In a house within Qingxi City, a handsome young man sat cross-legged on a carpet, sipping tea while peacefully observing his courtyard through the window.
"I can't believe I've truly reincarnated into the body of a youth bearing the same name!" Ling Tian thought as he placed his teacup on the table.
"I died from cancer at such a young age, never getting to truly enjoy my previous life. But I can't understand how someone could die from something so ridiculous!" As Ling Tian pondered this, black lines appeared on his face.
It turned out that the body's original owner had died from the death of his pet, which caused him such profound grief that lasted three days, until he suffered a heart attack from the intensity of his sorrow.
"Are you kidding me? Dying because of your pet? Well, if you hadn't died, I wouldn't have come here. So I suppose I should be grateful for your kind heart. Don't worry, I'll treat your family as if they were my own."
Ling Tian stood up and looked at himself in the mirror, unable to contain his admiration for his own beauty.
"Damn, could there be a face this handsome? With this face, I won't worry about finding a woman." Ling Tian muttered happily as he examined his new features.
"Alright, now let's focus on important matters. How should I handle my current situation?" Ling Tian thought as he returned to sit on the carpet.
"Let me put things in perspective. First, I've come to the Hongtian Realm, where cultivators exist who seek immortality. Although I'm happy about this, it makes things more complicated. If this were an ordinary world, I would have used my knowledge to invent some things and become wealthy through them. But with cultivators around, the situation is different. Wouldn't it be easy for a cultivator to kill me and steal my inventions? Although there are some things I could use, like poetry, what I know is very limited and will run out quickly, and I'll be discovered as someone without talent who's just borrowing from others. Well, who would want to become a poet when there are cultivators around? I must become a cultivator." Ling Tian said as he struck the table enthusiastically.
"According to the body's original memories, cultivators in the Hongtian Realm begin practicing at the age of fifteen. The reason for this is that this age is when they reach maturity, and thus their spiritual roots are fully developed. As for how talent is determined, that's something he doesn't know."
Ling Tian sighed and thought: "Unfortunately, this child was too foolish, and that's all he knows. I guess I'll have to research it myself. Fortunately, tomorrow is the spiritual root testing date."
Ling Tian became very excited and wished with all his heart to possess spiritual roots: "Anything is acceptable, even the worst types of roots are acceptable."
While Ling Tian was lost in thought, he was interrupted by the sound of knocking at the door.
"Son, enough foolishness! It's just a pet. If you want, I'll get you another one. Now open the door!" came his mother's voice from outside, filled with worry.
Ling Tian sighed and stood up slowly, saying: "Yes, mother."
When he opened the door, he saw a middle-aged woman wearing white robes, her features tense and filled with worry, but behind that was a glimmer of joy at finally seeing her son emerge from his isolation.
As soon as she saw him, she rushed forward and hugged him tightly: "My son, how could you do this to me? I've been worried about you for the past three days."
Ling Tian felt embarrassed but said in a calm voice: "I'm sorry, mother... I won't do it again." Yet despite his words, he was thinking something completely different: "Unfortunately, your real son is already dead."
After a few moments, his mother sighed and released the embrace, then looked at him seriously: "Son, don't do this again, or I'll truly be angry with you."
Ling Tian smiled reassuringly, trying to calm her: "Don't worry, mother. During the past three days, I had a strange dream. I don't remember its details, but it made me smarter. I'm no longer that crying child."
His mother looked at him in amazement and said: "Really? Then what's three plus four?"
Black lines appeared on Ling Tian's face as he answered: "Damn, just how stupid was the original owner of this body that he couldn't answer such a question?"
He maintained his composure and answered: "Of course it's seven."
In the next moment, his mother exclaimed joyfully, her eyes filling with tears as she said: "You're truly alright! How worried I was about you and your future."
When he saw her tears, Ling Tian felt a pang in his heart. This wasn't his real mother, but he couldn't deny the warmth in her words.
After several attempts, he finally managed to calm her down.
But suddenly, as if remembering something important, her eyes widened and she said: "Oh my, we're late! Come on, we must leave immediately."
