'Everything is truly interesting to see...' Hei Tu finds himself thinking distractedly, looking at the clan's houses and structures, which are not only all made of wood but also largely built using living trees of different colors and shapes growing directly from the ground.
Not only that, he can see various restaurants with tables made of giant flowers or some small wooden puppets walking back and forth, some carrying heavy items. Unfortunately, he can't see everything because his vision is blocked, and he has to keep his pace quick due to the crowd of young people around him.
'Hmm, this really is an important ceremony with such a large movement of youths at this time of the morning,' he sighs wistfully as he continues to walk alone through the busy streets of the clan amidst the crowd of young people.
This is because, contrary to what he thought would be the case, Ye Min only accompanied him to the exit of his house—which was quite large compared to what he was used to but still didn't qualify as a mansion—and then waved to him, wished him good luck, and said a few encouraging words but didn't continue walking with him, making him sure that she wouldn't be participating in the ceremony.
So he could only wander through the clan's streets almost like a headless chicken for a while before finding a way to orient himself toward the place of the Awakening Ceremony.
'Fortunately, they all seem to be heading in the same direction...' he thinks with relief, looking at the enthusiastic youths walking around him and following their steps while quietly observing their appearances.
There are beautiful girls wearing elegant, oriental-looking dresses, usually in shades of green, purple, or blue, which match their pale skin and well-applied makeup that most of them have, creating a sense of beauty he was not accustomed to in his original world.
Similarly, there are young men wearing outfits similar to his, varying in colors from green, blue, or white like his, but unlike the girls, most of them don't have very pale skin. Of course, that doesn't mean they are all tanned, just that they seem to get a bit of sun every month.
More importantly, almost all the young people are walking in the same direction, forming groups of at least two, talking animatedly non-stop, which makes him, walking alone at the moment, really feel like a black ink dot on a white sheet of paper.
Of course, he doesn't feel unhappy or bothered by this since he now believes that trying to talk with an friend of the original Hei Tu, forcing himself to act like him, would be more of a hassle than anything else.
But as if jinxing himself with these thoughts, he sees two young men walking together turn a corner to join on the same street as him, and when they see him, they put excited expressions on their faces and wave at him.
"I was starting to think you'd be late since I didn't see you at our meeting point!" says one of the young men, who has a robust appearance and broad shoulders, loudly so that he could hear over the noise of the crowd.
"True, I even got worried when I saw that I arrived before you... haha," says the other young man, who has a much thinner appearance, a slightly disoriented walk, and a hangover look on his face, speaking softly while rubbing his forehead with a faint smile.
"Ah..." he hesitates for just a moment while his mind quickly works to say the words he had already prepared for this situation of meeting friends of the original Hei Tu.
"My bad, guys. I ended up oversleeping..." he says, rubbing the back of his head and putting a guilty expression on his face. "And on top of that, my parents kept me wrapped up in their usual conversation."
"Haha, you don't have much to complain about compared to the scolding I got from mine after coming home completely drunk yesterday..." says the young man with the hangover, whom he ironically now remembers is named Zi Heng. "Honestly, if today wasn't the Awakening Ceremony, I think my dad would've beaten me until I couldn't walk!"
Hearing this, the robust-looking young man beside him, whom he remembers is called Fei Sha, laughs loudly and ironically, attracting a bit of attention that quickly disperses.
"Are you going to forget to mention that you threw up on your mom's moon petal flowers?" Fei Sha finishes his words, making Zi Heng sigh hopelessly, shaking his head in frustration.
"I swear I'll never drink Long Dong's honey wine again!" Zi Heng says in a tone full of anger and frustration. "That and his rock gambling, which always ends up empty!!"
Hearing this, Hei Tu's mind races with the mention of "rock gambling," as he remembers the black rock that was on his bed when he woke up, quickly deducing that they might be related.
"Well, it's not impossible that one of them isn't empty, you know..." he says, trying not to say anything that might make him seem odd.
