35: A Father's Teachings (1)

As the days went by, one would think the events of the burial ceremony and the legacy ceremony would have died down by now. But even after two weeks passed, civilians, nobles, and foreigners alike spoke of the two events, especially the legacy ceremony.

The legacy ceremony was not just a source of entertaining conversation for the Spartans. It also had several effects, and most of them were positive.

Spartan adults had their spirits and gaze blazing with determination. They also wished to be buried and celebrated in such a grand manner.

Kids and teenagers were inspired and motivated by what they saw at the legacy ceremony, and to the relief of some Spartan parents, their kids took their training more seriously.

Every kid did not wish to have a 'normal' and 'bland' burial ceremony. But it was certainly obvious that most of them would not be given a legacy ceremony. Talk less of a burial ceremony.

Early in the morning on the bustling streets of Sparta, a duo could be seen walking. But what was strange was that nobody even spared a glance at the duo. It was almost like they were non-existent.

"How did you do this Father?" Silver's eyes were as wide as saucers as he and his father passed by every single person on the road like they didn't exist.

It was somewhat creepy. It was almost like they were ghosts.

"It's quite simple actually. When you get stronger, you'll learn how to do it." Silas smiled slightly as he watched Silver wave his hands in front of a foreign merchant.

He shook his head and continued walking. "Let's go. We're not here to play games."

Silver immediately stopped his antics and quickly followed after his father.

"Where are we going? And what are we going to do?"

Silver was curious. His father woke him about thirty minutes ago and told him he had to follow him. His father had never done something like this before, and Silver was immensely curious.

Despite Silver's playful nature, he was not a dumb kid. He knew that whatever it was that his father planned for him was definitely important.

"You'll soon become a teenager, which means you need to know some things about the world before it's too late."

His ears perked up, and he looked at his father.

"Although your mother would not like it, I'm going to be teaching you some valuable lessons… especially since you'll soon be undergoing your rite of passage."

Silver's eyes widened slightly when he heard his father's words.

Was his father going to teach him some of his combat techniques? A cultivation technique? A way to survive his rite of passage?

Silver's eyes brightened considerably. He could not remember the last time his father taught him something.

It had been a very long time, maybe when he was five years old.

He wasn't sure.

It was mainly his mother that taught him several things he knew, especially about combat.

A smile appeared on his face, and he could not help but look away before his father noticed that he was happy to be receiving his father's teachings. Unluckily for him, his father noticed it rather easily and he could not help but smile a little.

 "But where are we going Dad?" Silver looked around as they passed the gates to the capital of Sparta.

"The forest."

Silver blinked, and then he shrugged. He decided to keep his questions to himself for now.

After walking for about thirty minutes, Silver felt something was wrong. Before he could question his father, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and before he knew it, his vision changed.

The world in his eyes spun, and he struggled to keep his bearing for at least five seconds. As he struggled to figure out what the hell was going on, his eyes widened when he felt something rise up his throat, and before he knew it, he emptied the little food and water in his stomach with reckless abandon.

Blergh!

"Hmm. Well, I'm guessing this is your first time being teleported."

Silver glared at the source of those words, and with gritted teeth and a shake of his head, he spat, "You could have warned me beforehand you know."

Silas raised his brows, and then he softly chuckled. "What if I was an enemy? Would you be saying that to me?"

Silver had no words to retort, so he chose to keep shut and regulated his breathing.

"Let's go."

Although he wanted to take some time to get his mind and body back together, he knew his father was not going to wait for him at all.

In fact, his father allowing him some seconds of respite was already an act of mercy from him.

As Silver ran to his father while making sure he didn't trip on himself, he heard his father's voice.

"Unlike what you think, what I want to teach you is not about combat techniques or cultivation techniques."

Silver furrowed his brows.

"What I want to teach you is something that's more important." Silas paused and then he looked at Silver who had shivers when he saw his father's serious expression.

"I'm going to be teaching you some lessons I've learned regarding life."

"...What?" Silver took some time to process his father's words since his father's previous expression scared him a little.

"When I was young, my father, your grandfather only taught me various things like combat, war, cultivation, politics, and so on. He never taught me anything related to life, and as I got older… I wished he did."

Despite the slight fear Silver previously had, he summoned up the courage to glance at his father as they walked.

"After countless life experiences, I decided to teach my kids not only about combat, war, politics, and cultivation. I resolved to also teach all of you about life most importantly… This is to make all of you better and stronger men no matter what."

Silver looked at the ground, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Although you're young, I don't want you to ever forget my teachings… EVER." Silas looked at him with a much more serious expression than before, and Silver's heart trembled in fear slightly.

"I won't." Silver nodded, and his father's expression returned back to normal.

"Good."

"One of the most important lessons I learned as a man is that men are only loved for how useful we are."

"The second you stop being useful as a man, you'll see how cruel this world is. The second you become a useless man, you'll see how cold and heartless this world is. Nobody gives a solitary fuck about men who can't fix problems."

"The fate of a useless man is much worse than that of an ugly woman."

Silver found his mind, heart and soul being captured by his father's words, and he could not help but zone out every other thing that was not his father's voice.