It was a bright morning. The birds chirped, on rooftops and ledges of homes and skyscrapers, while the occasional honking of cars could be heard in the distance. The wind was calm and the occasional cloud rode in the skies.

In a park, on top of a bench lay a child who seemed to be around 11 or 12 years old. He had black eyes, black hair and was fair skinned. Today was the last of school for the boy and instead of returning home he lay on the bench looking up at the sky.

The park had been his favorite place since he first stepped on it as a 3 year old. Even during his schooldays he came here with his friends to play games and pass the day happily, but today might be the final day he would be able to be here again. It was the selection year for James, possibly one of the most important phases in his life.

Children were admitted to primary school at the age of 5, after which they go through 6 years of schooling. They are taught to read and write and are given basic knowledge about the world through subjects such as history and geography.

After finishing primary school at the age of 11 comes the most important year for a child. This year is known as the ‘selection year’ for the child. From the age of 11 to 12, the child's future then is decided.

In this year, children are given training and are taught methods to cultivate their body. If a child is able to reach the 2nd stage of the Form realm he is given the choice of walking the path of a martial cultivator. If he fails to reach the 2nd stage of the Form realm, he is given only the option to continue to further their studies.

Society had advanced to a level where even if a person wasn't able to walk the path of a martial cultivator he can still have multitudes of achievements in his life in various fields such as commerce and science.

The exam for martial cultivation occurred in the month of November. So only 7 months were given to practice cultivation to the children as schools ended mid April.

The entire world followed this rule as it was believed that starting cultivation early in a child's life before the age of 10 wasn't beneficial. This was due to the maturity the child possessed would not be enough to comprehend the ways of martial cultivation and apart from that, even the child's body will not meet the requirement as it will not have properly developed.

So children were instead made to go through primary school until the age of 11 where both their minds and bodies were developed to the required degree in which one could start cultivating. After, it all depended on child's own hard work and talent. Normally reaching the 2nd stage of Form realm isn't considered to be tough. With constant training and intake of proper nutrients, a person's body can manage to reach the required threshold.

However, if the child cannot reach the 2nd stage in 7 months it only meant that either the child lacked the required talent or he lacked the drive to work hard and cultivate. In such cases it has always been seen that there was no use in spending resources on the child, as after a certain threshold he would stop advancing further in his martial path. Hence, after a consensus between the world leaders such a rule had been made 10000 years ago and time had shown that the decision was a wise one.

As dusk arrived James got off the bench and headed home. Today marked his last day of school, and tomorrow marked his first day as a cultivator. He had long decided to be a martial cultivator and reach its very summit.

As James returned home he went up to his room and dropped his bag on his desk. He removed his school uniform which was covered with pen marks containing goodbye messages written by his friends, a custom they all practised on the school's final day. Looking at the uniform a smile crept up on James’ face as he gently placed it in his wardrobe instead of bringing it with him to give it to his mother for a wash.

Suddenly the door opened and a beautiful woman, who seemed to be in her early thirties entered.

"James dear" called his mother as she smiled and looked at him. "How was school?"

"It was fine" replied James with a helpless smile.

"Don't think about it too much. You can always meet your friends again later. Come downstairs let me treat you with the apple pie I just made. " said his mother as she ruffled his hair lovingly.

" OK!" James replied cheerily as he rushed downstairs towards the dining table. His mother's hand-made apple pie was his favourite food so how could he deny it?

James's mother, Marriane Walter, is part homemaker and part soft skills trainer. She didn't have the aptitude for cultivation so she continued to further her studies and became a soft skills trainer. Her students mainly comprised either upper class children or people aiming to become managers. His father Edward Walter is a retired army officer who now works as an instructor in a training institute that is owned by him.

Most people fail to become martial cultivators but they can continue their training in self defence and keeping their body fit. These training institutes were set up for this reason. The income of the family was good and they lived a comfortable lifestyle.

As James ate his pie only one thing went on in his mind.

"It all starts tomorrow huh" mumbles James.

--------------------

Notes: I have decided to rewrite the story 'To Become A God'. The name of the story has been changed and so has the plot. The second and third chapters will up be in a while today. This is no April fool's joke btw. The reason I stopped updating the novel before when it was titled 'to become a god' because I had some calls of interviews of business schools. 1 was a really good one so I had started preparing for them. In the end I couldn't make it in the final list of the good one and decided to have another go next year. Recently I started writing as I was bored and decided to continue. All previous chapters have been deleted. I am starting a fresh and I hope that like a Phoenix my novel soars from the ashes^^