The sun hadn't fully risen when Lux woke up on the first day of his training. The morning air at the Peak of Rising Flame felt fresh and laden with spiritual energy, making each breath feel like a drink of life. The air coefficient here was 0.99955 - much higher than at Flame's Crest.
"Wake up, worm. Time to show you're worthy of being my disciple," Mobius' voice echoed in his mind.
Lux regulated his breathing, doing light warm-ups as he had seen other cultivators do. The body of this six-year-old was still small, but his coordination and awareness far surpassed his age.
Elder Liam arrived promptly at 6 a.m., carrying several ancient scrolls and energy maps that emitted a soft light.
"Our first lesson is understanding the cultivation system from the ground up," Liam said, sitting cross-legged in front of Lux in the meditation room. "Many cultivators out there rush to pursue power without understanding the foundations."
He opened the first scroll, which showed a diagram of energy flow through the body. "Cultivation begins with Body Forging - strengthening the physical body as a vessel for energy."
Lux watched carefully. The diagram showed the stages:
Bone Tempering: Strengthening the skeleton
Meridian Weaving: Opening energy pathways
Skin Fortification: Strengthening external defenses
"Each stage has an age limit," Liam continued. "Body Forging must be completed before 150 years, Qi Nurturing before 250 years."
"Rigid limitations for mortal beings," Mobius commented. "But it makes sense to prevent energy abuse."
Lux nodded, remembering every detail. "Then after Body Forging?"
"Qi Nurturing, gathering and purifying energy." Liam opened the second scroll. "From Mist Qi to the formation of a Qi Vortex that can actively absorb energy."
What interested Lux most was the explanation of Foundation Establishment. "This is the most critical stage," Liam emphasized. "This is where you choose the 9 Pillars that will determine your lifelong specialization."
Lux paid attention to the pillar classifications and examples.
Physical Pillar: Strength, Endurance, Speed, vitality, etc.
Mental Pillar: Perception, Soul, Intelligence, mind, illusion, etc.
Elemental Pillar: Fire, Water, Metal, lightning, wind, etc.
Skill Pillar: Sword, Axe, Spear, arrow, forging, alchemy, calligraphy (talismans), formations, etc.
"The selection of pillars should be based on your natural innate affinity and your goals in cultivation in order to obtain synergistic effects in both combat and cultivation arts," Liam said. "Basically, you can use qi energy to manifest an element, cultivation art, or specific ability even if you don't have an affinity pillar for it, but with the addition of an affinity pillar, your ability to use that specific ability will increase sharply, and remember to always keep your affinity pillar a secret because from that alone someone can guess what kind of cultivator you are, therefore, mistakes in the selection of affinity pillars can limit your potential forever," Elder Liam explained.
After the morning theory, Lux was taken to the Laboratory of Energy Measurement, a room with various spiritual energy measuring devices.
"As a prospective cultivator, you must be able to read and measure energy accurately," Liam said, pointing to a crystal ball.
Lux smiled inwardly. With Mobius, he could already measure the coefficient of reality with high precision. But he played along, pretending to learn from scratch.
"This crystal will show the purity level of a spirit stone," Liam explained, placing a red spirit stone on the altar.
The stone glowed, and the crystal ball showed a number: 74.3%. "This is a fire spirit stone with medium purity."
"Primitive," Mobius scoffed. "They only measure purity, not reality stability."
Lux tried the device with several other spirit stones, quietly comparing them with Mobius' readings. The difference was striking - the sect's device only measured the quantity of energy, while Mobius could measure the quality of its reality.
In the afternoon, they moved to the Spiritual Herb Garden. The aroma of various spiritual plants filled the air, each with a different coefficient.
"Each herb has unique energy properties," Liam said, pointing to a plant with fiery leaves. "This is Blaze Leaf, coefficient 0.99890, good for fire cultivation."
Lux observed carefully, matching what Liam taught with his own observations.
Frost Vine: Coefficient 0.99910, stable cold energy
Earth Root: Coefficient 0.99965, very stable for foundation
Storm Grass: Coefficient 0.99820, unstable lightning energy
"Understanding resources is key to cultivation efficiency," Liam said. "Many cultivators fail not because of a lack of talent, but because of misusing resources."
In the afternoon, Lux began to learn the art of formations. And Elder Liam turned out to be a respected formation master.
