"It's alright, Father. As long as everyone is safe, that's the best outcome!"
Vladimir replied with a smile. In fact, he didn't feel it was a pity at all.
Today, he finally witnessed the might of an Earth Knight and the terrifying nature of this world.
He estimated that if he had encountered that giant snake just now, he wouldn't even have had a chance to escape.
After all, the speed that giant snake displayed when attacking Duke Utah was basically faster than a bullet.
"Father, I'd like to ask if there are any Battle Qi skills used to assist movement?"
"After all, I'm still weak. If I encounter danger and can't win, I hope I can at least run away!"
Vladimir's question made his father, Duke Utah, slightly stunned.
According to his father's habits, he always charged forward and never thought about running away.
However, they came from a prominent family, so they had many cultivation techniques. Duke Utah only thought for a moment before remembering a cultivation technique suitable for Vladimir's realm to escape.
"The family really does have a cultivation technique called Serpentine Step, which is quite suitable for you!"
"I'll give you this Serpentine Step cultivation technique when we get back, but this technique can only increase your movement speed by about double."
"Moreover, its cultivation difficulty is very high; you can try it."
After Duke Utah returned to the castle, he gave the Serpentine Step cultivation technique to Vladimir.
Vladimir was very happy because, having often played games in his previous life, he knew that movement speed was key in combat.
Sometimes, speed was much more important than strength, agility, and so on.
In the following days, he honed his Giant Bear Strike and Basic Swordsmanship while continuously using the Serpentine Step during his practice.
Finally, after four days, he achieved initial mastery of the Serpentine Step.
After this period of practice, he believed he already possessed basic combat capabilities.
So, he applied to join his eldest brother's patrol team.
"Sixth Brother, the main duty of our patrol team is to patrol the surroundings of our territory to check for dangers."
Vladimir's eldest brother, James, greatly appreciated the changes in his sixth brother recently.
James himself was somewhat of an ascetic; he would cultivate whenever he had time, as he was destined to take over the entire family in the future.
If he didn't have enough strength, he wouldn't be able to command the respect of his subordinates.
Seeing his sixth brother also began to cultivate diligently like him, he felt a sense of camaraderie.
"Alright, Big Brother. I understand everything; I just don't know what dangers there are recently."
"Hmm, the ice wolves to the north were cleared out a while ago! The primeval forest to the west was also dealt with!"
"Now, the only hidden danger remaining is probably Lake Baikal to the east!"
James replied slowly.
Because Lake Baikal, to the west of the territory, was one of the few unfrozen hot spring water sources near the North Ice Territory. Therefore, various wild beasts often drank water there.
This also led to unexpected dangers appearing there from time to time.
And coincidentally, today was the day to patrol Lake Baikal.
As they chatted along the way, the patrol team gradually approached Lake Baikal.
About five or six hundred meters from Lake Baikal, James suddenly made a shushing sound.
Instantly, everyone in the entire patrol team stopped talking, and the whole team became as quiet as if they had vanished.
James pointed with his finger to a patch of grass to their front right.
Inside the grass, there was a pair of eyes emitting a dark green, eerie glow.
Vladimir carefully observed for a long time, finally barely recognizing them as the eyes of a low-level grassland magical beast, a dire lion.
"Look at that dire lion; its head and front paws seem to be injured. And the dire lion's skin is somewhat loose; it looks quite old. It's very likely an old lion king that was challenged and defeated by other younger dire lions."
"How about it, Sixth Brother, do you dare to go try? This dire lion is just right for you!"
After all, this lion seemed to be only a low-level magical beast, and it had just been injured.
Even though it was about six or seven meters long and two or three meters tall.
But for Vladimir, it was indeed a well-matched opponent.
Vladimir didn't speak, just nodded, and unfastened the sword from his back.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he slowly approached the dire lion.
At this moment, Vladimir's eyes were fixed on the dire lion, not blinking once.
Because his teacher had told him that if he blinked during a fight, that was the opponent's best attacking opportunity.
As a top predator in this land, the dire lion could also hunt without blinking.
Finally, when he was almost two meters away from the dire lion.
The dire lion could no longer endure the hunger in its belly.
With a leap, it pounced on Vladimir.
Seeing the lion's face, larger than a millstone, lunging at him, the fear was imaginable.
Vladimir's hand involuntarily tightened its grip on his sword.
When both sides are prepared, the one who strikes first often exposes an opening.
Vladimir saw the dire lion's opening; he used the 'Deflect' technique from Basic Swordsmanship.
At the same time, his legs also employed the sidestep movement from Serpentine Step.
As a result, just as the dire lion was about to hit him, he flexibly moved about a meter to the side, and at the same time, his sword tip lightly grazed the dire lion's lower jaw.
The sharp sword, like cutting tofu, penetrated about five or six centimeters deep, causing the dire lion's lower jaw to bleed profusely.
A slight joy in his heart, Vladimir adjusted his stance, preparing to use a leaping slash to cut off the dire lion's head.
