B1C2: The Rebirth Ceremony (II)

8-year-old Caleb was overcome with boiling enthusiasm, altering his customary regimen, which he had faithfully followed for a year. He ran out of his house wearing his normal brown clothing, eager to get to the clan hall.

When Caleb arrived, there were already a number of kids gathered outside, all of them wearing shabby clothing. There was tension in the air since there was tremendous competition within the clan. The powerful would enjoy favour and attention, while the weak would be forgotten. The branch family's youngsters realised that this once-in-a-lifetime ceremony held the power to transform their family's fortunes.

Someone said, "The Elder Rock has arrived," by the clan hall's entrance.

Elder Rock looked over the gathered kids and then looked at his watch. "The time is 8:30 AM. Anyone who hasn't arrived by this point may give up on attending the ceremony this year.

He then led the kids into the clan hall and gave the go-ahead to close the doors. Elder Rock began to explain the fundamentals of cultivation while paying little attention to the kids in front of him.

He said, "There are two kinds of cultivation. "Body cultivation emphasises the physical manifestations. The body is conditioned to function beyond human capacity while enduring tremendous pain. The other approach, known as faith cultivation, focuses on internal factors to enhance one's spiritual power.

"One needs to go through rebirth in order to become a martial artist. This is the waking of one's own dormant blessing, not physical death or reincarnation. Only by awakening our blessings can a cultivator begin to absorb faith energy by establishing a connection with the heavens and the earth. I will stop here for now, I am not sure any of what I have said will be useful to you. Later on each of you will soon be in front of the altar of rebirth. If your blessings seem little, don't be alarmed; this is typical for branch family members.

Elder Rock's lack of optimism for these branch family children was evident. He hurried through the explanations and swiftly left, leaving the kids to look at the pitch-black shrine that seemed to be exuding some sort of eerie presence. They sat down while attempting to settle their minds. Caleb, who was conscious of his lack of meditative abilities, chose a quiet spot to sit as he waited for the ceremony to start.

The main clan's representatives arrived a short while later as the hall's doors slid open. Another group of the clan's favourite children gathered close to the altar. Tobias, the eldest child of the current Levi Clan Leader, was standing among them. A charming young boy in a white fur coat that is flawless. His pale blue eyes, which were beaming with pride, could be seen when his short, dark hair was swept to the side.

The clan leader cast a quick glance at his son before raising his hand to declare the ceremony's beginning. Standing up, a priest in a white robe thanked the gods for favouring the Levi Clan. Then, from a black pouch, he poured a silver-like liquid onto the pitch-black altar.

He said, "Young Master Tobias, please come forward to the altar and place your right hand on the platform.

The overconfident Tobias followed the priest's directions and ascended the altar, laying his palm on the platform as Caleb and the others watched from the sides with impatient expectation.

The altar, which was completely dark, started to emit a white light, creating a magnificent sight. Tobias's body was entangled in the light, which gave the impression that a huge snake was squeezing its prey.

In the air, water specks formed a tiny bubble that floated in front of Tobias. The beautiful aura that surrounded him began to progressively fade, signalling that the rebirth ceremony was drawing to a close. The water bubble froze just as the light started to fully disappear.

The priest presiding over the event paused for a moment in wonder before gathering his thoughts and exclaiming, "Rank 3 Water Blessing! Cloudy Ice,

The disciples and elders were startled when the priest spoke because it was like a grenade going off in the crowd.

"What!"

"Cloudy Ice, Rank 3 Water Blessing"

"Oh my Lord, the Levi Clan has at last given birth to a prodigious."

Everyone fell silent as shock appeared on their faces. Nobody had foreseen such a result. A Rank 3 Water blessing, incidentally, placed one among the best abilities in the entire Free City. Only about once every ten years did such people start to appear. Additionally, those endowed with these qualities or higher were destined for outstanding future accomplishments.