Cultivation Nerd (xianxia)

The afternoon sun beat down on us as we sat in the middle of a forest filled with lush green trees. Their leaves were shaped like hands reaching for something, while the branches resembled brown veins.

Why were we holding the children's test here?

Honestly...

For the vibes.

“This place looks creepy,” Song Song commented. “Are you sure this is the best place for something like this?”

I shrugged.

Wisdom Hall was something I had created to embody my own ideas of how an organization should function. As a wise man once said: with great power comes doing whatever the fuck I want.

Song Song leaned closer and whispered into my ear. “I told you to just kidnap some talented female disciples. Your kids would've definitely been more talented.”

Thankfully, neither Fu Yating nor the three children were cultivators, so they couldn't hear her.

Jiang Yeming definitely could. Yet she showed no reaction whatsoever. The way she was staring at Liu Sha, it seemed she couldn't care less about what we were saying.

If this had been my previous world, I would've never let someone like Jiang Yeming get so close to my children. But she hadn't done anything suspicious. This was a cruel world. She genuinely seemed devoted to Liu Sha. If something ever happened to me, Jiang Yeming was one person I had no doubt would protect my family.

At the very least, she would protect Liu Sha, and she would want him to be happy. She almost had a strange motherly relationship with him.

Had she perhaps played that role in the future after Fu Yating died?

Unless Liu Sha died young, he would've been at least seventy by then. Then again... Liu Sha was rather introverted. Maybe he'd simply grow into a bit of an oddball.

Before having children, I always believed I could guide them however I wanted. Teach them the right lessons and shape who they became.

Reality had proven otherwise.

Take Liu Ma, for example. No matter how patiently I explained things to him or even when I disciplined him until his bottom turned red, he still found new ways to cause trouble and bully Song Gu.

Although Song Gu never took it lying down either. Liu Ma usually ended up receiving just as much bullying in return.

Kids were complicated...

“Alright, we'll begin the test now,” I said, clapping my hands to draw the children's attention.

All three of them looked both excited and nervous.

“Since you're all nearly six years old, this is the perfect time to test your cultivation talent,” I said with a reassuring smile.

Fu Yating quietly watched our children. Mostly Liu Ma.

Even though she had long abandoned her schemes, she had once manipulated people like chess pieces when we first met. She could easily see that Jiang Yeming's attachment to Liu Sha bordered on unhealthy.

But at least someone powerful had his back. Liu Ma, on the other hand, had no talented cultivator quietly watching over her.

As I stared at Fu Yating and the worried motherly look on her face, my heart skipped a beat.

My wife was twenty-eight years old now. Unlike when we had first met, she had developed a mature charm, and the years had filled out her figure beautifully. She was much more my type now than she had been in her early twenties.

If certain protective techniques didn't exist, we'd probably have become one of those old-fashioned couples with eleven children who complained that the younger generation only thought about coarse and lewd things.

Liu Ma looked nervous, staring down at his hands and picking at his nails. Even Song Gu didn't glare at him for breathing too loudly. She had noticed how anxious he was.

The children were usually quite dramatic, so seeing them this well-behaved felt almost unnatural.

Liu Sha, on the other hand, looked calm.

This world was harsher than my previous one, so children matured more quickly, and I hadn't gone out of my way to shelter my own. It was a cruel world. Raising them the soft, modern way would only place them in danger.

Even so, his calmness was impressive.

I waved my hand theatrically, trying to ease the children's nerves. It didn't work.

A straight gray stick appeared in my hand.

There were many ways to test cultivation talent, from arrays to strange artifacts. Still, I wanted this one to be as accurate as possible.

Without asking who wanted to go first or giving them time to think, I tossed the stick toward Liu Sha. He instinctively caught it, and in his hands the stick barely flickered with light.

Liu Sha was still looking at it in confusion when Jiang Yeming suddenly rushed forward, crouched down, and buried his face against her bosom.

“Don't worry, Liu Sha. I'll go out and find you countless immortal herbs and heavenly treasures to improve your talent,” she declared while rubbing the back of his head.

“Wha?” Liu Sha mumbled, his voice muffled.

Jiang Yeming didn't give him any time to think before lifting him into the air. Then she grabbed the barely glowing stick and tossed it back to me.

I had expected something like this. Even among cultivators, most children were born without exceptional cultivation talent.

Judging from the stick's faint glow, Liu Sha possessed around five spirit roots. Even after decades of cultivation, he would struggle to advance beyond three-star Qi Gathering. Even that was assuming I devoted resources to him comparable to what a great sect would spend on one of its talented disciples, and that he would follow through and work hard.

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Yet despite already knowing all of that... A strange ache spread through my chest, almost like heartburn.

Because I realized something. One day... I would have to watch my own son grow old and die.

I had accepted that possibility long before deciding to have children. But facing that reality now... I found myself instinctively rejecting it.

It wasn't quite sadness. It was closer to panic. As though some part of me refused to admit that future.

Even as I calmly analyzed my own emotions, my thoughts had already begun searching for immortal herbs or heavenly treasures capable of improving his talent. Despite knowing such things were unimaginably rare.

No. I had to keep smiling.

Whatever emotion had begun creeping onto my face, I washed it away with a fresh smile, clear as a spring morning.

Liu Ma looked frightened. He had already realized that with us acting like this, it meant his twin brother's result hadn't been good.

“Timidity doesn't suit you, son,” I said as I tossed the gray stick toward him.

Just like his brother, he caught it instinctively. I expected another dull glow.

The thought of one day burying both of my sons. It was so unbearably heavy that it almost made me want to lock myself inside my laboratory and never come out.

My spiraling thoughts came to an abrupt halt as a brilliant light erupted before me. It was so bright it nearly blinded me. The gray stick shone with a dazzling radiance.

