"Little Xue, with a face like yours, all the girls will definitely be chasing after you… But you wouldn't leave your beloved sister for them, would you…?"
"No," she added, her eyes crazily spiraling. "You'd never abandon your big sister. Not ever."
The more this little girl coddled his cheeks, the more shivers ran up Xue Ren's spine.
'I've decided on my opinion…' He thought. 'I just hope I can walk soon... That way I can begin training and aim to leave this place and this… sister as soon as possible.'
He was mostly kidding, as he didn't actually dislike his sister. But she did scare him… just a little…
The four seasons cycled one after the other.
Precisely seven months after his reincarnation into this mysterious world that featured something called "cultivation," Xue Ren was brought out of his house for the first time ever.
As it turned out, once you reached the age of seven, your Spiritual Roots would awaken. But to figure out their quality and the elements you'd be most proficient in, you had to be tested with a Talent Tester Stone.
Most villages and towns weren't in possession of precious Immortal items like that, so they normally had to wait around for Immortals to make their rounds to the various human settlements. Sects were always in search of new, undiscovered talent, so they provided the Talent Tester Stones whenever they stopped by.
However, for the small Ren Family, who had two retired Sect Elders, there was no need to wait around for the Sect Recruiters. They could go directly to the Sect and have youngsters tested without any wait.
So for the next few hours, Xue Ren and his family of four traveled from their hilltop mansion in Greensbury Village to the neighboring Sumar Village and eventually to a mountain range.
In this range lay the elusive Bluemoon Sect, which the nearby mortals revered and feared. They termed the members of this Sect as Mountain Immortals and showed respect whenever they caught a glimpse of one gliding down on a sword.
"Senior Gu, you there?"
Fang Ren called from outside a large pagoda located in the Core Sect of the Bluemoon Sect.
The Sect itself was massive, with this pagoda barely visible if one zoomed out enough to encompass the whole Core Sect. And though there were many Elders, there were very few with seniority over retired Elders like Fang Ren and Lan Yue.
Senior Gu was one of them.
His voice, both irritated and aged, echoed, "What is it you two want? Aren't you supposed to be living it up and getting frisky on a honeymoon or something??"
'Without even seeing us, he knew who we were… Senior Gu is as capable as ever.'
While Fang Ren's thoughts stirred with respect, Lan Yue walked past her husband. Approaching the door, she knocked a few times for fun, saying, "It's me, Senior Gu! And no, the honeymoon ended long ago, unfortunately… But we still manage to get frisky all the time in our retirement!"
"!!!"
"H-Honey, why are you disclosing such things to Senior Gu??" Fang Ren rushed to cover his wife's mouth with his hands. "We… were supposed to keep things on the down-low…" he whispered.
"Oh, oops, teehee~"
Fang Ren sighed, before cupping his hands toward the pagoda doors. "I apologize on behalf of my wife—"
"You youngsters retired?" Elder Gu interrupted. "When was this?? And aren't you too young to be retiring…?"
Fang Ren's lips twitched. "Senior Gu, it has been over twenty years since we retired. And we're already over two hundred years old—when else were we supposed to call it quits…?"
"Two hundred, huh?" Elder Gu rubbed his long white beard in thought as he opened the pagoda doors for the couple. "It feels like just yesterday that you two entered the Sect, coming to me seeking guidance. How time flies…"
"…Yes…"
Both Lan Yue and her husband could relate. Time came for them all.
Xue Ren, on the other hand, was exhibiting levels of surprise that made his brows arch up to his hairline. 'Two hundred years?? Just how is that possible!? Have they also developed serums for longevity improvement in this world as well??'
Although his past life was rife with cultural enrichment, Xue Ren was born into poverty.
When he was young, he didn't have the money to be wasting on quality Xianxia stories. And when he was old, he was too preoccupied with the never-ending pursuit of strength to have any free time.
Thus, Xue Ren had close to no idea what cultivation was or what it entailed. He only heard some bits and pieces from his parents—not enough to paint the full picture.
"You've come for this little one, right?" asked Elder Gu, his sunken eyes focused on the cute young girl standing beside the baby being carried in Lan Yue's arms.
Fang Ren nodded. "You're correct. Linghua just turned seven, so we decided to celebrate her birthday by coming to the Sect and getting her Spiritual Roots checked out."
"I'd much rather be celebrating my birthday alone with my Xue," Linghua muttered under her breath.
'Please, no… Anything but that…' Xue Ren's baby face twisted in fear.