Chapter 21
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Beneath the Divine Tree
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A dizzying cliff plunged into depths too far to see. Rodolph's steps finally halted right at its edge.
"Hah! Unbelievable."
In all his decades—centuries, even—of missions, this was the first time he'd failed so utterly and completely.
"You were toying with me from the start!"
It wasn't just failure.
He'd been utterly humiliated.
Rodolph clenched his fists, trembling with rage, but then he spotted something and fell silent.
'That...'
On the opposite cliff, barely visible to the eye, a broken arrow was lodged deep.
Anyone could see it was a clear warning.
-Don't follow me anymore!
Rodolph's lips twitched at the sight of the arrow before he burst into wild laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
It was a hearty laugh unworthy of a Black Lion Knight. Yet killing intent poured from his eyes all the same.
"Fine, I'll give you that. You were more cautious this time."
Rodolph readily admitted he'd been perfectly outmaneuvered.
But that was it. He wouldn't give up. And he'd never fall for it again.
With a casual flick of his hand, a sharp blade of sword aura erupted from his palm.
Tzzzzzzt.
The aura shot out like lightning, slamming into the opposite cliff in an instant.
Boom!
The cliff face where the arrow was embedded crumbled entirely, triggering a massive landslide.
Rodolph watched the violent spectacle for a moment before turning away.
"Hide as best you can. Tremble in fear every moment. I'll find you in the end."
Fierce killing intent blazed in Rodolph's eyes.
At the same moment, on the other side of the mountain, Ruyan shook his head impassively.
Far from the fear Rodolph expected, his reaction was almost nonchalantly calm.
'Tch. He went all the way to the end, huh.'
Even from the far side, he could feel the burst of energy vividly.
It had been that powerful.
Of course, Ruyan had anticipated pursuit.
'A noble's been killed.'
Unlike in the Central Plains, the Sobles Continent had this bizarre system of status.
Here, rank was determined at birth, regardless of ability—and it held even in death. Nobles outranked commoners, even as corpses.
Ruyan knew this, so he'd prepared accordingly.
Nothing elaborate—just basic precautions.
A few footprints left casually during his stroll. That was all.
Yet if they'd tracked those to the end without missing a beat, the pursuer had decent skill.
'Don't rush it. Wait. When the time comes, I'll come for you.'
That massive inner energy he'd just sensed surpassed even a sect leader's.
In Central Plains terms, it was top-tier mastery.
Facing such a warrior now would be suicide. Ruyan needed time.
'This world has its share of powerhouses too. To stand against them...'
At minimum, a full cycle's worth of inner energy—ten years of dedicated cultivation.
'But that'll be too late.'
A gentleman's revenge takes ten years? Ruyan had no intention of waiting that long.
By then, the Brighton Magic Academy fools might forget their sins entirely.
'Can't have that. They must die regretting every moment.'
Ruyan wouldn't grant them an easy end. The academy would pay the highest price imaginable.
'Five years! I'll finish my training by then.'
Impossible in his past life, but feasible now.
Magic, this new power, would guide him.
With that brief resolve, Ruyan turned his attention from his pursuers and sat cross-legged.
'Focus on recovery first.'
He'd barely reconnected his severed meridians, but it was too soon for full training.
Haste was the enemy. He needed to rebuild from the ground up.
Centering his mind, he cautiously circulated his inner energy. A thin trickle emerged from his wounded dantian.
'Not much, but...'
At least he wasn't a total cripple. That was fortune enough.
Ruyan carefully guided the stream—like a family brook—through the small heavenly circuit.
It was slow, but the first cycle completed smoothly.
Shrrrr.
The energy completed its loop and returned to his dantian, dispersing naturally.
The natural flow of the Return Heart Technique.
Soon, even more energy poured back into his dantian.
But at that moment, Ruyan's expression twisted oddly. Something unexpected.
'What is this energy?'
A peculiar energy flooded his dantian.
Unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar.
How could that be? How could the unknown feel known?
