Traveling

At the border between Duke Kading's Territory and Duke Darut's Territory.

A merchant caravan slowly approached. This was a common small caravan, traveling between the two ducal territories, earning a profit from the price difference of local specialties.

Only, today's caravan was a little different.

At the tail end of the caravan, a handsome man with flowing black hair, wearing deep blue warrior attire, walked barefoot on the ground.

On anyone else, this would most likely give off a slovenly, wandering impression.

But on this man, it only conveyed a sense of unrestrained elegance.

Of course, the passersby showed no surprise. After all, in the vicinity of Duke Darut's Territory, known for producing warriors, some powerful fighters who trained in the wild dressed even more oddly.

And from the cautious glances and tense expressions the caravan members occasionally cast at this man, it was clear that he was most likely a formidable warrior as well.

Jie Ning felt the solid connection of his feet against the earth, a hint of joy rising in his heart. 'Everyone's path of cultivation is different. I've been learning from Linley's methods, and though I haven't felt the pulse of the earth, it's not without gain. Now, my sense of merging with the earth is growing clearer.'

'This should count as some insight into the Earth-walking Technique.'

Three months earlier, the day before departure, Jie Ning looked at his uncle Maki, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. After all, seeing a 'panda' in a foreign land felt rather endearing.

Maki noticed Jie Ning's faint smile and, with his dark circles already starting to fade, said irritably, "Go ahead and laugh if you want. After all these years, I never thought Melinda's temper would still be this fierce. Hiss~"

As he spoke, Maki sucked in a sharp breath.

Jie Ning didn't kick him while he was down. He averted his gaze from Maki's face and said calmly, "Uncle Maki, I should remind you that we're standing in Mother's favorite garden right now."

Hearing this, Maki instinctively glanced around. Not seeing Melinda, he let out a relieved breath.

"Don't you dare scare me like that, kid."

Watching Maki's nervous reaction, Jie Ning shook his head helplessly.

After all, who could blame him? His mother was currently the strongest in their family.

The most powerful combatants in both his household and his uncle's were two Level 9 Warriors. One was Jie Ning's grandfather, who had passed the title to Jie Ning's father, Baron Chris, and then left to travel, seeking the opportunity to break through to the Saint Domain.

The other was Jie Ning's mother—Ms. Melinda.

As for poor Baron Chris and the still-titleless Maki, they were only Level 8 Warriors.

Growing up, Maki had always lived in the shadow of his younger sister. It was said that Ms. Melinda's temper had been far fiercer before marriage.

Sometimes Jie Ning even wondered if it weren't for giving birth to him and his younger brother Haba, Ms. Melinda might have already broken through to the Saint Domain in recent years.

"Ahem, Jie Ning, what do you think about us setting out for Duke Kading's Territory tomorrow?" Maki, clearly sensing the pity in his nephew's eyes, pretended not to notice and asked.

This was already the fourth day Maki had spent at Baron Chris's estate.

As for why he hadn't left yet, it might have something to do with the unique eye makeup Maki had been sporting these past few days.

Jie Ning had no objections. "I don't have a problem with it, but..."

"Then I'll have Kadiqi pack the luggage right away. We'll leave tomorrow." Maki interrupted, suddenly looking eager to go. 'My dear Melinda, farewell, hahaha.'

Jie Ning quickly grabbed Maki's arm as he tried to hurry off, and said helplessly, "...Uncle Maki, let's meet up in Kading City instead."

Count Lewis had his own territory, but being fond of comfort and pleasure, he mostly lived in Kading City, the main city of Duke Kading's Territory.

Maki looked at Jie Ning in surprise. "What, you're not coming with me?"

Jie Ning replied casually, "It's rare for me to travel far. I thought I'd take the chance to train alone for a while."

Before Maki could say anything, Baron Chris appeared from somewhere and smiled at Jie Ning happily. "That's my son. A true warrior absolutely needs training and experience."

"And where did you pop out from?" Maki mercilessly jabbed at Chris, then turned to Jie Ning. "Are you sure you want to train alone? It might not be what you imagine."

