Chiron stood and watched as the sword cut down each and every child around him. After the last child fell to the ground, the sword stopped. It came once more before Chiron, hovering around him a bit before flying back into the hand of Elder Joules. Placing itself right in its scabbard.
Chiron was not sure, but the moment the sword hovered before him, he felt something. It was deep, and in the passing, but it was still there. In his memory of this event with the MC of the book, he never remembered the MC feeling anything.
This feeling was a sort of kinship with the blade, but it felt like something was missing. He thought hard on this. Holding as hard as he could to that feeling, he also analyzed the reason he never remembered the MC of the book having this feeling.
Then he looked around, and it suddenly hit him. If he was just an ordinary seven-year-old boy standing in the center of what looked to be a massacre, what would he feel...The answer was simple. FEAR, or better still, Dred. But he was not an ordinary seven-year-old and he was able to maintain his composure even in such a situation.
He moved the issue about what he felt with the sword to the back of his mind for the moment. Right now, there were other important things that needed his attention.
Joules and the elders watched attentively as the sword pierced through all the children except Chiron. Apart from Nora who was four and the sword still touched, this was naturally to be expected. However, Joules could not help but frown at the sight of Chiron, and this was not just because of his status as a Tamashi.
Once the sword came back to her hands and into the sheath, she handed it back to the elder beside her.
After a while of waiting, it happened.
A bright light suddenly appeared on the chest of the first child the Ancestor's blade had gone through, and then another, and another.
The same thing also happened with Nora at his feet.
Soon, the children stood to their feet. The blade wounds on their chest had healed like it had never been there. As they stood to their feet, their bodies shone in a low glow.
"Good! Good!!" Joules nodded her head. However, not all the children stood back up to their feet. "Congratulations young ones, you are now cultivators. Those around you that did not rise back up to their feet, are unfortunately dead."
Those words took the children by surprise. They looked beside themselves-some at their friends, others at their siblings knowing with fear at what their fates might have been moments ago.
"This is the cultivation world," Elder Joules continued, "It is brutal and endearing. Let this be the first lesson for you all. If you are weak, you will end up like them."
Chiron looked at Nora. Fortunately, she had survived the ordeal. Just As Chiron expected she would. Cablen had also survived the ordeal. However, two of his bully friends did not get back up.
As Elder Joules spoke, an elder brought a round crystal ball and placed it in front of her.
"Your Dantain has now been unlocked. However, Dantains are all of different qualities which tells how far you shall grow in the cultivation world. This device before me will tell the quality of your Dantain."
Chiron could still remember this part from the book. There were usually three grades to the quality of Dantain: A, B, C.
A grade "C" Dantain was the most common. Usually, people that managed to unlock this grade never really went that far in the cultivation world. Most of them end up in medical teams, supply teams, and a lot of times as Cannon fodder in battles. The highest they ever reached was around Peak Wood Rank or maybe first stage Stone Rank.
And this was after many years of hard work, bitter training, and best of all, plenty of luck. Although it sounded like it mattered little, luck was probably one of the most essential elements in the cultivation world.
The next was Grade B. This grade usually had a better prospect in life. Although hard work in any grade was important, it was by far easier with this Rank. A lot of the Elders fell in this category. They were mostly of the Copper rank. In fact, If one made it to Copper, he was permitted by the law of the land to become an elder.
Lastly, was A Grade. This grade usually had it easy in life. In fact, they had it easier than any other Grade. While the other two grades had difficulty with Cultivation along the way, Grade A had it the easiest. With a little effort, they grew fast.
However, there were also the least found amongst all the other grades. At the moment, the Chikitsa clan only had two such individuals. One of them was the Chief of the Clan, and as expected, the second was Aleen his twin brother and Chiron's Father.
"You will all step up one after the other and test your Dantain quality." Elder Joules instructed. Except For Chiron and Nora hiding behind his leg, all the other Children made a straight line in front of the Crystal ball.
The method of knowing the Quality of Dantain was actually really easy.
A yellow glow signified Grade C.
A Green Glow signified Grade B.
And a blue glow signified Grade A.
One after the other, the children touched the Crystal ball. As they did, the Elders took notes of their Grades. Most of them as expected were Grade C, with a few of them being Grade B. However, just when the Elders were starting to get disappointed in the lack of a Grade A, Cablen walked forward.
With a confident look on his face, he touched the Crystal ball.
"Hmmm! As expected of the Chief's and Elder Joules son," an elder turned to Joules in a smile, "Congratulations Elder Joules."
"Congratulations Elder Joules." The Other Elders congratulated her. Joules smiled at them, enjoying the admiration of their praises.
Just as expected, Cablen had a Grade A Dantain. So far, he had been the only Grade A amongst the children. After a few more children tried, There was luckily another Grade A Child. It was a girl, and although it was a surprise to the Elders, It was still a joyous moment.
Just getting one Grade A Child was practically a miracle. In the entire clan with its hundreds of Cultivators, there were only two Grade A Cultivators. It was easy for one to understand the joy of the Elders when two Children came out as Grade A.
This was joyous news worthy of celebration.
The last child touched the Crystal ball and that was the end of the queue. However, Nora could not escape Elder Joules's eyes. "You there!" She pointed at Chiron, "Let her come forward."
Chiron instantly understood what they meant. He turned to Nora to comfort the scared little girl.
At the moment, Nora wanted nothing more than to leave this place. She would have even preferred to have gone to the Graveyard with her father than to come and witness the death of the children she just did.
Chiron comforted her and holding her hand, he lead her forward. The two got to the crystal ball just in time as Aleen made his entrance. to the venue.
All eyes were on the two, and even on the faces of the Elders, there was a frown when they looked at Chiron and Nora. However, Nora touched the Crystal ball and their expressions instantly changed.
Even Aleen saw this and was in total Awe...