[Happy birthday!] The peace and quiet of the morning was disrupted by the happy yelling of a certain family.

[Whaaaa!!. Guys you can't wake me up like that, my Soul almost left my body.... Thanks.] The three family members of Lu came in and hugged him wishing him well starting from the father.

[Brother, brother, I wish for your happiness and health, and wealth and~~ I don't know what do you want?!] Ask the little goofball, Peach, while giggling

[Oh you are so cute I want to pinch you to death.] Lu said while flashing a smile moving his hands towards her cheeks, the cheeks being so full that the cuteness they radiate can almost bring people back from the dead. 

[Hiiiii~~~ Noo! Mommy brother is going to kill me!] Yells the pipsqueak as she runs, playfully, to hide behind her mother long blue dress.

Lu makes the most disappointed face [Not even one? You are so cruel little sister, you won't fulfill this little wish even on my birthday?] Lu could feel his eyes almost tearing up , he himself was amazed by his acting abilities.

[Muuu~~~  fine!] {Stomp, stomp} Peach comes closer with 'big' steps and turns her head so her left cheek is exposed to Lu's claws.

Lu gets up caresses her cheeks and kisses her on the forehead. 

[Like I would let my beautifull lady suffer at the hands of any man!] He strikes a pose, trying to look valiant.

[Hehehehe~~~] The little girls starts laughing at her brother figure being accompanied by her mother and father, when amongst the laughter they all reach the kitchen where they sit and have a reach meal. Expensive meat and vegetables everywhere, with seasoning and other things to top it off.

'Who would have expected one year ago that I would be eating the 

Bloody boars meat, just for a birthday breakfast.' Thought Lu inside his head.

Indeed the Bloody boars is a delicacy but also a dangerous beast 

A grade 1 wild beast, equal to a level 2 Body strengthening cultivator. There are 4 grades of wild beasts, all in the body strengthening realm, though because of the inherent qualities of animals that are not humanoid the strength of a wild beast even as a grade 1 is terrifying for normal people. After Wild beasts are Monstrous beasts. They are numerous and cover many more ranks and grades.

Lu is now 8 years old. He still goes to school but the hours are less and the days he foes there are fewer, this was a deal made between Lu's parents and the headmaster of the school, Lu aslo spends a couple of hours every day being homeshooled to replace the time that he looses not going to school. But in the end the subjects that kids Lu's age do, other than the history of this world which is more like mythology, are too easy for a former twenty year old young adult. His sister being two and a half years old now, is still very young cute and innocent but Lu plans to help her begin cultivation earlier than others kids, he has asked more about it and it not seen as taboo to cultivate sooner.  'It turns out it just isn't anything that people don't think about seriously. They have thought to start sooner but since they fear it may interfere with the growth of the meridians so they stopped trying to test it. I mean who would want their child to test if it is possible to do so, taking the risk of potentially ruining their future prospects in cultivation.

The way Lu has thought about it so far doesn't do right to the importance it has on every level of human civilization. Every person that has a sliver of fame has a strong cultivation as well. The only people that don't strive for a strong cultivation are farmers and other low paid workers, meaning the biggest percentage of the population, that have given up on trying for many reasons, either their meridians were damaged, or they think they don't have the right, or the just don't have the hard working attitude or time to cultivate. The most usual and the reason why it is so sought after to have a talented kid and not just a normal talent is that the quality of talent needed changes drastically from the body strengthening stage. If every human can train with a little bit of effort to the peak of the Body Strenghtening stage then only one in ten thousand can go past that and continue on to the next stage.

As of today the store next door, Healing Heart is having it's sixth month anniversary. Having been split into two different styles. One side of the store still acts like a pharmacy and hospital, with many more pills and ointments and liquids to choose from, most of these new additions, were recipes that Lu bought at auctions made himself. While the other side of the store is the cosmetic section, everything is auctioned off, and the products have grown, to simpler items for the skin to non addictive drugs for giving energy to males and women alike, to different make up and other perfumes, along with bath bombs and liquid supplements to make the skin more supple.

The shop has exploded in popularity and into the business scene, the Youth Returning cream and Silky Passion being made in great amounts and sold of at more than 50 silver coins every box the price having constantly risen for the past year. Hundreds of rich ladies and gentlemen visit the store every day. Clearly the family is doing very well. Lu's house is even getting renovated after they bought the plot of land to the other side of the house. Now their property with the store having grown to more than 1500 square meters. 

