《Dual Cultivation: Birth of Legend》 1 Transmigration It was one hell of a stormy night. A lone man stood dazed in an empty room. Sign of fatigue, accumulated over the past few days of sleepless nights, could be seen on his face. Grey streaks could be seen on his hair despite having fair smooth skin and a masculine figure; from which it could be seen that he was most likely in his early 40s. He looked around the empty room and saw nothing there. The man was dressed for sleep, wearing only a simple shirt and a pair of shorts, making it easy to his figure. Contrary to his tired face with dark shades under his eyes, his tempered, overflowing with muscles body was full for vigor. "Huh¡­? Where is this? I was in my room a moment ago, how did I end up here?" When he uttered those words suddenlythree people appeared in front him consisting of an old man, a boy and a woman. "Have you come to?" [Old Man] "Is your mind clear?" [Boy] "You know it would be nice if said something?" [Woman] "Umm¡­ Yes. I''m alright now. You suddenly came out of nowhere, so I was taken back a bit. My apologies . Let me introduce myself. I am Astra Takeshi." "There is no need to be so formal. Let''s talk over tea." [Old man] The old man waved his hand and all of a sudden, a tea table appeared, atop which were cups filled with tea and pillows to sit on along the sides. "Come take a seat." [Woman] "Thank you!" [Astra] The young woman smiled and implored Astra to take a seat, which Astra promptly took. The others took their seats as well; the woman sat on the right, while the boy sat on the left, and the old man sat opposite to Astra. When they had all taken their seats, everyone, including Astra, took a sip of their tea. "I hope you don''t mind if I ask some questions." [Astra] "Of course not. That''s exactly what we''re here for. But I already have an idea what you want to ask, so how about listening to our story first?" [Old man] "Well, alright."[Astra] After Astra noddedto show his agreement, the old man began. "We are what you would call ''Gods''. I am Tsukuyomi, the God of Creation. The woman to your right is Aria, the God of Love, and the boy to your left is the God of Life, Ryouta. We are Gods of different world. You might not know this, but you died. When your soul left your body, we took it and brought it here to the Divine Realm." [Tsukuyomi] "I see. So that''s what happened." [Astra] Astra matter-of-factly accepted Tsukuyomi''s explanation as he sipped his tea. The three gods were bewildered at his reaction, especially the youngest looking of them all, Ryouta. "Umm¡­, wait, is that it!? Shouldn''t you be panicking a bit more and going ''No way!'' ''That can''t be!'' ''Why did I die?'' or something?" [Ryouta] "You know.. the others before you were all flustered when we talked to them." [Tsukuyomi] "Oh, don''t get me wrong, I am surprised, though I do admit that none of this feels real to me right now. Besides, if all this is nothing more than a dream, then I would eventually wake up, but even if it''s not, well¡­ everyone will pass away anyway. And I''ve already expected this to some extent. My work, you see, is really taxing so taxing that my co-workers have had to retire early because their body broke down. Because of that I''ve always believed that I would die an early death. Being able to live up to 39 or 40, depending which way you count, is more than plenty, all things considered. Not to mention, as embarrassing as it is to admit considering my age, I''m a huge otaku of games, anime and manga, so I''m quite fond of stories like this. I''ve have been single my entire life and don''t have any family or relatives anyway, so this turn of events is a lot better than just burning away." [Astra] Astra was really satisfied from the bottom of his heart, but that only caused the gods even more confusion. "R-Really? Do humans really think like that? Hasn''t anyone ever told you your way of thinking is very odd?" [Ryouta] "I don''t think it''s got anything to do with your hobbies either. There were plenty of people with similar hobbies as you, and they were all flustered. So flustered, they wouldn''t even listen. Just meeting someone who wasn''t gloomy was a feat in itself." [Aria] "Well, in any case, this makes things easier for us. Though this also leaves us with too much time on hand. Is there anything else you want to know?" [Tsukuyomi] Astra become thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "How did I die?"[Astra] "Hmm? You''re starting there?" [Tsukuyomi] "Yes. I don''t think there''s anything odd about my question though. After all, I don''t have any memory of dying." [Astra] "Well, you did die like that, so of course you don''t remember" [Aria] "You died of brain hemorrhage after hitting your head" [Ryouta] "Huh! Wasn''t I just sleeping in my room?" [Astra] "Yep, you sure were. But then something fell on your head, it was a very heavy object." [Aria] "There was a small earthquake because of which the box filled with heavy things on the top of the cupboard slid off and fell on your head and your head slammed on the ground." [Tsukuyomi] "The impact was so big that you couldn''t even respond and died on the spot." [Ryouta] "Oh, that''s the reason for my death then. I knew that I shouldn''t have kept that box over there, it was only due to lack of space that I kept it there. Well, never mind it was my fault that I died, so nothing matters anymore." [Astra] The gods were stunned with the way he spoke about his own death without any sigh of depression on his face. They began to look at each others faces then stared at Astra in a dumbfounded expression. They had never met anyone like him, and couldn''t help sigh at this unexpected way of thinking of his. ''cough'', ''cough''¡­ coughed Tsukuyomi and began. "Right, well let me explain why we called your soul here. If I were to sum up the reason in one word, it would be: Clich¨¦. Do you understand?" [Tsukuyomi] "Clich¨¦? Ah.. I believe I do. You wish for me to live in another world, yes? If so, will I be reincarnated or mearly transmigrated?" [Astra] "You really are quick to pick up." [Aria] Aria was shocked to see Astra so easily understand what was going on, but Tsukuyomi ignored her and continued. "You will be transmigrated, in a sense. I will be creating a new body for you to inhabit in our world, so you won''t have any parents." [Tsukuyomi] "Your new body will be younger, so you could say it''s like being reincarnated. If you have any requests, we could fulfill it for you." [Ryouta] "It is a world where people live their lives cultivating, so if you have any requests don''t hold back, but we can only fulfill five wishes at most." [Aria] "Ok then, I won''t hold myself back. My first request is I want to have a Primordial Yin Yang Divine Veins set with cultivation techniques. The Qi cultivated from this set must be the purest in all Heaven and Earth, and the cultivation technique will also increase Qi Refining and Body Refining cultivation. And most importantly, it can be used in Single Cultivation as well as Dual Cultivation. Secondly, I want Instant Mastery: whatever I learn will immediately become the highest level. Third, I want Zhang Xuan''s Library of Heaven''s Path. Library of Heaven''s Path has to be increased in level; the highest level possible, added library features will correct errors in book . and don''t have to touch objects to produce books, just a glance at it would be enough to produce books in the library. Oh, and one more thing, the Library of Heaven''s Path must have knowledge of that world, has a consciousness of it''s own, and answer my questions. Fourth, I want the power of the main character of the manga Customize Creator: can change anything in that world or related to that world. Fifth, I want the Incubus ability of the novel Inma no Hado owned by Midou Kenichi at the Demon King level to be my Bloodline. And please change the butterfly tattoo on my penis later to become an Eastern Dragon, and every woman I have conquered, they will receive a butterfly tattoo below their navel. Lastly, I want the ability of Aura of the highest level possible of the novel The Super Sex System that can arouse any woman I want it to arouse." [Astra (without any pause)] After finishing mentioning his request Astra looked at the gods and say them looking at him with their eyes wide opened seeing as if going to pop out of their sockets, and say goddess aria blushing along with the mentioned emotion, then he asked. "Can these wishes not be fulfilled?" [Astra] "It''s nothing like that, it is just that we''re surprised by your requests. May we know what were your reasons for you requesting such wishes?" [Tsukuyomi] "Ah¡­ it''s like this. I was an otaku back on Earth, which you already know as I''ve already told you earlier, I had read many such novels based on Cultivation and such, through which I came to know that the world of cultivation is quite brutal where the strong prey upon thee weak, at first I didn''t quite pay attention to it but when I went through other such novels, they also said the same thing so I did some looking into it and found out that it all was true, so in order to ascertain my safety and protect the ones dear to me I asked those requests related to cultivation. While the one on creating anything is so that if I stay in the wilderness or am on some missions, I do need to build some place to sleep, or provide shelter to myself or my comrades if I am travelling with them. As for the last two, it is so that I don''t have to live a life of a single and virgin my entire life, like it was in my past life." [Astra] "Oh¡­! You''ve really thought it through. Ok, we''ll fulfill all your requests, but don''t go overboard there, cause I can already fell someone feeling jealous." [Tsukuyomi] Astra didn''t understand what he was saying at first but when he say Aria he slowly did start to understand, but ignored it thinking ''There''s no way a goddess would have such feelings towards me.'' 2 Abilities Awakening After all was said and done the there was a blinding flash of light in front of Astra. When he opened his eyes he found himself in a completely different place, and the gods were nowhere to be seen, so he came to a conclusion that he had been transmigrated and thought ofobserving his new appearance given by the gods. He started observing himself, but could vaguely understand his appearance so he started to look for river or a lake to get a clear look at himself. After strolling around for some time in the vast wilderness for about half an hour or so he finally found a clear river flowing, he went to it and started observing himself. He now had the body of someone around the age of 15 years of age, with a perfectly healthy and muscular body, the muscles were well defined. He had very beautiful, silky smooth skin which could make even the Goddess of beauty envy him, and have a very handsome face which could attract any woman who saw him and made him the target of jealousy from all the men. "Not bad, the gods really did their best, they made my appearance the best. Thank you, all for what generous gifts you all have given to me. Now, let''s check the skills that I received." [Astra] After saying all this in a loud clear voice, thinking that the gods might still be observing him. Then, he moved to checking his skills, but couldn''t check it as he didn''t know how to, while he was pondering on it, he heard a voice in his head, right after he heard the voice, he got startled and started looking around to see who it was, then he again heard the voice saying "Master, I could help you on that matter if you''d like."[???] Astra then understood that the voice came from within his mind, and he thought of Library of Heaven''s Path with its own consciousness which he requested the gods, so he asked the voice. "Are you the Library of Heaven''s Path which I requested the gods for?" [Astra] "Yes, master." [Library of Heaven''s Path] "Oh¡­ but why is your voice like a cyborgs. Can''t something be done about that, it really scares the heck out of me when you suddenly talk in that voice." [Astra] "It can be change according to masters desire. I can change into the voices of either a male or a female, as master wishes it to be." [Library of Heaven''s Path] "Really, then I would like you to change your voice as that of a woman; an elegant but seductive at the same time." [Astra] After hearing this the Library Of Heaven''s Path became silent for few moments the it spoke in a womanish elegant tone, hearing this Astra was quite surprised but happy at the same time and thought. ''Wow! What an elegant and seducing voice, just the thought of talking to such a voice is like a dream come true. If only I could have such a woman by my side.''¡­sigh¡­ Seemingly understanding her masters thoughts, the Library of Heaven''s Path spoke "You don''t need to worry about that master, if you reach the realm of True Spirit Realm then you can enter the library and be with me." [Library of Heaven''s Path (with a blushing expression)] Hearing this Astra was filled with over joy but he didn''t know the different realms of cultivation that exist. So, he tried to ask the Library of Heaven''s Path then something came to him, it was the name for the Library of Heaven''s Path. He couldn''t always call Library of Heaven''s Path which had its own consciousness Library of Heaven''s Path always so he pondered for a moment, trying to think of a perfect name which matches with her characteristics. And came up with a name. but still he needed the approval of Library of Heaven''s Path "Um¡­ Say I can''t always call you ''Library of Heaven''s Path'' so how about I give you a name that matches your characteristics?" [Astra] "R-Really, master are you truly giving me a name?" [Library of Heaven''s Path] "Yes. Why not? Is there any problem with that? Do you not want one?" [Astra] "No, of course not. It''s just that I''ve never had any name before. I could only have this consciousness of mine that I have is all thanks to master. I had never dreamed of having a name so I can''t think of what to say." [Library of Heaven''s Path] "Don''t worry about it. If you really like it then how about I call you ''Leilana'', it means ''flower that blooms in heaven''. Do you like it?" [Astra] "Y-YES! I like it no, I love it. Thank you master." [Leilana (in a very excited voice)] "Leilana, since it is decided then how about we move on. Could you help me with checking with the skills that I currently have, then later we can talk about the different realms of cultivation and their level." [Astra] "Yes, master. The Primordial Yin Yang Divine Veins, Instant Mastery, and the Aura, and create anything abilities that master received can be used at any time is always at your disposal. But about your Bloodline, this bloodline is present in your body but it is in dormant state, that is, it has yet to activate. If you want I can help you activate it, but you will be unconscious for few hours before it fully activates." [Leilana] "So, that''s how it is. Ok then proceed with the activation of the veins but first help me create a shelter with a barrier where we can be safe from any danger that may come our way while I am unconscious. And we''ll talk about the cultivation realms after my veins activate." [Astra] "OK, master. What should the house look like? What should be its dimensions? And what are the things that you want in the house?" [Leilana] "Umm¡­ The floor area should be about 12x10 sq. ft. in area and the height should around 8 ft. and it is a must to have a big and comfortable bed in the room, and don''t forget to reinforce the wall along with a barrier so that no one can attackand damage the house from the outside." [Astra] "Ok, master! Now I''ll begin the creation." [Leilana] The creation began, and within few minutes the house was ready. Astra looked both outside and inside the house and was really satisfied with it''s sturdiness and the looks it had, despite being a temporary house. "Now, Leilana let''s begin the activation process of my Bloodline." [Astra] Then began the activation process during which Astra lost his consciousness. Seconds, minutes and hours passed by but Astra showed no sigh of consciousness. After a day, he finally gained his consciousness and opened his eyes along which Leilana spoke. "Congratulation, master on awakening the Bloodline." [Leilana] Hearing this Astra was overjoyed and started observing his body again to see the changes that had occurred in him after the awakening. To his surprise he say that his blood had become more dense and was full of vigor and when he checked his little brother down there, he was more surprised to see that it had increased in its size and was thicker than ever which could give any woman a ride to highest level of heaven, the dragon tattoo on it was also seemed like it was alive and could leave at any moment and soar in the sky. Seeing Astra''s thing, Leilana fell in daze and gulped again and again, was blushing like crazy. Seeing this in his consciousness, Astra started teasing her. "Don''t worry I''ll quickly reach the True Spirit Realm you''ll have a taste of it and I won''t leave until I make you the heavenly pleasure, and make you mine and mine alone." [Astra] Hearing this Leilana started feeling crazy emotions and covered her face with her hands as she couldn''t take it anymore. At the same time, somewhere in a dark cave a woman (Demoness) was sleeping on a massive bed in the middle for the cave. The moment Astra Awakened his bloodline at the demon king level, the woman (Demoness)felt immense pleasure and climaxed while panting. --pant¡ªpant¡ª "Finally, someone who truly qualifies to be my man has come." [Demoness] 3 Cultivation Realms of The World Riclite After teasing Leilana for sometime, Astra finally focuses on the main topic at hand, about the cultivation realms of this world. "Now that everything is settled, Leilana can you start explaining about this world and the cultivation realms that exist here this world." [Astra] "Yes. This world is called Riclite. This planet is divided into four continents named after the four direction; East, West, North and South. The people of this world are all cultivators and their cultivation base and talent and divided into 8 different kinds from worst to heaven gifted. ?Gold? ?Black Gold? ?Purple? ?Dark Blue? ?Blue? ?Green? ?Red? ?Grey? The average cultivators of this world are born with minimum talent between ?Green? and ?Red?, but there are some really unfortunate people that are born with the lowest grade talent ?Grey?. The cultivation methods of this world are of two types one is Qi cultivation method and the other is body cultivation.Master''s Primordial Yin Yang Divine Veins helps master with both Qi and Body cultivation at the same time, but the people of this world don''t practice both. In this world, Riclite, Body cultivation is considered the hardest while Qi cultivation is the easiest. If the body cultivators successfully cultivate the initial realm of Body Cultivation in 1 year, the Qi cultivators will have succeeded in cultivating 2 to 3 of the initial Qi Cultivation realms in that amount of time, but the strength they possess is on par with the Body Cultivators of the 1st Layer of Initial Body cultivation realm. The other difference they have is that the Qi Cultivators can extend their lifespan through cultivation but Body Cultivators remain ordinary human with limited lifespan with only strength. And if someone cultivates both Qi and Body at the same time then that cultivator could battle someone who is 1 entire major realm above him equally. The Qi Cultivation realms are classified as: ?Spirit Qi Gathering Realm? ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm? ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? ?True Spirit Realm? ?Nascent Soul Realm? ?Void Spirit Realm? ?Heavenly Sage Realm? ?Divine Sage Realm? While the Body Cultivation Realms are classified as: ?Body Refining Realm? ?Acupoint Realm? ?Dragon Body Realm? ?Dragon Transformation Realm? ?Eternal Divine Body Realm? Each of these cultivation realms are further divided into 4 sub-realms namely ''Early'', ''Middle'', ''High'' and ''Peak''. The cultivation realms are called the Major realms while the sub-realms are the Minor realms." [Leilana] " So, it''s like this. Leilana, what''s my talent level and how can I begin cultivating?" [Astra] "About master''s Talent level, it can''t be determined unless you start cultivating. As for the things regarding cultivation, you''ll need cultivating technique which master doesn''t have to worry about it as your Primordial Yin Yang Divine Veins has the ability to provide you with cultivation technique from your Divine veins and I''ll also be there to help you, I can correct the errors if there exists any, and master can cultivate the most flawless cultivation technique and be the top in the world." [Leilana] "I don''t know what I would have done without you, I''m really grateful for having you with me. When I reach the True Spirit Realm I''ll surely reward you and give you the most suitable gift I can gift you." [Astra] Hearing this Leilana gets really happy and blushes at the same time. Seeing her cute and happy face you make up your determination to cultivate full heartedly and reach True Spirit Realm so that he can make Leilana happy. "Listen Leilana, how do I access the cultivation techniques?" [Astra] "Master just has to think about cultivation and cultivating either Qi or Body Or both Qi and Body, then the cultivation technique will appear in your consciousness and you will have to cultivate on the method written on the manual in your consciousness." [Leilana] Hearing this Astra sits in the lotus position on the bed and starts concentrating on cultivating both QI and Body.(TL: Astra still hasn''t left the temporary house he asked Leilana to create to awaken his Divine Veins) After some time of concentration a manual appears in his consciousness and written on its cover is Primordial Yin Yang Divine Veins Qi and Body Cultivation Technique. When he turns on to the first page, all the information in the book start gushing into his mind turning all the pages itself, he reads through the manual and confirms that he can use this technique for both single and dual cultivations. After that he withdraws his consciousness and asks Leilana. "Leilana, are there any spiritual Qi rich area nearby?" [Astra] "Master, it will take some time to analyze the area, but if one exist then your cultivation will soar through the heavens." [Leilana] Listening this Astra asked Leilana to increase the strength of the barrier so that they could spend the rest of the day there while he cultivates. After Leilana strengthens the barrier, Astra begins cultivating slowly circulating Qi through his veins and body parts (skin, muscles, blood vessels, blood and bone) at the same time both strengthening his body and filling Dantian. Slowly the time passed, after 4 hours or so he finally opened his eyes. "Leilana, how do I check how much my cultivation has progressed?" [Astra] "Master can check his progress in cultivation by immersing his consciousness in his Dantian and observing how many layers of pure Qi energy are there, which are surrounding Master''s Dantian." [Leilana] Hearing this Astra immediately immersed his consciousness in his Dantian and was surprised to see that there were 4 layers of pure Qi energy surrounding his Dantian. In bewilderment he asked. "There are 4 Layers of Pure Qi energy surrounding my Dantian. Can you explain what it means?" [Astra] After hearing this Leilana was shocked to the core, her eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets. Then she thinks ''Master has many heaven defying abilities so, it is normal to get this outcome.'' "Master, congratulations, on achieving peak stage of ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm?! the four layers of pure Qi energy surrounding your Dantian shows that you have achieved breakthrough to peak stage of ?Spirit Qi Gathering Realm? and are on the brink of breaking through to ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm?. Others would take years to reach this stage, but master progressed to this realm within merely 4 hours of cultivation. Truly spectacular! Master has the legendaryGold level talent in cultivation." [Astra] Astra hearing this became puzzled, he thought was it really this easy to advance in cultivation. Then, he asked Leilana to explain. "Master has be given many Heaven Defying abilities by the gods when transmigrated to this world. Other cultivators would have barely reached the early stage of ?Spirit Qi Gathering Realm? in the amount of time spent by you in which it is required to nourish their veins, but since master had Primordial Yin Yang Divine Veins, master could skip this part and directly focus on building layers of pure Spiritual Qi to surround his Dantian and directly progressing on ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm? and due to the divine cultivation technique that came along with master''s Divine veins, it was easy of master to progress from Early stage to Peak stage without any hiccup. If master progresses like this then, master could reach ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? within a month and ?True Spirit Realm? in 2 months after that. And since you have been cultivating your body together with your Qi, it also has broken through the ?Body Refining Realm?. Now, your body is strongest among allthe body cultivators who have been cultivating their body for not more than a year and are likely in ?Body Refining Realm? Middle or High Stage" [Leilana] Hearing this Astra thinks to test out his new found strength. He punches in the air followed by his punch the air starts howling. After that the house starts trembling and falling apart. Seeing this Astra shouts. "Who attacked us? I think it must be the work of a giant animal. Leilana, do you know who did this?" [Astra] "Yes, master. He is right in front of me." [Leilana] "Where is it?"[Astra] Seeing her master anxious and panicking, Leilana couldn''t help but laugh. Seeing her laugh Astra Felt dumb. And Leilana couldn''t laugh at her CUTE master. Then, she teases him some more. 4 Encounter with a Woman After Leilana teases Astra for some time and seeing her master''s face blushing with embarrassment, she finally stops teasing him. Then Astra asks Leilana to recreate the house with even more reinforcement and the highest level of barrier, and talks to Leilana in the house about how it would be nice for him if he could satisfy his desire by dual cultivating with someone from opposite gender and also thinks that if only he had reached ?True Spirit Realm? then he could spend his time with Leilana. Both Astra and Leilana agree with it. Astra falls asleep while talking to Leilana. Seeing her master asleep Leilana looks towards Astra''s crotch and blushes then she herself takes rest. ======================================================================================== Next day, Astra wakes up and is greeted by Leilana. "Good morning, Master!" [Leilana] "Good morning to you to , Leilana." [Astra] "Did you have a good night sleep, Master?" [Leilana] "Yes. I did. You might have been very lonely and you were all alone a night with no one to talk to." [Astra] "No, master, I didn''t feel lonely. It was really nice to see your sleeping self. I was so captivated into it that I didn''t even feel the night passing as it felt like it had only been few minutes since you went to sleep." [Leilana] "Oh really. Don''t worry soon you''ll be in the arms of this one who captivated you to such degree that you couldn''t feel the time pass by." [Astra] Hearing this Leilana blushed and said. "Ok then, I''ll be waiting for that day to come." [Leilana] While both Astra and Leilana were talking with each other, Astra''s stomach growled. Then he asked if there were any animals or beasts nearby that could be hunted by him and he could quench his hunger. "Leilana, can you search the surrounding if there are any beasts or animals that I can hunt down for breakfast." [Astra] "Ok master, wait a moment. ...¡­ Master, I found rabbits around the 50m radius with our current location being the center of it. With master''s current cultivation and body strength, it''ll be a piece of cake for master." [Leilana] Hearing this Astra immediately rushed out of the house and went on the hunt for rabbits.After hunting around for half and hour, Astra had caught 2 rabbis and had also collected some wood to make a fireplace and cook the meat. After breakfast, Astra went for a bath in the crystal clear river. There while he was bathing he started teasing Leilana while showing his penis to her and saying how this little thing of his will be the to take her first and show her the bliss of pleasure. After all the teasing during the bath Astra came out of the River, got dressed and sat down to cultivate. During cultivation he could feel the spiritual Qi layers that were covering his Dantian trying to merge with the core, it was the premonition of breaking through. After trying for a breakthrough which he still couldn''t reach even after cultivation till noon he left it and now was roaming in the jungle to find the exit that leads to the human settlement. While he was searching for the route to exit, he suddenly Leilana calling him which startled him. "Master, someone is coming this was or more likely a woman is walking in our direction." [Leilana] Hearing this Astra was really happy and excited for encountering the first human after his transmigration and to top it all that person to be a woman who could potentially be his. After that he rushed towards her direction. After running possibly for an hour or two he finally saw someone. The person whom he saw was a woman, as said by Leilana, who was wearing a crimson red dress. She had snow white skin which were smooth, she had a very beautiful face, had curves in the right places, her bottom were firm and peaked toward the sky as if looking at the heaven, while her breasts were so big that any man would do anything to just get to touch those bosoms, as if the heavens had spent years perfecting her. ========================================================================================== Seeing someone coming out from deep within the jungle, the woman took a defensive stance and approached the person coming from within the jungle cautiously. After the person came in her view, she started observing the man from top to bottom. The man seemed to be around 15 years, with a masculine body, there seemed to be quite dense and pure Qi surrounding his body, and on top of it all there was a manly charisma on his face. On looking more closely the man seemed to have been cultivating his body along with his Qi and not just any beginner Body cultivator but someone who has already reached the peak of the ?Body Refining Realm? and on the brink of breakthrough. When the woman saw this she was really surprised, she couldn''t believe that such a young man could be a heaven gifted genius with the talent for cultivation in both Qi and Body at the same time.After deciphering this from his characteristics, she had an urge to invite him in her sect with the thought that it would benefit both her sect and her. "Umm.. Excuse me. May I know who you might me? Where have you come from? And why are you coming from deep within this Jungle." [Woman] Hearing this Astra was quite happy seeing that the woman showed advancement in bringing up the conversation. "I''m Astra. You could say that I have come from a very far place. While I was on my journey to enroll intosect I got lost and have been staying in this forest trying to find my way out until I met you. It truly must be heavens doing for me meeting you here. May I know what this fine lady''s name is?" [Astra] "Oh.. Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Nanea. I''m a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. If you want then I could help you out and take you to the city." [Nanea] "Of course. It would be my honor to be led by such a beautiful lady. Please lead the way." [Astra] 5 Reaching The City Saying this much the woman, Nanea, led the way. But throughout the way there was an awkward silence. So, in order to break up the silence Astra thought of starting the conversation. "Umm¡­ Nanea you just said you were from the Heavenly Sword Sect, could you tell me more about this sect of yours." [Astra] "Heavenly Sword Sect has been standing on this continent for thousands of years. One could say that it has existed since the beginning of this world. And since then it has been standing among the top sects, because of this a lot of people come from all around the continent to join this sect. Like all other sects out there the disciples of Heavenly Sword Sect are also categorized as Outer Sect Disciple, Inner Sect Disciple and Core Disciple. The people who are admitted in the sect naturally become the part of Outer Sect Disciple but there is a strict rule for the selection of disciples, and that is they should all be the under the age of 16 and at the same time possess the cultivation of Middle stage of ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm?. In short, you could say that they should at the least have ?Dark Blue? level of talent. But outer sect disciples are not much valued and are provided very few resources to cultivate. And are made to carry out manual labor works along with cultivating if the daily quota of work is not completed then the punishment of no food is given to that particular disciple. After they have become the part of the Outer sect you can advance to the Inner sect if you reach the minimum cultivation of Middle stage of ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? and you will be providedwith resources for better improvement of your cultivation base, the resources are more that those given to outer sect disciples but still they are limited. The advantage is that they are free from doing manual labor. Next are the Core Disciple, they are given the most attention, be it regarding cultivation resources or guidance form the elders or the sect Leader, they are provided with everything. One could say that they are the Elite of the Elites in the sect. Looking at your level it is clear that you have quite high level of talent perhaps ?Purple? so, you don''t have to worry about being rejected. And if you work hard on cultivation then you could reach ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? within the next 3 months. (TL: this duration is for the average ?Purple? level talent disciples. But our MC has ?Gold? level talent.)" [Nanea] Hearing this a smile appeared on Astra''s face while Leilana was laughing holding her stomach. They knew that Nanea was the truth but it was not entirely true and Astra''s Talent was among the top and he would have already reached ?True Spirit Realm? in the time that Nanea estimated. But still Astra didn''t say anything. And walked behind her closely. After walking through the Forest for around half an hour, they finally exited the forest. After exiting the forest, Astra could see a long pathway that leads to some place surrounded be huge walls. "Nanea¡­ What is behind those walls?" [Astra] "Oh.. behind those walls is the city. It there so that the city is protected it from Savage Beasts." [Nanea] Astra, in seeing the wall made for the protection of the city, appreciated the leader of the city for showing his affection towards the city and its residents by protecting them from threats like Savage beasts. They walked through the pathway for around half an hour till they reached the gates of the city. There were two men guarding the city gate. "Welcome back, Miss Nanea!" [Guard 1] ...node¡­.. "Um.. This person here is a friend of mine whom I found lost in the forest. He was on a journey to get enrolled in a prestigious sect. so, I brought him here to show him around the city as well as the sect." [Nanea] Hearing this the guardstook a look at Astra and then opened the gate that led into the city. After walking through the gate Astra was quite stunned by the beauty of the city. The houses and buildings were similar to those found in Edo Period. The streets were well decorated and the market was busy as hell. The moment they walked into the city Astra was looking around the city like a curious person brought in an entirely different world where everything around him is new and a first experience. Seeing Astra''s such expression, Nanea asked. "Is it your first time in a city." [Nanea] "Yes as well as No¡­ I''ve seen small cities but I''ve never seen such a city that I came across during my journey." [Astra] Astra said it with shining eyes. Nanea was surprised and happy seeing Astra''s childish expression and behavior. The people in the market seemed to buying and selling goods with money that seemed like copper, silver and gold. While looking around in the market, Astra could some what guess that 1 copper was similar to 100 Yen and 100 copper made 1 silver and 100 silver made 1 gold. After roaming around the market for sometime the duo finally decided to book a lodging as it had taken them the entire day to reach the city and roam around the market and the sun had set. So, they walked around searching for an Inn. After searching for sometime they found an Inn with name Silver Wings which was decent that the other ones they had seen so far. They went in and booked two rooms, but since Astra didn''t have any money on him Nanea had to pay for his lodging and this really made him feel disappointed in himself ''So much for the first impression towards the first woman I just met.'' As soon as the booking was done, both Astra and Nanea had their dinner and went towards their room. 6 Heavenly Sword Sec As soon as Astra entered the room, he sat down to cultivate for some time before going to sleep, as he hadn''t cultivated for the entire day until now. He cultivated till midnight before going to sleep. But the Hours of cultivation wasn''t in vain, during this time Astra was successful in merging the layers of Spiritual Qi and form a core and successfully reaching ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm?. This made him one step closer to his goal, to get strong and to reach ?True Spirit Realm? to meet Leilana in his consciousness and be with her. Feeling satisfied with his progress, he stopped cultivating and slept, after greeting ''Good Night'' Leilana. The next day, early in the morning Astra woke up before anyone else and exchanged greetings with Leilana. Seeing there was still some time before others woke up, Astra sat down to stabilize and consolidate his cultivation. One and a half hour later, there was a knock at the door. Astra stopped cultivating and gave permission to enter into the room. It was none other than Nanea. Immediately after she entered the room Nanea was Quite shocked to see that the young man, Astra, in front of her had a breakthrough to ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? and not only that the Qi surrounding him was stable and solid which felt like the person had been in this realm for quite some time now. After some time she finally spoke. "Congratulations!! You achieved breakthrough to ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm?. Only yesterday you were ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm? but today you are already in another realm. It seems you really live up to your talent level." [Nanea] "Umm¡­ Thank you. Yesterday I was on the edge of achieving breakthrough, so immediately after entering the room yesterday, I sat down to cultivate. It was only at around midnight did I breakthrough to ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm?. Since you have come, let''s go get something to eat then we''ll head to Heavenly Sword Sect. Are you fine with it?" [Astra] "Yeah, sure. Let''s go with that." [Nanea] After that both Astra and Nanea left the room and walked around the street to find a restaurant where they could get good food to eat. After walking along the streets, Nanea took Astra to a restaurant which look exquisite from the outside and some interior decorations could also be seen from the outside, Nanea took Astra in the restaurant. According to her, its cuisines were the best in the city. After the food the duo left the restaurant with a satisfied expression on their