"Ahahaha," Jiro laughed heartily, the flames in Kaito's eye signalled something special about the boy.
"Ok, let's make you stronger, faster and better than your dad." Jiro stroked his chin, "First, let's find your root element."
Kaito's eyes were still sparkling in excitement, "Okay!!!... What's that?"
His head cocked to one side as he realised he had no idea what Jiro was talking about.
Jiro chuckled and smiled in response, "Your root element is the one that you are born with, and it will be an essential part of your path moving forward."
Jiro placed a hand on Kaito's heart and where his dantian would be, "Take a deep breath and hold it."
Kaito did as instructed, with so much excitement he felt he could hold his breath for years if needed.
"And release." Though once the pressure of holding his breath was gone he was glad that his grandpa didn't listen to his hyperbole.
"Interesting…" Jiro scratched his chin, "You have two elements."
Kaito's eyes turned into stars!
"Wow! Two! That must mean I'm some kind of genius right?!"
If it were anyone else, Jiro would have dismissed them as a braggart and shown them the immensity of Heaven and Earth, yet because it was Kaito,
"You sure are! Your primary element is Fire, like me and your dad, but your second element is undiscernible for now, it'll probably unlock when you reach the next form."
"Next form?" Kaito was disappointed to hear but interested to hear the word form, "You mean I have a second form?"
Jiro started scratching his head, "Err, it's hard to explain, since you haven't unlocked your second element from birth I'm 80% sure you have at least a second form, but have no idea if there's a 3rd."
"What about a 4th!" Kaito's delusions of grandeur were quickly shot down with an "Impossible!"
It was like a splash of cold water to the face on a chilly winter day,
"There are no fourth forms, the most is a change or shift from one's 3rd form, but there are strictly now higher forms than 3."
But-" Kaito wanted to keep the hope alive, but Jiro shot it down twice as quickly!
"No buts!" he held up his hand, "There are only 3 forms, not because there's a limit that hasn't been broken, but because it's the natural order of things."
There was so much more Jiro wanted to do and explain but Kaito had school…unless
"Alright! Let's skip class for today! I'm going to teach you the fundamentals of cultivation!"
Kaito's eyes beamed with enthusiasm, "This is the best birthday ever!"
A few minutes later,
"Ughhhhh," Kaito was face planted on the floor, exhausted out of his mind, "This is the worst birthday everrrrrr."
His lamentations did not fall on deaf ears, "Come on toughen up a little would ya."
Jiro was seated atop a large rock,
"When your dad was your age he could run twice as far in half the time!"
"Tsk tsk," Jiro shook his head, "The young truly get softer each generation."
Kaito began to 'cultivate' under Jiro's tutelage, for the next 3 months, he did nothing but wake up, eat, train, wash up, eat, sleep, wake up, eat, train etc…
Until…
"Gramps, I don't get it. Aren't I supposed to be cultivating? Shouldn't you teach me how to control my Qi or something?" Kaito said amid mild panting as he was completing his laps, he didn't doubt his grandpa, but he was curious about the method behind the training.
Jiro was relaxing on the large stone with a pipe in his mouth, "Trust me, boy, you are cultivating, unlike those hacks down in the village, and most people in life, just want results fast, true cultivation begins with establishing a solid foundation."
"Well, he's not grumbling about the task, nor questioning the method, rather he's explorative and curious, excellent traits for a cultivator to have…just like Ryuji." Jiro thought to himself.
Jiro released a sigh whenever he thought about Ryuji, and it was becoming more often as he trained Kaito, so much so that he began smoking again, "They really are like father like son."
As Kaito finished his lap Jiro jumped down from the boulder,
"Let me show you something." he landed perfectly in front of Kaito, shocking the latter.
"How did you-" but Jiro cut him off, "Don't ask first, watch."
Kaito kept quiet and watched Jiro, he noticed the heat in the surrounding area disappear, leaving him shivering before it rapidly came back.
"That was a beginner-level training move, it's called Heatwave, try it."
Kaito began to try and replicate Jiro, first, trying to sense that 'heat' in the air, this part was the easiest, it came naturally to a Fire root like Kaito.
"Ok I can feel it, now how do I control it?"
Jiro shook his head, "Don't. Instead, try and nudge and guide it within yourself first, find the heat within your own body, and draw the surroundings into yourself."
