After that day, it was announced to the whole clan that the newborn of the Skye family had a five ci aptitude, second only to the Patriarch.
The small merchant family received lots of visits and congratulations, even from neighboring clan.
Obviously, the neighboring clans had no good intentions, but seeing as Clem was an Initial Advanced Stage Cultivator alongside two Core Advanced Stage Cultivators as guards made them unable to do anything.
A month later, the chaos had subsided and they no longer received pleasantry visits. Seraph could now walk on his own and even say a few words like "Mama" and "Papa", much to his family's delight.
And as planned, he would always sneak up on Yelena whenever she was reading a cultivation manual to get a glimpse.
At first, the wordings looked like the writings of a mad man. It was utterly nonsense. Seraph felt helpless but continued trying. Slowly, he began to understand the words written in the manual.
Seeing that he was understanding the contents, he began to doubt his own sanity. However, he ignored that doubtful part of him and secretly began to cultivate.
The result was impressive. He realized that he just needed to channel spiritual energy into his meridians. The process was ethereal and supernatural. Spiritual energy would bypass his flesh and flow into his body, attracted as soon as his meridians opened up.
'So Cultivation is the act of opening the meridians to absorb spiritual energy in the air.'
On that note, he was making steady progress. The other part was in his own 'character' and 'self'. This time, he was able to feel emotions, and even revel in them, even though he was still an emotionless man at heart. It felt like a layer filled with emotions had covered his emotionless soul, making him appear like a fictional character he despised.
Douma—Upper Moon Two from the Demon Slayer Anime.
That character was emotionless just like him, but could imitate the emotions of the people around him. This was something Stephen Clark couldn't do. So Douma became a figure of admiration and envy in his life as Stephen.
'How ironic...'
Seraph smiled wistfully while stealing a glance at the manual before him. He didn't bother reading it aloud because Yelena was beside him. Instead, he showed childlike curiosity while memorizing the texts on the book.
Yelena didn't mind. If anything, she was happy that her younger brother was staying with her and pretending to 'mimic' her reading. She found it funny.
Suddenly curious, Seraph asked Halo a quick question.
'Why do I have a seven ci aptitude? I refuse to believe I was born into a body of an unparalleled genius. That's illogical.'
His reply came immediately after.
["Sigh. It seems your ability to feel emotions have complicated matters. You're using the phrase 'refuse to believe'? Amazing."]
The system mocked.
["However, I'll humor you. Indeed you weren't born into a super talented body or anything. To keep it simple, Talent is a combination of a person's body constitution and their comprehensive abilities. You're the epitome of the word 'genius' on earth, so your comprehensive abilities are monstrous."]
["Take the cultivation manual for example, an ordinary child is only supposed to start learning at the age of five. Not one. Simply put, your talent is 'heaven-defying' according to the standards of this world. I'd wager that your talent surpasses even that seven ci used to measure it."]
Seraph was quite surprised. Not by the information he received, but by Halo's generosity in answering his question and its chatty attitude.
'Oh? I didn't expect you to be an extrovert. Were you always lonely?' He teased, something he learnt from his father.
["..."]
Seeing that the system no longer replied to him, he ignored it and continued reading the manual.
After two weeks of cultivation, he finally became a cultivator. Immediately, he was transported into his mind space.
[Ding! You have become an Initial Beginner Stage Cultivator]
This somewhat surprised him. In just two weeks, he had already become a cultivator? It seemed too easy. Halo offered an explanation a moment later.
["This is because your body is attuned to absorbing the purest spiritual energy available, making you advance faster."]
"Oh? Does that mean I can become a Core Beginner Stage Cultivator in another two weeks?"
Even though he asked the question, he already knew the answer. Despite knowing this, Halo still answered.
["No. As cultivation increases, so does it's difficulty. You might need a month or more to become a Core Beginner Stage Cultivator."]
["Also, don't forget the case of spiritual energy. What you will need to advance into the next level will far surpass this, so it might even extend to a year before you breakthrough. That said, you should definitely halt cultivation and instead try to develop your body."]
"Why is that?"
["Hmph! Pretending to not know? I'll enlighten your foolish mind. Rushing cultivation without stabilizing your foundation could cause a great backlash. Especially when you're in a fragile body like this."]
["So you better stop cultivating until you're four years old and stabilize yourself. Building a firm foundation is important in the long run."]
Seraph understood Halo's concern and nodded. He wasn't too interested in dying again. Especially not this early.
"Alright, I'll accept your suggestions."
_______
Four years passed in a flash, and it was finally time for Seraph to start attending school. Kara was reluctant to leave her son for hours everyday, but Clem convinced her that it was for the best.
Thankfully, the school was in the clan, led by Elder Cassius.
On his first day, Yelena took him to the school building, with several other children of his age also there.
After receiving a tight hug from the ten year-old girl, he walked through the gates. The girl had just graduated after spending five years in the school. Also, she was already a Core Beginner Stage Cultivator.
Walking through the field with his backpack in hand, Seraph received several gazes from the other kids. He was quite a popular kid, being one of the two kids in the clan with a five ci aptitude. At least that was what everyone knew. Accompanied with his unusual eyes and dazzling looks, even adults would take time to admire him.
"Ah! There you are!"
Suddenly, an excited voice made him turn around.
Standing behind him was a girl in blue robes, her bright blue eyes as clear as a lake. She had braided silver hair and a cute face.
"?"
Noticing that Seraph was confused, the girl skipped towards him and introduced herself.
"Hey! My name is Ariana Moonveil."
From her crude introduction and clothes, Seraph quickly deduced her origins. Moonveil? That was the name of the family leading the clan.
'So she's the Patriatch's daughter rumored to have a five ci aptitude too.'
"Seraph Skye."
He introduced himself with a small, omnipresent smile at his lips.
'But wait, isn't she just four years old?'
After all, she had been born a year after him. So it definitely wasn't time for her to get enrolled in school.
"Why did you want to see me?" Curious, he asked.
Ariana didn't mind his question and answered. "Daddy always speaks so highly of you. So I wanted to see you myself. However, he said I should stay at home and cultivate instead of—"
Seraph cut her off. "You can already cultivate?"
"Ah!" She exclaimed in panic upon realizing she had divulged a secret. Seeing this, Seraph shook his head helplessly.
She looked around, and seeing the others far away, she lowered her voice. "This big brother shouldn't tell anyone, okay? Daddy asked me to keep it a secret."
Just as he was about to nod, she continued.
"Hehe, and if you run your mouth, daddy will personally flog you."
He couldn't help but reel from her, his expression skeptical.
Wasn't she just begging him now? And she suddenly switched to threats? His lips twitched.
"Good. I believe this Big Brother understands my words. Anyway, I'll be coming to this school once in a while to see you until I enter school next year." She grinned playfully. "Bye, bye! I'm going home to cultiv— Ah!"
Realizing she had almost slipped again, she covered her mouth and looked around. Too embarrassed to face Seraph, she hurried away with her short legs.
Seraph shook his head, then resumed walking to class. That girl had delayed him for some minutes. Suddenly, the hidden 'extrovert' in Halo spoke to him.