Trash?

“We measure Bone Formation, Bloodline Merit, Spirit Vein Quality, Meridian Strength, Ki Channel Capacity, Soul Might, Soul Will, and even Insight. You have the lowest possible rating in all eight. No sect will want you. No teacher will take you. You have no hope in cultivation. You are trash.”

With those words, my hopes of becoming a cultivator were completely shattered. Trash? In the Liu Family? My ancestors would be ashamed. My parents will surely be ashamed. I didn’t bother to go home that night. I just wandered the streets in despair. 

“Hey kid.” 

Huh? I seem to have walked into a strange alley, with an odd old lady.

“You must have pretty good luck to find me. Let’s have a talk. Surely fate brought you here.” 

I didn’t have anything better to do, and still felt like my world had ended. What was the worst that could happen? It couldn’t possibly be worse than facing my family after learning I’m trash. We have a proud history of cultivation.

Somehow or other, I ended up explaining everything to the old lady. Not sure why, but I guess because she spoke kindly, and I had a tiny bit of hope left that maybe this stranger could help.

“Don’t be too disheartened. They can’t test for everything, and the gods of this world are not so cruel as to create true trash. Everyone in this world starts with the same amount of talent. It’s just that yours isn’t in any of the categories people know how to measure.”

“Then, could I still be a cultivator?” I really couldn’t help but ask. I desperately wanted to be a great cultivator.

“Anyone can be a cultivator.” She answered. “Though not everyone can follow the same path if they want to succeed. For you, I think a normal sect would not do. Instead, you should try traveling. Seek your own path. Perhaps fortune will smile upon you.” 

“Thank you. Your words are kind.” 

“I’m just an old lady sharing a bit of wisdom I’ve gained over the years. Be glad you live in this world, and not one of the others.” 

“What do you mean?” Other worlds? Does she mean the demon realm, or divine realm?

“Well, some gods seem to love making worlds where people are doomed to misery. Others are just foolish and don’t think things through properly. In this world though, everyone is given a proper chance. It’s up to them whether they use it well or not.”

“You speak as if you have experience in these matters.” I really found her words strange. How could she know about these other worlds? How could she know so much about this one?

“It doesn’t matter. Like I said, you must be very lucky to have found me. Now go. You have a long journey ahead of you.” 

So, I bade her farewell, and left a little happier than I’d entered. Find my own path. Was there really one for a talentless person like myself?

Luck

Heading back in better spirits, I found myself collecting pretty stones as usual. Found three of them before I got back. A nice pretty green one, a split blue and red, and an orange one. I’ll add them to my collection.

As a child, I once tried showing them to my friends, but they made fun of me for it, saying pretty stones were for girls, not guys. Still, I kept growing my collection, and just kept it well hidden. They didn’t look like the kind of gems I saw ladies wear. They weren’t shiny enough for that, but they were colorful.

Since it was late, I just waved at the gate guards and went in, not reporting back to my parents. They shouldn’t still be up anyway. 

As I prepared for bed, I noticed a slip of paper in my pocket. Seems the old lady left me a gift, though I have no idea when she snuck it into my pocket. 

The paper contained a very basic breathing technique for gathering ki, and a simple method of ki circulation. The whole thing fit on one page, including the drawings. I’m pretty sure all the techniques I’ve heard of before were far more complicated and advanced than this, however, if my aptitude is truly as bad as I’ve been told, perhaps something this simple is better suited to me. So, I decided to give it a try.

…

Sunlight? Has it really been that long? I still feel… wait, I feel even better than I did when I started! Haha! This is great! Wait… why are the stones I kept with me grey now? Where did their color go? They became ordinary!

In a panic I checked my hidden store of stones I’d stashed under one of the floorboards in a corner. Oh good, they are mostly still fine. Except, a few near one side have turned grey… the ones closest to the bed? What happened?

“Yo! Brother, Cheng! Why’d you come back so late?!” 

Ah, one of my brothers was here. That’s right, I need to go greet mother and father. I was supposed to report back yesterday after the test to announce my results, and prepare to then join a sect.

“I just spent the evening chatting with an interesting lady!” No need to mention that she was old, and that the conversation was about how badly I’d failed all the tests.

“...” His silence made me smile as I made my way to the main building. He wasn’t expecting that! Ha! …it’s nice not being the one stuck in silence for once.

…

“Greetings, Father, Mother. I have returned.” 

“Welcome back, Cheng. How did the tests go? You get any offers from a good sect?” Father of course wanted to know the most important thing. The whole reason for the tests was to figure out what cultivation path was best for me.

“Um, I received some advice I intend to follow, I plan to travel a bit, and see more of the world.” I was hoping to avoid explaining my actual test results.

“That’s a great idea! Make sure you bring home a good wife!” Mom seemed eager to have me start a family. It was much too soon though, I was still only 16! I don’t want to even imagine trying to raise children yet.

“You at least need a basic cultivation manual. Try this one, it’s a simple one that is allowed to be shared.”

“Thank you, Father. By the way, I’m curious, are there stones that lose color? Is there a reason for it?”

“Do you mean spirit stones? They lose luster and vibrancy as their power is consumed, and eventually turn a dull grey when fully drained.” 

… what? My pretty rock collection is spirit stones? Even if they are pretty low quality ones, that’s still amazing! Maybe I should use them up cultivating before I go.

“I see, thank you for the information. I’ll be going. I’d like to do some cultivation before I get started on my journey.” 

“She doesn’t have to be pretty! Just make sure she has a good heart!” *sigh* mom still focuses on wanting me to get married. I’m supposed to be cultivating to become a martial master, not a homebody. 

…

When I got back and tried to read the cultivation manual father gave me, I realized something: I couldn’t understand it at all. A bunch of weird names, something about needing to move ki in a specific path, and timings? I was afraid to even try it, it had so many warnings about mistakes leading to ki deviation and possible damage to meridians. Maybe this basic one-page method I was given by that lady is better. At least I can understand how to do it.

***Author Note***

Reading too many cultivation novels. Ended up feeling like I had to write something. This story is getting abandoned because I have another I'm working on first though.