Over the next years Lynwood distanced himself from Kaden and his upbringing. Letting the Third Miss and the servants take care of him.
Within the mansion, no one but Lynwood, his wives and Merlin knew that Zander would be the next family head. Because of this, Kaden was still treated as the inheritor by everyone. The servants did their utmost to fall into his good graces, hoping to carry favor for the future.
Even if they had known, things would've progressed the same way. There was no doubt Kaden's potential was at a level unseen in the Federation in the past thousands of years.
Because of this, Kaden became used to a life of luxury even before he could walk. Servants tended to his every needs and treated him with reverence.
In this way, years continued to pass and he soon turned four. That was the age where the kids in the capital would begin their focused training. Lynwood who had kept his distance since Zander's birth, left the job to Burcham.
Kaden and Burcham were currently in the mansions training room, seated on the floor opposite each other. Considering mankind's vast technological achievements it was odd that the room was so ancient looking.
The floor and walls were made of wooden panels. The floor looked like it was slick with oil, while the walls appeared to be strangely fragile. A training room where even the average adult could punch a hole through the walls didn't seem very useful.
However this was only the exterior look. A hologram technology had been fitted in the room, allowing for the walls and floor to be changed at will.
In reality, the room was made out of a high grade metal material. Durable enough to withstand powerful cultivators exerting their power.
Merlin's great great grandfather had paid a high price to have the room made almost 200 years ago.
"Your potential is boundless. Still, it's important that you are serious in your training. From now on I will be training you everyday at this time. You have a lot of talent and shouldn't waste it. As long as you work hard, no one in the Federation will be able to match you. Someday you'll also have to train by yourself and I won't be here to keep tabs on you. When that day comes, even if I'm not here, you shouldn't be slacking off. Understood?" Burcham raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if he had been understood.
Kaden gave a small nod, having somewhat understood the gist of the message. After all, it was a lot of information for a four year old to take in at once.
"Good. Since you're young and your body is still developing, we will start by focusing on bodyweight exercises and basic martial arts. A strong body will be beneficial to your future cultivation when you awaken." Burcham said it like it was a sure thing Kaden would awaken to an Aether element.
Not everyone was fortunate enough to go through an awakening. It heavily depended on the person's inborn quality of Aether Essence. Still, it was impossible for someone with S-Tier Aether Essence to not awaken. There was no one who would think Burcham was a fool for considering it done already.
Burcham got Kaden started with some basic exercises. In the capital parents were in a rush to get their kids started as soon as possible. But they were still just kids. They wouldn't be able to lift heavy weights or run crazy long distances. Doing so would instead strain their muscles and produce the opposite effect.
After finishing with the exercises, Burcham and Kaden sat opposite each other on the floor again.
"These exercises will do for now. We'll think about progression when it's time for that. Next I will be teaching you the Arkatal family martial arts."
"Our family's martial arts is named the Two-Headed Piercing Eagle. It was named after a very powerful ancestor of the family who created it over 10,000 years ago. It's been passed on with a few improvements made here and there by family members who had some insights."
After speaking about the history of the technique for another ten minutes, Burcham finally looked up and glanced at Kaden. A frown instantly came over his face.
The boy was sitting there yawning. At first he'd been listening intently, but he lost interest as Burcham began his unending history lesson.
"Young Master, is it too much to ask for you to pay a little attention? You are the firstborn of your generation, you should have some decency. It is important you know the history of the family." Burcham didn't feel like he was asking too much of a four year old. He hadn't been the one to teach Lynwood martial arts back in the day as Lynwood's father Merlin had done that himself. However, he had been Lynwood's tutor for a few of his subjects and had seen how the boy behaved at that age. In comparison Kaden's attitude left much to be desired.
When he thought about it he remembered that he had gotten a few complaints regarding the Young Master's attitude from his tutors. He again thought back to Lynwood. As a child he had been so well-behaved, eager to learn everything about the history of the family.
Turning back to the present, Burcham saw that Kaden was sitting up straight, waiting for him to continue. Satisfied with that he dismissed his concerns for now and continued doling out his knowledge.
It was an endless stream of information, but Kaden didn't want to put off the actual martial arts for any longer. He managed to keep his focus for the rest of it.
As Burcham finished up, he was happy to see that the Young Master had taken his words to heart. Or at least he thought he did. The reality was that Kaden just wanted to hurry up and practice some martial arts.
"Now, let's continue with some actual training. Stand up and we'll go through the moves one by one together." Burcham stood up, gesturing for Kaden to do the same.
Kaden became a lot more eager as he heard the magical words he'd been waiting for. He stood up quickly, almost afraid that Burcham would change his mind and decide to give him another 20 minute long history lesson.
As they went through the moves, it clearly wasn't a very impressive or flashy technique. However it was very adaptable, able to be used in almost any situation of hand-to-hand combat.
Instead of being designed for high ranking cultivators, it had been made solely for people in the Body Tempering realm who had yet to go through their awakening. The ancestor who had created it did so to strengthen the descendants of the family. While training in the martial art one would also see improvements in their Body Fitness, helping them climb the levels of the Body Tempering realm.
Everyone, cultivator or not, had someday been in the Body Tempering realm. From the moment of birth, one was considered to be at the 1st of 18 levels. Upon awakening, you would immediately rise to the Apprentice realm no matter what attainments you had in the Body Tempering realm.
They went through the movements for an hour before finishing up. Kaden had somewhat memorized it, but martial arts were precise, his movements were just an imitation.
"It's too early to talk about doing good or bad. You'll certainly master it in a few years. For now you've had an introduction. Tomorrow we'll practice martial arts first and then do the exercises. It'll be easier to perfect the movements if you have more energy. There is just one more thing before were done, follow me." Burcham lead the way as the two left the training room, walking through the hallways of the mansion.
Arriving at a door, Burcham simply entered without knocking.