The technique arrived without ceremony.
No grand announcement.
No gathered elders.
No heavens-shaking phenomenon.
That alone told Zayden everything he needed to know.
It was meant to be ordinary.
He lay in the crystal cradle of the Ancestral Vault, wrapped in silence and ancient light, when Emperor Tiberius returned. This time, he was accompanied by only one other person.
A woman.
She looked to be in her late twenties, wore simple dark robes, and hid her aura. Only the way qi moved showed she wasn't a regular servant. Zayden's instincts disagreed.
Dangerous.
The system confirmed it.
Individual detected: Unknown (Sealed)
Estimated cultivation: High (Restriction active)
Threat Level: Conditional
Tiberius inclined his head slightly. "This is Instructor Lin."
The woman bowed, not to Zayden, but to the emperor.
"I exist only by Your Majesty's command."
"From this day forward," Tiberius said, "you are bound to my son's shadow. His survival supersedes all else."
Lin turned her gaze to Zayden.
For the first time since his rebirth, Zayden felt as though he were being seen.
Not as a prince.
Not as a symbol.
But as a person.
Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"…Interesting," she murmured.
Tiberius produced a thin jade slip.
"This is all he will be given," the emperor said. "Nothing more. Nothing less."
Lin accepted the slip, her expression unreadable. "A breathing manual."
"Yes. One that every lowborn child in the empire can learn."
Zayden understood immediately.
Camouflage.
If anyone ever uncovered his practice, it would seem laughable. Lin knelt by the crystal cradle, gently and precisely touching Zayden's chest with two controlled fingers. Little Prince," she said softly. "Cultivation begins with breath."
Her voice carried a strange rhythm. It was not qi, but intent.
"Feel the air enter your body," she continued. "Do not pull. Do not force. Simply allow."
Zayden obeyed.
For the first time since his rebirth, he reached outward.
The world Qi touched his senses, cool, warm, sharp, and heavy. He followed the simplest one inside, just as Lin guided him.
The system ignited.
Cultivation technique detected:
Basic Imperial Breathing Method.Grade: Mortal (Low)
Status: Incomplete
Perfect Cultivation Optimiser engaged
Analysing…
Zayden felt it instantly.
The Qi did not move clumsily through his meridians as the technique described. Instead, it flowed smoothly, guided along paths that were gently corrected, refined, and perfected.
Optimisation complete.
Energy circulation efficiency: +312%
Qi loss: Negligible
Foundation stress: None
Zayden's breath remained soft.
Inside, the world changed.
Lin's eyes widened.
She hid it quickly, but not quickly enough.
She can sense it.
The Qi he took in was small, as he was told, but what remained inside him became denser and purer than before. "That's enough," Lin said after only three breaths.
Tiberius raised an eyebrow. "Already?"
"If I allow more," Lin replied carefully, "his body will remember the feeling. That would be… dangerous."
Zayden inwardly smiled.
She has no idea how right she is.
After they left, the vault returned to silence.
Zayden did not continue cultivating.
He didn't need to.
The system displayed the results calmly.
Cultivation Stage: Body Tempering (Initial)
Progress: 1.7%
Evaluation: Perfect start
So this is cultivation.
No explosions.
No immediate power.
Just a quiet, irreversible step forward.
His body felt subtly different, lighter, warmer, more alive.
He flexed his tiny fingers.
That night, something unexpected happened.
As Zayden slept, the improved breathing method kept working on its own.
Passively.
Qi trickled into him with each natural breath, refined and stored without conscious effort.
Passive cultivation detected.
Cause: Optimised technique integration
Status: Stable
Visibility Risk: Low
Zayden's mind sharpened even in sleep.
So even resting makes me stronger.
A dangerous thought.
A comforting one.
Days passed.
Lin returned regularly, always limiting his active cultivation to a handful of breaths. Always watching him with increasing caution.
"You are learning too quickly," she said once, barely audible.
Zayden stared back innocently.
She exhaled. "Good. That means you're alive."
One evening, as Zayden rested in the crystal cradle, a sharp sensation rippled through his body.
Not pain.
Resistance.
His meridians tightened, then expanded.
Notice:
Body Tempering (Initial) complete
Transition available: Body Tempering (Minor)
Foundation integrity: Flawless
Zayden froze.
Already?
He had cultivated for less than a week.
If this were discovered.
He suppressed his excitement instantly.
Slow down. Always slow down.
But deep within, something stirred.
This was no longer preparation.
This was momentum.
Zayden Arum had taken his first true step onto the path of power.
And the path had accepted him.