Chapter 5 - Training

The next morning Julius was awoken from his slumber by his father. This was alarmingly odd as this had never happened before. However, even so, Julius could tell what was happening.

"Hey Julius, I have something to tell you…" Henry began to speak.

"There's no need for you to elaborate father. I already know. When do I leave?" Julius asked.

"The caravan has already been prepared for you with everything you'll need inside it. You'll be going to see my master and spend quite a lot of time with him in the mountains. Don't fret, once you're back, there'll be a big celebration for you," his father tried to encourage him.

"Thank you for all you've done for me. I should probably get dressed now since I don't want to keep the driver waiting," said Julius as he got out of his bed.

As he headed towards the bathroom which was located right beside his room, Julius' father gave him some other information.

"Just so you know, you won't be going to meet my master in your formal attire. Instead, you'll be provided with a more comfortable outfit which you'll understand the use of when you start your training," Henry told his son.

Without replying, Julius quickly did whatever he needed to do before exiting the bathroom so that he could get dressed. On top of his bed were a pair of grey trousers and a white t-shirt. While it was a lot simpler than the clothing which he was used to, Julius didn't complain and put on the clothes just as he was asked.

Outside his room was his father, who had been waiting for him to finish whatever he needed to do before leaving the kingdom for so long. The king escorted Julius all the way from his room down to the first floor of the castle then to the outside garden where his caravan was waiting for him.

The final people that were there to say their goodbyes to Julius were his father, mother and a few other servants which had connections to the prince. That of course included Liz. Although Julius wanted to say a proper goodbye to Liz in the informal manner which he was used to, he couldn't act that way in front of his parents, let alone the other servants.

Julius said goodbye to his parents before meeting Liz's gaze as it was the only way for him to say goodbye to her. Although Julius had a mother of his own, Liz was the other who had basically raised him. Julius didn't bother to ask why his mother was so formal and distant towards him as it didn't matter. To him, Liz was the only mother he would need. Julius also had his father who his compassion alone made up for what he lost from his biological mother.

Once inside the caravan, Julius couldn't help but start to feel nervous and scared while wondering what would happen when he met his father's master/teacher. A person who trained the world's strongest man would surely be a monster himself.

The caravan ride was relatively smooth. Nothing happened out of the ordinary but that was most likely because it was being guarded by over 50 men on horses which were part of the royal guards. Anyone who would dare face them would have to be insane.

After over 5 hours of continuous travel the caravan which Julius was in came to a stop. Since they had reached their destination, 2 of the royal guards got off their horses and began to unload the prince's luggage. Julius himself also exited the caravan to stretch as he had barely moved for so long. During those 5 hours, Julius had conquered his fear of his father's master and that fear was turned into excitement.

"Good luck prince Julius," the guards said as they headed back for the kingdom.

In front of Julius was an old shrine looking house. Outside of it sat a short old man as he drank his tea while he enjoyed the cold breeze. As Julius walked ever closer to the house, he stepped on a stick which cracked from the impact and caused the old man to turn his attention to him.

"You must be Henry's boy. I hear that he wants me to teach you how to cultivate in our world," said the old man.

"That's right mister..." Julius began to speak but didn't know his new teacher's name.

"You can just call me Jun. Anyway boy, come inside already. You've got a lot to learn," said Jun as he led Julius inside.

After managing to get everything inside his designated room, Julius was finally ready to learn how to cultivate. The one thing which everyone around him speaks of to be so profound and amazing.

"So master Jun, I hope that my father has already informed you of my status evaluation thing..." said Julius as he didn't want to make the old man have a heart attack.

"Oh yes, I already heard about it. News like that travels fast. I nearly got a heart attack... that was the reason I even agreed to take you as my disciple. An old man like me would never agree to take on the gruesome task of teaching unless it was for a special occasion which in this case happens to be true," said Jun, which brought both relief and worry to Julius.

"So Julius, what do you wish you could have?" Jun asked a bizarre question.

"... Uh, I already have everything I could ever need," Julius said as he tried to make himself look grateful.

"Cut that out. Stop with the fake acting. As your teacher, I need you to be honest so I can help you grow as fast and efficiently as possible. Nevertheless, I didn't ask what you needed, I asked what you wanted. Think about superpowers and stuff kids like you wish they had," said Jun.

"In that case, since we're speaking hypothetically I want to fly, teleport, turn invisible, create anything out of nothing, be able to run at the speed of lightning, control lightning itself and many more super powers," said Julius as he began to get enveloped in what he spoke of which brought a smile on Jun's face.