Lixin, gritting his teeth, walked through the gate, entering the courtyard, and he fell on the ground due to exhaustion.
His body was hurting like crazy, especially his feet, as they were bleeding; he had walked barefoot through the mountain.
Looking at the beautiful pavilions and the clouds in the sky, his eyes filled with passion and hope for the future.
Suddenly, a soothing sensation covered his body, washing away all the pain and exhaustion he felt.
He felt a gentle touch on his back, with a little confusion in his heart, he looked back only to see a serene old man covered in an orange Taoist robe smiling at him.
His hands were radiating a gentle warmth that covered his body. He understood that this man was an immortal.
As the warm sensation disappeared, he quickly stood up and gave this old immortal a respectful bow.
"Thank you, Immortal, for your blessing."
He said respectfully, as for repaying him, how can a mortal like him even repay an immortal? Perhaps in the future, when he himself becomes an immortal, he may be able to hand.
"Hmm.. No need for your thanks. And you can call me Elder Han."
"It seems we have a fate together."
"If you manage to awaken a spirit root, you can become my disciple, and if not, you can work as a servant under my department."
Elder Han muttered with a kind but profound voice as his body became illusory as a cloud before disappearing.
Lixin continued to bow as his heart couldn't help but be filled with gratitude. Elder Han not only healed him but also gave him a path forward.
He promised in his heart that if he had the ability in the future, he would help Elder Han to the best of his ability.
On the pavilion where the outer elders were gathering, everybody looked at Elder Han with a questioning gaze.
Elder Li was also confused, as he didn't quite understand. There was no reason for Elder Han to make such a promise to the youth.
What if he awakened a Five Elemental Root? Then wouldn't this disciple become a shame for Elder Han?
Elder Han took a sip of wine and started to speak, his words as if telling a story, his eyes looking at the distant past and the hopeful future of this frail boy.
"I am now more than seven hundred years old."
"Through all my years of hard work, I have reached the ninth sea of the Spirit Sea realm."
"I have no hope of becoming a Heaven's Ladder realm cultivator."
"In my youth, I focused all my attention on cultivation; thus, my parents have long died, I have no Dao companion, I have no child of my own, and I don't even have a successor."
"All my years of hard work will become dust in a few centuries."
"Cultivation is always against the heavens' principle and is a path filled with cruelty."
"I have failed on this path and many will... In this path, talent can only take a person so far."
"What's truly necessary is a will, a will to rebel against the heavens. I thought I had such will, but as I get older, I realize that my will was nothing compared to the heavens."
"But that child, he has a frail body, a body that never received care, a body that should have never allowed him to reach here."
"For that child, these ten thousand steps were akin to heaven, and with his will alone, he managed to surpass this heaven."
"Many children came before him; they were in better condition than him but for them, these stairs were just a test."
"So it doesn't matter even if this child's talent is the worst, his unyielding will will carry him forward."
"Perhaps he may even surpass an old bone like me."
Hearing his words, everybody became silent, even the always active Elder Li was lost in thought. Cultivators have always been against the heavens, and do they really have the will to move forward?
All the old bones sighed, they knew they had long given up, only Elder Li was hopeful for the future, after all, he is just three hundred years old.
"Well said, My foolish Disciple."
A hearty voice sounded as a young man appeared next to Elder Han, tapping his shoulder with a smile on his face.
The young man was wearing a blue Taoist robe with a white sword-like pattern flowing through it. Although he looked the youngest out of all the people here, they all looked at this young man with respect.
"Greetings, Inner Elder Lin."
Everybody except Elder Han said while bowing their head, as Elder Han looked back at the youth, his master.
"Master Lin, this disciple has failed your teaching."
Elder Han said with a sad tone as Inner Elder Lin just laughed it off, taking the bottle of wine on the table, he gulped it down.
"Although you never managed to reach the Heaven's Ladder realm, you are one of my proudest disciples."
"In my four thousand years of teaching, there was no one with a will as tough as yours."
Elder Lin commented as he reminisced about the past, thinking about the proud body who had become such an old man he could help but sigh.
Even they who are called immortals by the mortals are helpless against the passage of time; even they can't escape the fate of death.
"That lad has quite the strong will."
"If he awakens enough talent, he may even surpass me."
Elder Lin complemented as he looked at Lixin, whose eyes were burning with passion and hope for the future.
