After eight months of continuous study and cultivation, Sokram was nearing his fifth anniversary when, one day, he sat beside Hilda, who was meditating and gathering mana into her mana heart.

That was when he unexpectedly asked, “Why are you doing it like that, Mom?”

Hilda raised an eyebrow, dispersing the mana she had gathered. “What do you mean by ‘doing it like that’?”

Her tone was gentle, but there was a trace of amusement.

Was her son, who wasn’t even five yet, truly about to correct her cultivation technique?

Sokram hesitated for a moment, knowing she or any of his elders would hardly take him seriously, given how little time he had been cultivating.

Still, he wanted to help them.

So, he continued, “I noticed that when you, Nana Brunhild, and Astrid cultivate your mana, you keep wasting most of it when you try to purify it. And even more when you gather the pure mana in your heart.”

Hilda was aware of the inefficiencies in their technique, but it still irked her a little to be called out by her child.

But Sokram went further, “Not just the three of you, but Uncle Alain, Auntie Moira, and even Nana Hannah, although much less, keep doing it. Am I doing it wrong?”

Sokram knew she would be more receptive if he pretended self-doubt, and with Hilda being a real softie when it came to him, her irritation lessened considerably.

“Then do you know how Mommy should be doing it instead?” Hilda asked, doubting he would offer any concrete advice.

After he failed, she would let it slide by teaching him not to talk about others' cultivation unless they explicitly asked for guidance.

Not everyone would be as patient as his family or even as she was.

Moreover, she didn’t want him to become arrogant and self-conceited, so this was a good opportunity to nip that in the bud.

But what Sokram said next caught her off guard. “Can I show you? It would be easier than explaining.”

Hilda hesitated. It wasn’t that she doubted his intelligence.

Sokram had always been a fast learner.

Still, this was cultivation.

Everyone took years to refine their techniques before even sharing their knowledge.

Yet, there was something in his eyes...

A calm confidence that made her wonder.

“Alright,” she spoke softly, still expecting a harmless mistake. “Show me then.”

Sokram wasted no time as he sat behind her, placing both hands on her back.

Meanwhile, three very curious grandmothers and a big sister watched from afar, certain this would earn Sokram his first scolding.

Still, they listened attentively, as this would also measure how much Sokram’s understanding of cultivation had matured over the last few months.

“Alright, now draw in mana to your lungs,” Sokram said calmly as he probed her with his own mana.

Hilda followed his lead, slightly wary of how serious he seemed.

Using mana on someone else’s body could cause a lot of pain if one wasn’t careful.

But she trusted herself to handle any deviations or backlash.

Maybe she’d even give him a little fright, teaching him a lesson about overstepping.

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Yet what Sokram showed her was beyond any expectation. “See, here’s where the problem is, Mom. Instead of just holding and compressing the mana in the lungs to purify it, create vortices, like small hurricanes, the mana vortices will draw in the pure mana, filtering out the impurities.”

Sokram skillfully used his mana to help her create two vortices. “And because the spinning never stops, the remaining energy gets renewed while also enhancing absorption, making the whole process much more efficient.”

What impressed her most was how fast the mana purified with almost no waste.

“Now, when you move the mana toward the heart, use the blood vessels in your lungs to bring mana into this pulmonary artery here, and then guide it into your heart,” Sokram said, highlighting the blood vessels and the artery with his mana.

Hilda followed his instructions, but the process was quite unfamiliar to her.

Yet, the moment the twin vortices formed, the difference was night and day.

Instead of sluggishly compressing mana in her lungs, it flowed effortlessly, purifying itself as if drawn into an unseen current.

Within seconds, her heart held what usually took ten deep breaths to gather. “This... this shouldn’t be possible,” she whispered.

“Calm yourself, Mom, or my mana might hurt you.” Sokram's voice wasn’t deep enough to sound commanding, but it carried an authority that startled her.

For the first time, he acted outside his childish demeanor.

It worked; her focus returned entirely to his guidance.

