by Unknown
Chapter 1 – The Morning Sun
The town of Lakeshore. An ordinary little town located within the Kingdom of Silver moon, west of the Cliff Range of Magical Creatures, the largest Cliff range within the Lemuria continent.
As the morning sun rose, in the town of Lakeshore, there remained a slight hint of the cold, pure pre-dawn air. However, virtually all of the citizens of this small town had already come out to begin working. Even the six or seven-year-old youngsters had already gotten out of bed and were preparing to begin their traditional morning exercises.
On an empty area in the eastern region of Lakeshore town, the warmth of the rays of the morning sun passed through the surrounding trees, leaving behind scattered spots of light on the empty ground.
A large group of youngsters could be seen there, approximately one or two hundred in number. These youngsters were separated into three groups, each group divided into several lines. All the youngsters stood there silently, their faces solemn. The northernmost group of youngsters were approximately six years old. The group in the middle, approximately nine to twelve years old. The ones in the south, the thirteen to sixteen year olds.
In front of this large group of youngsters, there were three sturdily-built middle-aged men. All three of them wore short-sleeved shirts and roughly cut trousers.
“If you want to be a powerful warrior, then you must work hard from youth.” The leader of the middle-aged men, head raised high, hands clasped behind his back, said to them coldly. He swept his cold, fierce gaze across the northernmost group of youngsters. All of those six and seven year olds tightened their lips. Gazing at this man with their big, round eyes, none of them dared to make a sound.
The leader’s name was Davis. He was the captain of the guard for the Tulare clan, the noble clan which owned Lakeshore town.
“All of you are commoners. Unlike those noble families, you won’t have access to any secret books teaching you how to develop battle energy. If you want to become someone of worth, if you wish to be respected, then all of you must use the most ancient, simplest, and most basic ways of improving yourselves – through exercising your bodies, and building up your strength! Am I clear?!”
Davis swept the group of youngsters with his gaze.
“Understood.” The voices of the youngsters replied brightly in unison.
“Good.” Satisfied, Davis coldly nodded. The eyes of the six-year-old youngsters displayed their confusion, while the eyes of the teenagers became very determined. They understood the meaning behind Davis’s words.
Virtually every male in the Lemuria continent would exercise very hard from a very young age. If anyone slacked off, in the future, they would be looked down upon by others! Money and power – these were the things that determined a man’s status! A man without power would be looked down upon even by women.
If one wanted their parents to be proud of them, wanted women to worship them, wanted to live a glorious life?
Then they must become powerful warriors!
All of them were commoners. None of them would have access to any of those precious books which taught the arts of cultivating battle energy. Their only road to glory was through exercising from a young age, and gathering strength! Bitterly hard work! They would work harder than those nobles, spend more of their energy and blood in strengthening themselves!
“When the sun rises in the morning, all things begin to thrive. This is the best time to absorb the natural energy from your surroundings and improve the conditioning of our bodies. Same rules as always – Legs spread apart, as wide as your shoulders! Both knees bent slightly, both hands pressed down at the waist. Assume the ‘Energy Building Pose’. When assuming this Pose, remember – ‘Focus your concentration, maintain a calm mind, and breath naturally.’” Davis coldly instructed.
The ‘Energy Building Pose’ was the simplest, yet most effective way of exercising one’s body. This was based off of the experiences of generations of forefathers.
Immediately the nearly two hundred youngsters assumed the ‘Energy Building Pose’ position.
“Remember, focus your concentration, maintain a calm mind, and breath naturally!” Davis said coldly as he walked amidst the youngsters.
At a glance, he could tell that the teenagers in the southern group all were maintaining the Pose calmly and breathed naturally. At the same time, all of them attained the goals of being stable and steady in their Pose. Clearly, they had attained some degree of proficiency in the ‘Energy Building Pose.’
But glancing at the northernmost group of youngsters, with their waists and knees crooked at odd degrees, their legs relaxed and loose, it was clear to Davis that they were standing unstably and without any power.
Davis said to the two other middle aged men, “The two of you, take charge of the south group and the middle group. I will go take care of the youngest youngsters.”
“Yes, Captain.” The two middle aged men immediately obeyed, paying close attention to those two groups. Every so often, they would kick the legs of those teenagers, checking to see who was standing firmly and who was not.
Davis walked towards the northern group of youngsters. Those youngsters immediately became nervous.
“Crap, the Head Monster is coming!” A golden-haired child with large, bright eyes named Howard said in a low voice.
Davis strode into the midst of the youngsters. Staring at them, his face was cold, but in his heart, he was sighing. “These kids are just too young. They are just too lacking in both wisdom and strength. I can’t demand too much from them. However, it’s still good to get them exercising from a young age. If they work hard from a young age, in the future, when they are on the battlefield, they will have a higher chance of survival.”
And to teach young youngsters…getting them interested was the most effective way! If he forced them too hard, it would have the opposite effect!
“All of you, stand firm!” Davis coldly harrumphed.
Immediately, all of the youngsters straightened, sticking out their chests and staring straight ahead.
