Super Dog Master
“Alright, line up in front of me.”
Standing in the center of the training ground with his hands clasped behind his back, Cael's command had Ella and Weger snap to attention like soldiers. And right beside them sat Oliver, wagging his tail in confusion, his butt planted firmly on the ground.
Cael slowly scanned the trio—or rather, two people and one dog. He would pass on martial arts to them, forging a small elite force. He needed influence, but it had to come from trustworthy people. At this moment, these two humans and one beast were the most reliable beings Cael had in this world.
The biggest issue is what martial arts to teach them.
As the Heavenly Demon, what he knew best were naturally the demonic cult's techniques—the demonic arts. Overwhelmingly dominant, quick to master, boasting devastating destructive power. But Cael shook his head.
No way in hell am I teaching demonic arts.
Demonic arts were like a virulent poison that corroded the mind and reason. They squeezed out power by eroding one's own limits, so if an ordinary person learned them, nine times out of ten they'd end up as a bloodthirsty maniac or a victim of qi deviation.
Cael had zero desire to turn these pure-hearted followers into killing machines.
In the end, orthodox sect arts are the only answer.
He was grateful to his past self, who had slain countless orthodox sect bastards across the Central Plains and looted their manuals, stacking them in the Heavenly Demon Repository.
Cael's gaze first landed on none other than Oliver. The massive retriever was panting with his tongue lolling out.
“Oliver. Come here.”
“Woof!”
Oliver's tail spun like a propeller as he trotted eagerly to Cael.
Weger asked in bewilderment, “Y-young master, you're not seriously gonna teach martial arts to a dog, right?”
“Why not? You think it's impossible?”
“Well... even if Oliver's smart as hell... a dog...”
“Just watch quietly.”
Cael crouched down and placed his right hand on Oliver's massive head.
A beast's skeletal structure and meridians aren't much different from a human's. Shame, but my only option is southern barbarian arts.
The art Cael chose was the secret technique of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace he'd acquired during a past visit to the south: Jade Wolf Fang. It amplified lightning-fast wolf steps and beastly strength to the extreme—a martial art created solely for animals.
“Stay still, Oliver. It might sting a bit.”
“Woof!!”
As if saying he could tough it out. A smile tugged at Cael's lips.
“Good. Let's begin.”
Cael drew up the gray chaos qi from his dantian and slowly infused it into Oliver's body. True Qi transmission—a supreme method of imparting arts, where a master unblocks a disciple's meridians and guides the energy flow directly. It required mastery of peak-level internal energy operation.
Cael was only at first-rate level now, but that was just raw power. The techniques were etched perfectly in his mind.
“Whine...”
Oliver flinched at the unfamiliar energy, letting out a pained whine. But Cael's qi circulated astonishingly smoothly through the beast's body, opening blocked meridians one by one.
This is fun.
Strange cracking sounds echoed from Oliver's joints across the training ground.
Moments later, as Cael withdrew his hand, faint blue qi rose like heat haze from Oliver's body, flickering in and out.
“Yip!!”
Oliver's eyes snapped open. The once docile, sparkling gaze now flashed with feral intensity.
“Now! Run!”
At Cael's shout, Oliver kicked off the ground.
Tat—!
With a light paw press, the dog shot to the far end of the training ground at invisible speed. Dogs were already as fast as lightness skill users; adding martial arts made him ridiculously swift.
“Strike with your front paw!”
Cael's next command rang out.
Krunch—!
The straw dummy Oliver swatted shattered from a single paw strike—a sight straight out of a myth.
“Wh-what the hell!? O-Oliver!?”
Weger gaped in horror.
But the most shocked was Cael himself, fresh from the transmission. Oliver had grasped the Jade Wolf Fang circulation in one go and executed it flawlessly.
Huh? What kind of insane talent is this? If this guy were born human, he'd be a once-in-a-millennium prodigy who could rewrite martial history.
The pity was there were no transcendent arts for beasts. Cael clicked his tongue regretfully and beckoned to the slack-jawed Weger.
“You're next, Weger. Step forward, sit cross-legged.”
“M-me? Will I turn out like Oliver?”
“No.”
“Oh! Then even stronger?”
“Oliver's talent is a hundred times yours. You aiming to get full on the first bite?”
“Huh? No... I mean...”
Suddenly lesser than a dog, Weger plopped down with a sulky face.
Cael eyed Weger's sturdy shoulders and thick legs.
Dense muscles, heavy stance. Not flashy tricks—blunt, smashing swordplay suits him.
The Chungnam Sect's Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords were solid mid-weight destructive arts. But Cael pulled out something far superior from the repository.
Eight Heavenly True Sword.
Chungnam's later descendants couldn't restore its true essence, so they devised the Thirty-Six Swords as a stopgap, covering all directions. It was still top-tier, being its derivative.
But Eight Heavenly True Sword divided space into exactly eight directions around the user, perfectly dominating all.
Everyone thinks Wang Chongyang was just a Daoist founder, but he was a monster martial artist.
Wang Chongyang, Daoism's founder, and his Chungnam descendants. Their roots outranked even flashier Daoist sects like Huashan, Wudang, Kunlun, or Cheongseong.