face. Then, Nanea led Astra to Heavenly Sword Sect. It took them around half an hour to reach there from the restaurant. The entry gate of Heavenly Sword Sect was huge in size and was being guarded by 2 guards. On seeing Nanea both the guards bowed to her and opened the gate for her while she simply nodded at their gesture and called Astra to follow her. Immediately after walking through the gate, the duo were greeted by a huge castle like building which was built in Pagoda like appearance and there were dragon sculptures on the corner edge roofs of every floor. There were many more sculptures throughout the ground of Heavenly Sword Sect which were of a person wielding a sword. Just a look at the statue gave one a feeling of looking at a Supreme being. The land that the Heavenly Sword Sect covered was similar to the size of small city back in Astra''s world. Seeing this Astra was quite surprised. He also saw many people walking around the grounds of the sect, they all wore Silver White colored dress with an imprint of a sword on the back of their dress. Looking at Astra, Nanea was really happy to see his expressions while Astra was looking at the Heavenly Sword Sect and thought that he would join the sect if he was pushed a little more. So, she started guiding Astra around the sect while telling him about all the good things of the sect. First, Nanea showed around the Outer Sect to Astra, taking him to the dorms then the different facilities of the Outer sect. Then, she took him to show him around the inner sect, but unfortunately she couldn''t show him the area where Core Disciples lived or taught as that was out of her limit of authority. So later she took him to the library and the Elder Hall so that Nanea could ask an Elder to admit him in the sect. At the Elder Hall, Nanea asked a guard to relay a message to the Head Elder that she had brought with her someone to join the sect. Later an old man came out of the Elder Hall. Seeing him come out, Nanea bowed to the old man, so Astra also bowed. Seeing them bow to him, the old man nodded. The old man was none other than The Head Elder. He had shiny white hair and beard but had a masculine and healthy body full of vigor which was on par with someone who would be in his late 40s. After that the old man started observing the young man besides Nanea. To him the young man seemed to have come from a very backward part of the continent, but still had a appearance of a handsome man. Then, the old man began accessing the young man''s cultivation, he was too shocked to see such a young man probably 14 already at ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm?. He''d never seen such a genius. He truly was a rare talent probably 1 in a million or even 1 in 10 million. He couldn''t let such rare talent slip from his hand. If they groomed him properly then he could be the one to lead the sect to the top leaving all other sects and cultivators behind. He would be the pride of the sect. "Young man, what''s your name?" [Head Elder] "My name is Astra Takeshi, Head Elder." [Astra(said with cupping his hand.)] The elder nodded. "Would you like to join our Heavenly Sword Sect? I can promise you great resources to advance in your cultivation without any obstacles, as well as I could be your master." [Head Elder] Hearing this Nanea was shocked and envious at the same time. This was a rare thing to happen, for the Head Elder to take in a disciple, it was the greatest honor. "I would like to join the sect. And really thankful and honored to be the Disciple of Master." [Astra] Hearing his polite tone and the way of addressing the elder felt satisfied. "Good. And since you are already at ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? at your age so you have a very promising bright future. You don''t have to go through being Outer Sect Disciple and can directly become Inner Sect Disciple. However, remember if you show unsatisfying results like slacking off during cultivation or learning, then you will be immediately expelled from under my tutelage and kicked out of the sect" [Head Elder] 7 Looking Over Astra Astra immediately agreed to all the terms of the Head Elder. The Head Elder was satisfied with the courage and confidence showed by this young man. It is to know that most would cower or hesitate before replying to the terms the elder had brought up, but a young man who was merely 14 had showed the courage to reply instantly without cowering. "Since you are only 14 and still don''t reach the age requirement to recruit new members in the sect, but I''ll give it an exception. Tomorrow early in the morning head to the Contribution Hall to receive your Inner sect clothes and token. Disciple you may now go back and either cultivate or rest, I have some matters to talk to Nanea about." [Head Elder] After being told to go back Astra looked at Nanea which was responded by a nod by her and then Astra walked back. Seeing that Astra had left, Head Elder called Nanea to enter the Elder Hall with him as he had to something to talk with Nanea about. With this response of the Head Elder, Nanea thought ''Perhaps he is calling me to reward me for bringing a rare talent in the sect.'' Then, Nanea followed behind the Head Elder, and walked with him to his study. When inside the study, Head Elder sat on his seat and began to speak. "About the Young Man called Astra, can you tell me more about him. How and where you met him? What is his personality like? And what is your opinion about him?" [Head Elder] The head Elder showered questions after questions at Nanea but not even a frown could be seen on her face as she slowly started answering all of his questions. "I don''t know much about Astra since yesterday only did meet him. I met him when I went to the Beast forest (TL: The forest where Astra was transmigrated and both Astra and Nanea met is known as Beast Forest.). He came from deep within the forest. I was really doubtful of him at the beginning thinking that he might be someone related to the bandits but after our short introduction with each other I came to know that he was someone from a very far away remote place. He was on his journey to find a sect to join in when he got lost, since then he had been staying in that forest and surviving all on his own. Even if I had any doubt against him, the aura that emitted from his body made me feel really comfortable, I tried to be on guard but my guts told me a person with such aura can never be of a bandit. After all this I checked his cultivation and I was too shocked to even think, seeing someone so young to already be at ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm? made my mind go blank. I even asked his real age to be sure of it. Then, I came with the idea to recruit him I our Heavenly Sword Sect as he was still searching for a sect. At the end it was a win-win situation for both of us. Our sect got a rare talent, while Astra got in one of the top sects. And what happened after that, you know it all, Head Elder!" [Nanea] Listening to this the Head Elder finally understood everything. He then passed a token to Nanea. "Ok! I now understand everything. Here take this tomorrow morning you can go to the Contribution Hall to receive your rewards for helping the sect achieve a rare talent." [Head Elder] Hearing this Nanea was delighted and about to jump in joy but controlled herself as she was in front of an important and well respected person, but she showed her delight by immediately bowing to the Elder. "Now as That''s dealt with. The most important matter at hand, is to look after Astra. He may be a rare talent but someone needs to monitor and look after him as he is still young and a bright future ahead of him. But if others come to know of this they might all pester him in his cultivation and because of their actions he might be forced to do something not warranted which may lead for his expulsion from the sect. So, the main reason I called you here is to take on this task. You don''t have to worry about anything about going on missions as this will be your mission." [Head Elder] Nanea was surprised at being suddenly being given a mission and that mission to be to look after Astra. She hesitated of a bit the aske the Elder. "Elder, it is rude of me to ask this but may I know the reason for me to be looking after Astra? And why me of all the people?" [Nanea] "It is so that if he does anything that is in anyway harmful for the sect of the common populace, then you''ll have to immediately report it to me. But still, you have to submit daily report to me about him, what he did the entire day? How''s his cultivation progress going on? Or if there is any hindrance in his study? As for why I chose you? It''s quite simple, since you are the closest to him and he seems to feel more comfortable around you." [Head Elder] Listening to elder''s reasoning Nanea finally understood''Astra might have been selected as an inner sect disciple but there is still some suspiciousness about him as how can he still progress in his cultivation in such a heaven defying speed since he''d never had a master to teach him before.'' After weighing all the possibilities, Nanea accepted the task. The Head Elder nodded at her response. "Now you may go, tomorrow bring Astra to the Contribution hall with you to collect his Disciple dress and token and your rewards. And I''ll arrange 2 dorms next to each other for you and Astra to be as close as possible so, that you can carry out your task with much ease." [Head Elder] After all was said and done Nanea left the Elders Hall and went back to the inn to meet up with Astra. ================================================================ AUTHOR''S NOTE: I could only complete this chapter when I got a suggestions from one of you to progress this story in this way. So, I really Thank You from the deepest bottom of my heart. I really mean it. Shout-out to "WebCreature" for the suggestion. 8 Preparation Before Heading to The Sec Meanwhile, Astra had reached the inn during the time Nanea and the Head Elder were talking about something, and sat down to cultivate as he had nothing else to do. It hadn''t been too long since he returned back to the inn and sat down to cultivate when someone knocked on the door. Astra thought ''Who could be at the door? Perhaps could it be Nanea? It hasn''t been that long since I left, have they already completed what they had to do?'' Then he stood up and went to the door, it really was Nanea at the door. Then she asked "Can I come in?" to which Astra nodded to come. "Thank you!" [Nanea] "Um¡­ If I may ask, what did the Head Elder want to talk with you? I really wanted to go tour around the city with you as I''ve just arrived here and new to this city." "The Head Elder asked me to look after you as you are new to this city and have recently joined the sect so you might not have any idea about the rules of the sect. so, from now on I''ll be with you. And to make things easier our dorms will be next to each other in the Inner sect dorms area. So, if you haveany problem or need my help in anything the tell me anytime you want. But now I am free so, let''s go around the market to tour and do some shopping. I can see that you don''t have any spare change of clothes on you and you can''t possibly spend your entire in that same cloth, can you? And since you don''t have any cash on you either so, I''ll buy it for you. Later you can pay me back all the money you owe me. How ''bout it?" [Nanea] "I think that sounds great, that way I can at least have someone whom I am close to and solve my queries. And gain some proper dress to put on, and later I can pay you back all the money that I owe you through completing missions. Let''s not waste any more time waiting here and go to the market. I want to see everything in this city as it''s my first time in a city this big." [Astra] Seeing this excitement in Astra Nanea couldn''t help but chuckle at the behavior of Astra as if she was seeing a child''s excitement to visit the outer world and see all those things that he hadn''t seen before. They both walked out of the inn and went towards the market. On their way towards the market, Astra walked in almost all the shops that he came by to see all the things that the shops had for the selling. seeing this actions of his, Nanea felt quite awkward. But still bared with it as it was his first time here. While Astra was going through all the shops, Astra stumbled upon a Alchemist''s Store which was crowded with people but only small pills were in the store, about which he wasn''t so sure so he turned to Nanea to ask about it. "Nanea! What is so special about this store? All I can see are small pills and some bottles filled with liquid. Why are all the people so crowded in this store?" [Astra] Hearing this query of his Nanea replies in a shockingly loud voice. "WHAT!!! YOU DON''T KNOW WHAT THOSE PILLS AND THE LIQUID IN THOSE BOTTLES ARE? WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM TO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE? FORGET THAT, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN CULTIVATING AND REACHING THESE HEIGHTS WITHOUT EVEN USING THOSE????" [Nanea] Hearing her loud remark Astra was quite confused. ''Are those small pills and liquids really that great? What are those in the first place?'' Not understanding those pills and liquids were, Astra turned to Leilana to ask what those things were. "Leilana, do you know what those things are? I don''t understand why everyone in making so much of a fuss about it." [Astra (in his mind)] "Master, those are no ordinary pills and liquid that you think them to be. They are very essentials for cultivators to cultivate. Some help in restoring depleted QI, while some help in healing injuries, while some help in breaking through to the next realm. The pills are simply called pills with their effect in their name while those liquids are called elixirs. Master came from a different world and these things didn''t exist there so it is no wonder that master doesn''t know anything about it." [Leilana] Hearing this from Leilana Astra finally understood about the importance of those pills and Liquids (elixirs). "If master wants to learn to concoct those kinds of pills and elixirs, I can help master but master has to be in presence of the books or materials containing about concocting pills and elixirs for me to compile all those materials and form a flawless book about pill concoction and learn according to the information given in that book." [Leilana] This part of the information that Leilana gave Astra made Astra''s eye shine. ''If I can Concoct these pills and elixirs then I can make a fortune and live a life that I never could in my past life.'' "Thank you, Leilana!!" [Astra] Then his focus returned back out of his consciousness and looked at Nanea, who was looking at him with a shocked expression. After some time she returned to her previous calm self and explained about it in the same manner as Leilana did. After this ordeal, the both finally went to the clothes store and both bought some clothes for themselves, but the bill was paid by Nanea. Seeing a lady pay for a man like him (technically a teenager but still a male) the people around the duo were looking at Astra in a strange manner. With this he made himself more determined, ''I will definitely learn to be an alchemist and never disgrace myself in this manner ever again.'' After shopping they both went back to a restaurant for dinner and then they went to the inn as it took them the entire day toroam around the market and do some shopping. At the inn, in his room Astra tried out his clothes and was really satisfied with them, then he changed back to his old clothes ''I should wear one of these clothes tomorrow when I go to the sect tomorrow to get my Inner Sect Disciple clothes and token.'', then he sat down to cultivate, he cultivated till midnight, further solidifying his current cultivation and refining his Qi again and again which made his QI so dense that his Qi could all alone suffocate any cultivator who was in the same cultivation realm as his. ================================================================ AUTHOR''S NOTE: Shout-out to "WebCreature" for the suggestion. More chapters are still to come. All thanks to WebCreature. 9 Meeting of the Elders After Nanea left the Elder hall, the Head Elder called for a meeting between all the elders of the sect. He asked his attendant to send a notice to all the elders to gather in the conference room in the elder hall, where all the meetings between the elders is conducted, and he also said to the attendant to relay that the meeting was obligatory, if the elder didn''t come to the meeting then a severe punishment would be given to that particular elder.. After sending the attendant to notify the elders of the meeting, Head Elder went to the conference room and where he waited for the other elders to come. Soon after other elders began entering the conference room. They all were surprised to see that head elder had been waiting for them to come and all elders thought of the same thing ''What reason could it be for the Head Elder to be the one to wait for us elders? Could it have something to do regarding the sect?'' but soon after bowed to greet him. "Greetings to the Elder Zheng!!!" [All the Elders] (T/L: The head elder''s name is Zheng ) All the elders have been wearing different colored robes but all the robes had one thing in common, they all had a special kind of seal on their back similar to the seal present on the Head Elder''s robe but they were still less domineering then his. And not only that, there was another seal on their chest, which symbolized the factions they belonged to. The head elder began. "I thank you all for attending this meeting, today I gathered you all here to talk about a rare genius, who could be our sects pride and the one to take our sect to the top of the world. Today few hours ago, I accepted him in the sect. while he is only 14, not even reaching the mark to attend the outer sect, but is already at ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? on par with Inner Sect Disciples. If it isn''t rare talent then what is it." [Elder Zheng] Hearing elder Zheng talk all the elders were shocked. They all had a sudden urge to meet this talented genius and if possible take him under their own tutelage as personal disciple. But it didn''t dwell anymore on their mind on the next remark of elder Zheng. "That young man''s name is Astra Takeshi. Meeting a talented person like him, I could leave him to waste so I immediately took him under my tutelage. Tomorrow he''ll be visiting the contribution hall to collect his inner sect disciple robe and his disciple token. But that''s not the main reason why I called you all here. He is too young to walk around the sect as everyone will try to pick up a fight with him and if not he might get full of himself and get in trouble other disciples. So, I called you all here to help me nurture him properly to be the pride of the sect. But that''s the case when he''s in the sect, if he is on missions to other cities then there might be a spill mud on the name of our sect, while Astra could lose his life, because of his arrogance." [Elder Zheng] All the elders were in deep thoughts after the Head elders remark about the young man. There had been many cases like the mentioned by elder Zheng, so it wasn''t new to them but if it happened to their sect then their names would be sullied as the elders of the Heavenly Sword Sect couldn''t even nurture a disciple properly and the worst case the sect would lose its value. Then, an elder spoke up. He was an elder of martial arts faction. "Then, if I may ask why did head elder Zheng decide to immediately accept him as the inner sect disciple. Wouldn''t it have been better to let him go through the tests of selecting of outer sect disciples and making him stay in the outer sect to slowly but steadily building up his character?!" [Martial Arts Faction''s Elder] "Who said he wouldn''t have to go through the tests? I immediately accepted him as the inner sect disciple to not miss out on the talented boy, if we did he could go to other sects that are