Ling Hua walked along the mountain paths toward home, his mind consumed by his earlier conversation with the elder. His chain of thought was suddenly broken by his mother’s sharp voice echoing down the trail.
"Hey! You brat, where have you been? Sneaking off again without telling me where you were going! Can’t you break these bad habits before I break your bones one of these days?"
And can’t you break your endless nagging?
Naturally, Ling Hua only muttered this to himself—otherwise, he’d currently be picking his teeth up off the ground.
"Mom, I went to the Treasury Hall today to take on a field-cultivation mission."
Her stern expression softened slightly. "And what came of it?"
"The elder told me I need to master the Spirit Rain Spell before I can be assigned my first field."
"And do you think the elder is going to wait around for you to learn it? Every hour lost without planting is a loss of spirit stones!"
Ling Hua raised his hands in a placating gesture to explain. "No, no! The elder said it shouldn't take me more than two days to get ready. I made some progress recently, but I made the mistake of focusing on the Pine Needle Spell instead of concentrating on the Spirit Rain Spell."
She pointed toward his room. "Then what are you standing around for? Go practice!"
"Alright, alright, I’m going! If it weren't for your interrogation, I would’ve been in there already."
...
Ling Hua had no choice but to master the Spirit Rain Spell.
Sitting cross-legged in his room, he placed the jade slip before him. He committed the spiritual meridian pathway to memory once, reviewed it in his mind a second time, and then a third, until he finally closed his eyes.
His fingers began to weave patterns in accordance with the method recorded on the slip.
At first, nothing happened.
He tried again.
This time, a thin strand of energy stirred within his channels, but it dissipated before completing its path.
He opened his eyes and looked at his hands.
"So it’s not that easy..."
Yet, he felt no frustration.
He reread the instructions from the very beginning. Before long, strands of Qi seeped back into his channels—cool at first, then growing increasingly warm as they circulated through his body, flowing straight into his Dantian and accumulating until it was completely filled.
With no other outlet, the excess Qi overflowed into Ling Hua’s surroundings.
Fine threads of energy seeped from his pores, rising slowly toward the ceiling of his room, where they gradually condensed into a small cloud with a faint blue glow.
Moments later, the cloud began to tremble.
Then, the first drop fell.
Cool.
It settled on his forehead before slowly tracing down his face.
It took him a moment to process what he had been meditating for, but as his mind registered that single droplet, more followed, drenching his clothes. However, this lasted for merely three minutes before cutting off, leaving Ling Hua feeling utterly exhausted from the intense energy consumption.
He immediately suppressed the technique and remained seated to rest from the sudden surge of fatigue.
Momentarily, Ling Hua pushed open his door to find his mother and father eating at the dining table. Turning his eyes toward the window, he noticed the world outside had already plunged into darkness.
How much time has passed since I went into my room?
His father gestured with a warm smile, inviting him to sit at the table. "It's quite normal. Meditation takes hours without one even realizing it, as you enter a state between awareness and trance. Did you finish your training?"
Ling Hua scratched his head, an embarrassed smile on his face. "Yes... I can cast the spell now, but I'm completely drained."
His father took a bite of a cake on the table. "That's natural. When your body consumes energy rapidly—like when casting spells—you'll tire out, and you must recharge your Dantian."
Picking up his chopsticks, Ling Hua asked, "Is there any trick to fix that?"
Setting his food down, his father replied, "Yes, but there is only one way: advance your cultivation realm."
Ling Hua plunged his chopsticks into a piece of grilled fish. "Isn't there a faster way?"
His father looked at him intently. "Nothing can completely prevent you from losing energy."
Ling Hua nodded silently and continued his meal.
The following day, strands of sunlight slipped through the window of Ling Hua's room, announcing a brand-new morning.
"Aah..."
Yawning as he woke, Ling Hua stepped out of his room and headed toward the dining hall, where breakfast was already laid out on the table. His parents looked on with warm smiles, watching their child grow day by day.
"Good morning, sweetheart."
Yawning once more, he replied, "Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Dad." He took his seat at the table and began to eat.
...
He walked toward the main hall, the trees swaying gently in the refreshing mountain breeze while the babbling creek along the path prepared his mind for the long, arduous day ahead.
He entered the hall, offering his usual greeting as he walked up to the elder, who sat unchanged behind his desk. "Good morning, Elder. I hope you have a pleasant day."
The elder’s eyes remained glued to the ledger before him, indifferent to Ling Hua’s pleasantries. "Why are you here?"
Ignoring the elder’s cold reception, Ling Hua immediately formed hand seals, which rapidly culminated in a magical cloud hovering above.
"I came today to show you the spell. Now that I've mastered it, may I take charge of the field?"
The elder raised his eyes briefly, looking at Ling Hua. "Not bad for your level. Very well, keeping my promise, here is your field. It measures five hundred square meters."
He handed him a scroll depicting the field's location and continued:
"The family will provide you with Spirit Rice seeds for your initial practice. Once your results prove you can manage your field well, we will grant you the Agricultural Legacy so you can learn plant-nurturing techniques."
"Can I really obtain the Legacy? That's great! What will I be planting?"
The elder fetched a burlap sack along with a shovel and placed them on the desk before Ling Hua. "These are the Jade-Green Spirit Rice seeds you will plant. You must first soak the seeds in spiritual mountain water and leave them for two days until they begin to sprout. Only then do you plant them, making sure to leave a hand-span between each seedling—otherwise, you will face undesirable results."
Fixing his gaze on him, the elder added, "During those two waiting days, you will be busy plowing the soil with this spirit shovel."
"One last thing: you will be assigned your own residence starting now. So go, pack your belongings, and move into the cave."
A strange, indescribable feeling surged in Ling Hua’s heart—a heavy tightness accompanied by a racing pulse at the news. He couldn't fully accept leaving his parents at just ten years old, yet there was nothing to be done except obey the family's orders.
"May I head to the field now?"
"Yes, you may go."