Not a Dream but an Afterlife
The spring rain heavily rained down on Mao Bao Mountain.
It was already late in the evening, the cold breeze sweep from time to time.
Yet Mao Bao Mountain was not entirely covered in darkness; from the peak down to the foot of the mountain, dozens of tiny lights shone like a glittering stars.
These lights shone from the tall buildings, even though it could not match up to the majestic city lights that can be seen on Earth, yet it was still pretty and peaceful to see.
Situated on the mountain were three villages; Mao Village, Bao Village, and Mu Yue Village — giving the vast tall mountain a rich touch of human civilization.
In the Mu Yue Village, there was a magnificent pavilion situation at the center. A grand ceremony was being held at this moment, and the lights were even brighter than ever, radiating with festivity.
"Oh ancestors, please bless us! We pray that this ceremony will bring many young men of outstanding talent and intelligence, bringing our clan new blood and hopes!" The head of the Mu clan had an old-aged appearance, his long beard were milky white and he was clothed in ceremonial white robes, kneeling on the rustic floor. His body was lean with his hands held together, eyes tightly shut as he prayed sincerely.
He was facing a tall memorial tablet with other two shorter memorial tablets on each side; all housing memorial tablets of ancestors. On the foot of the tablets was a bronze incense — the smoke rising.
Behind him were old and middle-aged men and women kneeling in a similar fashion as him. These are the clan's elders, important members, and those who had much authority also wearing loose white ceremonial garments.
After praying, the Mu clan head bent his waist with his two hands pressing against the floor and kowtowed. As the forehead knocked against the rustic floor, heavy thuds could be heard.
Behind him, the elders and important clan members solemnly and quietly followed suit.
With this, the hall was filled with loud thuds as the heads knocked against the floor.
When the ceremony was over, the people slowly got up from the ground and silently walked out of the sacred temple.
In the hallway, sighs of reliefs were heard from the crowd of elders and the atmosphere loosened up. The noise of discussion slowly rose.
"Time flies too quickly, in the blink of an eye, three years has passed by."
"The previous ceremony feels like it just happened last month, I can still recall it vividly."
"Tomorrow is the opening of the grand ceremony, I wonder how many new blood will show up this year?"
"Ah, I hope there are lots of talented youths that will appear. The Mu clan hasn't seen a genius emerge for a dozen years now."
"Agreed. The Mao Village, Bao Village — these few years all had some talented geniuses appeared. Especially that Mao Yuna from the Mao clan, her natural talent is quite terrifying."
It was unclear who had brought up the name Mao Yuna, but the faces of the elders started to show worry.
The girl's qualifications were splendid; in just a short period of three years worth of training, she had already reached the level of a Rank Two Initial Stage Spirit Master.
In the younger generation, she could be said as the most outstanding one. It was to the point that she was even catching up with the older generation.
In time, she would inevitably become the pillar of the Mao clan. At the very least, she would also become an independently strong warrior. No one ever doubted this fact.
"But for this batch that will be participating in the ceremony, not all hope is lost."
"You're right, Di Zhang's side has appeared a young genius. Able to start talking after almost four months, able to walk after six. At two years of age he was able to read and write, seems exceptionally intelligent, especially talented. What a pity that his parents died early, now he is being raised by his uncle and aunt."
"Yes, this one has wisdom at a young age. In the recent years I have read his book series 'The Gods of Olympus', what a genius!"
The Mu clan head was the last to walk out of the ancestral temple. After slowly closing the door, he heard the discussions that were going on in the corridor among the clan elders.
He knew at once that the elders were discussing about the youth known as Mu Di Lan at that moment.
As the head of the clan, it is natural to pay attention to the outstanding and prominent young ones. And it so happens that Mu Di Lan was the most eye-catching one amongst the youths.
Experience has shown that those who can learn things at a very young age, or those who possess strength that could rival an adult, or had other great inborn talents, all had outstanding cultivation qualifications.
"If this child shows Gold grade potential, with great care he could even compete against Mao Yuna. Even if it is Silver grade, in the future, he could also become one of the backbones of the Mu Clan. But with this sort of early intelligence, the percentage of Silver grade is not that big, but highly possible to be a Gold grade." With this thought, the Mu clan head curled up his lips slowly into a smile.