higher than ours and would be selected there. But to not let his talent go to his head and make him arrogant, in 5 days'' time we''ll conduct series of tests for him, which will test him and bring out the best in him. I have a request to all of you to prepare a series of test on your respective expertise but only the basic knowledge on all of them, then we''ll all gather together on the assigned date and conduct the test and you all will be the judge of your respective topics and judge his results. If he passes on all your tests then he''ll be under allof our care and will learn under us but if he''s unable to pass then he''ll have no choice but to be an outer sect disciple as if he is kicked out of the sect then, he''ll be assets to another sect and our sect would later regret it. I am well aware that this test is the hardest of all the tests conducted till now in the sects entire history, but it is worth it, as we all are trying to nurture a genius, a sovereign. So, it''s all worth it. Now you all may leave to prepare for you''re the tests that you''ll all be conducting. And I''ll relay the message to the young man about the tests and that he''ll have to go through all the basic knowledge on all aspects available in the sect. Now, if you''ll excuse me." [Elder Zheng] Saying this elder Zheng left first to his study, following him the others also left the conference room and headed to their respective factions as they had to prepare a lot. Elder Zheng after reaching his study took out a special token and poured a surge of Qi in it, the token shone for a brief moment then he spoke about the test that Astra had to go through to be a full-fledged inner court disciple. ================================================================ At the inn, Nanea was in her room done with cultivating for the day and was about to sleep when her token. She took out her token and poured a strand of Qi in it. Later, she heard a voice from it saying about the test that Astra had to go through. After fully comprehending the message, she understood that it was sent by the Head Elder and had to relay it to Astra immediately. Shen then went to his room, and explained everything to him, about the tests he had to go through after the next 5 days. He wasn''t in the slightest worried about the tests as he had Leilana to help him with that, but he still had to prepare well if he wanted to pass and be the sovereign of the sovereigns, god of the gods. ================================================================ Support author on *******: https://*******.com/user/Dragon_Saint_God A/N: The idea for this chapter was also shared by WebCreature. So, SHOUT-OUT to @WebCreature, 10 Preparation for the tests Before the head elder and other elders left the conference hall, head elder turned towards Contribution Hall''s Elder. "Elder Peng, tomorrow two disciples will be coming to the contribution hall. One of them is none other than Astra, the young man we all just discussed about, accompanied an inner sect disciple named Nanea. Astra will be there to collect his sect disciple robe and token while the lady, Nanea, will be there to collect the reward that I allocated for her, oh and she is the one who brought him to our sect and the one looking after him. So, give her a fitting reward for bringing a rare genius to our sect. And give this token to the young man and tell him that can access the library and read the books on all the basic knowledge available in the sect''s library to prepare for the test, as this will be the most hardcore test that has ever been carried out in the sect to access the talent of the disciple." [Elder Zheng] ========================================================================================== The next soon came by, both Nanea and Astra first had breakfast then they both headed to the contribution hall Astra to collect his disciple robe and token while Nanea was going there to collect her rewards. After reaching the sect gates, both the dui immediately headed to the contribution hall. There they both met with an elder who was in-charge of distributing the rewards to the disciples who had done some contribution for the sect. Both Nanea and Astra greeted the elder on seeing him. "um¡­ For what reason have you both visited to the contribution hall?" [Contribution hall''s Elder] "Elder! My name is Nanea and I''m an inner sect disciple and this man here is Astra, yesterday he was accepted in the sect by the Head Elder. We''ve come here to collect his sect disciple robe and token, and the reward the Head Elder gave me." [Nanea] Hearing this the elder understood that they were the ones the head elder spoke of to him yesterday. Then he began accessing the young man besides the lady, on assessing him for some time that all the things that the elder had told them about him in yesterday''s meeting were all true. Then he told them to wait there for some time, he went in the hall and returned after a short while. He reached to them, then waved his hand and a robe and two tokens came out in thin air which landed on his hand, he had a surprise expression on his face but after that he finally understood that this must be the Interspatial ring that he had read about in his previous life. Then, he took the robe and tokens given by the elder. "Those are the robe and token for the sect disciple, as for the second token, it is to provide you access to the sect''s library where you have access to all the basic knowledge and can stay in there of as long as you want till to the end of preparation of the tests." [Elder Peng] After telling all this to Astra, elder Peng turned towards Nanea and spoke. "Ass for the reward provided by the Head Elder, here are 1000 contribution points. With this you have a total of 2900 contribution points." [Elder Peng] Hearing them talk about the something called contribution points which Astra didn''t understand anything about. "Sorry to interrupt, but what is this contribution points that you have been speaking about? And what is its use?" [Astra] On this question of Astra''s, Elder Peng turned towards him. "Contribution point is our sects exclusive currency. If you have sufficient contribution points then you can buy anything within the sect ranging from the currency used outside the sect to spirit stones, weapons, medicinal herbs, pills and elixirs. Anything that is helpful for cultivation. Even to enter the library for an extended period of time one needs to pay a certain amount of contribution point but it''s free to stay for brief moment.. But the token that you have to access library grants you free access to the library, but only for the time command specified by the Head Elder in the token. Though they have such importance but they are still really difficult to earn. Even if you complete 10-100 missions assigned by the sect you''ll hardly earn 10-20 contribution points, that is only if you complete middle to high rank missions which already have worst of the difficulty. One can get a lot of contribution points if one completes peak ranked missions, but they are the missions of the worst of the worst difficulty." [Elder Peng] Having his questioned answered by the elder in a calm detailed manner, Astra understood the use and importance of Contribution points. Then the elder told them they could go but he told Astra that it would be better sooner he started his preparation. Then both Nanea and Astra walked towards the library, as Nanea was guiding Astra to the library. Walking for about 10 minutes they both reached the library. There was no one at the gate of the library, but only a kind of device on the gate. On reaching the library, Nanea began to explain. "Our sects library has a magical device installed in it, which scans the student token and deducts the required amount of contribution points needed to access the library for the amount of time required. As for the token given by the elder to access the library, you just have to put the token in front of the glass like panel on the gate and the door to the library will open. As you might be thinking why go through all the trouble to secure the library, it is all in order to protect our sects exclusive cultivation manuals and martial arts to get leaked out of the sect. And now on the important mater, our sects library is nine storied as you can already see it from the outside. Each floor is divided into seven segment; Alchemy, Beast Taming, Martial Arts, Blacksmithing, Formation master, Demonic Tunist, Terpsichore. The first 3 floors contain basic knowledge on all those, then the next 3 floors contain books of middle tier knowledge, then there is the high tier knowledge containing books in the next 2 floors after that and the last floor contains peak tier books on all those aspects." [Nanea] After being fully explained about the layout of the library and where he could find the books of basic tier, he bade goodbye and entered the library. The moment he entered the library, he was greeted with large quantities of books on many shelves. According to his estimate, there were hundreds of thousands of books only on this floor and he had to read these many books not just ion this floor but 2 more floors. Even though he had Leilana, highest level upgraded Library of Heaven''s Path, but he still couldn''t help but panic as he still had to go through all those books in his consciousness where Leilana was. He then shook his head to clear all those thoughts and aske Leilana to start compiling all the books that he could see. "Leilana, can we begin compiling all these books and do remove all the flaws that you can find in them and form book as flawless as possible, we are really low on time. We both have to work to our bones for the next few days." [Astra] "Yes, master. Let''s begin right away."[Leilana] After that, Astra walked around each bookshelf and stood there for some time asLeilana compile all those books. They did the same thing on the entire floor and continued to the next floor, then the next. Then he stood there as Leilana compile a flawless book on all the aspects and began going through them one by one in his consciousness. 11 Day of the Tests Soon after 5 days passed by. During these 5 days of preparation besides eating and taking rest, Astra never left the library. The food was brought to him by Nanea as she was responsible for taking care of Astra, because of which Nanea and Astra grew closer. Nanea would stay with Astra in the library and help him with any problems or queries that troubled him. Spending those 5 days together made them become close. On the day of test, Nanea went to the library to get Astra and go to the site where the test would be done. The elder had sent her the information about where and when the test will begin. Nanea reaches the Library gate and enters the library. She sees Astra sitting at the end of the first floor of the library while he was going through a book. Nanea walks up to him. "Astra! It''s time. We should get going, we wouldn''t want to be late, do we?" [Nanea] Hearing himself being called, Astra looks at the person calling him and nodes at seeing Nanea was the one calling him. He stands up, places the book from where he took that book and follows behind Nanea. "Astra, how was your preparation. In the last 5 days you haven''t even left the library once except when you had to freshen up. I bet you will ace the tests that are to come in your way." [Nanea] "I wouldn''t be so sure of myself. I might have been keeping myself hold up in the for the last 5 days, but the elders are elders for a reason. If a mere 5 days of continuous preparation allowed anyone to pass in all the specialties of the elders then wouldn''t anyone be able to join the sect. I can only give my best and pray that everything goes well." [Astra] "You''re right. It''s so silly of me to ask such a mater to you. Only the future knows what''s in store for us." [Nanea] They walked for quite a long time before reaching a small arena in the edge of the sect. The elders had selected this place so that no one would disturb them and the test could progress without any hitch. After reaching the arena, the duo could see all the elders waiting for the duo to arrive on the arena. The duo greeted the elders and stood in front of the elders. "Good. I can see that you don''t feel nervous, if it were any other disciple they would have started trembling the very moment they saw all the elders together, but it seems it doesn''t faze you at all. I hope you have prepared well, all the elders here will test you on the field they excel in. I now announce that the test BEGINS!!!" [Head Elder Zheng] After the head elder completed his part of speech, an elder came in front of Astra and spoke. "I am the elder in charg of Martial arts Faction. You can call me Elder Cang. Your first test will be on your understanding of martial arts. I''ll be giving you a box filled with basic tier of martial arts technique. It may be weapon art, fist art, movement art, any, it will all depend on what martial art technique you choose. Then, you''ll be given 30 minutes to learn that technique till the stage of minor accomplishment. If you succeed in reaching this point you pass my test, but if you can''t you''ll fail. No then, let''s begin." [Elder of Martial Arts Faction, Elder Cang] Saying this much elder Cang pointed towards a box on a table. Seeing the elder point at the box, Astra understood that the techniques were in the box and he had to draw one from it. Astra walked up to the box and put his hand in the hole present in the box. Inside he could feel many scrolls and manuals, he searched around for some time then took out a manual. After he took out the manual, he read the name written on the cover of manual Raging Dragon Fist. He then took it to the elder to show him the technique he chose, and handed it to the elder. The elder was shocked to see the technique chosen by Astra. One could say that itis the toughest technique to master, mastering it to novice accomplishment was a great feat in itself. Seeing elder Cang''s shocked expression, head elder asked him what the mater was. On head elders statement, elder Canghanded him the technique manual, and he too was surprised. Both the elders exchanged glances and then head elder Zheng spoke. "Astra, if you''d like you can choose another technique to master. This technique that you have selected could be aid one of the most difficult technique in basic tier to master, it''s difficulty is almost on par with mid tier techniques. Only because of being simple fist art it is ranked in basic tier if not it would have been placed in peak mid tier category." [Elder Zheng] Hearing elder Zheng''s remark, Astra was surprised of learning of a basic tier technique being on par with mid tier technique. "Elder Zheng, I appreciate the offer but I''d like to cultivate this technique. There seems to be some kind of familiar connection between this technique and me, so I would like to cultivate this technique." [Astra] Seeing Astra confident and resolute, the elder nodded then gave him the technique manual. Astra then started gong through the book while Leilana was compiling the book ang fixing the flaws in the technique through the reference of the books collected while they were in the sect library. After around 10 minutes of going through the manual, Astra finally began practicing the technique according to the compiled book in his consciousness. He executed the fist art according to the compiled book for 4 to 5 times, adjusted his breathing, Qi circulation, blood flow and body movement as written in the compiled book. After doing all this, from the 6th try onwards he finally showed progress in the fist art. He kept on continuing the fist art again and again, each try showed some progress. After I don''t know how many tries perhaps 30-35, when he executed the Raging Dragon Fist, the air around the arena started trembling, and when Astra''s fist preyed forward there was a heaven trembling roar that could be heard along with which the ground shook threatening to rip the heaven and earth apart. This scene to the elders seemed like a Dragon''s raged roar. This entire happening made the elders minds to go completely blank. What shocked them the most was that, the result that Elder Cang wanted was surpassed, Astra didn''t only reach minor accomplishment in Raging Dragon Fist but he reached major accomplishment in it. Then, elder Cang spoke. "Congratulations! Astra, you have passed my test my test by reaching major accomplishment in Raging Dragon Fist." [Elder Cang] Listening to Elder Cang''s word, Astra was dumbfounded. He thought ''is it really this easy to master the hardest Basic tier technique within 30 minutes''. Then, he finally remembered that it wasn''t this easy to master the technique, he could only do it because he had a cheat ability of Instant Mastery of any skills he learned. If he''d take some time to practice this technique, then he would reach the peak consummation accomplishment in this technique without any problem. 12 Alchemy Tests Editor: c_pantoja619 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the Martial Arts test was over Elder Cang went back to join the other elders. Among all the Elders another elder from among the group of Elders went to the testing arena. He was an old man wearing a robe that signifies that he was a part of the Alchemists. Everyone knew this old man to be Elder Chen. "It''s really remarkable that you passed the martial arts test. But don''t let it get to your head cause there''s more tests to go through. And now you have to pass my Alchemy Test. Are you ready for the test?" [Elder Chen] "Umm.." [Astra] Nodding at elder Chen''s word, Astra readied himself for the next test. Seeing Astra ready for the test, Elder Chen began explaining about the test that he would be conducting. "Ok then, the test that you''ll have to go through is that you''ll have to go through two kinds of tests. First will be writing test, then the concoction test. In the first test, there are two parts. In the first part you''ll be given a set of 20 questions and you''ll have to answer them and the se, if you get over 85% of the answers correct then you pass if not you''ll fail, then in the second part you''ll be given some herbs, you''ll have to write the herbs name, their characteristics, what are they used for and can be used in. And as for the second test, you''ll be given a random basic tier concoction formula and you''ll have to concoct the pill or elixir according to the formula, if successfully concoct the pill you''ll pass that test both the test and as well as the entire alchemy test. Do you understand that?" [Elder Chen] "Yes, I understand that elder. But elder I do have a small problem. I can go well with the writing test but as for the concoction test, can''t anything else be done instead of it, there has to be another kind of test, as I don''t have any clue about concoction nor have I ever seen anyone." [Astra] "Umm.. that is a problem. Though there is another method to pass the test but it''s the most difficult test, even for a veteran alchemist. Outside the sect in the Alchemy Guild such test is carried out by gathering 10 alchemist elders of the Alchemy guild against one candidate. And the candidate has to debate against them on alchemy and have to correctly answer every answer that is 10 questions each in total, but if you can''t answer even one then you fail, along with which the candidate is severely punished. But since we are conducting this test for only your disciple selection I''ll make an exception. You''ll have to answer every single one of my questions. Though I''ll be asking 10 questions." [Elder Chen] "If it''s that then I''m totally fine with it." [Astra] Hearing Astra say this Elder Chen began his test. He first proceeded to the writing tests. He handed Astra a stack of papers which had set of questions on them and gaps left for the answer. Astra took the stack of sheets and started answering eachand every one of the questions one by one. He first went with the easiest ones which he knew the answers of while for the rest of the difficult questions he took the help of Leilana and the books on Alchemy compile by her