Little Yu Xin and Jiang Dali walked to the side gate of the city lord's manor, where multiple carriages were already waiting.
Old Mr. Feng's carriage was among them, standing in its usual spot, just like any other day.
But both the children and the old man knew they would likely never meet again.
Old Mr. Feng said lightly, "Hop on."
Little Yu Xin and Jiang Dali climbed inside with the other children who lived nearby.
The carriage started moving slowly, as usual. But unlike normal days, nobody was in the mood to talk. They had just endured a stressful and tedious assessment; most kids fell asleep the moment they felt the soft cushions beneath them.
Jiang Dali also fell asleep. He had been the most anxious during the assessment, unable to sleep the night before. Now that the results were out, his anxiety had melted away like a spring breeze, and he drifted off especially quickly.
Little Yu Xin couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about the assessment.
Is Meng Hao truly inferior to others? But isn't he still superior to those with no spiritual roots?
He continued arguing with himself.
Is it truly so that I am superior to Meng Hao? Jiang Dali is superior to me. Song Jian is superior to Jiang Dali. Xiao Yan is superior to Song Jian. But aren't there people said to have spiritual roots better than top-grade? Are they superior to Xiao Yan? What if an immortal child descends one day to play in the mortal world?
For a moment, Little Yu Xin couldn't help but think this entire system had been deliberately created by some mischievous entity to confuse him—to stop him from realizing some kind of truth. But he couldn't understand what that truth was.
He didn't get to ponder it for long before his stop arrived. He didn't live that far away, and even though they were only first-rank, low-grade spirit horses, they were incomparably faster and more enduring than mortal horses.
Little Yu Xin woke Jiang Dali, who kept mumbling through a yawn, "Mommy, please let me sleep a little more. I'm feeling unwell."
After getting out of the carriage, the two children bowed to Old Mr. Feng in the manner taught for one's elders and said, "Goodbye, Old Mr. Feng."
Both boys' eyes were a little red. They had great fondness for Old Mr. Feng and the two brown horses. It was hard to accept they might never see either of them again.
Old Mr. Feng looked at them with reluctance but still said calmly, "Goodbye. I hope you both attain the Dao in the future."
Jiang Dali didn't think much about it and started patting the horses as a form of farewell. Meanwhile, Little Yu Xin asked with great curiosity, "Old Mr. Feng, what is the Dao?"
Old Mr. Feng was startled for a moment, then replied with a self-deprecating smile, "How would I know?"
He quickly waved his hands and said, "Alright, kids. I hope we meet again."
Then he tightened the reins, and the carriage started moving, quickly disappearing from the two children's sight like a light breeze, leaving no trace.
The two children said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways. Jiang Dali hopped happily toward home, while Little Yu Xin walked stiffly.
He reached the entrance of his home—a beautiful two-story house made of light brown wood, with the same quiet garden in front. But today, seeing his own home didn't feel cozy. Instead, he felt suffocated, unsure whether to go in or stay out.
Just then, Liu Hua, who was planting spiritual flowers in the garden, seemed to sense something. She turned her head and saw Little Yu Xin, usually so lively, standing there with a blank look on his face.
Her heart ached at the sight. She quickly hurried over to him. Little Yu Xin only saw a green blur before his mother reached him and hugged him tightly.
Feeling her embrace, Little Yu Xin started crying on the spot. Liu Hua was momentarily flustered and carried him inside the house. Yu Jin, who had been crafting talismans on the second floor, heard the commotion and came downstairs to find Liu Hua holding Little Yu Xin on the sofa. The boy was crying until his eyes were red and his nose was running.
Yu Jin immediately noticed the jade slip tied to his son's belt—the identity jade slip. It bore the same information as before, but with a new line of text added below: 'Low-grade wind-element spiritual root.'
He was immediately relieved. It was much better than he had feared. At least Little Yu Xin had a low-grade spiritual root, and a rare one at that. He might become a pretty good talisman crafter, Yu Jin thought silently.
Talisman crafting was not like other arts; a metal-element spiritual root could only make metal-element talismans. Likewise, only a wind-spiritual-root cultivator could make wind-element talismans. Talismans like the Gale Talisman, which could increase movement speed, were considered life-saving and were much more expensive than others.
While Yu Jin was lost in thought, Liu Hua snatched the jade slip from his hands to check it. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
By then, Little Yu Xin had quieted down considerably. Liu Hua looked at him with heartache and asked gently, "Why are you crying, Xin'er? Did someone bully you?"
Little Yu Xin shook his head and remained silent. Yu Jin also asked with a smile, "Why don't you try to tell us? Maybe we have a solution."
Yu Xin thought about it and decided to share his worries, asking guiltily, "Mom, Dad… am I meant to be inferior to others my whole life? I only have a low-grade spiritual root, but other kids have better roots, better family backgrounds, and are more intelligent. Will I always stay behind?"
Yu Xin still could not forget that dream—the hopeless, despairing days with no sense of purpose. He didn't want to relive that experience.
