The next day, in Odin Town.
It was another bright, sunny day.
During the theory lesson, Yang Tian began learning the basics, such as information about common magical beasts.
The simple illustrations made the lessons especially popular with the boys.
The book described many powerful, terrifying magical beasts.
Next came physical training, the main course for increasing external spiritual power.
Dragging a heavy stone platform, Yang Tian kept his distance from the others and followed closely behind the group.
He had arrived earliest and already completed one round of training, so his pace was a little slow, but he did not fall behind.
Then, in the afternoon, they practiced the fundamentals.
The routine repeated, and the days passed one after another.
Half a year later!
At the Odin Sub-Temple's training grounds.
In front of ten wooden posts.
"Yang Tian broke the record again!"
"That's already five times the weight we usually pull!"
The boys, all older than Yang Tian, watched him train and were stunned once again.
He looked young and had a slight build, but his delicate, childish face now held a measure of youthful resolve.
At that moment, he was bent forward, hauling five stone platforms around the circular training field.
He had broken the record time and again.
The boy came to train before dawn. At first, he had been a little sleepy, but one day became two, then three...
After keeping it up for a month, he seemed to have grown accustomed to it.
After classes, he trained for another hour. Once he finished eating, he ran back and trained until stars filled the night sky.
His relentless efforts earned the recognition of the other boys in his squad, along with the nickname "training maniac."
But today was the agreed deadline.
Near noon, Balza arrived with a stern expression.
He surveyed the idle children. With two years left, perhaps only a handful of them would reach the rank of squire.
"Look at yourselves! What do you expect to achieve if you don't train harder?"
Instructor Balza proceeded to scold them.
When he finished, he even gave Zhang Hu a kick in the backside.
"You're the worst of the lot, always fooling around!"
Balza rebuked him.
The little rascal merely chuckled, not daring to argue.
Looking toward Yang Tian, who was still training hard on the other side, Balza sighed. "Why did I agree to his request? Fortunately, nothing happened to him over these past six months. Being so impatient for results clearly isn't good!"
"This time, even if he falls short, I'll agree as long as he has forty points of spiritual power."
Unable to harden his heart, Balza murmured to himself.
Among the other boys, anyone who gained twenty points of spiritual power in half a year would already be considered a genius.
No matter how hard Yang Tian worked, he could not possibly reach sixty points of spiritual power.
"Li Jieyuan, tell Yang Tian to meet me at the testing stele."
Balza then addressed Li Jieyuan, who was still the squad leader.
"Yes, Instructor!" Li Jieyuan nodded.
Before long, Li Jieyuan called Yang Tian back, his head drenched in sweat.
Standing before the testing stele, Yang Tian sighed.
"Ah, there's no avoiding it," Yang Tian murmured as he looked at the stern instructor.
He had been so absorbed in his training that he had never tested his spiritual power.
"Well, the agreed deadline is here. Let's test the results of your efforts!"
Balza spoke calmly.
Yang Tian nodded, then took the Wooden Sword from his back. The testing stele could withstand a hundred points of spiritual power.
Yang Tian stepped forward, then saluted Balza.
He gripped his sword, gathered his strength, and delivered a textbook downward slash!
Crack!
Hiss!
A stone bead sprang up from the testing stele.
The result appeared immediately.
"Fifty-three!"
At the sight of that conspicuous number, the boys peering from behind him all gaped.
Yang Tian had only had twelve points of spiritual power before, yet now he had fifty-three.
He had gained more than forty points in half a year. At this rate, he could attempt the squire examination in a year and a half.
"Why? I've already given it everything I have..."
Yang Tian was clearly dissatisfied with the result.
They had agreed on sixty points of spiritual power.
Yet his outstanding result had already left Balza and the other boys utterly stunned.
All Yang Tian could think about was that he would not receive the meditation method or any skills.
Even if he were given two hundred points of external spiritual power, he might not have been happy.
Disappointment covered his face.
This was a tremendous blow to the other boys.
He already had fifty-three points of spiritual power, yet he did not look happy at all?
As his instructor, Balza immediately noticed that something was wrong with Yang Tian.
"All right. According to our agreement, I can't teach you meditation ahead of time!"
"But you've shown remarkable perseverance, keeping at it every day for half a year. I'll make an exception this once!"
"However, you must balance work and rest. Cut your usual training load in half."
Instructor Balza spoke calmly.
In truth, he had already seen the brilliance within Yang Tian.
As long as his internal spiritual power was not too low when it awakened, Yang Tian was certain to become a knight!
A glimmer suddenly returned to Yang Tian's disappointed eyes. "Instructor, but I..."
"Heh, an agreement isn't set in stone. Your determination and persistence moved me!"
"Yang Tian, stay behind after class!"
"If the rest of you show the same perseverance, I can make an exception for you too and teach you skills ahead of time!"
Balza put on a stern expression again, directing his final remark at the other boys.
Yang Tian's disappointment suddenly turned to joy.
At last, he had earned it...
I hope you'll cast more recommendation votes. This book has little chance of getting a contract, but as long as there are recommendation votes and readers supporting it, I'll keep updating.
The early development is a little slow. Once his internal spiritual power awakens, he'll head to the Haoyue Branch Hall. Later, the Demon Hunt Squad will have some humorous scenes, so please look forward to them. Thank you!
Before you continue