Chapter 3: Awakening the Sacred Mark

Zhang Ruotian sat in a lotus position on his bed. R.O.B had already done his part, fulfilling his wishes.

Just thinking about his wishes, he couldn't help but be amazed, as his wishes were broken enough to survive in this world without problems.

"I have already obtained the memories of the Gods who have reached the Peak of Cultivation." Zhang Ruotian looked at his right hand. "and also the Spiritual Ring that contains all the necessary resources to start my journey in Immortal Cultivation!"

"But I still can't cultivate, because I have to awaken my Sacred Mark first," said Zhang Ruotian discouraged.

Well, that was a restriction that R.O.B placed on him as he did not want the cultivation system of this world and his Immortal cultivation system to come into conflict.

Even if the two different paths led to the same destination. However, Immortal cultivation was stronger than the cultivation system of this world, so he would be stronger than other individuals in the same cultivation realm.

Only when he awakened the Sacred Mark could he cultivate without problems, be it the Immortal cultivation or the cultivation system of this world.

Zhang Ruotian sighed leisurely and said: "According to the memories of my predecessor, the Worship Ceremony will be held tomorrow at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I cannot miss this opportunity, because if I lose it, I will lose my status as a prince in the Yunwu Commandery... "

After organizing his thoughts, he closed his heavy eyes and entered the world of dreams.

He had a feeling that he should take advantage of this moment of his peace, because perhaps there would be no more of them in the future.

Snow fell heavily that night across the Yunwu City.

The next morning, the entire Yunwu City was covered with snow. Buildings, houses, roads, all were bathed in white and pedestrians walked around the city in heavy coats due to the frozen atmosphere.

They all walked happily towards the Imperial Ancestral Temple and worshiped the gods, as they did in all the years led by the Commandery Prince.

Outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, there was an ancient altar made of stones. Countless cows, sheep and pigs were tied to it as if they were ready to be sacrificed. So, like other wild beasts around the gleaming iron chain.

Numerous people gathered for the same purpose, be it the queen, concubines, princes, princesses, civil servants and martial arts monks and a huge number of teenagers who hoped to obtain the "Sacred Mark". Even babies in the babysitter's jade arms.

The entire Yunwu City was focused on the grand ceremony. Not only the Yunwu City, but also the other cities and towns throughout the Yunwu Commandery.

Zhang Ruotian entered the Ancestral Imperial Temple and was surprised by the majestic architecture of the place. But of course, that was only for a few seconds, because in his previous world there were better ones.

Suddenly his eyes fell on a certain person very similar to himself.

That person wore royal white robes, pale white skin as if he were very sick, but his black eyes that shone with determination and vigor that betrayed his sick appearance.

Black hair tied in a ponytail, black sword-shaped eyebrows, semi-oval face, small, upright nose, pink lips.

His appearance was a living copy of Zhang Ruotian removing his eyes and hair, if not, it would be very difficult to differentiate them because this was Zhang Ruotian's lost twin, the Ninth Prince of the Yunwu's Commandery, Zhang Ruochen!

Zhang Ruotian immediately moved towards his supposed brother in this world, something he never had in the previous one.

He looked at Zhang Ruochen as a big smile blossomed on his face and said: "Big Brother! How are you? Do you think we are going to awaken our Sacred Marks this time?"

As if he had heard someone calling him, Zhang Ruochen turned his head and came across the smiling Zhang Ruotian.

He looked at him with strange eyes, but they quickly filled with warm.

He looked at Zhang Ruotian and said: "I am fine thanks for asking Little brother. As for your question, I am 100% sure that we will successfully awaken our Sacred Marks!"

Zhang Ruotian looked at Zhang Ruochen with his red blooded eyes, he had thought that his brother today was a little bit different from his previous self.

As according to the memories of his predecessor, his older brother was always sick and could not get out of bed. More with the fact that he had not awakened his Sacred Mark even after 16 years, which created a sense of inferiority and timid personality very different from what he was seeing today.

However, he stopped thinking about it because even if his older brother changed, he would still be his older brother and nothing would change that.

However, an arrogant voice suddenly echoed in space and time.

"Hahaha, this is the funniest joke I've heard today. The trash brothers are thinking they can awaken their sacred marks after 16 years, Hahaha."

Zhang Ruotian's eyes went cold as an icerberg without delay when he looked at the Eighth Prince, Zhang Ji.

The Eighth Prince wore a Golden-Thread dress, covered with a jade belt supported at the waist. He was muscular, strong and handsome. And besides that, an extremely stupid and hypocritical person.

He was the type of person that Zhang Ruotian hated the most. So he wasn't even a little respectful when he said: "Huh? After all, it was Eighth Brother, and I was wondering what son of bitch of a dog was barking on this cold morning?"

When those words came out of his mouth, the Eighth Prince immediately stopped laughing out loud as if he had frozen.

Even the compound Zhang Ruochen was surprised by this surprise attack while unexpectedly a smile appeared on his face.

"Y-you?!"

The Eighth Prince was so astonished that he couldn't even formulate his words well.

But he didn't have time to respond when another arrogant fellow at his side said: "Eighth brother, you shouldn't care about such lesser people. People always say that the king gave birth to nine children and each of them is different in his way.

"Our father is a hero. I can't believe he produced two rubbish! 15 and 16 years old and didn't get the 'Sacred Mark'! You completely embarrassed the whole royal family! What is the point of you staying alive ? Why don't you go to hell?"

The subject was the Sixth Prince, Zhang Mi, even though his words were harsh, it was what most in the Imperial Ancestral Temple thought of in their hearts.

After all, who was the Prince of the Yunwu's Commandery?

He was a peerless genius who reached the Heaven Realm before he was fifty. Thus, many people still could not digest that two children of such people were so useless and probably weaker than a royal palace eunuch.

However, it also demonstrated how fragile the relations between the princes and princesses in the Yunwu Commandery were.

The older someone gets, the less likely they are to receive a "Sacred Mark". Only one in 10 people would be able to acquire the "Sacred Mark".

The stronger the Blood Meridians of Martial Arts warriors would be, the greater the chance of passing them on to their descendants would be.

Therefore, the likelihood of acquiring the "Sacred Mark" would also increase.

Among all the children that the Prince of the Yunwu Commandery produced, only eight of them had received their "Sacred Mark".

Only Zhang Ruotian and Zhang Ruochen had not awakened their "Sacred Mark" and fought for it to this day. And so they became the joke and disgrace of the Yunwu's Commandery Royal Family.

There were even rumors that they were not the children of Prince of the Yunwu Commandery. Because they are the only children from him who did not acquired their "Sacred Mark", which really bothered the Royal Family.

That is why all the other princes identified Zhang Ruotian and Zhang Ruochen as the shame of the Royal Family. They never treated them like real brothers and even wanted them to die.

Even the Prince of the Yunwu Commandery had kept his distance from them and Concubine Lin. This created an opportunity for certain individuals with malevolent thoughts.

Just yesterday, Zhang Ruochen and Concubine Lin were exiled for an insidious scheme carried out by the Queen, and they were expelled from the Jade Palace and transferred to the side corridor the night before.

However, Zhang Ruotian did not know that anything that happened because he lived alone, and would only visit his big brother and and mother whenever he had time.

Of course, if he knew he would certainly be so furious at the treatment that he, his big brother and mother enjoyed at the Yunwu Commandery.

For he did not care for anyone but them at the Yunwu Commandery. The other princes, princesses and concubines could die and he wouldn't even bother to offer his condolences.

After all, if it weren't for them filling the Prince of the Yunwu's Commandery head with various absurdities, they probably wouldn't be in such a desperate situation.

Seeing her two sons, Zhang Ruotian and Zhang Ruochen being marginalized, Concubine Lin, who was standing with the other concubines, was heartbroken.

However, she could do nothing to help them and could only blame herself for not being able to give her children better living conditions and a healthy life as she had previously expected.

"The Worship Ceremony will begin now!"

The Yunwu's Commandery Minister was at the top of the altar, holding a prayer roll and reciting aloud.

Then, an elegant servant at the altar started playing 16 different types of musical instruments like bianqing, bianzhong and bozhong.

Then she killed the animals that had been prepared on the altar and worshiped the gods with blood.

Pfft!

Suddenly, the rich Spiritual Blood was transformed into a column of strong and dense light that rose up to the vault of heaven. The column of light shattered the clouds and crashed into the spacious sky.

A star flew quickly from the sky and hit the eyebrows of a six-year-old boy. It mixed with the boy's body and became a red "Sacred Mark".

Everyone in the crowd was surprised and shouted. "The boy is General Xue's youngest son. He is only six years old and has received the 'Sacred Mark'!"

"The 'Sacred Brand of Blaze' is classified as the Fourth Class of the 'Sacred Brand'. This is incredible! This child is going to have a bright future!" The crowd continued to praise him.

There were different classes of the "Sacred Mark", from First Class to Ninth Class. First Class was the lowest and weakest level, while Ninth Class was the highest and most powerful.

Everyone looked at the six-year-old boy with jealousy.

This talented and lucky boy, who acquired the Fourth Class of the "Sacred Mark" at the age of six, was definitely one of God's favorite children. His achievements in the future would certainly be significant.

