Finally the day arrived. It was 1st December and today was the day the academy would send James his package.

Today was also the general martial talent assessment and most of his school mates had gone to attend it. Those who unlocked their 2nd stage will have the opportunity to follow the martial cultivation path.

There was a difference between the Sky Blaze school and the general martial schools. From its record of 100% Emerald stage experts to the skills and techniques provided by it everything was superior compared to a normal martial academy.

By the time his friends start attending their academies and break through the 3rd realm in 5-6 months, James would have moved on to the Azure realm in that same time span giving him a huge lead compared to his friends.

James was having his lunch with his parents. He had just returned from his morning training.

'Tingtong' the door bell rang.

In huge anticipation and excitement James ran towards the door and opened it without checking the surveillance footage.

In front of him was a robot. It was about 4 feet tall and had a cylindrical shape. It's hands on the contrary were thin and it held a red brown package.

A mini truck was parked outside, surprisingly there was no driver's cabin inside. It was a self automated truck running on AI. This was the current popular mail delivery system. All the goods sent through mail would be transported through airplanes and then they would be put in such mini trucks.

A robot would also be inside the truck which will come out and make the delivery.

Seeing the robot James exclaimed excitedly.

"Ma, dad it's here! It's here! "

Edward came out towards the door and showed his watch to the robot.

"Link with communication watch established. Identity confirmed. Mr. Walter a package has been sent to your family from the Sky Blaze Martial Academy. Please sign here to complete the transaction" came an automated voice from the robot.

After the receiving the signature the robot left leaving a package in James hands.

James went excitedly towards the dining table showing his package to his mother. He sat down and started opening it. In it lay 2 uniform sets, a communication watch and the Halberd Spheroid.

The uniform was light blue in color like the color of the sky and had 'Sky Blaze Martial Academy written at the back' with red streaks around it. The logo on top of the name resembled a Phoenix covered in flames flying the skies. James liked the logo as it gave of an imposing, prideful and dominating feeling.

The communication watch was an upgraded one compared to the version provided by his father during his training in the jungle.

Apart from simply telling the time it was a navigator, an identity proof, a payment option, a record keeper of events which the owner would like to keep a record of, and a communication tool. It was everything a cultivator needs for handling his non cultivation related matters.

Lastly the Halberd Opening pill. The most amazing thing in the entire package. A silver spheroid shaped item. It was named after its creator Halberd Masefield.

Created over 4000 years ago by the sage realm expert and genius inventor Halberd, it had the power to open all meridians while reaching the 4th stage of Form realm. Before this invention, cultivators had to rely on their own to open their meridian channels. They used special techniques and laboured hard to open their meridian channels and had a high number of them opened to avoid limited future growth potential.

The pill was also the reason why the number of sages in the last 4000 years had increased at an increasing rate comparatively to previous years due to them having all of their meridians opened.

Meridians were like the veins and arteries in the body. There were 47 of them inside the human body and absorb the qi flowing around us. Before the body starts cultivating they are dormant and have to be opened through tempering the body continuously and using special techniques.

More the number of meridian channels opened, faster the cultivation growth. Hence, reaching the 4th stage of Form realm was a major step in a person's martial cultivation journey.

The Halberd Opening pill was a unique item. It had to be swallowed after reaching the 3rd stage of Form realm. The pill enters the body and dissolves slowly inside the stomach. It takes 25 days for it to dissolve and by the time it dissolves completely all the meridians inside the body are opened.

Very few geniuses attain the 3rd stage of Form realm and have time to open their meridians with the help of the pill before the exams take place. Even in these rare occasions, these young cultivators wait it out till they are admitted and instead practice their skills before the exam.

The highly ridiculous price and the low benefit of unlocking it earlier by a month or so deters the family and the child to buy the pill. Hence, mostly all such candidates remain at the 3rd stage before the exam.

The pill's formula and workings are mysterious and it's production is controlled by the Halberd Trading House. No kingdom had the recipe of this pill and it was entirely monopolized by the Halberd Trading House.

The trading house was a private business owned by the Sage Halberd himself. The business was even even larger than some conglomerates. It had its branches in various cities and also bought and sold various items.