when they were in the Sect Library. After 1 hour, Astra handed in the paper to Elder Chen then Elder Chen proceeded with the second part of the test where he flicked his wrist and dozens of medicinal herbs and plants appeared on the table wrapped in cloth in front of Astra, and handed Astra a Paper to write the names, characteristics and the uses of the herbs on them. All the herbs that were place in front of him were all mentioned in the basic tier books that Astra had gone through in the Sects Library, so it was quite easy for him to name them out, but still to confirm whether all those names were correct or not he took the help of Leilana confirmed them all along with their characteristics and uses. Some of the characteristics and uses were so potent and invaluably important that they weren''t even mentioned in the books so he wrote them down as it was obvious that the information given by Leilana ( The Library of Heaven''s Path) were all true in all sense. While Astra was going through the second part of the written test, elder Chen was checking his papers from the first part of the written test. On every questions'' answers he checked he was shocked more and more. All the answers to the questions were much detailed but explained in the simplest manner so that even a kid would understand. It is to know that all the questions were on Alchemy so if even a kid could understand it then it was to prove that the kid could understand alchemy related to the questions without any flaw just with a small guidance. And not only that, all the answers were flawless. When he finished checking the papers and was counting the score that Astra had Scored, he couldn''t believe his eyes. It was a full 100% score. It is to know that all the questions that were in the paperwere similar to the questions asked in the Basic Tier Alchemist selection test and of the most difficult category at that, even an intermediate tier Alchemist couldn''t answer all the questions correctly forget 100% it would be a great feat even if they had just scored 75%. Seeing this shocked expression on Elder Chen''s face Elder Zheng went to him. "What''s the matter, Elder Chen? Is everything alright?" [Elder Zheng] "oh¡­ ah.. yes everything is alright. It''s just that I was too shocked with the score scored by Astra in the first part of the written test. Look at it, even you won''t believe it." [Elder Chen] Hearing elder Chen''s words elder Zheng was now really curious to know what Astra had scored. So, he took the paper and looked at the score, his eyes widened with shock when he saw those score and started laughing while saying "he''s Truly a Genius." On the other hand while this was going on with the elders, Astra had completed the second part of the written test and was heading towards Elder Chen and handed him the paper of the second part of the written test. Both Elder Chen and Elder Zheng checked his answers in the sequential order as the herbs were placed. At the end of this test, Astra yet again scored 100% score in the test. "What a remarkable talent in the Dao of Alchemy, you''ll surely are a genius alchemy. Now that we are done with the first part let''s begin the second part of the test." [Elder Chen] "Right now Astra what I am going to do is bring up a topic which is highly debated within our society of Alchemists. The question being what is the best way to successfully create a even more potent Rejuvenation pill that can provide better results than the current Rejuvenation pill which contains about 75% potency. Now know this you do not need to successfully find a formula to do so but, you are required to bring a theory that may bring better results whether right or wrong.[Elder Chen] Elder Chen brought this up because he thought there was no way someone as new as Astra to be able to provide better results than Alchemists who have studied in the field for dozens of years. After Astra was given the task he thought about it for a moment before he answered Elder Chen." Sir with the current formula it''s only able to provide a result of 75% potency is because of one small difference which makes a huge impact on the rejuvenation pill. You are just missing the fire-ice flower. If you were to add that to the formula it would be a guaranteed 100% potency for the Rejuvenation pill." [Astra] The Elder was shocked hearing how quick Astra answered the Elder. Then Elder Chen asked Astra:" What makes you so confident that it will be so effective because the Fire-Ice flower is not known to have many uses at all [Astra] Astra just smiled and then told Elder Chen to please check for it themselves if they questioned his answer. Elder Chen then got a Senior who did not believe a word Astra said so when he did everything according to the formula and then added the Fire-Ice flower his mouth dropped. Elder Chen seeing the Seniors reaction questioned home and then saw the Rejuvenation pill that was just made and he couldn''t believe his eyes. It was as Astra has said it did bring it up from the 75% potency to 100. This was huge there was no doubt this would shake the world, who knew how much this would even cost! While trying to maintain a calm demeanor but his voice said otherwise how excited the Elder was about this breakthrough. "You pass the test. You really are a genius among genius when it comes to Alchemy. I accept my loss. I still cannot believe that you have successfully created something that we were trying to solve for at least a generation! But when the tests are over whether you become the inner sect disciple or not it doesn''t matter to me, if you need anything, be it my guidance or knowledge, I''ll always be there to help you with it." [Elder Chen] 13 The Heavenly Roar And Beauty 1 Editor: c_pantoja619 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hearing Astra''s score in the Alchemy tests, all the elders present there were dumbfounded. The score that Astra had scored was in some examination in the guild outside the sect then this news would have stirred chaos in the entire city, perhaps even the entire headquarter would have stirred into chaos. But they were still really happy and excited at it as their sect would be getting a genius whom they could nurture. After all these emotions and feelings ran through the elders hearts, another elder came from among them, he was the blacksmith elder, Elder Jian. He was the next to walk to the arena. "Young man, Astra, I, Elder Jian, am the elder of the Blacksmith Hall of the sect. I''ll be in charge of conducting your blacksmiths test. Before we begin the test, I would like to clarify how the test would be conducted. The test is divided into two parts, first is that you have to appraise the materials, as it is to know that without decent materials, no blacksmith can forge any decent equipment, be it armor or weapons, then there is the forging test. For this test you''ll be provided with materials and you''ll have to forge either armor or weapons any of your liking. But remember that you''ll have to forge a Normal Intermediate tier Weapon or any equipment. Are you ready for the next test then?" [Elder Jian] "Yes, elder I''m ready for the test." [Astra] Astra replied almost immediately as he knew that he was doing all this to make things easier of him in the sect. Seeing Astra nod at this, the elder flicked his wrist and a metal material of some kind appeared in his hand. "With this the first part of the Blacksmith test begins. Here is the material that you have to appraise, you have to determine the constituents of the material." [Elder Jian] With that Astra went to the elder and received the material to appraise it and determine its characteristics. At first look the material looked like any other ordinary iron ingot but on further inspection one could see that there were some metals and other materials mixed in it. Astra understood that it was too difficult for him to appraise the material with the limited knowledge and no experience on blacksmithing, so he took Leilana''s help in appraising the material. He one by one wrote down it constituents. After writing all the constituents, hepassed the paper to the elder. Elder Jian looked at the answer and was quite surprised to see that all of the constituents of the material mentioned in the paper were correct, he was more shocked with his eye of discernment as he had just touched the material and stared at it for nothing more than 10 minutes and he wrote all the constituents correctly without missing a single one or an incorrect one. After some time Elder Jian calmed himself and said. "You pass the first test, now it''s time for the second test. In this test you''ll have to forge a weapon or an equipment of your liking. But remember that you''ll be give only an hour to complete this test. Now let''s begin with the second test." [Elder Jian] With this Elder Jian waved his hand and few guard came to the arena some carrying a table with the materials that could be used for forging and some came carrying a portable furnace and forging equipment. The guards put the furnace and the materials on the arena and left. After this Astra walked up to the furnace to check the furnace and the forging equipment in order to familiarize himself with them, all thanks to his Instant Mastery, then he walked to the table where the materials were placed and started examining them. There were all kinds of materials placed on the table, from metals to durable bones and fangs. While he was inspecting the materials, his attention fell on a certain item. This item was a claw bone, but not any ordinary claw bone but a dragons claw bone. He decided to use it as the core material for the weapon he would be forging. After deciding as the core material, he started pondering ''Which weapon should I forge? Should I forge a sword, a dagger or an armor?''. After some time of pondering Astra finally decided on to something ''Let''s forge a dagger. I really don''t have much time to forge any other weapon and among all of them a dagger seems most appropriate considering my experience and the time I have.''. deciding on to this Astra looked of something that would work as a durable material for the hilt, and found a heavy metal ingot and a thick leather among the materials. Seeing Astra pick the claw bone and a metal and leather, Elder Jian was shocked. As the claw bone was, according to him, the most worthless material among all the materials present there. He had only placed it among them so that it could be useful later in making something. "Astra! Are you really fine with choosing that claw bone? It is the most worthless material among all the materials present here. If you want you can choose another material. There are many more here that are better that that claw bone you''ve got there." [Elder Jian] Hearing Elder Jian''s word, Astra was quite bewildered. He thought ''Does the elder not know what kind the claw bone it is?''. After some time he spoke. "Elder Jian, this claw bone is no ordinary claw bone you think of it to be. You''ll know what it is once the forging is complete. Now without wasting any time let''s get started, shall we, Elder Jian?" [Astra] Now after this Elder Jian was more bewildered, he began accessing the claw bone again, but still couldn''t figure out what was the meaning behind Astra''s word. After some time of pondering on it, he calmed himself saying that ''I would know what kind of material it is after he completes the forging.'' Then he said "Let''s begin the second test the." [Elder Jian] With that Astra began his forging test. He started the furnace and increased the temperature of the furnace. After 3-5 minutes the furnace finally reached the required temperature. Then, Astra put the claw bone into the furnace to soften it so that he could begin shaping it into the shape of dagger. After the shaping was complete, Astra began melting the metal ingot and covered the both sides of the shaped bone to give it sharpness and strength to the main structure of the dagger. After all this was done, he began quenching the dagger. He quenched the dagger again and again. After quenching the dagger for around 10 times, he finally began working on the hilt of the dagger. He first molded the molten metal ingot into the hilt and attached it to the dagger then wrapped it to the hilt to mate its grip strong and increase the defense. When the forging process was nearing its end, he finally gave some final touches to the dagger and at the end of the forging, Astra added a drop of his blood on the dagger. As soon as the drop of his blood landed on the dagger, the dagger started to glow and along with the glow a heaven shattering roar was emitted from the dagger. The roar was so loud that, the entire area with the radius of thousands of miles of radius around the sect shook as if the land and the sky was struck with a huge earthquake because of the pressure emitted by a peerless cultivator which threatened to eliminate them if anyone tried to resist or disrespect the cultivator. Seeing this outcome with their own eyes, all the elders present were terrified as hell. After some time the elders calmed down. The head elder went to Astra and asked him as Astra was the only one unaffected by roar. "Astra, what just happened? Could you Explain?" [Elder Zheng] "Um.. Head Elder Zheng, that roar just now was the result of completing the forging of the weapon." [Astra] Now the elders were more curious to know what weapon had Astra forged to result such outcome. They all walked to the completed dagger and examined it. Elder Jian took the dagger in his hand and swung it around a few time, but couldn''t help be frown at it as it seemed nothing more than an ordinary dagger. "Astra, I don''t understand why you said that the outcome was because of this dagger, I don''t see anything other than an ordinary dagger in my hand." [Elder Jian] "Elder Jian might see it as an ordinary dagger because it''s my personal exclusive dagger. And other than in my hands no one can see its true worth." [Astra] Now the elders were more shocked. Elder Jian gave the dagger to Astra to look at the real appearance of the dagger Astra had forged. As soon as Astra took hold of the dagger, a sudden feeling of being in presence of a peerless cultivator covered them. The Elders couldn''t help but look around to find that cultivator was but the head elder immediately understood from where this presence was felt and asked all the elder to look towards Astra. They all were shocked to see the sudden change in Astra''s demeanor. They all couldn''t help but feel that Astra was some peerless cultivator but as soon as Astra put the dagger on the table the feeling that the elders were feeling was gone. Then elder Jian asked "Can you execute a strike with the dagger?" Nodding at Elder Jian''s request, Astra took the Dagger in his hand and made a strike in the air. Along with the strike, the loud roar was heard again followed by the same pressurized feeling. The single strike was so powerful that a single strike in the air tore the air and loud whistle could be heard and felt even tens of meter away form the strike. Seeing this the elders were dumbfounded. "Astra, what''s the name of this dagger of yours? And most importantly what was the material you used to make it so terrifying?"[Elder Jian] "I''ve named this Dagger Blacktalon. And the bone that I used as the core material was the reason why this outcome happened. The claw bone was from a dragon species. I don''t know whether it was a true dragon or not but it definitely is of a dragon species. And if not for the drop of blood that I added during forging it wouldn''t have this outcome." [Astra] Now all the elders were dumbfounded. The bone that they all had thought to be a worthless material turned out to be a priceless material in the end. ThenAstra asked. "Umm¡­ Elder, do I pass the test." [Astra] Regaining his composure, Elder Jian spoke. "Of course, you pass. A weapon who can recognize its master and produce such outcome can be nothing less than a Spirit tier weapon. And It seems that you dagger is an upgradeable Spirit Peak tier Weapon at that." [Elder Jian] With saying that much, Astra passed his Blacksmith Test. 14 The Heavenly Roar and Beauty 2 Editor: c_pantoja619 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the blacksmith test was over, Elder Jian went back to join the other elders and another elder from among the elders came to the arena. He was an old man who looked like he was in his late 40s but one could never guess the actual age of a cultivator as the person could have spent years or a century to reach the realm he currently could be at, only in some rare cases did one could find young cultivators with heaven-defying talent have reached such realm in cultivation while still at a very young age. The elder who now stepped on the arena was among the former group. He was wearing the robe worn by Beast Tamers. Astra greeted the elder. "I am Huang Ji, a Beast Tamer, and the elder at the Beast Tamer Hall. I''ll be responsible for conducting and judging your beast tamer test. Without wasting any time let''s get into it. You should know what us beast tamers field of excellency is? Your toady''s test would be conducted on that basis. You''ll have to tame a beast from the Beast Forest. Oh, and it''s the forest where you and Nanea met, from what I heard. You''ll have an entire day, that is, you have to tame a beast and bring it with you by this time tomorrow if you can''t then you''ll fail the test. And don''t worry since the Beast Forest is quite a dangerous place so I''ll send some guards and Nanea to accompany you but they be helping you any way in this test. If they do then you''ll immediately fail the test and there is no more reason left to continue the test from then as either way you''ll only be a outer sect disciple" [Elder Huang Ji] Understanding elder Huang Ji''s word Astra nodded and got ready for the test. He went to his dorms with Nanea to prepare for the test so that he could leave sooner as the forest was 30 minutes far on walking. So they had to rush it. He quickly went to the dorm and prepared everything, packed them in a bag and left for the forest. Seeing Astra leave, all the elders went to their respective halls to continue their duty as they had to wait till the next day to conduct their tests and after their tests were conducted then only would the result be announced. On the other hand Astra accompanied by Nanea and a couple of guards were heading to the forest. They had been rushing to the forest at full speed. The guards were quite a few cultivation realm higher than Astra so was Nanea but Astra didn''t have any issue keeping up with them, as the Qi in his body was the purest and the most dense and on top of it he even was a body cultivator so it wasn''t a big issue that he could keep up with them. After running at full speed for about 10 minutes, they finally reached the entrance of the forest. "Now, we''ve reached the Beast forest. Listen Astra, don''t venture too deep into the forest as you could encounter a beast with high cultivation realms and your life could be in danger. So, you should only search of the beast to tame in the outer part of the forest." [Nanea] Understanding Nanea''s concern, Astra nodded. He then entered the Forest with the others. The group searched around the forest so that Astra could tame a beast and pass the test, but to his bad luck, they couldn''t even a single beast. Now, they all had been searching the forest for a beast for 4 hours but they still couldn''t find a single one. With no luck in finding any beast, they decided to get near to the inner entrance of the Beast Forest. They all walked for and hour until they reached the entrance of the Inner part of the forest. The only treason they hadn''t rushed there was son that if they encountered any beast, Astra could try with taming it. After finally reaching the entrance of the inner forest, the group began looking around for beasts at the inner edge of the outer forest. After searching around for the next 3 hours, Astra heard something nearby. He looked around to know from where the sound was coming from. Looking around for a while, Astra and the group found a