Chapter 4: Awakening Ceremony

Rushing over towards the family centre holding her son's hand, Sarah was slightly worried about her son's awakening.

They reached a large, empty arena with a queue with a few children and there was a large crowd surrounding the arena.

In the centre of the arena were 2 large pillar-like crystals.

The one to the right was purple and was used to awaken your Soul Spirit by tapping into your soul, talent and will to form a Soul Spirit.

Although the Soul Spirit rank does have a massive impact on your battle ability and overall power, it doesn't have a direct effect on your cultivation talent which was also ranked like Soul Spirits and gives you your affinity with energy, which is also your talent.

Talent is also a massive part in the power level of your Soul Spirit and most times the Soul Spirit is the same or below the level of your talent which was measured on the left pillar and before your Soul Spirit.

All large powers would have awakening pillars for the youth and the prime time to awaken was at the age of ten and if you awaken before or after your prime age it could have a direct effect on the outcome and may even cause backlash if there was a forceful awakening.

Pushing through the crowd, Damian was able to get into the queue of youths who were waiting to get tested.

All the outer family members had gone ahead without any of them shocking anybody or being peerless within the new generation.

Left were only the direct descendants of the main family who were made up of Damian and his 7 cousins.

For a cultivator strength and power were the most important thing, which was why they would have many children in order to spread their seed and also have a higher chance of giving birth to more talented children.

The 8 children stood in the line with 7 of them proud and excited to gain their Soul Spirit and talent grade, while in the back was a small child with scruffy white hair and yellow eyes who looked very nervous.

[What if I get a trashy soul and have a low talent, my mother will keep getting laughed at and I will be humiliated], he thought to himself anxiously, as he walks up the steps.

They stood on the arena, while there were crowds of hundreds who were all tensely waiting to find out the talent and potential of the new young generation of the Maxwell Fire family.

"We will now commence the awakening of the direct descendants" announced the Great Elder who represented his ill father who sat behind him and stood next to his brothers on the highest watching stand.

Sarah wasn't allowed to stand with her siblings and sat with her father and was praying that her son would gain a good Soul Spirit and had good talent.

The boys were queued unintentionally based on their fathers status, who were ranked on strength and talent, with the 6th elder's son going fist and the great elders going second to last, only before Damian.

Stepping forward was the 6th elder's son, who was first in the line, and walked up to the purple pillar first in order to awaken his Soul Spirit.

Placing his palms onto the pillar, it released a pulse of purple energy which entered the boy's body and streamed through it, forming a small flame within his dantian.

The dantian is located in the lower abdomen between the navel and the pubic bone and is the storage point of your energy and your Soul Spirit.

"E:10 Maxwell Flame" he exclaimed in joy as he jumped up and down on the stage, then he walked towards the blue pillar that checked his talent, and found itas the same as the rank of his Soul Spirit.

Happy with what he had awakened, he joined his father on the watching stand who had a proud smile, as in the time they were in, their bloodline was becoming more and more diluted.

Along with the diluting bloodline was also with the decline of their family and most other Originator Families, making it so that E:10 rank wasn't a bad rank to have.

The rest of the boys also received their Soul Spirits leaving only the Great Elders son, Jona, and Damian waiting to awaken. Lewis, the 5th elder's son, had an E:10 Soul Spirit and an E:9 Talent and it rose slightly each time or stayed the same until Daniel who had an E:7 Soul Spirit and an E:7 Talent.

The ill Family Head was over the moon by this year's youth who had surpassed the previous generations by far.

Everyone was overjoyed and happy at the new generation who could save the declining family, apart from the Great Elder who was worried his son would lack behind the rest of the youth and wouldn't be the young family head.

Slightly anxious after seeing the rest of his competitors' ranks, Jona steeled his will and walked towards the purple pillar.

Clenching his teeth and feeling the weird awakening energy surge throughout his body, he felt a small red flame form in his dantian.

As this occurred a letter and number appeared on the pillar showing E:6.

Seeing this he jumped up glee as he screamed in shock, knowing his Soul Spirit and talent was the highest the family has seen in the past 28 years and was the same as the current family head and only lower than Sarah.

But Sarah was suppressed and wouldn't be able to completely use the power of her Soul Spirit, so wasn't a threat to Jona's rise in the family.

He felt a massive sense of relief and achievement and an arrogant and hateful expression replaced his worry.

"So trash hurry up and test your ability" stated Jona as he saw that Damian had still not tested his Soul Spirit Rank.

Forming a small flame, using all the energy he had, within his hand, Jona felt amazing.

Soul Spirits grant the user a unique power that is formed from your bloodline, your soul, your talent and your will.

Although they all have the Maxwell Fire Power, it is unique to each one of them.

Jona with his aggressive and unrestrained nature would have a power that would enhance his physical fighting ability.

Fighters and Mages are the main classes that cultivators are split into, with unique and other classes being extremely rare. Fighters would use the energy they absorb and store within their dantian to reinforce and enhance their body and use fighter skills.

Whereas Mages who are much rarer than fighters and looked down upon due to their weakness in close combat ability will manipulate the energy within their dantian to use different spells and skills for many different and unique effects.

Stepping forwards Damian clenched his teeth as he stood in front of the purple pillar.

Looking back at the watching stand where his mother was, Damian took a deep breath.

He saw his mother giving him a supportive smile and the Great Elder looking down on him.

He felt really awkward being around people for so long and for an unknown reason deep within his soul, he seemed to hate arrogant people and wanted to become the greatest and overshadow all of those that look down on him.

His palms were physically shaking he placed them onto the pillar, which unlike for others it didn't glow in the slightest and nothing happened.

Damian stood there for 10 seconds, until he suddenly he felt a jolt of energy and a small sprout of an object within his lower abdomen.

Everybody was staring at him in silence not daring to blink, but to their surprise, no number appeared on the pillar.

Damian's face slumped and he felt like bursting out into tears.

[I am a disgrace and will never be able to protect my mother with a book], he thought to himself as he felt a book form within his dantian.

"hahahaha, look at this trash he doesn't even have a Soul Spirit or he must have a trashy item Soul Spirit for farming" announced Jona ridiculing him as the crowd burst out into laughter.

While overwhelmed with embarrassment, he realised that the book wasn't as simple as it seemed and seemed to be asking for something and was hungry.

In such a situation there was no need for him to test his talent which he currently didn't care about and suddenly felt light-headed.

He began to lose sight and eventually consciousness.

Seeing her son lose balance and about to collapse, Sarah burst off the watching stand with unimaginable power and emerged from behind him, catching him in her arms.

Looking around at her relatives and those she called family, for the first time, after all, they have been through she felt a non-suppressible hatred.

With her son in her arms, she jumped off the stage and headed towards her home.

"I will leave this so-called family with my son" she decided, assuming that the idea of her son being a powerful cultivator was now merely a dream.

But little did she know that Damian's journey on the path of strength has only just begun.