Training was not the only form of lessons they had. After stowing away the alchemy pills Father had given him, Wu Jian and Wu Meiying split up and traveled to their respective lessons.

Wu Jian’s lessons were on etiquette, geography, arithmetic, reading, and writing. Because he was the heir of the Wu Clan, he would eventually succeed his father—of course, that was assuming no one challenged him for the position. This normally meant he would also begin taking lessons on governance and finance. However, because he was still young and members of the clan considered him weak, he only took the basic courses required of him as a member of the clan.

Etiquette classes were particularly grueling. Everyone was required to follow certain rules, based on their strength, social status, and age; sitting, walking, and even eating all had strict criteria and manners you needed to watch depending on these factors.

“I’m sure you know this already, but a person’s social status isn’t just based on wealth. It is based on strength. The strength of the individual and the strength of the clan. Both are factors in determining one’s status.”

The person giving him this lecture was Wu Taohua—his father’s second wife. Wu Jian didn’t know much about her, other than that she had married into the clan. She was a mystery to both him and the others. That said, there was no denying both her strength and her knowledge. Rumor had it that Wu Taohua was on the cusp of breaking through to the Anima Realm. That was excellent considering his father was the strongest person in Zahn City at the Anima Realm’s ninth subrealm.

“The strength of a clan is obvious,” Wu Taohua continued as she paced back and forth across his vision, her snow white face stern and uncompromising. “The stronger a clan is, the more prestige it has within its country. Powerful clans and families are relied upon by the Emperor to protect the kingdom’s interests. If a foreign nation were to ever invade, it would be the responsibility of the kingdom’s clans to defend the land.”

“What about sects?” asked Wu Yong.

Wu Jian and Wu Yong were the only people present for this lesson. That was because they were both Wu Yōushì’s children. One of them would go on to become the clan head, and while Wu Jian had a leg up because he was the son of Father’s first wife, that did not mean he was guaranteed the position.

The stronger person would get that honor.

Strength was everything.

That was the lesson Wu Taohua was teaching them right now.

“Sects are even more powerful than clans,” Wu Taohua admitted, nose wrinkled in distaste. “That is because they are not made up of a single clan or family, but many families, clans, and individuals who have combined their might in order to gather even more power for themselves. However, because sects are made of so many disparate parties, they are not as cohesive as families like our Wu Clan is. That said, there are sects in this world that have even more power than a country, and it is often considered incredibly prestigious to have a member of your clan join one. The benefits from joining a sect can be very… lucrative for the clan.”

Wu Jian had the feeling that Wu Taohua did not like sects very much. He wondered what the reason was, but put that out of his mind. It was none of his business.

“So we should aim to join a sect if we can?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Taohua shook her head. “It would greatly benefit the clan if any of you could join a sect, but the chances of that happening are slim. No sect would bother coming to Zahn City because it’s too small. The most you could hope for would be to join the National Imperial Academy, which is funded by the Shang Kingdom’s royal family. They come here once every year to accept and test applicants who wish to join. We have had several members of the clan join the National Imperial Academy, including your father.”

The National Imperial Academy was an institute with the primary purpose of creating strong cultivators that would battle against foreign invaders for the sake of the Shang Kingdom. It was controlled by the royal family and was similar to a sect. Quite a few families were also prominent members of the academy, but all of them lived in the royal capital from what Wu Jian told him.

Wu Taohua informed them there was a good chance one of them would attend this institute once the clan head was decided upon. However, only people who had already reached the Hunger Realm were allowed to join, meaning they needed to be at least sixteen-years-old before they could think of entering.

After Wu Taohua’s lesson, Wu Yong and Wu Jian went their separate ways. Neither of them said a word to each other. The challenge had already been issued and everything would be decided in six months.

Wu Jian met up with Wu Meiying at the library, greeted Grandpa Son, and requested him to grab several books on alchemy. While Grandpa Son gave them a confused look, he still relented and found the books for them.

“How were your lessons?” asked Wu Jian as he and Wu Meiying settled down together.

