The morning lights shine through the Willow Tree leaves and enter my eyes and the fresh breeze of this cool day chills my new bedroom. I stand up, rinse my teeth and dress myself. Dad is eating breakfast at the table inside the small pagoda by the lake. All of this courtyard resembles a japanese garden from my previous life, but the workmanship of the carvings in the bridge over the lake and the pagoda are much more exquisite, at least for me who likes carving of dragons and phoenixes.

"Morning, enjoying your tea Dad?" I say with a sarcastic tone, I've grown used to making fun of him for drinking tea for breakfast as only noble ladies have this habit. Specially if they use the traditional tea cerimony of the Empire.

"Shut up and eat your food" he says and angrily throws a nut a me, which I would have managed to catch if he hadn't used his Will to control the nut to go into my mouth. I almost choked, but I could see Dad out of the corner of my eye laughing at my face, covered in tears and muces.

After I almost died Dad gives me a handkerchief so I clean my face and start eating while staring at his disgustingly handsome smirk. At least I only got his features, not his habit of annoying people to death.

"Your old man will be sad if you continue staring at him like that." stop acting like you've been wronged...

I stand up after finishing breakfast, but Dad stops me from training my Battle Skills as we're going to the Academy right now. I didn't think we would go this early, but it's a good thing as I'm really excited to go there.

We leave the manor and walk there by the main avenue. The stores are not open yet as many of them have products target at the noble population of the city, who don't usually go shopping early. However, the ones who are opened are packed with people eating and chatting surround by a warm atmosphere.

This city is in many ways similar to the ones in my previous life, but also different. I stop thinking about the past and focus on the Seven Elements Academy in front of me. It's huge gate between two crystalline pillars give it are fancy aura and invoke curiosity in the ones who try to look inside.

Dad flashes a token to the guards who respectfully open the gates. On the simple gravel path a old man stands with his hands behind his back, his figure was small and yet firm; like a small mountain.

"It's been some time, Robbie." the old man's gaze towards Dad looks like a father looking at a son coming home; maybe I should call the old man "grandpa"?

"I'm sorry. After Helena left and Andrew's disease flared up I just shunned you out of our lives, I'm really sorry.". The guilty tone Dad speaks in makes me feel my guess was spot on, or at least close. I bow to the old man, presumably my grandpa, to which he just hugs me and pinchs my cheeks.

"You little devil, letting this old man alone for ages. Don't you have any shame?" now I know why Dad is the way he is...

"I'm sorry, grandpa" I try my best to talk while he's pinching my cheeks with ferocity. However his quick change of attitude caughts me off guard as he just starts to crush me in his embrace and laughs like thunder reverberate in my ears.

"See, Robbie? This is what a good kid is like, you were a terrible child to raise. Kiddo, even if we're not related by blood, you can call me grandpa as much as you want."

His smile is just like Dad's, warm and with a hint of doting behind it. I never had a grandfather, be it in this life or my previous one. This is the first time I've felt the love of the elder generation, it's similar to a parent's love, but without any restrains for fear of the consequences of excessive doting.

We chat as we walk to the biggest build in the whole Academy, the Tower of Elders. It's where grandpa and the other important figures who manage the school live in, and also where the major decisions are made. When we enter the building the majestic circular walls and stairways make the whole space feel gigantic, like everything in the Academy. I'm awed by the aesthetic sense of the ones who made this place, truly amazing.

"Pretty cool isn't it, kid? Robbie was also stupefied by this little tower when I first brought him here."

We walk up the stairs and slowly reach the top floor. The golden door in front of us opens as Grandpa waves his sleeve at it, Gramps sure is cool. The room inside is extremely spacious, resembling a training facility. I can kinda guess why they brought me here.

"Son, demonstrate the Battle Skill I taught you."

"But I don't have my sword"

"Stupid. Battle Skills are fixed to a weapon, but your understandings of the Laws and it's concepts are not, use your body as your sword."

Seems simple enough. It's just the first step to comprehending any type of weapon intent...

But no matter how absurd I think this is I still want to try it. I've always fantasized about using my fingers as swords. I walk to the center of the room, take a deep breath and let my body take my mind for a trip; simply letting my instinct take over everything.