"Formations are the art of arranging energy in specific patterns to produce desired effects," Liam explained, drawing energy patterns in the air with his finger.
The coefficient of the basic formation Liam created was 0.99930 - stable and efficient. Lux noticed how each energy line connected and reinforced each other.
"They use a linear approach," Mobius said. "Whereas we can manipulate the coefficient directly."
In the evening, Lux finally met the other four Direct Disciples in the communal dining hall, and he look four childs in the room and think "so.. this is the new direct diciplines of this generation, they looks several years older than me.
First was Karion, an 11-year-old boy with golden hair and sharp blue eyes. His coefficient was 0.99940 - strong for his age. He was the most likely to be the "golden-haired one" in the secret message.
"So you're the child prodigy who's been causing so much gossip," Karion said with a slightly condescending tone.
Second was Silvia, a 9-year-old girl with silver hair and purple eyes. Her coefficient was 0.99935, with a calm but deep energy.
"Welcome, Lux," she said kindly. "Don't mind Karion. He's like that with everyone new."
Third was Yuan, a sturdy 11-year-old man with short black hair. His coefficient was 0.99945, his physical energy was very strong.
"You're still too small to be a Direct Disciple," he said bluntly. "But the sect master must have his reasons."
Lastly was Erika, a 10-year-old girl with red hair and green eyes. Her coefficient was 0.99930, but her energy was very bright and creative.
"I'm curious about your abilities, Lux," she said with a friendly smile. "Tell me about them someday, okay?"
In his room that night, Lux pondered the lessons of the first day. With Elder Liam's guidance, he was beginning to understand how to integrate Mobius' abilities with the conventional cultivation system.
"They teach energy manipulation through external methods," lux said to Mobius. "But we can manipulate reality directly."
"True, worm. But be careful. Too much distortion will attract attention."
Lux tried a small experiment. He took a fire spirit stone and tried to distort its coefficient from 0.99950 to 0.99945. The effect was immediate - the spirit stone glowed brighter, releasing energy faster.
"Interesting. By changing the stability, we can control the rate of energy release."
But Lux's head immediately started spinning. A distortion as small as 0.00005 was enough to tire him out.
"Your body's limitations are still great, worm. You still need a lot of time."
In the following weeks, Lux showed rapid progress in cultivation theory. His engineering knowledge from his previous life helped him understand complex concepts easily.
But the challenge came from the other side. Karion and Yuan often tested him with difficult questions or challenged him in practical exercises.
"A little kid like you shouldn't be a Direct Disciple," Karion said one day after Lux successfully solved a complex formation puzzle.
But Silvia and Erika became unexpected allies. They often helped Lux understand difficult concepts.
"Don't let Karion bother you," Silvia said. "He's just afraid his position is threatened."
In the third month, Lux began to learn basic alchemy. Elder Liam taught him the process of extracting energy from spirit herbs.
"Alchemy is the art of transformation," Liam said in the Alchemy Pavilion. "Transforming matter into energy, and energy into power."
Lux watched every step carefully. Crucible coefficient 0.99960, spiritual fire 0.99880, spirit herbs 0.99910-0.99930. Each component had a different stability.
And at the end of the first year, Lux made an important discovery. While studying energy formations, he realized that Mobius' Distortion power could be used to "fix" instabilities in complex formations.
One night, secretly in his room, Lux experimented with a simple illumination formation. By adjusting the coefficient of key points, he could make the formation 20% more efficient without changing its pattern.
"You're starting to understand, worm," Mobius praised. "This is just the beginning."
But Lux also learned limitations. Too much distortion made him dizzy and tired. His still-childlike body had energy limitations.
At the end of the first year, Elder Liam conducted an evaluation.
"Your theoretical knowledge is remarkable for your age, Lux," Liam said. "But remember, knowledge without application is useless."
Lux nodded. "I understand, Elder Liam."
"Next year, we will study the wider world: the geography of the Verdant Lotus World, the politics between factions, and cultivation strategies."
That night, Lux stood on his room's balcony, looking at the stars. The first year had given him a strong foundation. But he knew the real challenges still awaited.
He took out the small note he had received on the first day. There were still mysteries to be solved: who left this message, and what did "beware the golden-haired one" mean?