The timeline was going smoothly. In six years, I managed to establish about sixty pathways, plus the pathways I used when casting Arts. During this time, I also grew accustomed to my smaller body. I had gone from the size of an adult male to the size of an infant, which was quite jarring. I knew I would have to keep this form until I reached the Mortality Ascension stage, so getting used to it was important.

I stood in an empty section of field with some of my brothers and sisters, each of us practicing our meditation, Laws, or Arts. Our parents had just finished instructing us on Laws, and it was now time for us to reflect on our understandings. My second older brother - Chen Zhao - practiced using Arts by himself. My second older sister - Chen Song - helped her younger siblings with meditating. My third older - Chen Liu - sister practiced meditation on her own.

Chen Jiao, Chen Jian, and Chen Ying were nine, eight, and seven years old. I usually used their developments as indicators for when I should reveal parts of my abilities. It was useful having three examples to base my behavior off of. However, when it came to gathering energy and understanding Laws, I was always ahead of them. I simply couldn’t progress the timeline at my desired pace if I went at their speed.

I stood a little bit away from everyone else. I didn’t need Sister Song to help me with meditating, and Brother Zhao wouldn’t lower himself to practicing Arts with someone who was almost ten years younger than him. I would have been meditating alongside Sister Liu, but I had an objective for this day. If my calculations were correct, this would be the day I entered the Emerald Mountain Sect.

I slowly mumbled something about fire and twisted my right hand. Then, using my soul and an Arcane Energy pathway, I activated an Art of Fire. The Art of Fire appeared in my palm as a sphere of Arcane Energy and Laws of Fire. The sphere of energy and Laws burst, and a weak wisp of flame replaced it. A second later, the wisp of flame disappeared.

This was the basic appearance for casting an Art. At lower levels of mastery of the Art, the practitioner might need to use a chant or make some kind of movement, but that was unnecessary for someone who had mastered the Laws used in the Art. Being able to instantly cast my Art would not fit the persona I was trying to show off, so I had to add a few useless steps to the casting. Still, regardless of whether or not I needed to chant or dance or whatever, the fact that a six-year-old could cast this kind of Art was spectacular.

At the age of six, a normal practitioner would be lucky if they could understand a single rank-one Law. Most young practitioners could only use Arts without understanding the underlying Laws. At their first rank, Laws had the power to move elements. Many useful Arts could be made by simply moving matter, but there were obvious limits. For instance, if there was no fire presently burning, understanding rank-one Laws of Fire would be useless. Once a practitioner understood rank-two Laws, they would be able to convert their energy into an element. When I made a tiny wisp of flame in my palm, I used rank-two Laws of Fire to do it.

All of this was done to attract Chen Wei Ling, who would be coming by at any moment. He liked to watch his descendents practice Laws and meditate, and this was a day where he was scheduled to collect mature plants from the nearby farms. I just needed to wait until one of my soul threads detected him nearby.

Sure enough, Chen Wei Ling couldn’t resist flying a few hundred feet in the air and watching me and my siblings from afar. I quickly pulled back my soul threads after I detected him, then cast the Art of Fire I had prepared. Another established pathway burned up, but the expenditure was manageable. If I meditated nearby, I would be able to regain that pathway in much less time than it took to initially establish it.

As expected, Chen Wei Ling saw me use the rank-two Law and flew toward me. He soon appeared beside me.

“Very good. Now, feel my fire and try to imitate it.”

Chen Wei Ling easily cast his own Art of Fire. He needed no chanting or special movements, and his fire was held steadily in his hand. His flame was large, but it wasn’t too hot for me to stand next to. Chen Wei Ling must’ve been using another Law of Fire to negate the high temperature. This would’ve been a good way for an aspiring practitioner to learn the Laws of Fire, but it was unnecessary for me. I didn’t even need this kind of treatment during the previous timeline.

I watched Chen Wei Ling’s Art of Fire burn for a moment, then cast my Art of Fire. This time, I made the flame come out in a fluid motion and stay in my hand for a few seconds before disappearing.

