“Pull it out… this?”
Awakened from his stiffness, Awa moved forward and stared at the sword.
After this latest embezzlement, Wu Ming naturally no longer used the cheap broken sword from before, but a standard longsword carefully selected from the barracks.
The blade, forged from refined steel, gleamed coldly. Its double edges were sharp as ice, clearly reflecting human figures. The cross-shaped guard shone with a bronzelike luster, and the black handle was wrapped tightly with silk threads. At first glance, Awa recognized this was a rare weapon of violence, symbolizing power itself!
Yet now, this four-foot-long greatsword was half-buried in the ground!
Awa swallowed hard, deeply impressed by Wu Ming’s previous display of immense strength.
“That’s right! If you can pull it out of the ground by yourself before sunrise tomorrow, I’ll teach you something.”
Wu Ming added indifferently, “Of course, before that, you must first feed my horse well and prepare a sumptuous dinner for me… After all, to gain rewards, one must first make efforts. Fair trade—that will be my first lesson to you!”
“O-okay!”
Awa joyfully agreed and immediately went to search for hay and beans.
…
An hour later, the black horse Andy was leisurely munching hay inside Wu Ming’s small fenced courtyard, occasionally snorting. He glanced at the brightly lit cottage from which delicious smells wafted, and at the small boy struggling with the sword handle outside. The big horse’s eyes seemed to express confusion.
“Huff… huff…”
Awa gripped the hilt with both hands, clenched his teeth, and his face turned bright red as he exerted all his strength.
Unfortunately, the greatsword seemed rooted to the ground, not budging an inch, as if fused with the earth itself.
“Huff… huff…”
After another failed attempt, Awa half-sat on the ground, nearly exhausted.
The cold wind howled, and the chill of night descended, making him shiver involuntarily and feel hungrier.
At that moment, the smell of food wafted from the cottage, causing him to instinctively swallow hard.
He naturally knew what lay behind that warm yellow light—warm fireplace, soft and tasty white bread, and rich, savory meat broth! Just one bite would dispel hunger and cold, as if ascending to heaven!
He couldn’t think about it anymore!
Saliva poured out, making Awa even hungrier. He shook his head fiercely and resumed struggling with the sword.
However, Wu Ming’s superhuman strength was far beyond what he, a mere half-grown boy, could match. He didn’t know how long had passed when the moon climbed to the sky’s center, casting silver light.
Inside the cottage, the fire had gone out, and snoring sounds seemed to emerge.
“Hmph! Hmph!”
The black horse snorted, suddenly making Awa aware of a “third party.”
“That’s right… there’s still the horse!”
Awa had seen farmers plowing with horses. Even the weakest nags could work faster than humans when yoked to a plow.
Animals always had more strength than people. If he tied the reins to the sword handle…
Approaching the black horse, Awa began untying the reins when his expression suddenly changed.
Wu Ming’s warning echoed in his ears again: “You must do it alone!”
“This is simply impossible for a human to accomplish! Go on… if you do it secretly, no one will find out!”
A voice whispered in his mind, like a devil’s temptation.
“Be an honest good kid!”
Just as Awa was about to give in, another scene surfaced—his older brother Joey’s image, full of sunshine.
Awa bit his lip and finally let go of the reins.
Andy, dissatisfied, snorted with his lips, puzzled about what the little one was doing.
“Yawn…”
The moon set, and faint morning light began to appear in the east.
At dawn, just before the sun rose.
Awa stretched, then seeing the approaching sunrise, suddenly jolted.
“If I wait any longer, I’ll fail!”
He grabbed the hilt with both hands and made one final effort, nearly shedding tears.
“I want to gain power!”
“I want revenge!”
His bloodshot eyes roared inwardly.
Whether or not the god of vengeance heard his prayer, the massive sword indeed wobbled slightly.
“It moved?”
Had he not spent the entire night struggling with this greatsword, he might have missed this subtle shift: “I’m so stupid! I shouldn’t have pulled—it should be pressed down!”
Realizing this, he immediately began gently swaying the sword sideways.
After continuous effort, the sword’s oscillation grew larger and finally loosened the soil.
“I pulled it out!”
Awa grabbed the hilt with both hands and shouted triumphantly.
Plop!
The sword emerged from the earth, but the excessive force made him fall backward, and the refined steel blade came straight down.
In that moment of panic, his mind went blank.
