Third-Generation Spirit Aperture Technology - Mature Version

After breakfast, Lü Yuan walked with Lin Qi toward the bus stop for the Spirit Aperture-opening institution-

He paid no attention to the deep hatred and disgust of certain people along the way, or their resentment that his wager with them really had been a bid to build up his online account.

Lü Yuan remained distracted, unable to understand why the Immortal Book had given him that answer.

Before the Immortal Book had offered its advice, Lü Yuan had recited everything he could find online about his circumstances in front of it.

So why, even with all that information, had the Immortal Book told him to choose Fire Virtue?

Lü Yuan racked his brains but couldn't make sense of it.

It wasn't because he thought Fire Virtue was weaker than the other Dao lineages. There was no such thing.

The Dao lineages in their capitalist cultivation world were very simple to sum up nowadays.

Even someone like Lü Yuan, who hadn't started elementary school yet, knew about them.

To borrow an online saying, it could be summed up in one sentence: "The Five Virtues change in endless, wondrous ways, shaping worldly affairs from ancient times to the present."

Just as the words suggested, in the current system of the capitalist cultivation world,

the Five Virtues' Dao lineages were the source of all Dao lineages!

At least, that was what people online said—who knew if those dumbass netizens were lowballing things again?

But for now, Lü Yuan could only choose to believe them.

According to what he'd read online, every existing Dao lineage and every Gold Position attained by the True Persons of the megacorporations ultimately stemmed from the endless transformations of the Five Virtues.

Even those attained through empty attainment were no exception; whether borrowed or concealed, none could escape their connection to the Five Virtues.

Of course, that hadn't been the case in the ancient cultivation era. The change had only come about when their capitalist cultivation era began.

Why?

Lü Yuan didn't know, because that dumbass netizen's post had stopped right there.

But at least one thing was clear: the Five Virtues were equal, with none ranked above or below the others.

So, if that was the case, why was Lü Yuan biased against Fire Virtue?

Actually, he wasn't biased against Fire Virtue.

Born within the territory governed by the megacorporation Ten Directions Bright, he was biased against all four Virtues other than Earth Virtue!

The way Fruit Positions countered one another in the ancient cultivation era had long since ceased to work. Everyone's Dao lineages and Fruit Positions had evolved from the Five Virtues.

What was the matter?

Were your Five Virtues nobler than mine?

But with the establishment of the megacorporations, another kind of Fruit Position suppression had emerged.

This kind of suppression was easy to understand-

Within a megacorporation's territory, the Dao lineage of the Virtue to which its founder's Fruit Position belonged naturally suppressed the other four Virtues and their derivative Dao lineages.

And the Fruit Position held by the founder of their megacorporation, Ten Directions Bright, came from Earth Virtue.

So around here, Earth Virtue cultivators were the big shots!

When an Earth Virtue big shot ran into someone else, fighting them one-on-one even when they were a level higher probably wouldn't be a problem.

Then why would the Immortal Book tell me to choose Fire Virtue? Could it be that I'm best suited to Fire Virtue?

Generally speaking, after opening their Spirit Apertures, people here would choose whichever of the Five Virtues' Dao lineages best matched their Spirit Aperture.

The megacorporation's education system would then distribute the corresponding Cultivation Method on its own.

Of course, they could actually make their own choice too.

But if you chose one that didn't suit you, and couldn't reach the first level in two years, even with drugs, then don't blame anyone for not warning you.

I'll see how things stand after opening my Spirit Aperture and decide then.

Anyway, the Immortal Book definitely wouldn't harm me.

Having thought it through, Lü Yuan finally came back to his senses and looked up ahead-

Only then did he realize the bus stop wasn't far away.

And by coincidence, Wang Yan was already there, having arrived even earlier than them.

His rented place was two streets away from Lü Yuan's, making it farther from the stop.

That could only mean he'd gotten up earlier.

Lü Yuan saw the sleepiness at the corners of Wang Yan's eyes and guessed that he probably hadn't slept well last night, or perhaps hadn't slept at all.

