*****

Outside, on the terrace.

"Hrmm." 

     The old man stroked his beard as he closed his eyes. He looked to be deeply thinking about something. Shin just stood there, waiting for the seemingly frail, old man to initiate the conversation. 

"I checked the boy to see if he would react to my elemental qi." 

     The old man said in a low voice. He then open his eyes which contained a contemplating look to it. 

"What!? You know that you can't do that. The kid is too young to be able to handle qi since it could mess up his qi channels." 

     Shin was startled. Qi was harmful to the body if the person in question cannot control it. If too much qi was circulating in someone's qi channels, the channels would most likely burst and the person would lose all power to contain anymore qi. Also, a person needs to condense a manipulator in order to further train with qi. Manipulators are objects that act like organs to contain qi that connect all of the qi channels together. To condense a manipulator, one needs to feel their surroundings and try to will the elements into the body. After gathering the elements, one must will the element/s or the special attribute to flow through the qi channels. Manipulators can be separated into 3 categories. Physical Manipulators, Elemental Manipulators and Special Attribute Manipulators. Physical Manipulators have a different way to condense their manipulators. In order for a Physical Manipulator to be condensed, a person needs to train their body to the utmost limit. By doing that, the muscles start breaking down and starts to rebuild. After that, the body starts to absorb the qi around the surroundings. Compared to Elemental and Special Attribute Manipulators, Physical Manipulators stored the qi all over the body in order to strengthen it. The other two's manipulators are located in three areas which are the lower abdomen, the middle of the chest, and

in the middle of the head. 

     Physical Manipulators are used to strengthen the body using qi. Elemental Manipulators are used to manipulate the Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water elements. Special Attribute Manipulators utilize a different type of qi to manipulate. Usually Special Attribute Manipulators are condensed only in special environments. The 3 common attributes are the Energy, Metal and Wood attribute. The less common ones are the Space, Shadow, and Light attributes. The even less common ones are the Life and Death attributes. It is known that the average person can get only one type of manipulator. Although the average person can only get one type, there had been cases of people getting two types of manipulators.

There is even less news about people who can manipulate all three of the manipulators simply because no one in the whole continent of Arka does. 

"Don't worry boy. I only willed a small amount of my qi into his body. I tried to check what type of qi can enter his body. If the element that I put into his qi channels did not suit him, it will not harm him and only exit his body. The thing is that I willed all four of my elements to enter his body one by one. The result was that none of them left his body at all. I expect your son to be a rare case like me." 

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

     As the old man was saying these words, Shin couldn't help but be excited. The old man basically just said that Apollo can control the four elements just like him. The old man was a rare case of a person being able to control all four elements. It is said that the amount of people that can control the four elements could be few and far between.

"Haha! That's my boy. If he didn't have talent like that then he would only be an average compared to everyone else in the family." 

     Shin started laughing. He was in a good mood since he knew that his boy wouldn't be a normal existence in the world of cultivation. 

"Don't be so happy yet boy. If people find out that he can control four elements, think about what that entails for him. People from the North, South and East domains will try to coax and recruit him. The worst thing that would happen is that he would be killed before he can grow strong to protect himself." 

     The old man said while looking solemn. Shin's face couldn't help but change again. This time he knew why the old man brought him out here to talk.

"They wouldn't dare to attack the son of the General of the Imperial Army would they? People wouldn't be so stupid as to openly declare a war against our Fujin family and the empire," Shin said with a solemn face while having a hint of fierceness in his eyes. 

"Big clans wouldn't be stupid as to openly kill someone from the Fujin family. They would most likely hire an assassin to kill him." 

     The old man closed his eyes once again and started stroking his beard again.

"What do we need to do then? How will we hide his talent?" Shin asked with a quizzical look on his face. 

"Hmph. With me, his grandfather, he doesn't need to worry. I will personally teach him since he is the same as me. I will contact you when the time is right to train him. I have to leave now." 

     The old man disappeared in a blink of an eye. Shin sighed. He knew that there will be a day that trouble would come. He just didn't know when. 

*****

Alice's and Shin's Bedroom.

"Is Alice asleep now?" 

     Shin entered the room while trying to close the door silently. 

"Yes, Lord Shin. Madam fell asleep just a short while ago." 

     The maid by the door answered. Shin nodded slightly, acknowledging her answer.

"Lord Shin, Young Master just fell asleep right now. It's best that I put him into his crib now." 

     The nanny said while slightly rocking Apollo back and forth. 

"Please do. I have business to take care of in the Royal Palace. I'll be taking my leave now. Please tell Alice that I won't be back until sunrise tomorrow."

"Yes, Lord Shin." 

     The nanny placed Apollo gently onto his crib. She turned and bowed towards Shin and left.

"Please tell the stable-hand to prepare a horse for me." 

     Shin turns to the maid and made a gesturing sign to inform the stable-hand.

"Y-yes, L-lord Shin." 

     The young maid next to the one by door stuttered and said. She turned around to leave but instead tripped and fell. Shin and the other maids couldn't help but chuckle. The young maid tried to stand up and leave quickly. It was obvious that she was embarrassed by that.