Back to the Morning Training Grounds

Lucas explained what Anton meant to his mother, and she said, "It was fate that brought you together. Treat him well."

Lucas nodded. Although the little bear Anton was only a sixth-level magical beast now, he had been born a level nine magical beast, after all, and had spent several years with Lucas. Naturally, he understood what Lucas's mother had said and hurriedly told his boss, "Boss, your mother said it herself. You have to treat me well. I want meat!"

Only after Lucas agreed did he lie down contentedly beside him. Lucas told his mother about some of his other experiences, and she told him about the changes at home over the years.

After waking up the next morning, Lucas went to the place where he had first joined morning training. The tribal warrior responsible for teaching the children spotted him too and walked over warmly. "You're here! You're the greatest genius I've ever seen in our tribe. Say a few words to them!"

Lucas smiled and nodded. Time always slipped away unnoticed. It was always so merciless, yet so fair. He had once been just like these young children, dreaming of becoming as strong as the warrior who taught him.

Although he was still only a Seventh Rank Warrior, he, Lucas, had already set foot on the path toward becoming a Saint. He also understood his ultimate goal. The children were probably enthusiastic about cultivation, but they probably lacked the perseverance to endure the hardships of training. Lucas understood what the warrior who had once taught him meant: he wanted Lucas to show these five- and six-year-olds his strength and give them fresh motivation to train.

With that in mind, Lucas decided to show them what strength meant. He walked over to the rock he had sat on at four years old to watch them train and channeled his Battle Qi. Then, using the Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy technique he had grasped, he shattered the rock, which was the size of a small van, into powder with a single punch.

Sure enough, when Lucas turned around, he saw the eyes of the tribe's children shining. Even the warrior who had once taught him stood with his mouth agape. A moment later, the children began to cheer.

Naturally, Lucas offered the children a few words of encouragement. Afterward, the warrior came over and said, "I was right about you. Your talent is the greatest I've ever seen."

Lucas smiled and said, "It's not that impressive. You could do it too if you mastered a few techniques."

The warrior laughed. "Hahaha, don't be so modest. I'm a Fifth Rank Warrior myself, and Eric is now more or less at my level. We can shatter a rock like that too, but we can't pulverize it."

Lucas smiled without explaining further and chatted with him for a while. The warrior still had children to teach, and Lucas had only come here on a whim, so he did not interrupt his work any longer.

After returning home, Lucas found his father, Abuda, waiting for him. Lucas knew his father normally would not be home at this hour; he would usually be out attending to things. Why was he waiting for him today, contrary to his usual routine? Lucas asked, "Father, is there something you need?"

Abuda had been very excited the night before, when he learned that his son was already a Seventh Rank Warrior. So today, he intended to challenge his son. He said to Lucas, "Come, spar with me for a few rounds. Let me see how big the gap is between me and a Seventh Rank Warrior."

Lucas let out a startled "Huh?" He truly had not expected his father in this life to challenge him. He agreed, then set out with his father and his magical beast Anton for a fairly open spot on the mountain behind their home.

Once Lucas took his position, he told his father, "You attack first."

Hearing his son say this,

Abuda nodded, then charged forward. His weapon was a broadsword. With muscles he had trained to be far bulkier than Lucas's, he brought it down in a powerful, heavy slash. Lucas immediately used the martial technique he had grasped in the rain, repeatedly tapping his spear against the broadsword. He easily neutralized his father's attack. After several exchanges, Abuda was thoroughly puzzled. His physical strength was at the sixth rank, and his son clearly had not used Battle Qi just now. He was only using his fifth-rank physical strength, yet he handled Abuda's attacks with extraordinary ease.

Although puzzled, he did not want to lose face in front of his son. So he immediately used the Battle Qi he had already trained to the fifth rank. Once he used it, his combat power clearly increased, and Lucas could no longer handle him as easily as before.

Still, he failed to force Lucas to use his Battle Qi. Lucas merely increased the speed of his spear thrusts again and continued to handle his father's attacks well. After fighting for a little while, Abuda chose to stop. Planting his sword against the ground, he asked, "Why are you so strong even without using Battle Qi? Did breaking through to the seventh rank in Battle Qi strengthen your body?"

Lucas shook his head and explained to his father, "No, my physical strength is still at the fifth rank. The way I deal with your attacks is through speed!"

Hearing his son mention speed, Abuda visibly narrowed his eyes. Then he asked, "Speed?"

"Yes. The weapon you use is a broadsword. It's a strength-based weapon, with broad, sweeping movements. So speed is its weakness. My spear thrusts are very fast. Although fifth-rank physical strength certainly isn't enough to counter your advantage in strength, I can thrust two or three times at the same point of attack. That makes it easy to cancel out your advantage."

Abuda was a Sixth-Rank Warrior himself, and Lucas's explanation quickly made him understand. He sighed and said, "The techniques you light-weapon users employ really are more sophisticated than those of us who use heavy weapons."

Lucas immediately realized that his father had misunderstood, so he explained, "That's not it. Although technique does play a part, this kind of attack came from my understanding of the ways of heaven and earth. It's far beyond technique!"

As a warrior from a small tribe, it was already no easy feat for Abuda to have tempered his body to the sixth rank. He therefore had no knowledge at all of the ways of heaven and earth or Saints.

Lucas continued, "I grasped this on a rainy day. The driving rain hammered the ground. Although its force was weak, it had speed. That was where my inspiration came from. It is power that comes from heaven and earth. It's our stepping stone toward a higher realm!"