Training

A month quickly went by, during which Adam had been learning many things from Selene: mathematics, general knowledge, beasts, plants, cultivation…

Selene soon realized that Adam was a genius, at least when it came to intelligence. It was a shame he wasn't born with great cultivation talent, which would have given him a significant advantage over others of his generation.

During that month, Selene had been trying different methods to enhance Adam's talent, but all the energy she directed for that purpose was absorbed without a trace. Even the energy Adam attempted to absorb to begin cultivating mysteriously vanished.

This phenomenon became one of Selene's primary subjects of study. She concluded that whatever was absorbing the energy had a certain degree of intelligence, as it seemed to selectively choose which energy to take. A clear example was the energy used to heal Adam: had that energy been absorbed, Adam would have died that day in the forest.

Although she had no idea how to solve this problem, she decided on a direct approach: continuously supplying him with energy until the seal—or whatever it was absorbing the energy—could no longer withstand it. With her there to protect him, Adam's life would not be in danger.

As for Adam, after a month of eating nonstop, his body had reached a healthy state. He now looked like a ten-year-old child, something that surprised Selene and made her wonder if this change was due to all the energy he had absorbed.

"You've amazed me with how quickly you've learned everything. I thought it would take you at least a few months to assimilate all this knowledge, but it seems you're a genius," Selene praised him, knowing that a few words of encouragement would help rebuild Adam's self-esteem, shattered by years of abuse.

"It seems you're ready to start practicing."

Adam, who had been meditating, jumped to his feet energetically upon hearing those words. The moment he had longed for had finally arrived.

"What will we do, Master?" he asked enthusiastically.

Selene was surprised to see him so spirited. She couldn't help but compare him to the boy he had been a month ago, one who had completely lost the will to live.

"I've prepared physical and combat training for you. While children in this plane usually don't start training or cultivating until the age of ten to ensure their bodies develop properly, you don't need to worry about that. In the immortal plane, we have certain techniques that allow training and cultivation at an early age without affecting development. This will give you a significant advantage once you can begin cultivating."

Adam was ecstatic. How was this any different from cheating?

Without giving him time to think further, Selene placed her hands on the ground, activating a teleportation array that transported them to a training field in a forest far from civilization.

Adam felt that familiar sensation of fatigue again, but this time it only lasted a second before dissipating. Selene noticed this and attributed it to his peculiar body.

"Where are we now?" Adam asked curiously.

"We've teleported to a special training area. Here, we don't need to worry about prying eyes or interruptions from any beasts."

"Now we'll begin your training. Due to your vision condition, we must first work on your balance and spatial awareness," Selene explained calmly, knowing that a house cannot be built starting with the roof.

"To do this, you'll need to run 3 miles in a straight line every day. If you stray, you'll hit obstacles. Additionally, you must walk along a thin wire for an hour without falling. Once you can do all this without failure, we'll move on to the next level," Selene instructed.

"I'm ready," Adam said, eager to start.

Selene simply levitated him onto a thin wire stretched between two trees. Once she let go, Adam couldn't help but slip and fall hard onto the ground.

"Argh! My head!" Adam groaned in pain.

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you, but take the pain as a sign that you're pushing yourself. Don't avoid it—embrace it," Selene advised.

Adam nodded. He had been through hell since he could remember; he wasn't

going to be intimidated by a little physical pain.

"Again," Adam said with determination.

Selene released him once more. This time, he managed to stay standing on the wire for a few seconds before falling again, which, though brief, was already an improvement compared to his first attempt.

An hour passed with Adam continuing to try, falling over and over again. In the end, he only managed to maintain his balance for about ten seconds, still far from the goal of one hour.

"Alright, now we'll move on to the straight-line run," Selene announced.

Adam was exhausted and sore, but he didn't want to disappoint her, so he pushed on without resting.

Selene guided him to another area, this time a straight path bordered by trees. The path was about as wide as Adam's wingspan, meaning any deviation would result in a painful collision with the trunks.

Once in position, Adam decided to walk first to evaluate how well he could orient himself. However, after taking about ten steps, he bumped into a tree. Orienting himself without a staff was much more difficult than he had imagined.

Despite the difficulties, he didn't give up. He kept trying, even breaking into a light trot at times, although those attempts ended with him crashing even harder into the trees.

It took him about two hours to complete the path, alternating between walking and trotting. By the time he reached the end, Adam was completely exhausted. He had never been this tired in his life, but there was something addictive about the feeling of surpassing himself and breaking his own limits. That feeling made him feel alive.

Selene hurried to tend to Adam's wounds.

"You did well. For your first time doing this type of training, I'm impressed by your resilience. It's one of the keys to being a great cultivator," Selene said, impressed by his mentality. Although, knowing Adam's past, she wasn't entirely surprised.

Adam couldn't help but blush slightly; he wasn't used to receiving so much praise.

"T-thank you…"

"There will be time for gratitude later. We have one last thing to do before we finish today's training session: you'll take a medicinal bath to avoid any side effects later."

The method for training someone so young relied on a medicinal bath prepared with spiritual herbs, virtually nonexistent in the mortal plane.

"Everything's ready. You can start whenever you want," Selene said, summoning a tub filled to the brim with spiritual herbs.

"C-could you turn around?" Adam asked, embarrassed at the thought of Selene watching him undress.

Selene respected his request and turned away, though she kept her spiritual sense active to monitor for any anomalies.

Trusting Selene, Adam quickly submerged himself in the tub. A refreshing sensation spread through his entire body, but it was soon interrupted by a nauseating smell that made him gag.

"T-this…" Adam tried to explain. He hadn't bathed in weeks, as he hadn't had anywhere to do so, and Selene, being a cultivator, didn't need to bother with such things. But this was too much. He had never smelled anything so foul.

"Fufu, don't worry. That smell is your imperfections surfacing. It's normal for them to stink like this; everyone goes through it when they start cleansing their body," Selene explained with a laugh, observing the black substances seeping from Adam's skin.

"You could have warned me…" Adam muttered, embarrassed by Selene's laughter.

"If I had warned you, I wouldn't have been able to see your reactions," she replied with a playful smile.

"W-well… what do you mean by cleansing the body?" Adam asked, trying to change the subject.

Selene noticed his attempt but decided to go along with it.

"Everyone is born with imperfections in their bodies that accumulate over time. This medicinal bath removes those impurities and repairs tissue, making it stronger. The harder you train, the better the results will be."

"That's… miraculous," Adam murmured, impressed.

"Of course. I'm not the best teacher for nothing," Selene replied narcissistically.

Adam rolled his eyes, ignoring her antics.

"It looks like I've finished absorbing the medicine," Adam announced after a few minutes.

"That was fast. Just as I expected from you, I suppose," Selene said, watching him with interest.

Once Adam dressed, he quickly fell asleep, completely drained. Selene, on the other hand, remained deep in thought, searching for ways to solve Adam's unique problem. As for her own concerns, she decided to set them aside for now. She would have plenty of time to face them once Adam began cultivating.