The Nuoding City City Guard barracks were not large; after all, the City Guard only had a little over a thousand people in total.
"Young Master!"
Upon learning of Xiao Chenyu's arrival, the City Guard Commander immediately led several officers to greet him.
After all, he was the City Lord's son.
Xiao Chenyu pointed at Li Tian and said, "This is Li Tian, my good friend."
"He wants to train in the barracks, so please make arrangements."
"Remember, he's genuinely here to train himself, so feel free to put him through rigorous training."
"As long as it doesn't kill him, train him to death."
Li Tian glanced sideways; this kid's words seemed to carry some personal grudge, didn't they?
But it wasn't a big problem; that was the very reason he came here.
"Yes!"
The City Guard Commander agreed readily, though he didn't actually intend to train Li Tian to death.
He was still a child, after all.
Moreover, they were only the City Guard, and their usual training intensity wasn't high.
They couldn't possibly increase the intensity for the entire City Guard just for him, could they?
Li Tian would leave after training, but what about him? Wouldn't those guys who were used to being lazy hate him, their Commander?
How would he lead this team in the future?
After a brief explanation, clarifying Li Tian's request, Xiao Chenyu left.
Li Tian asked, "Commander, what is your esteemed surname?"
The Commander said, "My humble surname is Wang, and my given name is Gang. You can just call me Commander Wang."
Li Tian cupped his hands and said, "Commander Wang, I hope you'll take good care of me from now on."
Commander Wang waved his hand and said, "There's no need for special care. Does Young Master Li have any ideas?"
Li Tian thought for a moment.
He certainly didn't come to the City Guard for simple exercises like running.
Swordsmanship, archery, and the like were his primary goals.
Secondly, it was to hone his practical combat experience.
No matter how lax the City Guard was, it was still an army, and there were indeed veterans who had survived on the battlefield.
They definitely knew how to efficiently kill enemies.
Upon learning Li Tian's true intentions, Commander Wang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As long as he didn't have to drag the entire City Guard along with him, it was fine.
Soon, Commander Wang called over three people whose Spirits were a sword, a spear, and a bow, respectively.
They were all veterans who had been on the battlefield.
In Commander Wang's words, their strength was absolutely top-notch among ordinary people.
Without using Spirit Abilities, even a one-spirit ring Spirit Master might not be able to defeat them.
You eat your food one bite at a time, and you do things one step at a time. Li Tian decided to practice the sword first.
The others temporarily withdrew.
"A sword is a killing weapon. Punctures, stabs, slashes, and cuts can all take an enemy's life."
As the veteran spoke, an iron sword appeared in his hand.
It was just an ordinary iron sword, with even mottled rust on its blade.
It was just such a rusty sword.
The moment it fell into the veteran's hand, his entire demeanor changed drastically.
Li Tian actually felt the legendary killing intent.
The colorless and formless killing intent instantly made all the hairs on Li Tian's body stand on end.
He felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
As expected of a veteran who had survived the battlefield, he was indeed incomparable to Xiao Chenyu and the others.
He had certainly come to the right place.
The veteran continued, "Killing is very simple: just stab the sword into the enemy's vital point first."
"However, achieving this is not easy."
"First, your sword must be steady and fast, your strength must be sufficient, and you must eliminate all unnecessary movements."
...
After a long period of theoretical instruction, the veteran finally began teaching Li Tian how to practice the sword.
The method was somewhat unadorned.
From drawing the sword, striking, to repeatedly practicing the basic Moves of the sword.
In the veteran's words,
When he could perform every Move without any wasted motion,
And could accurately strike the enemy's vital point at the fastest speed,
Then he would have completed his apprenticeship.
These were all things he had summarized himself on the battlefield, so there wasn't much flashy stuff.
...
"Director Su, I heard that Li Tian's first spirit ring was obtained with your help?"
Yu Xiaogang stared intently at the Director of Teaching Affairs.
After some investigation and questioning, he finally realized that the truth was completely different from what he had imagined.
It wasn't Spirit Hall that helped Li Tian obtain his spirit ring at all.
Nor was it some passing big shot.
Instead, it was a teacher from Notting School, the Director Su in front of him.
This made him incredibly angry.
Spirit Hall could look down on him, and passing big shots could also look down on him.
But why this dog-like person?
He was just a mere Director of an Elementary Soul Master Academy. What right did he have to look down on him, the Grandmaster?
Did he, of all people, deserve to compete with him for a Disciple?
"It was me. Is there a problem?"
Director Su didn't think much of it. As a teacher, as the Director of the Academy,
Couldn't he help a student obtain a spirit ring?
Yu Xiaogang angrily questioned, "You helped him obtain a spirit ring, fine, but why did you slander me?"
Director Su: "When the hell did I slander you?"
He had told him that the theories of someone named Yu Xiaogang were unreasonable.
Wasn't that the truth?
He was merely stating facts, discussing the matter at hand. Where did the slander come from?
By the way, how did this guy know?
Could it be that Li Tian sold him out?
Yu Xiaogang angrily said, "If it weren't for your slander, why would Li Tian reject me?"
Heh heh!
So this guy was purely making wild guesses; that's truly outrageous.
"First!"
Director Su said, "I have no need to slander you, because there is no conflict of interest between you and me."
"Secondly."
"Li Tian is simply inexperienced, but that doesn't mean he's a fool. The people from Spirit Hall must have clearly explained to him what Innate full spirit power means."
"And they must have invited him to join Spirit Hall."
"He wouldn't worship a Titled Douluo-level teacher, so how could he come to worship you?"
"What can you offer him?"
"Not to mention anything else, you can't even help him obtain his second spirit ring, can you?"
"Shouldn't he reject you?"
"You are the Dean's friend, and I don't want to say anything too unpleasant."
"Please leave."
Yu Xiaogang's old face turned red from Director Su's words, and the anger in his heart burned furiously.
He retorted angrily, "What can I do for him?"
"My talent is beyond your comprehension, and my connections are beyond your sight!"
"Titled Douluo, what's a Titled Douluo?"
"Go ask around, which Titled Douluo dares to speak loudly to me, the Grandmaster?"
Yu Xiaogang became more and more agitated as he spoke.
"It's important to have self-awareness. Some things are fine to lie to others about, but don't lie to yourself."
Director Su shook his head.
He didn't know much about Yu Xiaogang's situation, but it was absolutely impossible for it to be as exaggerated as he claimed.
Who was a Titled Douluo?
Even if Yu Xiaogang had an extraordinary background, he was ultimately just a Spirit Grandmaster.
His identity might grant him some preferential treatment in front of a Titled Douluo.
But a mere Spirit Grandmaster, wanting to be on equal footing with a Titled Douluo based on identity?
What a joke!
If no Titled Douluo dared to speak loudly to him, believe it or not, three punches and two kicks would beat the shit out of him.
When he started bragging, he didn't even care about logic.
This person was truly outrageous; one could even say he had lost his mind without being wrong.
Yu Xiaogang angrily said, "What the hell do you know?"
Director Su said disdainfully, "Ah, yes, yes, yes. Since you're so capable, why don't you summon a Titled Douluo to serve you? If you can command a Titled Douluo, why would you fear him not wanting to take you as his teacher?"
"You..."
Yu Xiaogang pointed at Director Su, his old face flushed red, but he couldn't speak.