Training Day

Yao Yun was in line awaiting the start of the Qi Gathering Cultivator evaluation and was looking at all the other residents here as well. "I can't believe it's already been two weeks since we broke through", Yao commented.

The man behind him frowned, "Yes, but I still wonder why they won't let us cultivate?"

Yao looked back, "Sun Shen, I'm sure they have a good reason for it. Everything that has been done so far has made our lives better, I'm sure this will as well."

Just as it looked like Sun Shen would respond, everyone heard a noise. The doors to the building they were lined up at open and people began to enter. A large lobby was the first sight for Yao and rows of chairs were positioned in rows. The lines of people dispersed as they found a chair, sat down, and looked around the room. A small artifact was sitting on a stand pointed towards the wall, and everyone was curious about the function of it. Two men and a woman entered the room from an office connected to the lobby and everyone quickly stood and greeted, "GOOD MORNING MINISTERS SONG, FU, AND LIANG!"

Minister Liang walked up to the stand holding the artifact and smiled, "Good Morning Everyone, now I'm sure you're all wondering what today is about and I have an explanation for you. Please pay attention to the wall and everything will be made clear."

She reached over and activated the artifact. The next moment the room darkened and the wall facing the crowd glowed in light as an image appeared.

"Welcome to all the new Qi Gathering stage cultivators of Sun and Moon Island. As you know, your meridians have opened and I suspect some of you might have an idea of which element you favor. I asked the ministers to delay you training because I want to ensure you receive the best possible results. Anyways, the schedule for today is as follows, first, after watching this image recording, you will guided to the testing room. Inside there are ten cultivator evaluation artifacts and in an orderly manner, each one of you will place your hand on one and await the results. The artifact will scan your meridians and dantian so that we can determine your elements, and customize a cultivation method for you that will be the most effective. If you have a Qphone you will have an identification installed on it, if not a basic model Qphone with your identification will be provided. Once this is step is complete you will meet with a minister to renegotiate your contract and decide if you want to continue the same work or change to a different profession. The ministers will have all the details of the new professions available, and the requirements for being accepted to that position. Finally you will be given a demonstration of the new QR pod, a new product from Boss Wei that allows people to learn, practice, or play a wide variety of activities. When you accept a new job, you most certainly will be changing departments and Ministers Song and Fu will be the boss for a lot of you. This concludes this introduction, when lights come on, one of the ministers will direct you to the next step."

Yao Yun watched as the lights in the room brightened and after looking around, he saw the two of the ministers standing by an office door. The crowd started walking over to the door and entered in a orderly fashion. As Yao passed through the door, he scrutinized the room, and quickly identified ten stations sitting inside. Everyone split up into equal lines as the first members approached the artifacts.

Minister Liang suddenly spoke, "When you walk up to the Evaluation Artifact, you will notice a crystal the size of a melon with a red tint. Place your hand on the crystal, and the light will turn yellow during the evaluation process. When completed, the crystal will turn green, and a tile with a number will be given to you. Released the crystal, and walk into the next room. Find the private booth with your number and insert the tile into it. The door will unlock, and your results will be available on your Qphone or a Qphone will be delivered with the results."

The first person in each line stepped forward and the process started. Thirty minutes later, it was Yao Yun's turn and he stepped forward towards the artifact. He placed his hand on the crystal, and watched as it turned yellow. An odd feeling ran across his body as it felt like ice water was running through his meridians. He endured the process for five minutes when the sensation stopped, the light turned green, and a tile with the number 72 was dispersed from the station he was at. He picked up the tile, headed to the next room, and got in line for the booth that showed his number in queue. Every few minutes a person would exit out the other side of the booth and the next in line would enter. Yao Yun's number finally displayed on the booth's screen and he entered inside. Yao already had a Qphone, so he found the slot for it and place it in there. After another five minutes, his phone notified him with a tone and he removed it. He opened the app that had been installed, found his report, and opened the document. The first page was an explanation, 'Your scores will be displayed as a pentagon, each element is a corner of this pentagon and will be evaluated with the following terms: nil, poor, average, excellent, and perfect. This represents the affinity with the element and higher affinity levels will lead to faster cultivation, stronger strength of techniques, higher levels of Qi storage, or other effects.'

