Small talk

Still astonished by the twist, he couldn't help but silently look up to the blue star, reigning over the royal citadel.

"Yinyr, a real beauty."

John nodded as he removed all his previous preconceptions about how would live his life.

"So, I'll join a rank five... I guess. Which do you suggest?"

Envoy laughed as he denied his assumptions while taking something out of his space ring.

"Let me give you a hint, little boy."

John retrieved his sight from Yinyr and gasped.

"The royal academy?!?"

"Someone of magnificent talent, where else do you think we take them?"

John received the uniform, making sure to not drop it one thousand feet from the ground as he thought about all the legends and stories about the royal families and the famous academy. Founded at the very beginning of the empire, like the hymn, its emblem represented the four strongest lineages in the empire, which didn't change in the last five hundred years at the exception of one time where the Lycans dissociated themselves from the empire for a short amount of time due to unrest in the Valeria.

This was the school that raised almost all the legends praised by the bards and he was going there... The ramifications still didn't hit him as it was a lot to unpack. Still, he couldn't help but smile. Even though martial arts were respected, to acquire true power, cultivation was the way to go. Knowing this, he previously planned to increase his talent by various methods and by achieving a state of harmony with his body.

Many experts this state of being to be reached when one knew his body like the palm of his hand. Several martial artists in the past who managed to get up to his stage were able to upgrade their talent with their vital force and various means. This was way harder since, many who attempted this feat, ruined their insides and died as their ambitions or short-sightedness got the better of them. This was so rare that many believed this to be fiction to encourage martial artists to perfect their arts.

"Stop daydreaming about your wet dreams, little boy, what don't you admire the novice's killer in all its splendor."

"Novice's killer... The challenger tower, right?"

"Sure, but nobody calls it like in the city. It lacks charm. Just wait until you see one of those youngsters full of ambitions leave this tower with their spirit all in shambles."

Upon recalling his memories, the envoy shivered in pleasure. Trying to not show his discomfort towards his host's tendencies for sadism, John admired the tower, a result of hard work from multiple grandmasters in their art.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Huming Crestfallen, glad to meet you."

"You are from the royal family?!"

"Well, pretty low in the hierarchy as my talent is only in the high range but nothing I complain about. Food is great."

"Oh, so, what's our destination?"

"Let's not ruin the fun, shall we?"

As the duo continued their little banter, clashing metal could be heard from the ground and John looked over the mount's wing while making sure that his grip on the saddle was solid. A group of practitioners could be seen fighting various animals and one odd plant while one predator they hadn't seen was creeping upon them.

"Shouldn't we help them?"

"This entire forest is under the supervision of multiples sects and is engineered to be a training ground for new cultivators. Look at them, their fight is chaotic and their skills not up-to-par. It'll be a great lesson... for the survivors."

The mount didn't stop on his way and quickly lost the group behind when a heartbreaking scream resounded behind them sending a jolt in John's spine. A small sneer escaped from Huming who explained that it was the usual. John's training mainly involved capturing or killing beasts under the supervision of Li when the busy man could free himself from his obligations. Even though he went with them, exterminating some bandits roaming in their region, they rarely had time to scream their emotions like that.

The scream didn't last long as the city's racket soon covered it. The sky over the city was filled with dragons carrying merchandise, different flying mounts carrying the emblem of various noble's families and famous sects, flying sword delivering packages and many other things which John couldn't determine the use for. This visual's mess impressed as he couldn't decide where to turn his head towards.

"Impressive, huh? Do you see the incorporeal orbs floating around? In reality, all of them are made from formations that allow the sunlight to reach the city and hide the visual's pollution in the sky. In the past, the citizens heavily asked for implementations as they couldn't see the sun anymore and there were even plants extremely sensitive to sunlight, which died due to the shadow lurking in the sky. This, in turn, created multiple restrictions imposed for those who wanted to gain the right to fly over the city.

Unfortunately, this led to another problem since only those wealthy could afford to earn the rights of flight so all the small merchants, small shops, and nobles flooded the streets. Those doing commerce brought their different carriages and nobles, who couldn't flaunt their status with their flying mount, domesticated various exotic mounts and flooded the streets with them. As dissent escalated between the citizens and other factions, they needed a solution to avoid infighting and these orbs came to life."

John noticed that everyone just passed through these orbs without care so he extended his arm towards one orb by curiosity and felt a tingle crawl up his arm. Again, the same sensation he felt seemingly mixed up with his vital energy. He tried to force a small amount of the supposed Qi to stay apart but his training method engraved in his body the habit of using all it could to provide the best vital energy didn't allow that. Stressed about the fact, he asked how to properly control his Qi, which caused Huming to laugh.

"Oh well, it seems like my assumptions were wrong. Most people who are talented will comprehend how to manipulate their Qi when they reach ten years old. Even though we scattered throughout the empire warnings about the Qi's manipulation and how young practitioners could avoid the pitfalls, people from low-birth or precocious children will ignore or don't know the recommendations we shared. Two main problems arise from this fact. First, they climbed in their cultivation too fast and their foundation is deplorable. Subsequently, they may have harmed their meridians or other factors which I won't delve into.

Unfortunately, these problems often come in tandem. You, on the other hand, created Life Qi, which is useful for all life forms and is the principal source for body cultivation. You may have trouble separating Qi but, afterward, you'll see the familiarities between the two energies and your control over Qi will be better than those who just started. Anyway, you'll delve into this deeper in the academy."

Just as he finished his explanation, the flying mount dropped itself in front of a sumptuous gateway leading to an assembly of young men and women in the same situation as John.

"Welcome to the testing hall, this test will take assess your talent in more ways than what I could do."

"Thank you for all, Huming."

"Now, now, it's starting, so join them. Show me what you are made of."