“Excellent! Little Zhen, your rank-two Laws of Fire are almost complete.”

Chen Wei Ling complimented me and put his hand on my head. When he touched me, he used soul threads to check my number of established pathways. His soul threads were easy to deceive, and I only showed him eight pathways.

“Eight established pathways! Li and Meng have a good son!”

Chen Wei Ling was overjoyed to have a descendant like me. It had been a long time since anyone in his direct line had shown a talent for the Way, and none of his descendants had reached the Mortality Ascension stage. Although he was removed from us by several tens of generations, he was like a grandfather to everyone. When he smiled and complemented my parents, I knew I had succeeded and could ask him for anything.

“Elder Ling, am I good enough to join the Emerald Mountain Sect?”

I had spoken about the Emerald Mountain Sect on numerous occasions, and almost everybody around me knew that I wanted to join it. My parents and Chen Wei Ling were generally supportive of me wanting to join the Emerald Mountain Sect.

“The Emerald Mountain Sect is not an easy place to enter. But, if it’s Little Zhen, I think it’s possible!”

Chen Wei Ling could not hide his excitement. Disciples of the sect had access to many more resources than the promising descendents of the Chen Clan, and chances of reaching the Mortality Ascension stage skyrocketed. I was the first descendent of Chen Wei Ling to show him this level of talent and ambition. If I eventually reached the Mortality Ascension stage, Chen Wei Ling’s own status within the clan would rise, bringing him some additional benefits. However, he mostly cared about one of his descendants succeeding.

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“Little Zhen, come with me. I’ll take you to a meeting with all of your uncles, and I’ll use the opportunity to tell them all about the good news.”

This was exactly what I wanted to hear. I now definitely had Chen Wei Ling’s support.

“Yes, Elder Ling!”

I ran up to Chen Wei Ling and grabbed onto his side, and he held me close to his body. Then, he activated an Art of Flight and took off into the sky. I feigned amazement while we flew, but Chen Wei Ling’s flying wasn’t amazing. He moved slowly - only a few times faster than running across the ground - and didn’t even block the wind from battering our bodies. His Mortality Ascension stage body protected him, but nothing was protecting me. Regardless, I remained silent on the fact. I could endure a little wind.

The male descendants of Chen Wei Ling owned several tens of miles of farmland. At the center of it all, there was a massive round gazebo at the top of a small artificial mountain. Dozens of families were gathered under the gazebo. The descendants of Chen Wei Ling included farmers, merchants, craftsmen, and more. Only a few children were allowed to participate in the family meeting, and all of them were completely silent. The family meeting was no time to be playing around. After me, the next youngest child to participate was around nine or ten years old.

My parents were standing near the edge of the gazebo along with my oldest brother, Chen Feng. Chen Wei Ling saw them and landed near them, attracting the gazes of everyone around us. There was nobody who didn’t stop what they were doing to watch Chen Wei Ling descend.

“Li and Meng, your son has great talent!”

As Chen Wei Ling spoke, I detached myself from him and stumbled a few feet away. Surprisingly, I actually felt a little disoriented when we landed. I was not used to flying with someone else’s power. I felt slightly dizzy.

“Elder Ling, thank you very much!”

Chen Li quickly clasped his hands and bowed. Chen Meng and Chen Feng followed after him with only the slightest delay. The surrounding stares became more focused.

“Before we start the meeting, I am happy to announce that I will be sponsoring their Little Zhen to join the Emerald Mountain Sect! With him, our branch of the Chen Clan will have a bright future!”

Chen Wei Ling made his announcement, and the people around us began to murmur. I couldn’t hear them, but I could guess what they were saying. They were probably having questions about my age and my abilities. Feelings of jealousy were unavoidable; if Chen Wei Ling hadn’t chosen to sponsor me, he might’ve chosen to sponsor their child.

Nobody would dare to oppose Chen Wei Ling’s decision, but there were still some families who could not remain silent.

“Elder Ling, can I have you look at my Little Chu? He is ten years old and has comprehended rank-one Laws of Fire and rank-one Laws of Metal. I believe he would be a good fit for the Emerald Mountain Sect.”