"Riding a carriage there is much more comfortable than walking," Maki urged.

"Besides, once you leave the towns and head into the wild, it's not as safe as the city. A Level 7 Warrior's strength isn't exactly foolproof."

Jie Ning said nothing, simply circulating his Battle Qi.

Maki and Chris felt Jie Ning's aura, and their eyes widened in unison.

"Level 8!" Two shocked faces.

Baron Chris looked at his son with delight. "When did you break through?"

"Just in the last few months. A lucky breakthrough," Jie Ning said modestly.

"You little monster, an eighteen-year-old Level 8 Warrior." Maki looked at Jie Ning as if he were a rare treasure. "Now it really does seem like you have a good chance of becoming a powerful Saint Domain Warrior."

"I told you long ago, Jie Ning will definitely become a Saint Domain Warrior someday," Chris bragged to Maki.

Maki rolled his eyes.

Ignoring the antics of his two elders, Jie Ning said seriously, "I believe that as long as I'm careful on the road, nothing will go wrong."

Maki wanted to say more, but just then, Melinda walked over.

"Alright. Then you'll meet your uncle in Kading City," Melinda said, making the final decision.

Seeing Melinda speak, Maki quickly shut his mouth.

And so, after agreeing on a meeting time with Maki in Kading City and bidding farewell to his parents, Jie Ning set off on his journey.

Considering his unfamiliarity with the route, Jie Ning found a caravan traveling between the two ducal territories and successfully joined it as a guard.

Along the way, Jie Ning had also dealt with a few troubles for the merchant convoy. After all, on the trade routes outside the city, bandits could still be quite rampant.

Over these past few months, aside from the time spent cultivating Battle Qi, Jie Ning had been learning from Linley's methods, walking barefoot the entire journey, hoping to grasp some hint of the profound mysteries of the earth.

Perhaps because he had never been exposed to magic, Jie Ning felt no particular insight along the way. He only managed to steadily break through to the ninth rank in Battle Qi, step by step as expected.

It wasn't until this morning that Jie Ning suddenly felt a trace of connection with the earth.

'I feel like I should be even more intimately one with the earth.'

Recalling the sensation from this morning, Jie Ning, as usual, followed barefoot at the tail end of the merchant convoy. Each step he took seemed slow and unhurried, yet he always maintained a fixed distance from the group.

Suddenly, from the woods on the left side of the road, a sharp arrow shot swiftly toward Jie Ning.

The speed of this arrow was unexpectedly fast. In the nick of time, Jie Ning could only explosively release his Battle Qi. The powerful Battle Qi drastically slowed the arrow's velocity.

Jie Ning caught the arrow in one hand and flung it back along its original path.

In an instant, the arrow flew back along the trajectory it had come from.

"Hmph..." A muffled grunt came from the woods.

The archer, clad in brown clothes, clutched his right ear. Jie Ning's arrow had parted his ear from his head.

However, relying on his solid training, aside from that single grunt at the moment of injury, the archer immediately shifted his position.

After throwing the arrow back, Jie Ning smoothly drew the heavy sword from his back and charged into the woods.

But by the time Jie Ning reached the spot where the arrow had come from, there was only a trace of blood on the ground, with an ear lying not far away.

Jie Ning scanned his surroundings warily.

Suddenly, another arrow shot from Jie Ning's right side, aimed straight at his temple. Already on guard, Jie Ning swung his hand and chopped the arrow in two.

The archer, hidden in the distant shade of a tree, saw his failure again and quickly moved to another position.

Jie Ning charged once more toward the direction the arrow had come from, leaving even an afterimage in his wake for an instant, but he still failed to catch the opponent.

"Whoosh~" Arrow after arrow shot out from the woods.

Jie Ning dodged them all one by one.

Jie Ning's concentration was razor-sharp. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something.

'The earth tells me he is over here...'

The next instant, Jie Ning appeared behind the archer as if by teleportation. Amid the archer's terrified expression, he swung his sword down.

If possible, please drop a recommendation ticket.