7- Training

-

Carl had 'eaten' numerous talented youngsters in the blink of an eye, giving him the very finest talent that anyone in this world could possibly have.

He sighed, knowing he couldn't have any more 'meals'...

-

Right now, deep in the forest, in an underground cave.

Slashh!

Tens of puppets could be seen arriving from all angles to attack Carl, who was a bloodied figure with a calm expression on his face.

They kept leaping and attacking Carl with ferocity.

Carl would undoubtedly withdraw if things were as before. But presently he stood there like a rock, with a chilly expression on his face.

It was because he was presently perfecting his abilities from his soul to his body, si nice even though he'd been in hundreds of life and death combat in his two lives, it didn't imply he could be an expert right away.

But the reason he wasn't fleeing was that after consuming the 'meals,' he gained half-step apprentice knight power in this world.

And the current puppets were created by him (with the knowledge of the artifact) to temper himself to a certain extent with life and death battles, progressively increasing the will and fighting experience of his current body.

When the puppets attacked Carl, the surface of his blade, which looked exceptionally dazzling, flashed faintly.

Carl could sense a trace of his bloodline being progressively expended at the same moment.

He understood it wasn't because he absorbed blood or flesh, nor because he had 'meals,' but more because his bloodline had near-death battles that tempered it to the extreme.

He counterattacked at the same time.

Slash Slash Slash Slash Slash!

His attacks countered the puppets like a dozen swords flying in the same direction. His punches were basic, but vicious and powerful, as he exuded an intimidating air.

Carl had slaughtered the puppets in a brief counterattack, leaving just ten or twelve alive.

He then slashed another six puppets with his slash, and the remaining puppets collapsed, desperately racing towards him with all their power.

Carl did not flee, instead standing there with a calm expression on his face, cutting at them with a final stroke.

Slash, Slash, Slash!

Carl didn't have the means to make harder puppets, so the surviving puppets all broke down and crumbled to dust as they were made of stone.

He then sighed helplessly, saying, "These puppets can't temper me further, I've already murdered over a hundred at once, so any more would just be me bullying my own creations."

He had been training hard these days to sharpen his will and fighting experience. With constant battles, he had risen to the half-step apprentice knight level but had yet to break through.

He then returned to his calm expression, thinking, 'Well, I did my best. So I'll just wait for the academy for now, and then I'll start the plans I've made...'

-

He discovered the cave among the most concealed and perilous to enter, since the forest was in one of the forbidden regions that one should not think of entering into carelessly.

Carl knew about it as well. He wasn't stupid to believe that his current power would keep him safe.

He was almost slain when he initially entered here, as even luck was not on his side when a Minor Knight struck him out of nowhere.

But he realized there was no way he could win that war since it wasn't tempering anymore, it was just plain suicide.

He ran as fast as he could. But it was his spiritual force, which he'd utilized as a last resort to hide from the beast's senses, that allowed him depart successfully.

And he didn't show up until three days later, when he'd regained 40 percent of his spiritual force. He spent the majority of it hastily looking about for a cave to begin his training.

He then created the puppets using one of the artifact's puppeteer techniques— heaven's manipulator—which could manipulate everything, including the heavens, once he achieved the pinnacle of its mastery. But he knew he couldn't even control a nascent soul realm cultivator who was going by heaven's way, let alone the heavens.

-

It was already dusk.

He was walking quietly towards the orphanage.

Carl did not go immediately, but took a few detours to avoid being discovered on his way to his cave, just in case someone was following him from behind.

Despite the injuries on his body, a cold breeze blew on his face, giving it a tranquil appearance.

He could only sneak out at night in the orphanage. He was always on the orphanage's owner's sense for any suspicious moves, and he also had to go to the mine every morning.

Now that he was a half-step apprentice knight, he could wander around freely during the day, except in the morning.

'It's time to assassinate the owner of the orphanage, since he may be used to temper my body and will.'

Carl's eyes flashed with chilly light as he reflected on this; he had plans prepared.

For nearly 30 years, the orphanage owner had been in the apprentice knight realm.

While the distinction between half-step and early apprentice knight world appeared to be little, it was akin to the difference between day and night. They could start tempering their bodies by using the energy in the air—something unique to this world, but he'd termed it Qi.

But because the orphanage owner lacked talent, he couldn't temper his body with Qi.

But it didn't mean his physique wasn't in decent form. On the contrary, it was rather robust due to the Qi travelling towards his body without his knowledge throughout the his life, refining it at a snail's speed, allowing him to eventually—after a decade or two—advance in smaller realms; making him a threat hard enough for Carl.

Carl was well aware of all of this, and it was for this reason that he was going to battle the orphanage owner. He was planning to bring him to an area where he could fight him, further refining his will and fighting experience...