“Boring. They were so boring, I thought I was gonna die of boredom,” Wu Meiying complained. “All they did was teach us how to properly apply makeup and the importance of looking attractive to catch ourselves a man to marry. But I already have you, so none of that means anything to me.”

“Yeah. I can’t see that being very useful. And you’re already the prettiest girl in our clan anyway.”

“Exactly! Heh heh. You always know what to say to make me happy.” Wu Meiying’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink as she smiled.

They were seated at a table, their feet dangling almost a foot off the floor. There were only three books in front of them. These books were all on alchemy, and they were the only books their clan had on the subject. Wu Jian was looking through them, trying to find the pills Father had given him so he could know what they did.

“I would have much rather joined you for your lessons,” Wu Meiying continued whistfully.

“No, you wouldn’t. They were just as boring,” Wu Jian said as he flipped to another page. He winced as his ribs flared up. They were still tender from where Wu Yong had beaten him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It only hurts a little bit.”

“Hmmm. If you say so. But anyway, I would rather learn about traditions and world history than how to apply makeup.”

“I guess I understand where you are coming from.”

Each book contained a list of various alchemy pills that were available in today’s market, though Wu Jian was sure most of them weren’t available in Zahn City. This book was something Father had bought during a business trip outside of the city. Each page contained information about a specific pill along with a painting showing off what the pill looked like.

“Have you found the pill that Uncle Yōushì gave you?”

“Not yet. I’m still searching through—oh! I think I found it.”

The page he had flipped to contained a painting showing off a smooth green pill that appeared to be gleaming like it was made of glass. It looked exactly like the pills inside of the box Father had given him.

“Let’s see,” Wu Meiying murmured as she leaned over and read the contents out loud. “It’s called the Bone Hardening Pill. It says here that it’s a First-Tier Pill that helps cultivators build strong bones.” Wu Meiying looked around, then leaned into Wu Jian and whispered in his ear. “Uncle Yōushì must have heard about how your ribs were broken during training and decided to give you these to help build strong bones so they wouldn’t break so easily.”

“Probably,” Wu Jian agreed. “Anyway, it says here that it’s a First-Tier Pill. I suppose that means there are more tiers.”

“Let’s find out,” Wu Meiying said.

The two closed the book listing alchemy pills and grabbed the one titled A Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy. The crinkling of aged paper echoed around them as they flipped to the first page. Faded yellow with age, the paper looked like it might break if they weren’t careful. Wu Jian tentatively flipped from one page to the next.

Wu Meiying hummed. “Hmmm. According to this book, there are ten tiers for alchemists. The First-Tier is the beginner tier and the Tenth-Tier is the grandmaster tier. Pills are also categorized by tiers and in order for an alchemist to move up to the next tier, they have to prove they can refine a pill at the next tier up, meaning a First-Tier alchemist needs to be capable of refining Second-Tier pills to be considered an adept. The alchemist ranks are Indium, Silver, Rhenium, Palladium, Osmium, Iridium, Ruthenium, Gold, Platinum, and Rhodium.” She paused. “How intriguing.”

“Do you think I could be an alchemist?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying shook her head. “You need to have a natural affinity for the wood and fire elements to become an alchemist. Something tells me you don’t have those.”

Wu Jian didn’t know where Wu Meiying got her confidence from, but he believed she was probably right. That was kind of sad though. Alchemists were held in even higher honor than Cultivators because of their rarity. If he became one, he would undoubtedly bring great honor to the Wu Clan.

The two continued reading until it was time for dinner.

***

Later that night, Wu Jian had the servants fill his bath with hot water.

All members of the main clan had a bath in their rooms, though his was simply a large wooden tub that could be stowed away in a closet space next to his bedroom. The servants brought out the tub, filled it with water, and a cultivator with the fire element heated the water for him. He thanked everyone for their help and only turned back to the tub after the servants bowed and left.

Stripping down, Wu Jian set his clothes aside, opened the box, and grabbed one of the pills. The strong medicinal scent mixed with the heat of the tub and made him light-headed. It felt like all the blood was rushing to his head, creating an exhilarating euphoria. He thought he could feel the scent pervading his body and latching onto his bones, but maybe that was just his imagination.

