The sun had barely risen over the Phoenix Clan estate, yet the air was already charged with tension. The golden morning light stretched across the immaculate courtyard, casting long shadows that danced with the quiet promise of pain.
At the center of the training grounds, Ryker stood still, his small frame unwavering despite the lingering ache clawing at his muscles. Every inch of his body protested, the aftershocks of yesterday's brutal training refusing to fade. But pain was nothing new.
Pain was a teacher.
Yesterday had been grueling.
Today would be worse.
And that was exactly what he wanted.
Before him, Aiden stood tall and unmoving, his presence like an immovable mountain, unwavering beneath the sky. His expression was neutral, but his piercing crimson eyes gleamed with something unreadable—expectation, challenge, and perhaps, the faintest trace of amusement.
"How are you feeling today, Ryker? Are you fit enough to endure today's training?"
Ryker exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders, feeling the stiffness settle in his bones before pushing it away. His gaze did not waver.
"Yes, Father. Apart from a little soreness from yesterday, I think I can push through today's training… somehow."
For the briefest moment, Aiden's lips twitched, not quite forming a smile but something close to it. "Good."
Without another word, he raised his hand, and with a faint shimmer of silver light, several vials appeared, hovering just above his palm.
The air grew thick with power. Even without touching them, Ryker could feel the sheer potency radiating from the liquids inside.
"To make today's training both bearable and effective, I have brought you these."
The vials floated forward, aligning themselves in the air before Ryker.
He examined them closely. The first contained a deep violet liquid that shimmered like liquid amethyst. The second was a rich crimson, thick and heavy. The third was a bright cyan, swirling as if alive. But it was the last one that caught his attention the most—a golden-flame elixir, its surface pulsing like an actual heartbeat.
His fingers itched to reach for it, but he held back, waiting for his father's explanation.
Aiden's eyes gleamed as he motioned toward each vial. "The violet elixir is a Rejuvenation Elixir—it will accelerate your healing without interfering with the body's natural recovery process. The crimson elixir is a Bone Tempering Elixir, meant to reinforce your skeleton, making your bones harder, denser, and more durable. The cyan elixir is a Muscle Strengthening Elixir, which will break down and rebuild your muscle fibers, increasing flexibility, endurance, and raw strength."
His gaze then shifted to the golden vial, the one Ryker was most drawn to. "And this… this is the Phoenix Enhancing Elixir."
The moment the name left Aiden's lips, Ryker felt his blood stir.
"This elixir is different," Aiden continued, his voice taking on a lower, almost knowing tone. "Unlike the others, it does not simply strengthen one aspect of the body. It is a catalyst, one that amplifies every elixir consumed before it. It enhances all forms of training—physical, mental, and even mana cultivation. The strength of its effect depends entirely on its grade."
Ryker felt his heartbeat quicken slightly. He wasn't new to elixirs—every warrior in noble clans used them—but he had never heard of something this absurd.
His father's next words only deepened his shock.
"These are not ordinary elixirs. The ones before you are all Transcendent Grade Basic Elixirs, personally refined by me."
Ryker stiffened.
He knew what that meant.
Elixirs were divided into ranks and grades—Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, King, Emperor—and within each rank, there were six purity levels: Low, Mid, High, Peak, Perfect, and Transcendent.
Basic elixirs were mild enough to be used by Unawakened and novice realm awakened Anything beyond and a person would implode due to the excess energy and how vigorous and aggressive it was.
A low-grade elixir had minimal effect. A mid-grade was significantly stronger. A high-grade could change a warrior's foundation. A peak-grade was rare and coveted. A perfect-grade was legendary.
And a transcendent-grade?
It was so powerful it defied logic.
For an ordinary person, consuming even one drop of a low-grade basic elixir would require a few hours of careful absorption. But transcendent-grade? That was madness.
Then, there was the Phoenix Enhancing Elixir.
If a low-grade version of it multiplied the effects of all previous elixirs by tenfold, then a mid-grade multiplied it by twenty, a high-grade by forty, a peak-grade by eighty, and a transcendent-grade by one hundred sixty times.
Ryker's breath caught in his throat.
If these calculations were correct, then once he drank the Phoenix Enhancing Elixir, the effects of the previous three elixirs would be magnified over a hundred thousand times.
This was insanity.
Aiden watched his son closely, gauging his reaction.
"You're beginning to understand," he said smoothly. "The difference between the Phoenix Clan… and the rest of the world."
Ryker clenched his fists. This level of excessiveness, this absolute wealth in resources, was something only the rulers of humanity could afford. It was unfair—brutally, unfairly powerful.
And yet…
He would accept it all.
He would use everything at his disposal.
Aiden handed Ryker the Phoenix Enhancing Elixir and the Rejuvenation Elixir. "Take these first," he instructed firmly, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.
Ryker complied, downing the vials. The warmth of the elixirs surged through his body, restoring his drained energy and amplifying his physical resilience. The Rejuvenation Elixir worked its magic, accelerating his recovery without disrupting the natural healing process, while the Phoenix Enhancing Elixir pushed his body into an optimal state for the grueling session ahead.
"Keep your weighted leglets and bracelets on," Aiden commanded, his sharp gaze fixed on Ryker's determined posture. "Today, we're focusing on strength training. Strength is the backbone of what makes a warrior formidable. It determines the force behind your attacks and how much damage you can deal. Attacks imbued with greater strength don't just hurt—they reduce an opponent's stamina and durability.
His words were measured, but his intent was clear: every drill today had a purpose, and Ryker was expected to give it his all.
The first drill focused on weighted presses, targeting Ryker's core, arms, and legs simultaneously. The leglets and bracelets were set to 10 kilograms each—a weight designed to push him beyond his limits.
