CHAPTER 5

From here on out, the remaining eight players tried their luck as well and failed too. Just like their fellow rivals, they thanked the herbalist group for this fun competition. It seemed like they had resigned to the defeat and the fact it was impossible to get that answer right. At that time, everyone was watching the young Mir. The kid was still surveying the crowd. Everyone was hoping he could just finish quickly. No one believed he could win. Even his father asked him to choose one randomly. However, Mir didn’t and took his time. Six minutes later, light flickered in his eyes and he smiled. Then he placed the sign on the rock.

“Young mister 55, have you finally made your choice ?

-Yes.

-Who is it ?”

Mir got down from the chair and walked to the bar. Then he tried getting up on the chair. He had to wait until a disciple near helped him. The chair was high and he was still too small… But he was now in the high chair. Behind the counter, there were four people. Three waitresses and a barman. Mir pointed to the barman and said :

“It’s you !”

To the surprise of the crowd, the barman laughed a bit and exclaimed :

“Kid, you’ve got good eyes ! Congrats !”

It turned the whole place into an uproar. Everyone was incomparably excited. They never suspected it to be the barman. In the end, Mir received the precious pellet. After thanking the Herbalist group and some basic courtesy, everyone exited the Maple Tavern.

It was night. The father was walking with his son. They were both overjoyed. Then, the old man appeared in front of them and said :

“Sorry for troubling you two, I would like to invite you to dinner, would you be willing to accompany this old man for a meal ? On me, of course.

-Yes ! It would be our pleasure !”

Boras was overjoyed. While he earned a lot at the quiz, it was night and shops were mostly closed. He couldn’t sell the pellets and thus, he was broke now. While he had resigned himself to skip a meal, not Mir. And seeing as the old man didn’t seem like a bad guy it was fine. Even if he was evil, he would still want to eat a free meal off someone else. In the end, the elder brought them to a fancy restaurant and was led to the VIP room. Then he let them order whatever they wanted. While boras remain courteous and only asked for a middle-range meal, Mir went all out for the priciest dishes. It made the old man smile. Once the orders were placed, the old man began :

“I forgot to introduce myself, I am Quin Lan.

-I am Boras and this is my son, Mir. You have our thanks for treating us to such a lavish dinner, senior Quin Lan.

-Lan is enough, mister Boras.

-Then Boras should do, senior Lan.

-Good, good. Then, Boras, let me get straight to the point. I am an inner court management elder at the Burning Sea School. And I find your son to be incredibly talented and promising.

-T-that’s…Thank you for your praise, senior Lan !”

This piece of news came as a shock to both Boras and Mir. They thought he was a rich martial cultivator or herbalist of sorts but an inner court management elder ? What’s more, at the Burning Sea school ! The elder saw the surprised looks on the father and son’s faces, coughed a few minutes and went on :

“Our Burning Sea school is a first-rated martial school just like this Imposing Thunder Mountain School. I can see the potential inside your son. After all, it is incredibly rare for one to awaken this quickly. He might just become a promising genius if nurtured correctly.

-Wait, what ? Mir has awakened ?!”

Boras was stupefied. This was too much surprises. Generally, a child would awake between nine to eleven. it was rare that it happened later but it could. However, for it to happen before…And in Mir’s case, four years earlier, was too incredible. Mir was stunned to discover that the old man had perceived his awakening. The old man understood his gaze and said :

“While I can’t discover one’s stage of cultivation young boy, I can at least figure out whether one has awakened or not. Boras, I can say with certainty that your son has grown a core. He can start martial cultivation.

-Great…Great…This is great Mir ! Did you hear ?! You can become a martial cultivator !”

