Zhua Zhou Ceremony 3

"Tian Er, do you know what this ceremony is about?" Li Xian's mother, Jing Hui Lan squatted beside her grandson as she spoke endearingly. 

Li Tian nodded and answered obediently. "This is the Zhua Zhou Ceremony, where I am supposed to choose a symbol that represented my potential interest." 

Onlookers were shocked by how eloquent the little baby was. To make matters more shocking, Li Tian was even able to understand the significance and nuances behind the ceremony. 

"How is this even possible? A one-year-old can already tell the meaning behind the Zhua Zhou Ceremony?" 

"What was I even doing when I was one? I was probably peeing in my diapers and crying every day…" 

"I couldn't even structure a proper sentence when I was one!" 

"I've truly seen it all. And here I though that big brother Ze Ming was already the biggest genius in our clan. This little cousin of ours is truly something else!" 

"I'm pretty sure for my Zhua Zhou Ceremony, I had chosen my item randomly. There was no way it was done so purposefully." 

"Wait, doesn't this mean that if young master Li chose a symbol this time around, it meant that he was probably serious about it?" 

"Yes, young master Li's ceremony could be said to be the most unique ceremony in the history of Hua. I have never heard of such an occurrence before." 

From distant relatives all the way to the helpers in the house, everyone was busy discussing about the genius baby's decision. 

"Does Tian Er know what each of the items mean?" Jin Hui Lan hid her surprise as she continued asking her youngest grandchild. 

"Mmm," Li Tian thought about it before nodding yes. His finger pointed at the items from left to right. He explained, "I overheard mummy and daddy talk about this at night. The small toy sword symbolized swordsmanship. The Demonic Beast egg symbolized Beast Taming. The pill symbolized Pill-refining. The herb symbolized Herbology, and lastly the scroll symbolized Strategies." 

Gasps could be heard everywhere. Even grandma was shocked by his response again. She quickly regained her composure and gazed into his big, adorable eyes. "Does that mean that Tian Er has chosen what you may want to pursue?" 

"Tian Er has chosen after reading about it." Li Tian nodded. 

Li Tian had gotten some information about the Ceremony from the system. It explained how it was linked to the eventual different departments offered in university. 

"Alright, Tian Er. Go ahead and choose your item." The whole time Li Kui was standing beside his wife. Seeing that everything was properly set up, the patriarch directed the baby's gaze on the five items that were separated equally apart. Both Li Xian and Ming Guang Rong were standing behind the items as they awaited their baby's arrival. 

Li Tian could tell that his parents were somewhat nervous. In fact, everyone present was a little nervous for the baby. If the baby did not have an idea of what he was choosing, this would've meant that the whole ceremony was just a symbolic event. However, now, if Li Tian chose a certain symbol which was not swordsmanship, this meant that he was effectively insulting his own clan's specialty. Li Tian's original plan was to not choose the sword, but after being around his grandfather and family members, he could tell that he did not have a choice on this subject. He must choose it or else, his parents may have certain consequences because of his choice. 

After giving it some thought, Li Tian stepped forward without hesitation. His small little strides walked over the bright red carpet as he made his way towards the left corner. In the left, sat the silver toy sword that symbolized his clan's legacy. Bending over, he picked up the toy sword. Everyone sighed in relief. It seemed that the baby knew that the sword meant a lot to the family. A few seconds later, Li Tian did not head toward his parents. The baby boy turned his body to the right and proceeded to walk to another item. While holding onto the toy sword, Li Tian picked up the scroll that sat in the right corner of the mat. 

While holding both items, he then ran towards his parents. After reaching them, he turned to look at Li Kui as he gave his answer. 

"I choose both Swordsmanship and Strategies." 

The ground was silent. No one made a noise as they knew that the ceremony was at its most tense state. Never did a baby choose to pick up two items. If any other baby chose to do so, the parent would've just decided that the first item was what they wanted. This time, the once in a lifetime genius child of the Li Clan had decided to pick two items. No one knew what to do. Even the patriarch was clueless as to how to react to his grandson's decision. Knowing that no one was speaking because they had given the stage to him, Li Kui knew he needed to say something. 

"Are you sure that you are going to choose two disciplines? You do know that this would mean that you will have to work doubly hard in the future?" 

"Yes, I am sure." Li Tian nodded seriously. Li Tian had chosen the scroll for his own selfish reasons, while swordsmanship was chosen for the pride of his clan. There was no way that he could give up either of those things. 

"If you are sure, then I, the patriarch of the Li Clan, deem my grandson, Li Tian, to be the first person in the clan to be granted the right to study the swordsmanship and strategies discipline concurrently! Should I feel that you are underperforming in either discipline, I shall have the right to remove one of them! Is that understood?" 

"Yes, Patriarch." Li Tian proceeded to half kneel respectfully. He answered seriously, knowing that what his grandpa had allowed him to do was very hard on his part. After all, the old man was very conservative, and change was a hard thing to process. 

Seeing that their son was so obedient and respectful to his elders, Li Xian, and Ming Guang Rong felt a wave of satisfaction wash over them. Tears started to roll down Li Xian's face as Ming Guang Rong held her lovingly in his arms. Both parents were very proud of their youngest son. With that, the never-seen-before Zhua Zhou Ceremony came to an end. 

Inside Li Xian and Ming Guang Rong's family quarters, the family of five were gathered around inside the master bedroom. Tonight, the three little children had their eyes set on a mysterious black egg that had long streaks of gold on it. The black egg was none other than the Black Sand Eagle egg that was used during Li Tian's ceremony. Li Xian was currently explaining to the three of them about the Beast Taming Discipline. 

"So, mummy is a beast tamer. If Xi Xi and Mei Mei can remember, mummy had brought you to see my pet before." Li Xian pet the twins head. The both of them could not recollect, until Li Xian described a little further. "You don't remember the black kitty cat anymore?" 

"Oh oh! Black kitty! I remember I remember!" The both of them started to shout out enthusiastically. 

"That black kitty cat is a Demonic Beast. Demonic Beasts in the wild are very very dangerous. They will attack any of you if you get too close to them." Li Xian started to educate her children. Unlike the twins which had scared looks on their faces, her youngest child who just turned one looked very calm. 

"Oh, is Tian Er not scared of Demonic Beasts?" Ming Guang Rong looked at his son in surprise. 

"Nope. I know mummy and daddy will protect me from them. Tian Er is not scared." Li Tian lied naturally. He could not tell his parents that he had a system that had effectively explained the nature of this world. 

"Yes, Xi Xi, Mei Mei, Tian Er. Mummy and daddy will protect all of you. You do not need to worry." Li Xian hurriedly comforted her twins. 

Li Xian then continued to explain how a Beast egg was raised up until it was born. A cultivator would have to constantly supply the Demonic Beast egg with his or her own Qi and depending on its nature, certain herbs are required in the nurturing process. Eventually, depending on the efficiency of the beast egg raising process, the egg would crack and out comes a Demonic Beast of different levels of strength. With greater amounts and quality of resources used on the egg, the greater the starting level and growth rate of the Demonic Beast. Although, both Li Xi and Li Mei were quite confused about Beast Taming and how to raise an egg, Li Tian understood perfectly what his mother was saying.