6

"For those who are done with their exam, they can go out."

About half an hour into the exam, the voice of the old man sounded again, waking up people like Lin Kai from their stupors. The moment the old man spoke, many of the people who were sitting quietly looking around suddenly stood up in a hurry before rushing forward and handing their papers.

After taking a glance around, Lin Kai hesitated for a moment, but his hesitation lasted only for a fraction of a second before he followed other people as he handed his paper too.

Just like the old man said, this was an exam that tests one's memory. Were it any other exam that includes any practical knowledge, Lin Kai might have a chance. But unfortunately for him, things were not in his favor.

After collecting their blank papers with an expressionless face, the old man nodded to the nearest guard, signaling him to lead these brats out of the exam hall. As for those papers that were just handed to him, he didn't even glance at them, just put them on the table before shifting his gaze toward the people who were still sitting there, focused on their exams. In the future, many of them are going to be his colleagues.

"Phew..."

The moment, Lin Kai came out of the exam hall, he exhaled a mouthful of air. He almost felt suffocated sitting inside the hall. Without the knowledge, he could only see around to pass the time.

"This is going to be a shitstorm." He could already see the implication of failing the very first part of the exam. However, he wasn't overly worried. What's the worst that could happen to a man who has already died once?

"Go back or explore the town?" Since he was out in less than thirty minutes, Lin Kai thought about his next course of action. He could try exploring the town more or could just go back.

However, before he could even make a decision, a voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Huh!?"

It was at this moment that the surprised voice of the guard echoed in his ear. "Young master...

You...

What about the exam?"

"Sigh..." Lin Kai didn't reply, but just shook his head. Unknowingly, he has already arrived near his boat.

"Let's go back."

The guard looked at the young boy in front of him for a moment before nodding his head. From his expressions, he could already guess the outcome of the exam. The best thing was just to keep silent and follow the orders.

But with the way things are now, he reckons it won't be long before he doesn't need to listen to this young master's orders.

"Do you want to go back or roam around a bit?" Even though he was having these ideas, he didn't voice them out. After sitting on the boat, he asked Lin Kai who seemed to be lost in his train of thought.

"Err..." With a brief pause, Lin Kai nodded "Let's just roam around for a bit. There is no need to head back home this early."

Without another word, the guard just pushed the oars as the boat slowly began to drift with the water.

It was around an hour past dawn as the sun climbed higher, adorning the sky with its majestic presence. Yet, even with it, the temperature remained lukewarm.

Lin Kai kept on looking around at the scenery that was slowly changing around him. One moment he saw small wooden shops filled to the brim with herbs and many other dried plants, while the next moment he saw rows of shops filled with all kinds of weapons and armor.

From majestic buildings built with intricate designs to the small stalls selling items. There was everything one could wish for. He even saw a number of small stalls selling noodles and various foods.

Looking at the distant mountains that were towering into the skies, Lin Kai found that his mind was in the most relaxed state. It was only during times like this that he could forget about everything and just lose himself in the scenery.

"It's beautiful." Uttering those words slowly, Lin Kai signaled the guard to stop the boat just below a small wooden bridge in the shadow.

The guard didn't speak but rowed the boat to the side.

"Say..." After a brief pause, Lin Kai looked at the guard as he spoke further. "If I ask you some questions, will you answer them?"

After thinking carefully, Lin Kai finally decided to ask the guard. Even though he could have gained his answers from roaming around the town, he did not dare to. With the murderer on the loose, who is to say that he won't be the next victim?

So, his best course of action would be to ask someone from the family. And who is more suitable than the guard in front of him?

"I will, young master.

As long as it is something that I know, I will answer it." After careful thought, the guard replied in a solemn tone, waiting for Lin Kai to ask his question.

"What was the flame mark on your forehead?" Lin Kai finally asked the question he wanted to ask the most.

"Huh!?" The guard was stunned for a moment. He was prepared for all kinds of questions, but a question like this was what he expected the least. In his mind, the young master who just gave up on the exam must be feeling down, so to make himself look better, he was going to show his display of intelligence. After all, every scholar was like this.

But to his surprise, the question the young master asked was about practicing. What was he even thinking?

"You don't want to tell me?" Noticing his blank gaze, Lin Kai waved his hand in front of his face as his eyes were still stuck on the guard.

"No... I didn't mean it like that." Shaking his head with a bitter smile, the guard continued speaking. "I was just a little surprised, that's all."

