Almost Five
Soon Alex will be turning five, and that is a big step for the children of this world. At this age is when a child is able to truly able to start on the path of martial arts, though not cultivation as of yet. This is when the wheat is separated from the chaff, where those who have better focus and comprehension come to the front. This is where a powerful soul comes into play, as those with soul physiques have high comprehension in general, but especially towards their dao.
In a small room in her home stood a little girl, getting ready for the rest of her day. Like every day she pulled up her system to see if it's functions unlocked early, and like usual they didn't. She opened the mirror function of the system, which is apparently standard, and after properly making sure her hair was pulled back turned it off. Alex was just a day shy of finally turning five years old, and was incredibly excited to be able to start her journey soon. With her experience from her previous life, once her body was able to it wasn't long until she was able to walk. With her strong soul she was able to quickly learn the new language, on top of being fully cognizant with a developing brain. Skipping out of her room, Alex was greeted like usual by her mother as her father was already gone for to work.
"Good morning Alex, how's my good little girl today?" As she said this to Alex, her mom squeezed her checks and pulled them a little. In response Alex just decides to go with it and giggles with a smile that reaches her eyes.
"I'm great today mom," Alex says to her with a happy tone to her voice. Over these past nearly five years, Alex has become quite close to her family. Learning that it is okay to move on from losing her family from her past life, because of her death. While it did take her a moment to reach that point, she eventually was able to love and accept her new family. Finally after a moment her mom lets go of her, and just looks at her with care.
"Alright, I already have some food ready for you, so come over and get some to eat," she said to Alex after letting her go. It was a relatively simple breakfast, apparently the village has a lot of chickens and it is within the elders property for protection. Usually the eggs would be sold out to the villagers, but their family is given them. Ever since her birth, their branch of the Davis family would give them a stipend every month. Apparently, she was born into one of the bigger branches of the Davis family. In the end though, the main family usually doesn't pay attention to the branch families.
"Hey mom, I have a question," Alex demurred to her mom (Demur, to show doubt). "Why can't I practice martial arts until I'm five, not a day sooner. I don't think that was explained to me."
"That's a good question Alex, and it's actually got a simple answer. After a long time we found out that while practicing martial arts doesn't build internal energy, it does circulate it. Even if it's only the tiniest bit. Your meridians aren't fully developed though till your five, that's for everyone. They're even developing right now as we speak. So it is damaging to practice them to early since it can go haywire. Now in the last twelve hours they are formed but they still need to solidify. At that point it's okay to practice. You were born mid day so once you wake up tomorrow you are safe to practice. Does that answer your question?" With the clear answer Alex was satisfied and nodded her head.
After finishing breakfast Alex didn't really have much to do. With her mental age being so much higher that her body definitely had demerits. The biggest being the difficulty of making friends. It just felt weird to hang out with children for her. For the most part she enjoyed just being with her mom, as she didn't seem to mind her presence. In her downtime they would play different games as well.
At the end of the day Alex helped her mom with making dinner. To her surprise they actually had a meal with a meat main dish. Not long before they finished they each heard Alex's dad walking through into their home.
"Jessica, Alex I'm home!" He shouts out as he comes in. As he sees Alex he smiles and says, "how was my little girls day today?"
As he walked over to the table the two of them sat down while Jessica finished cooking. "I had a really good day, mom told me about why we have to wait to practice martial arts. We also played a few games together. What did you do today dad?" Saying this Alex looked toward her dad with rapt attention. He gave her a quick summary of what he did that day. At the end of his summary diner was ready and they ate together before telling Alex that it was time for bed.
Going to her room Alex was starting to get excited for the next day. While it was a lot of excitement she was still able to calm down. Giving one last check at her system screen she goes to her bed to lay down. Finally she falls asleep in anticipation of the next day.