Boras was overjoyed. After all, martial cultivators were dragons among men. There were billions of people living in the continent of the five countries. In the end, there were many martial cultivators but compared to average people, they were considered rare. And talented ones were even fewer. Some would never go further than rank one during their whole lives. The strongest in the continent were in the rank three. As for highest rank, they were legends and myths. It is no wonder that this farmer was happy. Becoming a martial cultivator meant a chance to live a fulfilling life, it was better than being a commoner from far. Boras was happy for his son. It seems he wouldn’t have his son inherit the farm in the end. But it was fine. Having him become a martial cultivator was better. Mir was pleased as well. Though he knew he could become one from the start. After all, he was the one who forcefully awoke himself. He knew better than anyone his abilities. Then the dishes arrived and they ate merrily while discussing banalities. After a time, elder Lan came back to the subject :

“So, Boras, I will be direct. I’d like to invite little friend Mir to enter my Burning Sea School.

-That’s a bit …”

While Boras was happy for Mir and he never expected such a chance encounter and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, his son was five. He was relatively young even if he felt older due to his smarts. And the Burning Sea School was far. Too far for Boras to ever travel there. What’s more, sending a son to martial school wasn’t free and he surely had not enough spare change to afford a third-rate school, then a first rate ? It was just an impossible dream. Elder Lan understood his worries and said :

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“I wish to invite him. This meant I’d personally take care of nurturing him. Of course, there would be no fees. In our Burning Sea School, we value talent higher than anything. And Mir has exactly that. I know that parting is difficult. Even more for a father with his son. And Mir is still very young. However, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to see him again but more than anything, he awoke four years earlier than many. Four additional year of cultivation when young isn’t something one can overlook. If he entered the school right now, he would no doubt have more chances to reach high success in cultivation. I can only provide this offer, please do consider it.

-Father, it’s fine. What elder Lan said is right. I don’t want to part with you but it’s true that if I began early, I might have more successes in the future…

-I know Mir, father knows. Still, I can’t agree. His mother needs to give her approval as well. Mir is both our sons. While I am reluctant to part, if it’s to give a brighter future to my son, I can only agree. But I want his mother to agree as well before anything. I am sorry elder Lan.

-No, I understand. And you didn’t refuse after all ohoh. Are you going home after the tournament ?

-Yes, we planned it this way.

-Then, would it be alright for me to join you? I sincerely wish for Mir to join my Burning Sea School.

-Yes. Yes ! Of course, elder Lan !

-It’s settled then, wonderful ohoh. Then, what are your plans for the remaining days ? There are still seventeen days left.

-We successfully secured places for the semi-finals of the young insight battle.

-Oh ? Well, would you like to assist to the rest of the tournament as well ? We have reserved seats for our Burning Sea School. Here are two pass. Just show them at the VIP entrance of the stadium and they will lead you to the seats near mine !

-Elder, this is too precious, we couldn’t possibly…

-Please Boras, give some face to this elder and accept those passes. I believe it would be a wonderful experience for Mir to witness the tournament and I’d enjoy some company myself ohoh.

-Then thank you very much elder Lan !

-Thank you, elder Lan, !”

Both Boras and Mir were overjoyed while returning to their inn. They would be able to watch all the tournament ! And from the VIP seats of a renowned school!

The next morning, Boras got up early and went to sell the few pellets. It was enough to leave him with 21golds 12 silvers. An amount he never had before. And he never thought he would. Overjoyed, he woke up Mir earlier than scheduled. Of course, seeing this father of his so happy because of some money, Mir felt good and proud of his previous actions yesterday. Drunk on this feeling, Boras decided to take Mir to a clothing store. Since they were going to watch the matches from the VIPs, he didn’t want his son to be shamed because of his clothes. Mir ended up finding a nice red and blue robe for his age and decided upon it. Boras was glad to see him like that, he looked like a proud son of the heavens. A mini-mighty-man. However, he didn’t expect Mir to force him to get something for himself. He wanted to spare the money at first and he surely wouldn’t mind being mocked for being poor, that’s what he was after all. But his son didn’t budge and in the end, he bought the very same robe as his son. Having matching outfits of such quality made him a in an incredibly great mood. Now, walking on the streets, no one was looking at them with disdain. It was a strange feeling to the middle-aged farmer, a new experience. Seeing his father like that, Mir was grinning and enjoying the silliness of the situation inside. Back in his previous life, this feeling was an everyday occurrence in his childhood and later, it turned to people displaying respect and such, even on the streets. It couldn’t compare to feeling happy because you were ignored. Anyway, it was probably the first time his father had bought such an expensive item and wore it. While they were walking towards the arena, he said to his father:

“Let’s make sure to get one for Mom too.

