Chapter 29 - 29: Death And Rebirth

Yun Hao, Jia Ning, as well as Sun Fang could only remain quiet as Ding Shun's body was now being dragged away by the Confederation's staff. They were informed that Ding Shun's family was already in the building, as a matter of fact, they were now on the tinted glass window above the testing hall, watching what was happening.

It would seem that the Confederation will not move the bodies of those that died during the Immersion before a member of the family or a friend checks them. But still, Yun Hao found it cold that they just left his body like that without even informing him and the other applicants.

What if it was him that died? There was no one listed as his guardian or family member… would the Confederation just leave them here to rot or just throw him in the dumpster?

...Is this how life is treated in the Cultivation world?

After a few seconds, Yun Hao then let out a long and deep breath as he shook his head. He wasn't one to talk. He currently had a body buried near his house, and he just left it there the next day like it was nothing just to go through Immersion because he needed to go back to school tomorrow as today was the last day of his 'fake' sick leave of absence.

Wait… does he even need to go back to school now that he was a Cultivator? Yun Hao's thoughts wandered as he turned around, trying his best not to think of Ding Shun any further. Although they talked for a while, he didn't really form a friendship with him to feel anything more than a momentary shock.

Jia Ning, as well, also turned around as soon as she saw Yun Hao walking away. She was from a Cultivator clan, and death wasn't a foreign concept to her.

The only one that was still looking at the exit even though Ding Shun was no longer there was Sun Fang, he held a similar expression to what Yun Hao had earlier-- confusion.

He was a Normal martial artist good enough to be in the Olympics and the Huang family didn't waste any time recruiting him. And unlike Yun Hao, he didn't refuse. He had seen a lot of unconscious people, but never a dead body until today.

"Okay, 5 minutes and we're starting again!" Proctor Hannah returned, quickly unplugging her phone that she seemed to have been charging during the break. She was about to say something, but as soon as she noticed the look on Sun Fang's face, she could not help but let out a long and deep sigh.

"Come, all of you!" She then gestured to the three to join her.

"Now that you're cultivators, you will soon get used to this," Proctor Hannah let out another short sigh as she started talking, "Once you decide to go to the Danger Zones and the Dark Areas, you will see a lot of your comrades dying. Death will always be beside you, you guys get it, right? Or did you just waste $300,000 to stay within the confines of the Safe Zones?"

Jia Ning was the only one who nodded at Hannah's words. Yun Hao only let out a short breath, while Sun Fang could only bite his lip and look to the side.

"You will kill people," Hannah then added, "Once you're outside, the silly laws that the Confederation has set up would just be nothing but a decoration. You will learn to kill people, and you will also learn to move on."

"Have… have you killed people, madame Hannah?" Surprisingly, Sun Fang was the first to ask a question.

As soon as Sun Fang asked this question, Hannah quickly stopped recording on her phone and looked directly at Sun Fang's eyes.

"Yes," she then answered, "And I have already lost count of how many."

Sun Fang could not help but slightly back away, taking a gulp loud enough for the others to hear.

"Now enough about that," Hannah then once again started recording, "It's now time for the last test."

"Oh," Yun Hao quickly moved his hand as Hannah started throwing something towards them. It's hot, Yun Hao thought as soon as he caught whatever it was.

"That is a Beast Core."

"!!!"

As soon as Hannah said that, Yun Hao quickly turned his hand around to look at the warm thing in his hand. Just a few weeks ago, he hadn't even seen what Beast Cores looked like. It was only when he bought a phone capable of going to the internet that he was able to get a glimpse of it.

But even so, the things he saw in pictures was nothing compared to how it actually looks in person. It was beautiful-- were the only words Yun Hao had for it. It looked like the marbles that other people used to play with when he was just a child, except this one looks like there's a moving, breathing galaxy trapped inside of it.

Yun Hao was so tempted to use his secret powers on it to see if he could duplicate it, but he resisted the temptation to do so as he might get caught. He was in a building filled with super-powered people, after all.

But still, Yun Hao's hands were trembling.

"...That's just a low-class Level 1 Beast Core. No need to get that excited," Hannah could not help but slightly furrow her eyebrows from seeing Yun Hao's… weird expressions, "I can give you one if you agree to be featured more in my vlogs."

"I agree," Yun Hao, without any hesitation, shook Hannah's hand.

"...Right," Hannah was slightly suspicious of Yun Hao's sudden change, "Let's finish the test first. Although I say a test, this is more like your first lesson as a baby cultivator. You need to be able to absorb the Beast Core to finally tickle your Energy Center so you could get your qi to start flowing through the meridians we just opened up. For those who have unlocked more than 12 meridians, this is also the part where you will know what special meridian you have."

Yun Hao listened closely to Hannah's words. Tickle the Energy Center? Is that why Yun Hao wasn't feeling any different from before? Because they still haven't actually… turned on their Dantian?

"...How do we absorb it, coach?"

"Just place it near your stomach and leave everything else to instincts," Hannah said as she sat on the floor and grabbed a Beast Core of her own, "Your body will learn to absorb it automatically. And since right now, your Dantian is almost completely empty, it'll eat the Beast Core up like a hungry wolf."

Hannah then closed her eyes as she placed the Beast Core she was holding right in the center of her stomach. She then took a long and deep breath, before releasing it very slowly. And as she was doing so, the light on the Beast Core flickered, as if a beating rhythmically at the same time as Hannah's breaths.

And with each breath, the color inside the Beast Core faded… until all that was left was an empty marble.

"Done. See? That easy, all I needed to do was take a deep breath and let it get inside me," Hannah said, "And no dirty comments, alright?" Hannah then winked as she looked at the camera of her phone.

"..." Yun Hao could only blink a couple of times before turning his attention towards Jia Ning and Sun Fang.

Jia Ning was already starting to absorb the Beast Core, while Sun Fang still seemed to be a bit affected by Ding Shun's death. But as soon as Sun Fang saw that Yun Hao was looking at him, he quickly sat down and started trying to absorb the Beast Core.

"Why aren't you starting?"

"Right."

As soon as Yun Hao heard Hannah's voice, he quickly sat down and started absorbing the Beast Core as well. And just like what Proctor said, the process seems to be very straightforward.

Yun Hao could feel a warm feeling coursing through his body, starting from his stomach. It was similar to the feeling of resting after a heavy workout. It wasn't painful, no. It just felt that all of his muscles seemed to be active, but at the same time, it was not.

There was a certain comfort to it, Yun Hao thought.

...Maybe perhaps too much comfort as Yun Hao could feel himself going into dreamland. Yun Hao quickly opened his eyes so that he would not fall asleep, but alas, it would seem that it was already too late as the scenery in front of him had completely changed.

"..." Yun Hao stood up as he found himself in the center of what seemed to be a gazebo. A gazebo in the center of a huge lake; or perhaps an ocean, as he could not see the end of it. There wasn't any walkway or anything… Was he just supposed to stay here? What kind of dream was this?

...Is it really a dream, though? Yun Hao pinched himself, only to feel nothing.

"Well, this is fucking weird," Yun Hao muttered as he walked to the edge of the gazebo to look at the water.

"Well, this is truly fucking weird," Yun Hao once again muttered as he didn't see any reflection on the water, "...at least I am fully cloth--"

"Why are you here?"

"!!!"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice entered Yun Hao's ears, causing him to quickly turn around…

....only to see that he was still alone inside the gazebo.