An uncle spoke to Chen Wei Ling while hiding discontentment in his voice. When Chen Chu’s name was said, I remembered who he was. In the previous timeline, he had joined the Emerald Mountain Sect before me. We weren’t close, but he helped me on a few minor occasions due to our status as fellow clan members. Unfortunately, during the war with the Tempered Sword Sect, which allowed me to join the Infinite Cosmos Sect, he was slain by enemy practitioners.

“Oh, Little Chu? When I last visited, he hadn’t comprehended the rank-one Laws of Metal. It’s quite the accomplishment to comprehend two rank-one Laws by the age of ten, but let me check on how many pathways he has established.”

Chen Chu’s father - Chen Yuan - pushed him forward, and Chen Chu walked up to Chen Wei Ling to allow him to check his number of established pathways. Chen Wei Ling placed his hand on Chen Chu’s head for a moment, then withdrew it.

“Only six established pathways. If he would join the Emerald Mountain Sect, his aptitude would only be average. I do not believe he can reach the Mortality Ascension stage.”

Chen Wei Ling did not hold back his words. He was not as kind with Chen Chu as he was with me, and he did not want Chen Yuan to be mistaken about the talent of his son. Even though Chen Wei Ling wanted his descendents to reach the Mortality Ascension stage, he did not want them to lose their lives during their pursuit. I suspect that one reason Chen Wei Ling did not have any other descendents reach the Mortality Ascension stage was because he was so selective with who he sponsored to join the Emerald Mountain Sect. If he treated his descendents like numbers instead of family members, the chances of one of them reaching the Mortality Ascension stage would be much higher.

“Elder Ling, please. This is an opportunity for Little Chu that will never come again.”

Chen Yuan got down on his knees and begged Chen Wei Ling. I thought I already knew what Chen Wei Ling’s response would be.

“This… is a good point. We shouldn’t stifle the younger generation. Little Chu will come along with Little Zhen to join the Emerald Mountain Sect.”

This was against my expectations. In the previous timeline, Chen Wei Ling had denied Chen Yuan at every step. Without the support of Chen Wei Ling, Chen Yuan could only sponsor his son himself, almost draining his family’s funds. In the end, Chen Chu managed to enter the Emerald Mountain Sect, but he was never able to pay back his father’s investment. I still faintly remember Chen Yuan grieving over the loss of his son.

Now, Chen Chu was going to join the Emerald Mountain Sect with me. I had changed the future. This wouldn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but it was a change nonetheless. Chen Chu helped me in the previous timeline, and this could be considered me helping him in the current timeline.

“Thank you, Elder Ling!”

Chen Yuan stood up and bowed, then grabbed Chen Chu’s hand and whispered a few things in his ear before backing away.

Chen Wei Ling had a gentle smile on his face. He watched Chen Chu follow his father and looked up at the rest of the family members.

“We will now continue with the meeting - unless there is anyone else who wants to join the Emerald Mountain Sect.”

He paused for a second before continuing.

“First, about the harvests from last spring…”

I did not care very much about any of the topics that were brought up during the family meeting, and I didn’t participate in any of the discussions. I had helped my family plant, maintain, and harvest plants in the farm around our house, and I had extensive knowledge concerning the plants we grew, but I had nothing to gain by joining the discussions. I hated alchemy, and I didn’t want to be known as the family’s farming prodigy. I only knew so much about alchemy because I lived for billions of years and was bored: not because I had a passion for it.

The family meeting came to a close near the end of the day. Chen Wei Ling continued to speak with my parents and Chen Chu’s parents about us joining the Emerald Mountain Sect, which would have to happen in the next few days. The recruitment period for the Emerald Mountain Sect only lasted one week, and neither of us could afford to wait another year. In one year, Chen Chu would be too old to join, and I would miss my chance to change the outcome of the war with the Star Splitting Sect.

When Chen Wei Ling departed from the gazebo, Chen Chu and his family quietly left, and I remained with my direct family. These next few days would probably be the last time I saw them for next few years.