Baby steps, James. Baby steps.

Yin Hu laid on his lounging chair. A wide brimmed hat rested on his face to cover his eyes from the beaming sun. Relentlessly trying to keep him uncomfortable and without a single wink of the nap he tried to plan for. Or maybe a 'do nothing day' since he couldn't really sleep.

He sighed.

Trying his best to find contentment and reaffirm his glorious resolve. Remind himself of his ultimate goal. He did not want to forget something so important in the rush to create nukes and build the Hu clan from the ground up.

Living in luxury and surrounded by beautiful Jade Beauties. It didn't sound that hard. Just needed to figure out a few prerequisite steps first. Defeat a few mob enemies. Gradually advance until he found someone he couldn't beat. Escape and find a larger city.

Rinse and repeat until he could just point his warheads and they would explode the enemy and their entire sect for him.

Yin Hu shifted slightly. Enjoying the light robes that felt like clouds on his skin. Allowing the cool breeze to pass through the fabric and add onto the setting of perfection he was in. Warm sun caressing his body. Shadows over his eyes. And a cool breeze to add tasteful hints to it.

What could be better than—

"Hyah!" Shui shouted as loud as her small frame could. Which was louder than realistically possible. "Hyah!"

Baby step, James. Baby steps.

Yin Hu couldn't imagine a world where he had to wear normal clothes anymore. His ostentatious robes were simply too amazing. The thought of normal fabric on his skin, grating and scratching, chaffing and worse things. There was no way he would allow himself that.

Similar to his food situation. Except, he had options with the massive wardrobe he carried in his rice bag. Choices of color, fabric, size, design, and a hundred other things. No silk would ever touch his skin. No cotton. Satin. Wool or whatever normal people tended to wear in fabric.

That didn't even mention the cultivator properties of the robes. Constantly cleaning him. Sweat and grime would never be an issue, and his smell would always be fresh as flowers. Accentuating his mysterious persona of being an ancestor of a well known clan.

Not overpowering, but perfectly complimenting his style in ways that—

"Hyah!"

—would help keep him at the—

"Hyah!"

—pinnacle of the mortal and immortal—

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!" Shui was relentless in her training.

Yin Hu sighed. Maybe today was not the best day to relax and comfortably lounge in the silence of the courtyard. Jun had shui doing katas. Ancient things that had supposedly been created by the original and true Hu ancestor. Their entire martial arts were based on it. A foundation.

It made no sense to him. Why did they need to dance around in a circle before attacking? Why swing their arms in three rotations before attempting to headbutt the enemy? What was the point of jumping ten feet into the air, landing in a tree pose, pausing for a second, only to give a normal front kick?

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None of it made any sense to him.

Jun grunted. "Again. You are still too slow. Faster. Be the flowing vines. Strike with the base of our Hu Clan's tree. Tear down a thousand enemies with nothing but a glance."

"Jun!" Hu Shui complained.

"Again!"

"But my arms hurt, Jun. I don't want…"

There was a long pregnant pause. Yin Hu could already imagine the stern look on Jun's face. A death glare that would melt stone, boulders, and or a mountain if necessary. She was a demonic drill instructor from hell. Pushing Shui far beyond what a little kid should be going, but he was not intending to step in. He had no clue what levels were normal and what was overdoing it.

He had to figure out what the baseline was. And then he could tailor their training programs better.

"Again!" Jun shouted.

Shui gave in, weakly continuing her katas. "Hyah."

Yin Hu wondered if Jun had military experience. She seemed to have been a soldier or served in something of that capacity with her rigid forms. Cadence during walking. The way she took to being an instructor and a whole bunch of other things.

Do clans serve as military branches? How similar are they to modern or earth armies in general?

He shook his head. He had no clue about even the most basic stuff that came to leading armies. Yin Hu would stick to his lane and figure his own processes out. Not be boxed in by things he couldn't know or might not believe in if he did.

"Hyah!"

Fuck this. No rest for me! Not here and not on the island!

Yin Hu took off his wide brimmed hat. Quickly making it disappear back into the spacial pocket. He surveyed the courtyard.

Shui was standing in the middle of the clearing with a pink robe. Spinning, kicking, punching, and swinging her arms in bullshit moves. Jun, on the other hand, was swinging a training sword at a torn up training dummy on one corner near the grave hole they'd put the assassin ladies in. She wore a blue robe.

Each one focused on what they were doing. Wearing simple robes for training he had given them. Both had their hair tied back.

Didn't Jun carry the staff? What's she using a sword for if it's the wrong weapon?

He intended to give them their first real fighting class. Something as simple as the jab and cross, one two combo, would give them an edge. Especially with how overly wide and flowery all the techniques he's seen so far looked like. Even the guards Jun slapped around had been ridiculous.

"Jun. Shui," Yin Hu said while he stood. He waved the two of them over. "Hurry."

They immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed to him. Standing side by side. Straight as arrows and chins raised. The perfect little disciples he would have imagined his clan members to be. Ever since he beat up those mortal assassins, they'd been rushing to obey his commands and show perfect form in everything.

Yin Hu looked at Jun. "You're using a training sword? What about the staff? Isn't that your main weapon for fighting?"

"No, ancestor!" Jun shouted. "It's the only weapon I have that won't break as soon as I try to channel Qi into it. The Jian is my main weapon. The weapon of the mighty Hu Clan and its glorious techniques!"

Hmm, maybe I have something she could use. A real weapon that isn't a piece of wood.

There were a thousand epic weapons with sweet names in his rice bag. He would need to go over them one by one until he found something that fit her and didn't sound too ominous. Some of the ones he got were pretty terrifying.

He nodded sagely. "Well, it's about time I begin to teach the both of you how to actually fight—"

"You're going to teach us your World Defying Strike of Twelve Rainbow Steps to Heavenly Glory?!" Shui shouted again. Jumping on her feet.

"Better," he smiled. "I'm going to teach you the Grand Hidden Technique of Ultimate Badassery!"

The two girls blinked at him blankly. They shared a glance before finally returning to his own. Shui looked like she was going to explode with a question. Holding back to the best of her ability. Yin Hu appreciated the restraint. He could build on it to make her more amazing and into his primary nuke one day!

"Speak, Shui."

Hu Shui scratched her head. "What's Badassery?"

"Don't say bad words!" Jun slapped her head.

"B-But our ancestor said it first—"

Jun narrowed her eyes. Dangerously. Promising a dozen more sessions of their katas and training if Shui attempted to argue back ever.

Shui sagged. Letting out a mournful sigh.

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