It was said that long ago, during Blue Star’s creation, the beings within heaven debated what to allow to live on this planet.
Their ideas contradicted each other, the forms they made being alien to each other, yet sometimes similar.
By the end of their debate, they had decided to add them all.
That was Blue Star, a planet home to many forms of life, some originating here while others came from another realm, humans being one of the many races they made.
That was a fact that Gu Xuanming understood.
He believed it to be more proof that the heavens were playing with their lives.
To debate, then add them all, was nothing more than children arguing about what goes where.
Opening his eyes, Gu Xuanming was hit with the sun in his eyes.
‘Of course, I couldn’t sleep.’
‘I stayed up for too long.’
Gu Xuanming forced himself to his feet, walking over to the window and opening it for himself.
He then placed his hand outside, feeling for rain.
‘It seems the spring rain has ceased.
That’s good.’
At this point, he knew this was the day.
He needed to be ready for his evaluation, yet here he was, tired as a sloth because of his own stupidity of staying up all night.
Looking around his room, it was a nice one, for he lived within the largest home in the entirety of Gue Ming village.
He was the son of the strongest cultivator in all of Gue Ming village, Gu Chenyin.
This gave him a high status within the village, as cultivators were rare, and so when you did have a cultivator live by, it meant you could sell well, and you had a protector of sorts.
It also increased the chances of their offspring being a high talent or, at bare minimum, decent talent.
He himself lived on the second floor since the higher floors held treasures that only the head of the family was allowed to touch unless he gave permission.
“Young Master Gu Xuanming!”
Looking down, he saw a delicate beauty carrying a basin of water with a towel.
It was one of the many servants of the household and Gu Xuanming’s personal servant, Lin Suwen.
She wore a bright smile on her face, her beauty above average, yet still something to desire.
She was dressed in a yellow robe and a white dress, wearing embroidered shoes on her feet.
She had on a flower pin in her hair, and with all of that, she radiated youthful vitality.
“Your servant is here to clean you up and dress you.”
She had arrived on the second floor with the basin, setting it down on the table for Gu Xuanming to use freely.
She bowed to him, allowing Xuanming to clean off his face with the warm water.
It was the correct temperature, not too hot, but not too cold, just perfect, having been able to do this after years of being his servant.
She would then help him get dressed in a black tunic personally picked out by his father.
She then combed his hair, and during the process, she faintly pressed her plump breasts onto his back.
“…” Gu Xuanming glanced briefly at his servant.
He understood her entirely.
He knew she was someone not to be trusted.
After all, those kinds of plays were all too common for her to do.
Gu Xuanming had seen through her seduction tactics.
She would always do such things when it came to being close to him, and he knew why.
He could thank his mother for that, who only became his father’s concubine to escape being a servant.
Lin Suwan was no different, and he couldn’t blame her.
To be a slave is to be chained, and he knew that all too well.
However, that didn’t mean he would entertain her act.
She reached for Gu Xuanming, trying to tie his hair, but he impatiently waved her away.
“You may leave.”
Lin Suwan’s mouth fell open, wanting to argue back, but she closed her mouth, silencing herself.
She bowed her head before quietly saying, “Understood.” She would retreat from the room after that.
A sigh left this mouth.
After waiting in his room for a few moments, he took a step outside into the hall.
There he would see Lin Suwan waiting for him along with Nangong Xuanhe, who was dressed modestly, but not to the level he was.
Beside him was his servant, but unlike Lin Suwan, this one was old and fat, lacking the youth and vitality Lin Suwan had.
Looking towards his brother, Gu Xuanming exchanged no words, his gaze ice cold.
Nangong Xuanhe couldn’t look his brother in the eye, feeling ashamed.
Since they had nothing left to say, they would all leave the grounds of the clan.
Gu Xuanming tread with his hands behind his back while his older brother walked without any confidence in his stride.
“Look, is that Gu Xuanming?”
“The genius, right?”
“Tsk, lucky bastard.
No doubt he’ll get at least a B-grade talent.”
“Shh, he’ll hear you.”
“Isn’t that his older brother?”
“Wait, he’s his older brother?
With the way people were talking about him, I thought he was younger.”
“Apparently, he’s a retard.”
Chuckles could be heard as they both walked.
Those words may have felt like nothing to most, but to Nangong Xuanhe, they were heart demons.
They were like a heavy stone pressing against his chest, a weight he couldn’t lift.
Ever since his brother had been born, his life had been going downhill.
Even though they were only half-brothers, only he was actually related to Gu Chenyin!
His brother came from an affair when his mother, who was now dead, had sex with the Liquor Poison Monk, who used to come to the village before he died.
Yet in spite of this fact, his brother was praised while he himself was ridiculed.
‘That damn…!’
The resentment towards his brother had begun to accumulate, a heart demon clinging to his heart.
He wanted nothing more than for him to disappear!
If he hadn’t been born, he would have been treated right!
Gu Xuanming, on the other hand, felt nothing toward such praise.
To him, they were but words.
He could not feel any pride in being praised, nor happiness.
Nor did he feel superior to the envy and jealousy he attracted.
They meant nothing in the end.
