In the afternoon, on the outskirts of Wushan.
Linley hid behind a large tree. The bushes ahead rustled, and a grey rabbit leaped out of the grass.
The grey rabbit warily looked around. Only after finding no danger did it lower its head and start grazing.
Behind the tree, Linley quietly poked his head out, a fist-sized stone gripped in his right hand.
"Whoosh~"
The stone flew seven or eight meters from Linley's hand and struck the grey rabbit squarely in the head.
"Thud~"
A muffled sound rang out. Blood sprayed as the grey rabbit's head jerked to the side and it fell to the ground. Its hind legs kicked weakly a few times, then it stopped breathing.
[Congratulations, host, on successfully killing the wild grey rabbit. White Energy Point +1]
Linley looked at the system prompt that appeared before him, a smile spreading across his lips.
In the System Space, Lin Ke was also beaming as he looked at the nine Energy Points he had just earned.
Killing a rabbit earned ten Energy Points. Lin Ke kept nine for himself and left one for Linley.
"Linley." Doering Cowart appeared from the Coiling Dragon Ring, his expression stern as he looked at Linley. "Today is already the third day. If you still can't cast magic by the end of today, I'm going to have to punish you."
"Don't worry, Grandpa Doehring!" Linley deftly snapped the rabbit's neck, pulled a dagger from his boot, and skinned it. "I'll definitely be able to cast magic today. I must have refined enough magical power by now."
In just a few words, Linley had completely skinned the rabbit and stuffed it, hide and all, into the small bag he carried with him.
"Big Brother Lin Ke." At the same time, Linley saw that his Energy Points had reached ten again and contacted Lin Ke. "I have enough Energy Points. I want to exchange them for one drop of T-Virus."
As soon as Linley finished speaking, Lin Ke snapped his fingers in the System Space.
The next moment, a drop of emerald-green liquid appeared in Linley's mouth.
Compared with the sweet taste of Purple Light Dew, the T-Virus was nothing but bitter.
Linley had been looking forward to it, but his expression changed. Fortunately, there was only one drop, and it was quickly absorbed.
At the same time, a cool sensation spread through Linley's mind.
Name: Linley Baruch Age: 6 Energy Points: 0 Constitution: 1.01 Spiritual Power: 1.1 Battle Qi: 0 Magic Power: 0 Elemental Affinity: Earth Element (Supreme), Wind Element (Supreme), Destruction (High), Fire Element (Medium), Water Element (Supreme, Hidden) Law Comprehension: None Battle Qi Manual: None Meditation Method: Pu'ang Royal Meditation Method
Today was the third day after the battle between the two Saint-level powerhouses.
Over these three days, including the grey rabbit he'd just killed, Linley had killed ten animals.
That was just enough to exchange for one drop of T-Virus.
An attribute increase of 0.1 was equivalent to the spiritual power of someone his age.
The next moment, Linley silently recited the words, drawing upon the Earth Elementals within his body.
"Earth Spike!"
When he finished the incantation, Linley pointed at the open ground ahead.
"Poof~"
The ground suddenly bulged, forming a cone-shaped spike.
The spike was about thirty centimeters tall, with a base roughly seven or eight centimeters in diameter.
"I did it!" The moment he saw himself successfully cast the spell, Linley cheered. "Grandpa Doehring, look! I cast magic!"
Doehring appeared from the Coiling Dragon Ring. He looked at the Earth Spike, then at Linley, his eyes full of confusion.
According to Doehring's original teaching plan, Linley would need another two or three days before he could cast his first spell.
He'd given him three days because he wanted to temper Linley's pride.
Only by guarding against arrogance and impatience could one go farther.
But what was going on?
Just now, Doehring had clearly sensed Linley's spiritual power surge.
It was precisely because his spiritual power had increased that Linley was able to cast magic.
That couldn't be right.
Could Linley have studied magic before?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Doehring didn't believe he could have misjudged that.
Even if he only had a soul now, it was still the soul of a Saint-level powerhouse.
How could he have failed to see it?
Three days ago, Linley had truly been nothing more than an ordinary little boy, with perhaps a bit of talent as a warrior.
But why?
How could his spiritual power have suddenly surged?
This wasn't magic.
"Well done." Although Doehring couldn't figure it out, he still smiled and nodded. "But, Linley, this isn't enough. Earth Spike is only a first-level spell, and it needs to reach fifty centimeters in height, with a base diameter of more than ten centimeters. You're still far from meeting the requirements."
The excitement on Linley's face gradually faded at Doehring's words. He nodded earnestly. "I understand, Grandpa Doehring. I won't get carried away."
"Mm, good." Doehring nodded slightly, though he felt a little helpless inside.
He'd just been worried that Linley might grow arrogant and conceited.
But now, it didn't seem like Linley had any such intentions?
"All right, let's begin the lesson." Doehring set aside his thoughts. "When you cast the spell just now, there were three mistakes in your incantation. They were..."
Linley studied magic in Wushan until dusk, then finally returned to town.
Three days had passed, but the town still hadn't fully recovered. At least, however, some semblance of order had been restored.
Hillman had also announced today that warrior training on the open ground would resume tomorrow.
After returning to the estate, Linley didn't go straight to his room. Instead, he took a detour to the rear courtyard.
Inside the Coiling Dragon Ring, Doehring sensed the direction Linley was heading and couldn't help shaking his head.
Although Linley sometimes acted mature beyond his years, he was still a little childish.
For instance, Linley still firmly believed there was a treasure in the backyard.
So for the past three days, he'd gone to take a look around the backyard every day after returning from training.
A family with a legacy stretching back thousands of years had gone more than a thousand years without producing a Dragonblood Warrior. The backyard had surely been searched countless times. How could any other treasures possibly have been left behind?
Still, Doehring didn't stop him.
In truth, if he could, Doehring would have preferred Linley to act more like a child his age.
Because of Hogg, such an irresponsible father, Linley had been so sensible at such a young age that Doehring felt a pang of heartache for him.
After spending these past few days together, Doehring had come to regard Linley as his own grandson.
"Grandpa Doehring, look! What's that?"
Just as Doehring was thinking about how Hogg had failed in his duties as a father, Linley's excited voice rang out.
Doehring appeared from the Coiling Dragon Ring and looked in the direction Linley was pointing.
A black rat, only about ten centimeters long, was perched on a fallen stone pillar, gnawing at it.
Doehring froze when he saw it. "A Magical Beast Shadow Mouse? Or a Stone-Eater Rat?"
Linley had already contacted Lin Ke.
"Big Brother Lin Ke." Linley's voice was full of excitement. "Is this the God-Eater Rat the mission mentioned?"
"That's right." In the System Space, Lin Ke watched the scene unfold live. "If you form a contract with it, you'll get a hundred Energy Points."
But in truth, Lin Ke was calculating how much he could earn this time.
The actual value of killing a grey rabbit was ten points. He'd taken nine and given Linley one.
As for forming a contract with Bebe, Lin Ke sensed that he could earn ten thousand Energy Points.
Giving Linley a hundred should already count as pretty generous.
Probably?
Before you continue