In the Blink of an Eye, a Year Passed!

Flowing Frost City.

Bart's Manor.

Barte Lei had left.

His footsteps were heavy, thudding against the stone floor.

He seemed somewhat hurried.

As though he was eager to find a deserted place to properly digest the shock he had just received.

Lei Wen stood in the middle of the empty training room.

His head was lowered.

A demon pattern rested on the back of his right hand.

It gleamed like jade, pale and flawless.

Only he himself could sense the ancient, savage will hidden beneath that pattern.

"What... are you?"

Lei Wen's left hand gently stroked the back of his right hand.

His perception spread outward.

The Dark Dao intent that had once devoured the elements of heaven and earth and forcibly infused itself into his body had already vanished without a trace.

In its place was a special warm current, endlessly flowing from the demonic mark and nourishing Lei Wen's bones and flesh.

Comfortable.

It felt like soaking in a hot spring.

Every cell in his body seemed to be cheering as it greedily absorbed that strange energy.

"Since I've been dealt such a good hand!"

"Then I must play it through to the end!"

A moment later.

A gleam flashed through Lei Wen's eyes.

In his previous life, he had been an orphan. After fighting his way through the muck, the greatest principle he had learned was—

With money in hand, the heart did not panic.

Strength was the hard currency.

A month later.

The rear courtyard.

Lei Wen sat cross-legged on a dark blue boulder.

He guided crimson Spirit Qi, which surged through his meridians like galloping warhorses.

An ordinary person's meridians would have exploded long ago.

But Lei Wen's meridians were terrifyingly resilient.

No matter how violently the Spirit Qi raged, it was firmly bound to its prescribed path.

In the end, it rushed into the sea of Qi in his dantian.

Buzz!

The air trembled slightly.

Lei Wen abruptly opened his eyes.

His pupils were deep, and a dark crimson phantom flickered within them.

"Break."

Lei Wen's lips moved faintly.

It was as though some barrier inside him had shattered.

There was no resistance at all.

Third Rank Warrior, Spirit Qi permeation.

If the old servants outside learned of this, they would probably be so shocked they would smash their heads against blocks of tofu.

One month.

He had jumped from the first rank to the third.

Even riding a rocket would not be this fast.

Lei Wen rose and stretched his neck.

His bones crackled.

"Still too slow."

Lei Wen was somewhat dissatisfied.

If Barte Lei heard those words, he would probably be so furious that he vomited blood.

At dinner.

A spotless white tablecloth covered the long dining table.

The crystal chandelier overhead swayed, its candlelight flickering.

Barte Lei sat at the head of the table.

He held a knife and fork, cutting into a five-pound Flagrant Beast steak on his plate.

His movements were elegant.

Yet his gaze kept drifting toward Lei Wen.

There was a hint of inquiry, along with an expression that seemed to be waiting for a show.

"Lei Wen."

"How has your cultivation been lately?"

Barte Lei stuffed a piece of steak into his mouth and chewed twice.

He knew the answer and asked anyway.

As a ninth-rank Knight, how could the changes in his son's aura possibly escape his notice?

But he wanted to hear his son admit it himself.

Or perhaps he was seeking a little psychological balance.

"Not bad."

"I just broke through to the third rank."

Lei Wen did not look up, calmly placing a broccoli floret into his mouth.

"Cough!"

Barte Lei suddenly began coughing violently.

He had been choked by that fragrant Flagrant Beast meat.

Though he had clearly been prepared for it.

Hearing the words "third rank" come from his six-year-old son's mouth still made him spit them out in a daze.

Barte Lei's heart could not take it.

"Eat slowly!"

"No one's fighting you for it!"

The lady of the house, Xue, hurriedly set down her utensils and gently patted her husband's back.

"Father, Big Brother is amazing."

Lei Wen wiped his mouth with a napkin, utterly calm.

"Gao Shun?"

Xue looked a little confused.

She was only a sixth-rank mage.

She naturally understood nothing about warriors' cultivation.

Nor did she have any real sense of just how monstrous her son's talent was.

In her eyes, as long as her son was healthy, that was enough.

"Big Brother lies!"

A childish voice cut in.

Lian Qiu sat in a high chair, her chubby little legs swinging in midair.

She was only five years old.

Her pink, doll-like face was covered in grease, and she clutched a drumstick in her hand.

"Father was obviously choked by the meat!"

"I saw it clearly!"

Lian Qiu waved her little drumstick, trying to make her testimony more convincing.

Barte Lei's old face reddened.

He took a sip of red wine to smooth things over.

"Cough~"

"Lian Qiu, your brother is right."

He shot Lei Wen a look.

The meaning was obvious: You brat, give your old man some face.

Lei Wen shrugged and said nothing.

"Come!"

"Lei Wen, eat more meat."

"You're at the age when you're growing. Cultivation is so hard, you've gotten thin."

Xue lovingly placed a large, perfectly cooked steak onto Lei Wen's plate.

"Thank you, Mother."

Warmth filled Lei Wen's heart.

He had never enjoyed maternal love in his previous life, and now it had all been made up for.

"I want some too!"

"I want some too!"

"Mother is playing favorites!"

"I'm growing too!"

Lian Qiu became unhappy.

Puffing out her cheeks, she shoved her chair hard enough to make it creak.

"Look at you, you've already become a ball."

Lei Wen showed no mercy.

He reached out and pinched his little sister's round, fleshy cheek.

It felt excellent, soft and springy.

"Bad Big Brother!"

Lian Qiu slapped Lei Wen's hand away angrily.

Then she turned to Barte Lei and complained.

"Father, Big Brother is bullying me!"

Barte Lei watched the scene.

His weathered face softened.

This was home.

He had fought desperately on the battlefield and killed people like flies. What was it all for?

Wasn't it to protect this peace?

But then...

His gaze fell on Lei Wen again.

The speed of that boy's growth made him, as a father, both relieved and anxious.

The child was growing too fast.

Before this old father could teach him all his skills, the little fellow seemed about to leave Bart's Manor.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed.

Late autumn.

Fallen leaves filled the courtyard of the manor.

On the training ground.

Two figures were clashing at high speed.

Bang!

A muffled sound rang out.

One figure flew backward, performed a graceful backflip in midair, and landed steadily.

It was Lei Wen.

Across from him, Barte Lei had one hand behind his back, his body completely still.

Yet shock flashed through Barte Lei's eyes.

That strike just now had truly been delivered by an eight-year-old child?

Even some seasoned knights might not have been able to withstand that strange attack.

"Hmph!"

"Not bad!"

"His Spirit Qi and physical body had both reached the peak of the fourth ring, and his foundation was still solid."

Very soon.

Barte Lei smiled and said to Lei Wen,

"Ever since Lei Wen's Spirit Qi had reached the level of thirty three times in a row!"

He began teaching Lei Wen how to fight.

For one, he hoped Lei Wen would master some combat techniques.

For another, he hoped Lei Wen would slow down his growth and delay the speed at which he advanced.

Moxie,

Barte Lei wanted to restrain Lei Wen's breakthrough speed.

The reason was simple.

Lei Wen was not yet ten years old. He was too young.

He was worried that Lei Wen would focus only on cultivation and cause his foundation to become unstable.

But even so.

Lei Wen still broke through to the fourth ring and could become a five-ring Soul Master at any time.

Faced with such a situation,

Barte Lei felt immensely proud.

As expected of Barte Lei's son!

"Ah-ha."

"It's all thanks to Father's good teaching."

Lei Wen nodded obediently.

He was not lying.

Because of the birthmark on the back of his hand,

breaking through realms was not difficult for him.

However, the birthmark on his hand could not give him abundant combat experience.

But Barte Lei could!

The combat experience of a nine-ring Soul Master was far more formidable than Lei Wen had imagined.

"Alright."

"Let's stop here for today."

"Tomorrow, Lian Qiu will be testing your magical talent."

"I wonder how talented this little fellow is when it comes to magic."