Lu has bought many slaves, all of which exept for one have been trained and taught how to make the pills and creams and generally the alchemical concoctions that Lu thinks of. The production of them thus has skyrocketed. Lu has even made special deal with many powerful counts and marquees to sell these beautifying creams, outside of the auctions, the price being 30 silver for every single unit. 

'The money is great, I can do most of the thinks I want, I have never felt this much freedom in my spending in both lives combined, With Rolf here to protect me and act as a diplomat and intermediary I have nothing to fear, well not really but as long as I don't overstep the bounds that limit me because of my position in the social hierarchy then I have almost nothing to fear.'

Rolf is the slave that didn't learn two to make the products, not because he couldn't or because Lu didn't let him but because he wasn't bought for that purpose but for his status as a former accountant and diplomat for a duke and also for his strength as a Soul strengthening cultivator. This stage being the one that follows  the body strengthening stage. In this stage, thought the name is self explanatory, the soul and spirit is strengthened instead of the body.

[Rolf, can you tell me about the soul strengthening stage? Stuff like in how many levels is it separated and what happens in each level, the steps someone has to take... you know?] 

It was night and Lu had just finished another set of experiments, ready to go for a bath before sitting down and cultivation Lu asked this question. 

[ Well master, yes I can.] Answered the burly, tall, with well defined muscles man Rolf.

[There is no need for now to know a much since you haven't started cultivating but I will say some basic things none the less.

The first level is simple, all someone has to do is gather their Qi to their brain and circulate it. That way the soul will start getting strengthened. After steady accumulation the first barrier will be broken and the soul force will condense, though nothing much can be done with the miniscule amount of soul force, after the gather g and condensing of soul force repeats for a while another barrier will be broken  and it will be able to be controlled outside of the body. Oh by the way soul force is obviously the strength of the soul that can be harnessed by the person. It can do many many things end it is very often used by alchemy masters and blacksmiths and array masters and basically all the professions that specialize in the use of Qi use soul force. It is a very important prequisite to become any of those professions. With no offence and I may be overstepping my boundaries but your mother Misses Maria, most probably didn't have the talent needed to advance to the Soul strengthening her soul meaning that she can't use it in any degree.] 

After this extremely long winded explanation that was supposed to have no details Lu was trying hard to hide the emotions he was feeling, he certainly couldn't say that he probably has advanced his soul force more than the third  level of the Soul strengthening stage that Rolf mentioned at the end of his explenation.

[ No need to be so reserved It is obvious she didnt have the talent because my mother is only at the peak of body strengthening. Rolf, can I ask one more little question, is there no other way some one could have soul force that he can use or that can grow by itself?] 

Rolf raised a brow at the question but didn't really ponder over it.

[No master there are other ways as well. Someone could train in killing ways or leave a very hard and demanding life, anything that generally pits your life in a dangerous situation can lead, if someone survives from it, to the strengthening of the soul.

And so the rarest of cases is when a baby is born with am extremely strong soul but because it's body is week the soul either gets confined in the body And releases it's strength slowly or it makes the baby implode from inside. That is also why the first stage is the body strengthening stage and not the soul strengthening.]

[ Ok thank you very much you can take your leave now.] Lu quickly went to take a bath and after sitting in his bed he thought about his situation.

'I doubt I was really born with a very strong soul in my previous life, probably the reason why my Soul is strong and behaves like the situation mentioned by Rolf is because my Soul from the previous world combined from the soul of this baby wich probably all ready was a strong soul, and the soul that came as a result of the fusion was am extremely terrifying soul.

The reason why this body of mine didn't explode is most certainly because my mind is mature and  it of a little kids,  my Soul obeyed to my subconscious will and stayed dormant, it continued release more strength while at the same time growing been more every time my body naturally matured or when I advanced in cultivation. The result of all of this being that I am currently cultivating both the soul strengthening and the body strengthening stage at the same time..... but  is that I think about it, why do people cultivate the soul and body at separate times, that seems pretty stupid and time consuming to me. I mean the soul and body is one, they depend on each other to grow and mature, the maturation of one helping to improve the other, eitjer way there always need to be a balance, if when the soul is stronger than the body there is danger to the life of the person then why wouldn't the opposite also be true, why don't people explode after strengthening their body while not cultivation their souls?..... well it much I can do about it now either way, I better just sleep, I don't even have enough information about the subject  or will I get any unless I enter a sect after I graduate from the academy.'