He couldn’t be blamed for this.
After all, slowing down one’s breathing rate to calm the body is fundamentally not much different from sleeping... That is to say, the preparatory phase of the Guiding Technique is essentially a controllable deep sleep, capable of swiftly restoring one’s strength and guiding out the energy that inherently lies dormant within the body.
Only when one can hold onto that dream-like tranquility, stay in control of one’s body within that peace, and master the rhythm of one’s breath to fan the flames and feed the furnace within, can one truly be said to have achieved mastery over the Guiding Technique.
"Making progress so quickly."
Realizing that Ian had indeed fallen asleep, and was sleeping soundly at that, Hiliard wasn’t annoyed but instead felt reassured and clapped his hands with satisfaction, "Only with a tranquil heart can one fall asleep in an instant... How can a child’s mind, cluttered with chaos and swirling thoughts, be expected to fall asleep on command?"
"Being able to do so indicates a preliminary control over one’s own body. Subsequent learning of the Guiding Technique and mastery over the breathing rhythm are merely a natural progression."
While the minds of children are said to be pure, they are actually just ignorant. Their thoughts are extremely disordered, sometimes they themselves don’t even know what they want to do, their sense of self is very weak, and they can’t even sense the fear of danger and death. That’s why children tend to not notice street carriages and may even suddenly dash out from the side of the road.
Therefore, proper Sublimation Cultivation normally begins after adolescence, once mental stability is reached and hormonal disruptions have ceased.
Only great families with superior Inheritances and sufficient instructors to guide the process can commence cultivation at an earlier age.
Recalling his own past, Hiliard started on The Path of Sublimation at the age of fourteen and learned the Guiding Technique in ten days, astonishing his instructors, father, and the entire family.
Now, eight-year-old Ian would probably master it within a week.
However, Hiliard felt that Ian’s Awakened Spiritual Power played a role.
Spirit Energy Users who cultivate the Guiding Technique often achieve twice the result with half the effort since their power comes from the mind, just as the Guiding Technique does, being skills of the same origin.
Even so, Ian’s talent could at least be compared with his own... Maybe there was quite a difference in physical quality, but since he didn’t Awaken Spirit Energy at the age of eight, rounded up, it indeed wasn’t too different.
"Quite light."
As Hiliard picked up the sleeping Ian and carried him back into the room, he could tell the difference between the children from the Southern Immigrant District and those from the Imperial Capital—the latter weighed at least three-fifths more.
He couldn’t help but sigh deeply, "The Empire still has children who go hungry, The Empire still has people who cannot get enough to eat."
"Our cause..."
Hiliard shook his head, then closed his mouth.
He placed Ian on the bed, gently covered him with a blanket, and the old knight walked out of the house, disappearing into the night.
A dreamless night.
When Ian awoke, he felt refreshed and comfortable all over.
"My brain feels cool... It seems that even my Spirit Energy is running more smoothly!"
The boy couldn’t help but marvel, as the sleep he had the night before was the best he ever had, and could perhaps be described as the most comfortable one since he had memory.
Activating ’Clairvoyant Vision’, he surveyed his surroundings and noticed that the fog shifted a little faster than before.
He tried to recall the events of the previous night.
Even though it was during his sleep, Ian still felt a warm current rush from his heart, circulating throughout his body, as if soaking every cell, bone, tendon, and organ... and his head seemed to be bathed in a comfortable warm bath, without the slightest feeling of suffocation, incredibly relaxed and comfortable.
Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long before he woke up.
And when he did wake up, it was already the next morning.
"A deep sleep, huh."
Noticing the discrepancy between subjective and objective time, Ian pondered, "Just beginning to learn the Guiding Technique, it already enables one to have a good night’s sleep... Not to mention its ability to accelerate the condensation of Origin Quality, this alone is worth my earnest research."
A good night’s sleep may sound simple, but in reality, how many people long for it without avail?
Obviously, however, such sleep came at a cost. The moment Ian got up and threw off the blanket, he was hit by a wave of hunger, as if he hadn’t eaten for two days and his stomach was stuck to his back with hunger.
It appeared the breathing rhythm of the Guiding Technique, as well as the subsequent deep sleep state, while nurturing the body, also consumed a substantial amount of nourishment.
At that moment, he smelled the scent of fish soup wafting from the living room.
"Awake? Go exercise a bit, it’s still too hot now."
He got up and went to the living room just in time to see Hiliard bringing up a pot of stewed fish soup. He glanced at Ian, who had just woken up, then instructed him, "The porridge is also ready. Take some fish soup later to feed your little brother, as he refuses to let me feed him."
"...Okay!"
Ian had already smelled the strong aroma, and the rumbling of his stomach was growing louder, but he gritted his teeth and agreed, then turned and went out the door, ready to do some stretching exercises.
Hiliard followed him out the front door, intending to see how Ian would train himself and then provide tips on correct warm-up and exercise movements, gradually forming a habit of exercise for him.
But to his surprise, he found that Ian’s warm-up and exercises were quite systematic.
Though they weren’t laying the groundwork for various combat techniques and the intensity of training was insufficient, they were wholly adequate for stretching and limbering up the muscles and bones.
"Many say that wisdom is a gift from the heavens. The true Chosen Ones need no one to teach them, for they can develop their own martial techniques and inheritance..."
He couldn’t help but murmur in his heart, filled with emotion, "I used to disbelieve, for even I couldn’t do it, but I never expected to actually encounter one."
If Ian could hear the emotion in Hiliard’s heart, he would certainly laugh in his own mind.
Although gene modification had become the norm on Earth, biological machines still needed regular maintenance to remain in good working order, especially since his workplace was in a zero-gravity environment in space, where exercise was crucial to avoid space sickness.
This set of exercises was indeed simple but also covered the most critical parts of the body, representing the most advanced training methods.
Since Ian already had his own exercise regimen, Hiliard wasn’t in a hurry about it.
At this moment, he was observing Ian’s exercise habits, noting what the regimen lacked, preparing to perfect it before using it as a base to derive subsequent training plans.
"Let’s go back to eat," he said.