20 - The Next Step

It only took a week or so before Xia Fei found out that Wan Long knew about Kai Lan's true abilities, at which point she sat them both down for a long lecture before threatening Wan Long – and Kai Lan – and then sending them both on their way.

Kai Lan and Wan Long grew close over the summer between their first and second years. Closer even than Kai Lan was to Ran Ran and Do Han. Do Han spent his summer with his cousins in another town, and Ran Ran went on holidays with her family. By the time the two came back, they found the previous enemies not only the friends they had been at the end of their first year, but best friends. Even Wan Long's family couldn't deny the two their friendship, though there had been some initial grumbling about Kai Lan's background.

Given how polite Kai Lan was though, Madam Lu eventually scolded Lu Tai Long for being so cruel to the other boy and encouraged the two to get along. It also helped that Wan Long was doing so much better in his Formation Studies. Kai Lan had been fast to work out that the reason Wan Long was doing so badly was because his teachers had done what most teachers did and simply start with the Formation and Talisman language. It wasn't a bad place to start, but there were hundreds of symbols to memorise, and the symbols wouldn't really make sense until one was taught how to situate them in actual Formations and Talismans. It was like learning all the words of a language without the grammar or punctuation.

In comparison, Kai Lan had been taught the grammar and punctuation first, with words slowly being introduced to fill in the blanks. While far more difficult at first, it had meant that once he had grasped the concepts, he'd found both Talisman and Formation Studies easy.

In teaching Wan Long, Kai Lan couldn't just erase previous knowledge, so instead, Kai Lan limited Wan Long to a few simple symbols, and had him combine them in Formations for every combination possible until he understood.

In this somewhat peaceful way, Kai Lan passed the summer, and then passed his second year too.

It was around this time that his sister, Mu Lin, turned 2 years of age. She was adorable, and loved her brother very much. Kai Lan spent every spare moment he could with her, and she often accompanied him when he was meditating. Still, Mu Lin showed no signs of following in her brother's footsteps in terms of cultivation potential. Xia Fei and Hei Hei judged her to be no different than her parents, which only made Kai Lan even more of a puzzle, though they kept such thoughts to themselves.

The summer after his second year, Kai Lan reached a point in his cultivation when he realised that his next step would mean a breakthrough to the Profound Realm. At seven years and nine months of age, it was a remarkable achievement.

Kai Lan made the decision to end his cultivation session early and prepare for his breakthrough. The first step of which was informing his family members. He did it over dinner that night.

"I'm going to break through to the Profound Realm tomorrow," he said.

They paused, then smiles of congratulation passed from his parents.

"Brada is cool!" Mu Lin grinned, her childish pronunciation making him smile at her affectionately.

Xia Fei turned to look at Hei Hei.

"I'll have to prepare," Hei Hei said.

Attention turned to him and Hei Hei smiled, "I am very happy for you, but the breakthrough to a new realm will impact on the stability of the concealing formation. Hopefully it should not be too bad, but given the lack of a precedent for Kai Lan, I don't wish to take any chances".

Wu Lan nodded, "Do what you must".

Kai Lan nodded in agreement, "Sorry to make trouble".

Hei Hei shook his head, "We knew it was coming, your progress is nothing to be ashamed of even if we must keep it hidden".

Wu Lan sighed, "It appears my son will become head of the household".

It was not uncommon for the most powerful cultivator in a family to take such a role. But Kai Lan snorted at his father and shook his head, "I'm only seven. Besides, dad is much better at these things".

Wu Lan smiled at his son, but his son's words, while not malicious or threatening in any way, made something clear; Kai Lan was not accepting the role of Patriarch because of his age, not because of his incapability. Wu Lan knew it too. Kai Lan had learned many, many things from his mother and father, but also from Xia Fei and Hei Hei. He excelled in most if not all subjects despite faking lower results, and was cautiously curious, especially after the incident with Wan Long.

He may be only seven now, but Wu Lan was not blind enough to believe that being a child would stop his son from gaining whatever he desired.

"The District Inter-School Cultivation Games will run this year," Xia Fei commented, "While competitors only come from those of the five uppermost grade levels, I believe it will be good for you to watch and learn. It will be good for many of the more promising students at Nui Dan".

"Are you saying that we should save up for tickets?" asked Wu Lan, "It's not as if I'm against going, but it would be quite expensive-"

"Oh, no, you misunderstand," Xia Fei smiled, "The are perhaps, 150 junior schools within the district. Every school will have its own competition within the first 3 months. There are, as you know, 10 events spread across nine days, and to enter the Inter-School round, a student must reach a minimum result. Those that do will go on to compete in the Inter-school rounds, with the top 5 in individual events and the top 3 in team events going on to the Inter-District or National Level, then the International Level. The rewards of doing well in these competitions are great, but the role of an onlooker should not be overstated either. In addition to competitors, the Inter-School and Inter-District levels allow for 10 audience places to be taken by promising talents for future years from each participating school".

"But I've been hiding my true abilities," reasoned Kai Lan.

"And you will still do so," said Xia Fei, "But your talent with formations and talismans is not hard to discover after you've been teaching Wan Long, and though you try to hide it, your combat prowess is far greater than your same age peers. At least in these two areas, you can afford to stand out a little".

A slow grin developed on Kai Lan's face, "Really?

Xia Fei nodded, "But keep your aura and your cultivation in check".

Kai Lan's grin split his face in a way that was almost heartbreaking to his parents. Their child who was so immensely talented but forced to hide away…

"Deal".

The next day, Kai Lan sat with Hei Hei and Xia Fei as guardians and proceeded to conduct his breakthrough to the Profound Realm. He gathered the elemental energy to his golden core and purified it in the same routine he always had conducted, permeating his meridians with energy. But no matter how condensed they became, Kai Lan felt like something was missing. Something that was preventing him from taking that next step. As he filled his Extraordinary Meridians to the breaking point, he felt a lightness in his mind. Like he was suddenly floating on clouds as the world passed calmly around him.

His body became a secondary concern as he stilled and took in this new state, then he felt an overbearing presence at his back. Kai Lan turned in his mindscape, his eyes landing on three objects floating before him. A simple, golden crown, a corporeal, ancient sword and a jade talisman with a golden tassel attached to its base.

The three objects seemed to be asking Kai Lan to choose. He took a step forward to investigate, and as if sensing his presence, the three items stirred, and from them streamed 3, corporeal spirits. From the crown came an elderly man with a greying beard, in an ancient robe. From the sword a muscular warrior with a bare chest and a long ceremonial duelling robe on his lower half. From the Talisman, a young girl with big eyes that chewed at her fingernails, watching Kai Lan with what would have appeared to be innocent eyes if Kai Lan wasn't positive she was smiling in anticipation behind the wide sleeves of her ancient robes.

"What is this then, that has woken me from my slumber?" asked the old man, looking down his nose at Kai Lan.