It was a dominant power in the world. It's owner Halberd is also known as the richest person in the entire world, his wealth was said to be greater than even some small kingdoms!

Normally a Halberd Opening pill was extremely expensive, but the organization provided these pills to all martial schools at a reduced price. Furthermore the Imperial rulers in each kingdom subsidise these pills to promote the growth of martial cultivators further reducing the price.

In the end the pills cost comes to a reasonable level for the young martial cultivators. Now this price was only offered to the 11-12 year olds who have been selected in martial schools. The ordinary citizen had to buy it at the original price.

There were some instruction books inside the package as well. James quickly read through them and first tried his new comm watch.

The watch was sleek and just contained a strap and a dial, nothing fancy in looks. It had a simple and sober appearance. The dial was moderate in size but wasn't fat in breadth. It was very light and as soon as he put it on, the watch lit up and a red light shot out over James. After a second a mechanical voice was heard,

"Owner James Walter registered".

James looked at his watch, it was just showing the time and nothing else. A button was there in the middle in the outer ring of the dial, which when pressed would bring up various features and functions on the screen.

He went over and picked up the Halberd Opening pill next.

"You won't be able to eat anything in the next 25 days son. The pill needs to stay inside your stomach and dissolve slowly."

" If you eat anything, it might affect the effect of the pill inside your stomach and some of your meridians might not open which might lead you to require another pill in the future. " said Edward.

James knew of this. Once the pill was taken, the cultivator was forbidden to eat anything for the next 25 days.

The pill would apart from opening the meridians was capable of keeping the user well satiated and would not feel hunger or thirst. The user could meditate and train his body without any problems during these days.

As the meridians slowly opened, with the help of continuous training the body will be able to temper itself at a faster pace and more qi could be stored inside.

Hence, every user was advised in the instruction manual to increase their training load after taking the pill.

"I'll be taking it now" said James to his parents. They nodded and James popped in the pill. As he swallowed it inside he felt a slight burning sensation in his mouth. The pill reached the stomach and started dissolving. James felt a burning sensation inside his stomach, but for a cultivator this was bearable.

He sat and meditated for a while and then left to complete his evening training regime. James decided to continue the day normally and to increase the training load from the next day. He instead spent the rest of the time after his training on medication, trying to notice the changes in his body.

By late night James could feel sudden surge in his body. He could feel external energy entering his body from a few places slowly. He felt there were pores in his skin that opened allowing the energy inside.

As James absorbed the qi he felt happy as now he soon would be able to train in techniques and arts after forming his core. As he was excited it was difficult for him to fall asleep. The next day James spent almost his entire day training.

He ran twice as much, exercised, picked up weights and trained his fighting ability. His father started training him in boxing as he believed that a person should know how to fight without weapons as well.

With each passing day James felt more and more energy getting stored inside of him at a faster pace. Soon 25 days were gone in the blink of an eye.

James sat in the lawn of his house bare chested, breathing deeply. Even in the cold of December he was unfazed as he meditated. He felt energy flowing inside him from 47 different areas of his body.

He had finally broken through the 4th stage of Form realm unlocking all his meridian channels. He opened his eyes and with a smile looked towards his father who sat opposite him meditating.

"I've done it dad. All the meridians points are open. I can feel energy flowing inside me. " said James.

Edward opened his eyes and looked at his son. He was proud of his son's rate of progress. He remembered that when he was James age, he was just in the 2nd stage of Form realm while his son had reached the 4th today.

" Come let's go. Your mother has prepared a feast for you. You haven't eaten in 25 days now and you sure wouldn't want to miss today's apple pie. " said Edward.

James's eyes lit up brilliantly at that. He now felt hunger and was craving for his apple pie. He quickly got up and ran inside the house.

New years approached and so did James departure to the academy to start his new journey as a martial cultivator.

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Notes- Here's the second chapter for today. This is also the final chapter for today. I have caught up with my writing. The next chapter I am still writing and will be released tomorrow. However, from now on I will be trying to release minimum 1 chapter a day. I had a few chapters stacked when I started posting so was able to edit and post 3 a day but I haven't felt much motivated since nor do I get any response (T. T) so I haven't been writing much at all. Hence, I caught up today. If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions please do comment. Enjoy