cave. They all cautiously walked to the entrance of the cave and peeked inside the cave. To their surprise, they saw a White Lion cub beast inside the cave. At first look it could be seen that the lion cub beast was very week, as if it hadn''t eaten anything for quite a few days, and as it was still a cub, it didn''t have enough strength to hunt for itself. They looked around the surrounding of the cave to see if its parents were anywhere near but couldn''t find anyone, so Astra decided. "I''ve decided, I am going to tame this beast." [Astra] Everyone of the people with him were surprised at his declaration, it was to know that everyone who tamed a beast, it was to boast their strength and increase their chances of survival in this world of cultivation, but here Astra was who declared that he would tame this weak looking beast. Hearing this, Nanea interjected. "Are you sure about that? You should know what is the reason why cultivators choose to tame a strong beast. And here you are going to tame a weak little beast." [Nanea] Astra then continued. "It''s not that I don''t know that, it that every beast has to go through breakthrough in their cultivation to become strong. It''s not like any beast could be strong from the moment they are born, if it did then what was the reason for the existence of such weak beasts." [Astra] With the words of Astra, Nanea became silent. What Astra said was all true, no ones burn as a peak being, they all have to work hard to reach the peak. After stating his words, Astra proceeded towards taming the beast cub. According to the books in the set''s library on beast taming, it was essential for the tamer to make the beast fawn over him/her if they want to tame a beast. The little beast looked weak and it was too skinny so it was clear that it hadn''t had anything for the past couple of days, so Astra gave it some fruits and a piece of meet that he had in his bag. At first it was quite cautious of the group, but when Astra took out things for it to eat, it lowered its guard and proceeded to eat the fruits and meat. After the beast had its fill, it went to Astra, the person who had given it the food for it to eat and saved him from dying, and rubbed its body on the body of Astra, as if telling ''Thank You!'' of the food he''d given him and expressing its gratitude. Astra was quite happy with the response he got from the little white lion beast. He smiled while looking at it and said. "You''re welcome!" [Astra] After that he played with the beast for some time, then spoke. "Do you want to come with me to explore the world together? And Enjoy life to the fullest, with nothing to worry about basic necessities of life." [Astra] The little white lion beast stared at Astra''s face for quite a while as an awkward silence spread in the cave. Then Nanea spoke. "You dumbass, who would be willing to follow you if you suddenly out of nowhere ask them to follow. And to top it all up, you''re asking a beast, a non-intelligent being to follow. Can it even comprehend you word?" [Nanea] Though Nanea was right at what she said. But Astra felt something else. "I know that no one would be willing to follow me if I suddenly state things like that, but this little fellow here seems different. I can feel it. I even have the feeling that it can understand each and every word that we''ve been speaking up until now." [Astra] Now this dumbfounded the people following Astra. ''How could he know that? And to even say that this small beast could understand each and every word we speak.''. this was the thought that was going through their brains. On the other hand, seemingly understanding the meaning behind Astra''s words, the beast walked towards Astra, who was looking at it with a heart warming smile, it nodded is head as if it was saying that it was willing to follow him wherever he went. With the White lion beast cub''s response, Astra was overjoyed. Following the method of forming contract between the tamer and the beast, Astra dropped a drop of blood in the little beast''s mouth. As soon as the drop of blood landed in the beast''s mouth, the beast widened it''s eyes. It was because, from the drop of blood the density and purity of Qi that it felt couldn''t be explained as it was unlike anything the beast had felt before. It now knew that it had made the right decision to be with him. After the contract was complete, the beast delightfully jumped onto Astra''s shoulder with delight and seeing this Astra with a slime on his face patted it''s head. The beast really liked it, it could be seen with the cute expression it had on its face. After that, Astra thought ''I can''t call it a little beast of white lion beast''s cub, so it''d be better to name it, but without knowing it''s gender, how can I name it?'' Seeing how silent Astra was, Nanea understood in what dilemma Astra was in. But before she could speak, Astra spoke to the beast. "umm¡­ little fella. I can''t call you that every time that when we communicate, but in order to name you I first need to know your gender? Can you tell me? Listen if you''re a male shake your head up and down but if aren''t the shake your head left and right. Do you understand?" [Astra] Since the contract was established, the little beast could understand what it''s master, Astra, was speaking about. Then Astra asked it if it was a male on which it shook it''s head telling it wasn''t a male but rather a female. Knowing this Astra contemplated for some time then spoke. "How do you like the name Pulchera, it means Beauty. And since you''re a girl I wish for you to become a real beauty when you grow up. Do you like?" [Astra] The beast wagged it''s tail and shook its head up and down as if saying that it really liked the name. "Ok, then from today onwards I will call you Pulchera." [Astra] Being given a name and being referred to as a beauty at the same time, the little beast ,Pulchera, was overjoyed and couldn''t help wagging her tail more and more and looking at Astra with cute little face. 15 The Test Ends Editor: c_pantoja619 ---------------- Since Astra''s and his group-mates reason for coming to the Beast Forest was now complete, and since it was already too late at night and considering the dangers lurking in the forest, the group immediately left the forest and reached the city where they would spend the night, and on the next day head back to the sect to officially stamp the test of Astra''s complete. After reaching the city, the group searched for an inn to stay and rest up well, as all the running and searching for a beast to tame in the beast forest while also keeping their guards up all the time was quite taxing on their mind. Everyone one in the group after finding their rooms to stay, immediately had something to eat and then went on to bed. No one bothered to even cultivate. ----- The night passed by very quickly. The next day, everyone got up early in the morning, tidied themselves up had breakfast and headed back to the sect. After walking for the time it takes of an incense stick to burn, they all reached the gate of the Heavenly Sword Sect. There the group were greeted by two guards, they were the same guards that Astra and Nanea had met when Astra first arrived at Heavenly Sword Sect. After they were greeted, Nanea told the guards to relay the message to the Head Elder Zheng and all the other elders, that they had returned. After Nanea told this to the guards, Astra and the group headed to the teat Arena where the tests were being conducted. Once Astra and the group arrived at the arena, they waited for about half an incense stick of time till all the elders together arrived at the arena. All the elders after arriving were greeted by the group. Then, Astra spoke "Elders, I have completed my test to tame a beast." [Astra] Hearing this all the elders had a similarly shocked expression on their faces. The elders didn''t let this feeling last for long and soon calmed themselves down. Then, Elder Jian went to Astra and asked "To testify your tests completion, could you let me see your tamed beast?" [Elder Jian] Elder JIan asked Astra for this so that he could determine if he had tamed a beast way below his cultivation realm or not? As it was necessary of the beast to at least be at ?Spirit Qi Foundation Establishment Realm? to qualify as a decent beast. And was also the requirement for Astra to pass the test. As soon as Elder Jian asked Astra to let him have a look at Pulchera, Astra''s tamed beast, Astra called. "Pulchera! Come here, Elder Jian wants to look at you, my companion." [Astra] As soon as Astra spoke those words, a white lion cub came running towards Astra from under the Arena seeming happy for being called by her master. Witnessing such a scene in front of them, all the elders were dumbfounded. One had to know that for a beast tamer to successfully form a contract to help its tamer but only in dire situations but other times the beast would be treated like ones ancestor was already difficult, but here they all were witnessing that the beast in front of them was as perfectly tamed beast which all the tamers out there spread around the continent took years to achieve. But here they all were seeing a young boy able to achieve that feat in about nothing less than a day. All the elders had this stiffing sensation in their chests as if the world was falling apart. And also from the looks of it the little white lion beast, Pulchera, seemed to be nothing less than a beast at the peak stage of ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm?, just a step away from reaching ?True Spirit Realm?, where it would could completely become a spirit beast. For anyone to tame a beast which had cultivation level lower than the tamers was already difficult let alone taming beasts of higher cultivation, but here was standing this young man, Astra, who had tamed a beast 3 sub-realms higher than him. They all had this thought and had a common question in their mind, ''Are you peerless cultivator, who changed his appearance to come and toy with our mind?''. But none could let this question escape their mouth and suppressed it in their mind. "Good, it seems that you have tamed a very nice beast. It is already at the peak stage of ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? and a push away fro reaching ?True Spirit Realm?, when it reaches it it will become a spirit beast. And this cultivation realm far outcasts the requirement for passing the test. So, you''ve passed the Beast taming test. Best of luck for the next few tests." [Elder Jian] After saying this Elder Jian left the arena and joined the other elders, and from among the remaining 3 elders another elder came to the stage. He was a middle aged man wearing the robe of Formation Master Hall. "I am the elder of the Formation Master Hall, you can call me Elder Mo. I''ll be responsible for conducting your test on formation. This test follows with you forming a Normal peak low tier formation on this formation plate over here." [Elder Mo] Saying this Elder Mo flicked his wrist and a formation plate with the radius of 50 centimeter appeared on the table along with come carving knife. After which the elder continued. "This formation plate here is a peak normal peak tier formation plate so it shouldn''t be that difficult to carve the formation on the formation plate, but beware that ever a single scratch or error on the formation plate will result in the formation plate to be useful no more, and on top of that, if you do then you''ll fail your test. You have 1 hour of time for the test, it you also can''t complete it within this time frame then you''ll fail. If you understand then let''s begin the test." [Elder Mo] As soon as the elder said those words, Astra went to the table and examined the carving knives, there were a couple of carving knives on the table both looked alike. He picked up one of the knife and swung the knive as if carving in the air. After he had familiarized himself with the knife he reached out to the formation plate and began observing it. He had Leilana with him so it was quite easy for him to grasp the characteristics, flaws and the materials used to make the formation plate. After all that was done, Astra began revolving his pure and dense Qi in his meridians and thought of basic Qi gathering formation. This formation that he was going to carve was compiled when he was in the library, because of going through many such books he had accumulated a lot of knowledge on formation and could compile a less flawed version of basic Qi gathering formation. Though this formation was basic low tier but after being compiled through the accumulation of all the basic knowledge available, Leilana had compiled the formation to show the might of basic intermediate tier formation. Then Astra began carving the formation. The way Astra was carving the formation seemed like someone caressing their woman. This scene now dumbfounded Elder Mo, the exquisiteness shown by Astra during all this process was something elder Mo himself had been aiming for but his progress had stagnated at some point. During the entire time Astra was carving the formation, he was observing him hoping to understand the difference in their knowledge on formation, as if finally understanding his eyes began to shine. He understood that the path he was walking on to reach the peak of formation masters was all wrong. The young man in front of him had shown that, for a formation master to reach the peak, it was necessary to be one with not only the nature but the formation, and formation materials also. All of them should be in sync in order to be the peak. While elder Mo was lost in his enlightenment, Astra had completed his his test for carving the formation. He and the other elders saw that elder Mo was lost in a trance as if enlightened, so no one called out to him. After around 3 hours, he finally came back to. Now his demeanor looked mores refined than earlier. Then he spoke. "Sorry to have kept all of you waiting. While I was observing Astra carving the formation, I got enlightened while observing his work. So it''s clear that he passed the test but to make it more like an actual marking and not showing favouritism I''ll still be checking his formation." [Elder Mo] All the elders were dumbfounded, and elder who had been pursuing his field for years was enlightened by a 15 year old boy who just a few days ago was clueless about it. This was totally unheard of. Ignoring the elders dumbfounded expressions, elder Mo walked up to the formation plate and observed the formation, the formation looked like any ordinary Qi gathering formation but one could see that it was more abvance and powerful that the normal low tier formation that Astra had access to in the library. In awe with the exquisite craftsmanship of Astra , elder Mo activated the formation, on activation the formation began to glow and gather the qi in the surrounding. The qi gathered was more pure and dense than the qi gathered by the available qi gathering formation, and showed the might of gathering qi like a normal peak intermediate formation known. Then elder Mo spoke. "Astra, you''ve passed the test. No only do you have a monstrous talent in formation but also a high level of comprehension, to actually being able to bring a normal peak low tier formation to normal peak intermediate tier. If you need any help or guidance in the days to come don''t hesitate. I, Elder Mo, swear on my name that I''ll always be there to help you whenever you need me." [Elder Mo] Saying this much elder Mo walked down the arena and joined with the the other elders. After all this was over, another elder came to the arena, he was wearing the robe that identified one as a demonic tunist. "I am elder Hao of the demonic tunist hall. I''ll be conducting your demonic tunist test. In this test I''ll be giving you a tune manual and a zither and you''ll have to play the tune in the presence of 9 spirit birds. These birds are known to have a strong soul, if you manage to make 1 of these spirit birds to dance to the tune you play then you''ll pass the test. I''ll be giving you 1 and half an hour for the test. If you understand this you can begin with the test." [Elder Hao] Getting the green sigh, Astra first walked up to the manual and compiled the manual in his consciousness, where he began going through the manual while casually flipping the pages outside. After he had read the manual, he found many flaws in the manual through Leilana, so he began compiling the tune manual along with other manuals he''d collected in his time in the library. After what seem about half an incense stick of time, Astra came back out of his consciousness and now began observing the zither. After all was done, he sat down on the arena and began playing the compiled tune. He played the tune for 2 to 3 minutes when a spirit bird came flying as if drawn to the tune and began dancing after the 1st bird another came and danced to the tune. On observing the remaining spirit birds, it could be seen that, there was a bird that was quite confused to come over or not, it would take one step towards the tune then one step back. While this scene was happening to the spirit birds, the tune Astra was playing finally finished. And the two remaining birds went back to join their flock. Then elder Hao spoke. "Good very good, you''ve passed the test with bringing out the might of the tune to normal peak intermediate low tier. It seems that you have a real good talent of being a demonic tunist. Once the tests are over you can come over to the demonic tunist hall to learn the way of demonic tunist." [Elder Hao] Saying this Elder Hao walked down the arena, and then the last remaining elder, Elder Rion walked up to the stage. She was the elder of the Terpsichore hall. "I''m elder Rion of the Terpsichore Hall, and I''ll be the conducting your Terpsichore test. This test is not that complex, the only thing I''ll be testing is your knowledge and control over tour soul. Since you''re only at ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? so your control over your soul would not be complete as only at ?True Spirit Realm? would one begin their soul cultivation, but if you can answer my questions on soul and withstand 3 attempts of mine to suppress your soul you''ll pass the test. If you''re ready let''s begin the test." [Elder Rion] Astra nodded to elder Rion that he was ready. Seeing Astra nod, Elder Rion began with her test. Elder Rion began asking questions after questions, after asking about 30 questions on soul, she spoke. "Good it seems that your knowledge on soul in not anything ordinary. You pass this part of the test. Then now let''s begin with the second part. Condition yourself well as you''ll have to withstand direct attack on your soul." [Elder Rion] Hearing this, Astra sat down and conditioned himself well and then said to Elder Rion "I''m ready, Elder!" [Astra] After getting the sign that she could begin, Elder Rion started using her Qi and soul energy that she drew through her Qi to begin suppressing Astra''s Soul. She shook her hand and a wave of Qi headed towards Astra and began suppressing him. The force with which he was being suppressed felt to him like as if he was pressed under a boulder. In order to alleviate this feeling Astra began circulating his Qi. Since his Qi was more pure and dense than normal, he was able to calm himself down and alleviate the suppressed feeling. Seeing this elder Rion was quite perplexed, but she still had two more chances to test the limit of this young man in front of her. She began her next attempt, this time the force with she was trying to suppress Astra''s soul was 5 times more that before. But to her surprise, Astra felt nothing and stood there like nothing happened. Feeling quite confused as for what had happened, she initiated her third attempt but this time she used 20 times the might she had shown in her 1st attempt. This attempt of hers now had some affect on Astra as if caused him to kneel down on one knee. But he was still circulating his Qi, after circulating the Qi in his body for a couple of times he finally stood up. Though he had received some damage, Astra had managed to pass through the