As the glorious, resplendent sun rises above the horizon, a wave of brilliant light sweeps across the land, illuminating all touched by its lustrous rays. A small boy and elderly man, as the sun irradiates the pair, stand up from a cross-legged position, the wind surging against them.
They look into the sky as daybreak arrives, and the old man starts to speak,"Astraoth, you are now of four years. Your training will soon begin. Follow me to the training ground."
Oromius walks away, toward the mansion grounds. Upon entering the mansion, he, with Astraoth following closely behind him, moves toward the east wing's training grounds. Inside the huge glass dome of the east wing is a very large courtyard, tens of kilometers long, with artificial mountains and lakes, that could easily be used for training.
Turning to Astraoth, Oromius speaks, saying,"This ground is where you will practice and cultivate, at least temporarily. You cannot cultivate until your sixth year, so you will instead strengthen your body, learn to manipulate and control energy, and matriculate to study combat. We will start with physical training; a healthy and strong body is a basis necessary to become truly powerful."
"Before you start practicing, I will explain why you need a robust body. To put it simply, all cultivators will form an essence core from their energy, be it Mana, Qi, or another type of energy. When using essence cores of beasts to break through, a core of a higher level beast is required; if you try to break through from the third level to the fourth, you need to use the core of a level four beast. The higher level of energy will agitate and excite your energy, bringing it to a higher level. In order to survive a stronger being's energy, one needs a very powerful physical body."
Smiling proudly, Oromius continues,"Of course, demons do not need essence cores to break through if they have a powerful bloodline; demons with high-level bloodline lineages can use their blood in place of an essence core, but cores make it much easier. Anyway, do you understand why you need to improve your body?"
Astraoth, nodding thoughtfully, responds, saying,"Yes, I think I understand." Happy with his son's progress, Oromius decides to begin the training...
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Astraoth climbs up a small mountain, one-hundred meters tall while wearing twenty-five-kilogram weights, pushing through the heat and steadily moving up the steep cliffside. Sweat pouring down his face, arms aching, gritting his teeth in pain, Astraoth continues moving through his suffering, relying only on his willpower. Pieces of rock and stone sprinkle down as Astraoth moves his hand to an outstretched slab. Struggling to pull himself up, Astraoth becomes ever more intimidated by the huge face of the mountain.
Pushing himself further, Astraoth begins the hardest stretch of the climb, the last fourth, in which the face of the mountain becomes completely straight, then curves back, causing the climb to become extremely difficult. Sweat curves down Astraoth's face, falling from his body. Arms glistening, the heat of the sun becomes even more intense, and Astraoth's body becomes ever more tired and ever weaker.
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Eventually, he overexerts his body to the point where he can no longer feel the blood flow through him; even his will cannot keep him on the mountain any longer; he feels his body stop movement and let go, and he falls off the ledge. Streaking toward the ground, Astraoth closes his eyes in fear and shock, unable to overcome his limitations. Suddenly, his descent starts to slow, and, opening his eyes, he sees Oromius holding him, suspended in the air.
Oromius, chuckling, says,"I never expected you to even make it halfway through, let alone three-fourths of the way. You did very well, now you can rest.."
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The next day, the routine begins again. First Astraoth runs twenty-kilometers while pulling a fifty-kilogram boulder tied to his back. After that, he swims in the largest artificial lake, with carnivorous fish and aquatic beasts placed by Oromius following him. The third exercise in the warm-up is the mountain climb, after which there is a two-hour rest period.
The first day only brought the warm-up, but, on the second day, combat training is introduced. Oromius has a small pair of gloves, used for protection, which he hands to Astraoth, saying," These gloves will protect your hands from being too injured. You will first learn basic hand-to-hand combat, and only after you have mastered the basics, will you begin learning how to use weapons and manipulate energy. Now, come show me what you know."
Upon hearing this, Astraoth dashes at Oromius, punching out as he approaches. Easily dodging Astraoth's tiny fist, Oromius mocks Astraoth,"Is that all you can do? My pet rock could throw a better punch." Astraoth responds with a roundhouse kick, aiming toward Oromius' stomach. Oromius quickly counters, grabbing Astraoth's foot as it arrives. Pulling back, Astraoth tries to twist his foot out of Oromius' grip, but Oromius simply removes his grip and steps forward, lightly pushing Astraoth, throwing him off balance, and ending the skirmish.
Oromius comments, smiling,"You are untrained, but you have very strong instincts; I see much potential in you. First, let's go over how to punch; you put your hand in a fist while keeping your shoulders level, maintaining a firm foundation and using centripetal force to enhance the momentum of your punch."
"For kicks, make sure you keep your body relaxed, and if you want to kick with speed, lead into the attack quickly, and pull your knee faster to optimize increases in your momentum. Make sure to...
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The sun finally leaving the sky, the light begins to fade; the sun sets, and the Eventide ends. An old man stands, holding four books in his hands, looking at a young boy, resting on the ground, exhausted. Oromius, the old man, starts to talk to Astraoth,"Anyway, take these manuals and practice the basic forms inside- they will help you gain proper posture and teach you basic combat skills. The day is ending, so let's go inside. You did a good job, Astraoth. Now get up..."
Going inside, the day ends, and the first two days of training finally come to a close.