3 Family Responsibility

McArthur family pavilion was a beautiful pavilion located in one of the busiest streets in Redwood. There were several buildings on it. Trevon followed his father entering the pavilion.

"Father, whom we will meet?" Trevon walked into the lobby area of the pavilion. There were lots of people came and went into the building. Most of them visited the receptionist and wrote something on the reception desk.

"Welcome to McArthur Redwood pavilion, Elder Alvaro!" A middle-aged man accepted their entourage. From his clothes, he wore a better robe than other employees in the pavilion. Clearly, the robe showed his higher position.

"Uncle Darvis, is my brother here?"

"Yes. Elder Charles is in the Moon Pavilion." Darvis answered Alvaro while guided them into a garden behind the reception area. They were walking through the garden when a beautiful girl appeared.

"Stay and accept your beating!" The girl screamed.

"Ugh..., Elder Sister Raina." It was Trevon's turn to get 1 shade darker. There were very few people that Trevon was afraid of, and this girl, Raina, was included in that list. Trevon quickly turned his body and started to run.

"Dragon Moonlight Claw!" She screamed. An illusion of a green dragon appeared before finally pinned Trevon down.

"I surrender! I surrender! Spare me Sis Raina!" Trevon screamed while being pinned by the green dragon. It took some seconds before the energy disappeared, but presently the girl was near their group.

"Raina greets Uncle Alvaro!" Compared to when she started to appear and suddenly attacked Trevon. Presently she acted as a beautiful lady. "Father was waiting for you. In the meantime, let me accompany Trevon. I promised he won't be able to create any trouble in my presence." She smiled evilly to Trevon.

[It is not that I can't create trouble, but I don't dare to make any trouble in front of you.] Trevon could only grumble in his heart.

"Fine, I have to trouble you, Raina."

"It is my pleasure to help you, Uncle Alvaro."

[Yes, it is your pleasure to torture me.] Trevon said in his heart.

"Uncle Cyde follow me! The rest can rest in the pavilion." Alvaro disbanded their group. This was not the first time they came to this family branch, so they knew where the location of their rest area. The group separated into 3 smaller groups. The first was Jerry and the others. They went to the rest area. The second was Alvaro, Cyde, and Darvis who went into the Moon Pavilion. The last group was Trevon and his nemesis, Raina.

"Aih, Sister Raina, I feel lots of shake during our journey. I want to go to my room to rest my weary body. Sorry for not entertaining you, Sis!" Trevon quickly stood up and showed a fist and hand salute. He started to look for a maid to ask.

"Oh, so your body feels tired? Let your elder sister massage you!" She started to grab Trevon's robe and squeezed her petite hand.

"Aw... I have already felt refreshed Sis!" Trevon screamed.

"Don't you feel tired? I haven't done anything and you already feel refreshed? It is not good not to circulate your blood when your body feels weary. You may get a blood clot." She started to punch and kick Trevon body.

"I am sorry Sis! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Why are you sorry my dear cousin? You should thank me." She still kicked and punched Trevon.

"Thank you, Sis! Thank you, Sis!"

"Why do I feel some resentments in it?"

"I won't dare Sis. I am truly thankful for your help, Sis." Trevon was squatting while getting pummeled. Both his hands were protecting his face.

"Ok, so now tell me! What did you do to make you came to Redwood?"

"What I did?" Trevon tried to remember, but there is nothing particular that he can remember. [Was is because I tried to cook Mr. Penny thunder cat? Wait, that is impossible, nobody knows about that.]

"I don't know sis, recently I just visited the usual place and gambled a bit."

"Usual place? What is that?"

"The usual place, where I hang with my friend, Sis. There was nothing particular about that place."

"Eternal Night?" Raina asked.

"What Eternal Night?" Trevon showed an afraid expression. He was especially afraid that his father heard it. "Anyway, that is not a good place to get out of a lady's mouth. Hahaha."

"Then, why are you there every time. The last time I visited Bluestar you were there. The previous visit you were also there."