Liu Ma's eyes widened.

“This one has good talent,” Song Song said, grabbing the stick from Liu Ma's hands.

For the first time, she showed genuine interest in one of my children. Before this, she had acted more like a distant aunt, there mostly in name and only something parents mentioned around the dinner table. But she did bring gifts for them when visiting.

She grabbed Liu Ma by the scruff of his neck, leaving the kid dangling there like a confused koala.

“Father, what does this mean?” he asked.

But the smile on his face and the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes already answered that question.

“This means you have eighty-three spirit roots, brat,” Song Song replied. “You've got top-tier cultivation talent.”

I was still lost in thought. Twin sons. They looked so much alike. Yet one was studious and hardworking while barely able to cultivate, and the other possessed monstrous talent.

Many ancient texts claimed that the world often regarded twins as a single entity. There had even been rare cases where one twin should have been born with twenty spirit roots, only for the other to absorb them while still in the womb, ending up with forty instead.

In ancient times, this had been one of the most common ways Extreme Physiques came into existence, with an unnaturally high number of spirit roots.

This was...

I didn't know how to feel about it.

Liu Ma, on the other hand, wore a grin so wide it looked as though his face might split apart. Even while Song Song continued manhandling him, he had the audacity to look over at the wide-eyed Song Gu.

“Humph,” he snorted. “As expected, I'm very talented. Song Gu, even if you can't keep up, I'll still take you as a concubine. But because you've thrown rocks at me, hit me, and once pushed me into a hole full of bugs... you won't be my first wife.”

I smacked the brat on top of his head, making him sway in Song Song's grip.

“If I ever catch you bullying anyone, I'll bully you twice as hard,” I warned.

Now that he truly possessed cultivation talent, the last thing I wanted was for him to grow into one of those arrogant young masters.

“He's right,” Song Song said, defending Liu Ma. “This little girl isn't worth much compared to him.”

Now that she knew he had talent, she finally seemed willing to treat my children like they existed. Until now, she had mostly ignored them. Seeing her remain so indifferent toward her own niece, however, was rather disheartening.

“Don't take his side,” I said, meeting Song Song's gaze. “And don't belittle Song Gu. She's someone I take care of. I've raised her like my own daughter.”

Song Song gave me a sheepish smile before setting Liu Ma back on the ground.

“Sorry, brat,” she said while ruffling his hair. “But I don't like you nearly enough to pick a fight with your old man.”

Liu Ma paid no attention whatsoever. Still riding the high of discovering his talent, he even had the courage to stick his tongue out at Song Song. She simply gave him a light kick on the backside, sending the brat tumbling onto the ground.

“Don't get cocky, kid,” Song Song warned. “Give it a few years, and I'll make sure you never have another peaceful day.”

Thankfully, she liked me enough to show restraint. If this had been someone else's child… Well, Song Song wasn't exactly known for having a soft spot for kids.

Song Gu quietly hugged my leg, looking thoroughly intimidated.

Seemed I'd be taking care of her for the rest of her life. It didn't matter. She was a good kid.

Almost as an afterthought, I handed the gray stick to Song Gu. The moment she touched it, the stick shone so brightly that it looked as though a second sun had risen before us. Even my eyes stung from the sudden brilliance.

As the light gradually faded, cracks spread across the gray stick.

She broke the measuring stick?

That could only mean one thing... Over one hundred spirit roots.

Another Extreme Physique. When had something like this become so common? She was the third person I personally knew with one. Was this the effect of Heaven's Favorite, causing me to encounter so many extraordinary people?

Perhaps both of my sons had originally been destined for mediocre talent, but the heavens judged that having one son with the potential to reach Nascent Soul was better than two who might only achieve the upper levels of Foundation Establishment.

It was all rather confusing, and something to think about later.

Just how much did the heavens actually interfere in matters like these? Usually, unless immortals were involved, Heaven's Will didn't directly intervene or create something out of nothing.

I let out a slow breath. Quickly hiding it behind a smile, I gently patted Song Gu on the head.

The little girl didn't even seem to notice. Instead, she turned toward Liu Ma with a vicious grin.

“Barely top-tier talent?” she scoffed. “Hmph. You're barely qualified to become one of my many husbands.”

Liu Ma immediately clenched his teeth and tried to struggle free from Song Song's grip.

“Kiddo, this is your best chance to beat her into submission,” Song Song advised. “During the Body Tempering stage, cultivation talent hardly matters. You've still got about a decade before it starts making a real difference.”

Then she put him down. Before the brat could even take a single step forward, I grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, leaving him dangling like a wet raccoon.

“If I catch you doing something like that,” I warned, “you'll receive the discipline of a lifetime, you little brat.”

Then I looked toward the true instigator.

“And Song Song... please don't teach him your bad habits.”

“Don't worry,” Song Song waved me off.

In response, I gave her a light karate chop on top of the head with my free hand.

She immediately pouted.

It hadn't hurt. But she understood the message.

When my children had seemed talentless, she hadn't cared about them at all.

Actually... she still didn't. The only difference now was that she likely wanted to take Liu Ma under her wing and recreate the kind of relationship we had shared when we were younger. The problem was, Liu Ma wouldn't resist her influence the way I had. Once she realized that, she'd inevitably grow bored and lose interest.

Song Song had never lacked followers. Even when she was young and living with her grandmother, there had always been people willing to follow her. What she truly wanted wasn't a subordinate. She wanted an equal.

Song Song was a dear friend. But she was also an incredibly complicated person. She had made it abundantly clear that, aside from me, she didn't particularly care about my family. She would never harm them. Nor would she allow anyone else to do so because of our friendship.

But that didn't mean my wife or my children held any special place in her heart.

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