This night I didn't have nightmares; everything was quiet and peaceful. It was quite strange, but I was only glad for it. The next day, I woke up very late, around eleven o'clock. There was only about an hour left until the start of training, and I still had to run to Xu Zhao Ting! Fortunately, the old man allowed me to do so, otherwise, it would have been bad.
"Hi, Jiaxing Yun, where have you been for a week? I couldn't find you even after searching the whole city," Xu Zhao Ting said when I returned to the room we were renting.
"Yeah, I was locked up cultivating. Now I can release mid-level magic!" I declared cheerfully, right from the doorway. "It just takes about twenty seconds, what a shame."
"Alright, I haven't been idle either and have almost broken through the mid-level barrier!" he said confidently. Yes, I can only envy his optimism; he's been saying that for about a month now. But, whatever, the main thing is that I vaguely feel that he is gradually approaching the mid-level, and this time he is really not far from breaking through the barrier, at least it seems so to me.
"That's good, Zhao Ting, keep up the good work," I said confidently, placing my backpack with my belongings in its rightful place.
"Where are we going? I suggest we go hunting. One day and I'll definitely break through!" he said confidently, following me.
"Sorry, but I have to hurry. Not far from where I was cultivating, there was a martial arts dojo. Before returning, I peeked in. An old man is in charge there, and he is quite knowledgeable in his field, so I decided to ask him to take me as a student," I said, looking at Xu Zhao Ting with burning eyes.
A week ago, I wasn't going to tell him about the old man for two reasons. First, I wasn't sure he would take me as a student, and I didn't want to burden Zhao Ting with unnecessary information. Second, it would have been difficult to explain everything to him so that he wouldn't go to check and see this old man. But after a week and after the old man accepted me as a student, I thought it was worth telling him, as the training couldn't help but arouse suspicion in Zhao Ting. Especially after the incident in Yueyang. And also, I simply figured out how to leave him without raising much suspicion.
"Well, and did he accept you? And why do you need all this?" he asked with a strange expression on his face.
"Yes!" I almost shouted joyfully. "The first lesson should be soon. As for why I need it, what do you think, just jumping around monsters with a weak body?"
"I think so, but you're a mid-level mage, do you really consider yourself weak?" Xu Zhao Ting asked with naivety and disbelief.
"Undoubtedly, for an ordinary person, I am quite strong, but not for monsters. The stronger the monster, the harder it is for me to deal with it, no matter what," I said, in a slightly excited tone, heading towards the exit. "Besides, knowledge of martial arts and the ability to combine them with magic will greatly help not only against monsters but also against people!"
"And why do you need to fight against people?" Xu Zhao Ting asked with doubt in his voice. Of course, he couldn't ignore this question; he already knows that I killed a person, though he only knows about one.
"Friend, Xu Zhao Ting, you know that the guardians are hunting me, right?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. He only nodded in response. "There's also the Black Church, which ruthlessly kills everyone indiscriminately. And there are plenty of other people who are willing to kill us for their own gain," I said, thinking about myself for some reason. "So why can't I have a trump card in the fight against them?"
"In principle, you're saying everything correctly, but then, can't I help you with this? Maybe I should also go and try to become his student?" he asked, thinking slightly.
"I think that's a bad idea," I shook my head. I absolutely couldn't let them meet! "That old man is very strict. I had a very hard time convincing him to take only me. Besides, your fighting style involves attacking from a medium, sometimes long distance, but not close combat. These skills will be useless for you, so why bother? Better cultivate while I'm gone. Tomorrow, I promise, we'll go hunting, so if you're at the mid-level and your magic reserve increases, we can kill many more beasts. And consequently, get more profit!"
"Yes, perhaps you're right. Then good luck, friend Jiaxing Yun," he said, looking a little sad.
"Thank you, I'm going," I replied, running out of the room. There was very little time left until the start of training. I wonder what he'll do if I'm late? No, I don't want to think about it!
"So, you still managed to finish your business?" the old man asked, standing with his back to me in the training hall where I slept today. Honestly, I barely made it, and now, completely out of breath from a very fast and quite long run, I stand before him.
"Yes, teacher, all business is settled. Your humble student is ready for training," I said, bowing.
"To start, you can take off all your upper clothing; it will only get in the way," he said immediately. I unconditionally did as he said, remaining only in light sports pants. "Before each training session, you should do a jog. Since you are a mid-level mage, and you don't have much time before entering university, I have chosen the most intensive method for you so that you can complete the foundation-laying stage as soon as possible," the old man said, taking some weights from a shelf and turning to me.
"Thank you, teacher, for your decision," I replied humbly, bowing. In fact, I myself wanted to ask him for the fastest method to gain strength. I desperately needed it! I don't think it will take the guardians much time to figure out where I am, considering they have connections in the league. Also, they are unlikely to send someone weaker than last time, and back then I only won thanks to luck! I urgently need strength!
