The day Vitenka taught him how to meditate on purpose for the first time, Sheng Wang had also prepared him an incredible gift. A hammer that befitted his own small sized physique, one that he could control without fearing to injure the joints and muscles of his weak body.
The moment Sheng Hao's eyes landed on the gleaning metallic fist sized hammer, a large smile appeared on his chubby face as he felt that his luck had blessed him far too much that day.
Just like that, time passed quietly without shifting from his past routines. Sheng Hao's life in the village didn't change by much despite him finally starting practical sessions of blacksmithing, his progress when it came to his meditation sessions were astounding too.
With each day that passed, he could feel that his perception of spiritual energy was rising. Peaking in the middle of the night, when his entire body was basking under the clear moonlight.
During these moments, his consciousness would fall in a strange trance where he would lose count of time. If he didn't fall asleep and managed to maintain that state of mind, he noticed that his mind would attain a peculiar clarity, staying sharp throughout the following hours that proceeded his meditation.
He couldn't help but guess that parts of his spiritual soul were vowed to have characteristic from that stellar plane as he had noticed throughout the past years how his body and mind reacted when influenced by the astral stars and moon.
However, the doubts and fears he had in his heart came to a stop when he noticed that the reaction his body had with the moon wasn't anything negative.
On the contrary, the moon was stopping him from falling back to his old delusions, and that since he gazed at it in this world.
The lack of influence from his past obsessions were a major key to the intensity of his current work ethic; if he was honest with himself, Sheng Hao would have noticed that he was repressing himself from facing his deepest fears.
To this day, he still didn't ask his grandfather about his past as he could feel in the old man's gaze that there was something he wanted to speak about yet wasn't ready to begin that dialogue. But neither of them found the strength to start that talk. Sheng Wang was far too focused on teaching him how to smelt and shape ores into good quality ingots or even simple daily life objects, and Sheng Hao was too focused on learning everything he could from him and the other elders he knew.
The quiet rhythm inside the Toe Village was turning into an unstoppable and hellish regiment under Sheng Hao's greed.
Even though his learning regiment was packed to the brim, to the point where he only had a few hours where he found himself with nothing to do. During these times, the young boy had brazenly asked the old witch Flamelle, a strange request.
"Grandma Melle," exclaimed the young boy who had now developed a dashing and melodic tone in his voice.
"I wonder what the other elders in the village do? I know that Grandma is a powerful Enchanter and Alchemist. Buckethead is a strong Handyman, and grandfather an expert Blacksmith."
"But I have no idea on what the other elders do in their daily life, I mean it's understandable that they are reclusive but it's been nearly eight years and I haven't learned anything from them!" the voice coming from his mouth took a strange high pitch as he couldn't help but spill some one of the frustration he had developed due to the elders reclusive temperaments.
His frustration made him forget to hold the honesty from his words, he found himself regretting instantly what had just left his mouth.
Thankfully, the kind grin that had appeared on the face of the Old Witch Flamelle didn't contain any anger. She couldn't help but softly mumble a few inaudible words before raising the volume of her vocal strings.
"You are quite the greedy one, aren't you?" she exclaimed lightly before continuing in a serious tone that didn't contain any kindness.
"I was considering teaching you some Alchemy and Enchanting but I am now doubting that thought a little… I am not sure that you will have the time to develop those two difficult arts if you are going to ask teaching from all the other elders…" She sighed at the end as if the word she had just spoken weighted dozens of pounds.
She stayed silent for a few seconds, her eyes staring blankly at the woolen carpet. In Sheng Hao's eyes, he sensed solitude in the face of the old lady and her body even seemed fragile despite him knowing that she was one of the strongest spiritualists living in the Toe Village.
Although there wasn't any hierarchy, with everybody living as equals. He was certain that she was one of the strongest, if not the strongest of the lot of reclusive old men and women. In the end, she was still the one that had taken up the role of managing the formations that protected their village.
Just the fact that she was constantly monitoring the village with her mind showed that she was in possession of a powerful soul. One that wouldn't take it bad even if dozens of geniuses refused to accept her teaching. However Sheng Hao wasn't aware of that and fell directly in her manipulative trap.
Even though Sheng Hao housed the soul of a reincarnated man; with a mental age approaching the late thirties. The Old Witch facing him was someone that nearly had five times his age, and dozens of times his experience when it comes to her wits.
Guilt flashed on his large watery eyes and his iris never left the person he affectionately called Grandma Melle. He couldn't help but try to explain himself but his mouth didn't manage to produce any other words.
The situation continued for a few seconds with the tension forcing his entire face to turn in a vivid red. His guilt was turning into shame and if it wasn't for Flamelle who could no longer contain her laughter, the young boy would probably have frozen in place due to being unable to manage the awkward situation.
"I am just joking!" She blurted with a crooked grin that showed sharp teeth that threatened to fall with every word leaving her lips.
"You can calm the fake act young boy!?" She added with a teasing smile on her face.
"If you are feeling confident enough to learn everything, we have to offer you. Don't stop yourself from being a greedy little monster."
"In the end, you are still young. It doesn't matter even if you fail to learn even one single thing from them." She knew how important it meant for one to acquire a stable mind.
