In the open cosmos two towering figures were playing chess. One had his eyes closed, a serene aura emanating from his form, while the other stared intently at the board, his expression one of frustration.

Morgan, knowing he was doomed to lose, decided to distract the Ancestor with updates on clan matters—a routine part of their games. After listening to all the report the man in plain white clothes with no beard but long hairs stretching to his toes, sighed.

“You have lost again, this is getting boring now, you are losing more quickly. Morgan, what is happening to you ? At first you were very close to defeating me but now you are getting away from the goal.”

“Umm…Ancestor Dugu, it's not that I am getting away from my goal, it's just that you are getting stronger and I can’t keep up with you while also being part of the clan council.” said Morgan with a somewhat frustrated face.

“Forget it. Struggles like this are part of cultivation. If you can’t handle such minor tribulations, the 3rd ascension will remain a dream.” Dugu said, still with eyes closed.

“Yes, yes, the most important matter we should discuss is of the newborn child Evan. From what we have observed he emits fluctuations nearly all the time now. There is not a regular pattern about the intensity but we detect highs usually when he is reading books when the chief maid does.” replied Morgan while still not daring to look at ancestor.

“Ohh so he is now reading books, probably trying to understand the books. It's now getting more and more interesting. I hope it's a prenatal talent related to comprehension. Thought it could be one of a kind but chances are still low. Last time umm.. Hm if I remember correctly, ancestor Redock had prenatal talent that was one of a kind - never seen before. Hmmm old times.” ancestor Dugu sighed remembering when he was just an elder he saw ancestor Redrock for the first time. Still remembering the oppression aura from him.

“Also from 5-10 there are no more high fluctuations in front of the child. He also stopped reading the books. Though it's impossible to do it, I think he has understood all the things in the books and hence there is nothing to learn.” said Morgan with a low voice.

“Ohh is it really one of a kind ? Let's leave the question for the future. You are right he did understand all the content in the books. Also If you can't do it it doesn't mean no one can remember Morgan, alas you are getting senile.” ancestor Dugu now opened his eyes looking at Morgan. As soon as his eyes opened there was an oppressing aura that made it difficult for Morgan to face the ancestor.

“Yes … sorry ancestor I have not lived up to your expectations, I would be in seclusion starting this year till I last more than I do in chess.” Morgan replied with determined expression. He had a fierce glow in his eyes.

“Ok, just don't push yourself much, I think you should probably retire from the council and focus fully on cultivation. About that, wait till he completes 1 year of probation, it's important for fully nurturing the soul and body. Give the chief maid new books which are given for 5th years, I think it should last long enough for him.” again after saying ancestor Dugu returned to the state of stillness and closed his eyes. Again looking like a normal mortal human.

Knowing it was the time for his leave, Morgan left quietly by walking, not daring to use any other means to leave, fearing disturbing the state of ancestors.

Morgan decided to give the chief maid the books and told her to allow Evan to read the books. He also told Evan's parents, with them being perfectly happy and normal about him.

Back to the chamber, Evan was living a boring life, now he knows all the names of the babies and also of the maids. With no new information to process and analyze he was now getting bored though this was nothing compared to what he faced in the void.

Suddenly today he saw that the chief maid had new books which were even thicker. He was so happy about it that he let out a cry as soon as he saw the books in the maids hand.

“So, the boy truly craves knowledge, I only hope this doesn’t come at the cost of his emotional growth.” said Morgan while quietly standing beside Evan. Evan had no clue that his grandfather was beside him. Though even if new there was nothing he would do. He was now 6 months old, nearing the 1 year mark.

He again repeated the earlier routine of reading the books till he finished them in just 15 days. It was only possible due the fact that the maids allowed him to read books which they earlier did not. He was very suspicious about this and after observing and reviewing all the information he had he knew that someone knows that he is learning from books and is allowing him to learn.

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He did not like wasting time, so as soon as he finished consuming all the content, he let out a cry and the next day, as expected the maid had different books though less thick. He doesn't care about the thickness, he always believes that quality is better than quantity.

This time it took nearly a month and half to understand all the books. He was now 7 months old. He also saw that usually human babies could not stand and walk when they were around 7 months old but he could. He also concluded the reason being the chamber they were grown in.

