A few hours later, in a small meeting room deep underground, a critical discussion was about to start. The family head kept bowing to any new figure who entered the room, yet nobody was surprised.

Well, that much was a given, considering who those figures were. All of them were old legends from the past centuries, those same names the kids studied in history today.

All of them had come out of secluded Cultivation, where they had been for a long time. One must know that cultivators tend to go into secluded Cultivation in the late stages of their lives in hopes of achieving a breakthrough and live longer.

Since every new Realm granted the cultivator an increased lifespan, for people who were close to death's door, Cultivation had become a race against time. They were competing with the sand falling down the hourglass. As long as they broke through, they would have their lifespan lengthened and hope to shape history for longer.

Those people who secluded themselves in Cultivation were often way stronger than any well-known contemporary figure and determined how strong a family was.

As long as a family had such people, it was bound to thrive thanks to their protection. Though usually, they wouldn't take part in any offence because the benefits were not worth the costs.

Unless there was a once in a lifetime chance that would give them a possibility to break through, they would never intervene in mundane matters if not to defend their family. And that was assuming it was about to face total annihilation.

Once all of them sat around a circular table, the Family head, Gilbert von Sideria, started speaking.

"Thanks to all of you for coming here today. We have a very urgent matter to discuss."

"I hope that is the case, little Gil' because if you made me come out of seclusion over nothing, it's not going to end well…"

"Yes, what old Robert said is indeed right. I also want to know what might warrant this gathering."

To stop all those remarks that they were giving him, Gilbert couldn't do anything besides punching the desk. Once everybody's attention was back on him, he straightened his posture.

After clearing his throat, Gilbert said with a confident yet excited tone: "My daughter, Estelle, awakened at four!"

"WHAT?! At four? Are you sure?"

"Do you really think I would announce something like that without having checked myself first? I had made the same exact expression you are making right now when I found out!"

"Our family is blessed by the heavens! Let's set aside this backwater kingdom; even her conquering an empire is not out of the question!:

"Where is she? I want to take her in as my disciple!"

"Who are you? I'm one generation older and three whole stages above you. She should be my disciple instead!"

Thus, a bunch of old men started screaming at each other over who was the most worthy of taking Estelle in as their disciple. But it was nothing like them seeing Estelle as their cute granddaughter and wanting to spoil her.

Each one of them wanted to be the one taking the merit for growing up this little prodigy. As long as Estelle grew up well, they were bound to become one of the most influential people in the family, even if they didn't possess the highest cultivation base.

And with this merit came authority, which in turn would grant them a more significant cut of the pie that were the cultivation resources gathered by the family throughout millennia.

And those resources would allow them to live longer, gain more power and get more resources again. It was a positive feedback loop that would allow them to live for much longer. Most people had this kind of reasoning, especially among cultivators. If one didn't have such a mindset, it would be a miracle if he could step on the road of Cultivation.

In the end, Gilbert could only do one thing to shut all of them up, and it was to use his status as her father to patch up the mess that this meeting had become. But since they wouldn't let him off the hook if he didn't give something, he could only come up with a solution that would make everyone happy.

"All of you, shut up. As her father, I have the right to choose how to educate her. I decided that my brother, Albert will teach her personally until she joins the Academy, which she will normally attend. She will have the freedom of choosing her own teacher once she gets out of the Academy."

The one who first announced wanting to take her in thus pondered for a second and then spoke up.

"I think this is actually a good idea. Fighting among ourselves to get to pick who will be her teacher won't be of help. But letting such a prodigy run around in the Academy doesn't sound like a great idea since an enemy faction might attempt to take her life. How did you plan to make it work then, Gilbert?"

"I think we should have her hide her abilities. We can always seal her cultivation base. But getting a bit of attention on her is necessary as well, as I think that a little bit of challenge will only do her good. We just have to hide the extent of her talent but not make her look talentless either. What do the elders think about this?"

"I actually agree with your view Gilbert. Making her not attend school would only make her look all the more suspicious to the other factions. She must attend the Academy, but also not make her too much of a threat. I think we should fake her awakening when she is already seven, if not eight, and use that other son of yours as a meat shield. But to deceive the enemy, we must deceive our own allies as well. The fact that she already awakened should remain as hidden as possible. Who knows about it besides you and the people here, Gilbert?"

"The only other two people are my brother, Albert, and her instructor, Eric. As a precaution, I already had him make a soul contract with me."

Now, one of the few people who kept their mouths shut since the beginning spoke up. He looked like a man well in his seventies, and his body was not as fit as it once used to be. Once this man started speaking, everyone else stopped talking and listened to him carefully.

"Good job Gilbert, but it might not be enough. Keep an eye on this guy Eric, and in a few months, make him disappear. We should try to make it look like it's completely unrelated to Estelle's training. Assign him to a new job, and then proceed once any sort of connection between him and Estelle is well hidden. When it comes to the Academy, one of us should infiltrate as one of the people working there and protect her from the shadows. Nobody but the other families' ancestors know our faces in this day and age anyway. As long as we do it properly, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Fine, I'll do as you say, Great Elder. Starting tomorrow, until the academy starts, I'll have my brother train her then. As for Eric, I'll make sure to make him disappear without a trace. And about whom will get to take her in as their disciple, it will only be up to her choice once she leaves the Academy. Well, it's too early to think about that anyway. We should start preparing for what's about to come. The upcoming times will be filled with strife."

"Well said, junior. You are not the family head without reason. My insight back then wasn't wrong. Now, I think we can conclude this meeting and go back to minding our own business. I'm sure all of us have a lot on our minds. Just be sure to not make any blunders. Let's take things slowly and prepare ourselves appropriately. It's going to be a long while before this little prodigy actually blooms anyway."

Thus, everybody gradually left until Gilbert was the only one remaining in the now empty room. Looking at the table, he gave a little sigh and spoke to himself.

"Aaah, things are sure going to get hectic, aren't they? At least I won't have a boring life…"

After pondering for a little while more, Gilbert himself left the room as well, he had to make a lot of preparations for the plan to come to fruition.

The following day, Estelle found her father waiting for her to wake up. She didn't know how long he had been there, but it was for sure something unusual. Nonetheless, she didn't give the matter much thought.

"Little angel, it's time for you to get a new instructor. Uncle Albert will personally watch over your training! Are you happy?"

Estelle nodded after making a cute yawn, which she tried to hide with her hand. But this action didn't escape her father's eyes. Finding her cute, he decided to stay silent.

"Yes, father!"

After hearing her father's words, she gradually started sporting a progressively more proud expression, as she knew this was only her privilege because of having awakened at four. Her father couldn't help but give a slight chuckle.

Nonetheless, he didn't stop her, as he knew that a bit of pride was needed in life. And, even if she was a bit arrogant, she was justified. Awakening at four was a legendary feat that would grant her a little space in the history books. If she grew well, she was bound to become an actual legend.

The only thing Gilbert von Sideria feared was that this backwater country wouldn't properly nurture such a talent. Even to a Duke household, the resources available might not be enough for her. Although at the moment he didn't fear lacking resources, he felt that this little cultivation monster might soon need more than his wallet could offer.

Even the kingdom's vault might not be enough once she matured. In the first place, he had no idea what kind of resources would someone beyond the Sage realm even need. He could only hope to be able to get his hands on them when the time came.

But, he won't have to fear such a thing for too long…

As the curtains for the real war were about to rise.