Seeing her attention, Sokram continued, “Now, unlike my physical energy veins, yours are still aethereal. It’s good that you’ve been forming them over your blood veins, but the order you’re following wastes too much. Follow this order instead…”

Sokram guided her mana throughout her entire body, from limb to limb and organ to organ, before returning it to her heart.

The efficiency amazed her.

When the mana returned to her heart, he added, “Instead of just pushing toward its walls, use the blood vessels to strengthen the heart itself. This way, your physical heart and mana heart will become one. This also saves space in your heart for when you start cultivating Aura or Vitha.”

Once he finished, he asked, “Do you want me to guide you again, or do you think you’ve got it?”

Hilda opened her eyes and looked at him.

Sokram was sweating lightly, and she realized that despite his mastery, his control wasn’t effortless.

Seeing how much effort he put into helping her, Hilda felt a pang of guilt.

Her earlier skepticism stung now, knowing how hard Sokram had worked to master these techniques.

She reached out, brushing a strand of snowy hair from his forehead. “I’m sorry I doubted you, dear,” she said softly.

Sokram flashed her a grin. “It’s fine, Mom. I’m just happy I’m not doing anything wrong, haha.”

“Where did you learn all of this?” she asked, still processing everything.

Sokram smiled and manifested his void glove.

With a wave of his hand, a pile of a couple of hundred books appeared beside them. “After reading these, it was easy to understand how to improve the techniques I’ve learned. The techniques themselves aren’t bad; I just got impatient. But no matter what I do, I know it’ll still take years to awaken,” he said, pouting slightly.

Then, he waved his hand again, and an even larger pile of books appeared. “And these taught me about the humanoid body of each race. Did you know most feral races can train their regeneration gift enough to regrow limbs? That’s amazing! But their aethereal senses are so bad it’s pitiful. Their animalistic nature makes cultivating Magi much harder for them…”

While Sokram passionately talked about his discoveries, Hilda smiled at his excitement, but marveled at the size of the books.

Even the smallest had at least two thousand pages.

She couldn’t fathom how someone so young could read and comprehend them all.

“All right, I can see how you’d know so much. But your mana control... It’s sharp, almost as if you’ve been cultivating for years. Even if you started in secret as a dear, that’d still be too much.” Her tone was curious, but her suspicion was valid.

“Oh! That’s easy,” Sokram said, pulling out an old scroll. “I do this before bed every night. It’s called Energy Manipulation Training Method. It’s kinda tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s fun! You and the others should try it too. It will improve your energy control by leaps and bounds.”

Hearing this, the three grandmothers could no longer stay silent.

Hannah spoke first, her eyes widening, still not used to how easy it was for Sokram to leave her speechless. “That’s impossible,” she breathed. “The starting lessons are Tier 10 Flawless-level techniques… at your age?!”

“Eh? Really?” Sokram tilted his head, feigning surprise. “Nah, it wasn’t that hard. The only tricky part was figuring out how to fuse neutral mana into Force. Once I got the hang of it, though…” He shrugged casually, his usual grin tugging at his lips. “Easy peasy.”

“Let me see that scroll, son,” Brunhild said, taking it from his hands as Hannah and Margiory joined her to analyze it.

Sokram paid them no mind and turned to Hilda. “So, want me to show you again, Mom?”

“Sure, dear, please,” Hilda said, settling back into her position.

Before they could begin, Astrid appeared beside them with an expectant look.

“He can show you after,” Hilda said, casting her daughter a warning glance.

“Yes, sis, I can still do it ten more times before needing rest. Don’t worry,” Sokram flashed her a mischievous grin, pretending to flex his tiny arms. “I’ve got stamina for days!”

If he hadn’t been so young, his words might have caused misunderstandings.

But the intrusive thoughts about the Curse of the Blood were all quickly dismissed.

It was too soon to worry about that.

For the rest of the day, Sokram helped Hilda perfect her cultivation technique.

Once she was confident in the new method, he moved on to Astrid, then Brunhild, then Margiory.

Even Hannah asked him to analyze her technique.

Though hers was already refined, his adjustments promised to help her get closer to a new Level of Existence a few years early.