She didn't mind letting his young spirit face a few hardship and stumble in front of tall walls in order to develop his discipline. If he got depressed, it sadly meant he wasn't suited to pursuing their complex esoteric professions.
She would even start to develop doubts about his future as a spiritualist. Although she didn't know the entire story behind the pair of Sheng's presence in the Toe Village. She still managed to derive an understanding of the schemes when she learned about the death of the Jianshen Emperor.
"This young boy will have to confront numerous enemies, I won't be surprised if he is hunted down by the entire Portalia Continent one day." Flamelle thought with her gaze throwing a deep gaze that didn't move from the young boy's small frame.
"If he is vowed for a big future, then he is definitely meant to have a monstrous childhood… Thankfully, he doesn't seem to need much affection nor any kind of further development when it comes to the social department." She thought silently with a strange glaze shining in a corner of her gray iris.
She waited for Sheng Hao to fully calm down before continuing in a clear voice. "In the end you will be the one to decide. I won't refuse giving you this favor, and the elders won't refuse giving me some face."
Sheng Hao couldn't help but fall pensive for a long period of time, his still chubby face turning into a painting of seriousness. He crossed his arms and waited silently for a long period of time, his thoughts diverging in his mind as he pondered on his request.
Ever since he had started working on the anvil, he had sensed the need to learn something else before leaving the reclusive village. Even though nothing really stopped him from coming back, he still wanted to be able to leave without regretting anything the moment he made that decision.
Being stranded to one place wasn't something he appreciated, even back on Earth that logic had stayed true until the last somber years of his life.
Seeing that the young boy was taking his time to respond, Flamelle left him concentrate without bothering him and even opened one of the books that was sitting next to her and refocused on her own work.
"Although I won't be able to learn everything! I definitely want to try. Even if I have to memorize the content of their lecture, I can take the time to slowly digest everything on my own…" his index finger tapped rhythmically on his right leg and accompanied his thoughts.
Through the past few years he had spent in this world, he had ample time to notice that his memory was exceptionally sharp. To the point where he had been able to memorize the majority of Flamelle's linguistic teaching after hearing it once.
Nonetheless, he still had trouble reading all of her books as some characters were still foreign for him. But his progress could still be continued on his own as he had accumulated the basic knowledge required for that.
Even though the characters that made out the scripture used in the Portalia Continent were numerous and potentially numbered to more than fifty thousand.
Their numbers were still quantifiable and all the characters were composed with the same logic. Although he had only learned a measly five hundred characters. By disassembling them in his mind to understand the lines that formed them. He was able to understand characters he didn't know yet, with the same logic he could theoretically read any of the basic books if he took some of his own time every day.
Finally, after a few minutes of deep thoughts, Sheng Hao came to a decision. His chest twisted as he turned his body toward Flamelle before exclaiming in a serious voice that didn't hide anything.
"I know that my request is greedy." His voice showed the degree of honesty he was having and his eyes didn't tremble throughout his speech.
"I can't promise that I will learn everything the elders have to teach me now. But I am confident in memorizing the lectures. Even if I don't learn everything now, I can always chew on their teaching in the future when I have some free time." His voice showed the absolute confidence he had in his own words.
Flamelle's senses didn't detect any doubt whatsoever in the young boy's speech and ended up surprised by the answer he confidently delivered.
She moved her head calmly, nodding while suppressing the excitement that caused her bony heart to thump. Even though she had given lectures to Sheng Hao, they were mostly aimed at teaching him how to read the language of the Portalia Continent.
Seeing how he had spoken just now, her heart wavered as she felt the need to have the young boy as her own direct disciple. Even though her voice contained a joking tone, she did propose her own teaching to him before he even had the time to answer.
Sheng Hao looked deeply at the grey iris of the old woman, sitting on the wooden recliner as she tried to contain herself. His eyes only contained the purest respect in his eyes when Sheng Hao rose from the comfortable couch and exclaimed. "It will be an honor to receive Grandmaster Flamelle's teaching! If this lowly one is up to the task, it will be my pride and pleasure to accept your lectures!" His body bowed to a respectful angle with Sheng Hao's childish presence disappearing completely.
Although he didn't receive any royal education, the atmosphere that surrounded the young boy was one that befitted someone of noble descent. The old witch Flamelle smiled widely, a set of white teeth flashed through the somberness of her crooked lips.
Her eyes shone brightly with a strange gleam that didn't correspond to someone of her age and social status. "Good! Then it's decided, I'll make sure you meet them before your next birthday." She said in a matter-of-fact tone before continuing.
"As for your teaching, I will need to prepare some materials to do some test. Although Alchemy and Rune Enchanting is different from the work of a Blackmisth, but both crafts share the same need for an extensive focus. Eyes and hands that have a specific attention for details are also crucial for our profession."
"Absolutely nothing can be left out to luck!" She affirmed with certitude before ending her sentence with a promise. "I will prepare some books for you to read. Then we will test your aptitude for both Alchemy and Rune Enchanting, you can decide on what you want to work on the most before leaving for an Academy that teaches young spiritualists."
Sheng Hao nodded mindlessly before his brain processed what he just heard. His head motion came to a stop when he repeated her last words in her head.
Even though he had been wanting to travel before, he didn't know where he would go nor did he know when he would move out of the village.