Breaking through to fourth rank warrior

Lucas said without thinking, "I don't know either, but by then, he probably won't remember us."

Benny had been somewhat fragile mentally these past few days because of the life-and-death battle against the magical beast, the Green-Striped Python. Over the last two days, Lucas had also taken him along to dissect corpses. Usually lively and energetic, he had begun to grow quieter over these two days.

Somewhat subdued, he asked, "Then do you think death is frightening?"

The question stumped Lucas too, as he considered the will to survive he had felt the last time he faced the Green-Striped Python. He also recalled how, in his previous life, he had kicked a stone and then slipped down the steep slope beside the road.

His head had struck a utility pole directly, and he had clearly felt his neck break after the impact. After all, a single collision alone could not possibly have killed him. He remembered the scenes that had flashed through his mind before he died.

At that moment, Lucas did not realize that he had already fallen into an epiphany concerning this world's Death Edict. Eric saw that Lucas had fallen silent and that Benny also looked dispirited, so he shouted, "Enough! It was just a fourth-rank magical beast. Why are you two acting like this?!"

Eric's shout startled Lucas out of his epiphany. Once Lucas realized what had happened, his first reaction was anger. His state just now had clearly been an epiphany concerning the Death Edict, and Eric had ruined that opportunity just like that!

An epiphany did bring benefits from the world, just as when Linley had carved Dream Awakening.

After completing the work, he had even gained an increase in spiritual power, but his epiphany had been different from Lucas's. Linley had gained no insights into the laws during that breakthrough, whereas Lucas had gained insights into the laws this time.

Lucas sighed inwardly. Perhaps this was also a test from the Laws of the World! Although Eric had interrupted his breakthrough, he had meant no harm, so Lucas let the matter go.

Lucas then walked over and took the hand of his little follower, Benny, saying directly, "Death isn't frightening. If you fear death, then face it head-on. As long as you grow stronger, death won't be able to catch you!"

After hearing Lucas's words, Benny murmured to himself, "The stronger I grow, the less death can catch me."

After repeating this a few times, his earlier dispirited expression gradually faded. Eric also said thoughtfully, "Face death head-on, huh!"

Just as he had done with the previous corpse, Lucas buried this corpse beside it. Afterward, he said to the two of them, "I need to sort through what I've gained over the next few days, so I might not have time to see you. I'll come find you when the time comes."

The two nodded and left. After returning home, Lucas let out a breath. He had now grasped a trace of the rudiments of the Death Edict, perhaps not even one ten-thousandth of it. Still, this counted as having taken his first steps into the Death Edict, though it did not bolster his current strength in the slightest!

Over the following month, Lucas carefully compared the information he had obtained through dissection and cross-checked it against his previous knowledge. He prepared to begin attempting to create his own battle qi cultivation method.

After that, following half a month of recuperation, Lucas finally recovered completely from his injuries. Because of this life-and-death battle, his body had also naturally broken through to the level of a fourth rank warrior. Now twelve years old, Lucas already counted as a high-level warrior within the tribe and an intermediate-level warrior in the Coiling Dragon World.

Over the next few days, Lucas brought his body, which had already broken through to fourth rank warrior, into its best condition. Then he told his mother that he would be cultivating for the next few days and did not want anyone disturbing him, so he shut himself in his little room and began his battle qi experiments.

At first, Lucas did not dare to absorb elements directly to form battle qi inside his body. Instead, he first let himself slowly enter a meditative state.

Then he cautiously began sensing the elements before slowly attempting the breathing exercises he had performed so many times in his previous life. As Lucas breathed in and out, the elements gathered around him slowly began entering his body's meridians. Lucas tried guiding the elements into his lower dantian along the familiar route he had practiced so many times in his previous life.

Gradually, Lucas felt a cool current of energy enter his lower dantian. He sensed earth-shattering changes taking place within that chaotic dantian as the current of energy entered it. Because Lucas was carefully experiencing these changes and had not yet made this breathing method instinctive, he could not sustain it and emerged from that state.

But Lucas knew clearly that he had succeeded. The breathing exercises he had felt were useless in his previous life had served their purpose here.

He still remembered how he had rebelliously said to his old master, "This stuff is useless. Why practice it? I'd be better off practicing spear techniques. At least those are much more interesting than this."

The old man had still said, "The human body is a cycle. You use your own flow of qi to connect with the flow of qi in the world. This breathing method is the proper path to balancing your body and connecting with the world. How is it not better than spear techniques?"

He had continued arguing with his old master then, but the usually kind and amiable old man had refused to compromise that time and had given his ten-year-old self a beating.

He had angrily thrown a tantrum and refused to eat. Later, while the old man was asleep, he had secretly burned his beard with a flame. The old man had been born under a feudal dynasty and, because of the wars, had received no education in modern ideas. He was an old-fashioned man who attached great importance to his beard. Back then, he had lectured Lucas, whose name in his previous life had been Zhang Chaoyang, saying, "Your body, hair, and skin come from your parents. Heaven, earth, sovereign, parents, and teacher! If you dare burn this old man's beard today, tomorrow you'll dare defy your teacher and betray your ancestors!"

Naturally, Lucas remembered how the old man had pinned him to a table that time and given his backside a thorough beating. Thinking back on it now, Lucas cried. This was all thanks to his master's teachings!