Awakening Ceremony

Han Li lay on his house's thatched roof, shielded from the sun by a book's shadow as he read. He had been very conflicted and confused for the past two days.

And that fact was only intensified since yesterday he had gone to cook food for Uncle Li and sadly enough, it was for his daughter's marriage.

But well, he had gotten another 50 coins for the work and now had 300 in total, it was enough to last them almost a month with good food. Even though they might have to cut some corners.

But the rest of the time, he kept thinking about the book and he had also read some parts of it and now had a small picture of what the whole thing was about.

For one, even though it was named 'Demon Transformation Sutra' it didn't only have that but also included many other small tricks for cultivators.

There was a whole section of it there called 'Miscellaneous Bullshit' that talked about techniques like:

Soul Cooking, the art of cooking food using unique materials to turn them into magical items that can increase the vitality of Power Sparks as it said. It also included things like Healing, trap setting, or simple guides on improving Sword, Archery, Blade, or other weapons.

It was filled with many such unique details.

But most of these methods in the "Miscellaneous" section had harsh requirements like having reached the third Major stage of cultivation, Power Birth Realm or even having the legendary Moon liquid.

And Power Birth, that was the level of true might, even the Starlight Family's head was only that strong. No, all of the three Great Families' heads were that strong.

As he was thinking, he suddenly looked to the side, towards the center of the Starlight Zone. There, atop a 50-meter flagpole, a big white flag rose and then started flapping about in the wind.

The Awakening ceremony had begun again.

He could hear the sound of drumbeats from the distance too, but he was slightly amused, there was probably a rain coming on as the skies were filled with dark clouds.

Hehe, the rain might ruin the ceremony this time.

The white flag meant that no other clan was now allowed near, if they still came, it would be tantamount to war.

Anything could be interrupted, but Awakening ceremonies were sacred. 'But this time it is weird that there are two Awakening ceremonies in a single month though.' Usually, it only happens once a month.

And this ceremony was different for him too, he wanted to see the Travelling Merchant guy today and find out where he had gotten the book from. His Mom was already in the central area now and she was enjoying her time with some other women.

He was also supposed to be there but he didn't like the contemptuous but silent gazes on him. And there was not much there to earn or do either. Even his food was not important since the true chef from the inner circle hotel cooks for everyone there.

And honestly, that cook's food was the only thing he knew that tasted better than Yue Li's food. Which made the cook an envied opponent for his mom.

He wondered what they might be doing and put the book on his face. And before he knew it, he was in a nap.

The clouds churned above and hid the last layer of sunlight away. Sky had turned dark and rain seemed a foregone conclusion.