Edric gulped. He absolutely believed her when she said he might die. He inherited the memories of the original Edric, and those memories left no doubt about her severity. His mother wasn’t afraid of injuring her child if it meant toughening him up.

“Damn it,” Edric cursed inwardly. “Why was I so eager to train? I already have a cheat system—a guaranteed path to the heavens. I could’ve just sat back, waited, and slowly become a Golden Knight. Why did I think this was a good idea?”

Even though the experience of killing the bandits was indeed enjoyable, it was not worth the risk of dying in the hands of Lyria.

"I wouldn't live long if I have to weather the risk of death in 'training' sessions with my mom; if Lyria is anything like me and enjoys seeing blood, then she may really kill me!" he thought; he may have inherited Lyria's psychopathy when the two souls merged.

Before Edric could gather his thoughts, Lyria suddenly appeared in front of him with such speed that even as a knight, Edric could barely see her shadow, her sword cutting through the air toward his neck; she didn't seem to hold back in the slightest; she was fully using the power of a Silver Knight.

“Damn, you crazy bitch?!” Edric screamed internally; his life may come to an end right now if he makes the wrong decision.

The sword, which was moving at breakneck speed, didn't slow down; time seemed to slow down; the world seemed to slow down. In fact, nothing really slowed, but Edric’s mind worked with lightning speed, making everything seem slower in comparison. Each moment stretched as his survival instincts kicked in.

“I’m a transmigrator, destined to reach the top,” he thought frantically. “Who would’ve guessed my end would come here, at the hands of my own mother?” As time slowed down, he understood more and more that his chances of being able to react and dodge or protect his neck in time were, at best, 50 percent!

Desperately, he combed through every scrap of knowledge he had about swordsmanship, movement skills, martial arts, etc., both from his past life on Earth and the original Edric’s memories.

His mind latched onto the best defensive option he could muster.

With every ounce of strength in his arms, he raised the steel sword at a 33-degree angle in front of his neck, carefully aligning it to intercept the incoming blade.

The sword was given to him by Lyria, and looked extremely sturdy; it had an excellent chance of being able to withstand the blow without breaking.

At the same time as the sword, he bent his knees as much as possible, shrinking his frame and pulling his neck back and to the side, minimizing the exposure of his neck area.

The plan wasn’t to win but to survive.

Lyria’s sword approached and collided with Edric’s. The impact was tremendous, but fortunately, his sword was extraordinary; it didn't break in the face of a blow from a Silver Knight.

The sheer force of the impact caused her sword to deflect upward, diverting her blade just enough to miss his neck slightly. The tip of her sword still grazed his hair, slicing several strands clean off.

The energy behind the blow didn’t dissipate. Instead, it surged through Edric’s blade, sending a shockwave through his arms and throwing him backward. He tumbled across the ground, finally stopping twenty feet away.

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Lyria stood where she was, with a wide smile on her lips, looking at Edric with kind eyes.

“My boy,” she said, lowering her sword. “You just resisted a blow from a Silver Knight! I’m proud of you. Hahaha!” she laughed loudly.

She laughed heartily, her voice echoing through the training ground.

Edric, still sprawled on the ground, didn’t share her enthusiasm. His arms trembled, his shoulders throbbed, and his legs felt like jelly. His fingers barely held onto the hilt of the steel sword, which had dug into the dirt beside him during his fall.

“Proud?” he thought bitterly. “I’m lucky to still have my head!”

He did seem to have inherited Lyria's love for blood during the soul merger, but he definitely didn't inherit her love for life-and-death battles; his only thought for the moment is how to avoid training with Lyria ever again.

Thinking about what just happened, Edric trembled; one wrong move would have ended his journey!

Despite all his complaints, however, deep down, he felt a flicker of pride. He had survived a blow from a Silver Knight. That wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Lyria strode over to him, reaching down and pulling him to his feet.

“Rest for a minute, then we’ll go again,” she said with a grin.

“Again?!” Edric’s jaw dropped; even though his bones were probably fine, he still felt pain all over his body; had it not been for his insanely powerful physique as a knight, he would have had to spend the next month in bed.

"No, Mom, I feel my right arm has fractured! I have to see the physician! It may get worse and cause permanent disability," Edric said; his arm was probably fine, but he needed an excuse, so he said this.

Lyria frowned and said, "Okay, you're right, we cannot risk permanent damage!" Saying this, she turned around and started walking to the exit; without saying anything, it was another sudden change in behavior.

Seeing Lyria leave, Edric sighed with relief and walked back to his room slowly; his arms, legs, neck, stomach, and everywhere else hurt, and they would probably hurt for the next few days.

...

“She’s definitely crazy,” Edric thought, wincing as he massaged his numb hand; it had been two days, yet his hand was still numb.

Despite his training as a knight, the blow had left him sore all over. At first, he thought his injuries weren't serious, but after two days, he can now only say—probably not—the injury on his right arm may be more serious than expected.

"If I were a mage, I could have cast a heal spell and quickly recovered!" Edric thought. He actually planned on breaking through and becoming a knight tonight, and now he has the required 10,000 XP.

“My predecessor was right to be terrified... I really underestimated Lyria,” Edric admitted to himself. The dread he had previously felt toward his mother was now amplified.

"My life may be in more danger at her hands than in the hands of any assassin!" Edric thought with a shudder.

He took a shaky breath, took the cup of medicinal herbs the physicians brought, and started drinking it.

Even though it was a horrible experience with a very high chance of death that Edric never wanted to repeat, there was one upside to it.

"System," Edric called the system interface.

Name: Edric Windwalker

Age: 15 years, 3 months, and 14 days

Task: Have a biological child - expand the list

• Reward: A random White-level skill

• Deadline: 489 days

• Non-completion Punishment: Death

Techniques:

• Great Knight Training: 1044 / 20,000

• Mage Training: 160 / 10,000

Talents:

• Knight Talent: Legendary (0 / 2,400,000)

• Mage Talent: Average (0 / 100,000)

Cheat: Low Level - 1,000 XP per day.

Available XP: 10,507

At first, he couldn’t believe it. Despite all of the downsides of facing Lyria's full power strike, the system had rewarded him heavily for surviving it. The experience points felt almost disproportionate, but it made sense. Surviving a blow from someone of Lyria’s caliber was undoubtedly a significant achievement.

The risk wasn't worth the XP; he experienced it deeply and knew there was a real chance of death. Lyria wasn't joking and absolutely not holding back, but there was no denying that his progress speed would double if he could do it every day. With every encounter, not only would his XP for knight training increase by 1,000, but his combat skills would also grow.

Of course, he doesn't know if he would get the same 1,000 XP if he survives the strike again; it may be a one-time bonus for surviving a life-and-death experience.

In any case, Edric has no plan on ever going through it again; he doesn't want to die by his mother's hand; if that does happen, he would be the laughingstock of all transmigrators.