Because of You

40

It was the end of the lectures, and Wei Wuxian was in Qishan for his rank evaluation. Lan Wangji was there for support and he wanted to see just how smart his fiancée really was. As it was mentioned before, Jiang Fengmian though Wei Wuxian should go through a new evaluation test to determine his rank. Now that he is properly adopted into the sect, Wei Wuxian deserves to know what his abilities are worth. Wei Wuxian would be tested in front of the sect leaders from the five sects and the city council head for each region. There were eleven people in total that Wei Wuxian would need to be tested by. Lan Qiren would actually be taking the place of setting up each test. Wei Wuxian would be tested in the six arts, archery, music, rites, charioteering, literacy, and numeracy.

A narrow definition of rites is the practice of proper conduct and etiquette in everyday life and in ceremonies. This maps onto the mind–body domain of social functioning. Wei Wuxian dressed in his sect heir purple Jiang sect robes. He would make and prepare tea for each of the judges and would perform basic kowtow and bows. Next would be charioteering. Refers to the training of physical strength and balance involved in riding a chariot or a horse. Wei Wuxian would do basic preparations for the horse and run through an agility course. All the while testing his archery skills. Using a bow while riding a horse takes precision and Wei Wuxian did fantastic. After he got of the horse, he went to the main archery course and finished it in record time.

Then there was literacy, also known as the art of books, this discipline is operationalized as language processing and verbal skills, and involves both language generation and comprehension; and numeracy, this refers to mathematics and science. Wei Wuxian was known for his inventions with charms, weapons, and talismans. He showed the group some charms that could be useful in a classroom setting.

For example, he created a talisman called projection. Placing the talisman on the cover of the book in front of him, he then opened it to a random page. The page then projects information into the air in larger texts. He then shows that if there is a word that the person does not understand, they can select the word and it will project the definition and examples of the word in other uses and sentences. Some examples also included illustrations. The judges were extremely impressed with that talisman and said they would love it to be used in a classroom setting.

Wei Wuxian was then tested on music. He had a flute in hand and started to play along with someone who was on the guqin. If there was a tempo change, Wei Wuxian reacted accordingly and adjusted. He performed well and with ease.

After all those were tested, Wei Wuxian would then be tested on his swordsmanship. He was challenged by the five sect leaders, that includes, Jiang Fengmian, Jin Guangshan, Wen Ruohan, Nie Mingjue, and Lan Xichen. He was to fight them together in an open field. To be honest, Wei Wuxian was a bit nervous but he knew the fighting style of two people. He would have to be careful in order to get through this.

He managed to subdue Jin Guangshan and Jiang Fengmian very quickly, so they were out and stepped to the sidelines. While keeping Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen off his back, he fought off Wen Ruohan. Wei Wuxian felt a little bit of pride when he subdued the chief cultivator. Now it was the last two. He managed to subdue Lan Xichen once but since Lan Xichen knew his fighting skills a bit more, he knew some of Wuxian's tricks. Nie Mingjue was also pretty good at fighting. His skills were not to be taken lightly.

Kicking Shuoyue from Xichen's hand, Wei Wuxian only had to face off with Baxia and his master. Lan Xichen was beyond impressed and was happy for Wei Wuxian. He knows that the boy truly deserves this. If his rank was knocked down, he would not be upset about it at all. He would be rather proud, and he could tell that Wangji would also be happy to be dropped a rank if that were the case.

"I have to say, Wei Wuxian, you are a fierce fighter," Nie Mingjue told him.

"The same goes to you as well. It is an honor to go against you," Wei Wuxian said, "But this fight isn't over yet."

"No it is not," Nie Mingjue agreed as a smile appeared on his face.

Baxia was a big blade and has more weight to it. It would make sense that Nie Mingjue would really have to train with his saber and work out his arm strength. As for Suibian, it is lighter, which makes in faster. Wei Wuxian knew that he was getting a little tired but he did not want to stop just yet. He knew he could do this. As he was fighting though, he felt his golden core really spinning, and growing hotter in his dantian. That heat started to spread through his veins.

Wei Wuxian stopped as he felt like he was suffocating. Nie Mingjue immediately held back, "Wei Wuxian, are you okay?"

"I don't know," he said, "I feel really hot. My core."

Nie Mingjue had his sit and knelt beside him, "Try to focus on your breathing, try to meditate for a moment, we can take a break for a moment."

Wei Wuxian nodded, "Thank you," He said.

The others came over but made sure not to overcrowd. Wei Wuxian tried to meditate as suggested. When he did, he felt his core ignite into a flame that he has never felt before. His body began to glow and his golden core dispersed and turned into a spiritual vein, which means, he just ascended to immortality. During his ranking of all places too.

"Has this ever happened before?" Wangji asked.

"The only person in existence to have achieved immortality was Baoshan Sanren, and he is her grandson," Lan Xichen said, "I guess it was something that would happen eventually."

"What about his test?" Wangji asked.

"If it is alright with you, Wei Wuxian is now the immortal ranking system, so he is now ranked with Baoshan. She is ranked number one of course, which makes him number two," a person from the city council stated.

"So technically he is ranked number one but since he is immortal he is in a new category," Xichen said.

Lan Wangji smiled and knelt down beside Wei Wuxian and took his hand. He checked his vitals just to be sure he was okay. Wei Wuxian opened his eyes and looked at everyone before looking at Wangji.

"What happened?" Wuxian asked.

"You became an immortal, you are in a new ranking system. You are not number two while your grandmother Baoshan Sanren ranks first in immortality," Wangji answered.

"Immortal, but how? I am still so young," Wuxian questioned.

"I don't know, but my love, you did well," Wangji said.

"So, does that mean I don't get to finish my fight was Sect Leader Nie?" Wuxian asked.

Nie Mingjue laughed, "why not set up a new date and we can have another one on one?"

"That sounds fun," Wuxian said and stood up.

To keep Wen Ruohan from suspecting them of anything, everyone left. Wei Wuxian was going to spend his time in Cloud Recesses to help with preparations for the ambush that is expected to come. In the meantime, Wei Wuxian would also use the resources in Cloud Recesses to meditate and allow his body to adjust to now being immortal.