test. "Congratulation! You pass my test." [Elder Rion] Then Head Elder Zheng walked up to the arena and spoke. "Congratulations! Astra, you''ve passed all the test with shocking result. And from now on you''ve officially been accepted as a inner sect disciple in our Heavenly Sword Sect. For today you''ll be free and you can begin to attend the lectures. Nanea, can you show around the sect to Astra, since he''s new in the sect he doesn''t know much about the sect. It''s your duty to look after him." [Elder Zheng] 16 Benefits of the test. Editor: c_pantoja619 ========================================================================================== Nanea knew that sooner or later if anyone had to show Astra around the sect and the city, then it was without a doubt that this task would befall in her hands. And the incident where Head Elder Zheng tasked her to be the one to look after Astra made this reason more solid. So, without wasting any time she replied. "I''m very glad and honored to be given the task to show Astra, this generation''s most promising disciple of Heavenly Sword Sect, around the sect and the city. I''ll fulfill this task with my very heart and soul. I assure you that Astra here would not have any complaints." [Nanea] Hearing Nanea''s reply and assurance, Elder Zheng nodded with a look of satisfaction on his face. Then he turned to Astra and spoke. "Listen here Astra, if you ever have any problem or issues with anything then do not hesitate to look for any one of us, we''ll be always there to help you. It is a pity that I do not have the full authority to promote you to be a core disciple, given your talent, you are more than qualified to be selected as a core disciple but, without the Sect Patriarch''s approval and the test conducted by Patriarch himself, it is nigh impossible for use to promote you to become a core disciple. But after this I will personally seek audience with the Patriarch and bring this matter to light along with all the elders present during this assessment. So, cultivate well till then Astra as once Patriarch learns of this there is a high possibility that you''ll be tested by the Patriarch himself on all of those aspects but the most important ones would be your martial and cultivation talent that are the key factors in determining a cultivators future achievements. Take this token and go to the Contribution Hall to collect you Inner Sect Disciple robe and Student token. The robe you''re wearing and the student token that you have are Quasi-inner sect disciple robe and student token with this you can go collect your complete official inner sect disciple robe and student token. Till next time, farewell!" [Elder Zheng] He handed a token to Astra and after saying all that he had to say Elder Zheng disappeared from the arena, and the other elders agreed with Elder Zheng''s words and also disappeared and headed back to their works. And the other reason was that, once this matter regarding Astra was brought to Patriarch''s sight all the elders were sure to be called and inquired about it. And if not then they would have to follow the Patriarch when he looks for Astra to assess him. Once all the elders left the arena, Nanea turned to Astra and spoke. "Now that everything is over, Astra if you are fine with it we can begin your tour around the sect and the city." [Nanea] "Um¡­ I''m fine with it. Let''s begin our tour, it''d be easier for both of us that way. But first let us head to the Contribution Hall so that I can collect my Inner sect disciple robe and student token." [Astra] "Umm¡­" [Nanea] After Nanea nodded, both Astra and Nanea headed to the Contribution Hall where Astra could collect his official Inner Sect Disciple and Disciple Token. Soon enough, both of them reached the Contribute hall where Elder Peng had been waiting of them. On seeing Elder Peng, both Astra and Nanea bowed and greeted elder Peng. Elder pend nodded at them, then "Seeing as you are here it seems that your test has been completed. Give me the token that head Elder Zheng gave you." [Elder Peng] After elder Peng asked of the token, Astra handed it to elder Peng, as he was told to do so. Upon seeing the token, elder Peng stared at it with wide open eyes which seemed like they could pop out of their sockets anytime. After a long time only did Elder Peng regain his composure. Cough¡­cough¡­ Elder Peng coughed a couple of times to clear the awkwardness caused due to his stunned expression, he spoke. "Congratulations! On clearing all the tests with flying colors. It seems that you are capable of quite a few things despite such young age. Wait here for a moment, I''ll go get the things you''ve earned." [Elder Peng] Elder Peng went in the contribution hall and after some time he came out with a folded rob, a token on the robe and a small bag, all kept on a tray. The robe was silver in color with golden trims. But the token had some kind of majestic feeling to it, and from the bag one could feel quite an amount of spiritual qi flowing from it. "Here is your official inner sect disciple robe and token, and take this bag, it contains a 400 Years old Blood Lingzhi." [Elder Peng] On seeing this both Astra and Nanea were shocked. Astra knew about it as it was widely mentioned in all those cultivation related things that he had researched in his old world. And as for Nanea it was a common knowledge in this world but rare to come across one. Not giving any attention to Astra and Nanea, Elder PEng continued. "Take these robe and disciple token, make sure to never loose it. And as for this Blood Lingzhi, you can use it in your cultivation. Once it is consumed by anyone, it reinforces the internal organs, increases the density of the blood, reinforces ones life force and increases immunity. And this grade of Blood LIngzhi that you''re getting is more than sufficient to help you in strengthening your body, so that your body can sustain the vigorous amount of Qi that one has to store in their body, if not then there is always a possibility of eruption of Qi that could damage the meridians or in the worst case, one could be a cripple for life. Take this and cultivate well. Your future is in your hands, only you can decide how you''d progress in the future and what path you walk. Also take this as a token of appreciation from me for the talent you posses." [Elder Peng] Saying this Elder Peng handed him the robe, the disciple token and the Blood LIngzhi and also a Spatial Ring. Astra received all of them humbly and didn''t show any signs of greed of conceit. Seeing how humble this young man in front of him was, unconsciously made Elder Peng nod at him with satisfaction. "The spatial ring I gave you has a dimension of 7x7 m2 and volume of 7x7x7 m3 that''s a lot of area to use but I think it will be really handy to have one. Why don''t you store those things in that spatial ring of yours. That way you don''t have to carry it back to your dorm or walk around carrying anything physically."[Elder Peng] Astra''s eyes lit up once elder Peng explained about the characteristics of the spatial ring and the area it had where he could store his belongings. "Elder, I am really grateful for being such high standard goods despite my inadequacy. I promise you that I will do my best to keep up with your expectation. Elder if I may ask, may I know how to use it?" [Elder Peng] "This should be your first time seeing a spatial ring, and that''s probably the reason why you don''t know how to use it. To use it you can just pour some of your qi in it to gain access to it and you can retrieve or store anything you want in it with just the thought of it, but you have to be in contact with it, and be sure to never loose it." [Elder Peng] Following elder Peng''s instruction, Astra poured some of hi Qi in the spatial ring and immediately after which a part of his consciousness seeped inside the spatial ring where he could sense nothing but emptiness and the flow of time in it was negligible. After that he thought of storing the items that he got, and in an instant all the items, disappeared from in front of him and when he immersed his consciousness in the ring he could find them in it. This phenomenon really ignited the fire of curiosity in him, he wanted to know how it worked, but he held himself back and made a mental note that he would be sure to uncover this mystery himself. After he took care of the items he received, both Nanea and Astra bowed to the elder Peng before they left. ========================================================================================== 17 What feeling is this? Editor: c_pantoja619 ========================================================================================== After Astra received his reward and the disciple robe and token, he along with Nanea and Pulchera began making his way to the city where Nanea would show him around to make him familiar with the city. After walking for 10 minutes, both of them reached the city. Last time when Astra had been to the city, he hadn''t had the time to properly look around the city, but now that he had enough time to look around the city, he could appreciate the grand feeling that the city gave of. After they reached the city, Nanea thought that it would be better to show some of the popular places enjoyed by locals to Astra. Nanea knew that Astra hadn''t had the time to look around the city and since the day he came he had been completely busy with the tests, so it would be a good idea for him to relax a bit. She wracked her brain to think of any place where they could relax a bit, after a bit she remembered a place in the city. It was a garden, neither too grand nor too unimpressive, not too far away from where they currently were. Nanea asked Astra to follow her with Pulchera, after walking towards the centre of the city for about 5 minutes, they reached a garden. There are many pavilions, a library, and ponds scattered inside the garden those ancient architectures were in harmony with nature. The garden features more of trees than flowers, however just imagining how beautiful it would be on a perfect autumn foliage. In summer season, there are a lot of lotus flowers in bloom on a pond. When one visits the garden, they would feel like they found a hidden place surrounded by a bustling big city. The best thing is that unlike other gardens located in remote areas, this garden is located in center of city. Many people can easily access and make them enjoy a tranquil and beautiful scene. This place is helpful to get rid of stress and to recharge one''s stressed mind. At the centre of the garden, there was a mid size fountain where on could see a never disappearing rainbow, during the day time. Nanea, Astra and Pulchera after reaching the garden felt like they had walked to another world, this was so especially for Astra and Pulchera as it was their first time being here. They couldn''t believe that a place like this existed in a bustling city like this. They looked for a place near the fountain to relax. After finding a place, Pulchera was let to play as she would like. When Pulchera was let go, she walked upto the fountain and began playing with water, splashing it all over as if trying to gain attention, this scene was too captivating that Astra couldn''t take his eyes off of her. After resting for a bit. "Do you have any preferences, where you''d like to visit first?" [Nanea] Astra pondered for a bit, then said. "If you''re fine with it then, could you show me the way around to the Apothecary Store. I want to have a look at the products that are sold there. And from there I would like you to guide me around the city and show me more of the popular and majestic places." [Astra] {AN: I''ve used Alchemist in the previous chapter but now Apothecary will be used instead of it.} "I had a hunch that you''d say that, since the last time we came here you had said you''d never seen a grand city like this. Ok, let''s begin with visiting the places you want to go. First of let''s go to the Apothecary Store. Umm¡­ before we go there, do you have any amount of coins on you?" [Nanea] "Umm.. No. Why do you ask?" [Astra] "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ''Why do you ask?''. If something catches your eye or you want to buy something then of course you need money to by those things, if not you can only watch as if gets away from you. Sigh¡­. Leave it. It can''t be helped, you haven''t been here for that long to gave enough money on you. Sorry for yelling at you. I''ll lend you some money, but be sure to return the amount that you owe me when you can." [Nanea] Saying this Nanea took out a pouch from her spatial ring and gave it to Astra. Astra received the pouch humbly. "This pouch contains a total of 50 gold coins. Be sure to use them wisely." [Nanea] Astra thanked her and smiled with gratitude at her. When Nanea say the smile, these was a sudden increase in the rate of her heart beat. And her face flushed red. Nanea didn''t know what was happening, she felt a warm sensation inside her welling up in her heart. It happened exactly at the moment she say Astra smile. This was totally new to her. When Astra saw how red Nanea''s face had become, he asked out of worry and concern. "What happened? Are you not feeling well? We can leave today''s looking around the city for some other day. The most important thing is for you to be well." [Astra] Nanea had tried to calm the feeling in her, but when Astra expressed his worry and concern towards Nanea, the emotion and feeling intensified in her. She couldn''t take it anymore, to her the world in front of her seemed spinning, she was about to collapse, when Astra hurried forward and caught her, preventing her from collapsing. Though it was uncalled for but for some reason, Pulchera felt somewhat uneasy, as if not wanting her master to be so close to any female. A feeling of jealousy built up in her. Astra checked her pulse and vitals and had also asked Leilana to check for any anomaly in her body that had resulted in her collapsing and sighed with relief upon realizing that it was nothing serious. It was a good thing that, they were not to far away form Silver Wings, the inn in which they had stayed on the day Astra first walked to the city with Nanea. Astra hurried towards the inn and within a short time he reached the inn. After reaching the inn he quickly entered the inn, and rented a room at the reception desk. After renting that room, he placed Nanea on the bed, adjusted her posture so that she wouldn''t feel uncomfortable, then he walked out of the room and went to the reception desk. At the reception desk a lady in her early 20s was sitting. When she saw Astra, coming towards the desk, she asked. " How is the Lady whom you brought?" [Receptionist] The receptionist was the same person who had been responsible for registering rooms that Nanea had rented when Astra was first brought to the city. "She should be fine, she only collapsed and there''s nothing to worry about. and Thank You." [Astra] "That''s good to hear. Do you have anything that you''d like?" [Receptionist] "Not yet at the very moment, but I''d trouble you to make something to eat, neither to heavy nor to light when Nanea wakes up. Till then I''ll be in that room looking after her." [Astra] After saying this Astra handed some money that Nanea had given him ans the rent amount and walked to the room, where Nanea was resting. He walked in to the room and sits in one corner of the room watching over Nanea. While he was waiting for Nanea to regain consciousness, Astra without himself realizing began cultivating the cultivation technique which he had got when he first reincarnated in this world. The Spiritual Qi in the surrounding began to gather around Astra''s body. The sipritual Qi began started revolving in a specific pattern and entered in Astra''s body and began accumulating in his Dantian. Astra was only in Early stage of ?Spirit Qi Core Formation Realm? and hadn''t yet fully solidified his cultivation at this realm. The only reason others didn''t notice this was because he cultivated a heavenly cultivation technique and the Qi in his body was so pure and dense that no one could truly fathom the strength he possessed. But now that he began cultivating, his strength started soaring up. Though his progress speed had decreased a bit form earlier due to his rise in cultivation, but it was still a very speedy cultivation that others would call monstrous. Time flowed, a total of 6 hours had passed and it was getting dark, but Astra had no idea about it. At this moment, Nanea began showing some movement. When she opened her eyes, she was on guard on seeing an unfamiliar roof. She slowly began observing the room. While observing, in a corner of a room she saw a shadow, she focused her gaze at the shadow, and recognized the shadow to be Astra. While she was looking at him she noticed that he was cultivating and was amazed upon noticing the dense amount of Qi that had gathered around him. While she was looking at Astra and took a closer look at his concentrated but calm and serene face, the same feeling that she felt earlier resurfaced. She still couldn''t understand what was the feeling she felt and why she felt. She understood that she ever only begins feeling every time she looked at Astra, but the this that that she couldn''t understand was, why she felt like that. The more she looked at Astra, the more the feeling built up and faster her heart raced. She tried to calm herself down but couldn''t and the fact that they both were alone in a room intensified the feeling even more. She began pondering over it to find why she felt so. She began pondering over why she felt it?, what was the cause of it?, Who was Astra to her to make her feel so? And all such queries. She kept on pondering over it for quite a while but still couldn''t figure out answers to any of her own queries. The room was complete silent for a long time, one busy with cultivating while the other was pondering over her queries. The sun set and night began, the streets were slowly getting deserted. Only then did Astra opened his eyes. When he saw the time, he was shocked that he''d spent so long staying ideal but hadn''t noticed the time pass by at all, then he shifted his gaze towards the bed on which he''d lain Nanea, there he saw Nanea sitting and a look of confusion and pondering could be seen on her face. Not being able to hold himself back, Astra, called out to Nanea and walked up to her. "When did you wake up? You could have called me out when you did. And is bugging you, that look of confusion and pondering doesn''t suit you." [Astra] Nanea got startled at the sudden call from Astra. But she calmed herself down and spoke. "No, it''s nothing really. Ah.. and I''m sorry, I couldn''t withhold my promise that I made to you." [Nanea] "Why are you apologizing? You haven''t done anything that you need to apologize for. How are you feeling?" [Astra] "I''m fine now. It''s all thanks to you. By the way where are we?" [Nanea] "We''re in Silver Wings. You know the inn in which we stayed on the first day we met and you brought me to the city. Let''s go downstairs, you''ve been asleep for quite a while, and you need to replenish your energy." [Astra] After thatboth of them walked downstairs while Astra was full of energy as he had just finished his unconscious cultivation, Nanea was still weak, for not have eaten anything for the entire day. Though for a cultivator spending few days without eating wouldn''t be a problem but for some unknown reason Nanea was too weak to even walk a few steps, so Astra was supporting he walk. After they reached downstairs, Astra found a empty table for the two where he made Nanea to sit, then walked to the receptionist and ordered the food to be served. Immediately after which, the receptionist went in the kitchen and came out with quite a bit of food for the two of them to eat. The duo thanked the receptionist for her help, then they began eating their fill. They didn''t leave a single grain wasted, but Astra had eaten the most as if he hadn''t been fed for a week. Once they were done with their food, they looked outside and saw that it was quite late at night and so Astra booked another