In the morning, my father showed up and took me with him. First, we went to the training ground.
"Since you're a cultivator now, we can start the real training. The life of a cultivator is full of battles, hardships, and trials. In fact, from now until the day you die, you're walking on the edge of an infinite blade. Yes, you're good with a sword, but on the path to perfecting yourself, that won't be enough. You must always know how strong you really are. No amount of skill will help if your opponent moves at ten times your speed, and believe me, you'll always run into people like that."
I have nothing to say to that, and I understand it perfectly well myself. In this regard, my new life is no different from the previous one.
"We'll start by checking your new physical performance. Afterward, I'll give you the basic techniques to strengthen your body and cultivation. Your job is to learn them as soon as possible and come to me. Do you understand?" Yelled my father. I even flinched from not being used to it.
"Yes, father."
"I can't hear you?!" Once more he shouted.
"Yes, father!" Oh, no, don't tell me he's a trooper! I never thought that was his real character. Is that the reason he and mother fight all the time?
"Now, drag your piss-poor legs to the spiritual weights, I'll make a man out of you! And if I don't, I'm no longer the guard general of the entire sect!"
Running as fast as I could to the training equipment, I wondered more and more, how did my mother end up with him in the first place?
***
Having done numerous measurements and exercises, I can say that for a five-year-old I am incredibly strong. The weight I can lift is 100kg. My maximum running speed is 40km/h. These are just some of my achievements, but from the look on my father's face, he's satisfied with the result.
"Not bad for someone who just started on the path. However, your older brother's performance was way higher already. I'll write it off to the quality of the spiritual root this time. Now follow me."
We walked out of the training area and went to my father's office. I had never been in here before. It looked simple. In the center of the room was a huge blackwood desk, which I at first mistook for stone. At the center of the table is a huge chair made of the skin of some demonic beast. On the sides of the walls are cabinets with books on a variety of subjects. From the titles that I managed to see, I remembered: "Journey to the Desert of Dead Souls", "Chronology of the History of the Divine Palace", "Gods and Spirits, Fiction or Truth?", "Mastery of Fire Techniques from Master Flaming Heart", "How the Water Elemental Works, a Guide for the Advanced", "Conversation Between Two Monks: Is There One God or Many?".
"Where are they...Where...Ah, found them." While I was looking at the books, wondering whether my father had read them all, or whether he had put them all here just for the sake of the look and image of an educated and lofty man, my father rummaged through his inner desk and pulled out three small volumes.
"The first book, the One Sword Method, all cultivators in our academy start with it without exception. At one time, it was written as the foundation book of our sect by the founder himself. It helps to build a strong foundation. The second book, Strengthening the Body for the Smallest, is perfect for children and beginners. Everyone in our family started with this book. I started at your age, however your grandfather Zimo was already a teenager at the time when he started. Hehehe, I can imagine his face and the shame he felt due to the title. And the last one, The Way of the Sword, is the first volume out of three. This method will help you get through the first stage of cultivation."
I picked up the three volumes. Compared to the books on the shelves, they are quite small. I flipped through them and saw that most of the contents were illustrations and explanations. It's sad to know that I'm not taken seriously because of my childish body.
In my time here, books are probably the most interesting thing I've seen and the hardest to get used to. In the past world, everyone used either holograms or tablets. The format for transmitting information and knowledge was completely different.
"You can start by studying the first two books, once you're done with them you can move on to the third. Now go, you haven't even had breakfast today, you must be hungry. I ordered the servants to prepare a stew of spirit beast meat, your mother said it's your favorite dish."
He said with a very weird look. I think it's called warmth… I don't remember anyone in the past world looking at me with such warmth. It feels strange...
"Thank you, father. Have a good day" I said with a bow and left. I still have a lot of work to do.