"Hmm, the one he tricked you into accepting as payment after losing at gambling had a gu inside? It had a perfect rectangular shape, but I thought that scammer bastard Long Dong just carved a random stone to look like that," Fei Sha says with some curiosity.
Hearing this, Hei Tu feels more excited with the almost certain confirmation that the black rectangular rock he feared was cursed or something of the sort was obtained by the original Hei Tu from this Long Dong. Not only that, but it supposedly could have one of these "gu" inside it, though from his friends' words, he already imagined this was unlikely.
"I haven't checked yet, but it's good to have hope, right?" he says, pretending a helpless smile that earns simple nods from his two friends.
"Haha, imagine how mad he'd be if the stone really had a gu inside!" Zi Heng laughs loudly along with Fei Sha, which prompts Hei Tu to laugh along so as not to appear strange.
After a few moments of good laughter, the three talk a little more among themselves and continue quickly on their way with the other young people, speaking in the same animated tone about the Awakening Ceremony, while Hei Tu mostly stays silent, just noting everything his two friends say that could be useful to him, while only saying a few words that he is sure won't sound odd.
After a few minutes of walking through the increasingly wider streets, filled with even more enthusiastic youths, the three of them find themselves in front of a large pavilion.
The pavilion is a vast open space with uniformly sized grass of a beautiful bluish-green color, and several green jade slabs with patterns resembling tree bark, forming a path that divides the pavilion into various sections that seem designed to create a painting, leading to a grand mansion carved into a giant white tree at least 100 meters tall. The tree appears dead, as it has no leaves on its branches.
It's truly a breathtaking place, instantly making him think that if it existed in his world, it would be ranked alongside the Pyramids of Egypt and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as one of the wonders of the ancient world.
"Impressive..." he says quietly, almost unconsciously, as he walks toward the pavilion, which, despite the hundreds of young people walking toward it, is far from being crowded.
"It really is impressive! I still remember when I saw it for the first time, and my father told me it was made using the Rank 4 Imperial Tree House by the first leader of the clan..." Fei Sha says with a determined look and a big smile on his face. "From that moment, I decided I would become a great Gu Master just like him!"
Hearing this, Zi Heng shakes his head as if he had just heard something foolish, drawing a look of doubt from Fei Sha.
"Well, honestly, I only want to become a Gu Master so I can find a cute wife like Su Ah and have a bunch of beautiful maids too..." he says as if he had just stated a much better motivation. "That makes way more sense than wanting to build a big tree house."
Fei Sha narrows his eyes upon hearing this, then shakes his head as if questioning why he is friends with such a fool.
Hei Tu, on the other hand, sighs lightly, wondering why he's even paying attention to the chatter of his womanizing friend, a type that is no stranger to him. Besides, this Su Ah isn't someone whose name he recalls, even though he's heard many young people around whispering about her, so he has no interest in continuing to pay attention to the conversation.
Of course, this doesn't mean he isn't very excited about the possibility of becoming a great cultivator like the ones he's read about in Chinese novels, but he doesn't think voicing his opinions would lead to anything. And his attention is now drawn to someone different.
He notices an old man with long white hair and beard, a dignified appearance, and an aura full of authority, standing in front of the grand mansion carved into the trunk of the giant white tree. The old man is observing the youths coming to the pavilion while talking among themselves, causing quite a stir, with a profound gaze as numerous guards around him stand at attention.
After remaining silent for a few minutes, the old man finally begins to speak, "It seems that everyone is present here..."
As soon as his voice resonates loudly, the commotion caused by the discussions among the youths dies instantly, as if no one dares to utter even the slightest sound.
"I imagine this moment must be one of great excitement for all of you, and rightfully so, because this is the most important moment of your lives," the old man says, his gaze sweeping from side to side among the youths, stopping at particular ones from time to time before continuing. "It will determine whether you will be mere mortals with no talent for cultivation or honored Gu Masters of the Shu Clan!"
Hearing the old man's emphatic words, all the young people in the pavilion roar loudly, a mixture of excitement and nervousness, with Hei Tu doing the same, following their actions flawlessly.
