Luke had a trial scheduled within a week.
Normally, trials in the Raindal family focused heavily on combat. However, Luke had no real combat experience or martial arts training.
Yet, his father, Wilson Raindal, accepted the trial without hesitation, even though it was likely fatal for someone like Luke.
Even though Luke had refined his body without elixirs, refined his soul a hundred times, and possessed an inexhaustible Qi reserve, combat was a completely different challenge.
Without proper training or experience, even a man armed with a machine gun could fall to a simple pencil.
So Luke planned to learn swordsmanship, but with the limited time he had, even mastering the basics was a question without an answer.
In the Raindal family, those who had yet to advance to the Path of Vision could only serve as soldiers.
Although it might sound like a lowly position, in a world where only a handful could even cultivate, such a role was nothing short of a distant dream for many.
Those who were stuck at Level Two had only one way to fight: by learning martial arts, which focused on using various weapons and hand-to-hand techniques.
To help Luke learn martial arts, his father invited an old instructor named Solomon — the very same man who once taught Wilson himself.
Although Solomon was stuck at Level Two, he could still compete toe-to-toe with most Level Three cultivators in the Raindal family.
When Luke entered the training hall, he was greeted by the sight of Solomon — a man standing six feet tall, with dark black hair and a slim, rigid body.
Luke politely walked up to him and said, "Good morning, sir."
Solomon looked at Luke and smiled.
"Brat, you have a death match coming up soon, and you don't even have proper footwork. Without a miracle, you're definitely going to die."
As he spoke, cold sweat broke out across Luke's body.
Luke, understanding the meaning behind Solomon's words, was already prepared for the challenge. With confidence, he said, "I will win the trial."
"You're a tenacious brat, You don't even have enough time to learn basic Qi augmentation, but if you truly have what your father believes you do, you might just stand a chance, boy."
With that, Solomon handed Luke a sword, half his size.
In Solomon's mind, he thought, This brat isn't bad. He has the same tenacity as Wilson. "Boy, you have to run around this training ground with your sword in hand, ready to strike," Solomon instructed.
Running around the ground, sword ready to strike? What the hell? Luke thought.
He looked at Solomon, ready to ask why, but before he could speak, Solomon drew his sword from its sheath and began charging toward him.
What the hell, again? An assassination? No, that can't be... he's my father's trusted aide and former teacher. Then why? Is this his way of making training feel like reality? Luke thought in panic.
Without a second thought, he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, sword in hand, ready to strike Solomon if he even slightly threatened his life. This life was his second chance he had died in the first without ever knowing why or how. Even now, it sometimes felt like a dream, as if he had never died or was just in a coma. But reality had struct hard.
Solomon, who had been running behind him at the same speed for almost 30 minutes, finally stopped and said, "Enough."
Luke, with a head full of questions and caution in his mind, hesitated to ask anything. Then Solomon shouted, "Brat, come and attack me!"
Luke, starting to realize what was happening, understood that this was some kind of warm-up and, at the same time, an exercise to help him improve his footwork for escaping from an enemy pursuing him. But truly, Solomon wasn't even trying when he chased after Luke.
Luke somewhat grasped the idea, but what he had learned so far was a drop in the ocean. He needed to learn at least a bucket's worth if he even hoped to survive the trial.
Luke sprinted toward Solomon, raising his sword to strike. Solomon, remaining calm, raised his sword to meet Luke's sword without any emotion.
As Luke pushed his sword harder, trying to overwhelm Solomon, he noticed a subtle change in Solomon's sword.
Before he could fully comprehend it.
Bang!
he was thrown backward with immense force. The impact caused his sword to snap in half, shattered by the power of Solomon's sword.
That is Solomon Qi in the sword.