"Uh... Boy, sober me up!" The Chief limped into the store, his condition even worse than yesterday.

"Damn... ugh, I'll vomit! Stay back, old bastard!" Trilok almost poured his breakfast out from the northern end, unlike the sea god's intended manner.

"Whatever... I have an initiation ceremony to bless with my, as they all said, mighty balls. I need to sober up... or some other balls might be revealed... don't want to charm all the ladies of the community in a single swoop of hand now, do I?" The Chief coughed, his gaze half-lidded as he could barely stand straight.

"Tch, like your old balls will impress others. Do you think only old women sag? You stupid drunkard! Men. Sag. Too. By now, your balls must reach the floor of the deck if not for your pants keeping you decent," Trilok clicked his tongue in disgust.

"Here you go! Oh, and considering our harmonious relationship... you might as well do me a favor and go harsh on Vayu," Trilok picked his nose before blowing on his pinky finger.

"Whatever you say," The chief replied with a hiccup, "And they call me the Drunk. A fool's right in front of me!" He walked away after paying a single coral coin, making Trilok richer by one point once again.

"Spirit Initiation Ceremony, huh..."

Trilok smiled while recalling his own ceremony. He didn't have his initiation ceremony in this community. Instead, the moment he was awakened to a guiding spirit, he was forced to flee with his father and then roam the seas like a hippie.

---

"Er... stand straight, no, unngh, proud, yes. Stand Proud, like my erec— ehm, like the warriors of past!" Chief Declared with his arms wide open, allowing yet another stream of scent to escape from his armpits as the instructors standing beside him took a step back.

"Father, should I—" A middle-aged man spoke up, completely immune to the thick scent surrounding the chief as the young children of the community looked on from below. Chief's youngest daughter blushed in shame as she watched her father smack her eldest brother on the back of his head.

"Silence! You reek of your mum's milk!" The chief hollered.

'And you reek of her piss,' the middle-aged man barely held his tongue, afraid to his piss his father further and make fun of his dead mother... well, the Chief did marry for the third time who passed away after giving birth to a daughter, finally making him stop.

"Papa!" A girl's voice interjected what would have been yet another humiliating experience of the successor of the Chief.

"Ah," letting go of his son's color, the alcoholic chief continued the ceremony, this time, appropriately.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man matched a wry smile with the girl standing behind Vayu, mouthing— Thank You.

"No worries," Vayu mouthed back, making the man's lips twitch.

Truly, the young chief's life is filled with unbearable living beings.

"For many years, you have been taught that cultivation is the most amazing experience of this world," Chief's voice suddenly turned sincere while the teacher behind him no longer smelled any odor from the Chief. His murky eyes now held a trace of longing as the Chief continued, "Cultivation is indeed a life-changing experience. However, should this experience make us fall into an abyss of negativity, turn us selfish, unkind, and even sinful, then keep this memory close to your heart forever!"

His voice boomed, making every single child on the deck of the ship, which worked as a main street of the community, go silent.

The waves around the ship crashed against the structure from all sides, letting a shower of seawater to adorn the middle of the ship with its grace as the Chief looked at all the children with a trace of affection in his gaze.

"Cultivation is as innocent as a newborn baby. It guides us to a better life. It allows us to seek treasure. It helps us survive nature. In this world, there may be many bad things. Unfortunate and catastrophic circumstances even. But, Cultivation is the only thing that, in the end, truly belongs to us. How we live our life with Cultivation is entirely dependent on us."

While the young and aspiring children did not understand the essence of Chief's teaching, his eldest son already had his eyes warm after hearing his father's words. The teachers behind the chief shook with realization. 

Indeed, they hear the same words, with the same intensity and emotion, every year. However, each time, they feel like they have understood something new from the Chief.

"Now, we shall conduct the awakening of all of your spirit guides. As this pathetic worm calls put your name, step up to the platform, and touch dem balls... I mean, this ball," The Chief stated while taking out a fist-sized orb. Soon, the sapphire crystal orb floated mid-air without any support.

However, none of the teachers felt amazed by the quality of the awakening stone. Instead, they glared at the chief for his uncouth mind.

---

"Cultivation is a romance, huh," Trilok mumbled. His shop was desolate at the moment. He could hear the sound of Kol washing the dishes, but deep down, he only heard the Chief's words constantly ringing in his head.

"Every single living being is capable of requesting a help of a spirit guide... right?" Trilok smirked as he closed his eyes and felt a warm presence within him.

"In the first leg of cultivation, the spirit can slowly attune to the body and the physical world. It dwells within the body and becomes the part of the body. Hence, the name of the first time in Cultivation is Spiritual Dweller."

Trilok looked at Kol, her data flickering in his eyes.

[Name: Kol

Age: 20

Spirit Vein: Green (Upgrade Requirement: 50,000)

Cultivation: Spiritual Dweller— 9 (Upgrade Requirement: 11,000)

Technique: Sea God's Ascension (Mid-Common)(No Special Traits)(Upgrade Requirement: 20000)

]

And then he compared it with his own data.