Jiro believed in a hands-off approach style of learning, not withholding key information, but not hand-holding his students toward a method and answer, only stepping in when the lesson turns more harmful than good.
Hearing Jiro's advice Kaito was able to quickly locate the 'heat' within him, he sensed that it was actually quite easy to nudge the 'heat' into his body…he soon realised a problem.
"Phew…it's getting a little toasty…ok this is a bit…HoWw dO I stOp!?!?"
The heat began rapidly piling into Kaito, and he couldn't stop it, his body went from mildly warm to blazing hot in mere seconds.
Kaito leapt up from his seat, the ground he was sitting on had already caught fire, but his body temperature exceeded the heat from the fire, thus, he didn't feel it.
"Watttteeeer I neeeeed watttteeeerr ahhhhhh!" he began running around, frantically in circles before a cool get of ice splashed onto his face, instantly sizzling and boiling away, providing instant relief.
"Ahhhhh…" Kaito didn't even question where the ice came from, he just accepted it as a gift from heaven.
"Do you know why it went wrong so fast?" Jiro smirked, a snowball in his hand.
Kaito was still reeling in the relief from the ice-cold snow melting off his body.
"Ahhhh." Jiro shook his head. This is why you need physical training. Most 10-year-olds are barely strong enough to handle Qi, and at 5, you need physical training to build up endurance and resistance.
And so Kaito put his nose to the grindstone, for the next 9 months he did nothing but physical training, to build up his muscle density, and at night before he slept, Jiro forced him to take medicinal baths that increased his bone density.
Throughout these months, Kaito hadn't been going to school, training started at dawn and ended in the evening so school was completely out of the option.
To make sure his education wasn't completely lacking, Jiro taught Kaito during his baths about cultivation.
After all, the point of moving nearer to a village was such that Kaito had both social interactions and knowledge of current affairs. However, teaching about cultivation was Jiro's expertise.
"All cultivators begin at level 1 and for every 10 levels, it is considered a new tier, a level 20 is usually 2x stronger than a level 19."
From:
Lvl 1-9 Starter
Lvl 10-19 Beginner
Lvl 20-29 Intermediate
Lvl 30-39 Expert
Lvl 40-49 Mastery
Lvl 50-59 Awakened
Lvl 60-69 Pseudo-legendary
Lvl 70-79 Legendary
Lvl 80-89 Mythical
Lvl 90-99 Immortal
Lvl 100 Dao
"90% of all cultivators are stuck somewhere below the Pesudo-legendary level making it to pseudo is considered a monumental achievement."
"Wow! Are you a legendary grandpa?"
"Hohoho," Jiro chuckled weirdly, "I'm no legendary."
"Not much is known about legendaries, other than that their lifespan is said to be unending."
"They're immortal?" Kaito wondered, "Then what's the difference between a Legendary, and an Immortal?"
"Hmm, how do I explain this," Jiro scratched his chin, "Ok, picture this, any and everyone has a lifespan right? One day, we'll all grow old and die, assuming nothing miraculous occurs."
Kaito nodded,
"Then imagine a legendary as someone who can sustain their lifespan indefinitely, for time is no longer a worry, decades and centuries fly by like a blink."
"That sounds…lonely," Kaito's voice was slightly despondent, "To have everyone around you age away sounds tough."
Jiro was scrubbing Kaito's back so he couldn't see the pained expression of longing and loss that Jiro was making right now,
"It's not so bad," He tried to sound reassuring but rather than reassuring Kaito it sounded like he was reassuring himself, "Life must go on and with it new encounters and new friends, and you'll always have the company of the few who do become legendaries…though their mostly pretentious pricks and assholes. But anyways, most cultivators live for thousands of years."
"Oh, so it's not that different I guess." Kaito cheered up somewhat, "When I become a legendary, I'll find a way to make you live forever Grandpa!"
"HAHA," Jiro roared with laughter, "See Kaito life comes around and brings a funny boy like you around, it's not always bad to say goodbye, if not, how can we ever say hello to someone new?"
Kaito didn't really understand his grandpa, but he was happy that he was happy,
"But how is that different from an Immortal, Grampa?"