"As for what the mark was... It was the mark of the flame. Don't you as a scholar know this young master?"

Seeing a tinge of doubt in his eyes, Lin Kai just shrugged it off. "You think I would remember this when I can't even remember things for my exam?"

"How about you just tell me from the beginning?" With a smile on his face, Lin Kai spoke further. "Let's just assume that you are a teacher who is teaching students about practicing, and I am a new student. Now, how are you going to guide the newcomer?"

Even though there was a lot of doubt in his mind, the guard didn't dare to voice it out. After all, the boy in front of him was the tenth son of the current patriarch. Even if he couldn't practice, he didn't dare to say anything to his face. Not to mention unable to practice, even if the boy in front of him was crazy, he would just silently follow orders.

"Okay, then I will explain it to you, young master." With a nod, he put the oars to rest as he slowly began to speak.

"You see, at the age of eight, every child be it a boy or a girl, is given a chance to walk the path of a practitioner.

Now you might ask what a practitioner is..." With a pause, he continued his speech softly.

"Those who practice any form of extraordinary powers are known as practitioners. Throughout this world, people call them by different names, sometimes cultivators, sometimes immortals, sometimes even gods.

But there is one thing common amongst all the practitioners.

And that is the pursuit of individual powers."

Lifting a handful of water from the river, his eyes seemed to be lost as he spoke further.

"Take our Qingyun city for example. Every child that reaches eight years of age can choose to join one of the three major families to become a practitioner. Those with talents are accepted and those without talents are sent back home."

Lin Kai who was listening quietly nodded his head in understanding. Everything till now was easy to follow. Even though the guard was taking his time explaining things unrelated to the power structure of the world, he wasn't bothered by it. On the contrary, he was able to understand more about how this new world is structured and how it functions.

"How do they measure the talents?" This was the first question Lin Kai asked.

"By doing the root test." The guard just smiled slightly as he spoke further. "I will come back to this topic later."

With a brief pause, he continued his speech.

"As I was saying...

At the age of eight, if a child has roots, he or she can join one of the three families to start their practice. Those rejected have two paths in their life. Those from poor families usually learn hard labor and other skills. And those whose families have enough money, they can become scholars."

"I see..." At this moment Lin Kai understood why the predecessor was a scholar instead of a practitioner even though he was the son of the current patriarch of the Lin Family.

"You already know more about scholars than me, so I will refrain from embarrassing myself. Instead, I will talk about the thing that I know best... About Practitioners."

"Go on." Nodding his head, Lin Kai signaled him to continue with his speech.

"So..." With a heavy exhale, the guard dipped his hand into the water as he spoke further. "The first path of the practitioner is the realm of body training. And this is where the root test comes in handy."

"Just like plants and trees, roots are the very basis of practitioners themselves.

These roots are further divided into five elements. Fire roots, earth roots, metal roots, air roots, and water roots."

Looking at Lin Kai he closed his eyes for a moment as a small flame pattern emerged between his eyebrows. "This is fire root. Those with metal have a rod-shaped pattern, those with earth have a mountain pattern, those with air have a curly pattern, and those with water have a raindrop pattern."

"You see when one concentrates enough, they will find themselves in their mind space. For the people with fire roots, their space will have embers of flame flying all over. Those with metal roots will have small metal ores in their space. Those with earth roots will have solid ground below their feet. Those with air will have a constant breeze and those with water will have a constant drizzle in their space.

Even people without roots have their own space, except their space is empty, devoid of any elements."

Speaking till here, he paused for a while, letting the young boy in front of him absorb what he has just told him.

"I see." The more Lin Kai listened, the clearer the situation became to him. Now he knew that he was without roots, just like the guard said. But, perhaps he was not hopeless. After all, other people have elements, while he had a book in his mind space.

Looking at Lin Kai who was listening silently, the guard spoke further.

"And this is where the roots play their part.

After joining the family, every child is given practice methods and resources according to their roots. For example, I got the practice method of fire elements when I joined and every month I get Fire treasures as resources.

After we begin practicing, we follow the practice method to condense a mark in our mind space. This mark is condensed with our own blood and energy along with the elements that are present in one's mind space. The better the resources, the faster the speed of the formation of the mark.

Once this mark is fully condensed, one can then merge this mark with their body, thus achieving the realm of the 'Resurgence state'. A realm that has surpassed the boundaries of a mortal."