He did as his father instructed and dropped the pill into the tub after climbing in himself. Sitting with his legs crossed, he closed his eyes and tried to enter a meditative state. The instructions on how to absorb the minerals from the pill stated that he needed to have a perfectly calm mind that would allow his body to subconsciously absorb the ingredients through his pores.

Achieving a calm mind was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Wu Jian’s thoughts flitted to and fro like agile sparrows flitting through the branches of a great tree. He had a lot to think about; Wu Meiying, his father, Wu Yong, and the challenge that would take place in six months. Would he be able to win? Could he defeat elder half-brother? He was very worried that he wouldn’t be able to win, and about what would happen should he lose? Wu Jian didn’t believe he would be able to grow stronger if he couldn’t overcome Wu Yong. Something told him losing would give him a sequelae he would never be able to recover from.

And if that happened, Wu Meiying would disappear from his life. She would be taken away.

He did not want that.

Furrowing his brow, Wu Jian recalled the lessons he had learned on meditation. There were seven steps to meditation: Take a seat, set a time limit, notice your body, feel your breath, notice when your mind has wandered, be kind to your wandering mind, and close with kindness. He had already taken a seat, but he hadn’t set a time limit. Wu Jian decided to do that now.

He would meditate for thirty minutes.

Wu Jian focused on his body. His ribs ached, but they were feeling a lot better now than they had before. He wondered if that was because of the Bone Hardening Pill. He discarded the thought seconds later. Not only could Wu Jian feel the ache in his ribs, but he could feel each of his individual toes as he sat with his legs crossed. His fingers had formed a hand seal without him realizing it. The hand seal was called Dhyana. It was one of several hand seals all cultivators were taught from a young age to help them focus.

A trickle of sweat trailed down his neck and collar bone.

Next, he focused on his breathing. In. Hold for five seconds. Out. He counted the number of breaths he took. He followed the sensation of his breathing as it traveled from his nose to his chest, then out of his mouth.

His thoughts wandered to Wu Meiying. She would be arriving after he finished bathing. He remembered how they used to take baths together, but Father had put a stop to that after they turned six. Thinking back on it, he didn’t actually know how old Wu Meiying was. She had been found in a basket as a baby, but they had no idea how many months old she had been at the time, which meant she may be older or younger than him by a few months at least.

Shaking his head as he realized he was losing focus, Wu Jian recentered himself—and that was when he noticed it. He felt different now than he had moments before. It was a hard to describe sensation. If he had to put how he felt into words, he would have said that he felt slightly heavier but also sturdier. Was this a result of the Bone Hardening Pill?

Like that, thirty minutes passed.

With a soft sigh, Wu Jian opened his eyes.

He blinked when another pair of eyes appeared right in front of his face.

“Working hard?” asked Wu Meiying with a grin.

“When did you get here?” he asked in return.

“A while ago,” Wu Meiying admitted. She was crouching by the tub with her hands on her cheeks. The bright grin on her face was filled with mischief. “I see you’ve managed to absorb all the medicinal ingredients. If you keep doing that, your bones should become much stronger. That will help you train harder too. Stronger bones means you can put more stress on them.”

“Here’s to hoping,” Wu Jian said.

He stood up and stepped out of the tub. Wu Meiying also stood up and grabbed a towel, which she gave to him. The cold air made Wu Jian shiver, but he quickly dried off as Wu Meiying grabbed his sleepwear—a white hanfu made of thick cotton. She handed it to him once he was dry, and he put it on.

“How do your ribs feel?” asked Wu Meiying after they had settled down on his bed.

“They feel better,” Wu Jian admitted. “I think they might even be completely healed.”

“You should still take it easy tomorrow, but I think you can begin training the day after.”

Wu Jian grimaced. “I don’t want to waste even a single day though…”

“Hmph. This is what you get for being reckless. I know I told you that you need to get stronger, but I didn’t say you could act like an idiot and get yourself hurt.”

“…I have nothing to say in my defense. Please forgive me.”

Their banter continued until they both felt tired and decided to sleep. As Wu Jian closed his eyes, the last thing he saw was the girl he loved closing her eyes as she leaned into him.