Measure of Strength

"Never meant to be a cultivator!" Vin repeated in a stunned voice. "Why would they ever draw a conclusion like that?"

Vin's mother looked at Vin as he received the shocking news. The Elders of the Lydon Family held a meeting with them before they came to tell him the news.

She and her husband were very talented Elementalists. Due to this, many cultivators in the Lydon Family became jealous of them. This led to them living a hard life that would never allow them to fulfill their true potential.

Those who envied them and had power in the Lydon Family Manor started giving them tasks and different duties that took up a lot of their time. They led this life until it became apparent that the Manor was against them. They never had time to cultivate; thus, they could never become powerful.

Now their son was facing the same fate as them. They knew their son was special from the day he was born; his first words showed he was always interested in cultivating from a young age. Now the Lydon Family was ready to make their son go through the same harsh treatment they experienced.

The two parents did everything they could to prevent the Manor from interfering with their son's cultivation, but things still got out of hand.

"They say that you took a long time to reach the requirements for the Core Creation Rank and that you took an unusually long time to break through. They wanted to kick you out of the Lydon Family Manor because they deemed you to be of very poor talent," Vin's father elaborated on the matter.

This left Vin's shocked state even more ruffled than he had already been. He really could not understand why all this was happening. Why would the Lydon Family Manor want to kick him out? This was no different from claiming him as a normal individual.

If they kicked him out, his only options were to either give up on cultivation or travel to a new region that was not under the Lydon Family and hope that they would accept him. And the second option was already shaky.

If he went to another region, the organization there would question him about why he went all the way there, and they would eventually figure out what happened. And that is not good news. If he was kicked out of the Manor, he would not have access to cultivating and fighting techniques.

Whichever option he chose, getting kicked out of the Manor was the same as giving up on being a cultivator. But the one thing he did not understand was why—why would the Elders want to kick him out? For crying out loud, a lot of cultivators with below-average talent were also in the Manor. Why target him?

"But why? Why would they do this?" Vin asked his parents.

Vin's mother started crying after hearing his question. She took Vin in her arms and wept while embracing him. "They have always been out for us, but I did not expect them to come after you."

His mother's words left Vin stunned once again. '.. always been out for us..' What was that supposed to mean? His father watched from the side with an angered expression on his face. He could have changed all this if only he were more powerful; now his family has to suffer.

"So all I have to do is perform well on their tests, and I am free to remain in the Manor?" Vin asked.

There was a moment of silence after Vin asked his question, but it was broken by his mother's voice.

"Yes, they will have no reason to kick you out."

"Then it will be okay. I promise I will do my best." Vin spent the evening trying to calm down his mother.

...That night...

As Vin lay in his bed wide awake, he wondered what had happened while he was breaking through. He was no stranger to the fact that his family was treated harshly by the Lydon Family Manor; it was just that he had never expected such an outcome.

'Now, I have to show them whom they are messing with.'

The next morning, Vin woke up and went through his normal morning routine. He had breakfast and started preparing for the afternoon because that was when he was going to meet one of the Elders sent by the Lydon Family.

'System, what do I need to do to learn a new technique?'

"You must learn the technique for it to be registered as one of your techniques."

'What types of techniques can I learn?'

"You can learn any technique ranging from the summoning techniques of Manifestors and Elementalists to the transforming techniques of the Beastials."

Vin smiled at the system's reply. If what the system said was true, then there was no limit to what he could learn. What other people found worthless, he could find value in. Now Vin could see how this could become very beneficial in the future, but he had to first survive the present.

Time went by without a hitch; it was late afternoon when Vin went to the appointed location to meet the Elder from the Lydon Family.

Vin walked into the library of the Lydon Family Manor. It was not his first time being there; the last time he was here, he was about to break through to the Core Creation Rank. Now he was back in the same place, except this time, he was proving that he was worthy of the Core Creation Rank and being a cultivator.

"Victor Blake and Hora Blake." The Elder sent by the Lydon Family greeted Vin's parents.

"Greetings, Elder Markus." Vin's parents replied to the Elder in unison.

After greeting his parents, Elder Markus walked past them and stood in front of Vin.

"Greetings, Elder Markus." Vin greeted the Elder while bowing.

"Vin Blake, is it?" Elder Markus asked after Vin's greeting.

"Yes, Elder." Vin replied.

Elder Markus walked in front of Vin, indicating for Vin to follow him. They passed multiple bookshelves that contained a lot of different techniques until they reached a certain bookshelf. Elder Markus walked up to it and picked a specific book from it.

He proceeded to hand the book to Vin Blake. "Precisely six months from now, I will come back to check your progress in this technique. If it is below level five, you will no longer be part of us."

Elder Markus then walked past Vin and out of the library. Vin felt something was off; if the Lydon Family wanted him out of the Manor so badly, why test his ability on a technique?

Vin Blake pondered the matter for a while, and he still felt something was off. He then turned the technique book handed to him by Elder Markus. The title read, 'Elemental Manipulation,' and that was when everything clicked, especially reaching level five of mastery.