Shell Island - Coral Village

The following years weren't easy on Ryujin.

He was finally allowed to do a lot of questions, filling most of the holes in his vocabulary and starting to finally learn about his family and the new world (or at least pretending to do the first part).

He learnt that they were living in the Coral Village, that was part of the Shell Island, which in turn was part of the Kingdom of Atlantea.

His parents knew about the neighboring countries by name, but that was it. They knew nothing about the life outside the village, nor did they care about it.

In their eyes the king was some sort of mythical beast, they put all their faith and worries in Count Ning.

Not only did he administer justice and taxes in the county, he would also always take part in Atlantea's spring festival as the guest of honor.

No one ever mentioned anything about cultivation, wars or history in the family. They only told them tales that could be easily dismissed as bedtime stories even in this new world.

All of their stories were filled with beautiful princesses, valiant heroes and villainous tyrants.

Ryujin was truly dissatisfied by such little information. He wanted to know what was the planet's name, what was the stage of scientific development it had developed.

He wanted to learn about the history of cultivation, the lore, the legends, anything that could give him at least a clue about what to expect from life.

But it was clear they knew little more than gossip, so he could not make questions he was not even supposed to think about.

At least his family history was much easier to fully understand, despite how tragic it was.

---

Apparently, Shin and Raja's parents, were wealthy businessmen who were childhood friends and business partners.

They both had only one son each; Shin and Raja, who where the heirs to their fortunes and friendship.

Their bonds could be said to have been predestined as it had been forged since their childhood and strengthened by their shared experiences, based on a silent oath of allegiance.

Lin had been born a few years later, and since the moment she had laid her eyes on Shin, her heart beat in sync with every mention of the latter's name, even as they transitioned into their youth.

Lin had not only been enamored by Shin's strength and intellect, but also his noble spirit.

Recognizing the blossoming affection between Shin and Lin, their perceptive parents orchestrated a union that promised to solidify their alliance and bring happiness to their children.

It was this familial unity and shared history, that produced Ryujin, heralding the dawn of a new era, and symbolizing the love and unity that defined their family's lives.

However, amidst the prosperity of both families and few months just before Ryujin was born, a shadow lurked behind the scenes in the form of the Coral Village's chieftain; an unscrupulous man of insatiable greed and envy.

Apparently, as the wealth and influence of Raja and Shin's family burgeoned, eclipsing his own, his envy began to fester until it turned into fear.

He saw in them a rising power that threatened his reign, a force that could sway the Atlantean King's favor to strip him of his title, and bestow it unto the allied family.

Thus, in a vile act of treachery, the chieftain orchestrated the assassination of the patriarchs of both families, plunging their households into chaos.

However, his ambition was unbridled, and thus didn't stop there.

He was intent on dismantling the allied family's legacies and claim their riches for himself, just as he had done with others families before them.

His first strike was against Raja's estate, where his forces unleashed havoc, their siege bringing the family to its knees.

Raja's wife had lost her life during the chaos, leaving the former with responsibility of caring and loving their twins.

When word of the attack reached Shin, the latter, out of ferocious anger, had rallied his family's warriors and rushed to his sworn brother's aid.

Then another round of ferocious battle ensued, with Shin's determination matched only by the chieftain's cowardice.

Amidst the turmoil, the chieftain, had wounded the pregnant Lin, hoping to break Shin's spirit, and  leave him with a never-healing emotional wound.

However, Shin's mother managed to take the brunt of the assault, sacrificing herself to ensure the continuity of her lineage.

Then upon securing Lin's safety, Shin embarked on a vengeful and relentless hunt for the chieftain.

For two solid months, he scoured the land with an unyielding resolve, and when he finally found the chieftain, he slaughtered the latter mercilessly, leaving the vermin in a pool of his own blood.

Unfortunately, his pursuit for vengeance and justice had gone on for too long, and thus, delayed his return to witness the birth of his son, Ryujin.

He had been in so much rush to return home that he had forgotten he was still soaked from head to toe in the chieftain's blood, hence his appearance upon returning on the day Ryujin was born.

Nevertheless, all was not lost as the citizens of Coral Village who had been overly repulsed by the chieftain's antics, but too scared to voice their displeasure, voiced their desire to make the allied family their new chieftain.

This was the reason why Ryujin's family seemed poor on the surface; however, everyone in the village knew that once they assimilated the chieftain's wealth and consolidate their new assets, then the family would be able to return to their former glory, if not surpass it.

---

Upon learning about this, Ryujin finally understood why his father and uncle rarely came around; obviously, they were in the process of establishing their control and rights over the chieftain's wealth, before reorganizing their family.

~Hu~

Ryujin sighed as he recalled how the midwives had celebrated amongst themselves when they realized that they had managed to save his life and deliver him safely.

Nonetheless, he couldn't help but grieve over both his grandparents, and grimace at the thought that the tragedy and its ensuing chaos had only occurred barely a year ago, and might have claimed his life.

