“Although his aptitude is average, his Dao heart is as solid as a rock. Fine, then.”

“Dao heart?” Brian Carter was puzzled.

Of the two voices, one lazily said, “Matthew Clark, explain to the kid what a Dao heart is.”

Matthew Clark was furious and cursed, “Bah! David Reed, you arrogant fool, who are you to order me around?”

David Reed was like a firecracker, ignited at the slightest provocation: “You love to play the teacher, so what’s wrong with you explaining? You’re really going to argue with me over such a trivial matter…”

“……”

“Kid, what is a Dao heart? After you join, remember, don’t let those idiots fool you. All that nonsense about the Dao heart is actually very simple—it’s just about whether your resolve to cultivate is firm or not. You, kid, your aptitude is a big problem, but your Dao heart is absolutely fine.”

Brian Carter was silent: Is this a compliment or an insult?

……

When Brian Carter entered the house, Eric Carter had already shared the good news.

Brian Carter’s parents were beaming with joy. His father gave his son a hearty slap on the shoulder: “Good boy, I knew you’d make something of yourself! All these years, I kept telling the villagers my son was capable, but they just wouldn’t believe me. Ha! Well, what do you say now? Bet they’re shocked!”

His mother was also all smiles: “Little Brian, you passed the test, you’ve really brought honor to our Sun family. From now on, when I go out and see those sisters-in-law, I can finally hold my head high…”

His father pulled Brian Carter along: “Come, let’s go offer incense at the ancestral shrine and thank our ancestors for their blessing!”

“That’s right, Little Brian, hurry up. If you ask me, it’s all thanks to the good feng shui of our family’s ancestral tomb…”

Since mothers couldn’t participate in ancestor worship, Brian Carter and his father and brother lit incense, bowed reverently, and his father muttered prayers, his face glowing with pride. Clearly, with Brian Carter chosen by an immortal, his father felt the family was honored, and that he had raised a son worthy of their ancestors.

After the incense, his father, with his calloused hands, waved: “Wife, help the boy pack up and bring some good food.”

“Alright!”

His mother agreed and hurried off.

It was just a few clean clothes. After packing, she quickly boiled water to cook eggs and cured meat, wanting to send it all with him.

His father fetched a ladder, climbed up to the main beam of the hall, and took out a small locked box from a hole in the bricks. Opening it, there was a ten-tael silver ingot and some loose silver.

His father gritted his teeth, stuffed the ingot into Brian Carter’s hands, and kept the loose silver.

“Take it. Who knows if it’ll help, but it’s better than nothing.”

Brian Carter was stunned for a moment, but his father waved it off: “It’s probably money you earned from selling herbs anyway, just keep it.”

The aroma from the kitchen wafted out, and Eric Carter stood by, drooling with hunger.

His mother was busy adding firewood to the stove and working the bellows. A puff of smoke came out, and her eyes reddened as she quietly wiped away a tear.

But the tears wouldn’t stop, and she covered her mouth and hid behind the stove, crying.

“Mom, why are you crying? Didn’t you and Dad say this is a great day for our family?” Eric Carter asked in confusion.

In the main hall, his father slammed the table in anger: “Why are you crying! Useless woman! So many people in the village wish for this and can’t get it. Just wait, all those families who broke off Little Brian’s engagements will regret it now…”

His father waved his hand forcefully, his eyes wide and red like copper bells, barely holding back his own tears.

Brian Carter knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times to his parents. He felt a lump in his throat, as if stuffed with wet cotton. He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, his voice was off. He quickly turned and rushed back to his room, closing the door behind him.

Wiping away his tears, his hand accidentally touched the three stone figurines in his pocket.

For the past two years, he had always carried the three stone figurines with him, taking them out to rub whenever he was alone. The surface of the figurines was now smooth as jade.

“Kid, have you really thought this through? If you choose the path of cultivation, there will be many more farewells like this. The worlds of mortals and immortals may be forever separated!”

Brian Carter gritted his teeth hard for a long time before finally saying with difficulty, “I understand.”

Chapter 3: Su Bao Mountain

Below, white clouds drifted leisurely. The thin horse pulled the inconspicuous carriage, wrapped in a halo of light, flying through the sky.

Brian Carter sat in the corner of the carriage, holding a bundle in his arms, filled with the weight of family love.

Thinking of his parents’ eyes before parting, Brian Carter still couldn’t let go.

The other three in the carriage, Samuel Grant and his fellow disciples, along with Edward Foster, seemed completely unaffected by the farewell, chatting happily. From their conversation, Brian Carter learned that Samuel Grant and his fellow disciples’ sect—the one they would all be joining—was Su Bao Mountain, one of the seven great cultivation sects of the Sui Dynasty. According to the disciples, Su Bao Mountain was powerful, with a patriarch at the level of a True Person, more than ten sages, and over fifty disciples at the Daoist level. It was a true immortal sect, officially recognized by the emperor of the Sui Dynasty!

In the eyes of the Sui people, the Sui Dynasty was the entire “world,” but cultivators all knew the world was far from so small. Along the way, Samuel Grant and his fellow disciples explained many stories and customs of the cultivation world to Edward Foster.