Just as he slightly bent his knees, preparing to jump.
A lightning-fast tail fiercely struck his left arm.
The burning sensation instantly interrupted his charge.
Instinct, formed through practice, made him roll on the ground.
This skilled muscle technique allowed him to evade the dire lion's second pounce.
"Little brother, are you alright? Do you need help?"
James, in the distance, called out with a hint of anxiety.
"No need, it's just a minor injury; I can handle it."
Vladimir refused James's help.
He understood that to gain a Battle Soul, one must truly experience dangerous combat.
Then, Vladimir began to use the Serpentine Step he had just learned, quickly circling to the dire lion's rear.
The dire lion had just completed its pouncing motion and hadn't had time to fully turn around.
Vladimir had already finished his charge.
He was seen holding the sword in his left hand, his right hand raised high, and after a spin, he fiercely struck the lion's right leg.
Because the dire lion's front leg was already injured.
Vladimir's strike also broke the bone in the dire lion's right hind leg.
This significantly reduced the dire lion's mobility. The dire lion's steps also began to become erratic, and it even struggled to stand.
"Excellent, a very clever fighting style!"
James, standing in the distance, breathed a sigh of relief and praised loudly.
The already famished dire lion, coupled with its impaired movement, became increasingly irritable.
However, after Vladimir noticed this, he actively increased the distance between himself and the dire lion.
He continuously circled the dire lion.
Finally, after circling three times, the dire lion's movements became uncoordinated, and its reaction was a beat too slow.
Vladimir seized the opportunity, quickly advanced, raised his greatsword high with both hands, and brought it down with all his might.
The sharp sword cut through the dire lion's neck like it was tofu, swiftly severing its massive head.
At the same time, Vladimir also felt a wisp of soul energy float out from the lion's head, entering the cold, cold energy mass in his heart. After mixing, a special change occurred.
The originally very thin energy mass slowly began to gather towards the center, forming a Battle Qi seed with the outline of a lion that pulsed with his heartbeat.
Opening his panel, he saw that the progress of the second layer of Giant Bear Breathing Technique had finally broken through to 100%.
The realm of Giant Bear Breathing Technique also changed from 'Initiate' to 'Minor Accomplishment'.
After completing the kill, Vladimir stood in place, panting heavily.
Feeling a bit exhausted, he had to use the sword in his hand as a crutch to avoid the awkward situation of collapsing from fatigue.
He hadn't felt it during the fight, but now that the battle was over, he realized that his left hand likely had a minor fracture.
Moreover, his entire left side felt like it was on fire, with tens of thousands of ants crawling on it. It was tingly and numb, extremely uncomfortable.
"Well done!"
The patrol team in the distance, seeing the battle end, immediately quickly walked over.
James fiercely praised Vladimir.
Then, the other team members skillfully skinned and butchered the dire lion.
"My hand might be fractured; my entire left side has very little sensation!"
Vladimir was truly uncomfortable and couldn't help but say.
"Hmm, then let's head back early today. Anyway, we're not far from Lake Baikal, so it counts as having patrolled."
So, the entire hunting party helped Vladimir return to the castle.
After returning to the castle, Vladimir lay in bed for a day before he could move slightly again.
However, his arm was still bandaged, and he could only move around inside the castle, unable to continue cultivating.
These days without cultivation made him extremely uncomfortable. It was like the discomfort of suddenly relaxing after finishing a big project in the past.
So, he found his father and asked if there was any way to help him recover faster.
"You've changed so much recently, boy! You used to wish you could rest every day!"
"Now you wish you could cultivate every day!"
Duke Utah looked at his sixth son with a strange expression.
However, he thought about how his son had lost a fight last time, causing him to lie in bed for so long, even almost losing his life.
He probably understood that status was just armor made of paper, and strength was an eternal talisman, which was why he was working so hard!
"Here's a small, basic recovery potion!"
Duke Utah handed out a small vial, only the size of an index finger, from his pocket.
It was filled with a light green potion that exuded a vibrant, lively aura.
"Remember this, boy, this is my gift to congratulate you on your breakthrough!"
"This stuff is very expensive, so drink it sparingly. It should be enough for three doses!"
"Your injury should be healed by tomorrow after one drink!"
Such a miraculous potion existed! It seemed his father still had many good things he hadn't told them.
Vladimir, with a joyful expression, took a small sip directly in front of the Duke.
The liquid level in the small vial instantly dropped by 1/3.
He lightly sniffed it and found only a faint grassy scent.
Just as Vladimir was about to voice his doubts to Duke Utah.
Suddenly, he discovered a surge of life-filled energy in his stomach that instantly reached his injured left arm via his bloodstream.
Then, his entire left arm began to feel cold.
Next came the disappearance of pain.
The itching sensation as bones healed.
The rapid reduction of small internal blood clots.
And a series of other sensations suddenly assailed his senses.
It was truly very comfortable.
