Beginning of cultivation

After who knows how much time has passed, Zhu Shen finally opened his eyes. His head still hurt but the pain was much more manageable after he opened his eyes.

Zhu shen got up from his original position and looked around. There was nobody in the cave anymore. Just as he was wondering a guard's voice came from the outside,

"Your master left the cave 3 days ago…. You can go back to your master's resting place…"

Zhu Shen finally felt at ease as he got up and walked towards his courtyard.

'So I was unconscious for 3 days huh…' Zhu Shen thought to himself

Soon he reached the courtyard he was staying in and saw old man Ao resting under a tree.

"Master…"

Old man Ao looked at him from top to bottom and asked,

"How you feel now…?"

Zhu Shen felt confused by the questioning gaze of his master. There was something he was supposed to feel? He just looked at his master and shook his head.

"I don't feel anything master.."

"The thing you experienced was the legacy of the dragon clan… after watching for a while everybody gets something from it… it is pretty rare for someone to get nothing"

Old man Ao felt really dejected at the failure of Zhu Shen but he still kept his calm as he said to his disciple,

"We will start your training today…."

As he said that, old man Ao got up from his position and walked towards him.

"Once you start this journey you will be detached from all materialistic things… your goal will always be 'to get stronger and explore heaven and earth secrets'... Are you ready..?"

Old man Ao looked straight into Zhu Shen's eyes as he asked.

Zhu Shen took a deep breath as he made the decision,

"Disciple is ready…."

Old man Ao just smiled and said,

"Good, from today onwards you will be 43rd generation personal disciple… bow.."

Zhu Shen bent on his knees as he said respectfully,

"Disciple pays respect to master…"

Today, a golden page was written in the history of the dragon clan… Zhu Shen, the future emperor of the dragon clan was admitted into the dragon palace.

"The first thing you will learn is the cultivation system… for now you only need to know 4 cultivation levels… body tempering, Qi sensation, Qi fusion and sea forming…. "

Old man Ao started explaining the cultivation systems to Zhu Shen.

"These 4 levels are called physical transformation levels… you will transform and nourish your mortal body and make it stronger. These 4 levels are the foundation for your future cultivation…"

"We will take the physical transformation stage slowly to make a good foundation for yourself. Any Questions?"

Old man Ao asked Zhu Shen. Zhu Shen Hurriedly shook his head.

"Let's start with the training then…"

old man Ao said and waved his hand. Two buckets full of water appeared in front of Zhu Shen.

"The first step in body tempering is to stabilize your own body… Hold these two buckets full of water and repeat the moves I make…"

Old man Ao performed some strange movement slowly. After he finished his movements, he looked at Zhu Shen and said,

"You will perform this set of movements until you can perform them 100 times a day."

Zhu Shen nodded and started mimicking old man Ao's movements but as soon as he tried to perform the first set of movements,

"Crack… crack…"

Cracking noises started coming from his joints as well as his bones. Zhu Shen's whole body started shaking at an alarming rate he dropped both of the buckets from his hands.

"Slap…"

As soon as Zhu Shen dropped both of the buckets, a bamboo stick hit Zhu Shen's leg

"Ouch…"

Zhu Shen Groaned in pain as he looked at his master warily. The old man was indifferent to Zhu Shen's look as he explained,

"Our body never make use of all of its muscles so after a while these muscles get blocked… these sets of movements will help you free those blockages and make your body loose and more adoptable to your future cultivation…"

Explained old man Ao as a playful smile appeared on his face,

"Every time you drop buckets from your hand, you will get punished with a bamboo stick… now let's start again…"

Old man Ao waved his hands as two more buckets full of water appeared in front of Zhu Shen.

The whole afternoon was filled with voices of buckets smashing and the painful cries of Zhu Shen.

In the evening, old man Ao looked at Zhu Shen who was lying on the ground covered in sweat as well as blood marks.

" Now let us start the second part of training."

Said old man Ao as he took a bathtub from his storage ring.

"Go fill up the bathtub with water from the lake…"

Old man ao ordered one of the servants as he prepared other ingredients for the bath.

Soon a bubbling red coloured bath was prepared for Zhu Shen. Zhu Shen looked at the bathwater and took a big gulp.

"Gulp…"

Many strange herbs and creatures were floating in the bathwater. The smell was so bad that Zhu Shen felt like throwing up.

"Get in…"

He heard the master's voice as he saw a sinister look in his master's eyes.

"Master… do I have to get in.."

Before Zhu Shen could finish his sentence, old man Ao picked him up and threw him into the bathtub.

Water flashed everywhere as Zhu Shen howled in pain.

All the pores on Zhu Shen's body were opened up as all the medicinal bathwater got slowly absorbed into his body.

Zhu Shen soon felt dizzy from all the pain and fell asleep. When Zhu Shen woke up he felt pain all over his body. He looked at old man Ao vigilantly as he got out of the bath.

Despite the pain, Zhu Shen soon noticed that all the wounds on his body were healed up. Surprised, he looked in the direction of his master.

Knowing his questioning gaze, old man Ao explained,

"The second part of Training is recovery… until you reach Qi condensing stage, you will have to rely on external help to recover your body from loss of energy…"

Zhu Shen's eyes lit up. He realized that old man Ao did all of this for his own good he got onto his knees and said to old man Ao,

"Thank you, master…"

Old man Ao rubbed his head and told him…

"Let's go eat something…"

Soon both master-disciple pair got into the main house.