After all, to him, they were but puppets speaking predetermined words that were given to them.
After walking for half an hour, they arrived with a large group of many young masters with their maidens.
The 5 elders of the pavilion were also here, keeping note of every youth who gathered here today, as well as a few of the parents who were with their children.
“Everyone should have arrived by now, right?” Tai Ben Yeng Shong said.
He was the oldest of the elders, a man with an eccentric appearance, with white hair and a large, fluffy beard, being round and short.
He was dressed in a yellow robe.
“Surely.
A young man would never dare miss such an event.”
“All young men strive to become cultivators.”
The elder nodded, agreeing with him.
“If that’s the case, we should continue on with this.” Murong Xuanji said.
He was a contrast to Tai Ben Yeng Shong, tall with a majestic body, dressed in a black robe, with dark purple hair and a sharp beard.
“You are right.” Tai Ben Yeng Shong said.
“Very well, it’s time to leave.”
Tai Ben Yeng Shong stepped over to the platform, looking down at the youths chatting amongst each other.
His mind was misplaced; still relieved yesterday.
He couldn’t help but feel worried that the boy would choose to tread the demonic path, but at the same time, at least he knew.
He trusted himself to change his ways and turn them into a righteous cultivator, just like many before them.
“Young men!” He shouted.
“I believe I don’t need to explain.
Follow me.”
Leaping off the platform, He guided the young men and their maidens towards a cave at the edge of Gue Ming village.
This cave was where all the tests were taken.
They would walk and continue to walk until it was dark enough to almost blind them.
After that, the sound of dripping water could be heard, sounding louder than it actually was.
Gu Xuanming made sure not to trip over any rocks while Nangong Xuanhe tripped a few times, caught by his servant each time.
He could only feel embarrassment each time, feeling the piercing stares of everyone who heard him trip.
After what felt like an hour of walking, they would arrive at a majestic view.
The crystals by the cave walls create a rainbow as light reflects off the lake.
The lake itself was also clean, glimmering like sparkle and at knee length if someone were to step inside.
Tai Ben Yeng Shong stood near the lake, pulling out a clipboard with a quill.
“Here’s how this will go: I will call your names one by one.
When I call you, you will march into the lake and walk.
This lake gives us a vague measurement of your talent.”
“If you cannot go beyond 20 steps, you have no talent.
If you go 21 to 30 steps, you have D Grade talent, 31 to 40 is C Grade talent, 41 to 50 is B Grade talent, and 51 and higher is A Grade talent.”
“Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir!” They all said in unison.
“…Wang Jun!”
A fat kid jumped when he heard his name.
He immediately began to sweat, his anxiety reaching the heavens themselves.
“H-here!”
He immediately walked ahead, stepping into the lake.
Immediately, he felt his body get heavy!
“W-what is this…pressure?”
He tried to walk, but it was hopeless.
It felt as if gravity itself had increased far beyond the planet’s own natural gravity.
It felt like he was carrying a thousand boulders on his back.
It felt like he was being held down.
Gu Xuanming could see the truth.
When one dares to step into the path of cultivation, fate stood against it.
The strings would turn to chains and try to pull them back.
That was the weight someone would feel when walking upon this primordial lake.
This lake was filled with primordial stone in its purest form, so naturally, it would supercharge the body to allow them to cultivate.
He could only take 10 steps before collapsing, dropping to his knees in tears.
“Sigh, no talent.
What a waste of blood.”
He crossed his name out.
“Sun Bo!”
“Here!”
Wang Jun stepped away crying, meeting his family who slapped him across the face, ridiculing him for being a waste of a son.
Nangong Xuanhe saw this, wondering just what his father would do to him if he didn’t show talent.
The anxiety built with each name called, just waiting for his own name to be called.
Gu Xuanming remained composed, his gaze empty, directed not at the test, but rather at his future.
He was confident in his talent, so he had already begun to think about what he would do.
Cultivating wasn’t easy, even for an A-grade talent, if they didn’t have resources.
After a bit of waiting, hearing countless failures and calls of D-grade talent, Zhao Cangsheng was called up.
“Ha!”
A young master with long black hair with streaks of red and a dark yellow tunic walked forward.
He held an arrogant grin, walking with his chest held high.
One could tell he had all the confidence in the world.
That he had no doubt he would be able to cultivate.
After a while, everyone fell silent and then was shocked.
“What!?
56 steps!”
“That means he is an A-grade talent, right?”
Happiness and pride tugged at Tai Ben Yeng Shong’s lips.
“Finally, a genius.”
His smile vanished as fast as it appeared, looking at the rest of the crowd.
‘That’s one.
We did have a few cultivators of D-grade talent, but that means we’re still waiting for the other two.’
“Hehehe.” Zhao Cangsheng stepped away, feeling more confident than ever.
He leaned against the wall, and the D-grade talents surrounded him like dogs.
They praised him, treating him like a rising god.
“Gu Xuanming!”
Hearing his name, he pushed himself off the wall.
“I wish you the best of luck, Young Master.
Your servant hopes the heavens bless you.”
Hearing her, he looked back, turning back around, and continued forward.