A hint of a smile played at Davis’s lips. He then moved to the front and took off his shirt. The lines running across the powerful muscles on his body made the eyes pop out of all of the kids. Even the youngsters in the middle group and southern group couldn’t help but stare at him, admiring his physique.
Aside from his perfect musculature, on Davis’s bare upper body, there were countless knife scars, sword scars, and dozens of other old wounds. All of the youngsters stared at those wounds, their eyes shining.
Knife scars. Sword scars. These were a man’s medals!
In their hearts, they were filled with veneration towards Davis. Davis, a mighty warrior of the sixth grade, a warrior birthed from life and death struggles! Even in large cities, he would be an amazing individual. In the tiny town of Lakeshore, he was a man who every single person venerated.
Seeing the ardent gazes of the youngsters, Davis couldn’t help but let a slight smile escape. He wanted to stir up a feeling of worshipfulness in the youngsters, a desire to be like him. That way, they would work harder and be more motivated!
“Let’s add some more fuel to the fire!” Davis secretly grinned, then walked in front of a giant boulder, which weighed three or four hundred pounds.
With one hand, Davis grabbed the boulder. In a very relaxed manner, he began brandishing it about. That three-hundred-pound boulder, in Davis’s hands, seemed to be as light as wood. All of those youngsters’ jaws dropped, and their eyes widened.
“Too light! Tina, if you have some free time after training, go and get some larger boulders for me.” With a casual toss, Davis sent the boulder flying several dozen meters. Crash! It smote the ground next to a large tree, and the ent
ire ground trembled. Davis casually walked in front of some random stones.
“Hah!”
Davis breathed deeply. All of the veins on his muscular body popped out prominently, as Davis directly struck at a nearby bluish boulder. His fist shattered the air, creating a howling sound that made all of the watching youngsters widen their eyes even further. Davis’s mighty fist smashed directly onto the boulder.
Crash! The sound of the fist smashing into the boulder made the hearts of all the youngsters tremble.
That was an extremely hard bluestone boulder!
The bluestone boulder trembled. Suddenly, six or seven giant cracks appeared on it, as with a ‘pong’ sound, it split into four or five pieces. But on Davis’s fist, not the slightest injury could be seen.
“The Captain is as formidable as ever.” Tina, one of the two other middle-aged men, laughed, as Davis walked back towards them.
The other man, Roger, also walked over. Usually, when the youngsters practiced the ‘Energy Building Pose’ like in yoga, it was time for the three of them to relax and freely chat, while paying attention to any child who decided to slack off.
Davis laughed as he shook his head. “No way. In the past, when I was in the army, every day I would train like crazy, while on the battlefield, I engage in bloody close combat. Nowadays, all I’m doing is relaxing and stretching my muscles a bit in the morning. I’m not filled with as much energy as in the past.”
All of the youngsters stared worshipfully at Davis.
That huge bluestone boulder was shattered by a single blow from his fist. What sort of power was this? And that three or four-hundred-pound boulder was so easily tossed with a flick of the arm. What sort of power was this?
Davis turned his head. Staring at the youngsters, he was very satisfied with the youngster’s reactions.
“Remember, even if you aren’t able to develop battle energy, in principle, if you reach your body’s fullest potential, you can still become a warrior of the sixth grade! And a sixth graded warrior, upon entering the army, can easily become a mid-level officer, and easily obtain the military books which teach one how to develop battle energy! Even if you cannot become a warrior of the sixth grade, and can only become a common warrior of the first grade, you will still be qualified to enter the military. Remember! If a man isn’t able to become even a warrior of the first grade, that man can’t be considered a man at all!”
“If you are a man, then you must raise your chest high, welcome any and all challenges, and fear nothing!”
Upon hearing these words, smiles appeared on the faces of all the six and seven year olds. All of them forced themselves to remain expressionless. These words were Davis’s often-repeated mantra, and he repeated these words endlessly to the youngsters.
“All of you, stand straight. Look at your elders to the south, then look at how you are standing!” Davis censured them.
All of the six year olds immediately tried to adjust their Pose to be more stable.
After a while, the six and seven year olds began to wobble. All of the kids felt that their legs were cramping fiercely, but they gritted their teeth. But after holding out for a short period of time, the youngsters began to collapse and sit on the ground, one after the other.
Davis’s face was cold and callous, but in his heart, he secretly nodded. He was still very satisfied with the performance of these six and seven year olds.
After a short period of time, some of the ten year olds in the middle group also could no longer hold out, and one by one, they began to fall as well.
“Hold out for as long as you can. I won’t force you. But if in the future, you are weaker than your peers, then you’ll have no one to blame than yourselves.” Davis coldly said.
“Hmm?” Tina suddenly stared, astonished, at the northern group.
At this point in time, many of the kids in the middle group had fallen down, but in the northern group, a six-year-old child had held strong.
“This must be Mathias’s first day at training. Who would’ve thought he’d be so formidable?” Tina said, amazed. Next time him, Roger and Davis also noticed. Looking in that direction, they saw that to the north, a single brown haired boy was still holding firm. His lips tightened, the boy stared determinedly in front, both fists tightly clenched so hard that his fists were white.