[It is because being there are better than getting pummeled by you.] Trevon could only speak in his heart.

"What? You seem to talk about something."

"No. Sis, it's just that my friend liked that place so much that I accompanied them."

"Do you think I know nothing, Trevon? What about the word Golden Hand Trevon?"

"What is Golden Hand Tevon? I truly know nothing about that, Sis."

Raina only clutched her hand.

"Wait... I surrender. Don't hit me, Sis! Aw. I have an appointment with a lady this night, please spare my face. Spare my face, Sis!" Trevon got another pummel.

Since they were kids, Trevon always lost to Raina. While at some time Trevon was a genius, Raina was also one of the family geniuses. In this world, a tiger father bred a dog son rarely appeared. Unless when that father was still a dog when he made the child.

An example was Alvaro and Charles's eldest brother, Robert McArthur. He was born when Trevon's grandfather was still a Peak Rank 1 warrior from a marriage with a Peak Rank 1 lady warrior. Robert, until his death, at 180 years old only managed to reach to reach Middle Rank 1. Alvaro and Charles didn't have the chance to meet their eldest brother.

Children's talents were depending on their genes. By ranking up, cultivators tempered their body and at the same time their genes. There was a 25 % chance of one talent came from one's father. The other 25% came from one's mother. There was 6.25% chance came from each one's grandfathers and grandmothers. 1.5625% chance came from each one's great-grandfather, and so on.

This was not a fixed thing because there were people who inherited parts, all, or better talents than the ancestor. This was most likely just 1 Rank higher or lower. The last was the example of Robert. Both Peak Rank 1 couple had a Middle Rank 1 son. The chance to inherit a better talent was the reason why there was a better descendant on later generations. This was the reason why sometimes a non-cultivator family gave birth to a Rank 1 cultivator. This possibility was called God's Blessing.

Since both Trevon's paternal grandfather and grandmother were top cultivators at the time they gave birth to Alvaro. There was at least 12.5% chance of Trevon born a Rank 3 genius from them. Added by Alvaro Rank at that time, that was a 25% extra chance for Trevon to become a Rank 2 warrior at last. It was a decent rank for an elder in the family.

Unfortunately, he failed the family. After he reached 8 years old, the genius Trevon turned into the useless Trevon. This was one of the unfortunate things that were happened in McArthur family. Each Rank 3 was the backbone of the family.

The family at the beginning thought that Trevon was the 12.5% genius based on his cultivation speed. Unfortunately, he was not. Some people consider that Trevon got the talent from his mother's side and happened to receive a God's Blessing. Therefore, he could only be a Peak Rank 1 warrior at most. The way he stuck on Beginner Rank 1 proved that. Beginner Rank 1 was thought to be his limit.

Raina got the gene from her father's family, most likely her grandfather since Charles was not considered a talented person. Her mother was one of Charles' concubines. She was a non-cultivator woman. Raina and Trevon's grandfather was the same, Grand Elder Douglas McArthur. The difference was that Charles was born earlier from Douglas with one of his concubines. There was about 300 years difference between Charles and Alvaro.

Cultivators lived a far longer time than normal people. Rank 0 cultivator even had an additional 20 years compared to the non-cultivator. Primary Rank 1 cultivator could have an additional 50 years. Most non-cultivator humans could only live until 100 years maximum. This number would increase while a cultivator raised their cultivation.

For example, Charles was a Top Rank 2 warrior with an additional 450 years lifespan. Because of this, he could live until 550 years old. He was 432 years old at this time. Charles had felt that he had reached his potential. Therefore, he dedicated himself to help family management.

On the other hand, Alvaro could live until 600 years old because he was a Peak Rank 2. Peak Rank 2 warrior had 500 additional years. This was why Alvaro looked like 21 years old teenager, even as his real age was over 100 years old. The beginning of this look was depending on the end of human growth, which for most it would end at 21 years old.

No matter how hard one cultivated, one wouldn't be able to grow smaller. So, there had never been a 10-years old loli with over 4.000 years old age in this world. Unless there was a special martial art. There were countless martial arts in the world.

