Journey Towards Dao

One hour later.

Tarek's eyes were partially hooded with intense concentration. The fingers on his left hand twitched with small jerks against the Ignition Plate, almost mirroring the flame that danced along the bottom of the cauldron.

Every once in a while, strands of Profound Qi swam to his fingertips to ensure the persistent connection between the Ignition Plate and his tiring Soul Force, reflecting the increasing weariness hidden behind his calm expression. His right hand was manipulating the stirring rod, continuously maneuvering the concoction with practice swirls to ensure even heat distribution.

Suddenly, a refreshing fragrance blossomed from the cauldron, causing his eyes to open wide, blue irises rippling with recognition.

'Success!'

His left hand lifted from the Ignition Plate, flame dissipating as his right hand removed the stirring rod. Then, he reached to the side of the cauldron to quickly turn a small knob, which caused a fine mesh strainer to ascend from the bottom of the cauldron, lifting the dregs away from the glistening, yellow-colored Spirit Elixir. He unhurriedly boxed those dregs away, as they were still full of vitality necessary for the concoction of Fertilizing Elixir.

When he placed an empty elixir bottle directly underneath the cauldron, a smile couldn't be suppressed as he watched the yellow liquid quickly emptying into the small glass. After it was full to the brim, Tarek carefully placed a metal cap on top.

At this moment, another explosion erupted nearby.

Boom!!

From afar, an Elder instructed, “Examinee number 1, your Examination is complete. Please patiently wait at the seating area to your right. Examinee number 7, please remain standing by your work-surface for the time being."

The barrier dispersed, unleashing the pungent smell of cinder. Small sniffles caused Tarek's eyebrows to lift. Subtly, Tarek glanced forward towards the figure standing closest to the flaming barrier.

'She should be that Grade 1 Dao Root genius…'

A couple silent inhales later, he judged, purely from the burning smell, that she must have been very close to successfully completing a Qi Refinement Elixir.

Rubbing her face with her sleeves, the girl quickly turned away and towards the row of mostly occupied chairs, leading Tarek's gaze towards the seated, golden-haired child smiling with his thumb raised in his direction.

Tarek smiled in return before turning back to examine the rest of the examinees refining their Spirit Elixirs. Looking backwards first, he saw that there were only six disciples still working. But once he turned back towards the front, to Tarek's surprise, he realized that was not the first to finish.

A startlingly tall disciple standing relaxed against his work-surface. As if feeling Tarek's gaze, the disciple turned around with a careless smile that shook Tarek's self-assurance. From the disciple's lackadaisical posture, he seemed to have completely refined his Spirit Elixir long ago!

If Tarek had been utilizing a difficult Elixir Refinement Technique, he wouldn't have felt so disconcerted. But his Dual Petaled Elixir Refinement Technique was one of the simplest within Tier 1! The fact that he, someone from a distinguished family with plentiful Elixir Refinement experience, was outpaced by some unknown bloke within the Outer Sect caused doubt to roil about inside Tarek's heart.

'No way. Who exactly is this guy? Even if he's from another Outer Sect mountain, I should have heard of someone like this...'

Although Tarek smiled back, his mind couldn't resist spinning with fervent concentration, contemplating his previous refinement process and where he could have performed better.

...

Elder Judas patrolled the work-surfaces belonging to the remaining eight disciples, eyes thoughtful as he glanced ever so briefly at their completed assignments.

"I have to say, I'm surprised."

Walking back towards the front, Elder Judas' voice was suddenly ringing with jubilation as he continued, "Eight of you have managed to complete the refining process safely, which is more than we expected. But what's truly surprising is that two of you refined perfectly stable Spirit Elixirs with no seepage of Profound Qi!”

Pointing three fingers forward, three metal-embellished, wooden boxes floated towards three disciples. The box that landed in a twenty-year-old disciple's excited grasp was inlaid with bronze metal. The silver box fell into Tarek's grasp. And finally, the tall youngster standing received the gold box.

