Medusa's Demonic Tutelage

Cailin handed Li Hao a so-called "guarantee plan," its contents detailed to an infuriating degree.

From what time to wake up in the morning, to how long to spend in meditation.

To the ratio of spirit beast meat to vegetables for all three daily meals.

Then to the intensity of physical training that should be conducted in the afternoon.

And how to utilize medicinal baths at night to consolidate cultivation.

Every single item was laid out with crystal clarity.

How was this a guarantee plan?

This was a damn schedule for a super devilish boot camp!

"I don't..."

Li Hao had just opened his mouth to protest when he was cut off by Cailin's cold, resolute tone that brooked no argument.

"Master, your subordinate conducted a preliminary assessment of your and Xiao Wu's strength last night."

Cailin stood straight, her posture upright, and that powerful aura belonging to a queen made the dilapidated wooden house feel cramped.

"The conclusion is that your and her strength are severely inconsistent with the status and potential you possess."

"Special training must begin immediately."

Li Hao opened his mouth, feeling all his retorts stuck in his throat.

Status?

What status do I have?

Chief Fisherman of Holy Soul Village?

Potential?

My only potential is being able to lie by the river all day without even turning over.

"Um... Cailin, I think..."

"Master, please, you and Xiao Wu, launch your strongest attack on me now."

Cailin interrupted him directly, stepped back two paces, and stood firm in the small courtyard.

She didn't even condense any energy around her body, just looked at the father and daughter calmly.

This was naked contempt.

Yet, Li Hao couldn't muster a shred of anger at being looked down upon.

Because what she said was the truth.

Xiao Wu had been bottling up a belly full of fire.

Yesterday, this bad woman not only picked her up like a little rabbit but also called her an accessory!

This score hadn't been settled yet!

"Bad woman, take this!"

Xiao Wu let out a delicate shout and darted out of Li Hao's arms.

Her figure left a pink afterimage in mid-air, her small body displaying a flexibility and speed completely at odds with her appearance, instantly closing in on Cailin's side.

The Soft Bone Rabbit's specialty: close-quarters grappling techniques!

However, facing Xiao Wu's swift and fierce offensive, Cailin didn't even move an inch.

She simply extended two fingers.

Slender, fair, like the finest mutton-fat jade.

Then, with absolute precision, she pinched the small fist Xiao Wu had thrown.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Xiao Wu's strength, enough to snap the waist bone of a century-old spirit beast, was like a clay ox entering the sea before Cailin's two fingers, failing to stir up even a ripple.

"The power is decent, but the technique is too crude; you only rely on instinct."

Cailin gave her assessment expressionlessly and flicked her wrist gently.

Xiao Wu let out a cry of surprise as her entire body was uncontrollably spun around by a clever force, finally landing with a "thud" on her bottom.

She sat on the ground, rubbing her sore backside, her large eyes filled with shock and grievance.

Li Hao's eyelid twitched.

It's over, my daughter was one-shotted.

Now all the pressure was on him.

"Master, it is your turn."

Cailin's gaze shifted over, flat, yet carrying invisible pressure.

Li Hao bit the bullet and stepped forward.

What else could he do?

He couldn't exactly say, "I don't know how to fight, I surrender," could he?

That would be far too embarrassing!

He took a deep breath, recalling that strange sensation from yesterday.

The soul power within his body began to circulate.

Petrification Eye!

An invisible ripple shot forth from his eyes, aimed directly at Cailin.

This was his strongest offensive move to date, capable of turning a boulder half his height into dust in an instant.

However, as that eerie petrifying power neared within three inches of Cailin, it seemed to collide with an invisible wall.

A pale purple energy shield flickered across the surface of Cailin's body.

The power of petrification was annihilated instantly, failing to even cause a ripple upon the shield.

Li Hao: "..."

The air grew stagnant once more.

If Xiao Wu being defeated in a single blow was expected, then the fact that his full-force strike couldn't even break the opponent's defense was a blow to his pride.

Cailin finally moved.

She shook her head slowly, and for the first time, her cold, beautiful face revealed undisguised disdain.

"Master's combat awareness is worse than a three-year-old child's."

"You possess powerful soul skills, yet you have no idea how to utilize energy, how to find the right timing, or how to lock onto an enemy."

"That last strike was riddled with openings."

Li Hao's face flushed red instantly.

This was truly salt in the wound!

"I... I'm just a fisherman! What do I need combat awareness for!"

He finally couldn't help but let out the final protest of a salted fish.

