Inside the Newton Family's private training room at the Town Lord's Manor, two young children stood side by side, practicing the Unarmed Foundations Martial Art.
After 5 days of back-and-forth debate, Anna and Drake had decided that the Martial Art, which they had now given a name as Lucas couldn't recall its original one, was simply too valuable to throw away or keep to themselves.
While Drake, due to the old injury to his right leg, was unable to properly execute all the exercises, Anna had spent considerable time over these past few days practicing them and had already noticed some slight benefits to her physical condition, so the idea of just discarding the Unarmed Foundations Martial Art was simply unthinkable at this point.
However, Anna, Drake, and Lucas knew that if they kept using this Martial Art, it wouldn't be long before someone noticed, not to mention the fact that Sasha and Eris already knew of its existence and were more and more frequently inquiring about it.
Back during their adventuring days, Anna, Drake, Sasha, and Charles had all trusted their backs to one another, and they had escaped more than one brush with death by sticking together.
Anna and Drake knew that in the face of enough incentives, even the strongest of bonds could be betrayed, but after carefully discussing the matter, considering all the possible benefits and future troubles, they decided it would be better for them to share what they knew.
From the side of the training room, a somewhat burly man observed the two children practicing this new Body Tempering Art with great interest. Standing beside him, a beautiful woman with long red hair also had a look of curiosity on her face.
Charles Newton had inherited the noble rank of Baron from his father, Edward Newton, 13 years ago.
Originally, the free-spirited Charles, whose favourite pastime was running through the forest and hunting Wild Beasts, would never have accepted being tied down by so much responsibility and paperwork, but upon receiving an urgent message from his father that his elder brother had been killed in an accident and he urgently needed to return home, Charles, along with his lover Sasha and his two friends Anna and Drake hurriedly travelled to Redwood Town, the centre of the Newton Barony.
A few months later, Charles had taken on a lot of responsibilities that only he could fulfil, Drake's injury had left a permanent limp in his right leg, and Sasha was pregnant with Eris, so the group of 4 decided it was as good a time as any to settle down.
Redwood Town was pretty peaceful, not to big nor to small, with a vast forest to its west, and only a few leisurely days journey by carriage to the nearest city, so it was a perfect place to raise a family.
A year or so after Eris was born, after making sure Charles was settled in, the old Baron and his wife moved to the capital to further pursue their cultivation, leaving their lands in the capable hands of… their new daughter-in-law, Sasha.
Over time, Charles lost some of the unruly temperament he had in his youth and become a respected Baron. He still hunted whenever he had a spare moment, enjoyed sparing with whoever was willing, and preferred mingling with the townsfolk in the market and fields rather than meeting with other nobles who he considered stuck up and annoying, but he at least knew how to hold civilized conversations and administrate his territory in a responsible manner.
Today, though, his old friends had come to him with a rather fantastical story, along with a great opportunity and a troublesome problem.
Charles wasn't quite sure whether to jump up and down and celebrate, or clench his head and try to drown his worries in drink as he observed his little nephew slowly teaching his precious baby girl this new Martial Art.
"So, what you're saying is that after his accident in the Great Western Forest, Little Lucas suddenly had this Martial Art pop into his head?" Charles asked to confirm the story once more.
Nodding, then shaking her head, Anna explained again, "Lucas said he gained a lot of other knowledge as well, but current, this Martial Art is the only thing he can remember clearly. I'm not sure whether he will be able to acquire any more of that information in the future, but even if he doesn't, this Unarmed Foundations Martial Art is already an incredible treasure."
"It almost sounds like Lucas obtained an ancient inheritance," Sasha muttered.
Anna, Drake, and even Charles turned towards her, clearly asking for her to clarify what she meant.
As someone originally from a Marquess-Rank Family which had True Cultivators in the Spirit Realms, Sasha had much greater knowledge about the mysteries of the world than the rest of them, so she patiently explained, "My Mother used to tell me stories about eccentric ancient Masters who, when they felt their predestined time of death approaching, would leave behind all their wealth and knowledge in some hidden cave or on some remote island."
"Such a trove of treasure is generally referred to as an 'Inheritance', and supposedly, the hope is that someone will one day find it and carry on that Master's legacy. Don't ask me how or why anyone would actually do this, I have no idea. Honestly, I always thought it was just a story my mom told me in order to get me to work harder on my cultivation, but perhaps there is some truth to it."
"Do you mean that somewhere in the Great Western Forest, there's a buried Inheritance that we just happened to stumble across?" Anna asked with equal parts interest and skepticism; after all, the place where she had taken Lucas on his birthday was a well-known hunting ground that was frequently traversed by the townsfolk.
If there was anything of value in that area, it should have been dug up long ago.
Sasha simply shook her head, "I doubt it; or at least, there probably isn't a vast stash of wealth just sitting at the edge of the forest that somehow was overlooked until now."
"However, strange knowledge being imprinted directly into Lucas' mind, and a Martial Art that's clearly beyond the level of our kingdom… an ancient inheritance is the only thing I can think of that might explain all this."
"Regardless how Lucas gained this knowledge, it would be for the best if we come up with a different story, one that doesn't involve him or the possibility of an… inheritance, was it? The last thing we want is for some overbearing noble or powerful Cultivator to come snooping around in hopes of striking it rich," Charles said solemnly.
The Baron was a First-Step Core Formation Realm Practitioner and the publicly acknowledged strongest warrior in Redwood Town, but against a real Cultivator, there was very little Charles could do to oppose them, even if they wanted to abduct and interrogate his little nephew.