Among all the warriors of the Yunwu Command, a huge and excited guy screamed as he hit his chest. "Wonderful! This is my son, Xue Liang! Guys, welcome to join the celebration party at my house tonight! Haha!"

Pfft!

When that sound was heard, the crowd looked at the sky again. There were a few more stars that hit the eyebrows of some boys and girls. The stars became "Sacred Marks" one by one.

For all the "Sacred Marks" that were obtained this year, most of them were from the lower class. Very, very few of the teenagers had acquired the second-class Sacred Marks.

The most prominent candidate was still the son of General Xue, who had taken the grade from the fourth grade. He left people behind, who would need to reach him.

The people who acquired the "Sacred Mark" were a minority. They were probably only one tenth of the total population of the city of Yunwu.

The lucky ones who got the marks were extremely impressed. They were finally getting approval from the gods and having access to the way to create meaning in the martial arts.

On the other hand, those who did not obtain the "Sacred Mark" were really upset and disappointed. Some of them were even choked with tears. It can be said that "laughter is heard and tears are shed in different homes".

After General Xue's son had awakened his Sacred Mark. A totally unexpected scene had happened, the Ninth Principe, Zhang Ruochen had successfully awakened this time!

This normally caused an uproar in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, many people couldn't believe how he had acquired his Sacred Mark in the last year of hope.

For, if he did not manage to acquire his Sacred Mark in his 16 years, there would be no hope for him.

It was reasonable that many people were perplexed, as it was a person with a reputation for garbage that we were talking about.

However, this uproar did not last long as people scoffed at their hearts.

So what if he had acquired his Sacred Mark, it would probably be a low-level Sacred Mark since he was already 16 years old.

The ceremony was still moving towards the finish line. Zhang Ruotian had not yet acquired the "Sacred Mark".

After what happened to Zhang Ruochen, many people were on the alert, especially Concubine Lin who wanted a miracle to happen as it did with Zhang Ruochen.

She folded her hands together and started praying for the gods to fulfill her desperate wish.

Zhang Ruotian stood at the altar with a smile on his face. He was totally confident that he would awaken his Sacred Mark.

Crack!

At the same time, sounds of something breaking resounded inside his body as a stream of Genuine Qi flowed through his body.

Bam!

A high-pitched sound immediately sounded at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, there was one more star that descended towards Zhang Ruotian's eyebrows and transformed into a red circular "Sacred Mark".

Pfft!

A strong burning heat from his eyebrows spread throughout his body quickly.

"Hahaha! It's really happening, I will finally be able to start cultivating!"

Zhang Ruotian was really happy, with that he would be able to access the Spiritual Ring that R.O.B created and finally start cultivating.

Although many people are surprised, this did not surprise them much as Zhang Ruochen had already awakened his "Sacred Mark".

So why couldn't his little brother do the same?

Even the Eighth and Sixth Prince were stunned, as their eyes widened in disbelief, revealing shocked faces as they stood beside the two brothers.

"How is this possible?"

Concubine Lin turned and looked at zhang Ruotian and Zhang Ruochen. She finally saw the mark on their eyebrows. She ran up to them and hugged them very, very tight. "Ruochen, Ruotian, you finally made it, you finally made it!"

Seeing Concubine Lin happy in that way, made the hearts of the two brothers melt from the warmth. Naturally, they were happy that they managed to awaken their "Sacred Mark" at the last moment, however that was not comparable to the happy smile on Concubine Lin's face.

Zhang Ruotian had memories of his predecessor, and he knew very well how much Concubine Lin loved him and his big brother. Even though she was not his real mother, he treated her like that, because he owed her so much for having raised him since he was a child, despite suffering so many difficulties.

There was an old eunuch who looked after the Prince of Yunwu Commandery who walked towards Zhang Ruotian, and Zhang Ruochen and said: "Congratulations Concubine Lin and my Ninth and Tenth Prince for getting the 'Sacred Mark'! The Queen wants to invite the princes to her place. She insists on reviewing the class of their sacred marks personally."

"The Queen!"

The smile on Concubine Lin's face froze immediately, as if she realized something was wrong. She was so nervous that she pulled Zhang Ruotian and Zhang Ruochen after her.

"Mom, let's meet the queen!" said Zhang Ruochen.

Zhang Ruotian was confused as to why Concubine Lin was so afraid when talking about the Queen.

"Yes, mother, there is nothing to fear, let's meet the Queen and know what she has to say!" said Zhang Ruotian as he smiled brightly.

Obviously the two acknowledged Concubine Lin's subtle change. They instantly realized that the queen was a complicated person. They needed to be more aware and careful when dealing with it.

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Equivalent to the God Emperor's chapter 2: The Sacred Mark

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