The old man then begins to outline several rules for the Awakening Ceremony, such as obeying the clan elder's orders, waiting for their name to be called to advance to the clan's spirit spring, refraining from using any form of cheating to take more steps in their awakening, allow him the academy elder to verify their apertures after their aperture awakening, returning to their place after their aperture awakening, avoiding unauthorized areas within the clan's spirit spring, among other rules that kept the elder talking for almost half an hour.
This made all the young people around him sigh in boredom, likely because they already knew these rules by heart. Meanwhile, Hei Tu was almost thanking the elder on his knees for giving such a didactic and detailed explanation.
"...well, these are all the rules you must keep in mind," the academy elder said as he finished his speech, waving his hand, which caused the mansion's doors, carved into the massive white tree, to open slowly. "And remember to follow me closely... as I said, even the smallest deviation to an unauthorized place will not be tolerated!"
The elder then slowly turns around and begins walking toward the mansion's interior while the guards around him follow closely.
Seeing this, Hei Tu exchanges glances with his two friends, who don't seem too impressed with the situation. Without saying a word, they quickly follow the elder in silence, just like all the other young people in the pavilion.
This quickly leads him to find himself entering the mansion carved into the giant tree, along with his two friends and the hundreds of other young people in front and behind him, then descending a grand staircase in the mansion's center, which goes so deep into the ground that he can't even see its end, despite it being illuminated by ancient Chinese lanterns attached to the walls.
He walks for a few minutes before finally emerging into a spacious underground cavern.
But unlike what he expected from a cavern, it is brightly lit by blue moss hanging from its ceiling, providing light to various flowers of different sizes, colors, and scents growing on the ground in a neat and organized manner, making the place look like a garden straight out of a fantasy story.
Not only that, but as he walked along a path made of green jade slabs that cut through the "garden" following the elder, he occasionally saw different types of trees that seemed to match in color and shape with the flowers around them, to the point that he was even startled to see a tree that, despite being rooted in the ground, calmly moved its branches as if it were nothing extraordinary.
"Wow, it's so beautiful!"
"There are so many precious flowers here...!"
"The foundation of our Shu clan is truly profound!"
"As expected from the legendary Flower Spirit Spring!"
He hears some of the youths who can't keep their mouths shut exclaiming in admiration, making him nod in agreement with their sentiments, as he, too, is left speechless by the impressive beauty of this place.
"Very well! As you all know, come forward when I call your names and walk as far as possible!" Suddenly interrupting his thoughts, the voice of the academy elder rings out as he stops in front of a flowing green stream that cuts through the flower-filled field.
Hei Tu can see that in front of the stream, there is not only the old academy elder but also a dozen elderly men and women of similar age, with only one elegant woman who appears to be middle-aged as the exception. They all converse quietly among themselves, preventing him from hearing what they are saying, while their deep and cold gazes scan the crowd of young people, focusing on a particular beautiful girl.
"Yes, academy elder!" the youths respond in unison, their excitement palpable in their voices.
"Shu Liu Nang," the academy elder says in a calm voice, wasting no time.
Quickly, a young man with a common appearance raises his hand high in the air and walks forward with large strides.
The young man swiftly crosses the green stream and begins to walk through a field filled with flowers, creating an impressive sight as small, glowing white lights float toward him and enter his body. He walks with difficulty, sweat pouring continuously from his face, and his legs trembling as if each step were a battle.
"1, 2... 6... 9... 13... 17!" After taking this last step, the young man can no longer move forward. Nonetheless, he returns to the academy elder with a smile on his face.
"Shu Liu Nang, D-Grade, with the potential to be a Rank 1 Gu master, possibly reaching Rank 2 with luck and diligent cultivation," the clan elder says without changing his expression while placing his hand on the young man's abdomen.
After saying this the elder uses a small brush to write something Hei Tu can't see on bundled bamboo strips, which appear to serve as a scroll for note-taking.