"Congratulations to the winners! Each of you will be receiving a Lesser Spirit Plant as your reward for displaying proficiency beyond your peers. And to the rest of you who made it this far, be sure to commend your three fellow disciples for their outstanding skill and acumen in this final assessment."

Clapping rang through the hall as the disciples jumped up to congratulate the winners, some admiring the winners of the Spirit Plants while others secretly envious of those receiving them.

...

Auslen smiled with praise as he skipped up to Tarek, whispering, "Hey, remember to show me what you got later."

"You're curious?" Tarek asked, slightly surprised.

After hanging around Auslen for some time, he had noticed that Auslen was a rather withdrawn child, somewhat even hermit-like at times. He rarely showed much interest in things that didn't involve him directly and almost never left his cave-abode, outside of his time at the Elixir Refinement Hall.

Though, if Tarek had his own over-the-top residence like Auslen's and wasn't forced to reside in that dingy, damp cave, perhaps he also would be a bit of a home-body.

"I can just show you now." Tarek smiled, not worried about the prying eyes of the surrounding disciples. Disregarding his connections within the Sect, no one within the Outer Sect would dare covet an item so publicly gifted by a Chief Sect Elder.

Seeing as Tarek was willing, Auslen felt it unnecessary to argue.

Tarek held the silver-inlaid box a little lower, pressing gently on the top until it burst open to reveal a jade interior. Sitting inside was a gorgeous plant with dozens of red, tri-petaled flowers, each emitting a soft, warm radiance. The feather-like petals fluttered in spite of the absence of wind, and with Tarek's every movement, the stems released faint rattling sounds that resembled the distinctive calls of a crane.

Is that...

"Holy Heavens, it's a Flaming Crane Flower!" One of the nearby disciples shouted.

"What?! That's a Spirit Plant with a Rare Grade Bloodline!"

"Let me see!"

As neither of the other two winners showed any inclination of revealing their prizes, the rest of the disciples flooded over to Tarek's side, trying their best to get even a small glimpse of the Spirit Plant.

During this episode of excitement, Xue Yimeng's white-robed figure silently stepped down a nearby flight of marble stairs. Even as she walked through the second floor with her strangely slow pace, not one of the disciples was able to perceive her existence.

"Natalie."

Once the cold voice transmission entered her mind, the blonde girl, who was still sitting by herself in the seating area, raised her slightly wet lashes as she gazed up to the beautiful woman standing in front of her.

"We're leaving."

With no words of motivation or encouragement, Xue Yimeng turned away from Natalie and continued her slow journey towards the descending staircase.

As if her earlier brimming confidence had shattered, Natalie began tearing up once again. But she had no choice but to follow along, glancing back towards the winners and the other disciples, who all seemed to have forgotten about her presence.

...

"She won't make it far as a cultivator if such a small failure could affect her so heavily." One of the Elder's softly commented, voice so low and fast that it resembled a wisp of wind that only the surrounding Elders could perceive.

"Don't be like that" Elder Judas replied from a distance, lips blurring from the speed. "She's one of the few Grade 1 Dao Root geniuses within the Sect, so it's only natural that she'll become a bit spoiled. No one expected much from the girl today. But by achieving first place in the theoretical portions, she at least managed to not disgrace the abundant preference the Sect has shown her so far.

"Her upset is purely from failing to meet her own expectations, which is better than a talent that lacks motivation. Give her some time."

Elder Judas smiled as his gaze scanned the nodding Elders, who were all silently standing up with the intention to lead the newly-promoted Apprentice Alchemists out of the Alchemy Assessment Palace.

"You don't have any opposition about the results, do you Lin?" Elder Judas' voice transmission held notes of teasing. Even if the gray-haired man did have complaints, Elder Judas didn't care. "Don't forget to send me what you promised!"

Elder Lin's teeth were clenched, but he ignored the jab. After glancing towards the tall, grinning youngster one final time, he set his doubts aside and stepped forward, instantly arriving in the mob of disciples surrounding Tarek.