"Oh right of course, Immortals are beings who have become an embodiment of some path, we all walk a road in our cultivation, but for these people, they have become a road in and of itself, or have walked so far down a road they create new paths, or further the road beyond anyone else."
"Whoa," Kaito gaped in awe, "Does that mean whenever someone cultivates, they just follow what came before them."
"Yup, for the most part, it is about legacy and heritage, but when you reach their level it's about innovation and going against the flow. It's no longer something anyone achieves through just hard work, but talent as well…is what I would say, but as you know life isn't fair, some people are just born with the latent potential of a legendary."
"Usually, it's because their progenitor is at least at the level of a mythical, just following in their parent's footsteps, will allow them to become legendary."
"That doesn't sound fair!" Kaito made a small little grumpy face, that was supposed to display displeasure, but ended up looking really cute.
"Life may not be fair, but the heavens always are, and with opportunity comes hardship, just because these people can become strong with no effort doesn't mean they don't have shortcomings, for one, it means whoever is jealous or just hates their progenitor, will hunt down his descendants just for the sake of it."
"Being a part of a strong bloodline means enduring the bloodline feud as well."
"Well, can't they just leave??"
Jiro shook his head, "Kaito, think about it, your blood defines who you are, how you look, even if you no longer associate with your family, everybody knows you were from that family, so it changes nothing if you leave, only making you more vulnerable, which brings us to the second problem…lack of innovation."
"Oh?" Kiato's head tilted to the side, while Jiro was scrubbing shampoo into his hair, "Why?"
"Think about it Kaito, if everything you ever achieved was just a byproduct of your parent's hard work, did you achieve anything at all? Their limit is however far their parent's limits are, 99.8% of legendary bloodlines decline over time because they just aren't dedicated or hardworking enough, only relying on the efforts of their ancestors."
As Jiro rinsed the soap of Kaito he continued, "And what if your innovation is wrong? What if you lead your clan down the wrong path? How will you bear the responsibility? Clans abide strictly toward purity and patriarchy because of necessity not desire."
"Who wouldn't want to innovate and test their ideas, live for their calling? But they are shackled by expectation, familial bonds, and duty, now these aren't bad things, but are limiting factors in their growth."
After their shower, Jiro proceeded to dry Kaito,
"Remember how I told you about your root element, fire."
Kiato nodded, "You also said I have a second element that I will gain once I unlock my 2nd or even 3rd form!"
"That's right!" Jiro rubbed Kiato's little nose, "Let me explain the elements to you first, there are many different types, of course, the most common are the basic elements of creation, such as water, fire, earth and wood. Then you have the more complex ones like light and darkness."
"Does that mean my element is just a common one that anyone could have?" Jiro responded to Kaito's question with a tap on the forehead, "Yes, but it doesn't matter, the element you are born with is a reflection of yourself, are you dissatisfied with yourself?"
Kaito did a quick inspection of his body before replying, "Nooo…" which caused Jiro to chuckle.
"Well, some people are, but that's beside the point, no one has any say in who they are, only who they will become, there is no sense in drawing comparisons with anyone."
Jiro held Kaito's head tenderly, his warmth spreading to Kaito's cheeks, "Remember this Kaito, only you stand in the way of your progress."
"Yes, Grandpa."
"Good." Jiro let go, and took clothes out of his dimensional ring, "You should start storing this in your own ring from now on, but let's leave that for later, back to what I was saying about elements, there is a system to it."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, naturally fire is weak to water but strong against wood, whereas water is strong against fire but weak to wood."
"Naturally," Kaito responded, nodding along.
"So where does Ice play in this chain then smartypants?"
"Errrr, well Fire melts Ice so I'm guessing that Fire is strong against Ice?"
"Correct…and wrong." Jiro gave a light flick on Kaito's forehead, "Oww!"
"Ice isn't an element it's a technique, and you are right, Ice-type techniques are weak to fire type, but there is no such thing as an Ice element because Ice is just one of the forms of Water."
"Anyone can master a technique, they don't need to have the corresponding root element," a ball of snow began condensing in Jiro's hand, "Technique just comes more naturally the more inclined it is to your root element."
The snow in Jiro's hand exploded into flames and condensed itself into a ball that was 2x bigger.
