Childhood

Having trained for over an hour, the mother and son duo were seated under the shade of a Silver Maple in the courtyard.

Tianlong calmed his mind by taking deep breaths. The slightly cold morning air, the chirping of birds, the damp ground, the soft sunlight, everything was caught by his senses.

For a long moment, he let himself lose in those sensations. Gradually, his mind attained peace with them and was no longer bothered with external stimuli. His mind sank in meditation.

Their world was rich with spiritual energy. Those who could absorb it could become cultivators and possess the power to fly in the skies and move mountains and seas.

Many mortals didn't know the existence of cultivators.

But those who did could never forget about the unimaginable power possessed by cultivators.

Unfortunately, very few could create a connection with the spiritual energy of nature.

The more one tried to connect with spiritual energy, the more one was bound to fail. It was a natural connection and no one could force it.

The mind needed to be free of worries and desire while establishing the connection.

Once the soul attained a state free from mortal desires, they would connect with the world and walk towards immortality. As such, the practice of meditation was of utmost importance to everyone.

The Qi refiners and Soul refiners played special importance to it.

The most notable researches in this path were done by the various devil races. After all, being born with a powerful soul, most of them chose soul refining as their path.

According to them, the practice of meditation was divided into three major stages: Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. It was a mental state and even mortals could attain them.

Dharana meant being able to hold attention to an object for progressively longer periods of time without being distracted. For example, one can hold their attention to the sound of rain, or the rhythm of one's heartbeat for an extended period. It was the easiest state to attain and cultivators usually try to keep this state of mind while cultivating.

Dhyana was reached when the practitioner attained a connection with the object of meditation. It meant getting insights about oneself from the object of meditation. Attaining this state of mind was of utmost importance for reaching higher stages.

In the state of Samadhi, the relationship between the object and the mind becomes very close, as if they have merged. At this point, the mind begins to shed its pretence and see the object as it is. Some people also call it the 'One with the world' state. It comes in the form of incredibly rare epiphanies to people with superb comprehension ability.

Having practised meditation since his childhood, Tianlong could easily enter a period of extended concentration – the state of Dharana. It was a testament to his incredible sensory abilities as a qi refiner.

Thin strands of spiritual energy which were attracted by the armour were drawn inside his body and slowly circulated. Unfortunately, before they could do anything, all the energy was absorbed towards his heart. It had a blackish tint to it and a single vine with a lotus bud was wrapped around it.

After an hour of meditation, Tianlong gently rubbed his palms and massaged them over his closed eyelids, finishing the session. It was only because of his hunger that he was forced to stop.

His mother smiled knowingly when she saw his expression.

She liked the fact that her son was a glutton. Even if the food wasn't anything special, he would treat it as some kind of delicacy.

So unlike other mothers, she never had to yell at her son to finish everything. It's just that he needed an abnormal amount of food which she was more than happy to provide.

…

After having a sumptuous breakfast, Tianlong prepared himself for the day's classes.

On the way, he met Qingxue, who was whistling and playing with a stick in an unladylike manner.

Her playful behaviour always bought a smile to his face. He felt that she acted like a goofball.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"And you seem to be incredibly tired." She replied with a smug smile.

"Hm. The end semesters are already coming close and then there's also training."

"So, how's your preparation?"

Before Tianlong could answer, she continued, "Oh, sorry who was I asking. I'm sure you'll say something along these lines"

She straightened her posture and put a serious look on her face. "Honestly, I'm not very confident this time. I haven't prepared the last few chapters properly."

"Then after the exam, you'll say that you didn't expect the questions would be so easy."

Her actions caused him to laugh out loud. "Hey, what's with that serious expression? I don't think I have that kind of face."

"Oh really? Have you ever noticed yourself in the mirror? Most of the time your face looks apathetic."

The two continued to chat while moving towards their classroom. Maybe it was because he was happy, that Tianlong was participating much more actively in their conversation.

…

Time passed by and in the blink of an eye, a month passed by.

To others, this wasn't a long time. However, to the children of Long Clan who went through their exams, the time seemed like an eternity.

Once they were over, they forgot all their worries.

The fear of results couldn't stop them from having fun.