"Here," the old man said, handing me four weights. "Each of them weighs only a kilogram. Put them on your arms and legs; they will make your run more fruitful. In total, in an hour, you must run fifteen kilometers, without using magic, only body strength, otherwise, what's the point? You will run to the border of the safe zone, almost along its edge, run around the city, and return here. You have about an hour for everything. Go!"
"Yes, teacher," I said, quickly putting on the weights and running along the designated route.
I had a stopwatch, so I could keep track of time and maintain my pace. The weights were only one kilogram each. What is that weight for a mid-level mage? Almost nothing! But the problem isn't that the weights are heavy, but that I had to run so much with them! Fifteen kilometers in an hour is no joke, I'll tell you, it's hard to run even without them!
At first, running was quite easy. I didn't even notice the first kilometer; the second also passed quickly, but gradually my legs became heavier, and my breathing became irregular. When I ran halfway, I already felt considerable fatigue! However, it wasn't something a mid-level mage like me could handle. As a result, I ran a little faster than the allotted time, only by a minute, but something told me that it wouldn't make much difference.
"Well done, you managed it, even ran faster. Tomorrow you will run a kilometer more in the same time," the old man said, after thinking for a bit, but mostly indifferently. Damn! This minute will make me die next time! "Stretching and muscle flexibility are important for a fighter. The better your muscles can stretch, the easier it is for you to control your movements, and the wider the range of movements you have."
After these words, I started stretching, which lasted for another half an hour. During this time, I rested a little and recovered my breathing. But don't be mistaken about this; the old man made me stretch so much that I almost tore my muscles a couple of times! He really chose a cruel method, but I didn't know yet that this was just a warm-up! The main part of the training hadn't even begun!
After the warm-up, the old man showed me a few movements that were supposed to develop my body control and striking power. However, he didn't just let me practice them; he put on another set of weights, this time five kilograms each! Besides the fact that it was quite difficult to perform all the movements correctly just like that, with weights, the task became much more complicated!
There were seven movements in total, arranged so that I transitioned from one combat stance to another. Including the initial one, there were eight such stances. Besides simple position changes, I had to feel how my muscles tensed during this process, which further complicated the task. The old man stood nearby the whole time with a thin, flexible stick from some plant, and if he noticed I was doing something wrong, he would immediately hit me right on the spot that made the mistake. It was quite painful! Especially since I had no other clothes on besides pants!
After all seven movements, I returned to the initial pose; it was one continuous closed loop. The weights, the movements themselves, and the old man with the stick pressured me, making me more and more tired. After a couple of minutes, I was already sweating profusely! There was no blood; the old man was such that it hurt, but he didn't leave wounds, which also puzzled me. Despite my fatigue, the old man forced me to repeat these movements. Time passed; the first ten minutes went by, sweat streamed down me, my whole body ached, not from fatigue, but from the old man's stick, and my muscles were literally cramping from tension!
"Stop," the old man suddenly said. "Drink some tea, a five-minute break," he said, pouring tea into a cup and handing it to me.
I took it with trembling hands and started drinking. Warmth spread throughout my body, and the pain receded. My muscles, completely cramped, relaxed, and my body filled with new strength. After five minutes, I returned to repeating the movements. After such tea, I had enough strength to continue. Every ten minutes of training, there was a five-minute break, during which I drank tea and regained my strength.
This continued for about two hours, after which I could barely stand on my feet. My body had reached its peak exhaustion, and I myself cursed myself a couple of dozen times for deciding to become his student. However, the desire to gain strength forced me to train no matter what.
"Well done, you can take a bath; I've already prepared it," the old man said after two hours of my torture.
I obediently took off the weights and put them back in place, heading to the bathroom. The same bath awaited me there as yesterday. Of course, I got into it without a second thought. Although I was tired as hell, as soon as I immersed myself in the water, I felt that my whole body was experiencing incredible relaxation and recovering from hard work. Just like yesterday, I decided to try cultivating here. What can I say, the effect was amazing; my cultivation was progressing at a breakneck pace! The thirtieth lightning star was almost subdued, and that was in just an hour of cultivation! And I only subdued the twenty-ninth yesterday!
It's also worth noting that even the seeds showed a sharp jump in development; they came even closer to the rank of small spiritual seeds. This couldn't but please me! After all, it wasn't for nothing that I almost died during training! Getting out of the bath, I noticed that the old man was waiting for me in the kitchen with another cup of tea.
"Drink some tea for the road," the old man said, which I did, sitting opposite him, and then he added an old-looking book to me. "Here, take it. The recipe and instructions for everything I gave you today are written here. You will pay for all the ingredients I used."
"Yes, teacher," I said, taking the book and quickly flipping through it, trying to figure out how much I owed him. It turned out that for one day of training, I owed him ten thousand yuan! Damn, that's incredibly expensive! However, it should be clarified that this is for an ordinary person, not for a hunter like me.