[Ling]

{Celestial Cloud Continent}

{Sui Empire}

{Xia Kingdom}

{Tianjin City}

~~ February 24, 125632 of the Celestial Cloud Calendar ~~

In the residence of the seventh eldest of the Jian family.

"Master, My Lady! It's a healthy boy," exclaimed the midwife, wiping her sweat and pointing to a small baby in the mother's arms.

"Alright, let's organize a banquet for this occasion," announced a middle-aged man.

Meanwhile, in the birthing room, the newborn of the Jian family lay quietly in his mother's arms while a sound rang in his mind.

[Ding, successful birth]

[Spirituality successfully obtained]

[Fusion successfully within the host's body]

[Successful use of the awakening of luck]

[Talents sealed successfully]

[Fortune sealed successfully]

~~ April 5, 125646 of the Celestial Cloud Calendar ~~

In a distant courtyard of the Jian family residence, a teenager of about 14 years old was sunbathing.

He was the renowned young genius of the Jian family, Jian Ning, with a proud posture and fine, splendid facial features, a well-proportioned nose, sky-blue eyes highlighted by sharp eyebrows like swords.

He could be called a handsome man, and a future heartthrob.

He is publicly known in the city as an unprecedented sword genius, with a high level of talent in cultivation.

An orphan, his parents died when he was 7 years old. He was adopted and cared for by his fourth uncle, also known as the father of the infamous family trash of the Jian family.

Jian Ning was quietly lying under a tree, basking in the sun.

Suddenly, Jian Ning opened his eyes and deep blue eyes appeared. In his eyes, there was a maturity that the other teenagers did not have.

He sat up and held his head with his right hand.

"I'm so close to breaking through to the Qi Gathering level, but I feel like there's a blockage I can't surpass. It's been a month already and I still can't break through," thought Jian Ning, sounding pensive.

Indeed, for the past few days, he had had a strange premonition lingering in his heart, as if something serious was about to happen.

Of course, if anyone heard Jian Ning speaking like this, they would surely want to strangle him.

It should be noted that on the Continent of the Cloudy Sky, where the strong reign, cultivation is divided into several levels, which are themselves divided into nine ranks. The cultivation realms include: Body Tempering, Qi Gathering, Innate, Spirit Sea, Purple mansion… etc. Jian Ning doesn't know the rest because even his ancestor, who founded the clan, was only a cultivator of the Purple mansion realm.

So having such a high level of cultivation at the tender age of 14 in a small town like Tianjin is extremely rare.

"Better take a walk to clear my mind," Jian Ning said to himself before getting up.

As he stood up, Jian Ning heard a voice in his head.

"Ding!"

[Sufficient energy has been collected]

[Host's talents unlocked]

[You have received 1,000 points of white energy]

[Startup successful, do you want to view your personal status?]

Jian Ning couldn't help but be surprised, wearing a confused look on his face.

"Sufficient energy has been collected? Unlocking talents? My talents were locked? And what is this white energy? And what on earth does 'personal status' mean?"

[Personal status is a bodily and spiritual analysis of the host's body]

At that moment, the cold voice resonated again, making him realize he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating.

"So show me my status."

As soon as the voice fell silent, an illusory screen appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Jian Ning]

[Cultivation: Level Nine Physical Tempering [1,500/2,000] (+)]

[Age: 14 years]

[Body: Storm Body "dormant"]

[Talents: Middle Earth Cultivation Talent [0/256,000] (+) // Middle Sky Lightning Element Talent [0/2,480,000] (+) // Low Sky Wind Element Talent [0/1,240,000] (+) // Low King Sword Talent [0/10,000,000] (+)]

[Cultivation Technique: "Jian Family Technique" (Middle Yellow Rank) – understood at the level of minor achievement – [15/200] (+)]

[Martial Skill: 'Leaf Sword Technique' (Middle Yellow Rank) – perfected – [1,000/3,200] (+) // 'Mystic Phantom Steps' (Middle Yellow Rank) – at the peak – [230/1,600] (+) // 'Shadowless Sword Technique' (High Yellow Rank) – at Great Achievement – [1,242/2,400] (+)]

[Luck: Sky Rank Luck [0/800]]

[Total Energy: 1,000 white energy]

[Energy Gain per Minute: 2 white energy / minute]

Jian Ning was surprised by the information contained in his status, particularly by the 'luck' section.

In his mind, luck was a complex and immeasurable esoteric concept, but here was a quantification of his luck before him.

"Who are you?" Jian Ning asked, with a hint of fear in his voice.

After hearing voices in his head, nothing seemed like a good sign.

"Maybe my stress to quickly break through to the Qi Gathering Realm has gotten to me," thought Jian Ning.

[I cannot tell you yet, but don't worry, you and I are bound much more than you think. I have been with you since your birth and I will remain until your death, I hope.]

The cold voice echoed again in his head.

"Since my birth?"

"If you've been with me since birth, why are you appearing only now, and what's this about sealed talents?"

[Both questions have the same answer: I lacked energy to function normally. I would also like to clarify that your talents were sealed only at black level.]

The deep voice responded concisely.

"So how should I address you?"

[Ling. I would like you to call me Ling.]

The voice responded again, this time with a hint of gentleness, like a true intelligent being.

Jian Ning nodded before calming his mind and taking a few seconds to reflect. In general, he was quite thoughtful in everyday life and didn't blindly believe others' words.

But this time, Jian Ning was completely convinced of Ling's existence and strength because he truly felt his cultivation talent increase and his body and mind liberated, as if chains had been broken.

After a few more minutes of reflection, he spoke again.

"Tell me, Ling, is there a way to increase my luck?" Jian Ning asked.

[Ding, in response to the host, luck can be gained by being in a lucky place, killing people with luck, or simply being around fortunate children.]

Jian Ning's eyes sparkled brightly. In the books he had read, luck was an essential part of a cultivator's life and played a huge role in their path.

Jian Ning quickly calmed his excitement and asked another question.

"So, tell me how to gain white energy and what is its usefulness?" Jian Ning asked.

[Ding, in response to the host, white energy can be gained passively or through cultivation. Note that cultivating directly gives cultivation points in addition to white energy, which you can share as you wish. During your cultivation, you gain double the passive energy. You can also obtain it by killing living beings, humans, beasts, etc. Lastly, you can gain white energy through emotions, as long as people admire, envy, love, fear, etc. you, with the amount depending on the rank of the individuals.]

[Ding, more precisely, it's Ling that absorbs this energy and can use it on you. By cultivating, you help me.]

[As for its usefulness, it can be used for anything you want, as it's one of the purest energies that can be found.]

Ling responded clearly and precisely.

'Aid you, huh...'