The high fever lasted three days and three nights.
During that time, Old Jack asked Old Henry to take a look, but even with his years of experience, Old Henry could not tell what was wrong. With no other options, Old Jack could only resort to the simplest method: cooling him down with cold compresses on his forehead and wiping down his body.
Inside Loa's mind, surging fragments of memory battered his consciousness, the details of his previous life intertwining with the memories of this one.
Wushan Town! Hillman! Supernatural power! Warriors! Scene after scene flashed through his mind before finally stopping on the enormous words "Coiling Dragon" on the book beside his pillow in that stark hospital room. The scenes from the book began to overlap with the real Wushan Town.
On the morning of the fourth day, the fever finally broke. Lying on the hard plank bed, Loa slowly opened his eyes and saw Old Jack dozing beside him. Warmth welled up in his heart. As he looked at the dim ceiling, the childish innocence in his eyes had quietly faded, leaving only the composure of an adult soul.
And a fiercely burning longing in his gaze. Who would have thought? Just before dying, I was looking back on my very first fantasy, wondering what it would be like if I were in this supernatural Coiling Dragon World. Who would have thought I'd actually come here after death!
He no longer had that sickly body, either. This was a new, healthy body, free of illness and pain, filled with vitality and hope.
He tried to get up, but his body, weakened by three days of fever, would not allow it. Instead of getting up, he made a noise that woke Old Jack, who had been sleeping slumped beside the bed.
Old Jack rubbed his dim, aged eyes. Seeing Loa trying to get up, he hurried over to support him and felt his forehead to check his temperature. "Thank goodness, child, your fever has finally broken. It's all Grandpa's fault for insisting you go outside. Grandpa won't do that again. Are you hungry? I'll make you something to eat." Looking at the elderly man blaming himself, Loa felt warmth flow through his entire body. "It's all right, Grandpa Jack. See? I'm fine now. I'm a little hungry, Grandpa."
Old Jack hurriedly settled Loa back down, then went to cook.
Before long, Old Jack brought over some thin porridge and fed it to Loa one spoonful at a time.
Loa ate the porridge in small mouthfuls without speaking, digesting what he knew and confirming which world this was.
The Coiling Dragon World, Wushan Town. I'm a little over five, and it's currently year 9985 of the Yulan Calendar.
By my calculations, Linley was born in year 9981 of the Yulan Calendar, so I'm two and a half years older than him? Loa's mouth twitched. Two point five rather reminded him of a certain old acquaintance.
Then cold reality struck. In this world of supernatural power, ordinary people might not even know how they had died. The shock waves from a battle between powerful figures might be enough to kill them. He had to become stronger, but a test for magical aptitude cost ten gold coins.
For Linley Baruch, the eldest son of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan's main line, that money might be manageable. But for a commoner adopted by an old blacksmith, it was an astronomical sum, so large it inspired despair. He was still young, and Old Jack was already old. Even if he took the test, his elemental affinity and aptitude for spiritual energy were both unknown. His spiritual aptitude might be a little better because he had lived two lives, but he did not dare gamble on his elemental affinity.
The only path left was that of a warrior!
Fortunately, the Baruch Clan was benevolent. Hillman, the captain of the guards, led children of the appropriate age through basic training free of charge. There was no Battle Qi Manual, though. That was not something commoners could possess.
Loa clenched his hands. He had never felt so at ease in his body. In his previous life, illness had trapped him, preventing him from freely practicing and studying the traditional martial arts he loved. He could only occupy himself with cultural pursuits such as traditional Chinese painting. Every time he exercised for a little while, he would be left panting, with no way to put the martial techniques in his mind to use. Now things were different. In this life, he could train to his heart's content, and even possess mighty supernatural power!
"Grandpa Jack, I want to learn blacksmithing from you." Old Jack paused, looking at his boy. "All right!" He would have to learn a trade to make a living sooner or later, so little Loa might as well start now. Old Jack had originally wanted to wait another two years, but he knew the state of his own body.
Loa nodded without saying anything more. What he wanted to learn went far beyond this.
Over the following year, Loa quietly got up every day before dawn and slipped into the backyard. Without an instructor or textbooks, he could only find his own way, relying on his scattered knowledge of exercise science and anatomy from his previous life, along with the actual feedback from this body.