Flustered, Ruyan paused, sensing reverse flow, and quickly resumed the technique.
'Stopping now is dangerous. Keep going.'
The unique energy flowed through his fragile meridians at a steady pace.
The hour-long journey ended back at his dantian.
Unfamiliar as it was, it obeyed perfectly, completing the circuit without issue.
'This is...'
Only then did Ruyan dimly grasp its nature.
The essence of nature itself!
What he'd handled daily, breathing it like air. Too familiar to feel alien even in dreams.
'Similar, but not the same.'
No—utterly different. How to describe it?
Denser inner energy?
Purer qi?
No. Words fell short.
This energy transcended petty human analysis.
Calmly finishing his meditation, Ruyan opened his eyes and looked around.
Still deep in sunless forest. Yet his eyes stung with brightness.
'Unbelievable.'
A radiant beam shone down on his head.
Staring up blankly, Ruyan saw tree branches unmoving overhead, bathing him in light.
'A tree worthy of bearing heavenly elixirs.'
If gods dwelled somewhere, it'd be like this. The massive tree transformed the area into another world.
Full of yang without sunlight, brimming with yin at noon.
Moist without water, fiery amid dense foliage.
Primal nature!
The origin of all things, waiting for him as if it knew.
Thanks to the divine tree harboring nature's essence, Ruyan recovered swiftly.
To him, the tree itself was the true elixir—more than any fruit it bore.
'Even in the Central Plains, I've never seen such a treasure... Incredible.'
Its pure, untainted energy swept through his meridians, resetting everything like rebirth.
His dantian and meridians solidified in just a week.
Considering he'd arrived half-dead, it was miraculous.
Fully recovered, Ruyan dove into serious training.
6 AM: Rise and practice Return Divine Step round-trip to a lake 10km away.
To leave no traces for pursuers, he moved fast yet stealthily—perfect for training.
After a thorough bath, back to the tree for meditation.
'Mastering the mind is the hardest part.'
It built no inner energy or strength, but Ruyan never skipped it.
Heart Demon Deviation and mana surge had taught him its vital importance.
Mind cleared of impatience, he moved to physical conditioning.
'No need to rush... but I was too complacent.'
Instead of regret, he pushed himself mercilessly.
Objectively, his prior regimen was no joke.
Now, it challenged human limits.
The rope of beast sinew and hide was twice as thick—immovable for most knights.
Ruyan pulled it a thousand times per hand before ending.
Even he was drained, but training continued.
To save time cooling down, he studied Blanc's magic notes.
Incomplete theory.
Self-study without a teacher was grueling. But Ruyan persisted doggedly.
'No fear. Wrong? Start over. That's all.'
Trial and error abounded.
Missteps nearly triggered disasters.
Still, he unraveled the theory bit by bit, alone.
Days blurred identically, yet Ruyan grew daily within them.
Half a year passed since Ruyan settled by the divine tree.
Endless growth hit a wall at last.
'Do I need a new path after all?'
Sitting cross-legged, Ruyan steadied his mind before meditating.
Post-magic study, evenings built inner energy.
Half a year's gains were solid—his dantian neared ten years' worth.
Yet his worry deepened: the mana circle.
'Sigh. I thought mana circles and dantians were similar vessels.'
His dantian expanded rapidly, but the circle stagnated since half a year ago.
He'd expected quick expansion from 2nd circle traces. Wrong.
'No progress at all.'
The 1st circle's mana matched just over ten years' energy, unmoving. No clue for the second barrier.
'At this rate, I won't finish in time.'
Magic weighed as heavy as martial arts in his plans. Red alert.
One solution: Sobles-style circle training.
'Where do I find someone to teach it?'
He'd snuck to the village for Gers's help before, but not this.
Gers was just a blacksmith—no knight or mage secrets.
'They guard their arts here too.'
Kidnap a knight? Steal their methods?
Temptations swirled.
But pausing there, Ruyan uncrossed his legs.
'Wait. Come to think of it...'
Maybe someone nearby would teach willingly.
Very nearby.