Rain.
All there was was rain. It seemed to be pouring out of the sky endlessly, almost as if the heavens were weeping in sorrow. In the center of it, an old man knelt on the ground. Just one glance at him would be enough to see that he was at the end of his life. His entire body was crumbling apart at a speed discernable to the naked eye, and his breathing was getting shallower and shallower. It should have been impossible for him to whisper, and yet-
"Heaven!"
A roar that should have been impossible from the old man sounded out from his mouth. He looked up to the sky with a maniacal expression on his face, and started to laugh.
"Do you truly believe that you have stopped me from advancing today? Even if I was to die here, my path would not end! It's too late for you to stop the wheels that I have set in motion!"
Suddenly, the skies began to thunder. A loud, high pitched noise could be heard, and the dark sky suddenly began to light up. It was obvious that an attack was coming, and a powerful one at that. Any normal person would be unconscious from the waves of power being emitted from the sky, but the old man simply scoffed. A terrifying aura started leaking from his body, causing the world around him to start shaking violently, as if it was on the verge of destruction. The attack descended from the sky, taking the form of a lightning dragon. It came down at a terrifying speed, but when it was about to reach the old man, it suddenly dissipated. Darkness began to roll out of his body, destroying everything it came in contact with. The whole world began to crumble, and just as it had almost been destroyed by the darkness-
A boy sat up, gasping for air. He looked around him, trying to check where he was. He quickly realized that he was in his bedroom, and stood up from his bed. His entire body was drenched with sweat and his hands and legs were shaking.
"That dream... just what was that?"
He began to calm down, and realized that he would not be able to go back to sleep after the dream he had.
"Out of all the days that this could happen to me, why did it have to be today? I could barely get any sleep last night because of my excitement for today, and now that I woke up so early, I'm going to be tired all throughout the day!" The boy exclaimed with an annoyed tone.
The boy's name was Xi Mukong, and he was the child of two elders of the Xi clan, a clan that was the overlord of the Green Song plains. On this day, he would take an important step in his life and undergo an awakening ceremony, allowing him to become a cultivator and embark on the path to immortality. He left his residence, and started waking towards the clan's central pavilion, the place where the clan leader and elders would gather to discuss topics regarding the clan, at a leisurely pace. The sun was still rising, yet, many people could be seen in the streets of the city, talking with each other, rushing to get to somewhere, or selling products. Mukong soon arrived at the central pavilion, and walked inside. Looking around he noticed that it had a large amount of doors, and also had windows placed in a specific sequence, allowing sunlight to fall onto the ground of the hall, where an intricate pattern lay. The entrance area was surprisingly large, and seemed to be able to hold hundreds of people at once, though there was only one other person in the area at that time. In the center of the hall, where the center of the pattern was, was a man sitting in a meditative pose. He had long and gray hair, and wore impressive looking robes. When Mukong looked towards him, his eyes snapped open, and he looked at Mukong in surprise.
"Eh? Is that you, Mukong? I'm surprised you came this early! The ceremony doesn't begin for another three hours. You don't need to be here yet."
At this, Mukong could only scratch his head awkwardly and explain: "Clan head, I had difficulty sleeping last night due to how excited I was for today, and I also woke up very early. Since I have nothing else to do, I decided to come here early."
The clan head stared at Mukong for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Very well! You can feel free to stay in here until it begins."
With that, he closed his eyes once more and went back to meditating. Mukong also decided to sit down, and he began to wait. As the minutes passed by, people started to trickle into the hall. All of them looked to be around the age of 16. Mukong also stood up to chat with people he knew. In this manner, the three hours seemingly flew by. When the sun had reached a certain point in the sky, and the light fell onto certain areas of the pattern, the clan head stood up. The hall went silent.
"Alright, I will call your names, and when I do, come stand in the circle in front of me. After you are awakened, you will go back to the group and stand there quietly. Are you all clear?" The clan head asked.
A chorus of 'yes' came from all the teenagers gathered in the hall. All of their eyes were filled with a mix of nervousness and excitement.
"Very well then. First, Xi Anling!" The clan head called out.
A girl walked up to where the clan head had indicated that they should go earlier, and stood there. The pattern began to light up, and a small amount of blue colored light began to gather around the girl. After a few seconds, it faded, and the clan head said, "Xi Anling, you have Grade D talent. Next, Xi Anmang!"
The girl began to walk back to the group dejectedly, her face looking as if the world had ended. Seeing this, a young man in the crowd said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. With that Grade D talent of hers, it would be a miracle for her to be able to reach Foundation Establishment stage in her lifetime. At least she wasn't unlucky enough to have a Grade F talent, I suppose."
Hearing this, another young man standing next to him exclaimed, "You are right! But even a Grade C or B talent would struggle to reach Foundation Establishment, only those Grade A and Grade S talents would be able to do so with ease!"
The ceremony continued on, with everybody who went up having only Grade B talents or lower. Eventually the clan head called out, "Next, Xi Lan!"
Snickers began to break out through the hall.
"Is it that Xi Lan? The child of that slave? If not for the fact that his father was willing to call him his son, he would never be here!"
"Yeah, you're right! I bet that he will have only a Grade F talent!"
Even with all the mocking words being thrown at him, Xi Lan walked up to the pattern with a calm face. When the pattern began to light up, everybody thought that it would barely light up at all, signifying that he was a mere Grade F talent. However, contrary to their expectations, the pattern glowed brilliantly with a blue light, temporarily blinding everyone in the hall. The clan head's voice shook as he said, "X-Xi Lan, Gr-Grade S talent!"
The entire hall went silent. Xi Lan simply bowed towards the clan head once, then walked back to the group. As soon as all the youths realized what happened, an uproar broke out.
"No way! That Xi Lan is a Grade S talent? With that, he is destined to reach at least the Nascent Soul stage! From this day on, I better not offend him..."
"How could that be! Xi Lan is a Grade S talent?! My life is over... I regret ever picking on him! After all, he is likely going to be the next head of the clan!"
As the discussions raged throughout the hall, the clan head calmed down very fast. He soon quieted everyone down, and continued with the ceremony. Eventually, it was Xi Mukong's turn.
"Next, Xi Mukong!" The clan head called out. Mukong walked up to the pattern filled with nervousness, and stood in the circle.
"That's young master Mukong! He is definitely going to be a Grade A talent."
"I'm certain that young master Mukong will also have a Grade S talent, how could he not?"
The youths in the hall began to get excited again. After all, Mukong was the child of two Core Formation elders, and would obviously hold a high position in the clan in the future, no matter how low his talent was. Therefore, many of the youths in the hall began to congratulate Mukong for having a high talent, even if there was no way to know what his talent was beforehand.
'This is it. The moment that decides my future! As both my parents are elders at the Core Formation stage with Grade B talents, I am certain that I will have the same! Even if that Xi Lan has a Grade S talent, what backing does he have? He's merely the son of a slave and a Qi Condensation level cultivator, while I am the child of two great Core Formation experts!' Mukong thought. He was trying to use thoughts such as these to lose his nervousness, and calm down.
The pattern began to glow once again, and calmed down after a few seconds.
"Xi Mukong, Grade D talent!" The clan head called out.
The entire hall went silent.