"We could say we found a Memory Jade which contained this Martial Art, but because it was so old and weathered it broke after we read its content," Sasha proposed, once again taking advantage of her wider breadth of knowledge to provide a solution to their current problem.
"Memory Jade?" Drake asked, wondering about this new item had had never heard about before.
Taking a moment to sort out her thoughts, Sasha explained, "It's another treasure my mother used to tell me stories about when I was a child. I've never seen one, but unlike ancient inheritances, I'm certain that Memory Jades are real."
"Oh? How can you be so sure?" Anna asked curiously.
Smiling faintly, Sasha replied, "Because it's well known in the Balfour Family that the Matriarch, my grandmother, has one in her possession. Supposedly, they are a special type of crystal that Spirit Realm Cultivators can use their Soul Qi to record large amounts of information and knowledge into for long term preservation."
"Once information is recorded into a Memory Jade, anyone who obtains it can read its content by holding it and focusing their mind into the crystal."
"Hmm, that does sound somewhat similar to what Lucas experienced, though not entirely. In any case, it will probably work as a cover story, but who will we say found it?" Anna frowned, "Obviously, we can't say Lucas found one of these Memory Jades as that would draw too much scrutiny onto him."
The four friends fell silent for a time before Drake spoke up, "I think the best choice would be for Sasha to say she was the one who found it."
"Me? Why?" Sasha asked, clearly somewhat confused.
It wasn't that she minded. To her, it didn't matter who among the four of them claimed ownership of the imaginary Memory Jade as it was, imaginary. That being said, she did want to hear Drake's reasoning before she agreed.
Charles and Anna also looked over expecting Drake to explain.
Furrowing his brow, Drake wore a slightly uncomfortable expression as he spoke in a low tone of voice, "Being the one who 'found the Memory Jade' also makes one the owner of the Unarmed Foundations Martial Art. As shameful as it might be to admit, neither Anna nor I can take on such a big responsibility. If someone powerful were to appear and demand we hand the Art over to them, we would be forced to comply, but we wouldn't be unable to, which would make things dangerous."
"If that's all, then can't we just say that Charles was the one who found it? He's the strongest among us as well as a noble who governs the local territory," Sasha suggested her husband take on the ownership role.
This time, it was Anna who shook her head as she now understood what her husband was thinking, "Charles is certainly the strongest among us, but he's not the safest choice. You are, Sasha."
Having it put that way, Sasha frowned for a moment before she sighed slightly and muttered, "Because I'm a 'Balfour', right?"
Anna nodded, "I have no ties with my former family, not that they were that powerful in the first place, so Drake and I can be pressured or even killed without any consequences by those with enough status or strength. Even Charles could find himself in such a position; after all, he might be a noble, but he's only a Baron."
"You, on the other hand, are the granddaughter of the most powerful woman in the entire Rockwell Kingdom. Even the King would have to think twice before harming you as that would mean offending Celestina Balfour."
Grumbling under her breath, Sasha, who didn't like relying on her family as she had left home to seek a life of adventure many years ago, was clearly disgruntled. Still, she also wasn't a fool and understood that, for now, this was their best option.
Before she agreed, though, Sasha felt she had to point out a serious flaw in this plan, "If we want to borrow my family's prestige, it means we have to be prepared to compensate them. My family might be full of muscleheads who preach about righteousness and honour, but they're still high nobles. If they learn about this one day, it's almost certain they'll demand we hand over the Art to them."
Drake, Anna, and Charles all wore solemn expression, but their faces didn't change much when they heard this as they clearly understood that nothing in this world was free. The protection of a powerful noble family would naturally have a steep cost, even if Sasha was a member of that family.
Eventually, Charles let out a long sigh as he shook his head, "We don't have a choice. The Body Tempering Art Lucas obtained is too precious for us to hold onto forever, so we can only take things one step at a time while preparing for the future. Worst case, we turn it over to the Balfour Family in exchange for some benefits. Heh, we'll be counting on you to negotiate at that time, my sweet."
Blushing slightly, Sasha smacked her husband's arm before nodding, "Fine, I'll take responsibility for this for now. As for what happens in the future… We'll worry about it then."
Reaching an agreement, the four adults turned back to watch their children practicing the Unarmed Foundations Art, observing with interest as Lucas carefully instructed Eris in how to properly assume the 22 Stances, which served as the basis of the Martial Art.
After another half-an-hour, the two children both lowered their arms and relaxed their muscles, having completed their lesson for today.
Unexpectedly, Eris then turned to the boy she had always look at as her little brother and performed a formal bow.
Not only was Lucas stunned, even the adults in the hall were slightly taken aback; however, after straightening her back, Eris stated with a big smile, "From now on, you're also my Teacher, so as your Student, I should pay you the proper respects!"
Lucas gawked for a moment before he blushed and scratched his cheek awkwardly.
As for the adults in the room, they were doing their best to stifle their laughs seeing this adorable scene.
Charles and Sasha were proud that their daughter had acted so sensibly and not like the rambunctious tomboy she usually behaved like. Anna and Drake on the other hand were quite amused at how awkward their son was being right now; it was a welcome change to see him acting more his age as he had recently seemed so mature that it was a bit difficult to get used to.
Eventually, Lucas coughed into his fist and declared, "Good, since that's the case, I will do my best to teach you, Big Sis, er, I mean, my Student!"