"Pressing trains your core, arms, and legs simultaneously," Aiden explained as Ryker started the arm and leg presses. "This isn't just about lifting. You'll need to maintain stability and form under pressure, building strength across your entire body."
The strain was immense. Each rep forced Ryker to dig deeper into his reserves of strength and determination. By the time he reached the final set of 300 presses, his muscles were trembling, sweat pouring down his face like a torrent. Yet, despite the agony, he refused to stop.
Aiden nodded as Ryker completed the last press, silently acknowledging his perseverance. After Ryker finally managed to complete the weighted arm and leg presses Aiden introduced the next drill also of the strength category.
"Next drill," Aiden said. He gestured to a pile of sandbags scattered across the courtyard. "Deadlift and sandbag carries. Each bag weighs 20 kilograms. Your task is to carry them to their designated spots, one by one. Run back and retrieve the next bag. Continue until all 75 sandbags are in place."
Ryker's stomach sank at the sheer number, but he didn't protest. He knew better than to question his father's methods.
Ryker complied doing exactly as he was instructed.it wasn't easy. The arm and leg presses had already zapped him of his spunk yet here he was doing a more difficult drill.
He struggled to keep up sometimes even stumbling and almost falling yet he steeled himself and continued. He knew despite his fathers exterior, he was quite overprotective of him which was even why he was going to such lengths to make him strong.
Aiden did not care about his ideals, his reason for getting stronger. All he cared about was that he wanted his son to be strong enough to protect himself should he one day not be able to do so, but Ryker knew should he show a moment of weakness that he couldn't take IT, Aiden would shut down the training and even if they were to continue it would be extremely mild compared to this. In fact, Aiden was already considering this and Ryker had realized it. That was why he wouldn't allow himself to show weakness. He would prove that he could bare it, he had what it took to overcome this and one day stand at the peak. And so, with this mindset he forced his body to push through, even though it was hard, even though he wanted to just lay here now and give up, he pushed through, he pushed his limits and beyond.
He thought back to Elias as he was going through this training, he had been given an advantage almost no one else had. To waste it would be an insult to all those unfortunates he wished to save in the future and so he pushed through, and eventually he managed to overcome the sandbags carries. Then came the dead weightlifting. Heavy objects weighing 15kg were put at his feet and Ryker was expected to lift each of them using proper form like he did for the sandbag carries but this time he had a time limit imposed on him.
Because of how exhausted he was he couldn't complete the drill in time. Aiden realizing Ryker was almost spent gave him a rejuvenation potion to restore his energy levels and speed up his recovery process. After which he gave him a 30-minute break. When Ryker returned from the break, he was made to redo the challenge and this time he managed to just barely complete it
Then came the agility drills.
"Strength alone is not enough," Aiden said. "Speed and precision are just as important. Agility isn't simply about being fast. It's about control—moving with intent, dodging, striking, and recovering without wasted motion."
I have already prepared a simulation of an obstacle course and with that he snapped his fingers, and the entire training field changed scenery changing into a vast forest like environment with hurdles, rope ladders, and narrow beams. Ryker was instructed to navigate the course as quickly as possible.
I'll first give you the chance to get a feel of the course then i'll time you, so go along have at it for now. Ryker nodded, running through the course, carefully examining and analyzing each of the obstacles and thinking of ways to overcome them. After going through the obstacle course a few times he finally felt he was ready to take it on. Aiden set timer and poof Ryker was off.
He weaved through the various obstacles jumping, sliding, sidestepping, running, taking slow but deliberate steps all at opportune moments, his mind perfectly recalling the information he had gathered during his free run. Ryker managed to go through the obstacle course a total of five times before the timer ran out earning admiration and praise from Aiden.
After Ryker completed the obstacle course Then came combat dodges, Aiden wielded a padded staff that did little but inflict slight painful sensation upon impact. Ryker's job was to dodge the staff and prevent it from touching him.
Aiden first started slow enabling Ryker to easily see the trajectory of the staff and make the appropriate choice on how to dodge it. Then his speed began to increase but Ryker amazingly was able to keep up.
Before long Ryker could no longer keep up with Aidens speed. With his perception and how advanced his mind was, he could see and detect the trajectory of the staff, but his body could not keep up with his mind. He had yet to train his body to that level, but he would, soon enough. Aiden continued to strike Ryker even though he knew the situation, his objective, to force Ryker to adapt and evolve on his own. Ryker did exactly that.
Instead of facing the staff head on and trying to predict its trajectory before dodging, he took the smart approach. He simply ensured with his sharp perception to always be just outside the range of the spear adjusting his foot work to sync with the rhythm of Aiden's continuous strikes, it worked and Aiden proud of what he was seeing, decided to further test the boy.
He increased his speed applying a little of his experience and adding a degree of randomness and unpredictability to his strikes.
This caught Ryker off guard but eventually he adapted adjusting his foot work to match. With the added pressure Aiden was putting on, Ryker's clumsy footwork began to look refined and before long he entered into a flow, his mind went black his heart felt free. His eyes lit up and his body felt extremely light. He began to dodge Aiden's strikes moving with expert precision.
It almost looked like he could see the future, Aiden observed this. It took all his will power and mental fortitude as an emperor stage cultivator to stop himself from jumping like a child. Ryker was having an epiphany and with this Ryker displayed two more talents he was exceptional in though the first was kind of obvious as he had talent in mind cultivation, insane comprehension talent and a talent for combat that was beyond the norm. The way he adapted even though this was his first rodeo was amazing. His footwork even though he had never been trained in combat was mind boggling. Aiden continued this dance with Ryker a smile on his face till eventually Ryker came out of his Epiphany, Aiden looked at him pride etched on his face. He had this instinctive desire to rush up to Ryker and pull him into a deep hug, but he relented.