-Definitely.”

Answered his father with a serious face. It wasn’t that he felt the need to or guilt but rather, that he wanted to give beautiful to his wife. He loved her and if he could have he would have drowned her in luxuries but he was poor…Now, he had a tiny bit of money. He wouldn’t come back empty handed. He would make her smile with a magnificent gift. It was determination to make his wife feel special. Mir felt it as he himself had once had this look in his eyes. Unfortunately, his world hadn’t been right for this kind of pure feelings.

They arrived at the arena. It was a giant circular structure, just like one from the roman empire back in Mir’s old world. It was far bigger than those though. Ten times ? Maybe more? There were already tens of thousands of peoples here, awaiting their turn to enter the arena and securing better seats. The whole arena was made from black stone that were being illuminated by the daylight, making it a beautiful contrast. There were four doors, one at each side. There were giant lightning sculptures to signal them. Those sculptures were hundreds of meters high and looked as if they were coming down from the heavens. They were the mark of the Imposing Thunder Mountain School and this Imposing Thunder Arena of theirs. To put it simply, it was magnificent and awe-inspiring. Mir had seen many complex architectural buildings in his previous life and yet, this single arena far outshined them all. Boras was smiling at the sight of his child being impressed. He had forgotten for a time that Mir was just a child but with him opening his eyes so wide for the arena, it made him remember and he felt silly because of it.

Opposite to the average commoner, Boras and Mir didn’t wait in line. They went straight to the entrance and showed their pass. That is the power of being a VIP. A disciple came and led them to their seats. They were in the forefront of the seats and closest to the arena. And obviously, it was the zone arranged for the Burning Sea School. Elder Lan was already there with many other old men and behind were around a dozen or so disciples. Seeing Boras, elder Lan was smiling widely. He was moving his arms towards Boras and Mir, a move quite strange coming from such an old man. As Mir and Boras approached, he said:

“Boras, Little Mir, I am glad to see you today!

-Elder Lan, it is our luck to be your guest.

-Ahah, don’t be like that Boras. This is just my way of showing my interest towards young Mir! Please, come it with me! Let us enjoy the show of my Burning Sea disciples trashing those from other schools! Ahahah!”

Boras sat Mir between him and Elder Lan. Seeing this, elder Lan was really pleased. After all, his goal was to get Mir as a disciple. It would be profitable for Mir’s experience if he could explain him what was happening on the ring. Mir was quite happy about this placement as well. Mir was the first to continue the chat:

“Elder Lan, you seem really excited today. Is there something good?

-Ahahah, indeed! Little Mir, do you know how the tournament works?

-No, elder, I do not

-Let me explain. It is divided in three challenges. The first one is a battle between the youngsters under fifteen, the second one is a battle between the young adults under twenty and finally, there is a showdown of abilities in insight. Every day, the insight competition starts in the morning and finish at night. It will be going on until there’s only one disciple left. In the morning, they give everyone a skill scroll and by the end of the day, only those who mastered it can go to the next day’s challenge. This is an exciting way to measure whose disciples are the most talented! And our Burning Sea has two disciples in the competition left. As for the rest of the day, and the reason why I am in such a great mood, it is the youngsters battle!

-Does that mean the disciple from your school are going to battle?

-That’s right! There will be ten matches in total today. One every hour. And out of those ten matches, there is two with disciples of ours. I am rooting for them with all I have!

-I wish them the best of luck too then!