"Lü Yuan... and you're called Lin Qi, right?" Wang Yan spotted them from a short distance away and raised a hand in greeting.

Lü Yuan didn't answer. He simply yawned, casually found a spot, and sat down.

Lin Qi, on the other hand, was very polite. "Mm, hello."

Then the three of them fell into a strange, awkward silence-

None of them spoke. They were all silent because each was thinking about something else.

Lü Yuan's mind wandered as he wondered why the Immortal Book had told him to choose Fire Virtue.

Lin Qi was reflecting on how, after eight years, this day had finally come. She, a dignified reincarnation of a Purple Mansion cultivator, was about to take the first step on her return to Upper City!

As for Wang Yan...

What was on his mind was more complicated than what occupied Lü Yuan and Lin Qi, because he didn't know whether he should tell Lü Yuan about the change that had suddenly come over him last night.

While each of them harbored thoughts of their own, the bus arrived. Perhaps because they had come early, there weren't many people aboard.

Only a handful.

So they chose a long row of seats and sat down together.

Lin Qi sat on the inside, Lü Yuan in the middle, and Wang Yan on the outside, and then...

And then nothing. Still, no one took the initiative to speak.

Halfway there, the driver noticed that they were about the same age as him and felt like making conversation.

If he hadn't, there probably wouldn't have been a sound on the bus until they reached their stop.

"Um, are you all going to have your Spirit Apertures opened?"

"At your age, are you all factory-recommended students?"

"No, only he and I are. The one on the inside has her family's support."

Lü Yuan was the first to come back to his senses.

He didn't use his status as an excuse to ignore the question. Instead, he first pointed at himself and Wang Yan, then gritted his teeth when he spoke of Lin Qi.

The driver fell silent, partly because of their status and partly because he was crying with envy.

Wang Yan and Lin Qi each glanced at Lü Yuan, a little surprised that he had actually taken the initiative to answer.

Thud!

Thud!

Lü Yuan reached out with both hands and smacked each of them on the head. "What are you looking at me for? Look ahead, we're almost there."

Neither of them said anything about what Lü Yuan had done. If anything, the familiar gesture warmed their hearts.

Especially Wang Yan.

That was because Lü Yuan had just whispered a reminder in his ear: "After your Spirit Aperture is opened, if you come out first, don't rush off. Wait for me, and we'll go back together."

"I've already got something that can help you."

Those words echoed in Wang Yan's ears, leaving him silent for a long time. Only after they got off the bus, entered the Spirit Aperture-opening institution, and registered did he come back to his senses.

But before he could speak, having finally resolved to come clean, he and Lin Qi were each led away by a staff member, a man and a woman respectively.

That left Lü Yuan standing there alone, wondering why no one had come to take him away.

Was there something wrong with his/my top-grade Pseudo Spirit Root?

Both Lü Yuan and Wang Yan, who had been led away, had the same question, but Lin Qi found nothing unusual about it.

Although that technology hasn't become widespread because of conflicts between the megacorporations, top-grade Pseudo Spirit Roots are generally given access to it-

After all, if Lü Yuan can make it through junior college, that Purple Mansion cultivator stationed at the Lower City subsidiary will have a successor...

Just as Lin Qi had thought, shortly after the two of them left,

a young man wearing glasses and a white lab coat appeared before Lü Yuan.

"You're the top-grade Pseudo Spirit Root detected this year, right?"

"Lü Yuan... Your file says you're a remarkably precocious child."

"In that case, considering the information on Pseudo Spirit Roots still available online and comparing it with how you were treated yesterday, I imagine you can guess that an important figure at the subsidiary has taken an interest in you."

"My name is Qin Huai. I'm in charge here. Come with me. Your Spirit Aperture-opening process will be different from everyone else's."

"Thanks to that important figure's arrangements, you're fortunate enough to receive something that has yet to become widespread, but has long since matured..."

"Third-Generation Spirit Aperture Technology!"