Eleven Steps! Breakthrough to One-Star Warrior!

Sunset City.

Moria Academy was located in the northwest of Qing City, covering a vast area.

The imposing gates alone were enough to fill people with awe.

There were no guards at the entrance, only eight enormous Stone Lions, carved with lifelike detail.

Barte Lei arrived with his family to register.

Since they had made an appointment in advance, the registration process went smoothly.

The person receiving them was a middle-aged female instructor who looked rather stern.

However, when she noticed the unmistakable aura of a nine-star warrior around Barte Lei, her attitude became much more courteous.

"Mr. Barte Lei!"

"Your daughter has outstanding talent. Her water affinity is upper-grade, and her spiritual power is upper-grade as well!"

"As long as she works hard, she can at least become an intermediate mage, perhaps even a six-star mage!"

She looked at the evaluation report in her hands.

A smile appeared on the female instructor's face.

"Then I'll borrow your good words!"

Barte Lei laughed heartily, clearly in an excellent mood.

Once the paperwork was finished, it was time to arrange the dormitory.

The dormitories at Moria Academy were divided into three, six, and nine grades. There were ordinary four-person rooms as well as luxurious single-person courtyards.

With the Barte Lei family's wealth, Lian Qiu was naturally assigned the best independent courtyard.

The courtyard was planted with flowers and grass, and the surroundings were quiet and elegant.

The room's furnishings were also quite complete, barely any worse than those at home.

By the time Lian Qiu finished organizing her belongings, it was already getting late.

The family ate dinner together at a high-end restaurant near the academy.

At the table.

Lian Qiu remained unusually quiet.

She kept her head lowered, poking at the steak on her plate with a fork. From time to time, she glanced at her parents and older brother, and her eyes began to redden again.

The sorrow of parting finally became clear at that moment.

"Alright, alright!"

"It's not like we'll never see each other again!"

"When you're on break, or when we have time, we'll come see you!"

Lei Wen placed a piece of her favorite cheese onto her plate and smiled as he comforted her.

"Mm..."

Lian Qiu nodded obediently, lowering her head even further.

After dinner, they escorted Lian Qiu back to her dormitory.

At the moment of parting, the little girl finally could not hold it in anymore. She threw herself into Xue's arms and burst into loud sobs.

Xue's eyes were red as well. She held her daughter and refused to let go.

Even Barte Lei's eyes reddened. He turned his back and secretly wiped away a tear.

Lei Wen stood to one side, quietly watching the scene.

He did not cry.

But his chest felt terribly stifled.

Still, he knew this was the path one had to take to grow up.

Everyone had to learn to face this world on their own. Lian Qiu did, and so did he.

"Brother..."

"You have to write to me often!"

"And... when you're busy training, you have to take good care of yourself too!"

Lian Qiu wiped her tears and looked at Lei Wen with watery eyes.

"Got it."

"Don't let anyone bully you at school!"

"If anyone dares to bully you, write and tell me. Your brother will beat them up for you!"

Lei Wen walked over and vigorously rubbed her little head.

"Hehe!"

"I'm a mage!"

"If they bully me, they might not be able to beat me!"

Lian Qiu broke into laughter through her tears and waved her little fist.

The first month.

Under Xue's guidance, Lian Qiu had already accumulated quite a bit of magic power.

Now, she could be considered a true water-element magic apprentice.

The day they left Sunset City.

Lei Wen turned back for one last long look at the towering city walls.

He silently swore in his heart.

The next time he returned, he would definitely do so as a powerful person.

No longer would he be like he was now, looking up at this city and those powerful people.

After returning to Flowing Frost City.

Lei Wen's life once again returned to normal.

No, it became even crazier than before.

Though he had trained hard before, he would still occasionally give himself a break.

But now.

Apart from eating and sleeping, Lei Wen trained like a madman every day.

Even the martial arts arena in the Barte Lei residence's outer courtyard became his exclusive territory.

Before dawn each day, the dull sounds of "huff, huff" breathing and heavy impacts could be heard from there.

"Ha!"

Lei Wen stood bare-chested.

His muscles were taut, sweat constantly streaming down his body and glimmering under the sunlight.

Both hands gripped a heavy black iron sword weighing several hundred pounds as he swung it again and again.

Side slash.

Upward slash.

Horizontal slash.

There were no flashy moves.

They were only the most basic movements, yet he repeated them thousands upon thousands of times.

Every swing used all his strength.

Every exertion rose from the soles of his feet, passed through his waist and abdomen, then flowed into his arms before finally pouring into the heavy sword.

This was a crude and painful way to train.

His muscles groaned, his bones creaked, and it felt as if fire were burning in his chest.

Yet his expression remained calm, without the slightest wavering.

Because he knew very well that only by laying an incomparably solid foundation could he go farther on the path to becoming strong.

Barte Lei would occasionally come to watch, standing in the distance and observing silently.

At first.

He worried that his son would not be able to endure it.

After all, the intensity of such training was difficult even for adult soldiers to bear.

But as the days passed.

Barte Lei was astonished to discover that Lei Wen not only endured it, but recovered at an astonishing speed after every training session.

"That boy's talent... truly is a monster."

Barte Lei secretly sighed to himself.

What he did not know was that talent was not the only reason.

More importantly, there was that mysterious birthmark on the back of Lei Wen's hand.

Ever since Lei Wen had transmigrated, that birthmark had accompanied him.

At first, it had only been a blurry black mark.

As Lei Wen trained without rest, the black mark gradually became clearer, turning into a pattern resembling a ferocious beast's head.

Whenever Lei Wen trained to the point of exhaustion.

The birthmark would faintly glow, releasing a strange warm current that rapidly repaired his injured muscles.

In other words!

That mysterious birthmark was what gave Lei Wen the confidence to train himself so ruthlessly!

"Again!"

Lei Wen let out a low roar and lifted the heavy sword once more.

The beast-head pattern seemed to come alive.

Those tightly closed eyes appeared to open by a sliver, revealing a wild and tyrannical aura.

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, another year went by.

That afternoon.

As usual, Lei Wen trained beneath a waterfall in the back mountain.

A massive torrent of water crashed down from a height of dozens of meters, smashing fiercely against Lei Wen's body.

This was not merely physical training. It was also tempering his will.

Every impact felt like a heavy hammer striking his back, making it almost impossible for Lei Wen to stand.

Yet he gritted his teeth and held tightly to the boulder beneath his feet, allowing the rushing water to batter him while remaining completely still.

A powerful aura circulated through his body, resisting the pressure from the outside world.

Suddenly.

That barrier which had long restricted him finally began to loosen.

The powerful aura surged like a flood bursting through a dam, instantly breaking through the invisible wall.

Boom!

A tremendous wave of energy exploded outward from Lei Wen's body, actually forcing the waterfall pouring down from above to stop for an instant.

Water splashed in every direction like a sudden rainstorm.

Lei Wen abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze blazing.

He had succeeded!

One-star warrior!

From eleven steps, he had actually crossed into the realm of a one-star warrior!

With one punch, he could probably shatter an entire boulder.