"My life's ambition is to fish, slack off, and enjoy a cozy home with a wife and kids! Who wants to go around killing and fighting!"

Cailin listened to him finish in silence.

Then, she stepped forward and, for the first time, looked Li Hao straight in the eyes with absolute solemnity.

"Master, you may have been a fisherman in the past."

"But from the moment you saved Xiao Wu and saved me, you were no longer just that."

"You are now our master, our king, and our only reliance."

She paused, enunciating every word with perfect clarity.

"Your weakness is our greatest vulnerability."

Boom!

These words carried more impact than any soul skill.

Li Hao was completely stunned.

He looked into Cailin's golden vertical pupils; there was no mockery, no disdain, only a pure, extreme sincerity.

He turned back to look at Xiao Wu, who was sitting on the ground, rubbing her eyes and on the verge of tears.

That's right.

He was no longer alone.

He had people he wanted to protect.

If he remained this weak, who would protect them when real danger arrived?

Rely on Cailin?

But wasn't it because Cailin encountered an irresistible enemy that she nearly died?

Li Hao could not refute this.

He had no strength to refute it.

"Training starts now."

Cailin's voice pulled him back from his contemplation.

"First item: physical conditioning."

"Without using any soul power, run ten laps around Holy Soul Village."

Li Hao's face fell.

One lap... a single lap around Holy Soul Village was at least two or three miles; ten laps meant twenty or thirty miles?

Without using spirit power?

With his six-and-a-half-year-old frame?

This is fucking trying to send him straight to see the King of Hell!

Half an hour later.

"Huff... hah... no... I can't... I... I'm going to die..."

Li Hao braced his hands on his knees. He hadn't even finished one lap before his lungs burned with pain, his legs feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He was currently nothing more than an ordinary six-and-a-half-year-old child; his physical stamina was even worse than the wild kids in Holy Soul Village who ran around like maniacs every day.

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out.

A purple energy vine whip struck his backside with pinpoint accuracy.

The force wasn't great, but the insult was immense.

"Ah!"

Li Hao let out a miserable shriek, jumping up in pain.

He turned his head to see Cailin standing behind him, holding the energy whip, her face as cold as frost.

"Master's stamina is even worse than I imagined."

"Continue."

Snap!

Another lash.

"You... you dare hit your master!"

Li Hao was furious and embarrassed, having lost all face.

"This is to help Master adapt to the training intensity as quickly as possible," Cailin replied, her tone devoid of emotion.

"I..."

Snap!

"Ah! I'll run! I'll run, okay!"

And so, the villagers of Holy Soul Village were fortunate enough to witness a peculiar sight today.

The village's notorious lazy little fisherman was running frantically through the village with a mournful expression on his face.

Behind him followed a fairy in purple, beautiful beyond compare.

The fairy held a whip in her hand, occasionally greeting the little fisherman's backside with it.

The scene was both bizarre and harmonious.

On the other side, Xiao Wu's training was an entirely different story.

Cailin had split off an energy clone specifically to spar with Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu possessed an incredibly high talent for combat. Under the guidance of Cailin's clone, her grasp of the combat techniques of the Soft Bone Rabbit clan improved by leaps and bounds.

From being easily defeated in seconds at the start, she had progressed to being able to trade dozens of blows with the energy clone.

Every dodge and every kick she made became more precise and more lethal.

When Li Hao finished his ten laps with half his life gone, collapsing on the ground like a dead dog.

What he saw was Xiao Wu landing a beautiful flash-step side kick, shattering Cailin's energy clone.

Xiao Wu waved her little fists in excitement, her small face covered in sweat, yet beaming with a satisfied smile.

As for Cailin, she stood to the side, casting a look of approval.

Li Hao's heart was stung sharply.

Why!

We were both picked up, so why is the daughter a combat genius while I'm a loser being whipped into running!

This isn't fair!

But looking at Xiao Wu, whose strength was rapidly increasing after diligent training, and then looking at Cailin beside him with her "this is all for your own good" expression.

For the first time, Li Hao realized from the bottom of his heart.

He could no longer run away.

Power was never a reward given freely by the system.

It was a responsibility.

It was the only capital he had to protect this unexpected bond.

Just as he was so tired he didn't want to move a single finger.

Cailin walked up to him, looking down at him from above.

At some point, a simple map drawn on animal hide had appeared in her hand.

"Master."

"According to the intelligence, in three days, the Spirit Saint family that severely wounded me will send people to this village for supplies."

She extended a slender finger and tapped a circled mark on the map.

That mark was none other than Holy Soul Village.

"Let us go and welcome them."