Ceremony

Lucas walked past each of the other grandchildren. He understood why they were so attractive. It was because they inherited a lot of their parents genes. Standing in front of Lucas were none other than his two aunts, Victoria and Laudomia, and their respective husbands, Gilberto and Landin.

"All rise for the ceremony of Lucas Chang, the seventh honourable grandson of our patriarch," announced Victoria.

Being the second-eldest daughter, she was always in charge of the sect while the patriarch was away. And the only reason Laudomia and her weren't befitting to inherit the throne was because they were both Eparchies. While their husbands fared no better since they weren't blood related. Only a grade seven was permitted to become the leader of a sect anyway.

Lucas waited patiently as Victoria's husband, Landin, stepped down to place his hand over his chest. There were slight murmurings that unfolded when a non-blood relative was the one conducting the evaluation. It was like spitting in Lucas's face. They already weren't considered part of the family for not carrying the four-syllabi tradition.

How much more could they belittle him?

When Landin touched Lucas's chest, he forcefully embedded some of his spirit inside him. Lucas felt as if someone was drawing on his skin. It didn't hurt, nor was it a pleasant sensation. After Landin removed his hand, he said, "Grade two, Reader."

Whispers plagued the room. Every descendant who took the evaluation always had a grade of four or higher. The only exception was the patriarch himself, who was born with a grade five spirit. Apart from Lucas's family being utterly disappointed that he was tarnishing the Chang name, Lucas was perhaps the only one not the least bit surprised by his results.

Or rather, he was content inwardly to discover that he was at least a grade two. For the sect did little to help nourish his foundation.

"Your admission to the sect's academy was approved by the patriarch," he announced. "Have you anything to say?"

"No, lord Landin..."

"Then you are all dismissed," Victoria stated.

Formally, it was the person who was evaluated who was permitted to leave first before others. Victoria was only mocking how little importance Lucas held as a relative. Unperturbed by her disrespect, Lucas turned around without looking a single one of the other descendants in the eyes. What he desired the most now was to hone his skills to surpass each and every one of them.

Walking through the doors after the others, Lucas was suddenly stopped by an unfamiliar voice calling his name. Turning, he saw a girl with blonde pigtails. It was clear from her height that she was older than Lucas. With a smile, she said, "Congratulations on receiving your grade, lord Lucas."

It was rare for someone in the sect to address him as a lord. A lot of people spoke to him informally, so the atmosphere was unfamiliar.

"And you are…?"

"Ah! Right, my name's Cora. I'm a grade three Primate who'll be attending school with you this semester."

Lucas immediately believed the only reason someone like her even bothered to speak to him was because he was a direct descendant of the patriarch. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much to gain. Not wishing to make small talk, Lucas thanked her before looking to leave.

"Wait!" she said. "I was wondering if you could maybe show me where the food court was."

"Are you new here?" Lucas asked, turning around.

"Yeah, actually. I was looking for something to eat and then got lost. I thought since a lot of people were gathering here, there was going to be some food."

Lucas immediately connected the dots. It was no surprise to him that all the members of the sect weren't made aware of his evaluation ceremony. The fact that this random girl just so happened to stumble across an unimportant event made sense. As for why she called him a lord, it was because she heard Victoria address him as one of the patriarch's honourable grandsons.

"Take the left hallway past the corridor, and you'll see a sign that says 'Eatery'."

"Hey, thanks!"

When Cora noticed Lucas leaving, she paused for a second before saying, "Would you like to join me?"

Not many would wish to accompany Lucas due to his status. To Cora, however, it was clear she didn't know much about him.

"I…"

Before Lucas could answer, someone interrupted him, saying, "Lucas-boy! It's been too long."

Both Cora and him turned to see Benjamin Chang approaching with Amelia Chang. There was no getting out of this situation. If Lucas turned to walk away, he was going to be stopped by Benjamin. And if he asked for help, no one from the sect would come to his aid.

"Ben, Lucas just had his ceremony," Amelia taunted. "The least you can do is call him a man now. Ha-ha."

"Good to see you two," Lucas responded.

Both Benjamin and Amelia stopped in front of him. When they noticed Cora, Amelia instructed her to leave. Cora quickly bowed, saying, "Sorry, Lady Amelia. We were just about to get something to eat, is all."

Lucas knew where this was headed after hearing that response. Irritated, Amelia let out a threatening aura from her spirit. It was so menacing that one could physically see a red, ethereal light expanding from her body. Her eyes glowed red as she said, "Didn't you hear me? I said leave…"

Sweat poured from Lucas's face as he furrowed his brows. Amelia was a grade four. Just her seeping a little of her spirit alone was almost enough to make him faint soon!

"Ooh," Benjamin commented. "You did it now, girl."

Lucas wasn't going to step in and try to play the hero here. He didn't even like his sect, so why would he help some random pigtailed girl he'd recently met? Cora lowered herself even further to try and apologize. Since she wasn't leaving like she was commanded, Amelia's spirit seeped out even more.

Just when Lucas couldn't bear to stand in her presence, a hand suddenly touched Amelia's shoulder. It was Persephone's.

"Dear cousin," she said coldly. "You weren't by chance going to harm one of our sect members, were you?"

The upper half of Amelia's face was covered by a shadow as she responded, "Of course not, Sephy."

"Then what were you doing?"

Lifting her head to reveal her smile, she answered wholeheartedly. Lucas was finally able to recompose himself after her aura released. He didn't waste any time turning around to leave this situation. Benjamin tried to stop him but failed when Persephone requested his assistance regarding sect affairs.

Snickering, he was forced to let him go. In times like these, Lucas was thankful that people as high-ranking as Persephone didn't bother to acknowledge him. To her, he was like a blade of grass waiting to whither one day. Even if that grass grew, she didn't see it getting any farther than her ankles.

Cora was left with her head on the ground. Lucas couldn't feel any remorse for someone like her. The only thing he cared about now was getting stronger to make his sect desolate. If someone as innocent as her ever got in his way, he wouldn't hesitate to bring them down, too.