The Ceremony of Shame

Chapter 1: The Ceremony of Shame**

The air in the Grand Training Hall was thick with anticipation, smelling of polished stone and the faint, sweet scent of burning incense. Sunlight, sliced into long, golden bars by the latticework of the high windows, illuminated the hundreds of young boys and girls gathered below. Today was the Awakening Ceremony, a rite of passage that would determine their fate within the **Xiao Clan**. For a youth of the clan, one's bloodline was everything. It was a preordained path to glory, a measure of one's worth, and a guarantee of their place in the world.

For twelve-year-old Ren, it was a moment of utter dread.

He stood in the back row, his small frame almost lost among the taller, more confident youths. His heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs, a drumbeat of anxiety he was sure everyone could hear. He had watched as each of his peers stepped forward, his body taut with a fear that had been building for years. There was Kai, a youth from a cadet branch of the clan, whose hand flared with a brilliant, emerald light when he touched the Awakening Crystal—a sign of the Swift Wind Bloodline. Then came a girl named Ling, who commanded the very ground beneath her feet to tremble, a clear manifestation of the Earth Titan Bloodline. The elders watched from a raised platform, their faces a mask of solemn approval as each child’s destiny was revealed.

The grandest display, however, belonged to his cousin, Lei. Lei was the son of his father’s older brother, a youth who had always carried an air of effortless superiority. He strode to the crystal with an arrogant smirk, his posture a mirror of his father’s immense pride. As his hand made contact, the crystal didn’t just glow—it erupted in a crimson flash that warmed the entire hall. A faint, ethereal dragon, wreathed in fire, briefly shimmered behind him. The **Fire Dragon Bloodline**. A gasp of awe rippled through the crowd. Lei, basking in the glory, held a small, perfect flame in his palm, a silent symbol of his preordained power. The elders on the platform nodded, their approval clear and unanimous. His father, Elder Xiao Hua, smiled a rare and tired smile at his brother, a smile that conveyed a sense of relief and shared pride.

Finally, the grand master called his name. “Ren.”

The sound echoed through the silent hall, a single, sharp syllable that cut through the anticipation. Ren’s throat felt dry as sand. His legs felt like lead as he walked to the center of the hall, the weight of a thousand eyes on his back. He could feel the expectations—not of a prodigy, but of a son of a powerful elder. The silence grew heavy, expectant. He saw his father’s face on the platform, his expression unreadable but stern, as if silently urging him to succeed.

He placed his hand on the cold surface of the **Awakening Crystal**.

For a moment, nothing happened.

A second passed. Then a third.

The crystal, which had just moments ago shimmered with the light of a dozen different powers, remained stubbornly dull. Not a flicker of light, not a hint of warmth. Nothing. It was as lifeless as a common rock.

A few children in the crowd began to snicker. Ren felt a flush of heat rise to his face, a different kind of shame than the one he’d felt before. This was a public, undeniable failure. The murmurs from the crowd grew louder, a buzzing that sounded like a swarm of angry bees. He heard whispers of “no talent” and “a waste of an elder’s bloodline.”

He looked up at the platform. The other elders looked away, their faces a mixture of pity and disappointment. His father, **Elder Xiao Hua**, the most powerful man in the clan, his face had gone ashen. The sternness in his eyes had been replaced with something far worse: a profound, bone-deep sorrow. His father’s gaze did not meet his, and in that moment, Ren knew that the shame of this failure was not his alone. It belonged to his father as well.

“The ceremony is over,” the grand master announced, his voice devoid of emotion. “The young ones may begin their cultivation training.”

The hall buzzed to life as the children rushed to join their respective training groups, their laughter and excited chatter a stark contrast to the hollow silence that now enveloped Ren. He stood alone in the center of the hall, the last one to leave, a statue of failure. The Grand Training Hall, once a place of hope and power, now felt like a cage of humiliation. He walked out of the hall not as the son of an elder, but as a boy with no destiny, a void in a world of power. His peers were at the **Initial Foundation Establishment** stage, on the path to greatness, while he was, for all intents and purposes, a commoner.

_________

Cultivation Level System**

The journey to become a powerful cultivator is divided into several major realms, with each realm having its own stages.

* **Foundation Establishment:** The first and most crucial stage. This is where cultivators build a solid foundation by absorbing ambient qi into their meridians. Most young disciples are at this stage.

* **Stages:** Early, Middle, and Late Foundation.

* **Spirit Awakening:** The second realm, where cultivators learn to sense and manipulate the spiritual energy around them. This is a major leap in power.

* **Stages:** Initial, Profound, and Greater Spirit.

* **Spirit Core:** The third realm, where a cultivator's spiritual energy condenses into a tangible core, granting them immense power and longevity.

* **Ascendant:** The final realm, where a cultivator transcends mortal limits and becomes a legend, their power capable of shaking the very heavens.

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