'Where am I?'

That was the first thought that flashed through Leo's mind after he had regained consciousness. The entire scenery in front of him was shrouded in green color, and just as he was about to inspect the surroundings further, a sharp pain erupted all over his body.

"Don't move, Leo. Your body is still in an extremely bad condition" Cale, who was sitting right next to him, said calmly.

"Tch..." Protesting Cale's words, Leo leaned forward and looked around the vicinity. However, no matter how intently he tried to peer, he couldn't remember such a place at all.

"Don't bother looking around, we're already far from the village," Cale said after seeing Leo's gaze wandering all over the place, "We're somewhere in the lands of Cezar Kingdom, I had to stop to treat your injuries."

"How long was I unconscious?" asked Leo as he leaned back on the ground.

"Two days," Cale explained calmly.

"So we are already far away from the village ..." Leo muttered, and after seeing the nod of Cale's helmet, added with an earnest expression, "You said you'd make me stronger than Romulus King... we can start now."

"No, your body is still in poor condition for any training," Cale replied.

"I am perfectly fine, just tell me the way to get stronger and I won't ask for anything else" Leo got slightly annoyed.

"Leo, I understand your feelings, but you want to become stronger in a matter of a few days and I hate to break it to you, but that's impossible. Qi cultivation is a hard path. Rushing it will only cause harm to your body."

"No...you don't understand" Leo completely ignored Cale's explanation as his teeth joined, "You know nothing! Have you ever seen your own family getting tortured and later killed in front of your eyes!?"

"Kid, I think you're the one who doesn't understand anything," Cale said calmly as his jaw twitched slightly under the helmet.

"..." It didn't take long for Leo to understand the hidden message in Cale's words as he calmed down a bit.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Cale finally sighed, "Although your body isn't in such good shape right now, I can still begin the training. However, it's going to be painful."

"I don't care," Leo replied indifferently.

"Then get up."

As soon as Leo heard his words, he pushed his own body forward. In the end, despite falling back to the ground several times, he managed to get on his feet, shaking uncontrollably.

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Cale clapped a few times after seeing Leo's back straighten.

"Meet my companion," Cale pointed down where a small wolf sat with its fangs out, "This is Fenrir, the wolf I met after two days of wandering in this forest. He doesn't like humans that much so be careful"

"Hmm" Leo just glanced at the small creature once before withdrawing his gaze, no longer interested. Though Fenrir was quite charming, Leo's entire mind was flooded with the thoughts of getting more powerful.

"You have to sprint around this lake with Fenrir and come out victorious," Cale said, pointing to the medium-sized lake that was circled with different plants.

"Are you joking with me?! How is this supposed to make me stronger?!" Leo was irritated by such a task.

"If you can't even keep up with Fenrir. Then how am I supposed to teach you?"

"Whatever! Let's do it" Leo, though still struggling, walked forward and got ready to run.

"Fenrir," Cale ducked slightly towards the beasts and whispered, "For every time you win, I'll give you a treat."

"Nnn!!!" Fenrir's annoyed expression was instantly replaced with an excited one. For two days he had only been given a minimum amount of food, as Cale still had doubts about his metabolism, but now he could get free treats!

"Start!" roared Cale as two of them rushed forth. Only at the beginning, the winner was already clear. Since Leo still hadn't fully recovered, he kept falling to the ground and he couldn't change his body direction fast enough, constantly stumbling against the incoming obstacles.

On the other hand, Fenrir was racing around the lake at a tremendous speed that even Cale was slightly surprised.

'It seems like eating the body of that lizard had some effect on Fenrir's body,' Cale confirmed his concern before continuing to look at the lake.

-

After a few minutes, both participants could be seen standing in front of Cale. While Fenrir nibbled on a dry fish Cale gave him, Leo was trying to catch up his breath.

"Again," Cale said coldly as they both rushed into the woods.

.

.

.

"Again."

.

.

.

"Again."

-

Eventually, after at least ten races, Leo could no longer support his body and fell to the ground. His gaze was filled with intense hatred. He had already stopped counting how many times he had been humiliated by this little wolf.

"That should be enough. Sit up straight, Leo," Cale ordered when he saw Leo drenched in sweat.

"Yes" Leo didn't bother arguing with this warrior, or rather he didn't have the energy to do so anymore.

"Then let's start the real training" Cale promptly corrected Leo's sitting posture to resemble that of a lotus "Close your eyes and breathe through your nose".

Leo nodded and carried out Cale's instructions. Strangely, instead of the eternal darkness that should have greeted him, he actually saw something...white?

'What a monster' Cale was shocked beyond belief when he saw a faint trace of Qi forming around Leo's body. Sensing Qi on the first try was a rare occurrence and even Cale had to do it three times before he got into such a state.

"As soon as you see white energy trails in the abyssal darkness, try to attract them, and when they are near you, push that whiteness into your body," Cale added.

Surprisingly, Leo executed every move with no mistakes, causing Cale to once again take a step back in shock. Did he just meet one of those heaven-defying talents?

'I feel it...the power,' Leo smiled inwardly, but just as he was getting more comfortable with that white energy, his vision reverted to reality.

"That was quite an average performance," Cale said from the side, disappointed, "From today onwards, you will repeat this training every day and try to force more of that energy into your body. Understood?"

Leo nodded with a determined look on his face.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, Fenrir," Cale also glanced at the small beast who, after hearing the skeleton's words, hugged all the food in the surroundings while growling audibly.