The moves I engraved in my body were magnified as my heartbearts and breath give life to my sword. There's no more difference between my body and my sword; were one.

My demonstration continued for who knows how long, I lost sense of time and just went along with the flow. It only ended after all the moves of the Myriad Waters Sword Techniques were shown in something like a dance, my swordsmanship perfectly fusing with my footwork.

"Beautiful swordplay, it's even more fluid than your's, Robbie. However it doesn't have the same strength of your display when I taught you."

"Hmm, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Besides, he has a mind like water since young. What do you think about teaching him?"

"I'd already teach him even if you didn't ask me, I've taken a liking to this kiddo."

I can't hear what they are saying because of the Sound Transmission they're using, but I can roughly understand what the meaning is. I really hope I'm guessing right, although Dad is stronger than Grandpa now, he was the one taught by him, so Gramps teaching skills should be top notch, it would bee really great to have him as my master.

"Kid, would you take me as your master?"

"Yes, master!"

I kowtow as the traditional discipleship cerimony says, but Grandpa just helps me standing up saying these rites are pure bullshit. He gives me a evaluating look, making me worry if my clothes are appropried for the moment as I'm only using a tight fit white T-shirt and brown pants.

"I presume you don't know how my Academy works?"

"I have no idea."

"Alright, let's start with the basics. The schedule here is free, you do whatever you want with your time, be it cultivating, attending classes of various subjects or just sleeping. No one will control you, well, except me. So make the best use of your time, you'll only be allowed to be here for 10 years, for you that my sound like a lot however to real cultivator 10 years is but a second."

"Yes, Grandpa"

"Good, I'll have someone show you your dormitories, you'll live together with at least two others. Getting to know people is also part of the experience." he stops for a second and gives a look towards Dad, who just nods. Now lip reading once again becomes a useless skill. Grandpa grabs a jade stone from who knows where inside his robe and swiftly a young man in black appears by the door and drags me to the dormitories before I can say anything.

"Hey, dude, stop dragging me. I can walk just fine, you know?"

"Ah! Sorry, I was just too nervous to be in front of the Dean..."

For some reason I know he isn't lying, but it only makes me angrier. Who the hell drags someone for a hundred meters and several stair steps because he's nervous? Great, the first person I meet in the Academy is a fucking lunatic...

"Alright, alright. What's your name?"

"I'm Douglas Terrier, son of Marcus and Rosa" although I think 'like in the dog breed?', I just introduce myself in the same way he did.

"I'm Andrew Hawkins, son of Robertson and Helena"

Right now I'm kinda glad not many people of the younger generation are aware of Dad's name and what "House of Hawkins" means as it would be quite a big commotion if it was made known that the strongest cultivator of the region had returned to Rising Springs City.

"So, are you my dormmate?"

"Yeah, the Dean told me to go pick up our new dormmate so I went there as quickly as I could." it seems your nervousness vanished as quickly as you dragged me here... "Come in, I'll introduce you to Richard and Lyra, they just arrived from their classes"

I follow him as we enter the house I'll share with these 3 people for a long time, and the first thing I see is a young man smiling at me in a creepy way, and the tall girl next to him gazing curiously my face. The man has dark curly hair, green eyes, broad shoulders, a face more square than not and well toned muscles. He's a entire head taller than all of us, standing at around 180 centimeters I guess.

Just like me and Doggy by my side, the woman is about 170 centimeters tall, but her golden eyes and long jet black hair are like the works of a god, the same can be said about her sharp face and long eyebrows. If she lived in my previous world she'd be the most breathtaking person when she became an grown woman. Her innocent gaze is reminder that she's still a youth like the rest of us, not a goddess incarnated in the mortal plane.

"What's your name new guy?"

"I'm Andrew Hawkins, son of Robertson and Helena" I don't really like introducing myself like this, but I don't know how else to do it. However my discomfort in doing this is not really important compared to the adoration look I see on the girl when I say Dad's name.

"You're the son of the Swordsman of Infinite Rain?!" the girl, Lyra, almost burst my eardrums with her shout and pierces my soul with her gaze before she continues "Can I meet him?"