With an upward wave, five figures, including Auslen and Tarek, shot up into the air before floating down outside the crowd.

"It's time for us to leave. We still have work to do. Let’s go!"

Elder Lin stalked off like usual, forcing the rest of the disciples to quickly follow behind him.

As they walked down the stairs, someone whispered, “I know that it's only been about an hour or so outside of this Ruin Fragment, but couldn’t he have given us a day off or something? We’ve been testing for ten hou—”

Elder Lin’s head whipped back to glare at the talkative disciple, shocking them into hurriedly closing their mouth.

…

In a flawlessly designed and decorated bedroom, far away from the Heaven-Reaching Mountains of the Eastern Empyrean Continent, a heavy wooden door was being pushed open with a pair of fair, white hands.

“Excuse me for my rudeness, Your Highness,” A gentle, subservient voice resounded. “It’s nearing time for your Coming-of-Age Banquet.”

On a bed far too large for any one person, a young boy was lying there underneath layers of thick bedding, wrapped in a thin, silky-smooth black robe.

After several moments of silence, a pretty young maidservant stepped forward into the room.

As usual, the napping boy didn’t show any response to the wake-up call, however, as soon as the maid approached, his lashes flew open, revealing a pair of piercing, metallic blue irises that darted straight towards the enclosing maid’s figure.

Noticing the adorable boy’s exorbitant, but habitual vigilance, the maid stepped back with a harmless smile adorning her face, waiting for the young child to calm himself. After the past year as his personal maidservant, she had gotten used to this strange ritual the two of them enacted nearly every day.

This six-year-old had a difficult time getting to sleep, and he had just as difficult a time waking.

Recognition flashing in his young eyes, the boy remained silent but his ashen eyes grew a modicum more approachable. He reached out his arms towards the maid’s outstretched hands, finally allowing her to assist him out of his bed.

Once his feet hit the carpeted ground, he turned to march himself directly towards the balcony doors, his pale skin and small red lips visible in the reflection of the closed glass doors. Warm light from the evening sun washed over his undeveloped features beautifully.

Familiar with his routine, the maid hurriedly followed him, successfully opening the balcony doors by the time the boy arrived.

Walking forward into the large balcony, he stopped after a few steps. His hands held onto the wrought-iron railing, which was still dripping wet from the earlier spring shower, as he gazed out past the Apricot and Orange trees into the environment that encompassed him.

Underneath the cloud-filled sky, heedless wealth radiated from the vast swathes of magnificent architecture. Golden palaces, intricate carved embellishments, crimson-tiled roofs, shining marble statues immortalizing both human and animalistic figures.

But none of the oppressive opulence moved the child.

“Maria?”

“Hmm?” She couldn’t help the audible surprise that slipped from her closed lips after being acknowledged by the silent boy. As far as she could remember, this was the first time he had spoken a word to her.

Standing at a respectful distance behind the boy, Maria straightened her posture to rid herself of her embarrassment while she quickly amended, “Yes, Your Highness?”

“I’ve turned six today.”

“That you have, Your Highness.”

“I’ve come of age.” He made another uncharacteristic announcement.

Smiling happily, Maria repeated, “That you have, Your Highness.”

“... Then, I’ll be leaving this place soon, won’t I?”

After the conclusion of the boy’s soft, enunciated sentence, Maria paused, staring at the small back in front of her for a few silent moments.

“Yes, you will, Your Highness.” She answered quietly.

It wasn’t until then that the boy turned around. His expression remained muted, however, his eyes gleamed with discernible expectation.

The boy stepped from the balcony, allowing Maria to close the glass doors once more.

“Dress me,” the child ordered.

Laughing internally with both amusement and faint heartache, the maid rang a bell that was hanging from the midsection of her robe.

A second later, droves of servants entered through the bedroom door, surrounding the boy with serious efficiency as they worked busily. While some labored on his long, inky black hair, others draped thick, black palatial robes around his small frame, golden images of a coiling flood dragon and a fiery phoenix expertly stitched onto the expensive, satin exterior.