3 Martial Spirit Awakens! But...

"Ow." Yu Tian rubbed his sore bottom. He finally escaped his mother's wrath and was waddling towards the main courtyard for where the test would be held.

A number of the elders and adults were also there, distant uncles from the main or branch families supervising the children. The rest, including his mother, were busy managing the clan's various businesses such as the mines for Starlight ore.

Yu Tian was unbothered by some of their cold and mocking stares.

Since Yu Tian's father was never found, numerous members of the clan focused the blame of falling out of favour with the royal family on him. They also blame his mother, but couldn't do anything to her as it would invoke the rage of Li You Zi.

Surprisingly, the said patriarch also showed up. Dressed in a bright red robe, his whitening moustache twitched as he glanced at Yu Tian before turning his attention to the rest of the children.

"Patriarch." With a slight bow, the elders and all the children greeted him, including Yu Tian. Nodding, Li You Zi waved a hand and the children sat on the tiled floor, while the adults sat on the stone chairs around the large courtyard.

Li You Zi stepped aside to show a pretty sister around the age of 17 or 18. She was dressed in a white and green uniform and had green ribbons braided into her brown hair.

"This is Miss Yan Yu from Celestial Academy." The Li family patriarch introduced. "Master Long is currently busy with some affairs in the academy, so she will be helping all of you test your martial aptitudes today. Miss Yan Yu, please."

The girl stepped forward on dainty feet, her hands behind her back. "Nice to meet you all. I am Yan Yu, but you guys can call me big sister Yu."

"I know that Master Long had already introduced cultivation to some of you." Yan Yu continued as she looked at the older children around 10 years old. "But some of you are also new, turning 6 this year or it's your first time being tested, so I will explain it again for the newcomers."

...

Yu Tian wore a wry smile as he scanned Yan Yu's face and body. The former god had seen lots of beautiful women in his past life, but he ignored his emotions and instead focused on cultivating.

Numb to almost everything, the only time he felt anything was in combat. In the battles of life and death was where Yu Tian felt truly alive.

By the time he became a god, he was already desensitized to looks alone and just wanted to settle down with a pretty girl who wasn't married. Living in the Ninth Heaven rendered him unable to do anything he enjoyed, eventually forcing Yu Tian's severed emotions to awaken again.

Now, Yu Tian could appreciate a good looking woman again.

"Not bad, not bad." He thought. "This big sister's quite cute."

...

Noticing one of the young children staring at her weirdly, Yan Yu didn't think much of it as she continued her explanation.

"In the Tian Qi continent, we have several ranks to determine one's cultivation stage." Yan Yu explained. "Individuals who haven't or are unable to use Qi are classified as regular humans."

"When you can absorb the Qi of the world and can produce Qi of your own, you are classified as a Qi Novice." Yan Yu stretched out her hand, and amazingly, droplets of water appeared before converging into a ball in her palm. "When you step into the Qi Novice rank, there are 10 energy levels that you must breakthrough in order to reach the next rank, and for every rank onwards."

"The next rank is Qi Warrior." Yan Yu demonstrated by turning the ball of water into a spear. Then, she launched it at a target dummy previously set up in the courtyard.

"Being able to use your Qi to perform basic Qi techniques and arts makes you a Qi Warrior." Yan Yu casually commented as the water spear caused the dummy to explode, sending pieces of hay everywhere.

This caused the children to ooh and ahh, aside from the unimpressed Yu Tian.

Noticing the young boy's expressions, Li You Zi frowned. He and his grandson might have an estranged relationship, but they shared the same blood. If Yu Tian showed no interest in cultivating, it would be problematic.

"I am currently at the stage of Qi Warrior, and nearing the bottleneck for the next rank, Dou General." This caused some of the Li elders to murmur in astonishment from hearing the young woman's words.

Yan Yu can be considered to be a genius for her age in Starlight City. A Dou General around 18 was quite rare, as many adults of the Li clan were Dou Generals in their late 30's and early 40's. She was truly worth being a member of Celestial Academy.

Yu Tian secretly yawned. He couldn't remember the cultivation ranks from his past life anymore, but it was quite similar to the ones currently. Each rank and level becomes harder and harder to breakthrough as you ascend.

"Dou Generals can perform advanced techniques, with enhanced physical strength around 3000 jin." Yan Yu continued. "After Dou General is War Master, capable of condensing Qi into armour. Then War Grandmaster, capable of flying by the increased manipulation of the Qi around the body."

"Patriarch Li is a War Grandmaster, correct?" Seeing Li You Zi's nod of confirmation, Yan Yu finally finished discussing the last 3 ranks, Battle Ancestor, Martial King, and Martial Emperor.