On the other hands was aging. Most cultivators would age slowly. Some could look like a 21-years-old person. Some intentionally increased their aging by reducing the tempering on their skins and hairs. Most cultivators would start to look old during the last 100 years of their lifespan. At this period the tempering effect would be reduced.

However, the main reward for being a cultivator was the additional age. This additional age was one of the reasons why people always wanted to become a cultivator.

Of course, being a cultivator also had some cons. Cultivators were the people who fight destiny. They wanted to increase their lifespan and power so they could decide on their own path. On the other side, destiny limited and stole people's age. The race between rank up and die of old age had been the biggest battle of a cultivator. This made cultivator often spent most of their time cultivating. This cultivation time made most cultivators had lower mental age compared to their actual age.

For example, Alvaro spent 80 years from his 126 years age in total cultivation. Therefore, his mental maturity was only about 40 years old. Most of his maturity was later after he faced a bottleneck and ended his secluded cultivation. Even at 30 years old, he still acted like children and made lots of mistakes that need Cyde to clean.

5 minutes have passed. The punched that Trevon got started to get reduced.

"Never lie to your big sister! Remember?"

"Yes, I will remember that." Trevon half cried answered that.

"Now, what did you do in Bluestar?"

"I only tried to kidnap Mr. Penny's thundercat since I want a thundercat pet, but it scratched me before I managed to put it into my bag." [I should not tell her that I tried to eat the thundercat because I heard it's good for my little brother.]

"No way, it seems your father asked my father to teach you something. There is no way uncle will bring you on a mission without reason." Raina started to think.

"Well, that is confusing. Just accompany me to look around! I will show you the city. This should be your second time here, but you don't know anything about this city, Right?"

[Yes, the first time, I was punched by you as soon as I arrived in the city and needed to rest until the time the group returned to Bluestar. I haven't checked all the girl in the city and got all the treasure in the market.]

"Why is there no answer?" Raina started to focus her eye to Trevon.

"Yes, Sis!"

"Now follow me!" Raina grabbed Trevon hand and started to lead him.

Different from her real age, Raina mental age was lower than Trevon. She spent most of her life in cultivation, and therefore the just punch and talk later attitude of her.

Since in the family academy, she had bullied Trevon with punches. As a self-proclaimed gentleman, he would never counter-attack her. In his dictionary, there was a never attack a female code.

Gentleman? No. He was more afraid that if he attacked a lady, the lady would spread the gossip in the girl community. It would reduce his chance to woo them in the future.

This was his hard-learned experience since he was a child. He once stole a girl lollipop. The next day he was attacked by all girls in his class. On the same day, news of Lollipop Stealing Trevon appeared in all girls from Bluestar cultivator families. This was why he couldn't get any cultivator girlfriend until now. This difficulty was added with his notorieties in the following years.

At the same time in the Moon Pavilion. Alvaro, Cyde, Davis, and a white-haired man were talking while drinking tea.

"Trevon is only 15 years old. This is the time for him to play. You should not worry about him. I remember when you were 43 years old, you still bullied that 19 years old Farlen young master. Also, at that time when you were 110 years old, you asked me to help you win younger sister's heart. I remember you asked me to send 30 thugs to be beaten by you."

"Cough... Cough..." This time Alvaro got chocked. "I was young in mental age at that time. Trevon is different. He was barely in cultivation seclusion. You should not compare us, Elder Brother."

"Being a Beginner Rank 1 warrior, already give him lots of time. Even if he plays around, he still has lots of time to contribute to the family. Let's just wait for him to reach 18 years old before asking him to help in management! There was still the possibility that he is a talent. Don't you forget father was a Peak Rank 3, and your mother, Grand Elder Issabella, was at Top Rank 3 when you were conceived! He may be a Rank 3 talent like them or you. His past training speed was definitely in the talented category."

"It has been 7 years, but he somehow had already faced a bottleneck. Normally people have a bottleneck when they were at Peak Rank or when they reach their maximum potential. But he is still in the Beginner Rank. I believe he had used all his cultivation potential. Some kids can only reach part of their ancestor's talent. Perhaps like what most people said, he is a God's Blessing."