[Name: Trilok

Age: 19

Spirit Vein: Green (Upgrade Requirement: 50,000)

Cultivation: Spiritual Dweller— 9 (Upgrade Requirement: 15,000)

Spirit Points: 7267

Technique: Sea God's Grace (High-Legendary)(Special Traits: Heart of Sea— 1)(Upgrade Requirement: 200000)

]

'After upgrading the Cultivation technique, my spirit grew more attuned to my body and reached the peak of its slumber. It could awaken at any moment now. But... why do I need more spiritual points than Kol? The only difference I see is the age and the technique. It's probably not the age. If high age demands greater spiritual energy then elderly should be skyrocketing in their Cultivation.'

Trilok continued gazing at Kol, making the haggard woman cleaning the jars in the shop look down in embarrassment. 

Getting beaten black and blue wasn't the only reason Kol joined Trilok. It was how he looked at her. A younger boy gazing at her back with a look of full interest. This was something the ordinary Kol had never felt in her life.

'And how roughly he treats me... nnngh, not good. I need to quickly take a break,' Kol thought to herself. Her breathing a little ragged and her ruffled hair barely hiding her expression.

"B-boss! I need to go to the bathroom."

"Clean the shop and then leave," Trilok averted his gaze and stated nonchalantly.

'Pig! She doesn't like to work at all! Boss this and Boss that!' Trilok snorted internally as Kol shivered at Trilok's cold words.

---

"Vayu! Where's Vayu?! Come forward quick! Don't let me smack you, too!"

The Chieftain called out with a shout. Many boys and girls rubbing the back of their heads while Vayu ran so quickly that it made everyone feel amazed in their hearts.

As he stepped on the wooden platform, Chieftain still struck Vayu squarely on the back of his head.

"Too slow!" He roared.

Everybody grimaced. 

Vayu is the quickest of their group!

The fact that Vayu was smacked made every other remaining young boys and girl understand that they will get their share of pain no matter what.

"How many balls do you see?" Chieftain inquired with a calm expression.

This is new.

Everybody blinked.

But, the middle-aged son of the Chieftain felt his heart clench in horror.

'This perverted old man!'

Meanwhile, Vayu looked at the orb and said with a confident expression.

"One!"

"Wrong! Gods! Your brother was right about you. All bravado and no brain. Look at me. I'm strapped with a pair of balls!" Chieftain growled, "And you're, too, strapped with a pair. Look behind me. Do you see that Dhira?" The Chieftain pointed at the middle-aged lady with a slightly well-off body, "She's got dem two huge balls, too! But see that lass Nhil?"

The chieftain pointed at another woman, much less endowed than Dhira, "She's got none!"

Everybody's face turned dark.

"So..." Vayu looked a bit hesitant. "You, me, Uncle Roa—"

"Don't count this coward, he's got none!" The Chieftain sneered while pointing at his son.

"Okay," Vayu nodded, not even letting Roa have the time to speak up.

"You, me, Teacher Dhira, and Instructor Vitski, and the Initiation Orb... nine balls?"

"Vitski bruised his balls. One of them still isn't healed," The Chieftain pointed out sagely, making the man standing close to Dhira pale.

"Eight," Vayu replied confidently.

"Looks like you still have hope. Now, which ball should you touch?" Chieftain inquired once again, "Answer carefully. Or I'll smack you."

Vayu fell in a predicament once again.

The entire ceremony had gone silent by now. Roa was seething with indignant fury. Dhira did not have much of a reaction while her younger sister, Nhil had her jaws clenched with a raging gaze. If someone felt the worst, then it was surely the burly Instructor Vitski.

Even Trilok's [Poor Man's Health] hasn't been able to heal Vitski off of his impotence caused by an unforeseen accident.

'What would brother do?' The moment Vayu heard his brother being mentioned, he tensed up. The fact that the Chieftain indirectly held Trilok in a much more respected position made Vayu feel elated and distressed at the same time. It was conflicting.

Still, he ended up thinking what Trilok would do.

He lazed around, taught Vayu, and created his own medicine which wasn't in the Community.

'His own medicine... brother is taking his own path... why shouldn't I do so myself?'

With a grim expression, Vayu's gaze flickered and he suddenly sneered.

"What else?" He replied, "I hold my own balls!"

Chieftain's raised hand slouched.

A grin suddenly appeared on his bearded face and he laughed.

"Pft! Hahaha! That's the spirit! In long voyages, what else determined men like us can do in the end?!"

While Roa felt a little impressed by Vayu, thinking that the boy meant holding his own fate in his hands and actions, understandably, his father found an entirely new meaning.

"Alright, for now, touch this one," The Chieftain controlled the orb mid-air and brought it close to Vayu.

"Remember. A spirit brought to this world shouldn't be a conflicting one, or the one you feel you cannot control. 

Kid, where are the pills?" The chieftain looked towards Noland, who stood below the platform with a large, iron cauldron placed next to him.

"He doesn't need mine," Noland shrugged, "He's already got a Spirit Manifesting Pill."

Chieftain raised his eyebrow in surprise as Vayu took out a nail-sized pill dark red in color and swallowed it.

"I'll be going in," Vayu stated before placing his hands around the orb.