Dawn spread slowly across the mountains behind them while cold wind drifted through the clearing. Neto stepped back before folding his arms across his chest once more.
"Your body is finally prepared," he said. "Which means the easy part is over."
Shadow let out a tired breath through his nose. "You say that every few months."
"Because every few months you discover I was right."
Despite himself, Shadow almost smiled.
Neto's expression gradually settled again afterward.
The next morning arrived beneath cold gray skies and steady mountain wind. Shadow sat across from Neto near the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley while several worn scrolls rested open between them, held in place beneath smooth stones to keep the pages from shifting.
For once there were no weapons in sight. No drills. No running. Only the sound of wind moving through the mountains below.
"You've spent the last two years strengthening your body and stabilizing your mana," Neto said. "Now you need to understand where you actually stand in the cultivation world."
Shadow nodded slightly, his attention already fixed on the diagrams spread across the parchment.
Neto tapped the first section of one scroll. "Cultivation is divided into planes. Each plane marks a qualitative change in the body and spirit of a cultivator."
"The Mortal Plane comes first," Shadow said while studying the text. "Then Awakened. Then Supreme."
Neto glanced at him briefly. "You've been reading ahead."
Shadow ignored the comment. "How many planes are there?"
"Nine known planes. Mortal Plane. Awakened Plane. Supreme Plane. Sage Plane. Great Sage Plane. Overlord Plane. Supreme Overlord Plane. Half God Plane. And finally, the True God Plane."
Even hearing the names carried weight.
"And each has stages?"
"The lower planes do," Neto replied. "Mortal, Awakened, and Supreme all contain nine stages each. Once a cultivator reaches the Sage Plane, progression changes."
"How?"
"The middle planes no longer advance through simple mana accumulation alone." Neto pointed toward the latter sections of the scroll. "Sage and above require qualitative transformation. Rare resources. Pills. Treasures. Insight. Some cultivators remain trapped at those bottlenecks for centuries."
Shadow absorbed that quietly while studying the structure of the chart laid out before him.
"So the lower planes build the foundation," he said slowly, "and the middle planes refine it."
Neto's eyes lifted toward him briefly. "Correct."
Shadow noticed the shift immediately. "Most people don't think about it like that, do they?"
"Most people focus on strength first," Neto answered. "You're paying attention to the structure behind it."
Shadow lowered his eyes toward the scroll again. "If the middle planes depend on transformation instead of accumulation, then flaws in the lower planes would become harder to fix later."
Neto studied him a moment longer before nodding once. "Exactly."
The wind shifted sharply across the cliffside while silence settled briefly between them.
Shadow eventually asked the question lingering most heavily in his mind. "Where am I?"
"2nd Stage of the Mortal Plane."
The answer hit harder than Shadow expected.
"Only second?"
"You started almost from nothing," Neto replied calmly. "Archibald delayed your cultivation long enough that your body spent years underdeveloped compared to others your age."
Shadow's jaw tightened slightly. "How far behind am I?"
"Most twelve-year-olds with average talent and proper training are already approaching the 8th Stage of the Mortal Plane."
The words settled heavily into his chest.
Six stages behind.
After two years of brutal training.
Shadow stared toward the valley below while frustration and determination mixed quietly beneath the surface.
Neto watched him carefully before continuing. "That gap will close faster now that your foundation is stable. But you needed to understand the truth before moving forward."
Shadow remained silent for several moments before finally asking, "What stage are my parents?"
Neto exhaled slowly through his nose. "Your parents stand at the peak of the Half God Plane."
Shadow stared at him in silence.
Even understanding the cultivation hierarchy now, the statement still felt unreal.
"There are actually cultivators at that level?" he asked quietly.
"Very few," Neto answered. "And none known to have surpassed it."
His gaze drifted briefly toward the mountains beyond the valley. "The True God Plane is only known because of ancient records discovered within forgotten ruins, collapsed sects, and remnants left behind by civilizations older than most kingdoms still standing today."
Shadow lowered his eyes toward the scrolls again, the scale of the world suddenly feeling far larger than before.
"And my parents reached that level?"
"The peak of the Half God Plane," Neto corrected calmly. "Which already places them beyond the reach of almost every cultivator alive."
The answer only deepened the scale of everything Shadow still didn't understand.
Neto tapped another section of the scroll before continuing. "There's another rule tied to your family that you need to know now."
Shadow looked back toward him immediately.
"Every direct descendant sent into the outside world is expected to return before the age of twenty-five," Neto said. "And by then they must have reached at least the 6th Stage of the Supreme Plane."
Shadow almost thought he misheard him.
"The Supreme Plane?"
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"For ordinary cultivators, it would be."
Shadow stared at him. "And if they fail?"
"The family no longer recognizes them as direct heirs."
The calmness in Neto's voice somehow made the rule feel even harsher.
Shadow lowered his gaze toward the scrolls again, thoughts turning rapidly through everything he had just learned. "How long does it normally take people to reach the Supreme Plane?"
"Decades for most."
Shadow looked back up immediately. "Then how is this even possible?"
"Because the standards of powerful families are not built around ordinary cultivators."
The answer lingered heavily between them.
After several moments, Shadow finally pointed toward another diagram branching outward across the parchment. "What are these?"
"Mana pathways."
Neto shifted slightly closer to the scroll.
"When cultivators absorb mana, they gradually create internal pathways that allow mana to circulate through the body more efficiently."
Shadow studied the branching lines carefully. "Like veins."
"Very similar."
Neto traced one of the larger pathways with his finger. "Most cultivators make the same mistake early. They focus on building larger pathways because larger pathways allow greater mana output during the beginning stages."
"But there's a downside."
"Yes."
Shadow's silver eyes narrowed slightly while studying the diagram.
"Larger pathways would carry more strain through fewer channels," he said slowly. "That means they'd hit their limits earlier."
Neto's expression shifted subtly as he regarded him. "Exactly."
Shadow leaned slightly closer toward the parchment.
"The stronger approach would be creating more pathways instead. Smaller channels spread evenly across the body. Harder to build initially, but better long term."
Neto rested a hand against the scroll while considering him more carefully now.
"Most cultivators spend years before understanding that."
Shadow frowned slightly. "It just makes sense."
"It makes sense because you're analyzing the structure instead of chasing short-term strength."
Neto tapped the thinner pathways branching throughout the diagram.
"The ideal foundation is to create enough pathways that mana circulation eventually mirrors the body's natural blood vessels as closely as possible. It's extraordinarily difficult and painfully slow, which is why most cultivators abandon the process early."
Shadow's eyes lowered toward the scroll again.
"But if the pathways become denser, mana control improves too."
"Yes."
"And body reinforcement would become more stable."
"Yes."