Valerian nodded. He breathed in deeply and taking a step forward he punched out with all his strength for the first time in his life. The fist cut through the air at an impressive speed before it met the elder's palm. It was a simple punch devoid of any proper skill and performed with an untrained fist. Yet the moment it met the elder's palm a loud sound could be heard and the elder's eyes immediately became serious.

THUD!!!

You would think someone had slammed a stone club into a wooden wall. A slight wind from the strike swept through the area and ruffled the elder's clothes. However, his palm remained unmoved. Indeed it was as if nothing had happened to it but shock could be seen on his face and on the faces of all the other grown-ups.

Valerian withdrew his fist. In his mind, he nodded appreciatively. Sure enough, a clan elder was not that simple. The strength of someone at the king tier could not be underestimated at all. He would definitely have to acquire this kind of strength in the future. No, he would have to be stronger.

Valerian had a good estimate of his own strength. This was the other reason he ignored all the provocations at school and declined all fights despite how annoying they got.

For as long as he could remember he had always been abnormally strong. He didn't notice it at first but eventually, as he grew older he began to see the disparities between his own strength and that of the servants in the household. Still, it wasn't until he knocked his grandfather out by accident when he was celebrating his fifth birthday that he realised how great it actually was.

That day was etched into his memory. Even now he wondered what would have happened if his grandmother had not taken him aside and spoken to him. When his grandfather woke up he did not remember anything and no one was in a hurry to tell him. But he learned his lesson then and from that day he kept a tight rein on his strength. He never unleashed his strength again till now when he poured out everything he had and even that was unable to so much as move the elder.

The elder's view of things was completely different. He and the others had suspected Valerian's strength and decided to test it. However, even though prepared, he had totally underestimated how much of it there was. If not for some swift last-minute adjustments, he might have been humiliated. What would people think if they found out that an eight-year-old had actually struck his palm away? Sadly, he was not entirely successful as proved by the fact that he failed to completely neutralise the force behind the punch.

The other two were the same. They had a clear idea of what happened thanks to their heightened senses. Thus they saw plainly how powerful Valerian's punch was and what it took to stop it. Their assessment of his worth shot up even more. Dual force, double dual innate attributes, an essence level forty-one times average and now this frightening degree of strength. Even a daft, blind, ignoramus could see that this boy was going to a major talent in the future.

Quickly they dismissed him and got down to business.

"Elder Foreson, just how strong is Valerian?" Valan asked curiously. In this gathering, his position as a magistrate and lord of the manor accounted for nothing. The elders were all older and more powerful physically and politically. No one was going to call him lord or master here. Just plain old Valan.

"The boy possesses at least four tonnes of strength behind his punches", Foreson admitted.

"Four tonnes..." Valan mumbled in astonishment.

"I know", Foreson stated. "He definitely inherited the first legacy. In fact, his inheritance is probably comparable to the patriarch's. Even though it is not fully awakened, his strength outstrips those of his peers who have full access to it. My guess is that it will reveal itself in full when he reaches the qi gathering stage like it does for most late bloomers".

Valan nodded mutely for a second stroking his chin as was his fashion. Then a thought struck him. "Then my request..?"

Foreson nodded in acknowledgement his eyes unusually bright. "Rest assured. It will surely be accepted. Even if it is not I will do everything in my power to make it so. The boy will receive the full support of the clan and the top-secret manuals will be made available to him. It's just... are you sure that you want Richard and Jonas to take charge of his training? You can move back into the clan compound. That way access will be even easier and he will have the best tutors on hand".

"I'm sure!" Valan stated firmly. "The two have looked forward to the role from the moment he was born and their current level is more than enough to drill him for now. We will focus on the basics and if he needs any specialised or advanced training I guarantee that we'll seek the aid of the clan".

The elder wanted to protest the decision but he reflected on the resoluteness of Valan's stance and the hard set of his jaw and thought better of it. In its place, he sighed and shook his head slightly. Perhaps it was best. Given the issues Valan had in the past, his presence could upset the current balance of powers especially given how gifted his grandson was. Looking the frail man over he couldn't help but think, 'It truly is a pity'.

Valerian sat in his favourite courtyard with one of the manor's hounds at his feet. He reflected on the events of the last few days and had to admit that even he was a bit dazed. Three days ago he had been a student of Fang's Grammar School. Now he was a soon-to-be cultivator with the highest ever measured potential in the city of DaleGuard. He had overheard some of the servants speak and knew that many were already referring to him as a Heaven warping talent.

He had to admit that he liked the sound of that.

Lost in thought he nearly didn't notice the elders leaving. His grandfather was seeing them off but they declined, unwilling to trouble him and so he ended up leaving them not far from the entrance of his courtyard. However, they did not immediately leave. Rather they watched his grandfather hurry back into the main building. Then one of the elders opened his mouth.

"Looking at him it is hard to imagine that his father, mother, son and now grandson were all the most outstanding geniuses of their generations. What went wrong?"

Another assented. "I know. It's so unfair. How did a wastrel like him come from such a great bloodline? Remembering all the resources that were wasted on him when he was younger still hurts my heart. If even one of my sons had half the opportunities he had growing up he would be stronger than me now."

"Enough!" Elder Foreson barked at them. "Remember, Valan is still the son of the patriarch".

"That doesn't excuse him nor does it explain how he wound up being such trash", the first to speak pointed out.

Even Foreson had to admit he had a point. "No it does not. I guess Heaven has to even things out somehow".

The three elders continued their talk as they left. Neither of them spared a thought for the young boy in the courtyard not too far away. It wasn't that they did not notice him there. They just dismissed him. He was a child and they kept their voices low. The distance between them was also significant. There was no way that he would hear anything. How could they possibly know that Valerian was blessed with incredibly sharp senses? 

Counting the legs of a centipede from a hundred meters away was nothing to him. Neither was listening to a conversation carried out less than seventy meters away. Thus the elders left not sparing him a glance thereby missing the sharp, wrathful look that existed in those same eyes as they watched them go.