16 years ago~~
The scent of spiced incense with nervous sweat of four boys, mixed in the Bluemoon's talent examination hall.
Only family and trusted retainers stood witness as the four young masters of House Bluemoon prepared for their Talent Determination Ceremony.
The obsidian testing pillar stood at the center, its surface polished to mirror-like perfection.
Leon, the youngest at eleven, fidgeted with his sash.
"I can't believe this day has arrived!" His sapphire eyes darted between his brothers and the testing stone.
Remus, his older twin by mere minutes, elbowed him sharply.
"Stop squirming. And don't worry - my talent will clearly surpass yours." Though identical in their blonde hair and sapphire eyes, Remus carried himself with an arrogance that set him apart.
Zayne, the eldest at twelve, didn't bother looking up from polishing his family crest ring.
He had long elegant black hair, which with the combo of sapphire eyes, made his looks very appeasing.
Adding with his charming charisma, he could easily win most girls compared to his brothers, with mere words.
"Don't embarrass yourselves, little brothers. As heir, I'm expected to reach the illusive Peak Tier just like our legendary ancestor."
A murmur of agreement ran through the assembled relatives.
"Tsk!"
"Tsk!"
Both twins clicked in displeasure at the same time.
'What a cocky show off!' Leon cursed.
'Did he have to say it aloud?' Remus thought clearly irritated by Zayne's words.
'We are all vying for the father's tittle! You're are not the heir yet...'
The Duke's stern gaze remained fixed on the testing platform, where the fourth and most quiet brother stood apart.
Ray Bluemoon, also twelve, traced the carved family motto on the stone pedestal.
"Blood tells, but effort endures." He whispered as he gazed at the testing pillar.
'Great Primordial of water... please grant me at least a Mid Tier talent. So that I won't let my mother down.' He silently prayed to the god his family believed in, since he felt really tensed up.
Unlike his eldest brother's fine silks, he wore simple but impeccably maintained training robes.
Leon noticed Ray's detachment.
"What's got you so quiet? Afraid you'll disappoint your mother again?" The jab carried extra weight - while the twins shared a mother from a prestigious branch family.
Ray was the sole child of the Duke's second wife, a woman who was once a commoner.
Ray's fingers twitched toward the hidden cultivation manual in his sleeve - not advanced techniques as his brothers assumed, but basic foundational forms his mother had painstakingly searched for him.
"Just preparing," he said evenly.
The ceremony master struck his staff against the marble floor.
"Let the test begin!"
One by one, the brothers approached the obsidian pillar:
Leon placed his palm on the cool surface.
After a breathless moment, the stone glowed three full bars.
<3.0>
Were the numbers displayed a the top of the pillar.
"Leon Bluemoon. Weak High Tier!" The ceremony master announced.
Polite applause followed. His mother beamed from the sidelines.
Next was his twin's turn.
Remus swaggered forward. His activation flared three bars with a short line of glow on the fourth bar...
<3.3>
"Remus Bluemoon. Weak High Tier!"
The twins mother clutched her fan in triumph. Both her sons had the rare high talent!
Whereas Remus gazed at Leon with a smug look.
"Told you mine will be better than yours..." He whispered to his twin upon coming close to him.
"Tsk. You're still in the weak category." Leon retorted.
"As long as I'm better than you... I don't care."
Zayne didn't hurry. When his hand met stone, the hall gasped as the glow went past three bars, almost completely covering the fourth bar.
<3.7>
"Tsk... it didn't reach four.... Oh well, I still ended up close." He muttered a bit disappointed by his result.
"... Zayne Bluemoon. Strong High tier!" The ceremony master said clearly damn-struck.
Even the Duke allowed himself a rare smile.
"There hasn't been a talented individual over 3.5 for 200 years now. Zayne is surely a good sign for the Bluemoon bloodline." The duke's first wife, Zayne's mother, commented from the side.
"Yes... he is." The duke agreed with an earnest nod.
Immediately joyful rumors erupted from the crowd.
"Just as expected from the eldest son of the head of the Bluemoon Family!" Someone said approvingly from the crowd.
'Three high tiers in a row, for a single family! This is unbelievable!' Even the ceremony's master was shocked.
'Even in most academies' testing centers, high tiers rarely appear, at most two! Truly this people are the descendants of the legendary sword hero of the North...' He thought as he watched Zayne's retreating back.
Then came Ray.
'Here comes another high tier genius...' He thought.
The whispers had already started before he even moved adding even more pressure on him.
"He is the most quite among the four..."
"I rarely see him... are you sure he is a Bluemoon?"
"Yeah, Ray Bluemoon himself! The second wife's son."
Upon arriving on the pillar, the boy placed his palm on it.
The pillar flickered... then settled on one bar!
<1.0>
"..." The ceremony master was so shocked that he didn't announce it right away.
"Am... can you please repeat?" He asked the boy.
Ray, who was feeling like lightning had just struck him, did as he was told...
<1.0>
"... Ray... Bluemoon... Weak Low tier." The ceremony stuttered a bit as he announced the results.
Ray felt his world come crushing down on him! He stood rooted on the ground while blankly staring at the pillar.
A servant dropped a tray.
Someone stifled a laugh. As whispers sprouted from the crowd bringing the boy back to reality.
Ray's shoulders didn't slump. He simply bowed and returned to his place, meeting no one's eyes.
His mother though had a sad look on her face. While the Duke had a disappointed look on his face.
"Do talk to your son... Evelyn." He said to the woman who sat on his left.
"Yes my Lord."
~Later on that day~
That evening, Ray found his mother waiting in her favorite pavilion, the one overlooking the ducal gardens.
Her brown hair shimmered under the moonlight as the cool night breeze swept passed her.
"You're late," she said without turning.
Ray knelt on one knee. "Apologies, Mother. The physician wanted to examine my meridians again."
She finally faced him, her hazel eyes having a warm gaze - unlike the cold perfection of the Duke's sapphire eyes that brim with something fierce.
"Do you think you are a failure, Ray?" She said as she approached him.
Ray paused for a while, before he shook his head.
"Good, because that is what truly matters." She tapped his chest where his heart beat.
"That stone measures only the talent you're born with. Not the talent you can become."
From her sleeve, she produced a simple wooden token.
"Tomorrow, you'll begin training with Master Kho at dawn. He will be expecting you."
Ray's fingers closed around the token. For the first time since the testing, he smiled.
Little did he know that his brothers will begin humiliating him to the point he would wish for death.