A look of pleased surprise appeared in Davis’s eyes.
“Good kid!” Davis secretly praised. Despite being just six years old, he could maintain the ‘Energy Building Pose’ for as long as the ten-year-old kids.
Mathias, full name Mathias Tulare, was the eldest son and heir to the Tulare clan, which ruled over the Lakeshore town. The Tulare clan was an extremely old clan. Once, it was extremely prosperous, but after thousands of years, it had only three members remaining. The clan leader, Alistair Tulare, and his two sons. The elder son was Mathias Tulare, six years old. The younger son, Gabe Tulare, was just two years old. As for his wife, when she gave birth to the younger son, she died in the midst of childbirth. Mathias’s grandfather also was dead, having lost his life in battle.
Mathias’s legs were trembling. Although his willpower was strong, his leg muscles were strained to their utmost and were beginning to tremble uncontrollably. He finally collapsed and sat down.
“Mathias, how do you feel?” Smiling, Davis walked towards him.
Mathias cracked a smile, revealing his small canines. “I’m fine, Uncle Davis.” As captain of the Tulare clan’s guardsmen, Davis had watched Mathias grow up. Naturally, the two of them were very close.
“Well done. You acted like a man.” Davis patted Mathias on the head. Immediately, the hair on Mathias’s head became tousled like windblown grass.
“Ha-ha.” Mathias grinned widely. In his heart, he felt very happy at being praised by Davis.
After resting for a while, they continued their exercises. The training regime for the six and seven year olds was a lot more relaxed. But for the teenagers, the training regime was terrifyingly strict.
The large group of youngsters, including the six and seven year olds, were lying down with their heads and their feet each on top of a flat rock, relying solely on the strength in their waists to keep straight.
“The waist and the thighs form a triangular region.” Davis gestured with his hands to show the area he was describing. “This area is a person’s nucleus. Speed and power all come from this triangular nucleus, making this region extremely important.”
As Davis spoke, he continued to walk about, carefully inspecting the youths to see if their movements were correct.
“Tighten that up! Your waists need to be straight!” Davis thundered.
Immediately, the waists of many youths straightened. This was Mathias’s first day of training. His tiny head and his feet were both flat on the rocks, but by this point in time, Mathias could already feel his waist growing tight and hot.
“Hold, got to hold. I’m the best!” Mathias kept encouraging himself. Mathias’s body had always been very strong, even as a baby. He had virtually never gotten sick. Given that he also worked very hard, for him to excel was nothing special.
“Thud!” The first child fell down.
However, the stones they were using as a pillow and footrest were only twenty centimeters high, so although the child fell down, it didn’t hurt much. (In the Lemuria continent, the goldsmiths used standardized lengths of 1 meter = 10 decimeter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters.)
“Thud!” “Thud!” As time went on, more and more youngsters could no longer hold out.
Mathias gritted his teeth. He could clearly feel that the tightness in his waist had already reached the limits of his endurance, to the point where it was almost going numb. “My body feels so heavy. I’m almost unable to control it. Hold, got to hold for just a bit more.” By this point in time, of the six to eight year olds, only Mathias remained.
Staring at Mathias, Davis couldn’t help but be filled with surprise and joy.
“Tina.” D
avis suddenly shouted.
“Captain.” Tina immediately straightened, awaiting his orders.
Davis commanded, “Tomorrow, prepare some special dyes. When they are practicing their waist strength, put a branch under all of their waists, and dye the branches. If any of them slack off and let their waists touch the branch, their body will be dyed as well. Their training regime will double in difficulty.”
“Yes, Captain.” Tina acknowledged the order. He couldn’t help but let his lips tug up in a smile. He secretly laughed, “The Captain is always filled with so many devilish ideas. Those punks are really going to get it now.”
Wasn’t that just so?
Looks of pain appeared on the faces of all the ten year olds. Normally, they could still make slight adjustments and slack off. But with Davis’s idea, they would have no chance to do so.
Davis continued coldly, “Let me tell you all, when a warrior practices his battle energy, the battle energy is stored in a fist-sized location directly beneath the navel. You should understand that this is part of the triangle I was talking about. I expect you all now should understand the importance of strengthening the triangle region! This is your core. If it fails, then your body fails, no matter how strong the other parts of it might be.”
A good instructor is of paramount importance to the youngsters.
And Davis really was a formidable warrior. He knew the important parts of training, and also knew how to increase the difficulty one step at a time. He knew what sort of tools to use with what ages. If it was too hard, it could make a child’s body collapse.
“Battle energy?”
Upon hearing these words, all of the youths, including the youngest youngsters resting off to the side, stared at Davis with wide eyes.
All of the commoners were extremely eager to learn battle energy. Even Mathias, this scion of a noble house, was extremely eager.
“Thud!”
Mathias could finally hold out no longer, but he still used his arms to prop himself on the ground as he slowly rolled off.
“That feels good!” Mathias could feel that his waist felt a numbness which pierced through to the bone, so comfortable that his eyes crinkled slightly.