"He was still young, Alvaro. Most of our direct descendants are allowed 18 years to improve their cultivation before they need to serve the family. He is only 15 Alvaro, give him 3 more years before I took him as an apprentice."

"It is not like he still cultivated. Just a bit cultivation and he had already gone somewhere. It is not that I haven't tried to watch him cultivate. Even under guidance, he couldn't improve his cultivation. If I don't give up right now, I may waste his time and our family resource."

"Why do you think Cyde?" Charles asked Cyde, unlike Alvaro, who are younger, Charles was far older than Cyde so he called Cyde by his name.

"I think young master Trevon should start to learn about family responsibility. I remember young master Alvaro also got a bottleneck at Peak Rank 1. From 5 years old until you were 35 years old, you always secluded in the family village. After you joined family missions, you reached Peak Rank 2 in less than 100 years. The real world is also another tempering for us cultivator. I don't think he is less talented than you, I remember you were 9 years old when you reached Beginner Rank 1." Cyde suggested to Alvaro based on his experience.

From this Trevon can be seen as a genius of genius back then, in just 3 years of cultivation, he reached Beginner Rank 1. Even the genius of McArthur family, Alvaro, needed 4 years to reach Beginner Rank 1. While it seemed strange, actually it wasn't. Some people were really a genius of genius. There were also some cultivators with normal talent who got a sudden enlightenment. This often allowed one to rank 1 cultivation stage higher.

Some people argued that Trevon was just a super lucky person and got multiple enlightenment. Most people wouldn't experience enlightenment in their lives. But what enlightenment could 5 years old kid get? Most people need to travel, brave dangerous mission, search for a dangerous place, or involved in multiple life and death battle with their rival before they can get a bit of enlightenment. Other needed to ponder on a wonder of the world. But what danger or wonder an 8-years old kid faced in a family academy.

There was even a grand feast when Trevon reached 8 years old and managed to reach a Beginner Rank 1 warrior. Some elders even suggested enrolling Trevon in their family village.

A family village was a hidden training ground that only opened to a proven genius in a family. Most of the training was started after one reach 18 years old after they finished normal academy. Alvaro was an exception since he was enrolled when he was 5 years old.

Raina was one of those geniuses who would be enrolled in Family Village. This was proven by being a Top Rank 1 warrior when she was just 18 years old. Most normal cultivator would reach that rank at 23 to 25 years old. She would be enrolled at the end of this year after she completed her enrollment in the Imperial Redwood Senior Academy. It was an academy owned by the imperial family in Redwood.

Kids in Heavenly Phoenix were required to be enrolled in education academy. Some family often has their own academies. McArthur family had McArthur Bluestar Elementary Academy. It was the place where Trevon and Raina studied in the past. The academy was a special academy managed by McArthur Family. Other than Elementary, there were also Junior and Senior Academy. Their family's academies were ranked the best in Bluestar.

Elementary was for kids between 5-12 years old. Junior Academy was for kids between 12-15 years old. Senior Academy was for kids between 15-18 years old.

After one complete Senior Academy, normal people would continue to a College. Royal College was the best in Heavenly Phoenix. All of its students would become the pillar of the country. They may become important people, minister, general, or strategist in the palace. Some less talented member of cultivation family would be sent to this College so they can learn and serve in family management. Only the talented ones would be further cultivated.

4 hours later, they were on the busiest road in Redwood, the Central Marketway. Raina was wearing a veil. Some unmarried woman would choose to wear a veil when they went out of the house. It was a sign that they didn't want people to court them. Some beautiful girls also didn't want to be bothered by people, so they wore the veil outside the house.

"Now, carry this thing for me!"

"Yes, Sis."

"This one seems cute. Pay it for me!"

"What?"

A punch appeared

"Yes, Sis."

"Now, you seem to understand." Raina stopped her punch. "Let's look into that store, the uncle always had unique items inside."