"Oh, really?" Xan asked, genuinely surprised." You didn't need to do it."

"Of course I needed it. If not, you will remain a weakling, and I will not allow my disciple to be weak. But I must admit that even though it was a stupid idea, I liked seeing you try to advance faster with the energy coins. At least you show initiative when cultivating, which is an essential quality if you aim toward the top." Rad said as he dropped the food bag on the kitchen table.

"I thought talent and discipline would be much more important," Xan said as he sat in one of the table's chairs.

"Don't misunderstand my words, kid. You can't get anywhere without those, but once you reach a certain level, the capacity to create new techniques or modify the ones you already have is much more relevant. Are you familiar with the "Theory of the Ever-Changing Phases," or have you ever heard of it?" Rad asked, only to find Xan looking at him, completely confused." My bad, sometimes I forget I'm the only one who has taught you cultivation. Well, it doesn't matter. Just keep your eyes open, and if you ever find something you don't understand, try to learn from it until you either realize it is useless or knows how to use it to your benefit."

"I will do my best," Xan replied, not wholly understanding what Rad was saying.

"Great. Now it is time for us to decide when you will start your fighting training." Rad replied with a smile.

"Fighting training? Already? I have yet to clean my dantian." Xan said, surprised.

"Cultivators start learning how to fight from much earlier than cultivating. After all, you may be a genius, but if you don't know how to use that strength to your benefit, you will end up losing against someone much weaker than you. For example, my age doesn't allow me to use all my power, but thanks to my fighting experience, I can still beat the ass of most youngsters around my cultivation stage." Rad said, head high.

"Make sense. When are we starting then?"

"Practicing inside the fortress will be difficult without raising suspicion, so we must do it outside. Our best possibility is to go out at night, to the nearby forest. There we shouldn't have anyone disturbing us as long as we manage to get out unnoticed." Rad explained." I can easily sneak away, but you must find a way to leave undetected."

"But security is much higher at night than it is at day. How I'm supposed to evade all guards when they are mighty cultivators?" Xan complained.

"First of all, they are not that powerful. Once you grow a little stronger, you will find the security of this fortress laking outside the two inner areas. And second, you don't have to leave unnoticed. You only need to make sure no one suspects you are doing something weird. Make up some excuses that can easily explain why you are leaving late."

"Like what?"

"Anything that doesn't seem weird for someone your age. You could say you are going to the village to flirt with some girls. I don't know. You have to decide by yourself. After all, you are the one who knows you best."

"Ok, I'll think about something."

"Great, after you have decided, you will have to go out a few times to do whatever you choose to say. After all, there is a possibility that the Yellow Blood Family suspects something and sends someone to follow you and check if you have told the truth. After the first few days, I will follow you to check if anyone is spying on you, and if there isn't, then we will start your training." Rad explained his plan."And now, let's get started. I want to teach you some things about cultivation before it is too late." Rad said seriously.

"Too late for what?" Xan asked curiously.

"Too late to go to sleep. I'm old, kid. I don't have as much energy as you youngsters have, and I need to sleep if I don't want to be irritable the whole time, so you better not waste my time, or you won't like what will happen next."

"But if you are irritable when you don't sleep, how are we supposed to do night battle practices?" Xan asked, realizing the apparent contradiction.

"Well, that's your problem, not mine," Rad replied while laughing.

After that, they started exchanging questions and answers that helped Xan expand his cultivation knowledge.