"Yeah, of course" better make this quick before she starts shouting again, my ears hurt... "But only if Dad doesn't want to meet you I can't do anything."

"Thank you!" she shouted again, but this time it was in sweet and clear voice, not the like the thunderous voice she used before. I feel my ears actually healing a bit just by hearing her words, unbelievable.

"Are you a healer?" I really want to know this as healers are also known as living treasures, from this nickname you can understand their importance.

"Of course, this great person is a great healer. Kneel down, peasants!" her answer doesn't surprise me, but her boasting tone does. However I should have known none of these people are normal, even the most normal person here has a creepy smile.

"Alright, alright. Let the guy breath for a second Lyra, okay? I presume Doug already said our names to you, so let's just skip the introductions. So, what about a spar?"

I was right, the most normal guy here's probably a fighting junkie. I can only sigh and concede as all of them just encourage me to come with them to the duel facilities of the Academy.

Richard grabs a guan dao from a weapon rack and I grab my usual and beloved jian sword. We both jump up to the 8x8 arena and go to opposite sides. I bow to him and he does the same, but before I can't prepare I hear Lyra shouting "Start!".

He comes at me quickly, but I don't think he's using Qi right now, so I start trying to get to his sides but he's agile enough to keep up with my footwork. I infuse my sword with Qi and perform the move that made my father famous, Infinite Rain. Multiple beams of Water-Qi travel towards him as I continuously thrust but he blocks some of them with his, now Qi infused, weapon and then dodges the other part, only a few of the beams reach his clothes, but I managed to slow him down.

His momentum died down however his confident smile hasn't faded away. He lowers his blade until it softly touches the ground, his movement rapidly change as the long blade of wind whistles when it leaves his weapon. I dodge it by a hair's breadth, but Richard started charging the moment he finished branding his guan dao and my body is almost at his weapon's reach. I decide to make a risky move.

I reach withing my Qi Pool and drag half of it's reserves and disperse it in the form of Water-Qi right in front of my feet, strengthening my arm with the purpose of "speed" I use my sword to shape a Water-Qi barrier in front of me, a cool trick Dad taught me. He thrust his guan dao through the barrier easily, but it lost great part of it's speed and power, making it easy for me to dodge it and quickly counterattack as I disperse a part of the barrier and freeze the other one that covers his arm. My thrust connects with his shoulder, however something feels odd, and it's then that I see his finger, covered in sharp Wind-Qi, aimed at my heart.

What boldness, sacrificed his shoulder for the opponents heart; I lost to a great fighter.

"You fought well, not many first years can draw some blood from me" his shoulder continues to bleed as we speak, however it isn't a really bad injure to him as I can feel the Qi he's using to heal the wound carries great vitality.

"Thanks, great move by the way" it really was a great move, not many would expect that kind determination to win in a fight.

"Don't mention it, I'm at the Qi Gathering 6th Stage but almost got beat by you, three stages lower than me. Your fighting skills are good, but you don't have much power in them. The same can be said about the speed of your attacks."

He continued to lecture me for an a while before we resumed our sparring session, my head hurts from all his monologue but it was really useful overall. He commented about every aspect of my fighting skills, both good and bad ones, and gave me suggestions on how to overcome my short comings.

After that, I sparred with Doggy. The fight was really boring as he just defended with his pole and tried to make me lose my balance by using his Earth-Qi to change the places I stepped on. It ended in a tie as both of us were just too tired to continue fighting. We ended up up returning to our dorm for a short break, now that I'm thinking about it, why didn't he lecture me in the dorm, but in this scalding summer sun?

The table in our courtyard was full of all sorts of delicacies which I had never seen before, even if I had already eaten breakfast I still wanted to have a taste of these. However Richard started teasing me as soon as I started devouring the food.

"Slow down, man. We ain't stealing your food." Doggy and Lyra laugh at my face covered in crumbs of various pastries, being laughed at by a dog and a goddess is not fun at all. I forcefully swallow the food in the mouth and mutter "I need energy to fight".

They burst out laughing at my wronged face and this was how my first day at the Academy went, surrounded by new friends.