— Mortal, Spiritual, Heaven and Earth, and Immortal. The Fragrant Crown Immortal sect accepts only children who have Spiritual or higher-grade meridian coils. He doesn’t know what quality he had, but Luo Ling hoped it was of spiritual grade.

Although he was excited, Luo Ling didn’t lose his cool. He understood the saying: the higher your expectations, the greater your disappointment. The previous night, he had done a lot of thinking on this subject. It came to his notice that he was becoming too obsessed with the idea of being immortal. Strictly speaking, it was not a good thing. Obsession often leads to destruction. Therefore, on the eve of the morning, Luo Ling let go of his infatuation with immortal cultivation while gazing at the rising sun.

He was not letting go of his desire to be a cultivator. But he was no longer obsessed with the idea. Cultivation of Immortal arts required one to have a meridian coil in their body, and not everyone had it. It depends on one’s luck and ancestry. What if he didn’t have the necessary qualifications to be a cultivator? After all, Luo Ling of this world was but a son of two ordinary people.

“Let’s hope this body got what it needs,” Mumbled Luo Ling as he walked out of the room. The dinner from last night had already been digested and converted into necessary nutrients. He was now overflowing with energy and needed an outlet.

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It was time for morning exercise.

-~X~-

[Iron Muscles Steel Veins Body Forging Exercise (Second Level)]— Proficiency: 181/500

[Archery(Houtian)]— Proficiency: 1/500

Luo Ling exited his inner world after a round of intense practice. All the energy he had accumulated from the red-eared rabbit’s meat was absorbed into muscles to strengthen his body. There might be no noticeable changes, but Luo Ling knew he had become stronger than yesterday.

Getting up from the ground, he patted his back to clean off the dust and returned to his room. On the way, he was stopped by a little girl with a double ponytail. Her dark-brown eyes flashed with innocence as her gaze landed on him.

“Xiao Ru,” Luo Ling called her name, surprised to see her. “What are you doing this early?”

Xiao Ru was one of the older children in the orphanage, around the same age as him. Despite only being nine years old, she was helping out in the orphanage to take care of the younger children. If not because of the memories of his previous life, she would have been the one with the most maturity in the orphanage. She was not an early riser as she usually slept much later than everyone at night.

“Ling, Mother Yi is looking for you.” She said as her expressive brown eyes sparkled, reflecting her mood.

Luo Ling quickly assessed his appearance. Covered in dust and grime, he emitted a pungent, sweaty odor. He preferred not to be seen like this, especially on such an important day. After all, he didn't want to make a poor impression in front of the guests.

“Okay. I’ll be there shortly.” Luo Ling said and walked off towards the well behind the orphanage building. After a quick bath, he planned to dress neatly and meet Mother Yi.

He anticipated the girl would rush off to report, but she remained in place, casting hesitant glances in his direction. Luo Ling raised an eyebrow, a touch of surprise coloring his expression. Xiao Ru had always kept her distance from him. Perhaps it was due to his daily routine, which kept him rising early and returning late, leaving little time for interaction. She always treated him differently from other children in the orphanage.

Luo Ling found it odd, so he questioned. “What’s the matter?”

“Err…” She hesitated while toying with the hem of her dress. “I saw two strangely dressed men talking with Mother Yi. They are asking about the ages of everyone. Do you…do you think they are bad people? Are they going to take us somewhere?”

Luo Ling blinked as he tried to process her words. Realizing what she meant, he gave out a chuckle. Even with all her maturity, she was still a child. It was valid that she would get scared by strange men. If he was right, those men were probably the guests Mother Yi talked about last night. They were already here.

“Don’t worry. They were not going to do anything bad to anyone.” Luo Ling assured the fidgeting girl with a smile. Aside from that, he didn’t know what else to say. He had never interacted with children in his past life.

“Oh… okay.” Xiao Ru still appeared unsatisfied. She gave him a small nod and turned around.

Watching her disappear into one of the rooms meant for the toddlers, Luo Ling sighed. Even though she was so young, she had already shown exceptional maturity and kindness. She would be a wonderful woman once she grew up.

-~X~-

Luo Ling took a slightly longer bath and cleaned himself off thoroughly. If cultivators were anything like the martial artists of his previous world, they would loathe to be in the presence of dirty commoners. Martial artists commanded supernatural abilities and were therefore considered nobles. They considered interacting with commoners without any prospects demeaning. If cultivators were also like them, they would have a skewed prospecting of the children from this dilapidated border village.

It was better to present himself neatly to minimize their bias.