Yao Yun turned the the next page by swiping his finger and saw the pentagon diagram. 'Name: Yao Yun, Cultivation Level: Qi Gathering, Fire-poor, Water-nil, Earth-Average,Wood-poor,Metal-nil, no other elements present, Recommended Cultivation Method-Black Sand art(check methods folder in app for more details).'

Yao began to celebrate, 'I can cultivate, this is all thanks to Boss Wei, otherwise I would stuck as a slave in the horrid city.'

Feeling pleased, he exited the booth and walked into the next room where the three ministers were over seeing the new cultivators. As he looked around the room he saw display images at regular intervals for departments one through seven, each listing job descriptions. Starting with the first display, Yao made his way through several departments before stopping at the department of commerce listings. He was skimming through the descriptions when he stopped on one, 'QR pod cafe employee'. He continued reading, 'The QR pod employee will be responsible for working a certain number of hours overseeing the use of QR pods, responsibilities include greeting customers, currency transactions, store cleanliness, QR pod cleaning, promoting services and light snacks/drinks.'

'Hmmm, this looks interesting', Yao considered, 'I'll pick a few more and then head over to the counselors.'

After picking two more, Yao walked over to the row of people, job counselors, and after an hour of discussing his options, he ultimately got selected for his first choice.

The counselors congratulated him, "Now that you've been selected, here is the schedule for your training."

An Qmail notification appeared on his phone but he ignored it for now and then bowed his head, "Thank you for your help."

He stood up and left, returning home to spread the news to his friends.

The next morning, Yao opened the mail, read his schedule, and prepared for the day. He arrived at the advanced education facility thirty minutes before his appointed time. When he entered the classroom, he was immediately stunned. Thirty large pods were arranged in the room and some of the other cultivators were standing off to the side observing them. Exactly five minutes before the hour, all the pods doors slid open and the room grew noisy as all the cultivators inside were speaking to each about the experience. Yao Yun heard, "That was amazing, if felt like we went to a whole different realm."

Another cultivator added, "Even though there are only two modes right now. Both modes were so good that I was quickly able to understand things much quicker than normal."

More cultivators were speaking as they left the room, and the cultivators that had just arrived were very confused.

A woman who was part of Minister Liang's staff walked into the room and instructed everyone, "Pick a pod, on top you will find a few lights with labels on them. Touch the clean light and wait for it to turn green and then enter the pod. Once inside you will need to place your Qphone in the slot in front of you and wear the helmet according the instructions. Please go ahead."

All the cultivators followed the instructions, when Yao sat in the pod and placed his Qphone down, the screen displayed his status and then played a quick moving image demonstrating how to wear the helmet. Once the helmet was on, it went dark for a moment and after blinking once a wide field appeared out of nowhere.

"What the hell?!?", Yao shouted.

Vigilant, he stood still as he felt wind on his face and the sun shining in his eyes.

'What do I have to…', before Yao could finish his though three displays appeared.

One was labeled cultivation, one was profession, and the last was settings. Curious about the third choice, he selected it and watched as the option morphed into a menu. The options included background, sounds, controls, and language. After testing things out, he changed the field to a beach and made the voice over a female's voice. This time he selected the cultivation option and the display morphed into a beautiful female cultivator.

"Doaist Yao, welcome to the cultivation program. According to the record in your Qphone, your optimal method is the Black Sand method. Will you practice this method or do you have another option you wish to use?"

Yao was stunned, he hadn't spoken with women very often so it took him a few moments before he stuttered out, "N, N, No, No, I will use the Black Sand method."

"Excellent! Let us begin!", The virtual woman cheered.