Chapter 4: The Choosing Ceremony
Age: 1 Year
The "Catching the Week" ceremony. A tradition as old as the empire.
When a child turns one, they are placed on a large table filled with objects. A sword for a warrior, a brush for a scholar, gold for a merchant, a pill for an alchemist. Whatever the baby grabs determines their fate.
Today, the Great Hall of the Ye Clan was packed.
"Look at the spread!" a guest whispered. "That sword is a High-Grade Mortal weapon! And that Pill Bottle… that's a Grade 3 Spirit Pill!"
I sat in the middle of the red carpet, looking bored. My body was now that of a healthy one-year-old. My eyes were sharp, and thanks to my secret midnight workouts, I could already walk perfectly, though I crawled to keep up appearances.
My father, Ye Tian, clapped his hands. "Go on, Rudra! Pick your future!"
I looked at the items.
* The Sword: Trash. The balance was off.
* The Pill: Garbage. Only 40% purity. I'd get diarrhea if I ate that.
* The Book: Basic "Qi Gathering" manual. I could write a better one in my sleep.
I sighed. 'Ria, is there anything here worth taking? Or should I just grab the gold coin and pretend I like money?'
"Wait," Ria's voice suddenly sharpened in my mind. "Look to your left. In the corner. Under the pile of silk."
I turned my head. Buried under some decorative silk was a rusted, jagged black metal spike. It looked like a piece of scrap iron that a servant had forgotten to sweep up.
"That," Ria hissed. "That isn't iron. That is a fragment of Stellar Meteorite. It's the material we need to upgrade Antakala from 'Sealed State' to 'First Awakening'."
My eyes lit up. Finally. Resources.
I ignored the glowing sword. I ignored the pill. I crawled straight past the expensive treasures.
The crowd gasped. "Where is he going?"
I reached the pile of silk and dug out the ugly, rusted black spike. It was heavy—at least 10kg. A normal baby couldn't lift it.
I grabbed it with my small hand. I channeled Qi into my arm.
Lift.
I hoisted the heavy spike into the air and hugged it like a teddy bear.
The Hall went silent.
"A… a piece of scrap metal?" an Elder muttered, disappointed. "He chose… junk?"
"Is he destined to be a scavenger?" a rival clan member snickered.
My father looked confused. He walked over. "Rudra, drop that dirty thing. Look at the shiny sword!"
He tried to take the spike from me.
I didn't let go. I glared at him.
'Mine.'
Ye Tian pulled harder. He used a bit of strength.
I held on. My tiny fingers dug into the metal. The veins on my forehead popped. I was entering a tug-of-war with a Saint Realm cultivator.
Ye Tian's eyes widened. "By the gods… his grip strength!"
He couldn't pull it away without hurting me.
I hugged the spike and let out a baby-like noise: "Pa! Mine!"
Ye Tian paused, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Look at that grip! He doesn't care about the shiny trash! He wants the heavy iron! He is destined to be a Refiner! A Master of Metal!"
The crowd, seeing the Patriarch laugh, quickly changed their tune.
"Yes! A Refiner! A noble profession!"
"He sees the value in raw materials! Genius!"
I mentally rolled my eyes. 'Sheep.'
I hugged my Stellar Meteorite. With this, I could finally start repairing Ria's spirit form