Based on these information, Ryujin finally noticed why no one seemed to visit their family, or why the six of them were the only ones around; apparently, the villagers or their tribesmen were simply giving them the space and time they needed to grieve and reconsolidate.

Also, based on his understanding, Raja was 31, Shin was 26, Lin was 21, Jada and Dara were 6 while he was just a year old, going 2.

Despite all this knowledge, Ryujin could only continue to live on and pretend he was a toddler.

Now that he knew the reason why cultivation hadn't been mentioned even once since he had been born, he still held hope to eventually gain some knowledge about it.

However, the fact that he had to maintain his cover only made him more frustrated.

The plight his family had suffered was a testament to why he needed to amass power; if his grandparents had possessed an overwhelming level of physical and Qi strength, then they perhaps might have avoided their tragic fates.

For now however, he knew he had to be sensitive; he would be lively, but not too much. He would be curious, but not overly so; he would also run around, but make sure not to step out of the door.

Still, even that proved to be a humongous task, since his family was now getting to busy and swamped by a boatload of things they need to get sorted out, so that their family can stand on its feet as soon as possible.

Thus, if he tried to sit in corner and meditate, they would worry because he was too quiet or too lazy.

If he tried to move around or help them, he would be scolded for getting in the way.

They refused to mention or teach him anything about cultivation, whilst ensuring that any recorded knowledge of it was as far away from him as possible.

In fact, it was by sheer coincidence that he had learnt about his family's plight, since Dara had brought up the topic and seemed intent on pestering their lives until he was given an explanation.

Ryujin could not go outside without being accompanied by someone, could not get near to the fireplace, could not make too many questions.

Everything was basically prohibited until he "grew up".

More than once he had gotten a bubbling urge to scream; "Hey! I may be biologically young, but I'm actually the oldest in here, dammit!" but all he could do was suck it up and obey.

---

Once Ryujin turned three, he could no longer take it anymore. The boredom caused by the cold winter months where he was basically stuck at home 24/7, aggravated by the constant hunger to grow powerful was gradually driving him nuts.

It was a stormy afternoon, and the family was gathered around the fireplace. Lin was teaching Jada how to sew.

Raja was teaching Dara how to carve wood, while he was only allowed to watch. He was still too little to handle any sharp object in their opinion, and thus, even sewing was off limits.

Ryujin had already asked, baffling his father and flattering her mother.

"You are too little, and your hands are still too clumsy." They had replied.

So, he patiently waited until his father returned, before mustering the courage to asked the latter to teach him how to read, write and count.

Shin was flabbergasted.

"You are too young! Usually kids wait until they are six or seven years old before going to school to learn. Don't you think is boring?"

Perhaps, it was the aftereffects of his experience that was showing forth, but Ryujin knew there was no way his grandparents would have said that to his father.

"Boring? What could possibly be more boring than sitting here and doing nothing? Like yesterday and the day before. And probably tomorrow too! Please daddy, try me! I beg you, please, please, please!"

Shin didn't know how to say no. Ryujin had never troubled him or asked him anything before.

'Even when he is clearly still hungry, if he notices there is no more food, he never asks for more.' He thought.

Shin really wanted a way out, but Lin was already staring at him. Her hands never stopped sewing, her mouth explaining what Jada was doing wrong, but her eyes were clearly set on him.

'Dammit, what can I say? Learning does not even require dangerous tools... That's it! The tools! I'm such a moron sometimes.'

Then he looked into Ryujin's puppy eyes, as his heart squeezed like a vice, but he still replied:

"I'm sorry son, we have nothing you could possibly write on. So, I can't teach you."

Lith had considered things through before asking, so he had already a solution at hand. He picked the biggest tray they had, and filled it with the ashes he had collected in a bucket beside the fireplace.

"Now we do! We can write as much as we want!"

Shin was stunned, yet amazed by his son's ingenuity, and so was Lin.

He was about to object again when he noticed that Lin's stare had turned into a frown. Her hands were moving too fast, and that meant trouble for him.

There was a storm outside, and yet he could not flee from the one that was brewing inside. So with a deep sigh, he gave up.

"From what do you want to start?" He said, hoping that Ryujin would get bored fast and let him return to his rare leisure.

"Count!" Ryujin promptly replied. So Shin sat on the floor beside him and started drawing lines in the ash.

Seeing this, Ryujin couldn't help but be ecstatic.

The numbers they used had a different shape from the Arabic numerals, but aside from that they were identical in use, even the calculation methods were the same.

So, he kept the new numbers in the upper row to learn their shape, and then started doing the multiplication tables.

He decided not to activate the mystic transformation pupils, so as not to blow his cover, but with his current cognitive capabilities, doing such simple math in his head was simply too easy.

Once he finished, Ryujin started taking requests from his audience, and when Dara asked "How much is 199 times 19?" He swiftly replied with flat "3781" leaving them all speechless.

Lin couldn't help but stand up and lift him into a big hug.

"My little genius! I'm so proud of you!"

In less than one hour he had mastered what it would take others a full year to do.

Dara and Jada soon joined in the embrace, congratulating their little brother, while his father and uncle were left flabbergasted.