Speaking till here he stood up slowly as the mark on his forehead began to glow in red. It was as if there was a fire burning between his forehead. The brighter the mark became, the hotter the temperature around Lin Kai got. When the mark was fully formed and stable, the water placed in the hand of the guard began to boil.

Lin Kai who was quite a distance from the guard, could still feel the dry and hot air constantly hitting his face. He had no doubt that the guard will instantly scorch his skin if he touched him.

Even though the area surrounding him was getting dry and hot, surprisingly, the grey smoke-like clothes on the guard's body remained completely unaffected.

This lasted for a while until the guard sat back on the boat as the mark between his eyes began to dim before disappearing completely. Feeling the temperature returning back to normal, Lin Kai breathed in relief before extreme excitement overtook him.

For him, it was an extraordinary phenomenon. Just the thought of a human containing this much power was something he only dared to dream of before. But now, in this new world, it was no longer a dream but a reality. For a moment, Lin Kai was even happy that the phone exploded and he came here.

Not knowing how to express his excitement, he could only wait for the guard to speak further.

"This is the Resurgence state of fire root." The guard who was sitting with his eyes closed slowly spoke further.

"What about other elemental roots? What powers do they display?" The more Lin Kai learned, the more awestruck and excited he became.

With a nod, the guard replied to him "Water root Resurgence state is similar to us fire roots, but instead of heat, its practitioner can make their opponents sluggish. Legend has it that some of the extremely talented ones can emit chilling cold and are even able to freeze water into ice.

Earth root Acquired realm gives its practitioner raw strength. Compared to other Acquired realm practitioners, their raw strength is almost tripled, making them capable of lifting heavy objects like feathers.

Practitioners with Metal root Acquired realm are similar to earth root practitioners, but instead of raw strength, they gain tenacity and defense. Mortal weapons possess no threat to them.

As for the practitioners of the Air Root Acquired realm, they are extremely agile. Their speed far surpasses any other practitioner in the Acquired realm."

Finished speaking, the guard went quiet. "Should we head back young master?"

It was only after a long time that he spoke.

"Umm..." Lin Kai who was lost in his train of thought nodded absent-mindedly. Talking with the guard proved to be more beneficial than wandering around the city. He was sure that even if he were to roam the city by himself, he wouldn't have gained so much.

Now that he knew the basics of practicing, he was looking for a way to make his cheat work. After all, no matter how much knowledge he gets, it is useless if he can not even apply it or use it for his own benefit. But the question of how to use this knowledge effectively still remained.

Lost in his train of thought, he was imagining the various future paths he could embark on when another question suddenly popped into his head.

"You told me about Resurgence state... Then what about the realm after it?" With eyes filled with longing for knowledge, he looked at the guard. Since now he has a general understanding of the power of those in the Acquired realm, he was even more excited to know about the power of those who have surpassed this realm. What are those people capable of?

Noticing his gaze, the guard didn't immediately reply but just nodded.

As he began to row the boat against the river current toward the Lin family, Lin Kai frowned after looking at the guard who was still silent. He knew he shouldn't be asking questions like these as a scholar. He was even sure that if not for the identity of the tenth son of the current patriarch of the Lin family, the guard wouldn't have bothered to even talk to him.

But no matter what the situation might have been, at this moment in time, everything was in his favor. So, he was going to take full advantage of his identity. Who knows what his standing in the family was going to be after the results were announced?

"There is a saying in the family young master...

The seeds of power are best sown with measured steps, nurturing them into towering oaks, rather than scattering them aimlessly across barren ground."

With a meaningful smile, he looked at Lin Kai "How can one ask about his next journey when he doesn't even know his own path?

Truth be told, I just stepped into the Resurgence state not too long ago, so my knowledge is somewhat limited. You can try to find the answers yourself, but at this moment, I am afraid I can not answer your question."

Lin Kai didn't immediately reply but just looked at the guard's helpless expression. Even though he wanted to ask another question, he didn't immediately speak up. It was already strange for a scholar like him to not know these topics. After all, there weren't a lot of people in the family who knew about his memory loss.

Thinking about the conversation that he just had, he was lost in his train of thought. Now that he knew the first step of the power structure of this world, he was even more excited to know further. But just like the guard said... He needed to know more about the Resurgence state before thinking of going further. Even if he had the knowledge of the later realm, it would be useless unless he could use it for his own benefit.

As the boat slowly drifted towards the Lin family's mansion, the figure of two people silently sat there, leaving an uncomforting silence amongst the ripples of the river.