“What just happened? Master? What do you mean?” Jade was still reeling from the small explosion of the device. Her mother on the other hand was already rushing of to the kitchen getting the first aid kit and some cleaning supplies.

Jade finally noticed that her hand was all scratched up from the fractured splinters of the crystal. She took her hand away from the remnants of the device looking at her injured hand. She could still see many tiny splinters stuck in her hand.

Just as she thought that it would be annoying and painful to remove them one by one, she saw something strange happen. The small crystals started to dissolve and disappear into her open wounds. She felt a rush of mana travel through her body passing by all her small nebulae and finally settling in her origin core.

Suddenly there was an incredible awareness of a crystalline structure in her mind. It was the exact makeup of the crystal used in the device. There was a feeling of acquiring a small part of a whole and a strong urge to complete that whole. Jade had no way to understand what this thing was that needed to be completed. She tabled that for now and refocused on the world around her.

“There you go. None of the wounds seem too deep. They should heal up in no time.” Mara had just finished bandaging her hand. Jade was so lost she had barely realized what was going on around her. She finally turned to Namoru.

“Please, can you explain what just happened. Did I do something wrong?”

“No Jade, you did something incredible. This Device was certified to a score of up to 1000. And you broke it by testing with it. It can only mean that your potential far exceeds that.”

“Is that a lot? It feels like you are telling me that 1000 is a lot.”

“To put this in perspective Jade. Ethan tested with a score of roughly 800. Which is exceptional. It makes him a genius that is rarely seen. A score of 1000 or higher is usually only seen in members of the royal lineage.”

Jade’s mouth fell open. That can’t be true. Everybody knew the royal family had the support of the whole empires karmic luck to support their offspring’s talent. But now she was supposed to be this talented? It seemed farfetched.

“Is this the reason you want to be my teacher? So, you can have a genius student to parade around? To increase you own status?” Jade responded a little angry with his sudden proposition. “I am not some delicate greenhouse flower to be displayed as you want.”

Namoru raised an Eyebrow and gently smiled at Jade. “Not at all I merely want to get a head of all the old codgers who are going to come out to do exactly what you just accused me of.”

“I am a Master of the sixth tier, which means I am qualified to take you as my student and I am in active duty and not holed up in so dark cultivation chamber awaiting my slow demise. Which means I can give you a lot more in terms of education. To be fair I have less resources as these elders. The choice will be yours but please consider that I am currently the only one who knows about this.”

Jade bit her lip, conflicted about what to do. This was way too much attention at once. Demons, evil cultivators, a strange Concept, and a talent only seen in the royal family. She needed allies and someone who could hide her uniqueness. Jade steeled herself and gave her mother a quick look, she seemed to wait for Jade to make her own decision. She decide to gamble with all she had. Namoru Ogabu she would trust him she would bet it all on him.

“I want to accept. But I have conditions and they are not light conditions either. I want you to get protection for my mother. I want to stay as unnoticed as possible. And I want you to take an oath on your cultivation that you will keep my secrets.”

He leaned forward leveling his blue eyes with hers, measuring her. After a short moment he leaned back and smiled again.

“You, miss Jade are an interesting person. I agree to all conditions with the stipulation that the emperor is excluded from the oath of secrecy.”

Jade pondered quickly on that. If the emperor is involved there wasn’t really anything she could do anyway so it did not seem to much of problem to her.

“Agreed. I will become your disciple as soon as you swear the oath.”

Namoru folded his hands and began to gather his mana. Then he spoke with a voice that sounded like a whisper but held the great gravitas: “I Namoru Ogabu will take Jade Saelee as my disciple and I swear on my cultivation to keep all of her secrets from all but the emperor of the Grand Lotus Empire.”

The Mana swirled around him, condensed, and formed the Symbol for oath right in front of him. It slowly flew inside his core. There was a small sound of chains rattling as the oath took effect. Jade breathed out and gathered her own mana that was still slowly pulsing through her.

“I Jade Saelee swear by my cultivation that I will accept Namoru Ogabu as my Master.”

A smaller symbol for oath appeared in front of Jade and disappeared in her core. Suddenly Namoru’s eyes widened in shock as he seemed to stare into the space right in front of him.

“It seems there is more to you than I originally thought. I just got a title for taking you as my disciple. It is called [Teacher of the Origin]. Would you care to explain now?”

Jade took another deep breath and started to explain her awakening to her new master and the specifics of her Concept.

“This is extraordinary. As far as I know this really is the first time such a Concept was awakened. That your heritage is unclear, I was aware of, but now it seems much more important to investigate your parents. And for a concept of such a nature to appear is also worrying. The last time a Concept of such power was awakened was the first emperor. He Awoke to the [Ruler] Concept and with it he founded the empire of today.”

“What do you mean with power? It seems certainly novel but that does not mean it is powerful.” Jade responded skeptically.

“Jade your Concept is a named Concept. We call concepts named that are unique versions of previously known concepts. In your case it is a named Concept of a which we have never seen the original one. [Origin]. Yours is [Genesis] the origin of all, or to be more precise the origin of a world. I believe that your concept is capable of much more than you think.”

“Wait are you suggesting that if I become powerful enough, I could create a world? That is absurd. Only gods could do that and I am certainly no god.”

“Perhaps that is true but there are already cultivators who can create small independent spaces. They are sequestered from our world but nonetheless they can make small worlds themselves. I can only imagine what you will be capable of when you advance high enough with your cultivation.”

This was all too much for Jade right now. She just wanted to live her life, maybe become and alchemist. Enjoy an ordinary life. But it seemed fate had other plans for her. She was worried what the future might bring but there was no point in dwelling on it, for now.

“What do we do now. Will we change any of the plans we originally made? Am I still going to the academy?”

“Yes, you will still go. The Academy will teach you many things that I am ill suited to explain to you. But I will take a more active role in your teachings. I will personally help guide you in your mana cultivation and do a more involved training regime. You are now my disciple which means you will get a much bigger part of my attention and time. It will also mean that I will have much higher expectations for you. Everything else will stay the same, we will continue as if your Concept was growth.”

“Good. What about the protection for my mother?”

“I will arrange for it tonight. I have some favors I can call in. The Sect will send someone to shadow your mother. We will start your training in two days at the academy. I will make the necessary arrangements.”

After gathering the remains of the device and swapping contact information for their phones Jade’s new master left them behind in the apartment.

Jade sat there with her mother and leaned against her. Mara gently stroked Jades hair holding her in her arms softly singing in her ear. They both remained there for quite a while before Mara put the now exhausted and sleepy Jade to bed.