So Hei Tu just watches silently, observing as he begins to deduce from the elder's words how the cultivation levels of this world work, which doesn't prove very complicated when the Ranks that someone of D-Grade is expected to reach are named 1 and 2, rather than some more complex xianxia terms.
"Shu Ba Niu," the elder calls the next name, not caring about the excited young man in front of him.
Quickly, a thin young man with bronzed skin steps forward, clearly nervous.
Unlike the previous youth, he takes only three steps in the flower field before he can't move forward anymore, as if an invisible wall were blocking his way.
"Shu Ba Niu, no talent for cultivation," the academy elder says in a cold voice, not even bothering to place his hand on the abdomen of the young man's — who walks back weakly, his world seemingly collapsing before his eyes — as he did with the first youth.
But he once again writes something on the bundled bamboo strips.
Immediately, whispers of disdain and mockery begin to arise from groups of youths with unsympathetic looks, including Hei Tu's friends, making light jokes, apparently because the young man was the son of two mortals, so he shouldn't be surprised by this result.
This makes Hei Tu's heart feel a bit heavy, thinking that he might be in the same situation soon, and by the young man's expression and the elder's words, as well as his knowledge of cultivation stories, failing this awakening would truly be the greatest misfortune in someone's life in this world.
At least something that relieves him in his friends' comment is that he probably isn't the son of two mortals; otherwise, they wouldn't have said that to him—or at least, that's what he hopes.
Soon, the elder calls another young man without waiting for the other's mental state to recover.
"Shu Zi Heng," the elder's cold voice rings out again, causing Zi Heng beside him to almost jump with anxiety.
So he doesn't dare delay after hearing his name called, so he quickly begins his path, even with unsteady steps that Hei Tu can't tell if they're due to the nerves of the situation or the hangover.
"1... 4... 7..." Zi Heng crosses the green stream and quickly begins taking steps, with the number of small lights entering his body being greater than those of the first youth. "...14... 22... 23... 24..."
"He'll be a peak D-Grade Gu master... maybe a C-Grade with luck," Fei Sha comments to him, which makes Hei Tu nod in agreement.
But after taking the twenty-fourth step, Hei Tu can see Zi Heng standing still for several seconds, his legs trembling violently, his posture rigid. Yet, he doesn't seem to want to return as others did, but instead, with great difficulty, he forces himself to take another step while the elder watches silently with a profound gaze, not stopping him.
"...25!"
Zi Heng manages to take another step, surprising some youths who whisper around him, while Zi Heng walks towards the elder with weak steps, nearly slipping as he crossed the green stream of water.
"Shu Zi Heng, C-Grade, with the potential to become a Rank 2 Gu master, serving as the main foundation of the clan but without the potential to become a Rank 3 Gu master and reach the position of a clan elder," he says coldly, but nothing diminishes Zi Heng's broad smile, who seems ecstatic with his result.
So he walks with weak but eager steps while the elder writes on the bundled bamboo strips as he has done every time without exception.
Hei Tu, for his part, calmly analyzes these words, reasoning that if Rank 3 is expected to be a clan elder, he quickly deduces that the leader must be Rank 4 or 5 at most, if the succession of ranks follows a logical progression.
He also recalls his parents' words, saying that he would probably achieve this result or even better, imagining a B-Grade, which, if true, he hopes will guarantee him a Rank 3 Gu master position and a place as a clan elder.
Soon, while the elder was calling the next person a young girl , Zi Heng came towards him and Fei Sha, looking happier than Hei Tu had ever seen anyone be.
"Truly, the heavens are blind to let a scoundrel like you become a Gu master..." Fei Sha says ironically to his friend, whose smile doesn't waver.
"This is the result of my hard work! I almost fainted taking that last step!" Zi Heng responds, countering his friend's words.
"Really, can you describe how it felt?" Hei Tu asks with genuine curiosity, not giving Fei Sha a chance to say anything else.
Zi Heng then begins to explain in detail how he felt and how magical the sensation of awakening was, as well as giving them tips and showering himself with praise that the two mostly ignored while asking everything they wanted to know as more youths went through the awakening ceremony.