At once, with a cough he faced the clan elders and said, "Everyone, it is already late, you should all rest well tonight for tomorrow's grand ceremony."
At his words, the elders looked at each other with a solemn understanding in their eyes.
The clan head's words meant well, but everyone knew what he was aiming to convey.
Every grand ceremony, the faction of these elders will have to compete for these young geniuses. They should stay well rested and replenish themselves until tomorrow comes where the competition begins.
Especially with that Mu Di Lan, whose Gold grade potential was extremely huge. Not counting the fact that both his parents were deceased, and also that he was one of the two only descendants of Di Zhang's bloodline left. If one was able to get their hands on and bring him into their own family line, with great care and training, one could secure himself a hundred years of prosperity!
"However, I'm going to go ahead and say what needs to be said first. When you compete, do it fair and square; no tricks and conspiracies are allowed, or damage to the clan's unity. Please keep this in mind, all of you!" The clan head strictly instructed.
"Rest assured, we wouldn't dare."
"We'll keep this in mind."
"Then this session is now adjourned, please take care." The clan elders slowly dispersed with deep thoughts.
Not long after that, the long corridor became quiet. The wind from the spring rain breezed through the window, and the clan head lightly walked towards the window.
Immediately, he breathed in the cold fresh air of the mountain, and breathed out the turbid air of stress.
This was the third floor of the village hall; the clan head looked out of the window. He could see almost half of the entire Mu Yue Village.
Even if it was very late in the night, most of the homes in the village still had lights on, which just happens in every special occassion.
Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and it affects everyone's best interests. A kind of excited yet tense atmosphere had enveloped the hearts of the people of the clan, and thus naturally many people could not sleep properly.
"This is in hopes for the clan's future." With the many lights dancing in his eyes, the clan head sighed.
At the very same moment, a young man who was lying down on a bed suddenly got up as some of the strands of his long hair were sticking on his delicate face, taking a mouthful of breathes.
A moment of silence after catching up some breathes, the young man got off on his bed and went to the window to get some fresh air.
A pair of melancholic eyes quietly looked at the same lights sparkling in the night, full of complex feelings inside.
"Mu Yue Village, it's been 12 years already…" Mu Di Lan quietly gazed, as he sat on a bamboo chair by the window, letting the rain from the wind drizzle his face.
It was the year 2020 before the pandemic lockdown happened when a speeding car hit him as he was crossing the street. Mu Di Lan bought a koi fish in a pet store, so that, he will have something to do during the lockdown period, With life leaving his body, he was mysteriously sent in this world they call Spirit Land.
"Am I really just gonna start my life over, and leave everything behind?" Mu Di Lan stretched out his hand to catch some rain drops, his sight fixated on his own young and soft, pale hand, then slowly clenched them, embracing the truth of this reality with all his might.
The sound of the heavy rain hitting against the window sill filled his ears, he slowly closed his eyes, opening them after a long while. He sighed with indignancd, "Twelve years of existence, it really feels like a dream."
But he knew it clearly: This was definitely not a dream.
After settling down his feelings, Mu Di Lan took a book and read it. This book is called "Genesis".
In this world, humans are the greatest amongs the 10 species, as they were the ones who were able flourished after establishing the systematical dao of cultivating Spirit — as the essence of heaven and earth.
Spirit comes from the awakened spirit cores magical beasts and other enlightened magical living things – there are too many to count. Spirit is everything, needed and desired by all.
"The most important thing of this world is cultivation, indeed." Mu Di Lan ruminated as he finally finished this book for a dozen time.
"What is this Spiritual Core?
I'm able to understand the gist of this concept, but how can this be unlocked or opened?
The clan is really secretive when it comes to these kind of knowledge."
One thing that really intrigued, Mu Di Lan, is the concept of power and immortality. He was longing to have the power to move and overturn things. Especially, to fly — to leave and go back to the world he truly belonged.
"To cultivate as fast as possible, I would need to have a Gold Grade talent. I hope that I really do have this kind of talent just like what the clan expects from me." Mu Di Lan was worried and excited at the same time when he thought about for tomorrow's Awakening ceremony.
"Talent huh…" He sneered, his gaze focused out the window. "One must be favored by the Heavens to be successful in this world."
At this moment, the door to his room was lightly pushed open and a young girl walked in.