Till now he had seen his parents not more than a dozen times. But each time they come, it is the most beautiful time of his life. He yearned for parental care and was very grateful to them.

Again he let out a cry and the maid bought new books and this time it was only 1 book but it was way thicker than any previous one. He observed the books handed to him, their thickness no longer a challenge. Instead, he yearned for the aura of mystery they carried.

This time he took 2 months which did not surprise him. Though he knows that he could probably have it finished in a day, due to the strict schedule by the maids and the body's necessity to sleep half a day he gets a little time to read anything with the maids.

‘Finally all done, I am about 9 months old. Lets now stop rushing to get more knowledge, I need to be in the best shape possible before moving out of the chamber in 3 months.’ pondered Evan.

He decided to organize the whole information in the proper way. It took him 5 days to do so while managing the daily tasks.

‘There are 9 pavilions, 7 sects, 5 palaces, 3 Empires, and finally my clan. The individual strength of a pavilion is less than the individual strength of a sect, the gap is filled with numbers. Though a pavilion is weaker than a sect, it's not by a large amount.’ reminded Evan.

‘The cultivation system is also very fascinating, a total of 9 major stages with each stage further divided into 9 minor stages, a total of 9 major stages or 81 minor stages. Cultivators also need to achieve 3 ascensions, first one after having done the first 3 major stages, next one after completing 6 major stages, and the final one after completing all the 9 stages.’ sighed Evan.

It was a long way till the top but he believes in himself and he trusts his beliefs. He also got to know about the clan structure, and about the elder council. There were 81 members in the elder council with 9 supreme elders having 9 votes each, next 27 grand elders with 3 votes each and the remaining 45 elders with 1 votes each. His grandfather was a supreme elder from a long time and his father was a grand elder.

‘Though I know about the elder council, I don't know anything about ancestors, and how they are categorized. Let’s not push things for now and focus on getting in the best shape possible before the awakening.’ again with a determined and powerful gaze he looked at his hands with fingers curled.

‘My goal for now is to be in the best possible state before the checking as they literally decide my future in the clan. Though my grandfather is the supreme elder, there is no nepotism here. All the rewards are based on contribution and hard work, so I must not slack off and defy my fate of being talentless.’ said Evan with a grim tone. Unknowingly while he was thinking about this, there was a secret meeting taking place between the ancestors due to the huge spikes in fluctuations he was emitting.

He for the next 3 months, only focused on physical well being. He did all the optimization to his schedule for gain with no losses. Doing all the hard work he himself felt his weight increasing. He also felt energetic, but he was not shocked it was basic biology.

It was mentioned in the books that after 1 year they would be thoroughly checked via a series of tests and finally would be checked by an ancestor. He was nearly 1 years old, this was his last day at the chamber. He also saw new kids with different talents, but the most impressive one was still the time related one.

‘So from what I can see, I would probably fail in all tests except the ones related to intellect and comprehension. I do not have any talents in the form of bloodline, physique, eyes, heart, any other special organ, meridians, etc. Talents express themself in the form of different body structures. These are all postnatal talents, prenatal ones are decided during the gestation period of a woman, they are more potent and rare. I also think I don't have any prenatal talent. In Fact there is nothing special about me except the fact that I stayed in void for nearly eternity.’

‘This is also the reason why I had no heavenly manifestations when I was born. Still nothing is absolute, I will overcome all the challenges and be an eternal being.’ thought Evan while looking at the special child who had expressed talents even before the mark of 1 year.

Evan was patiently waiting for the maid to come take him at the awakening tower. He did not need to wait for a long time as just after a few hours of being awake, the chief maid arrived, gathering three children, including Evan, for their journey to the Awakening Tower.

‘This is going to be the first time I am going outside, I have to see everything, hear everything, and smell if possible. The more data I collect the more beneficial it is to me.’ thought while floating beside his fellow brother and sister.

As soon as they left the door, Evan saw a completely different world, he was overwhelmed by the data he gathered in just a few seconds after leaving.

‘Dao universe…… here I come’ thought Evan, still floating but looking intensely with curiosity at all the details of the surroundings.