Jade walked down the sidewalk to her apartment building. It was originally an eight-story tall grey brick before the residents some years ago decided to do something about it. They all worked together to paint the building a more appealing color. Now it was a lovely hue of orange red and yellow sections that clashed with the many arrays of plants the residents grew on their balconies. The worst offender was Jade own balcony or to be more precises her mother’s private herb garden.

It was barely recognizable as a balcony at all. It looked more like a giant growth that came out of the building. Like some monster from the wild lands or even like a monster from the ever-popular horror movies.

Jade came to a halt before the walkway to her section of the house when she spotted her mothers car parked in the driveway. That was odd; Mara told her she will be home late tonight. She had been taking extra alchemy contracts to earn more money for the cultivation resources Jade would need in the near future.

She made her way up the stairs she vaulted down this morning, which seemed like it was years ago. A lot of things happened today. Jade stopped on the third floor. What is she going to tell her mother? Lying to her seemed like a bad idea. The few times she tried lying to Mara did not turn out well for her. It was almost as if she had a sixth sense for that kind of stuff.

Maybe she could tell her everything that happened except her Concept. But that wasn’t an option either. Her mother was to guide her through her first cultivation session. If she lied about her concept Mara would try to teach Jade her own cultivation technique which was much better than the basic one the empire provided its citizens.

Again, absent in her thought Jade opened the door to their apartment on the sixth floor. Before she knew it, she was crushed between to strong arms that whirled her inside the entrance.

“Mum, you are crushing me.” Jade wheezed with the little breath she still had. The hug decreased in intensity but did not stop. Finally, after another minute of awkward silent hugging Jade was freed of her prison.

Mara was a woman of small stature nevertheless she possessed the strength of a tier 2 cultivator. Her black hair was neatly tied into a bun behind her head. Her eyes were a warm brown and her skin was just a tad darker than Jade's.

“Where have you been? Are you alright? What happened?

“I am fine mum. Why are you here? What do you mean what happened?

“It was on the news, Jade. You know I listen to the radio when I work. They talked that there was a demon attack at the Heavenly Stadium. I tried reaching you the past two hours.”

Jade flinched and looked to ground guiltily. “Oh. Um yeah, I am fine. I was there but nothing happened to me. But mom I think we need to talk about some stuff.”

“I am glad you’re okay but you really scared me by not responding to my messages and calls. I was worried sick, leaving everything as is at work rushing home in hope you would be here. I’ve been pacing back and forth this whole time.”

They made their way into the living room which was equally filled with plants as the balcony. But these were more mundane plants than the mana ones outside.

“I am sorry, Mom. I had my phone on silent because of the ceremony and forgot to turn it back. With all that happened it just slipped my mind.”

They sat down on the couch Mara getting busy in the kitchen making some of her special calming herbal tea. She came back with the pot and two cups placing them on the coffee table. She looked much more composed now than when Jade stumbled into the door.

“Now you need to tell me what happened. With the ceremony and the demon attack.” Mara gave her the stern no bullshit look. Jade gulped. There was no avoiding her mother when she got that serious.

Jade started with her ceremony telling Mara about her concept and the title she got and her high potential. Mara was stone faced the whole way through as only mother could be when they listened to their children’s missdeeds. Then came the story about the flowers, the demon and Ethan.

Mara took a deep breath and turned her eyes on Jade. “I am very proud of what you achieved and am happy about the great talent my daughter possesses. But I am also not happy about you jumping into a fight not 30 minutes after awakening.”

She sighed and took a sip of her tea, representing the perfect combination of grace and calm. Jade always admired this side of her mother. She could be damn scary when it came to the important stuff, but you had to be determined in a world ruled by people with the martial and economical power to stomp you into the ground.

“As I see it, we have two options. Hide your concept and hope for you to grow strong enough to avoid blow back or fully commit to your exceptional talents. Either way your status as a high potential cultivator will change the plans, we made for you to join the Dawn Lotus sect.”

“I don’t like either option. On one hand I do not want to become some sect's experiment and live in a golden cage. Or even worse be chosen to be their new core disciple and go through hellish training. On the other hand, I am not sure if I can lie through my teeth when I am surrounded by all these other important students and teachers.”

Jade went through the empire's standard education system, which starts when you are twelve and receive your crystal, and lasts five years. There she was taught literature, math, science, history and most importantly Cultivation theory and martial arts.

“I agree that hiding your concept is going to be hard, but it would give us more time to figure out your concept. And prepare for any eventualities. The sect recruiters will come. I have no doubt about it. There is no avoiding joining a prestigious academy on a scholar ship. And you shouldn’t avoid that anyway.”

“I want the best for you Jade. And having the opportunity to train under top academy’s teachers is an opportunity I could only dream of. But you have the chance to do it. Revealing yourself will only complicate things now when we have no chips in hand. If you can graduate from an academy, you have official standing in society. And anything the sect would want to do to you would be three times as hard.”

Jade listened to her mother’s words thinking it over. Focusing on what she wanted to do. It was always her plan to join her mother's sect nominally and search for a job in the open market rather then dive into the sect’s politics.

But was that even possible now? She had a unique concept and a high potential. No, she was already part of the sect’s game. She helped kill a demon and she met a general’s son. She even had his number.

Jade had no illusions that they could trace this back to her. Which would give her even more spotlight. She rubbed her forehead. Why did she have to play the hero? There was no coming back from this and she had to get ahead of this now.

“I will do it. Hide my concept join a sect and go to a god’s damned academy. And if anyone tries to mess with me, I’ll show the that Jade Saelee is no pushover.”

Mara smiled at her determined daughter. “Good, first you can take a shower and I will make us something to eat. Afterwards we are going to the Lotus Dawn sect. I had the cultivation chamber reserved for tomorrow, but I can pull some strings to get it tonight.”

After a shower and meal of rice and stir-fried vegetables, they left for the sect in Mara's old Minivan. The backseat was removed and the whole back of the car was lined with a plastic sheet to protect the car form the dirt and plant material that mara often brought back from her workplace.