Chapter 3: Tempering the body, mind and spirit
One month later, Chao Feng had finished making the seventy or so spiritual meals that would last Chao Yuan around twenty days, the time it would take for Chao Feng to finish the Black Dragon Academy Admission Test.
In the Lower Chaotic Realm, the Black Dragon Academy was one of the most prestigious institutes, but it was also one of the hardest to be admitted to. The admission test commenced in four days, and before then, Chao Feng needed to reach the Black Dragon Academy, awaken his dantian and have a basic foundational understanding of cultivation to even have a slight chance to pass the test.
"Since you are finished with the meals, I will send you off now." Chao Peng said, placing his hand on Chao Feng's shoulder and walking with him to the door.
"Goodbye, sir Chao Peng." Chao Feng bowed and left the Chao Divine Clan Branch Palace with an excited smile on his face, entering the private carriage that was waiting for him just outside the gate.
"No need to call me sir, if you are good enough, you should be calling me father..." Chao Peng shook his head and muttered to himself.
***
Black Dragon Academy, far past Great Chao City and into the remote countryside.
After exiting the carriage, Chao Feng glanced at the Black Dragon Academy with some degree of awe, but he had been staying in a palace with a far better appearance than this institute for a month, so he was not as shocked as he would have once been.
"Chao Feng, is it?" Before he reached the gate, an old man with a long, white robe that dragged across the ground as he walked smiled and called to him.
Chao Feng smiled and nodded his head.
"I am the vice-principal of this academy, please follow me for the awakening process." The old man began to walk into the academy building and Chao Feng silently followed after him.
The Black Dragon Academy was surrounded by a large square black gate with a huge logo in the middle that was cut in half due to it also being the doors of the gate.
The actual main building was larger than the Chao Divine Clan Branch Palace and it had the entire countryside as its garden. There were many smaller building that were around the size of the palace dotted around the main building.
Chao Feng and the vice-principal went up to the main building's door and the vice-principal released some of his spiritual energy, destroying the door entirely, much to Chao Feng's shock and dismay.
After the two set foot inside the building, the door regenerated itself.
Chao Feng was shocked but he didn't say anything, he looked at the vice-principal and they walked deeper into the building, eventually reaching a door.
The door had a mystical aura that extended all the way to the entrance, and through the separation lines between the door and the frame, one could see something that was a deep fiery orange. It exuded a dangerous feeling.
The vice-principal glanced at Chao Feng for a second, and then proceeded to open the door.
***
Chao Divine Clan Main Palace.
An old man sat in the garden, staring straight at the sun without blinking or faltering even once. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and sighed.
"It has happened again. How long has it been, maybe two millennia?"
He got up and slowly walked back into the palace.
"Ancestor! What is the problem?" The head of the Chao Divine Clan, Chao Xieshuan ran over and asked, concerned.
"Xieshuan, it has happened again. Look at the sun." The old man sighed and pointed at the sun.
Chao Xieshuan's eyes widened as he ran outside, staring at the sun intently.
"Haha, Ancestor Yao, do you know who it is?" He asked, chuckling.
"No. The grade is beyond my comprehension."
Chao Xieshuan stopped laughing, his eyes widening.
"Supreme?"
"Indeed."
***
The room was completely barren except for a large circular pool of fire in the middle, which was the origin of the aura and dangerous feeling.
"To awaken one's cultivation, one must awaken the dantian and begin to naturally produce spiritual energy. This is the beginning of the Martial Origin realm, the first layer. The second layer is simply developing the amount of spiritual energy one is capable of generating, this is said to be the most important rank in cultivation and cannot be skipped over, this is because after this rank, there are no other opportunities to naturally increase the level of spiritual energy that the dantian produces. The third layer is where condensing the spiritual energy begins, and it extends all the way into the ninth and final layer, before breaking through to the Martial Servant realm." The vice-principal explained.
Chao Feng nodded his head and asked: "How does one awaken the dantian?"
The vice-principal pointed at the pool of fire and said: "To awaken the dantian, the body, mind and spirit must all be at an adequate realm to withstand spiritual energy. This pool of fire tempers the body, mind and spirit and once they all reach the suitable level, it awakens the dantian."
"I see." Chao Feng was scared as he entered the pool of fire with his clothes still on.
A searing pain instantly engulfed his entire nervous system, sending him into a sort of sensory overload. He screamed, but all noise was completely suppressed by the spiritual energy.
He felt as though his whole body was on fire and he was charging towards the afterlife.
Yet, he knew he had to persevere, to be able to cultivate. To reach the highest peaks, to prove his father wrong and to one day, execute him with his own hands.
He felt his body getting tougher by the second, and his mind's fortification was increasing in leaps and bounds.
***
A meeting was called between the head of the Chao Divine Clan and the Clan's Ancestors, even one of the Clan's Great Ancestors was present.
"Hm, Chao Xuanshan, our Clan's greatest talent, his bloodline has returned again, and not only is it his bloodline, it is a Supreme Bloodline?" The Great Ancestor stroked his beard.
"If it's that piece of trash's bloodline, then how strong could it even be?" One of the Clan's Ancestors scoffed.
"That 'piece of trash' would have been our Clan's only Soaring Martial in history if it wasn't for you Ancestors collaborating to exile him while I was in seclusion. The strength of his Bloodline is unquestionable. However, for his Bloodline to have begun awakening, that means that he is dead." The Great Ancestor replied.
"Well, what are we meant to do? We have no method of identifying his descendant, the grade of the Bloodline is above our comprehension." An Ancestor asked.
The Great Ancestor entered a deep state of thought before speaking.
"We cannot do anything at all, we can only be wary of our Clan's safety. Send the guards guarding the two palaces to the Black Dragon Academy to train and enter seclusion. You Ancestors will take their role until they are strong enough. Furthermore, I will enter seclusion to create a formation. This formation will allow me to travel between the two palaces freely, in case of an ambush."
"Yes, Great Ancestor." The clan head and Ancestors replied.
"Meeting is adjourned."
***
Two days of constant pain and torture was what it took for Chao Feng's dantian to awaken. Throughout this process, he felt that his character had changed greatly. Now, he was more determined and resilient. He also felt many times stronger, these were all normal effects of awakening as a cultivator.
"Congratulations. You are officially a cultivator!" The vice-principal said with a smile on his face.
"Thank you." Chao Feng replied.
"No need to thank me. There is also no need to return home now, there is less than two days remaining until the admission test. To cultivate, you simply have to meditate and draw in spiritual energy from your surroundings into your dantian."
"I understand. Where should I cultivate?" Chao Feng asked.
"I will take you to your prepared room, it is on the seventh floor in the second building."
"Thank you."
After walking for around five minutes, they reached Chao Feng's room. While it was smaller than his room back at the palace, the conditions for cultivation were much better since he was just a chef at the palace.
He followed the vice-principal's instructions and sat down and assumed a meditation position, drawing in the spiritual energy from his room and its surroundings.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone