Training from hell

The Grass Demon Cat was an excellent opponent.

Using it as the target of their special training was perfect for General Ha. After all, a grudge was a powerful motivator.

Before ending his call with Fang Lan, Lu Ran told her he might spend a while in Infinite City putting General Ha through special training, rather than returning to Green Sea City. Teleporting back and forth cost Crystal Coins, after all. What he really meant was... he would have to leave Fang Lan to deal with his godparents again.

After letting her know, Lu Ran lay down on the bed in his Exclusive Room to rest for a while. Rubbing his temples, he began seriously considering how to train General Ha.

First, there were the five major ways to use energy: coating, release, flow, compression, and shaping...

General Ha had already mastered the first two. He had even grasped a more advanced coating technique: external wrapping.

For now, all Energy Coating needed was steady daily practice.

They could combine it with physical conditioning and reaction training.

From observing General Ha's recent battles, Lu Ran had noticed that coating his body in wind energy gave him a huge speed boost. He could practically be called a wind-speed dog-or a wild-speed dog. The problem was that he moved too fast. Charging straight ahead in that state was fine, but even a few obstacles in the terrain would limit his speed.

So one part of their coating training would involve practicing General Ha's agility at wind speed over complex terrain.

As for release techniques...

General Ha had only just mastered sword aura, but Lu Ran had already spotted its drawbacks.

First, it consumed too much energy. That was unavoidable. Once a release-type skill left the body, its energy naturally weakened. Without enough power at the outset, it would dissipate completely in no time.

They could only solve that by improving his technique or growth level.

Second, its attack pattern was rigid: a straight line.

The sword aura resembled a crescent-shaped white Wind Blade, roughly a meter long, surrounded by swirling, violent air currents. Those gave it a little AOE damage, but not much. Though it was fairly fast, releasing it and letting it fly still took time, making it quite easy to dodge.

It might reliably hit slow-moving animals like elephants, but landing a long-range hit on an agile animal like a cat would be difficult. Against birds of prey in the future, it would probably fare even worse.

Lu Ran thought of two ways to solve this problem.

One was to improve his energy release technique. Just as Energy Coating had advanced techniques, so did energy release. Its second stage was controlling energy after it left the body.

In other words, if General Ha brought his energy release to the next level, he could control the sword aura's trajectory even after launching it. He could turn it up, down, left, or right, improving his chances of hitting!

Just like the Sword Flight Technique!

But honestly... that was a little difficult. Even the Basic Beast Taming Manual only mentioned it briefly, without going into detail. Clearly, it did not consider that "basic."

The other option Lu Ran could think of was teaching General Ha the "energy flow technique." If he grasped it, the process of charging up and forming sword aura would become nearly instantaneous. He could also fire two or three bursts of sword aura in succession, with almost no interval.

That way, suppressive fire would effectively reduce the enemy's chances of dodging, though it would consume even more energy.

"Then our short-term training goals will focus on agility training and the energy flow technique."

"Once General Ha masters energy flow, we'll work on his sword aura's accuracy. I'll get some stones and throw them so he can attack moving targets."

"As for shaping and compression, those can wait until he's familiar with his current fighting style..."

As Lu Ran mulled it over, he fell asleep. General Ha... had fallen asleep even earlier. He had used up plenty of energy before this, after all.

General Ha, however, woke up before Lu Ran.

He licked Lu Ran awake.

"Awoof!!!"

Lu Ran opened his eyes to see General Ha bouncing around beside him, tongue hanging out and blue eyes shining.

"Woof!"

Training! Training! Even his tuft of fur bobbed along.

"You certainly are eager." Lu Ran's head hurt.

Couldn't he let me wake up naturally? Damn it.

"I have a shortcut. Want to try it?" Boss Lu looked kindly at General Ha.

"It'll let you experience high-speed energy flow directly. The strain and damage from entering that state might be pretty severe, but we already have a fully charged Divine Deer Pendant... When the time comes, get a good feel for that state. With your learning ability, you might just master it on the spot."

"Awoof?" General Ha's eyes lit up at the mention of a shortcut.

He nodded furiously, indicating that he could accept it.

Wasn't it just strain and injury? His body's memories told him that getting hurt was the last thing he feared.

He could be healed anyway.

Boss Lu is so nice. He knows ten years is far too long for a Snowfield Dog to wait for revenge. I love shortcuts.

"All right, let's give it a try." Lu Ran smiled. He had carefully read the Energy Surge Fruit's description and buyer reviews. If a low-level pet beast ate it normally, treatment with ordinary medicinal herbs would leave it bedridden for at least half a month to a month.

It was a forbidden fruit with brutally powerful side effects.

He hoped combining this self-destructive training method with the Divine Deer Pendant would give them a pleasant surprise.

"Then let's head to the Training Secret Realm."

[Open the Training Secret Realm?]

[Training Secret Realm access: 1 Crystal Coin/day]

Yes.

After that silent exchange, white light enveloped Lu Ran and General Ha.

When they came to their senses and looked around, they found themselves in a beautiful setting.

"That Crystal Coin was well spent."

Feeling the breeze and gazing at a blue sky rarely seen back home, Lu Ran basked in the warm sunshine and drew a deep breath.

There was green grass, rocky ground, and even a lake around them. The scenery was lovely.

Rather than a training ground, it felt more like a wonderful place to lie down for a midday nap.

Next time, he could buy some supplies, grill skewers here, sip some fizzy drinks, and enjoy a pleasant afternoon.

"Woof!"

Beside him, General Ha shook himself and looked around. Coming to such a spacious place with such pleasant surroundings seemed to put him in a good mood too.

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General Ha looked at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran looked back at him and took out the Energy Surge Fruit.

The Energy Surge Fruit was pink all over, as if cherry blossom petals had transformed into a fruit. It was beautiful, but beneath that vibrant exterior lay violent energy.

In the wild, any animal that ate this fruit was doomed. Though it could greatly boost their combat strength for a short time, wild creatures had no effective means of healing. After their explosive burst of power, they would lie severely injured without treatment, and death was inevitable.

Only pet beasts cared for by Beast Tamers could attempt to use this fruit as a means of unleashing a crucial burst of power.

"Here." Lu Ran tossed the Energy Surge Fruit.

"Awoof!" General Ha caught it in his mouth and was about to swallow.

"Stop! Chew it slowly!" Lu Ran exploded, looking just like a mother scolding her child.

This fellow apparently forgot more than yesterday's grudges. He had even forgotten how he had nearly choked on the Wind Fruit last time, and once again could not wait to swallow this one whole.

Even if the fruit was irresistible, couldn't he eat it a bite at a time? Lu Ran did not want anyone finding out that his divine pet had choked to death.

"Awoo." General Ha felt wronged.

Still, he followed Lu Ran's instructions, chewing slowly as he ate the fruit.

Then...

Lu Ran had already taken out the Divine Deer Pendant and was ready.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

General Ha stood motionless, waiting for his body to change.

About five seconds later, his expression suddenly shifted.

A hint of red gradually appeared in his blue eyes.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but even his muscles seemed to swell.

"Huh?" Seeing General Ha's eyes change startled Lu Ran. For a moment, he thought General Ha was about to enter that berserk state where he recognized no one.

Fortunately...

"Awooo-" As General Ha howled, only a tremendous surge of energy erupted from his body.

Boom!

The power of the sky, shifting from white to blue, burst from General Ha like a blazing aura, rising more than a meter above him!

Then the violent energy contracted, wrapping itself completely around General Ha's body. Lu Ran stared at him in astonishment.

This Energy Coating was very different from the version General Ha had mastered on his own!

If General Ha had previously been wrapped in a faint halo...

Now he seemed to be wearing an outer coat of energy! And that coat was constantly flowing at high speed!

Like a river of stars, the energy kept flowing over General Ha's body, making his fur rise and fall as though a hurricane were constantly blowing through it.

He looked incredible!

"Grrr!!!" But Lu Ran could tell that General Ha was struggling. He tensed his body, suppressing the violent power within him.

"Does it hurt?" Lu Ran asked.

"Woo!" General Ha indicated that it did not hurt. This power felt amazing. Driving his body's energy circulation beyond its limits had produced a perfect boost to his attack, defense, and speed. It was just... where could he let it out? He was about to... lose control.

He looked at Lu Ran. Surely Lu Ran would not still be his sparring partner?

"Uh... are you trying to kill me?" Lu Ran glanced around.

"Since we're paying to rent this Training Secret Realm, it should repair itself, right? Tear up whatever you want."

At Lu Ran's words, General Ha's eyes lit up. As though his instincts had been unleashed, he threw back his head and howled.

A short while later.

A cheap Training Secret Realm was cheap for a reason. In no time at all, it was a wreck, like a battlefield.

And General Ha still did not seem satisfied. Even without an enemy, he had worked himself into a killing frenzy in this state. No enemy? The Training Secret Realm was the enemy!

Speed that shattered rocky ground with a single dash, strength that tore rocks apart with one swipe, sustained output that ripped up the grass with a single breath!!!

General Ha had gone completely wild.

Seeing his terrifying power, Lu Ran felt that, equipped with the Windfall Sword in this state, General Ha could definitely take on that Grass Demon Cat. Granted, he was juicing...

"Awooo!!!" General Ha grew more and more excited, but Lu Ran soon noticed that something was wrong.

What he had feared most upon first seeing General Ha's red eyes had happened after all. As General Ha continued demolishing the place, his reason seemed to vanish, leaving nothing in his eyes but bloodlust and a hunger for battle. Lu Ran's heart tightened.

Had the Energy Surge Fruit's backlash triggered General Ha's mad-dog state?

"General Ha!!!" To stop him from going berserk, Lu Ran roared at him. At the same time, he activated Telepathy at full strength, making his call thunder through General Ha's mind like an endlessly echoing loudspeaker.

"Woo??" At Lu Ran's shout, General Ha's eyes cleared, looking somewhat confused. At the same time, the rapidly flowing energy coat dissipated from his body.

What followed was horrifying pain: sharp agony throughout his body, from his internal organs to his very bone marrow!!!

"Awoooo!!!!!" Terror filled General Ha's clear eyes as he threw back his head and howled. It hurts! What kind of training from hell is this?!

Weakness washed over him, leaving him unable even to stand. He swayed and collapsed to the ground, gazing pitifully at Boss Lu...

Deer... deer...

"I told you the aftereffects would be severe..." Lu Ran immediately used the Divine Deer Pendant he had prepared to heal General Ha. But just then, something unexpected happened.

General Ha's Contract Card,

Changed once again.

[Species]: Snowfield Dog

[Attribute]: Wind

[Species rank]: Intermediate Extraordinary

[Growth level]: Level 5

[Skill]: Sword aura

General Ha had leveled up! Could Energy Surge Fruit double as experience candy?

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