Valerian's first lesson with Richard was exactly how he expected it to be. A set of training clothes was given to him the night before and when the sun rose Richard came for him and dragged him, drowsy as he was to the courtyard. So Valerian stood there in his new leather outfit, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes in front of a frowning armoured giant.

"Sharpen up!" Richard commanded.

Valerian tried, he really did. He knew the kind of man his uncle was. Curt, strict and direct. He didn't mince words and on account of his throat injury, he didn't like to speak much either. He was the second most feared person in the manor and the most obviously dangerous. He was someone Valerian looked up to as a model of what a warrior should be.

He didn't want to disappoint the man but getting dragged out of bed at sunrise was disorientating. He now understood the complaints of the other manor guards. Looking up, he saw Richard staring at him with a frown still on his face.

"Run a lap around the courtyard", the man barked at him.

On account of his drowsiness, it took a few seconds before the words registered. Once they did his nearly halted. 'Wait... what?' he tried a half-hearted attempt to get out of it. It didn't work but he managed to compose himself enough to claim that he was fully awake. The cold frown on his uncle's face stopped him though. It was clear that he wasn't getting out of it.

It turned out that the run did wake him up. It left him tired and panting, but awake. He put his all into it hoping to at least impress the giant in front of him but he had no such luck. There was not even a hint of a change in the man's expression. It almost made him want to complain but he knew full well that it would get him nowhere. The guards that did usually had their training doubled.

"The tellurian path is not an easy one. It requires a fit body and a lot of physical training. The body is a vessel and the better the vessel the better the qi that can be stored in it. Thus to be a tellurian is to have a well-trained body. In addition to this, tellurians focus on physical combat which is impossible to use effectively without training. I will be responsible for yours".

He paused here with a look of discomfort on his face. Valerian was worried. The scar running down his jaw looked extra red today. He wondered why. He knew that his uncle had been in the army at one point and had gotten severely injured in a mission. So injured in fact, he was bedridden for half a year. He had to relearn how to talk and walk. His cultivation even declined. However when he recovered he pushed himself so hard, he not only regained his former level, he surpassed it.

It was even suspected that he was about to break into the king tier. All this Valerian had learnt from listening to the guards talk. It was one of the reasons he so respected the man. Anyone who could suffer such wounds, survive and make such a dramatic comeback was more than worth the respect.

"The tellurian path is separated into seven tiers; Practitioner, Lord, King, Emperor, Sage, World Incarnate and Divinity. But being a tellurian is not as simple as using qi, accomplishing feats and breaking through the tiers. First you have to transform your physical form. Using world essence and a chosen cultivation method you first have to transform your bones strengthening them and improving your marrow. Then your flesh so as to give you not only a strong frame but also dense, powerful musculature.

Once this is done you may then open your meridians allowing you to channel qi throughout your body, completing your transformation and allowing you to use the battle skills and enhancements that tellurians are known for. Once you have gathered enough qi you may condense it into a core crystal and become a true tellurian practitioner".

"All this though is a matter of cultivation. Something you will do on your own according to the clan's Great Monolithic Art. My mission is to sculpt you into a warrior and train you to fight. This does not mean that your cultivation and my training are separate. If you have any questions or run into any problems you tell me is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" Valerian exclaimed. Richard's eyes swept him for a moment and then nodded.

"Every day after you wake up you will come here. Under my supervision, you will perform a series of drills and exercises before we move on to actual combat training. You may then leave and practise cultivation while I discharge my duties", again he paused to check if Valerian was following.

"For combat, we will be practising the family's greatest martial art; The Fighting Arts Of Harry and Clude. Harry and Clude were ancestors of ours. They were twin tellurian combat geniuses who came up with an incredible fighting style that has become the official style of the entire clan. Its principles focus on teamwork and the maximisation of defence and attack.

"The two brothers went everywhere together and did everything together. Whenever they had a task to do they would split it into two and each would take half. Fighting was no different. Clude the older one would defend and Harry would attack. It was simple and effective. Whilst Clude grabbed the enemy's attention and blocked the attacks Harry would seize the opportunity to finish them off.

"This does not mean that Harry could not protect himself or that Clude was incapable of attacking. Anyone not careful when facing Clude would get a shield bash to the face and a blade to the gut. Each just had a primary focus and together they covered each other's weaknesses whilst maximising group effectiveness. That is why it is required training for all Steelborns. It is a fighting style that maximises team efficiency and was created and developed with our legacy in mind. Attacks and defenders working side by side.

"Due to the origin of the fighting style attackers are informally known as Harriers whilst defenders are called Cluders. You will be taught the basics of both arts after which you will specialise in whichever one you lean towards. Any questions?"

"Which are you, Uncle Richard?" Valerian couldn't help but ask.

"I am an expert at both but I usually act as a cluder. Anything else?"

Valerian thought a little before asking, stroking his chin in a manner that nearly made the stern warrior chuckle. "Uncle Richard, you mentioned that the Fighting Arts of Harry and Clude are developed from and can maximise our clan's legacy. Elder Foreson also mentioned that with my strength I probably possess the clan legacy but I still don't know what the clan legacy is".

"I see..." Richard said in his hoarse voice. It only took him a second to make a decision and it was very dramatic too.

His entire form twitched, convulsed and then expanded right before Valerian's stunned eyes. Richard, who was naturally over two metres tall, shot up till he was a little over three meters tall. He didn't just grow taller. That same multiplication factor was applied to every aspect of his body be it width or musculature. His skin became a steely grey and his hair turned into quill-like bristles. Large steel spikes even shot out from his shoulders, elbows, knuckles, heels and knees.

If he looked dangerous before he now looked like a terror no one would like to meet on a dark night. Valerian didn't have to be told to know that this form had increased his power by a large margin. Strangely though his armour stayed on perfectly. Gauntlets, greaves, breastplate, nothing was broken. In fact, it looked like it had become part of him.

"This the Steel Monolith transformation, our clan's top blood legacy. It appears in eight out of ten clan members with innate metal attributes. There are some who go as far as to call this our true form. It gives us incredibly strong, dense, durable bodies. Even in my normal form, I am able to put out a little over fifty tonnes per arm. The transformation quadruples my strength and increases my speed by fifteen per cent. My defence becomes so great that steel shatters when it strikes me".

Valerian was stunned. "Y-your armour?" he blurted out.

"A special design from the clan's artificers to account for our legacy".

Valerian looked up at the three-meter-tall giant in front of him stars shining in his eyes. "Uncle Richard, you're so cool! How come I never knew about this stuff? How did we get such a cool transformation?"