Nearly half an hour passed with them listening to everything Zi Heng had to say, while Hei Tu glanced from the corner of his eye, observing how many of the youths had cultivation talent and also the grades they had. Then, finally, one of their names was called.
"Shu Fei Sha," the academy elder called after announcing the C-Grade talent of a girl with a cute face.
Hearing his name, Fei Sha flashed a confident smile and waved at the two of them before quickly heading toward the flower field on the other side of the green stream.
But unlike Zi Heng or the other youths with cultivation talent, the moment Fei Sha stepped on the other side of the stream, he already began to struggle to walk.
"1... 3... 5..." After just a few difficult steps, he stopped as if an invisible wall blocked his path, preventing him from continuing.
Yet, he didn't seem ready to give up, his legs trembling violently as he tried to force himself forward, though without success.
Watching this from afar, Hei Tu was a bit shocked. Glancing at Zi Heng, he saw the same expression mirrored on his face.
"This... could he actually end up as a mortal?" Zi Heng asked, his voice filled with clear concern.
Before Hei Tu could respond, the elder's voice rang out loudly.
"Shu Fei Sha, no talent for cultivation." These cold words from the elder fell like an anvil, crushing Fei Sha's final efforts as he had been trying to take his sixth step.
With his brushstrokes on the bound bamboo strips feeling like a sentence written down without the slightest mercy.
Now, after hearing those words, Fei Sha turned stiffly, his expression vacant and his face drenched in sweat, and walked quietly, his trembling legs carrying him back across the stream to join the other youths.
Seeing this, Zi Heng wasted no time and quickly moved toward him, likely to offer words of comfort. Hei Tu, after a brief pause, decided to follow suit, not wanting to seem indifferent given his identity as Fei Sha's friend.
But in truth, beyond a small sense of pity and sympathy for Fei Sha's state, Hei Tu didn't feel much. Despite having some of the original Hei Tu's memories, Fei Sha was still just someone he would almost consider a stranger. In fact Hei Tu's heart was more concerned with the possibility of facing the same fate as Fei Sha rather than genuinely worrying for him.
Thus, the words of comfort Hei Tu planned were shallow, meant more for the appearance of friendship like Zi Heng's. But before he could even begin, the academy elder's voice interrupted him mid-walk.
"Shu Hei Tu," the elder said in his usual calm, cold voice.
Hearing his name, Hei Tu changed direction, moving away from Fei Sha, who remained inconsolable even under Zi Heng's attempts. Hei Tu paused for a second, pretending to hesitate before continuing toward the flower field.
He entered the shallow green stream, the water flowing around his ankles. He quickly noticed that the water, despite its appearance from afar, was actually colorless, with the green hue coming from the slippery green moss at the bottom. This, he guessed, had also caused many youths to nearly slip both on their way in and out. But Hei Tu crossed the stream firmly, keeping his steps steady.
As soon as he stepped onto the other side, he felt a formless pressure settle over his body, but he didn't panic. Based on Zi Heng's words, he knew this was normal. And just as with Zi Heng, small, glowing lights began to rise from the flowers, quickly floating toward him and entering his body, causing the pressure to disappear as if it had never existed.
"1... 3... 6... 11..." He walked slowly, mentally counting each step with relative ease.
However, the uniform pressure pressing down on him grew stronger with each step, even as more and more small glowing lights entered his body. "...15... 18... 21..."
"23... 25... 27..." Each step became increasingly difficult, but he didn't think of stopping until, "29!"
On his twenty-ninth step, he heard a loud bang, and his body trembled involuntarily, his pores dilating and his nerves tightening to the limit.
It was a feeling difficult to describe in words. Despite his wobbly legs and slightly exhausted body, the overwhelming sensation of exhilaration and excitement in his heart almost made him want to jump for joy—but he held himself back.
And why was that? Because, at that moment, he knew, both from the elder's previous explanation and from Zi Heng's words, that he had awakened his aperture!