room and both of them stayed the night at the inn. Nanea was in her room thinking over everything that had happened, she remembered each and every moment of the day clearly, and the thing that she was constantly thinking over was that, despite she being unguarded and alone in a room, Astra didn''t do anything ill to her, and was looking after her whole wholeheartedly. Unknown to her she had begun developing feelings towards Astra. ========================================================================================== 18 The Shock the Elders fel Editor: c_pantoja619 ========================================================================================== The night passed in the blink of an eye. Both of them excited their room almost exactly at the same time. This made Nanea a bit startled at the beginning, but she sobbed regained her calm. Both of them then went downstairs where they were warmly greeted by the receptionist. "Good morning! Hope you had a good night sleep" [Receptionist] "Umm... We did." [Both spoke at the same time] After exchanging greetings both of them ordered few things to eat as breakfast. Once they finished their first, they began making their way towards the sect as it was a very important day for Astra. Today was the first day for Astra in the sect as an official disciple, and there was no way would either he or Nanea would miss it. Like the time in Astra''s previous world where the first day for anything they were doing was really important be it attending school or first day at some job, no one would ever miss it. Same was the case here, in this world. Every child who were about to be introduced into the cultivation and martial arts world, they would never miss it, this day was also called COMING OF AGE CEREMONY by them. It was also the same for those attending the sect for the first time after they joined one. That being the case, both of them hurried towards the sect. While the both of them were making their way to the sect Nanea kept on sneaking a peak or two at Astra every now and then, and had this bashful look on her face. While sneaking a peak at Astra, Nanea kept on remembering the emotions that she felt the day before, because of this there was an awkward silence between them the whole time til they reached the sect. The duo on reaching the sect entrance were greeted by the guards. Then they entered the sect and headed towards the Elder Hall to greet the elders. After they walked around for some time, they reached the Elder Hall. There they asked the guards to ask permission to the elders stating they have come to pay their respects to the elders. The guard nodded then went inside the Elder Hall to notify then Elders that Astra and Nanea had come to visit them. Shortly after the guard returned and escorted the duo to the Elders'' conference hall where all the elders had gathered to discuss some maters. "Disciple Astra/Nanea greet the Elders!!" [Astra and Nanea] "Umm.." [All the Elders] "What brings you two here? We were just about to send someone to look for both of you. Either way it makes our job a lot easier." [Elder Zheng] After listening to that both Astra and Nanea were a bit confused for why the head would have looked for them but could somewhat guess that it was something related to Astra''s grooming in the sect. Both of them silently stood in front of the elders to listen to what they were meaning to both of them about. "You do know that form today onwards you are one of the disciples of our Heavenly Sword Sect and it is our responsibility to groom you to be one of the best disciples of the sect as you are the most promising disciple of this generation¡­ no probably the most promising disciple of the sect in the last half a decade. And it is also your duty to reciprocate by giving your best and work really really hard so as to not disappoint us." [Elder Zheng] After Elder Zheng finished saying this all the elders nodded at his words and at the same time Astra stepped forward and said. "This disciple swears on his name that he won''t disappoint the Elders and work so hard that h will surpass your expectations. If I fail to do so may the heaven strike this disciple." [Astra] He spoke all these words with a stern and confident look on his face. When all the elders saw the confidence in Astra''s eyes they were a bit amazed as this kind of look was very hard to see in a disciple of this generation. And they all nodded at him and his vow with a very happy and satisfied look. They were proud of themselves for having accepted a disciple like Astra but they didn''t let it be shown on their faces. They felt proud because it was rel hard to come by any one to take in as a disciple who had decent talent in cultivation if they manage to find one then there would be another difficulty of finding someone who wasn''t arrogant while had a decent talent for cultivation. And even if they find someone with both these quirks it would be anther difficult task to fine someone who was hard working. And they had found a perfect disciple, Astra, who had all these qualities so, they couldn''t help but feel proud for being able to impart their knowledge to him. "We''re really satisfied with the display of your determination, but we won''t known until we''ve seen the results of your training. So, do not let the feeling that you''ve achieved something great by becoming the disciple being directly groomed by us elders get to your head ''cause if we don''t see the results of all the training that we give you you will probably never be able to get our guidance again." [Elder Cang] Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. All the other Elders agreed on Elder Cang''s words. As it was true that some faked their act of confidence only to get someone''s backing and later laze around and bully others using the names of elders only to result in sullying those elder''s name. "Elder Cang is right. You can only showcase the viability of your words through your actions only. If words meant everything then we wouldn''t have to train at all. Never-mind that, we call you both her for a reason. But first tell me disciple Astra. How much of the basic knowledge on all the seven major fields have you accumulated during your stay in the sect library before the test?" [Elder Zheng] Astra after being asked such question pondered a bit then replied. "Elder, this disciple has accumulated around 50 to 60% of the basic on each field accounting all the three floors." [Astra] All the people in the room were flabbergast, it was already a huge feat to be able to accumulate 30 to 40% of the basic knowledge on one floor only but here stood someone who was able to accumulate 50 to 60% of the knowledge of not a single floor but all the three floors. It took a very long time for them to regain their composer. Once they had regained their calm Elder Hao asked to confirm what he heard. "Umm¡­ I think I miss heard could you repeat what you said?" [Elder Hao] "Elder this disciple has accumulated around 50 to 60% of the basic knowledge accounting all the three levels of the Sect library that contain basic knowledge." [Astra] "Brilliant! What an astounding talent. Amazing! It would have already if you had accumulated that amount to basic knowledge from on floor only but you managed to accumulate that vast knowledge on all the three floor in only th span of a week. Truly brilliant. Here take this token. With this token you''ll be able to go till 6th floor of the library which is the limit of the peak inner sect disciple, and you can stay in it for as long as you want." [Elder Zheng] Elder Zheng, who couldn''t contain his feelings and excitement walked up to Astra and handed him a crimson gold token probably only one of it''s kind in the entire sect to Astra. Astra smiled wryly and politely received the token from Elder Zheng. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the elders asked about hoe much knowledge Astra had accumulated, he had a look of pondering, but in his consciousness he was asking Leilana what he should reply with. Since he had accumulated complete 100% of basic knowledge on all the fields from all three floors as he possessed Leilana, The Library of Heaven''s Path, but this thing was a secret that had to be kept from the world. So he had asked for Leilana for her opinion. After thinking around for a bit she told Astra to tell the elders that he had accumulated around 50 to 60% of the total on the three floors, this way he wouldn''t embarrass himself despite being the possessor of Leilana and also would have a pretty decent evaluation by the elders. But after what he said to the elders he wished that he had said something lesser perhaps around 20 - 30% or even 35%, but of all he had to say 50 - 60%. He sighed and let it go as there was no use fretting over spilled beans. 19 First Talent Assessemen After elder Zheng calmed down, he went back to his seat and forced a cough to gather everyone''s attention. Then he began. "As I have already told you the function of the token that I gave you, I advice you that you pay attention to collecting all the information on basics from the first three floors of the sect library first, then proceed on to the next floor and begin to slowly accumulate the information available on those floors. But be sure to not proceed to further floors without completely ingraining all the information''s, and the best way to completely ingrain those all information''s is by visiting the halls where you can gain practical experience and probably gain insights this way you''ll deepen and broaden your knowledge. For now we''d like for you to complete accumulating all the basic information and pay visit to the halls where you can broaden your knowledge and gain insights. But first let''s visit all the halls where you can test your knowledge and make it a part of you. But before we get going, disciple Astra do you have any first choice where you want to begin your test from that you want to have as your main field of expertise?" [Elder Zheng] "Yes elder, I do have a priority. I would like to take the Apothecary exam first and am thinking of taking it as my major field of expertise for the future." [Astra] Saying and hearing this much, elder Zheng stood up from his seat and nodded at the other elders and told Astra and Nanea to follow them, more precisely the apothecary elder Chen, to the test ground of apothecary hall where the tests for the student aiming for increasing their experience in Apothecary take tests. After the group followed Elder Chen for around 5 minutes, they arrived at the Apothecary hall. The hall was located in the back part of the Heavenly Sword Sect cause concocting any kind of pill of elixir required a calm and quite environment. Astra and Nanea had this awed look on their faces, it was not much for Nanea as she had been here before but it was too much for Astra to take. He was in a daze as he had never seen anything like this before neither in his old world nor here. He could see a garden filled with multiple colors of multiple kind of herbs. And on looking closer he could identify some of the herbs which he had learned about during his stay in the Sect Library. The garden added an inexplicable charm and beauty to the environment. All in all the scene was so serene that anyone who gazed at it would feel their mind and sould calm down, and this state would be really important for cultivators as the state of mind they attain would be real beneficial for their cultivation. Looking at the dazed Astra all the Elders and Nanea smiled at him as at this moment Astra seemed like kid who had just left the wings of his mother and had stepped in the world. But the smile that Nanea had was not that simple as it also carried the complicated emotion that she had since a day before. But no one had noticed it and all of them began following Elder Chen to the test grounds, where the basic attainment in the field of apothecary are practiced and tested. When the group of elders walked in along with two disciples, it attracted a lot of attention. All the disciples gathered there looking at the group trying to figure out why all the elders including the Head Elder was here and what was the identity of the two disciples that were following them. The disciples began to whisper among themselves asking each other what their identity was. At that moment one of the disciple who had seen and heard of Nanea a couple of times spoke. "Ah¡­ Isn''t that the Inner Sect Disciple who goes by the name Nanea". When he spoke those words all of them looked at him and after hearing his words some other disciples that had seen her also confirmed his words. After confirming one of the duo disciples identity, they began asking around who the second one could be. Neglecting what others talked about, the duo kept following the elders, till they reached a section where the test and practice in the attainment in the basic knowledge of apothecary were carried out. When the instructor who was responsible for that section saw the elders heading his way, the instructor went to the elders and greeted them. All the elders nodded at him them, then Elder Zheng nodded at Elder Chen, after which Elder Chen spoke to the Instructor. "I need you to conduct a test of highest level in the attainment of basic insights on the field of apothecary for that boy over there. Oh.. and rather than conducting the concoction test, I need you to conduct the another test as this disciple has never even seen how pills and elixirs are concocted. You get what I mean right? And as for the consequence of the standard test, just ignore it for this once since it is not a formal test and we just want to test his attainment and nothing more." [Elder Chen] Elder Chen spoke pointing at Astra. The instructor was shocked with what he heard. Firstly the cause of his shock was that, the elders themselves came in order to conduct a disciple test, and another cause was that the test they had to conduct instead of concoction test, which was the most difficult of all the tests which even veteran apothecary are scared of. All the instructors that heard was Elder Chen was speaking about they all had the same look on their faces. And the disciples who were seeing this they could understand shock as the elders themselves were supervising that disciple''s test but what they couldn''t understand was the actual cause that made all the instructors shocked like that as they should have seen many more shocking things than this when their whole life experience were to be accounted. But only the instructors knew what they felt couldn''t be understood, the test they were asked to conduct was rarely heard to be conducted in the outside world. "This instructor understands what he has to do. Now, if you will excuse me I''ll go and begin making preparation for the test." [The instructor to whom Elder Chen Spoke] Saying this,the instructor bowed and hurriedly leave from there and after some time came with a few instructors behind him and also carried a few paper in his hand, which seemed like a stack of question papers. While the instructor had been gone to prepare for the test, Elder Chen turned to Astra and began explaining the method in which the test would be conducted. The test that would be conducted would be in the same process in which the former test which Astra took to be accepted as a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, the only difference was that in the former test Elder Chen was the only one who conducted the second part of the test by asking 10 questions, but now the same test would be conducted by 10 instructors questioning Astra on the most troublesome problems that are faced when only practicing in the basic insights in Apothecary. After the instructors came, they discussed something among themselves and then nodded at Elder Chen that they were ready to conduct the test whenever ready. Looking at them nod, Elder Chen again turned to Astra ans spoke. "The instructors are ready to conduct the test whenever you are ready." [Elder Chen] "Elder this disciple is ready to take the test." [Astra] Saying this he began walking towards the instructors and bowed to them and spoke. "Disciple Astra is prepared to take the test!" [Astra] Looking at Astra all the instructors had a satisfied smile which for them meant that ''despite being favoured by all the elders he doesn''t have a speck of arrogance or disdain in him'' and later were shocked to fell how solid of a foundation he had in his cultivation. They knew that it took a lot of time for one to reach the cultivation level that he showed probably 20 - 30 years but the in front of them seemed no more than 16 years. Only now did they understand why the elders favoured him. If he were to be groomed properly then who knows what height would he reach in the future. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Confirming that the examinee was ready for the test, the instructor to whom Elder Chen had said to prepare for the test came forward and began explaining the rules and the method in which the test would be conducted, to Astra. And Astra despite knowing all the rules didn''t show any disrespect towards the instructor and listened to each and every rules seriously. {AN: I''ve already explained about the rules in the previous chapter so am not going to bother with it again.} As soon as the instructor had finished explaining about the rules and the test that he will be taking, the instructor asked Astra if he had any questions regarding the rules and the test, to which Astra said he didn''t, after which the instructor walked to his colleges and sorted out the question sheets and handed it to Astra, and pointed at the table and said that the test had begun and he can go to the table where he can begin taking his test. He had a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes of time to complete the test. Astra received the question sheets and walked to the table and began taking his test. While he was taking the test some guards came with a tray full of various kinds of herbs which amounted up to 10 herbs and placed it on the table. After scribbling around for 30 minutes Astra reached the second part of the test where he had to name the herbs along with their characteristics and the method to concoct them into either pills or elixirs. It took him quite a long time almost half of the remaining time to identify all the herbs as there were a lot of herbs that have similarities so he had to check every minute details in order to identify the perfectly matching herb from his accumulated knowledge. After he was done with identifying the herbs, the rest was all easy he took the herbs one by one and sorted them in the same order on the tray in which he had written their name, characteristics, and method of concoction of the particular herbs. He took all the remaining time to write the details about the respective herbs, rechecking them again and again and correcting any errors that he found. He was done with the test just before couple of minutes before the actual ending time of the test. Astra walked to the instructor and handed the answer sheets to the instructor. Once the instructor was handed the test papers he along with his other colleges began checking the answers while the instructors were doing that, Astra went towards his group and sat down in the position of meditation, If Astra wanted to he could have broken through to the next realm of his cultivation path, that is, the ?True Spirit Realm? which makes him one step closer to his first goal of meeting Leilana and spending time with her. But Astra didn''t rush it as it was mandatory to build a stable foundation so that he won''t be facing any obstacles in his future cultivation path due to his unstable foundation. For others the meditation stance of Astra''s might seem as though he was cultivating and recovering the spirit energy he used up in the last part of the first test, but in actuality he was talking with Leilana. 20 Announcement!! I went through so many onther novels and when I compare what the public preferred and what I had been writting have been world''s apart, I thought , I should be dropping it and when I can I''ll begin anew.