Yu Tian frowned. In the entirety of the Holy Qilin empire, Martial Kings didn't number past the double digits, while the total number of Martial Emperors could be counted with both hands, maybe even with just one hand.

In the Tian Qi continent, these were the peak experts who dominated and controlled the plane.

Compared to his home plane ages ago, it seemed to be rather stagnant with the amount of Qi here. The first time that Yu Tian absorbed some Qi from this world to refine, he noticed how the quantity and quality were much lower.

It didn't affect him much though. Yu Tian didn't plan on purely focusing on cultivation like how he did in his past life. The former god just wanted to enjoy himself and live happily.

"Everyone, gather into a line." Yan Yu commanded, causing the children to scramble towards her. Distracted in his thoughts, Yu Tian ended up last.

He didn't know what was happening when she took out a large, clear crystal sphere with a wooden base. "This is what we call an awakening stone, built from spirit stones. Spirit stones are used by cultivators to replenish used up Qi."

"Alchemists found out that by modifying the properties of spirit stones, then moulding them together, it can turn into an awakening stone. It will glow when you successfully condense Qi." Yan Yu explained slowly. "Not only can it help you step into the Qi Novice stage, anyone who fails will still benefit, because it helps you feel for the Qi around you."

"That's not the only usage of the awakening atone." The pretty girl placed her other hand onto the sphere's surface, causing it to glow blue and purple. Then, a huge, bird-like figure flew out of her body and into the air before landing beside her.

"An illusion crane, impressive." Li You Zi complimented Yan Yu as illusion cranes are considered to be peak tier high-grade martial spirits.

"Some of you who are able to condense Qi might be able to awaken your martial spirit as well." Yan Yu nodded slightly to affirm the patriarch's words. "The higher quality your martial spirit is, the easier it becomes to cultivate. So the earlier you awaken it, the better it is because it will grow with you."

"The lowest rank of martial spirits are those with no auras, and usually in the forms of plants, tools, or basic animals." Yan Yu said as she removed her hand from the crystal, causing it to return to normal. "Then, there are martial spirits with green, blue, purple, and finally red auras that will be identical to the colour on the awakening stone."

"Green is low-grade. Blue is high-grade. Purple is royal grade, and the final colour is red for emperor grade, the rarest and highest grade." She recalled her illusion crane, which dissipated into Qi particles, returning to her body.

"Only true geniuses have emperor grade martial spirits, having the highest chance of becoming a Martial Emperor. It's okay to have a lower grade spirit, because with effort and determination you can still be a formidable cultivator." Yan Yu encouraged them.

"There are also 3 levels between grades for martial spirits, called tiers, in which the number and amount of the colours present determines the tier." The young woman twirled her brown hair. "Base tier being the lowest, then mid tier, and finally peak tier."

"Think of martial spirits as extensions of yourself. The higher the grade your martial spirit is, the higher your martial potential will be. They can even provide you with new abilities." Yan Yu finished explaining. "May the first child come up?"

...

The younger children looked confused by Yan Yu's explanations, but under the encouragement from the adults, the little girl who was first in line stepped up to the awakening stone. Yu Tian yawned again and paid no attention to the others.

There were about 30 or so children, so the line went by slowly as each child tried their best to condense Qi or awaken a martial spirit, or both. Hours went by, and only 3 of the younger ones that turned 6 this year were unable to condense any Qi.

"Woah!" There was a collective outroar as the awakening stone grew blue with streaks of purple from Li Hao Ran's touch. The Qi around him turned red and transformed into a snake that wrapped itself around his arm, hissing.

"The pyro serpent, a mid tier high-grade spirit. Congratulations, Patriarch Li." Yan Yu notified Li You Zi.

Laughing, the old man nodded proudly. Li Hao Ran was a grandson of one of the grand elders, but any promising talent is still beneficial for the overall clan. Not only that, having a flame attributed spirit made the small boy ideal for cultivating the Li clan's fire arts.

Finally, all of the children were done testing, except Yu Tian. Aside from Li Hao Ran, 2 more children were able to receive high-grade martial spirits, but they were of the base tier.

There were also 4 children who managed to receive peak tier low-grade spirits, and 7 receiving martial spirits without auras, the lowest grade.

"Next!" Yan Yu called. She noticed that the last child was the boy who had been staring at her weirdly. He looked to be asleep while standing up. "It's your turn."

Yu Tian slowly opened his eyes.

"Okay, big sister," Stretching, he shot Yan Yu an innocent glance while stepping forward. "Wah!"

Suddenly, Yu Tian tripped. The young woman couldn't help but instinctively reach out to catch him or he'd crash headfirst into the hard stone tiles. "Careful!"

With his face landing in her bosom, Yu Tian hid a mischievous smile while snuggling against the soft, fragrant pillows. Not too big and not too small, just right for his face to squish comfortably.