“Am I going to die?”
Awa turned pale, watching the blade stop just before his nose.
“I told you earlier—it’s dangerous!”
A strong hand gripped the sword handle. Awa looked up and saw William’s towering figure.
Bathed in morning light, the figure seemed like a deity clad in golden armor.
“Mr. William… I did it!”
His first words after escaping death were these.
Hmm… although you’re somewhat behind schedule, considering you behaved decently last night, I’ll barely consider you’ve passed.
Wu Ming nodded: “I’ll keep my promise and teach you something. However, you only have this morning, so how much you can grasp depends entirely on your luck and aptitude!”
Due to differences in cosmic rules, most powers from the Xian Wu universe were ineffective in this world. Wu Ming’s contribution here was to sift the essential from the dross, devising a training method adapted to this world’s rules and human physiology, pushing individuals to their racial limits.
Now with a voluntary test subject stepping forward, he didn’t mind giving some guidance.
“First… I must emphasize that my warrior training method carries certain risks…”
Wu Ming stared into Awa’s eyes: “Are you still determined to continue?”
Although his calculations indicated no major issues with this method, unexpected occurrences during the process were unpredictable.
Moreover, unlike Wu Ming, Awa wouldn’t have a teacher constantly supervising him, increasing the danger further.
“I’m not afraid!”
Naturally, Awa replied.
“Good. You’ve seen me train before, right? Demonstrate those positions!”
Wu Ming took the steel sword and directly demonstrated several thrusting, spinning, and slashing movements.
Awa took a branch and imitated a few moves.
“Too bad!”
Without hesitation, Wu Ming struck with the scabbard. Awa cried out painfully, his body jerking upright as if electrocuted, instinctively assuming the correct posture.
“Time is tight, so I can only use this method to make your body remember this feeling…”
After dozens of strikes from Wu Ming, the poor Awa had cried until his tears dried, but his subconscious movements became perfectly aligned.
“These are all offensive techniques. Next, I’ll teach you the secret of ‘cultivating’…”
Wu Ming assumed a stance similar to the traditional horse stance, holding the sword horizontally: “A warrior’s training lies in strengthening the body. Maintain this posture daily for an hour, eventually integrating it into every sword movement. When you truly achieve this, you’ll become a qualified warrior!”
“Though books may hide myriad scrolls, the truth is just one sentence.”
He briefly instructed Awa on several key points of horse stance training, then said: “I’ve now imparted everything I know… From now on, it’s up to your own training. Remember two things: persistence and reflection!”
Wu Ming waved his hand, placed the simple bundle on the horse, untied the reins, and stepped onto the cobblestone path outside.
“T-t-teacher!”
Instinctively chasing out, Awa could only see Wu Ming’s back waving his hand: “I’m not your teacher… Take good care of yourself!”
“I hope I’ll still see this kid when I return next time!”
He silently added in his heart.
…
“Just let him go like that?”
Wu Ming quietly left Nia village without even disturbing Auntie Roa. However, those who had been watching him wouldn’t miss this moment.
From the watchtower, observing William’s retreating figure on horseback, two people remained silent.
One of them was fat and round, unmistakably the village tax collector Feid. Hearing the young man’s question, he smiled: “Why not? William is already a freeman, protected by the continent’s common law… I no longer have any means to deal with him…”
“Of course, most importantly, he’s leaving, and we don’t have any deep enmity!”
Feid added silently, glancing at the young man opposite, especially his half-armor and golden, flame-like curly hair, with a hint of schadenfreude: “Rather, Arthur, it seems you’ve offended this young man quite badly, haven’t you?”
Hearing this, Arthur’s face twitched immediately as he asked with anticipation: “What about the Roa Inn?”
“They are protected by Sir Takur the Knight!”
Feid immediately rejected firmly.
Earlier intimidation could be justified as official duty, but now, with knightly protection, it would be too unwise to confront them directly.
Ultimately, since Wu Ming chose to leave without conflicting directly with him, he naturally saw no reason for such hostility.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first!”
Smiling, Feid slowly descended from the watchtower.
“This damned fat pig!”
As soon as Feid left, Arthur immediately gritted his teeth in curses.
He admitted his jealousy and remembered clearly what he had done during this campaign.
Compared to the indifferent Feid, he feared more that William would eventually discover the truth and seek revenge on him!
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