Destiny in Cinders

Nian Quan had a fleeting dream of his mother—a memory from long ago, dating back nearly eight years. It was before his father passed and his name was changed; before his mother suffered a cultivation backlash from overwork and ended up with a wooden prosthetic leg.

Even as a young boy, Nian Quan was remarkably gifted. He could recall details that other children quickly forgot. Back then, he was still too small to reach his father's thigh, and their home was frequently visited by a stream of "uncles" and "aunts."

Nian Quan was tremendously shy and would weep at the sight of visiting guests, prompting his mother to scoop him up and retreat to his room. There, on his soft bed, she would soothe him with grand legends of righteous heroes and fantastical adventures involving immortals and wondrous encounters.

In truth, Nian Quan didn't actually care for such stories. His disposition was too gentle for tales of violence. The real remedy for his tears was the safety of his mother's embrace, the soothing melody of her voice, and the tender affection in her touch.

Humans had found refuge in their parents' arms for countless millennia. Generation after generation, this remained a constant. Though he hadn't wept for a long time, Nian Quan felt a profound sorrow surge within him. He caught the fleeting sensation of an embrace, a hazy silhouette leaning close. Then it was gone, lost forever.

"Mother... Mother..." Stirring from his slumber, Nian Quan awoke with a soft, incoherent whisper, wiping away the lingering moisture from the corners of his eyes. Astute as he was, how could he be blind to the fact that his mother wasn't working at Ocher Hill's headquarters but a black-market branch? How could he not know about the total information blackout since the black market in the south of the city was raided by the Skywatch Bureau?

No news was the most ominous news. He already knew the outcome in his heart, but he was still waiting for the final, crushing announcement. Though he knew his mother had been lying to him, he willingly played along. He had been clinging to a lie until that beautiful, heart-wrenching dream. At last, he knew the truth in his heart.

Then the doorbell chimed. A stranger appeared, and the news of his mother's death followed. Then... he invited the messenger, a boy roughly his own age, into his home. But why? It was a reckless move, fraught with peril for them both.

Even if he extended the invitation, there was no guarantee the other would accept, and if he did, it would likely be with ill intent. His age was a deceptive veil. Who could say if this boy was a vicious thug or a barbarian from the badlands? He might just as easily rob him blind and depart without a second thought. No law enforcement would handle cases in the southern sector. Furthermore, the visitor would surely be wary of a trap and wonder if he harbored sinister intentions.

Nevertheless, Nian Quan extended the invitation, which the other party accepted quite readily. As Nian Quan prepared tea, An Jing, having identified him through the nickname "Quan'er" in Nian Qin's contacts, turned to the sword soul to satisfy his growing curiosity.

"Are spirit roots divided into different tiers? And Ocean Dawn Eyes—is it some kind of innate ability?"

"Naturally, spirit roots are categorized." Yvelbane elaborated, "While the five aspects exist within humans at birth, they seldom remain in perfect balance. Even so, factors such as temperament, diet, environment, and development will inevitably shift the balance of aspects.

"Just as the five aspects generate one another, they are also subject to inherent restraint and repulsion. Spirit roots require the presence of all five aspects. Furthermore, the cycles of generation and restraint must not be too volatile, nor can the sequence be excessively inverted. The timing and location of one's birth are equally important.

"When a child is born with all five aspects but an overwhelming abundance of water, they naturally attract water spirit qi. Possessing a water spirit root, such a child should be destined for the path of cultivation.

"However, should the child be born in an earth-abundant land, their innate yin and yang waters would be suppressed, leading to a decline in the quality of their spirit root. Likewise, being born on a day or month dominated by earth qi would diminish their innate lifeforce.

"The presence of innate yin and yang earth within the child further stifles the water aspect, severely hindering their cultivation. An excess of internal fire will not only generate earth qi, but also induce self-suppression of the water aspect, ultimately eroding the quality of the spirit roots. In extreme cases, if the cycles of generation and restraint are too volatile, an abundance of innate wood is undesirable. A dominant wood aspect will greedily drain water to fuel its own growth, causing the corresponding spirit root to falter.

"Simply put, most aspect interactions within the body result in mutual restraint and repulsion. Although they achieve harmony and technically support one another, the five aspects are essentially locked in a state of internal depletion. They can't reach outward to draw in qi, rendering cultivation impossible.

"A rare few, like you, possess a robust fire alongside a weak water aspect. Yet water naturally overcomes fire, thus keeping fire suppressed. However, this stretches the water aspect within you to its limit so it's unable to generate wood. With fire stifled, it can't generate earth either. As a result, both aspects no longer play a part in the cycles of generation and restraint.

"Of your three remaining spiritual roots, metal is the strongest. On a scale of ten, it holds five parts, while earth and wood possess but three or four. The cycles of generation and restriction follows a natural sequence: earth first nourishes metal, boosting it to six parts. Metal then suppresses wood, draining its vitality and sharpening itself further to reach seven parts.

"Finally, the depleted wood aspect restrains earth so it can no longer compete. Consequently, metal becomes the dominant aspect at seven parts with an unstoppable piercing edge. This innate 'earth-wood generating metal' sequence elevates your triple-root constitution to a cultivation speed and potential nearly identical to celestial spirit roots.

"However, if the sequence were reversed, the results would be disastrous. Suppose wood suppresses earth first, then earth withers as wood's vitality surges uncontrollably. When metal then tries to restrain wood, it meets the unyielding resilience of a living wood. Instead of slicing through cleanly, your blade is ground down by the tangled overgrowth. In place of a lethal, piercing intent, you're left with nothing but a blunt edge and your control over metal would grow sluggish and unresponsive.

"Finally, the withered earth provides a uselessly small boost to the blunted metal. At five parts, the metal aspect in this state would have aptitude far below average, considered poor even by three-spirit-root standards."

"No wonder true cultivation talent is such a rarity." Listening intently, An Jing immediately understood why most people still lacked the spirit roots necessary for cultivation despite being born of flesh and blood and containing all aspects of the five aspects.

First of all, all five aspects have to be present. To lack even one was akin to having a birth defect. How could one cultivate if they were unable to remedy this fundamental flaw? This criteria alone disqualified a massive portion of the population. When parents faced malnutrition, their children were often born with incomplete aspects.

Possessing all five aspects was no guarantee of their potency either. At least one of them had to be exceptionally vibrant to qualify for cultivation, a requirement that disqualified yet another segment of the population.

Furthermore, the interactions between the five aspects must not hinder the active spirit root. If water was the primary aspect, an overly potent earth, fire, or wood aspect in other spirit roots would render it inactive. This degraded the quality of the main spirit root, effectively eliminating another group of people.

Finally, the sequence had to be just right. An Jing's aptitude could be quantified to have five points out of ten, but it was somehow elevated to seven points, falling just short of celestial spirit roots. Conversely, a flawed sequence could cause a five-point spirit root to underperform, even with three compatible active spirit roots. Worse still, they would be saddled with a "blunting" effect. This weeded out yet another vast number of people.