A Letter

Ironstone Town lay in the northeastern part of the Oga Kingdom. Beneath it was a massive iron ore vein, and the people who lived here had made their living through mining and blacksmithing for generations.

Blacksmith shops of all kinds could be found everywhere in town, while the iron ore produced in Ironstone Town was sold throughout the Oga Kingdom.

Every day at dawn, the clanging of hammers gradually rang out across Ironstone Town, and the entire town was shrouded in the heat of iron-smelting furnaces.

At the center of Ironstone Town stood a Castle that seemed to have been forged from black iron. It was the residence of Ironstone Town's lord.

In an open area within the Castle, a hundred young boys and girls of varying ages were training together, their shouts ringing out without pause.

The youngest among them were only twelve or thirteen, while the oldest were nearly sixteen. Their strengths varied as well: the weakest were Level Two Warriors, while the strongest already possessed the strength of Level Four Warriors.

Besides the children training in the open area, several instructors were present as well.

They had spread out, offering guidance to the children.

"Put your hearts into it and don't slack off. Your current strength is still far from enough. At the Royal Capital's Warrior Academy, there are countless people your age who are stronger than you!"

"But there is one thing in which you can surpass them: you are Count Inori's people. As long as you work hard, if you become Level Five Warriors before the age of thirty, you will earn Count Inori's favor. By then, becoming officers, earning military merit, or even receiving noble titles will all be possible!"

"Baron is a successful example. As long as you train diligently and remain loyal to Count Inori, one day, you may become nobles as well—people above others!"

The instructors guided the children while encouraging them with their words.

When the young boys and girls in training heard words such as "nobles" and "people above others," a gleam flashed through their eyes. Their already exhausted bodies seemed to regain a bit of strength.

They had also heard that Baron had been born a commoner. Through his own strength, he had joined Count Inori's ranks and ultimately received a noble title.

They too longed for the day when they could become nobles of the Oga Kingdom.

While the boys and girls trained, a sturdy young man with disheveled hair stood on a terrace at the highest level of Black Iron Castle, facing the rising sun in the east.

He was barefoot and wore nothing but black shorts, exposing his muscular body.

His hair, left unattended for a long time, had fallen to his shoulders. His beard had apparently not been shaved for quite some time either, obscuring the lower half of his face.

The young man held a Refined Iron Soft Sword and kept his eyes closed, as though sensing the fierce winds sweeping past the Castle's highest point.

From time to time, he thrust his sword forward. The soft sword, infused with green Battle Qi, stretched taut and straight. Though it appeared light and powerless, it contained immense force, and every strike produced a sharp whistle through the air.

He thrust again. This time, however, there was no sound at all. The space around the soft sword seemed to freeze, and as the blade swung, the entire space pressed forward toward an invisible enemy.

"I've finally comprehended it. This is Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth!"

The young man murmured to himself.

This young man was naturally Andres.

After arriving in Ironstone Town six years ago, his strength had improved considerably.

In terms of Battle Qi, he had broken through from a Level Seven Warrior to a Level Eight Warrior, and he was not far from Peak Level Eight.

As for his realm, only one year after arriving in Ironstone Town, he had comprehended Treating Light as Heavy. Then today, he had comprehended the deeper realm of Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth.

In the Coiling Dragon World, an ordinary member of the Human Race needed to meet two conditions to break through from Ninth Rank to the Saint Domain. First, their Battle Qi had to reach Peak Level Nine. Second, they had to comprehend the realm of Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth.

In the original work, the ancestor of the Baruch Family had also called this realm Momentum.

For the vast majority of Level Nine Experts, reaching Peak Level Nine in Battle Qi was relatively easy; all it took was time. Comprehending a realm, however, was far more difficult. Many Level Nine Experts were unable to enter the Saint Domain because they were stuck at this stage.

For geniuses, however, improving their Battle Qi was instead the more troublesome matter.

In the original work, both Linley and Olivia were geniuses. They had comprehended the realm of Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth early on, but because their Battle Qi was insufficient, neither could enter the Saint Domain.

Olivia became a Level Nine Expert at thirty and only entered the Saint Domain at forty-seven. It took him seventeen years to raise his Battle Qi from early Ninth Rank to Peak Level Nine.

Linley had also spent more than a decade advancing from Ninth Rank in human form to the Saint Domain.

Now, Andres faced the same problem.

"My talent is far inferior to Linley's and Olivia's. The time I'll need to cultivate to Peak Level Nine may even be longer than theirs."

Andres could not help but feel troubled. Though he could continue comprehending realms and gaining insights into Law Profundity without entering the Saint Domain, spending too much time accumulating Battle Qi still did not seem worthwhile.

"It seems I need to start preparing to complete the other two Binding Quests."

After thinking it over, Andres decided to solve this problem by improving his talent.

As long as he completed Teresa's other two Binding Quests, he would obtain Paragon-level talent. His cultivation would naturally become much faster.

Of the two remaining Binding Quests, one was to help Teresa reach the Saint Domain, while the other was to help Teresa kill "Mad Blade" Resior.

Now that Andres had comprehended Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth, he only needed to guide Teresa into mastering it as well. Given Teresa's talent, it would not take many years for him to reach the Saint Domain.

As for killing Resior, Andres was now a Level Eight Warrior. Combined with his realm of Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth, killing a Peak Level Eight Resior would not be a problem.

However, Resior was a prince of the Beastmen of the Noah Continent and resided in territory ruled by Beastmen.

For Andres to venture deep into that territory, find Resior, and then kill him would be extremely difficult and highly dangerous.

To say nothing else, the Beastmen had more than one Level Nine Expert.

"I'll return to the Royal Capital and guide Teresa first. Once I'm stronger, I'll consider Resior."

Having made his decision, Andres turned and left the terrace.

This terrace was connected to his bedroom. After changing into a clean gray robe, he was just about to leave his room and find Fabio to discuss his return to the Royal Capital when someone knocked on the door.

"Baron, there is a letter from the Royal Capital."

Andres opened the door. Outside stood his attendant, Rami, who was responsible for his daily needs.

"Thank you for your hard work, Rami."

Andres took the letter. One look at the envelope told him it had come from home.

Over the past six years, he had often exchanged letters with his family in Oga City.

The letter was written by his younger brother, Alex.

"Brother, everything at home is well, so don't worry."

"Father and Mother are healthy and have no other concerns. They only worry about your marriage. They say you've gotten another six years older, making it even harder to find a suitable woman. They're considering whether they should look for some widows for you, haha!"

"Just kidding, Brother. A few days ago, I finally broke through and became a Level Six Warrior. I've graduated from the Warrior Academy, and with Count Inori's help, I've successfully entered the Kingdom Knights. Brother, I'll work hard to earn military merit. Then our Mitchell Family will have two nobles, and the whole family can move to Oga Avenue!"

"Oh, right, Brother. Something major has happened recently. There's going to be another war near Black Mountain City. They say this time, the Beastmen prince Resior is personally serving as commander. The entire Oga City is tense right now. There are rumors that His Majesty the King intends to have Count Inori lead the army against them. I wonder what will happen."

"Brother, take good care of yourself in Ironstone Town. Try to return to the Royal Capital soon, so our family can reunite."

"Love, Alex."