Qin Meng was sitting inside his room as he stared at the box in front of him. He caressed the box and then took a deep breath and grabbed a knife before cutting his hand. The blood dripped on the box, and it burst into a dazzling light. Qin Meng eyed the box with an excited and anxious and anticipated look. Then the light started to converge and transformed into two figures, a man and a woman.
The man was tall and robust and extremely handsome, wearing a white robe. His eyes were sharp and a dazzling smile hung at the corner of his lip. He looked gentle, yet there was something about his presence, lofty and dignified..
On the other hand, the woman was elegant and refined beauty, almost like a goddess, and her green dress accentuated her presence. Her blue eyes were extremely charming and her black hair almost touched the ground.
They were Qin Meng's parents, Qin Xiang and Ye Mingzhu.
"F—father, mother…" Qin Meng's voice turned hoarse and his eyes reddened.
As Qin Meng stared at the two figures blankly, Qin Xiang began to speak, "Haha, my son, Qin Meng, now that you have activated the box engravings, I assume you are already seventeen."
Ye Mingzhu smiled happily and said, "Little Meng must have become extremely handsome. I wonder how many girls are courting you."
"Of course, I am unmatched under heaven. Who would dare to court me?" Qin Meng mumbled, feeling indignant.
"You must be full of grievances, right?" Qin Xiang said. He stared at Qin Meng and went on, "I know, you must have faced lots of injustice because you're unable to cultivate, but now the time has come for a sleeping tiger to awaken."
"Huh?" Qin Meng eyed his parents blankly. He was confused and his heart was beating furiously in anticipation. He wanted to know what his parents were saying, but he knew that they couldn't hear anything, so he remained silent.
"There is a breathing technique inside the wooden-box," Qin Xiang smiled as he went on. "You just need to practice it diligently, and you'll become a cultivator."
"Furthermore," Ye Mingzhu added, "when you become a cultivator, you won't have just a single Martial Spirit like most of the cultivators; instead, you'll have five of them."
"What?!" Qin Meng almost jumped on the spot, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"However," Qin Xiang continued, "At the start, they'd be the lowest grade one."
Qin Meng's eyes twitched. 'Are you making fun of me, mom, dad?'
"Although the Martial Spirits that you refine will be of grade one, you will be able to upgrade them without a limit," Ye Mingzhu added.
Qin Meng frowned. He knew that Alchemists (Pill and Elixir Masters) could refine pills and elixirs that could evolve the Martial Spirits. However, even with the help of the pills and elixirs it wasn't possible to upgrade them without limit, as there were lots of impurities refined with elixirs. Moreover, the stronger the Martial Spirit was, the harder it would become to improve it.
"Are you thinking it's not possible to upgrade Martial Spirit continuously?" Qin Xiang chuckled. "Maybe for others, but for you, it won't be a big deal."
"You'll understand when you practice the breathing technique we've left for you," said Ye Mingzhu. "And anything that you can't understand, figure it out yourself."
"..." Qin Meng.
Qin Xiang looked at his son and said, "We have already prepared everything for refining your first Martial Spirit—" Suddenly, Qin Xiang and Ye Mingzhu's figures started to become distorted. Qin Xiang sighed and said, "My son, Qin Meng, your dad and mom believe that you will be able to reach great heights in the future. You just need to follow your heart. Remember, though you will be able to cultivate soon, it is not the only way to become strong. There are all kinds of methods in this world."
Ye Mingzhu said, "Lastly, you must treat Leng Yueyan well..." And then they vanished.
Qin Meng remained standing, staring at the blank space dumbly. Everything happened too quickly, he was unable to calm for a long time. He'd no idea what his father's last words meant. He sighed and turned towards the wooden box.
It was already open. Qin Meng looked inside and spotted a golden scroll and a… ring?