The return to the Valerius manor was met with a mixture of relief and astonishment. Lord Alaric, his face initially pale with worry, listened with growing disbelief as Borin and Kael recounted the bandit encounter. They spoke of Ren's uncanny agility, his precise strikes, and the almost magical way he had incapacitated the attackers and even reset Kael's dislocated arm.
"He moved like a phantom, my Lord," Borin insisted, still visibly shaken. "Not like a child. He didn't even seem to breathe heavily."
Lord Alaric stared at his son, who stood quietly beside Lady Seraphina, sipping a cup of warm broth. Ren's expression was calm, almost bored, as if he had merely returned from a stroll in the gardens. "Is this true, Ren?" Alaric asked, his voice a strained whisper.
Ren nodded slowly. "The bandits were unskilled, Father. And Borin and Kael were already fighting bravely. I merely assisted." He offered a small, innocent smile, a perfectly crafted mask. "And the medical scrolls in the library are quite detailed on bone setting."
Seraphina, ever protective, pulled Ren closer. "He is just a child, Alaric. Perhaps the excitement of the moment made the guards exaggerate." But even she looked at her son with a new, subtle wonder.
Alaric, however, was not so easily swayed. He had seen the fear in his guards' eyes, the genuine awe. He had also seen Ren's training sessions, his apparent struggles with even the most basic Valerius forms. This disparity gnawed at him. Yet, a desperate hope, a flicker of light in the deepening twilight of his family's fortunes, ignited in his heart. Could it be? Could his son be the one to reverse their decline?
That night, alone in his chambers, Ren reflected on the day's events. The skirmish had been trivial, a mere exercise in applied physics and rudimentary qi manipulation. Yet, the reactions of Borin and Kael confirmed his assessment of this realm's cultivation standards.
"Pathetic," he mused, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touching his lips. "To be considered extraordinary for such basic application of force and precision. This Lower Realm truly is a backwater."
He recalled the power rankings of the Upper Realm:
đź“ŚMortal Stage: The initial awakening
of spiritual roots.
đź“ŚBody Refinement: Strengthening
the physical form (1st to 9th Layer).
đź“ŚQi Condensation: Gathering and
refining spiritual qi into a dantian (1st
to 9th Layer).
đź“ŚFoundation Establishment:
Solidifying the dantian and forming a
spiritual foundation (Early, Mid, Late,
Peak).
đź“ŚCore Formation: Condensing qi into
a golden core (Early, Mid, Late,
Peak).
đź“ŚNascent Soul: Forming a spiritual
soul (Early, Mid, Late, Peak).
đź“ŚSpirit Severing: Severing mortal
ties to ascend (Early, Mid, Late, Peak).
đź“ŚDao Comprehension:
Understanding the laws of the universe.
đź“ŚImmortal Ascension: Transcending
mortality.
đź“ŚDemonic Sovereign/Heavenly
Venerate: The pinnacle, beings like his
former self.
In this Lower Realm, the highest known cultivators rarely surpassed the Core Formation stage, and even those were legendary figures, usually secluded in ancient sects. The common martial artists, like the Valerius guards, were typically in the Body Refinement or early Qi Condensation stages.
"Borin and Kael are barely at the 2nd or 3rd Layer of Body Refinement," Ren calculated. "Their qi is weak, their meridians unrefined. The bandits were just strong mortals, perhaps a few at the 1st Layer of Body Refinement at best. My current qi seed, though small, allows me to channel enough to disrupt their internal flow and strike pressure points with far greater efficacy than any normal Body Refinement cultivator here."
His own cultivation was progressing, albeit slowly. His qi seed was now roughly the size of a small pea, a testament to his relentless, secret efforts. He had bypassed the conventional Body Refinement stages of this realm, directly strengthening his meridians and dantian with his own superior methods. He was, in essence, a Qi Condensation cultivator in the body of an eight-year-old, though his qi reserves were still pitifully small by Upper Realm standards. He had yet to truly break through to the "Qi Condensation" stage as defined by this realm's standards, but his internal structure was already far superior.
The next few days saw a subtle shift in the Valerius manor. Lord Alaric began to observe Ren more closely, his gaze lingering, a new intensity in his eyes. He increased Ren's training regimen, pushing him harder, but also watching for any signs of the "phantom movements" Borin and Kael had described. Ren, ever the master of deception, performed just well enough to satisfy his father, occasionally allowing a glimpse of uncanny precision, but never revealing the true depth of his abilities.
"Ren," Lord Alaric said one afternoon, after a particularly grueling session where Ren had effortlessly disarmed a training dummy with a series of fluid, almost invisible strikes. "Your progress... it is remarkable. Faster than any Valerius in generations." He paused, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "Do you... feel anything? Any unusual spiritual awakenings?"
Ren shook his head, feigning confusion. "Unusual, Father? I only feel tired from training."
Alaric sighed, a mix of disappointment and reluctant acceptance. "Perhaps it is too early. But know this, my son. The Valerius family, our very survival, may rest on your shoulders. You have a talent, a spark that has been missing for centuries. Do not squander it."
The weight of these expectations, though misplaced, was a familiar burden to Kaelen. He had always carried the weight of his own ambition, the burden of his disciples' lives. This was merely a different kind of pressure.
His mother, Seraphina, also noticed the change. "Your father is pushing you too hard, my love," she fretted one evening, as she helped him prepare for bed. "You spend so much time training, so little time being a child."
Ren looked up at her, his eyes, momentarily devoid of their ancient wisdom, reflecting a hint of genuine affection. "I want to make Father proud, Mother. And I want to make our family strong again."
Seraphina smiled, a sad, knowing smile. "That is a noble goal, Ren. But remember, strength is not just in the sword, or in spiritual energy. It is in the heart, too."
Kaelen listened, absorbing her words, filing them away. He understood her perspective, a mortal's perspective. But his path was one of absolute power, of ruthless efficiency. He needed to be strong, not just for the Valerius family, but for himself, for Lyra, for the vengeance that simmered beneath his skin.
That night, as the manor slept, Ren once again descended into the crypts. He bypassed the dusty tombs and found a hidden passage he had discovered months ago, leading to a small, untouched chamber deep beneath the earth. Here, the spiritual energy, though still faint, was slightly more concentrated, perhaps due to a minor, undiscovered spirit vein.
He sat, cross-legged, and began to cultivate. He wasn't just drawing in qi; he was subtly altering his meridians, expanding them, making them more resilient. He was preparing his body for the true cultivation techniques of the Demonic Sovereign, techniques that would shatter the limitations of this Lower Realm. The path was long, the climb arduous, but Kaelen, the fallen god, was already ascending the unseen ladder of power, leaving the petty concerns of the Valerius family far below. The Lower Realm's power rankings were irrelevant to him; he was building a bridge back to the Upper Realm, one infinitesimal particle of qi at a time.