The former god sighed internally as he wished he could enjoy this heavenly sensation longer. Yu Tian had truly forsaken too much in his past life.

"Are you okay? What's your name?" Yan Yu asked the child. Yu Tian looked up at her with an innocent expression, but the young woman suddenly felt an urge to spank the little boy, not knowing why.

"I'm okay. My name is Yu Tian. Thank you, big sister." Yu Tian looked away shyly.

"Is this your first time doing the test?" Yan Yu asked. He nodded in response.

Seeing that he was alright, Yan Yu held out the awakening stone. "Press your hand on this and try to feel the Qi around you."

Sighing internally, Yu Tian placed his hand onto the clear sphere. Almost immediately, it began to glow brightly, stunning everyone witnessing the shining light and forcing them to turn away.

"You..." Yan Yu was shocked too as she also had to turn away from the brightness. Only Yu Tian was able to see how the awakening stone briefly flash blue, green, purple, red, and even black before turning white.

"BOOM!" The awakening stone suddenly shattered like cracking glass, causing the bright light to instantly disappear.

Yan Yu hadn't realized what had happened until she saw the broken sphere in her hands. She screamed in horror, causing the adults and elders of the Li clan to turn to her in confusion.

"The awakening stone!" The young woman cried before it soon turned to anger. Yan Yu looked around for the small boy she felt responsible. "You!"

"Mew." A small cry interrupted her.

There was a snow-white kitten in Yu Tian's hands snuggled up against him. Its hair was unblemished, yawning cutely as it slept on the young boy.

The former god wanted to laugh his ass off but he suppressed it. Yu Tian looked pitiful and wronged while cuddling the kitten, painting the perfect picture of innocence.

"I'm sorry big sister, I don't know what happened." He whispered and looked down sadly. Yu Tian's lips trembled as he struggled to hold back the laughter.

He assumed that with his past life as a god, Tian Qi continent's measurement tools weren't enough to measure his potential. This kitten though...

Yu Tian patted the fluffball, enjoying the feel of its silky fur. He immediately felt an indescribeable attachment to it when it appeared out of the condensed Qi he created.

Not only that...

Staring at his right hand, Yu Tian saw something black that appeared briefly before vanishing. He was immediately unable to sense its presence anymore, unsure of what it was. Seeing Yu Tian's lowered face and trembling lips, Yan Yu's heart softened.

If only she knew that the former god was trying to stifle his laughter, the young woman would've slapped his buttocks till it looked like the colour of the Outer Tribes' dark skin.

Yan Yu sighed as she observed the kitten. There was no aura fluctuating from it, meaning that it was a martial spirit of the lowest rank. If only it was a royal grade spirit, or even a peak tier high grade spirit like her's, the academy would be more forgiving and perhaps even exonerate her for finding a promising student.

Unfortunately, the awakening stone was broken due to a boy with a lowest grade martial spirit. Not even peak or mid tier lowest grade, but the lowest of the low. Once she got back to Celestial Academy, she'd be punished severely for sure.

Yan Yu still couldn't figure out how the small boy caused the awakening stone to break. However, it was apparent that he was the only suspect to commit the act.

Shooting Yu Tian a dirty look, Li You Zi stepped forward while clasping his hands together in apology. "We have caused miss Yan Yu trouble. Is there any way for the Li clan to replace this awakening stone?"

Dejected, the young woman shook her head. "No, this item is far too valuable for a normal clan like yours to replace."

Hearing this, the adults and elders immediately became fearful. It soon turned to rage as their attention was turned to Yu Tian.

"Yu Tian! Why aren't you kneeling down?" Li You Zi was also enraged.

The former god finally realized the severity of the situation. He didn't care about the rest of the clan members, but his mother would certainly be implicated due to what he did.

Shit.

Seeing the other Li clan members about to beat the young boy, Yan Yu weakly held her slender hand up. "It's fine, I'll explain to the academy."

"However, Celestial Academy might not be able to help the Li clan do the annual aptitude test anymore." She stated coldly, turning away and exiting the courtyard. "Please don't bother me. I'll be making my leave now."

Yu Tian felt odd. Seeing the depressed and sad expression of Yan Yu leaving, he suddenly didn't find blowing up the awakening stone funny anymore.

Unbeknownst to Yu Tian, Li You Zi already was behind him. The patriarch grasped onto Yu Tian's shoulder tightly, causing the former god to grimace in pain.

"Li Yu Tian. Do you know what you've done?" Li You Zi growled.

Yu Tian swore internally. He wasn't an idiot. Not having the annual aptitude test anymore would screw the growth of the Li clan, since breaking the awakening stone also meant them falling out of favour with Celestial Academy.

This punishment wouldn't be light.