Before the new mermaid king could set off on his journey to become the king of the ocean, he needed to start cultivating.
Since cultivation had never been a big priority of the mermaid race, it was very rare for someone below the age of eighteen to start cultivating. Therefore, the new mermaid king, who was only ten, was a complete mortal. He didn't even have the strong body that all celestials had. In other words, he was near the very bottom in terms of strength in the Zhou World.
The only reason he was excluded from the absolute bottom ranks was because the mermaids naturally had strong bodies so that they could resist deep sea pressure, but they didn't have much and instead relied on their biological structure to survive the heavy pressure.
After the ceremony ended, the old merman led the new king to the palace of the mermaids. Although there had been a previous king, he had immediately relinquished his position to the merman boy after he heard the news of him pulling out the trident.
Once they reached the throne room, the old king, along with a few of his most trusted generals and advisors, were kneeling on the ground.
"We greet the mermaid king and the royal teacher" They said in unison as they kneeled.
The matter of the mermaid boy pulling out the trident was not to be underestimated. It had long been engraved into the minds of all mermaids that the one who pulled it out was the rightful and true king.
Even the old king, who was now kneeling, didn't feel any resentment at losing his position. He whole-heartedly believed that the boy was the rightful ruler and he was just warming the seat.
"Stand, we must make plans for the future." Finley, the old merman said.
The old king and the rest of the group stood up and sat at the seats at the side of the throne room.
The mermaid boy, Jack, went up to the throne and sat upon it while Finley stood beside him. Finley was both the most knowledgeable merman in the entire mermaid cave and Jack's mentor. Until Jack became old enough to rule wisely, Finley would teach him everything he needed to know and advise him on all of his choices.
Zhou Fan watched on, invisible.
"Hello. It is nice to meet you all. As you know, I, Jack, am the new king of the mermaid race." Jack said.
"It is our honor to meet you, your highness." The old king said from his seat, followed by a quick nod from the others in the group.
After saying that, Jack looked to his side at Finley. Finley knew that Jack didn't know what to say and spoke up.
"Before we do anything else, I will teach Jack cultivation and he will cultivate until he has reached a level of strength that can hold our race up. Until then, we expect you all and every other mermaid to cultivate with all your efforts. We must not drag King Jack down." He said.
"You are absolutely right sir Finley." The old king said. "Under you and King Jack's supervision, we will implement cultivation to all corners of the mermaid cave."
Finley nodded at the group and dismissed them, leaving only him and Jack.
"We must act in haste, Jack. Who knows what is happening in the outside world. You are the only one who can give our race safety and peace." Finley said. "Come. I will teach you the ways of cultivation, although I'm sure you will quickly surpass me."
Finley was only at the 5th level of nascent soul, although that did make him one of the strongest mermaids. He led Jack to one of the rooms in the back of the castle and spent a week teaching him everything there was to know about cultivation. Jack absorbed all the knowledge he was told the first time he heard it and was able to quickly understand it all.
As soon as he learned the necessary knowledge, Jack was urged into seclusion by Finley. He was told to not come out until he reached the nascent soul realm.
In five and a half years, Jack got out of seclusion. His body had clearly grown, but he mostly had the mentality of a ten year old. The biggest change was that his patience was at a whole new level. Of course, patience was something every cultivator gained.
Jack swam all the way up to the top floor of the tower and knocked on one of the doors.
"Who is it? What do you need?" An old voice asked.
"It's me Finley." Jack responded.
As soon as Jack spoke, a crash was heard, along with a groan and hasty footsteps. The door swung open and Finley looked at Jack with his jaw dropped.
"I expected you had more talent than any other, but I didn't think it would only take five and a half years for you to reach the same realm as me." Finley said after closing his jaw. "Let's go. I have much to teach you."
Jack followed Finley down the many steps of the castle and arrived in the same room he was first taught cultivation in.
"Now that you have reached my realm, there are some things to teach you." He said. " First, as soon as a mermaid reaches the core formation realm, they can transform their lower body and grow legs. Although most places in the mermaid cave have been created for people with fins, you have probably noticed that places like the castle are built with legs in mind."
Jack nodded as all of that was common knowledge. Although there weren't many people in the core formation realm, those who were often traveled on foot.
Finley continued to teach Jack things about cultivation as well as things about mermaids. Some of it was common knowledge while some was brand new, but Finley didn't miss out on a single detail.
A week of talking passed and Finley sent Jack back into seclusion until he reached a brand new realm that no mermaid had ever seen.