Chapter 4 — The Dev Family
Morning sunlight crept slowly over the rooftops of the city.
The Dev residence, though not large, was lively from the early hours of the day.
From the kitchen came the gentle sound of chopping herbs.
From the courtyard came loud shouting.
And from the main hall came the sound of someone sighing repeatedly.
That person was Devendra Dev.
Former Tower Expedition Commander.
Current victim of two extremely energetic children.
"Again!" Arjun shouted.
"I almost hit you that time!"
Devendra rubbed his forehead.
"You almost hit the wall."
"That counts!"
"It does not."
Arjun swung his wooden staff again.
Devendra casually stepped aside.
The attack missed by such a large distance that even the wooden practice dummy looked embarrassed.
Kavya watched from the side while holding her crooked wooden sword.
"Brother," she whispered loudly to Aarav, "is Arjun blind?"
Aarav observed the situation calmly.
"Not blind."
"Just enthusiastic."
Arjun stopped swinging.
"I heard that!"
Devendra coughed.
"Focus."
"Strength without control is useless."
Arjun puffed out his chest.
"I have control!"
At that exact moment, he tripped over his own foot and fell into the practice dummy.
The dummy collapsed.
Arjun lay on the ground staring at the sky.
"…I meant emotional control."
Kavya burst into laughter.
Devendra pinched the bridge of his nose.
Aarav watched quietly from the stone steps.
Scenes like this were strangely fascinating to him.
In nine previous lives, training usually meant:
disciples kneeling for hours
masters shouting about dao comprehension
rivals trying to poison each other
Family training sessions filled with accidental dummy destruction were… refreshing.
Devendra noticed Aarav watching.
"You're very quiet today."
Aarav shrugged.
"I'm studying."
"Studying what?"
"Human behavior."
Devendra blinked.
"…You're ten."
"Exactly."
Devendra decided not to question that statement further.
Instead, he turned to Kavya.
"Your turn."
Kavya immediately stood proudly.
"Watch this!"
She performed the stance Aarav had shown her last night.
Left foot forward.
Right foot back.
Sword steady.
Devendra's eyes narrowed slightly.
That posture…
It looked surprisingly refined.
"Where did you learn that?"
Kavya pointed proudly.
"Brother taught me!"
Devendra slowly turned his head toward Aarav.
Aarav smiled politely.
"I read a book."
Devendra folded his arms.
"What book?"
Aarav thought for a moment.
"…Advanced Sword Principles."
"Author?"
"…Very mysterious."
Devendra stared at him for several seconds.
Then he sighed again.
"Fine."
"Show me the strike."
Kavya swung the wooden sword.
This time the movement was clean.
Direct.
Efficient.
Devendra caught the sword mid-swing.
"Hm."
He examined her posture carefully.
Then he glanced at Aarav again.
"…That technique is not from any academy manual."
Aarav scratched his cheek.
"Maybe it's from an old edition."
Devendra decided that questioning this strange child would only cause headaches.
"Continue practicing," he said.
Then he walked toward Aarav.
"Come with me."
They entered the study room inside the house.
The walls were lined with maps.
Most of them showed portal locations across the empire.
Several red markers indicated danger zones.
A large map of the nearest tower hung above the desk.
Devendra poured tea into two cups.
Aarav accepted his cup politely.
"You've been looking at the towers a lot lately," Devendra said.
Aarav nodded.
"They're interesting."
"That's one way to describe them."
Devendra sat down.
"I've explored three towers in my life."
Aarav leaned slightly forward.
"And?"
Devendra's expression became serious.
"They are not natural structures."
"Obviously."
Devendra raised an eyebrow.
"You say that very confidently."
Aarav took a sip of tea.
"Towers contain spatial compression."
"Multiple environments."
"Ancient language inscriptions."
"And reward mechanisms."
He placed the cup down.
"That's not something monsters build."
Devendra stared at him.
"…Where exactly did you read these books?"
Aarav smiled innocently.
"The library."
Devendra made a mental note to inspect that library later.
Because apparently it contained books capable of turning ten-year-olds into philosophers.
He stood up and walked toward the map.
"There's something else."
He pointed to several red circles on the map.
"These are portal zones."
"They've been increasing."
Aarav nodded slowly.
He already suspected that.
Portals appearing more frequently meant one thing.
The barrier between worlds was weakening.
In one of his previous lives, that phenomenon had led to a massive war between two civilizations.
Millions died.
Aarav hoped this world was not heading toward the same fate.
But hope rarely mattered in cultivation worlds.
Preparation did.
Devendra crossed his arms.
"You asked about towers yesterday."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Aarav thought for a moment.
Then he answered honestly.
"Because they might connect different worlds."
Silence filled the room.
Devendra looked at him carefully.
"…That's a dangerous theory."
Aarav shrugged.
"So are monsters appearing through portals."
Devendra rubbed his chin.
"Some scholars believe the same thing."
"They say towers might be…"
He hesitated.
"Gateways."
Aarav nodded.
"Most likely."
Devendra suddenly laughed.
"If that's true, then one day other civilizations might walk through those gates."
Aarav smiled faintly.
"They already have."
Devendra froze.
"…What?"
Aarav quickly corrected himself.
"I mean monsters."
Devendra narrowed his eyes.
"Right."
Monsters.
Definitely monsters.
He decided not to pursue the topic further before this conversation became even stranger.
"Anyway," he said.
"You should focus on normal studies."
"Even without cultivation, knowledge can still be valuable."
Aarav nodded.
"Of course."
Knowledge was exactly what made him dangerous.
Nine lifetimes worth of it.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen…
Meera Dev was dealing with a completely different problem.
"Kavya."
"Yes, Mother?"
"Why is there dirt on your sword?"
Kavya hesitated.
"…I attacked a cabbage."
Meera blinked.
"You attacked a cabbage."
"Yes."
"…Why?"
"It looked suspicious."
Meera sighed.
Raising two future cultivators was going to be exhausting.
Later that evening, the entire family gathered for dinner.
The table was filled with simple but delicious food.
Herb soup.
Rice.
Roasted vegetables.
Arjun immediately started eating like a starving tiger.
Devendra stopped him.
"Slow down."
Arjun spoke with his mouth full.
"I'm cultivating!"
"Eating is not cultivation."
"It builds body strength!"
Aarav nodded thoughtfully.
"That's technically correct."
Devendra groaned.
"Don't encourage him."
Kavya suddenly raised her sword.
"I will become the strongest sword master!"
Arjun slammed the table.
"I will punch monsters!"
Meera smiled gently.
"And what will you become, Aarav?"
Everyone looked at him.
Aarav thought for a moment.
In his previous lives, he had been many things:
Sword Emperor.
Array Sovereign.
Soul Monarch.
But in this life…
He looked at his family.
Then he smiled.
"I'll become the one who keeps all of you alive."
Devendra laughed loudly.
"That's a big responsibility for someone who can't cultivate."
Aarav shrugged.
"I like difficult challenges."
Outside the house, the wind blew softly.
Far above the clouds…
A faint distortion appeared in the sky.
A portal.
Small.
Unstable.
But growing.
And somewhere beyond that portal…
Another world waited.
One that Aarav Dev had already seen before.