That's how children were. With no care for the future, they enjoyed the present to the fullest.

However, this fun lasted till the day of the results.

Coming out of their classes, the students were filled with mixed emotion.

However, Tianlong was calm as usual, As always he had aced all the exams.

"Congratulations! On being first …as usual." The sweet voice of a little girl sounded from behind. Even without turning back, he knew that it was Qingxue.

Standing there with her friends, there was a smug look on her face. "Actually, you know what… you should try to get something other than the first position, I think you'd find that more challenging. It's boring to get first place every time after all."

Her suggestion caused others to giggle.

Not being one to take a loss, he replied, "I should be the one to congratulate you for obtaining the sixth position. Come to think of it, since you didn't celebrate your thirteenth birthday due to exams, we didn't get a celebration like last year. So adding both of these factors, you owe us a huge banquet. What do you say, guys?"

"Yes, he's correct." The others all nodded at his proposal.

"You! Don't think I'm unaware of your intentions. Hmph! If it is anyone who should be throwing a party it's brother Tianlong! Since he's also turned thirteen."

"Well, you see…

The children continued to bicker among themselves.

Seeing this, all of the elders had smiles on their faces. Most of them were mortals or people who were stuck in their cultivation realm and had no chance of progressing further.

Having taught the children for so long, they treated them as their own children.

However, their smiles soon vanished when they thought about their next announcement.

"Ahem!" One of them dryly coughed, drawing everyone's attention.

"Congratulations to everyone who passed the exams. From the next semester onwards all of you'll be select your subjects. So to those of you who don't like this old man's subject, goodbye."

The elder's words caused them to giggle.

"I believe all of your parents have already checked whether your bodies are suitable for cultivation or not. So for those who can cultivate, you need to get your spirit roots checked and register yourself. We need to prepare resources and classes for them accordingly." His face was quite solemn as he said that.

His announcement turned the class silent.

Among the children, there were quite a few of them who had blocked meridians or bad affinity with spiritual energy. They were destined to never walk the path of cultivation.

Many of them had their heads lowered as if it was their fault.

Thinking how their peers would outlive them and wield extraordinary powers, while they would gradually grow old, their hearts were in turmoil. However, this was their fate and they couldn't do anything to change it.

From now on, each group would walk different paths in life. Due to the difference in mindset and lifespan, they weren't compatible with each other.

Just as the world of cultivators birthed hunger for power in mortals, the world of mortals also affected the heart of cultivators.

The elders who saw this scene also sighed heavily.

"Is being a cultivator, really that great?" One of the elders mumbled.

There was a huge scar on his forehead and his face looked quite ancient. From his expressions, it looked as if he had gone through many things in his life. He was a man with his own story.

Had it been some other clan, those without spirit affinity would've been ridiculed and treated like trash.

However, the Long clan had a strong sense of unity among themselves. Be it a mortal or cultivator, all of them were treated with respect.

After all, the major businesses and matter pertaining to politics were all handled by the mortals. One could even say that they were the second backbone of the clan.

Be as it may, it was quite hard for the children to get divided based on something that they had no control of.

While going home most of them were silent.

Qingxue who was going with Tianlong had red eyes due to crying. One of her best friends didn't have spirit affinity which wasn't surprising considering that her parents were mortal as well.

Regardless, she was incredibly depressed and in no mood to fool around.

Tianlong saw her depressed and felt like as a friend he should help her.

"Qingxue, did I ever tell you that when your eyes turn red from crying, you look like a rabbit?"

"You are the rabbit!" Annoyed, she tried to lightly punch him but it only hit empty air.

"Heh, you might look like a bunny but sadly you don't have their speed or cuteness! … try attaching bunny ears, it might help."

"You!"

She chased after his running figure while shouting. Occasionally he would say a few words which would make her even more irritated.

Their cries of laughter and playful banter could be listened to from afar.

Childhood is like spring.

Everything is colourful. The sky is blue, the fields are green, there are bees in the flowers.

One can lose themselves in the sea of flowers and wander forever.

It is also the time when one would dream and live their life to the fullest.

As children, everyone's dream is to grow up and become like adults.

Yet only when they age would they understand how beautiful those days of innocence were…