14 Steps (1/2)

I took the day off from cultivating and instead focused on making decisions.

How did I want to portray myself in this world? Being called a monster was surprisingly pleasant and made me realise something.

I wanted to be seen as a genius. I wanted to be someone worthy of the title ”monster.” But if people knew that I had transmigrated, they would dismiss my achievements.

I wanted recognition, not suspicion.

In my past life, great art was expected from me. No-one was surprised when I won competitions, they simply said:

”Well it's Oscar. Of course, he won.”

The pressure to make something incredible fuelled me. But no-one appreciated my effort.

After school, I was no longer supported by my teacher and my motivation disappeared. Every time my art was called 'beautiful,' or 'incredible,' it seemed shallow.

I wouldn't let the same thing happen here. I would work harder than anyone else behind the scenes. But I would also let people see me struggle.

I knew it was selfish. But I was a selfish person who wanted to be praised.

The first step was limiting how much I showed my achievements. I had already revealed a lot to my parents, but I could slow down from here.

Over the next week, I carefully monitored my behaviour. There were two any things I controlled. How much I spoke, and how much I moved.

I had already spoken my first word, but luckily it could be mistaken for babble speech. I made sure to only repeat basic syllables like 'ba,' 'da,' and 'ma'.

In reality, I could form most syllables, and even speak basic sentences. I didn't know much about babies, but I did know that a four-month-old couldn't speak full sentences.

I made sure that I only flopped about like a baby too. However, behind closed doors, I could move my body with increasing precision.

Channelling qi into my muscles gave me the strength to sit upright and even crawl. Doing so made my muscles ache like I had worked out. I knew it was too soon to show this to my parents.

Cultivation was slow and steady. Painting two layers of qi at a time was ideal, as I could do it once in the morning and once before I went to bed.

By the time two weeks had passed, my soul had nearly doubled in volume. Painting the layers took longer, but that didn't bother me.

The book didn't say how long to do this for. But I noticed something written on the pages that I hadn't paid attention to.

Soul Birth had a Low Tier Commoner Grade requirement, whereas Soul Expansion had a Low Tier Warrior Grade requirement.

These requirements seemed to be the cultivation level system of this world. The second page had revealed itself after my major breakthrough to Low Tier Warrior Grade.

Maybe the third page would unlock after my next major breakthrough? For now, I just had to wait for my soul to grow.

When I reached six months old, I decided it was time to start showing some progress. I could now crawl without using qi or expending too much effort.

One night, when mother put me to bed, I made a scene out of rolling over in my cot. Her excitement was palpable, and she rushed out to go find father.

She dragged him into the nursery, and after a bit of encouragement, I rolled over again.

”What's so special?” he asked, unimpressed.

”Didn't you see that?! He rolled over!” she exclaimed.

”That's nothing.” Father folded his arms. ”He crawled all the way to my study months ago.”

Mother playfully poked his arm.

”Honey, you were so tired. That was a dream!”

”Look, I'll show you,” Father scoffed.

He picked me up and placed me down on the ground, then got down on his knees. He held me by the waist, a few inches above the ground. I let my limbs flop down.