“Yuki, to begin cultivating, you will need to first start with strengthening your body. The first stage of body fortification after sensing spiritual qi is strengthening your muscles. A strong body needs the strength to support it. It is not an easy thing to do, and it can be painful at times, but as you grow stronger, things will become easier. There is a saying: All things great do not come easily. If you wish to be able to run into the forest and fight demonic beasts, you will need to become strong. Of course, your mother and I will not mind if you wish to sit at home either.” Akihito's eyes were warm as he explained things to Yuki. He knew his daughter seemed to be dead set on growing stronger, but he still wished to give her a second option just in case.

“Father, I will work hard to become the strongest in the village!” Yuki's eyes were firm. She wanted to become the strongest!

“Then start by reading the cultivation method. It will explain what you need to do to begin. Father has to head to the fields. So if you have any questions, go see the instructors at the training ground.” Akihito patted Yuki’s head before going into the house to get ready to head to the fields.

Yuki stood there with her cultivation methods and sword in her arms. She looked around and found a spot to sit, and placed everything gently on the ground. It was as if each of the three items was a worldly treasure. She displayed them all out in front of her with an excited light in her eyes. She took a deep breath and picked up the tattered cultivation method first. “Heavenly Body Fortification…”

After reading the name out loud, she slowly opened it. What surprised her was that the cultivation method, although in tatters, was quite sturdy. But even so, she treated it gently as if it was her baby. She looked at the first page and slowly began to read it out loud. “The earth and the heavens are two separate entities but at the same time are one. Only when one is able to break the binds placed on them can they begin to reach for the heavens. But one must always start on the earth.”

Yuki pursed her lips as she read the start of this cultivation method. It sounded like a bunch of riddles to her. She sat back and tried to take this all in. She wondered how a five year old was supposed to understand such things. But then again, she figured a five year old would not take the time to actually take in what they were reading.

After thinking about it for a while, Yuki wondered if this was just an explanation of how cultivation worked. Such as the path to great power always starts off from the bottom. One would need to strive with hard work to reach the heavens. When she thought about it this way, she figured this must be the reasoning behind this first passage. With her thoughts straightened out, Yuki began looking at the next part.

“Body fortification is split up into nine stages. Spiritual qi sensing, muscles and skin, bones and bone marrow, organs, meridian opening, meridian cleansing, meridian widening, meridian connection, and full circle…. I see! So spiritual qi sensing is stage one. Without being able to sense the spiritual qi in the air, you can not even think of starting to work on your muscle training….” Yuki laid back and looked up at the sky, and pondered on this some more. This was something she always did when reading. She would read a few sentences, then sit back and think about them and begin imagining them in her mind.

But this time, she was taking what was said and trying to understand how one would go about sensing spiritual qi. She knew she could probably read on, and it would tell her, but she still wished to think about it on her own. There was no harm in trying to figure things out on her own.

She lay there with her eyes closed and began to feel the surroundings around her. She could feel the gentle breeze of the wind as it swept by her, ruffling her hair. She could hear the rustling of the leaves of the tree above her. She could smell the fresh cut wheat of the fields down the road. But she still did not feel anything different from that.

Yuki did not know how long she had been laying there on her back, but she continued to feel the world around her as she tried to sense the spiritual qi in the air. If there was one thing she was good at, it would be that she had eternal patience. She had once sat in a dark void for who knows how long with nothing to do but lay there and think about the past and ponder about things. So lying here, trying to feel the spiritual qi in the air, was nothing.

She spent all day lying on the ground. While her eyes were closed, not once did she fall asleep. She had fallen into a trance, a kind of meditative state where she began to feel as if she was part of the world. The longer she lay there, the more she felt like she had begun to blend with the world around her.

Akihito, who had just come home from a hard day's work, saw his wife standing there staring at the tree in their courtyard, only to look over to see his daughter seeming in a strange state. He did not say a word before walking over to his wife and kissing her cheek. “Let her be. She is trying to sense spiritual qi. It seems like she is in a state of enlightenment.”

“But, she hasn’t read past the first part….” Fuka pointed to the cultivation method on the ground that was still on the explanation stage of things.

When Akihito saw this, he couldn’t help but sigh. “She is probably a genius, but because of our clan has to stay hidden, she will never be able to bloom. For now, we can only guide her as far as possible. Maybe later on, Elder Eijiro will allow her to read the next part…. Never mind… we can not allow her to grow too strong and be noticed….”

Fuka also let out a long sigh. She also knew this. Their clan… or more precisely, their blood, was something that cultivators would kill for, even if it meant starting a global war. It is already surprising that they have been able to live this long in peace. Only when clansmen reach a certain age are they allowed to know their clans' full history and why things are the way they are.