“Close your eyes and memorize the energy flow I push in.”
Cael's hands touched Weger's back. Following the Profound Heaven Qian Kun Heart Method, he infused his energy.
Rumble—!
“Grrraaahhh!!!”
A beastly scream tore from Weger.
“Oliver took it—you, a grown man, can't? Make a sound now, and you might die. If you wanna protect me, endure this pain, Weger.”
Not really true, but scaring him worked better. Weger gritted his teeth, sweat pouring like rain, black impurities oozing from his skin.
A guard who'd swung his sword crudely alone his whole life finally got his golden opportunity.
I'll make sure you never regret choosing me.
Transmission complete, Cael spoke to the meditating Weger.
“Hoo. Don't answer—just listen. Circulate the internal energy... no, aura along the path I showed. Keep going till I say stop.”
Gotta give him props for grit.
Cael turned to the last, the pale-faced girl.
“Ella, you too. Come here.”
“Y-yes, Young Master!”
Ella approached timidly, face frozen.
Cael noted her light, agile steps and deft hands honed by cooking.
Smooth footwork, flexible joints. Not Weger's brute force—illusory, deceptive swordplay fits her.
Illusion-focused arts. Across history, none matched Huashan's plum blossom sword for blinding flair and sharpness.
Cael had clashed with Huashan elites thousands of times, slicing them down. Plus, he had the insight of a martial grandmaster.
Closing his eyes, he replayed and dissected the paths of Huashan Taoists' flashy plum blossom swords in his mind.
Trim the sloppy forms, max out lethality and dazzle.
Thus, he fused the nimble Jade Maiden Thirteen Swords that Huashan women practiced with plum blossom sword, birthing a new art.
Plum Blossom Jade Maiden Sword—perfect name.
He refined the basic Jade Maiden Heart Method to his taste: faster circulation, purer energy—a transcendent internal art.
And bundled in the Jade Hand Twelve Forms for skilled hands.
“Sit comfortably. Since you're a girl, I'll guide it gentler.”
“Y-yes! Um, Young Master, one question!?”
“What?”
“W-will that gross black gunk come out of me too?”
“If you've lived cleanly with little waste buildup, no.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Don't worry—sit.”
Cael's palm lightly touched her back.
“Ahh...?”
A languid moan escaped Ella. Cael was mildly surprised.
Hmm? Her vegetarian diet kept her clean—meridians way purer than Weger's.
Not spotless, just cleaner. The energy hit her not as pain, but thrilling stimulation. Her body lightened, floating blissfully. Warm qi from her dantian wrapped her muscles and veins softly, elastically.
“Done.”
Cael wiped sweat from his brow and stepped back.
Whew... exhausting. Been ages since I felt this wiped.
But a satisfying fatigue.
How much time passed? Ella and Weger, sitting on the training ground circulating qi, slowly rose.
Ella pinched her nose right away, muttering, “Young Master, liar... what is this...”
Cael chuckled at her complaint.
“You see Weger next to you and still say that?”
“...Yeah, I'm trash human.”
Black filth reeking of sewage oozed from their bodies, but their eyes gleamed deeper than before. They'd feel the change most acutely.
Weger, voice trembling, spoke first. “How... Young Master, how do you know these miraculous sword arts and breathing methods?”
Ella nodded, gazing in awe. Cael shrugged shamelessly, face impassive.
“You think I'm some backwater bumpkin like you? I holed up in the ducal secret library, studied tens of thousands of books, figured it out alone.”
“Ahh... of course...!”
As the duke's heir, they couldn't question the library's contents. Weger and Ella just nodded, blindly praising their young master's vast knowledge.
Cael smirked inwardly, probing their auras.
Both have solid martial bones. Meridians opened fast from one transmission. Ella especially—pure heart. Hone the Plum Blossom Jade Maiden Sword, she could reach Flower Realm.
Prime gems by the world's top eye.
“First, wash off that filth and start training. If you don't widen the paths I opened with your own power, it's useless.”
“Yes, sir! Got it!”
Thus, in this unfamiliar romance-fantasy world, Cael's training based on lost orthodox supreme arts truly began.
Two weeks passed.
Under Cael's relentless day-night training, Ella, Weger, and Oliver improved daily by leaps and bounds.
The standout was...
Krunch—!
Oliver leaped, shattering a massive tree with his fangs.
“Excellent, Oliver!”
Heh heh, a true super dog master. Might need to craft proper beast arts.
Oliver barked joyfully.
“Woof!! Woof woof!! Pant pant!!”
Weger muttered in disbelief at the absurd sight. “No way... how's a dog doing that?”
Not quite matching Oliver, but the pair shone too. From clumsy grips, they now wielded swords with proper aura and warrior poise.
After brutal afternoon training, as they lay gasping on the ground, Cael spoke indifferently.
“You've probably noticed by now.”
Ella and Weger jerked up.
“Noticed what?”
“The main house.”
“!!!”
Cael's eyes pierced toward the main residence beyond the hill.
“Time to go back.”
Their hearts pounded wildly. To them, Cael was no longer the frail young master in hiding. They sensed the day their true lord reclaimed his seat—with drawn blade—was near.