Push-ups, running laps, and frog jumps strengthened his muscles and increased his strength. Of course, stretching after exercise was essential, too. He could not let training rob him of the perfect flexibility of childhood.
He pestered Old Jack into building him a frame and tying small balls to it. Blindfolded, he listened and dodged among them to sharpen his perception. Perhaps thanks to the spiritual energy of his two lives, he made rapid progress in perception training, going from a bruised and swollen face at first to handling it with ease later on.
For blacksmithing, Old Jack forged him a small hammer of his own so he could practice and help hammer iron stock to remove its impurities. During this year of self-improvement, he progressed rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, Loa was six and growing ever sturdier. With his help, Old Jack became more efficient as well. More work naturally meant more money, and the grandfather and grandson could now consistently have meat on their table. With proper nutrition, a child's body developed quickly, changing with every year.
That same year, Old Jack took Loa to the east side of town to find Hillman during morning training. He expressed his wish for Loa to join the group and work toward becoming a warrior. In truth, his main concern was that Loa might hurt himself training alone. Having someone guide him would surely be better.
"No problem, Uncle Jack." A smile actually appeared on Hillman's perpetually icy face, leaving a deep psychological scar on the children still training. "Hey, look. The captain's scarier when he smiles than when he doesn't." "He really is." An icy gaze immediately swept toward them.
"Then I'll leave my little fellow in your hands. I'm getting old, so I'll head back first," Old Jack said.
"Sure, no problem," Hillman replied.
Leaving Loa there, Old Jack went home to continue working.
"Little fellow, go over there. Those children are about your age." Loa was assigned to the group of his peers.
"Everyone, keep practicing! Basic Stance Method-get ready!" Hillman shouted, raising his voice.
The children quickly assumed their stances, afraid of being singled out by the strict instructor. Loa stood where he was, somewhat at a loss-he had no idea how to take this stance. Just then, Hillman walked over to him.
"This is your first time here, so I'll demonstrate it for you individually. If there's anything you don't understand afterward, you can ask the others around you."
"Follow my movements," Hillman said evenly. "Spread your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, and let your hands hang naturally at your waist. This is the 'Qi Accumulation Stance' we use to build our foundations. Remember three things when practicing: focus your mind, remain calm within, and breathe steadily."
This Qi Accumulation Stance was one of the simplest and most effective ways to temper the body. Refined and perfected by countless practitioners over long ages, it had become a widely circulated method for building foundations.
After carefully adjusting Loa's posture, Hillman returned to the front of the group and raised his voice again. "Remember the essentials! Focus your mind, remain calm within, and breathe steadily!"
Looking across the training ground, most of the teenagers to the south wore serious expressions, their breathing even and their stances solid and steady. Clearly, they had already put some effort into this basic exercise. Among the six- and seven-year-olds to the north, however, some bent their knees to different degrees, while others had slightly trembling legs. They clearly had yet to grasp the essentials of exerting force.
Hillman nodded to the two men helping him instruct. "You two look after the southern and middle groups. I'll check on the younger children."
"Understood." The two men answered and began making their rounds, occasionally touching the sides of the youths' legs to check whether their centers of gravity were stable.
Hillman walked toward the children to the north, and they immediately grew more nervous. Someone reminded a child beside him in a low voice, "Concentrate on your stance... the instructor's coming..." Loa cleared his mind of distractions and earnestly maintained the posture he had just learned. This was the starting point of his true contact with this world's system of power. Even if it was only the most basic training, he had to devote himself to it fully and experience it carefully.
As time slowly passed, some of the children began to run out of strength. Their bodies swayed slightly, and the aching numbness in their legs grew increasingly intense. Several children gritted their teeth and held on for a while, but eventually staggered and sank to the ground.
After another while, some of the youths in the middle group also began sweating at their temples, their stances trembling slightly.
Yet Loa still held his stance steadily. When Hillman's gaze swept over him, the corners of his stern mouth relaxed almost imperceptibly for an instant. "That's enough for today. Everyone, rest!"
Everyone then sat down where they were to rest, Loa included. This was his first training session, and there was no need to push so desperately. Getting hurt would be troublesome.
Time slowly passed amid the training. Once everyone had finished, they headed to their respective homes, and Loa also walked toward his own. It had been a fulfilling morning, and his first step on the path to becoming strong!
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