All humans dream of extending their lifespan, gaining power and respect, and following their dreams uninhibited by others. To do this they must follow the martial path. Cultivators need meridians and a dantian, but you also need to be able to channel Plant Rock’s energy force into energy units (EUs). Once you can collect and channel energy force or EUs, you burst into the initial awakening stage. The initial awakening is broken down into low, mid, and high awakening. Each has 3 grades. Children in Silver Country average a low-grade awakening putting them at initial grade 1-3. It is rare to find mid to high grade awakening that are determined at birth.

One must know that every human on planet Rock has a lifespan of 60 years. If you do not awake your Energy force you will be relegated to the lower tier of society. Due to Plant Rock’s level 1 cultivation, the energy force provides enough for the initial awakening to be commonplace. When babies are born some have meridian and Dantian capacity indicators. These indicators show their potential. As they grow, these pre-identified markers grow. Eventually, the markers are the size of their predetermined initial awakening grade. For example, if a baby’s indicators show initial grade 3 then when they start cultivating, they will be at 1,000 energy units (EUs).

When children are between the ages of 7 and 10, they can start to fill their foundations with energy force which directly translates to energy units or power. This is also the start of cultivation. They use energy force to temper, expand, and fill their meridians and dantian. The size of these determine how many Energy Units a cultivator can use. The more energy units a cultivator can sustain directly relates to their cultivation level.

If babies do not have pre-identified developed meridians or a dantian at birth, then they must start cultivating from the beginning. If they are unfortunate, then they may never break the barrier between cultivator and human. This route is harder to achieve and requires sweat, tears, and money. It is fortunate that this is a rare condition on Planet Rock.

Kirian had a grade 7 initial awakening. A few months after he turned 7, his meridians and dantian started filling with energy units. From then on, he split his focus between physical skills and techniques to cultivation skills. After practicing the Energy flow technique, Kirian was able to fill his pre-determined capacity. Kirian was a 10-year-old initial stage grade 7. According to outside research of the outer region, most initial grade 7 cultivators were 16. The average age within Cain territory was 14.9 which was better than outside. This is attributed to easy access for all and the emphasis on body fitness. A physical body that is in shape can help you advance your cultivation. Your body can sustain longer, which allows for increased time and efficiency.

Ralf and Cindy were blessed with talented children. Luckily, Kirian was born with 2,100 Energy Units as his starting capacity. This was unheard of in Silver Country. He bested Arnie’s potential by over 500 EUs. Arnie had a high, mid-grade initial awakening putting him at grade 6 of the initial stage. Kirian entered the low end of the high-grade awakening putting him at a grade 7. Their younger sister, Sarah had a low, mid-grade 4 awakening. She was determined to have roughly 1,000 to 1,100 EUs. Despite being slightly better than average, she was only 100 EU or so away from initial awakening grade 5. Grade 5 was the minimum level to be considered a young talent. Being close to Grade 5 and from the main clan bumped Sarah’s potential. Sarah was bound to achieve more than the average cultivator, so everyone just counted her as a young talent. As the only daughter, Sarah was spoiled by everyone in the main branch. No one had the heart to spoil her title with technicalities. As one of the most talented members of the main branch, Kirian and Arnie were both thought of as potential successor candidates. Only a direct descendant of Arthur could reign. Kirian’s uncle had two sons of his own, so the clan head was not set in stone.

When Kirian stepped into his room, he shifted through his things. He neatly arranged piles of clothing, daily necessities, money, a few potions, a few smaller weapons, and his trusty sword. He picked up his map and confirmed his travel itinerary. Kirian’s first goal was to leave Cain territory and head east. He wanted to arrive at White City, the closest large city in less than a week.

Prior to talking to Sarah, Kirian visited with his grandfather and grandmother. They promised every grandchild would get an equal amount of starting funds for their adventure outside. Kirian received 100 Stones, 2 grade D healing potions, and 5 grade C Energy Saviors. Potions and pills came in different letter grades. The letter corresponds to its efficiency, effectiveness, and value. Pills, potions, armour, and other products of class occupations used the same value system. The cose a product was to A or the more A’s it had the better the quality. D healing potions could remove 3/4th of your fatigue while closing and healing minor or superficial wounds. The Energy Saviors pill was essential to any cultivator. 1 C pill could restore 200 EUs if it had 70-80% efficiency.

1 stone was worth 1,000 Nics. To put it in perspective, 5 Nics could buy a light meal without meat. If you wanted meat you would need 15-20 Nics. With 200 Nics you would be able to get some basic materials from town. Some D level healing potions or low-quality daggers might be 1-5 stones. The C grade Energy Saviors had a 90% efficiency and could replenish 400 EUS. Kirian’s grandparents gave him more than 300 stones worth of Energy Saviors.

100 stones were not a lot, but the value of the Energy Saviors proved his grandparents cared about their grandchildren. Thankfully, Kirian had some savings which put his total travel budget around 180 stones and a few hundred Nics not including his pills and potions. Those were reserved for fights and emergencies. His grandparents always lectured them about challenges and adversity building character, which in turns builds wealth. Therefore, they only gave enough to ensure their precious grandchildren would not face hardships, but not enough that they would act like entitled young masters and mistresses. The Cain family was well off, so they could afford that lifestyle, but it went against their family code.

After putting all his belongings in a small storage pouch, he proceeded to the bathroom. He walked over to the mirror. The mirror reflected the face of a young man. He had a sharp jawline, shoulder length, brown hair, emerald eyes, and thin lips. As a rite of passage, Kirian grabbed a sharp knife next to the mirror. He held his hair and took a deep breath in. He recited the family motto, “strengthen and unite the family in order to protect and thrive outside.” After he internalized the meaning of the family motto, he began to slice off his brown locks. After a few minutes of trimming he now had about 4 inches of hair. It just barely hung off his forehead and neatly shaped his face. He called in a maid to help with the finishing touches. With a bit of styling he looked like a handsome young master. The maid could not help blush as she walked out. His new hair style coupled with his fit body made a great first impression.