Ling Tian was surprised and asked: "Where to, mother? What are we late for?"
She looked at him in amazement and said: "Did you forget? Today is the spiritual root testing appointment."
Before Ling Tian could comprehend the matter, his mother grabbed his hand and pulled him outside quickly.
At that moment, Ling Tian realized why his mother had been crying earlier: "With a son at this level of intelligence, any mother would be extremely happy if his intelligence increased even a little." Ling Tian thought as he followed his mother.
After a while, Ling Tian entered the majestic hall. The first thing he noticed was a group of teenagers standing in the center of the hall, then he noticed a group of elders sitting on both sides of the room. Ling Tian guessed they were clan elders, then he raised his head slightly to see the person sitting on the main chair of the hall. Ling Tian recognized him immediately.
It was the leader of the Ling Clan, one of the four great families in Qingxi City, and also his father, Ling Hao.
He was wearing black robes, his cold features showing no emotion, but this only added to his handsomeness. Ling Tian finally realized where he had inherited his good looks.
Ling Tian and his mother approached to stand with the group in the center of the hall. Ling Tian could see angry looks on their faces, but perhaps due to his father's presence, no one spoke.
Ling Hao cast a brief glance at Ling Tian, then stood and said: "Since everyone is here, let's begin."
While following his mother with the group, Ling Tian could only ask her: "Mother, where are we going?"
His mother, Chu Qian, wanted to answer him, but Ling Fei's sarcastic voice preceded her: "I can't believe that I, Ling Fei, the sixth young master of the Ling family, have such a stupid brother."
Chu Qian wanted to defend her son, but Ling Tian preceded her and said: "Oh... my sixth brother, if not knowing things makes one stupid, then let me ask you: how does it feel to be a stupid person?"
When Ling Tian said this, Ling Fei's expression changed, and everyone laughed, because any answer from him would lead to the same result.
Despite his anger, Ling Fei didn't speak, and Ling Tian didn't want to make things harder for him, so he asked his mother again: "Where are we going?"
"We're going to the city center," Chu Qian answered, happy about her son's newfound intelligence.
Ling Tian could only ask: "Why? Can't we conduct the test within the clan?"
"Of course not," Chu Qian answered.
Then she explained slowly: "There are two ways to test spiritual roots. The first is the Five-Color Stone, a stone that can determine whether a person possesses spiritual roots or not, in addition to determining the quality of the root. But this stone is very rare and only possessed by powerful sects."
Ling Tian was slightly shocked and then said: "What about the second method?"
"The second method is simpler: hiring a cultivator who has the gift of root detection. Of course, this is expensive, so the four families cooperate with the city lord to hire such a cultivator, which is why we hold the test in the city center," Chu Qian answered calmly.
But this calm statement left Ling Tian confused as he said: "But what is a gift?"
"How foolish of me, I forgot to explain that to you," Chu Qian said with a smile, then continued: "Listen carefully, a gift is a present from heaven. After a cultivator breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage, heaven tests them, and the better the performance, the stronger the gift."
Then she turned and looked toward Ling Hao, saying: "Look at your father, he received the Gift of Speed, and thanks to it, as an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, he can face a mid-level cultivator."
Ling Tian was shocked by this discovery and filled with excitement, thinking enthusiastically: "This world is truly amazing." Then he turned to his mother and said: "So how are gifts classified?"
Chu Qian answered: "There are six gift classifications, from weakest to strongest. First, there's the Curse, which isn't actually a gift but a curse given to those who fail the test. Second, there's the Common Gift, which isn't powerful but better than being cursed."
Chu Qian said this while laughing.
Then she continued: "Then there's the Elite Gift - your father's gift is of this classification, and I think you have an idea of how powerful it is."
Then she paused briefly and said: "There's also the King Gift, then the Saint, but I don't know how powerful they are or anything about these talents."
Ling Tian was amazed by this information: "If father's gift is this powerful, then how strong must a Saint gift be? Damn, this world just gets more exciting. If I get a Saint gift, I'll soar through the heavens."
Ling Tian thought enthusiastically as they continued their way to the city center.