In a common dwelling in the Outer Sect of the Flowing Lotus Sect, three children were meeting up with each other.

The first person one could notice was a young girl of an average height of about 1.30 meters (4.3 feet) with very long electric blue hair enclosed in a high tail thanks to a small ornament that ended near her knees.

In 3 years of training, she had developed very well, although you could still see signs of her young age.

You could notice the second person was a young boy, the tallest of the three about 1.35 meters (4.4 feet) with long red hair but up to his mid-back and left wild. After 3 years of hard training, he had changed a lot, with more defined muscles but without exaggeration. One could still see his youthful demeanour, but it seemed thoughtful today.

The third but no less important of the three, was another young girl. The shortest one of about 1.25 meters (4.1 feet), she also had very long ice-coloured hair enclosed in a tail adorned with several ornaments that gave her a noble aura in addition to the cold aura that she emanated from her whole body. Besides having developed very well in 3 years of training, it seemed that she had become even colder and more detached than before.

Lien Hua, looking at her two friends with whom she had spent most of her new life, she could see that in three years of training together she had a talent for speed but had little strength, while Chen Huang had a talent for strength but had little stamina. Finally, Lin Yue was relatively good at everything even though she was no master of anything.

The young girl could also see that her companions' personalities and character had developed well thanks to her endeavours. Even though Lin Yue had become colder, it was only a transparent veil; in fact, she was very open to everyone.  As for Chen Huang, he had become very protective of the people he loved and was very kind.

After 3 years, Lien Hua had finally become completely accustomed to her new life. She could finally say that she had found a place which she could call home thanks to all the friendships and people she had met.

Even though it was a completely different world, with different cultures from which she had been accustomed to living before, she no longer felt like a stranger but finally felt like she belonged to it.

She also saw that her new attitude was much more open and benevolent to the people she knew than from her previous life.

Compared to 3 years ago, everyone had improved a lot, and Lien Hua was very grateful. Above all, she had become very confident, even if she knew that she should not be too much because it was only the beginning of her journey.

Returning to the present, Lien Hua looked at her friends who were also watching her, waiting for her to start talking.

"Well, guys, tomorrow is finally the big day where we will each discover our martial spirit."

Lin Yue was the second to speak, "I just hope we're not disappointed, but you all have to promise me that whatever happens, we'll always be friends. You promise?"

Lien Hua and Chen Huang looked at each other seriously and said in unison, "You already know, we promise."

After they said these words, a dazzling smile was displayed on Lin Yue's face; it was so beautiful that it enchanted her two friends.

Lien Hua had to say that even though she was pretty, she was not at all close to Lin Yue's levels. A girl with a radiant beauty like hers could only be described as divine.

Lien Hua asked her friends to be sure, "Before moving on to other topics, I wanted to ask if you both remember specifically: what is a martial spirit?"

The two of them stated that even though they pretty much knew what it was, they asked the group's resident scholar to explain it for them.

Lien Hua hearing that familiar nickname didn't pay much attention to it and began, "Well, first of all, martial spirits have resided in our souls since the moment we were born, just simply dormant. At the age of 8, our bodies stop absorbing spiritual energy automatically. Therefore we are forced to awaken the martial spirit that will help us to reabsorb it. All martial spirits are different, but they have one thing in common: they are all living beings."

Chen Huang asked when he saw that Lin Yue also wanted to ask the same thing, "But do they have anything else special besides this?"

Lien Hua, seeing that they were so interested, was very happy and with a small smile answered, "From what I've heard and has been explained to me, martial spirits take a lot of inspiration from our parents, but they can also be different, or mutated."

Lin Yue, hearing the last sentence, asked, quite perplexed, "What does mutation mean?"

Lien Hua understood that she had not used a straightforward sentence and then explained, "It is a term used to describe something that changes, so take for example your parents' martial spirits are made up of fire and lightning. Yours could end up with both of them together. That is what mutation means."

The two children finally understood and were very fascinated by the explanation their friend had given them.

Chen Huang made a slight cough, drawing the attention of the other two and said, "Now I remembered! I wanted to ask, 'But where will this awakening take place?'"

Lin Yue looked at him with a slightly incredulous eye and said, "Seriously? That's your question? Our custodians explained it yesterday: The ceremony will be held in the Temple of Awakening in the centre of the sect. How did you forget that?"

Chen Huang immediately put his hands in front as a sign of defence and Lien Hua began to laugh upon seeing her friends' actions. They seemed just like the children of a dear old friend, and at that moment she understood that she could no longer live without them.

Lien Hua, turning for a moment and looking out at the small window that she found behind her, she ignored the voices of her friends who were teasing each other and saw that it was getting dark.

Turning and rising from the pillow on which she was sitting cross-legged, she drew the two rapscallions' attention to herself.

"Well guys, the sun is starting to set. We must get going before mine and Chen Huang's keepers don't find us in our homes, and most importantly, we all need a good night's rest to be as strong as possible for tomorrow."

Looking at her with eyes full of determination, both of her friends confidently said a word of agreement and bade each other farewell with a nice group hug that was very unusual in this world.

Of course, it took a bit of effort, but Lien Hua was able to eventually introduce her acquaintances here to this custom, as they were unused to physical contact with people, unlike herself who came from a society in her last life where people gave each other handshakes, hugs, and more without any problems.

Walking out of Lin Yue's house with Chen Huang, they once again said goodbye to each other outside and set out on their way.

After not even a few seconds of walking, Lien Hua could already see her house with the lights still off, noticing that Old Li had not yet arrived.

Entering the door of her house and sitting on the pillow near her desk, which also served as her table to eat, she did not wait more than 5 minutes until she already felt the door open.

Lien Hua turned and saw Li Wei with a bundle full of objects in his arms.

As soon as Old Li glanced over at his adopted granddaughter, he could only smile as she waited for his arrival.

After 3 years, their relationship was even stronger, making them almost inseparable. In fact, Li Wei as soon as he saw her he spoke first with a warm and loving voice, "Seeing that it's your eighth year birthday tomorrow and we can't celebrate then, I've prepared a lot of things for you today, so let's celebrate this evening and hope that tomorrow you'll come back stronger than ever."

After finishing dinner, they prepared to go to sleep. Li Wei hugged the child and gave her a good night kiss and wished her good luck for the next day, as he could not accompany her tomorrow.

During the night, Lien Hua had a dream. She dreamed of a powerful storm, which had hit the entire area of Eltanin. Lightning crushed the landscape and thunders wiped out the mountains, the winds were fierce, and no forest could resist, and the very high waves that formed from the seas ran down the coasts. Rivers and lakes broke their banks, flooding everything, and powerful hurricanes formed, destroying everything as they passed by.

And in this apocalyptic marasmus, high up in the pitch-black coloured clouds, there was a monstrous being made of bolts of lightning that looked condescendingly at what was happening on earth, just as an emperor looks down on his subjects.