From his bone age, he was just ten years old, but his will surpassed even those who have lived for hundreds of years.
"If his talent reaches above three elemental spirit roots, you won't mind if your teacher poaches him, will you?"
Elder Lin said with a smile as he looked at his fifth disciple, hearing his words, Elder Han just smiled. Picking up a cup of wine, he looked at Lixin and said.
"If that happens, then it is that boy's fortune."
"Though the teacher won't mind if I teach him first."
Elder Han said with a smile, their relationship as teacher and disciple is very deep. As they saw a teacher is greater than a father.
Having spent centuries with his teacher, their relationship is more like friends than teacher and disciple.
"Hahah, you are also in my school of teaching."
"So it doesn't matter if you teach that lad before me."
The other elders just watched all this from the side, and even they couldn't help but envy the fortune of that child.
To fall under the watch of an Inner Elder is a blessing of ten lifetimes. If they had gotten such an opportunity in their early years, then they may not be stuck in their current realm.
"Well, I should go, the ceremony is beginning."
Elder Lin muttered as his figure vanished as if he had never been here. Elder Han didn't mind as he continued to enjoy his wine.
In the courtyard, Lixin waited on the side patiently as he looked at the surroundings. Some children had already started to become agitated due to the long wait.
Some were talking with each other, making connections, and it seemed no one had seen Elder Han helping him.
Perhaps Elder Hand had hidden it using immortal magic, well, no matter what, it doesn't affect him in any way.
In fact, it can be considered good as he won't become the center of attention. If his talent were bad, he wouldn't want to cause trouble for the kind Elder Han.
"Hey."
A voice called him as he looked to his side, and there stood a girl with sunken cheeks and a frail body.
Marks of abuse could be seen on her hand as if beaten by a stick, but even with that, she was smiling.
Her eyes were golden like the sun, their light hadn't been snuffed by everything she had gone through.
"Can I help you?"
Lixin asked as he looked at the smiling girl. He was a little confused. There was no reason for anyone to come talk to someone like him who was wearing tattered clothes.
"Hmm~, Aren't you bored being alone?"
She asked, waiting for his reaction, her eyes looked at the crowd, and those sun-like eyes seemed to deem a little.
"Bored, not really.."
Lixin said as he looked at the crowd of children laughing and talking, they were so close to him yet so far away.
"Hmm, I am also not bored."
The girl muttered as she looked at Lixin, she seemed to be collecting her words in her heart as she spoke.
"But I do feel lonely."
"I started this journey alone, and even after crossing those gates, I am still alone."
"No one wants to talk to a person like me, so even in this crowded environment, I stand alone."
She muttered as complex emotions seemed to flash through her heart.
".. Is that why you came to me?"
Lixin asked as he stared at her, wondering what answer this smiling girl would give.
"No.. If I were looking at a lone person, there were many others. I only came to you because of your eyes, the eyes that carried the hope for a better future."
"These hopeful eyes were the most beautiful thing I have seen in my short life."
She said with a smile as their eyes made contact, seeing such a frail but mature he couldn't help but smile.
"Yes, else that contained hope truly are beautiful."
With that, both of them became silent, staring at the crowd of people; they both seemed to be separated from it.
"My name is Lixin He. What is yours?"
He asked as the girl's face froze, her eyes showed unhidden sadness, and a bitter smile appeared on her face. Even her sun-like eyes dimmed as if covered with dark clouds.
"Name.. I do not have such a thing. My father never considered me his daughter; thus, he never cared to give me such a precious thing."
"For him, I was nothing more than a thing."
She muttered as she looked at the sky. Lixin remained silent as he looked at this girl whose body was frail but will strong enough to crush anyone.
"The name I possess.. I gave it myself."
"In this life, having never felt the warmth or coldness of a family, I have always been alone."
"So, my new friend, do you want me to name you?"
Lixin said with a smile as he stared at her, his words seemed to warm her heart as the glow in her eyes returned, her eyes were filled with tears, but a beautiful smile adorned her face.
A smile that seems to surpass the boundary of physical beauty, a smile that came from the soul itself.
"Yes, it would be my honor to be named by my first friend."
Getting her confirmation, Lixin was lost in thought as he looked at her bright smile and glowing eyes. Having thought of a name in his heart, he softly spoke.
"Your smile is as warm as summer's heat and your eyes as bright as the sun's glow."
"Your name shall be.."
"Xia Ying"