Above The Sky
Chapter 65 - 65 62 Surprise

65: Chapter 62 Surprise 65: Chapter 62 Surprise The next morning, Ian awoke and came to the backyard to chop wood, preparing the morning fire for cooking.

Last night, after condensing the Primordial Seed, Hiliard asked Ian to strike while the iron was hot.

He needed to operate the Breathing Guiding Technique to stabilize the excessively active Origin Quality within his body and also to familiarize Ian with the true power of the Primordial Seed.

This task was quite difficult.

The boy noticed that settling down the Origin Quality was much more difficult than getting it to move.

A car might take just a few seconds to start and accelerate, which may depend on the quality of the engine, that is, the Primordial Seed.

But stopping a car that’s running at full speed in just a few seconds requires something that has nothing to do with the engine.

“Origin Quality is the power of life, and the Primordial Seed is the vortex of life.

While it can certainly lend strength to the Sublimator, running at full speed all the time will also accelerate the burning of life.”

This was a simple truth, and the old Knight didn’t say much more, “Not to mention, if you can’t stop the pulsation of the Origin Quality, you won’t be able to sleep this week, and it will be extremely damaging to your body.”

—Indeed, not letting an eight-year-old child sleep for a week was no different from killing them.

After spending half the night, Ian finally quieted the Origin Quality in his body and fell asleep in the tranquility.

“This feeling… it’s really not bad!”

Waking up from a dreamless deep sleep, Ian felt energetic and full of strength.

Even though he had slept for only about three hours, he felt more refreshed than after sleeping for an entire night before.

Not only that, when he calmed down, he could clearly sense the changes in his body.

At this moment, Ian could easily sense his own breathing rate, heartbeat, pulse rate, and even the slight tremor of his muscles and the unconscious wriggling of his internal organs, if he focused just a little.

This level of perception was close to introspection and made it easy to detect any disharmony within his own body.

It might not seem like much, but one wouldn’t know how marvelous this perception was until they possessed it.

Ian had a premonition that if he were injured, he could directly control the injured area to heal, and even if, like Brin, he was stabbed in the lung by a Native, he could temporarily control the flow of blood to avoid the injured area and prevent internal bleeding and the worsening of his condition.

“I have indeed become stronger.”

With a hammer in hand, everything looks like a nail.

While in high spirits, Ian got up and went to the yard to chop wood.

Lifting the Chopping Axe, he weighed its heft, then raised it, aimed, swung his arm and chopped down directly.

Crack!

With this axe blow, he cleanly split the upright log in two, smoothly, and swiftly, even following the grain of the wood as if it were not a hard log he was splitting but mere roadside weeds.

Crack!

Crack!

Several axe blows followed in quick succession, and Ian, in one fluid motion, turned a log into a pile of firewood.

After stopping, he was astonished himself, holding the axe and muttering, “How can this be, my strength has not increased much, but it feels completely different from a few days ago!”

“Smooth, effortless…”

The Virtual Primordial Seed and the Primordial Seed had no substantial difference in essence, and there were even cases where an Apprentice’s own condensed Primordial Seed was of such poor quality that, after leaving the Virtual Primordial Seed given by their teacher and condensing their own, their strength actually decreased.

But the Primordial Seed that Ian condensed was the best possible one for someone his age and realm, shining even brighter compared to the Virtual Primordial Seed bestowed by Hiliard, far surpassing it.

Of course, this surplus only manifested as a slight increase in strength, after all, it had only been a few hours, and no matter how powerful the Primordial Seed was, it couldn’t enhance strength too much.

Yet such a modest improvement, when displayed in reality, was surprisingly remarkable.

“Because it is your Primordial Seed, a power you can fully control and operate smoothly.”

Hiliard appeared behind Ian; he had spent the morning scouting an unknown location and had returned with a solemn expression on his face.

However, upon seeing Ian’s performance in chopping wood, the old man still revealed a smile, “You can clearly see the grain of the wood, grasp the angle at which the axe falls, and adjust the force’s direction in a timely manner—chopping wood naturally becomes effortless and pleasurable.”

He came to his apprentice’s side, reached out to adjust Ian’s grip on the axe and his standing posture, signaling him to continue chopping.

Crack crack, the sound of the wood being felled became even more smooth and natural.

“Very good.”

Observing Ian’s movements, the old knight objectively commented, “Although your physical strength still doesn’t match that of an adult man from The Empire, compared to the Natives, you have a certain advantage.”

“But you have already become a Sublimation Apprentice, with strong control over your own body, making it challenging for an average adult to threaten you.”

“Add your Spirit Energy and the power of a short burst of Origin Quality, and you can defeat most Native squads and wild beasts in the wilderness.

In the lands of South Ridge, you now have the ability to protect yourself.”

“However, going on like this, it will be hard for me to hide.”

Without stopping, Ian continued to chop wood.

After Hiliard’s adjustments, his way of channeling power became even more natural and fluid, improving his efficiency by another twenty percent.

In the continuous cacophony of wood splitting, he frowned in thought, “Spirit Energy can be explained away, but if I exhibit extraordinary physical abilities in the future, anyone will know something isn’t normal with me.”

He didn’t speak of hiding.

Hiding physical abilities was extremely difficult, as many details could reveal a person’s physical condition, and Ian knew that, without counter-surveillance training, no meticulousness in thought would allow him to avoid slipping up.

“No need to hide.”

But Hiliard shook his head, took the Chopping Axe from Ian’s hand, gestured for Ian to take the already chopped wood to make a fire, and began chopping wood himself.

The old man chopped wood casually, not particularly fast, but his strokes were so that Ian had trouble discerning the direction of the axe’s blade.

The main body of the wood being chopped remained almost motionless; had it not been for the constant chipping away of wood, Ian would have had difficulty perceiving that the wood was being chopped at all.

If the target of Elder’s chopping was not wood, but a human body…

Ian shook his head and refocused his mind.

Noticing his apprentice’s attention, Hiliard continued smilingly chopping wood while saying, “As far as I know about the current situation in The Empire, whether it is that Elder of the White Folks or the local Lord, once they know you’re a Spirit Energy User, they will definitely try to recruit you immediately, offering you the training for the Bloodline True Form.”

“Although only part of it, even just the First Energy Level part, they’ll keep you loyal with the promise of more advanced inheritances later on, but regardless, they’ll want to nurture you.

It’s one of the good traditions The Empire has managed to preserve.”

Pausing his axe, Hiliard pointed to Ian’s chest and spoke to the still puzzled boy, “Rest assured, The Empire is not gentle, but not harsh either, when it comes to valuable talent, they act swiftly.”

“The mere existence of a Spirit Energy User is a value in itself, you have proven your worth, they will surely offer you the inheritance.”

“Is it really that quick?”

Ian did not doubt the truthfulness of Hiliard’s words, but he was skeptical about such efficiency occurring within a non-modernized nobility system.

“Don’t underestimate others.”

Hiliard shook his head, hinting, “Grant is a Second Energy Level Sublimator; he doesn’t need to sleep.”

“Oh, right.”

It seemed something occurred to the old knight; he spoke to Ian, who was already turning away, “Go check your room, there’s a surprise.”