Yu Jin and Liu Hua were both startled. They hadn't expected a child to ask such a question. Yu Jin thought about how to reply before his eyes lit up.
"Xin'er, let me tell you a story about an ancient senior," he began. "He lived even before the Qin Dynasty unified the Central Plains. He roamed the Great Desolate, exploring the vast world while slaying demons and demonic beasts. On his journey, he had many fortuitous encounters, saved many people, and killed many demons. His cultivation kept increasing all the while. He roamed for thousands of years, killing so many demons that he awoke one of the Four Perils of the world: Tao Wu."
Little Yu Xin's face showed fear—just the name of the creature contained great malevolence.
Yu Jin continued in a measured tone, "It is said Tao Wu had a monstrous appearance: a body like a tiger, the head of an ox, completely red like blood, and as large as a great mountain looming over the world. It was a ninth-rank demonic beast. Looking down at the tiny, blue-eyed, blue-haired human before it, Tao Wu spoke with a hint of mockery: 'Aren't you afraid? Why don't you kneel to me? Perhaps I will let you continue your pathetic life.'"
Yu Jin looked at Little Yu Xin and asked with a smile, "Do you know what that senior said?"
Little Yu Xin shook his head, his expression curious.
Yu Jin smiled. "That senior gazed up at the mountainous beast, his eyes clear and unwavering, and replied with a voice that cut through the tension like a blade: 'Afraid? Of what?'"
"Then he released his aura—his cultivation was at the Martial Emperor level."
"That senior fought a great battle with Tao Wu, shaking the entire Great Desolate. Finally, he slew the vicious beast and completely crippled the demonic path."
Liu Hua added with a grateful expression, "It is said that after Tao Wu's demise, all the demons in the Great Desolate hid in various corners of the cultivation world, where they remain to this day. This is why the Qin Dynasty unified the Central Plains so easily, and the world has been peaceful since."
Yu Jin nodded and asked, "And that great senior's title was the Thunder Martial Emperor. Do you know what spiritual root he had?"
Little Yu Xin shook his head innocently, but in his mind, he thought it must have been better than top-grade.
Yu Jin said with a smile, "He had no spiritual root. He was just a normal mortal."
He continued gently, "Don't you see, Xin'er? These comparisons are meaningless. Do you think the Thunder Martial Emperor ever compared himself to others, thinking they were superior to him or that he was superior to them?"
Little Yu Xin shook his head after a moment's thought.
Yu Jin smiled in relief. "Then don't compare yourself to others. Just do your best."
Liu Hua hugged him tightly and said, "Well, I for one would still love you if you had no spiritual root."
Little Yu Xin felt much better after listening to his parents.
Liu Hua then said gently, "Alright, let's have dinner. I made all your favorites today."
Little Yu Xin enjoyed a delicious dinner of flower pastries, Desolate Rabbit stew, and other delicacies.
After dinner, he went back to his room to sleep. He couldn't help but think about the day and the dream he'd had that morning.
Why did I feel so lost in the dream? Why did Old Mr. Feng have the same demeanor as in my dream? Why did Meng Hao also become similar after the assessment?
He tossed and turned but couldn't find a satisfactory answer. He thought for a long time but couldn't understand.
He felt that if he didn't find the answer to this question, his life would go the same way as in his dream from that morning.
Suddenly, he remembered the words the Thunder Martial Emperor had said to the ferocious beast Tao Wu:
'Afraid? Of what?'
And something seemed to click in his brain.
It's 'fear'!
The answer to all his problems was fear. In his previous life, he had many dreams, but he tried nothing because he was afraid of failure—afraid of being mocked for overestimating himself, afraid of this and that. And because of that fear, he silently moved with the crowd, not even trying to fulfill his dreams.
He then remembered that evening when Old Mr. Feng dropped him off. He had asked, "What is the Dao?" and Old Mr. Feng had replied with a self-deprecating smile, "How would I know?" In that moment, there had been sadness in his eyes—but even more than sadness, there was fear. He was afraid of the Dao, afraid of dying while fighting for resources, afraid of being looked down upon in better settings. So he, too, kept silently moving, spending his days doing nothing.
Meng Hao was also afraid—afraid of his father looking down on him, afraid of his mother's disappointment, afraid his friends would scorn him.
There was only one thing in common among all three of them: fear. Fear of failure. But how could one attain the Dao if one was afraid of it?
Failure is the mother of success.
Little Yu Xin's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he thought about it.
He silently murmured:
Use failure as bricks to build a road to success.
Use failure as sand to form a giant pagoda of success.
Little Yu Xin silently made a vow in that moment:
I, Yu Xin, vow to never fear again in this life…
I vow to never fear failure, society, or power…
And I vow to remain unafraid even in the face of heaven and earth and the boundless Great Dao.
His solemn voice seemed to resonate with heaven and earth, ringing out like a bell.
And with that sound, a soft 'ding' suddenly echoed in Little Yu Xin's ears.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for awakening the Daily Sign-in System.]