"If you notice I'm using the same amount of Qi, but my Qi naturally contains the fire element within it, so producing fire techniques is not only stronger but easier."
Kaito continued staring in awe, "But grandpa, why would anyone want to learn techniques that don't suit their root element?"
His question was met with another flick to the head, "Owwww!"
"Kaito," Jiro sighed, "I know brains aren't your family's gift but try using it a bit, what happens if all you know are fire techniques and a strong water user appears?"
"I'll burn him till his water turns to dust!" Kaito energetically roared, before being met with a swift tap to the forehead.
"OW! That one hurt!" Kaito rubbed the spot where Jiro had been flicking, he was precise and always landed in the same spot, which doubled the pain each time.
"That's cause your answer was dumber than usual, First, water doesn't burn to ash, it evaporates to vapour, second, if you bring this mentality to the battle academy you'll be lucky to graduate at all, much less make your father proud."
Hearing that Kaito quietened down a bit, and Jiro noticed.
"He's still just a kid after all, no matter how jovial a front he puts, I'm sure the loss hasn't completely washed over."
Jiro sat down at eye level with Kaito, "When dealing with someone whose strength is your weakness you must turn their weakness into your strength."
Jiro held up two fingers, and between them, arcs of electricity flashed past, "I picked this up to counter all those pesky water roots, this is one the most common 1st-grade techniques, thunder spark."
"And it's the technique you'll be learning first!"
"Yes! Finally! No more training!" Kaito jumped in joy, "Yup, you're hard work has paid off, once you manifest your dantian and can store Qi, your body will gradually refine itself to handle more and more Qi."
Kaito was doing some weird funky dance, and humming a tune, when, "So with that said, you'll be going back to class!"
The sound of glass shattering rang out in Kaito's mind, "Class!"
"Uggghhh," Kaito groaned, "Why do I have to go to classsss, can't you just teach me everything?"
Jiro prepped his finger for another good ol flick, and Kaito sensed the imminent danger,
"Ah! Okokok grampa I'll go to class! But I still don't get why?"
Jiro sighed, "Because there's a written portion to entering the Battle Academy, and school helps you prepare for that, sure, I can provide vastly more insights and theories than your school, but this isn't some novel where if your answers are so far out the box it shocks and wows your teachers into putting you into some genius class, this is reality Kaito."
Kaito still pouted, not understanding his Grandpa's point,
"For example, have you heard the tale of the origin of our world?"
Kaito shook his head,
"At the dawn of time, a singular egg occupied all that was and is, inside this egg lay Aurelius The."
Kaito waited for Jiro to complete his sentence…but he never did, "The what?"
Jiro smirked, "That's just it, no one knows, some say it's The All-Powerful, some say it's The Chosen, others like to believe it's The Creator…"
"But what do you think Grampa?"
"I think that's the way he intended it to be…just The, he is The strongest, The Chosen, The Creator, he's just so massive that he can be all there is and that will ever be, he's The. But school won't accept that as an answer, if I'm not wrong this region takes the standard The Creator, but I could be wrong, and that's why you need to go to school!"
"Wow…have you ever met him Gramps?" to a kid like Kaito, a divine being that existed billions of years ago, and any person significantly older than him existed in the same period; the past.
"Once, but I'll tell you about it when you're much older."
~ 1 year exactly later
On Kaito's 6th birthday,
"Ha!" Kaito was in the backyard, a wooden training dummy with multiple rotating outstretched arms of different lengths stood before him.
"Ha!, Ha! Hu!" the arms came at Kaito at different speeds and rotations, some from the left, and others from the right, this forced him to concentrate, as after every strike, the arm would make one long arc and strike from the opposite direction.
"Hah!" Kaito used his arms, and legs to block, and counter each blow, until…
Bam! The right top arm and left bottom arm were coming at the same time, Kaito's brain couldn't find a way to block both unless...electricity began to gather around Kaito.
Thunderspar-
*BAM* the electricity gathering around Kaito dispersed as he lay on the ground exhausted.
"*Huff* *huff*
Clapping sounds could be heard but Kaito was beyond exhausted to look up,
"Not bad, not bad," Jiro applauded. You have made staggering progress in such a short amount of time. I'd say you're quite close to a legendary in terms of progress."
Despite being tired Kaito's eyes shined upon hearing the words…legendary.