‘Bless me?’
‘They already did; I simply reject such a blessing.’
Stepping before the lake, such a bright scenery contrasted with the darkness that enveloped him.
He was not impressed in the slightness.
All he could see was a mockery of heaven, their way to decide your way of life and their way to stop you when you dare try to tempt fate.
Taking his first step into the lake, the cold lake began to try to resist him.
His strings turned to chains, but he resisted, feeling like a true slave for the first time.
The lake itself had begun to rise in a way that was unnatural.
The ripples were even greater than those of anyone who had come before.
“Look, the ripples!”
“Why are they doing that!?”
“Is he also going to get an A-grade measurement?”
“But when Zhao Cangsheng walked, it didn’t react like that.”
“Maybe I’ll be even higher!”
The people bickered with each other, placing bets on his grade.
While they did that, Gu Xuanming was deep in thought.
He understood that once this was over, he needed to get straight to cultivating.
Thankfully, by the end of this test, they would all be heading towards the Scarlet Bone sect, the only sect in the entire village.
It was the one school that survived because of its methods and how it taught its students.
Through this school, he would be able to have access to extra resources as well as more intel.
‘The path of a demon is paved with blood.’
‘I repeat this to myself, yet I can not grasp what that truly means.’
‘The only demonic cultivator I have heard of was the Liquor Poison Monk, my father, whom my dead mother had an affair with.’
Touching his tongue, he thought about the genetic trait he inherited from the monk.
Because of the monk, he had strong taste buds and smell, as well as poisonous blood.
This blood is what killed his own mother when he was born, after all.
Splash.
Splash…
He stopped walking, and everyone cheered for Gu Xuanming.
He had taken 50 steps!
“B-grade Talent, on the verge of A grade.
Not bad, not bad at all.” Tai Ben Yeng Shong said, chuckling with amusement.
Looking back at the paper, his happiness was drained when he saw the next name.
“…Nangong Xuanhe!”
Nangong immediately tried to walk ahead, but he tripped over someone’s foot, which had been extended.
Laughter reverberated across the cave, the only sound that plagued his thoughts.
Nangong wanted to cry; he wanted to run away from all of this.
He just wanted to be gone!
A shadow cast over him.
He looked up, and it was his brother, with a cold expression that did not change.
Every time he looked at his brother, he felt as if he were drowning in darkness, like staring into the abyss that was empty.
He didn’t speak, looking down in shame.
Just then, he felt a strong grip on the top of his head.
Gu Xuanming had grabbed his hair, pulling him to meet face to face, and with a cold tone, he said, “You are not a baby anymore.
Stand on your own two feet, and walk.”
Nangong Xuanhe had felt something for the first time.
Just a hint of emotion was within those words, not much, but it was enough to let him know that his brother wasn’t as soulless as he first seemed.
For a brief moment, he wanted to understand his brother, but his resentment reminded him of why he despises his brother in the first place.
This push for betterment seemed more like mockery to him.
It was because of such an act that he refused to be left behind!
He stood on his own two feet and slipped past his brother.
With a clenched fist, he marched towards the lake!
Splash!
Splash!
With heavy steps, he didn’t allow the mockery to get to him.
He wouldn’t!
Today was enough!
He couldn’t keep drifting in his little brother’s shadow.
He needed to surpass him.
Even if he didn’t show the traits of a genius, he could still surpass his brother!
Why?
Because he believed that the idea that hard work isn’t rewarded is bullshit!
Even as a D-grade, he cannot allow himself to lose!
In shock, everyone watched as the retard had the potential to cultivate, already within 20 steps.
“He has talent!?”
“No way!?”
In stunned silence, even Mùróng Xuānjī was impressed.
He had assumed the same as everyone, so to see his expectations be wrong after so many years was quite the new thing for him.
Nangong Xuanhe smiled brightly, truly believing that he would become equal to his brother, but the longer he walked, the harder it was for him until the weight became too much to bear.
“Gah!” He fell to his knees, unable to walk anymore.
“…that’s it, huh?” Tai Ben Yen Shong said.
“It seems he’s on the higher level of a C-grade talent.”
Everyone was already impressed by the fact that he had talent to cultivate, so they clapped.
Not to the same level as the others, but they clapped regardless.
Nangong Xuanhe didn’t feel the same.
He was crying.
He wanted to surpass his brother!
Not be a step behind him!
Looking at the crowd, he saw Gu Xuanming, his arms crossed, his expression cold.
In that moment, he felt like a rabbit before a bear, only the bear had no interest in feeding on such a small thing, for it wasn’t worth the trouble.
‘You damn bastaaaaaaard!’ He screamed eternally, his envy only growing with each passing second.
Gu Xuanming could tell his brother was fighting his own heart demons, but he did not care.
After all, he only told his brother to stand up and walk so that he could save face.
He may hate the system and the world, but that doesn’t mean he won’t use it to further his goal.
Face was everything when it came to clans; it was how you could gain favor and trust.
As of now, there was nothing he could do with the face he had, but it was better to have it pre-loaded so he could fire it when needed.
“Alright, everyone!
The exams are over!”