"Up!" Lu Zhiyu was teaching Verthandi swordsmans.h.i.+p. The two raised their swords, posed with the exact same stance. Even their subtle movements were exactly the same.
"Pay attention to your footwork. Lower your center of gravity. Don"t mess up. Look at my eyes, while looking straight ahead," he instructed.
The two swords were intertwined and clas.h.i.+ng intermittently, as the pair practiced in the center of the backyard of the cathedral. Lu Zhiyu carefully adjusted Verthandi"s footwork, wrist, stance, spirit and gaze.
Verthandi was very talented. Although she had not yet awakened her blood talent, she had reached the peak of swordsmans.h.i.+p in regards to pure technique. She had basically reached the highest limit that she could master at present, so all that was left for her train in was skill level.
After finis.h.i.+ng a complete set, Lu Zhiyu put down his sword. "Yes, there is nothing to teach you in the future. Your physical condition has almost been raised to your limit."
Verthandi sat down next to a pillar, exhausted. After hearing Lu Zhiyu"s words, her two furry ears immediately perked up. "Dad, does that mean that I"m almost ready to awaken my bloodline talent?"
After Verthandi had grown up a bit, Lu Zhiyu began growing a beard, so he was no longer Daddy, but just Dad. Lu Zhiyu nodded. "Almost, and after awakening your bloodline, you will be a real knight. Although you"ll be a tiny knight, you"ll be a knight nonetheless!"
Verthandi hissed and pounced at Lu Zhiyu, showing her fangs. She pouted and stomped her feet. "I"m only sixteen years old. I can still grow taller!"
As Lu Zhiyu was considered to be on the tall side. Verthandi, by comparison, was relatively pet.i.te, which made her particularly frustrated, because she wanted to be a great knight! In order to join the cavalry, there were height requirements, and some of the more exacting squads" criteria were pretty strict!
Verthandi waved her fist at Lu Zhiyu, who reached out and held her head down. Due to his height advantage, she couldn"t reach him, no matter how hard she tried. Their hands entangled, but Lu Zhiyu kept a hand firmly on her head, laughing teasingly.
Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi were waiting for the arrival of the Elias Merchant caravan that the Bishop of Cory had mentioned in the Grand Church of Danello. They would travel together through Engido"s capital, journeying to the northern lands of the Amos Icefield.
Over the past ten years, Lu Zhiyu had been traveling with Verdanti to many human and orc kingdoms. Through a coincidence, Lu Zhiyu had received an honorary t.i.tle of Baron from the Kingdom of the Church of Light. Though he had no land attached to it, it had made him an actual n.o.ble now.
For more than 10 years, the two of them had relied on each other. It had really made Lu Zhiyu feel like a father. Compared to his old life, these days made Lu Zhiyu much happier. He could even forget his true ident.i.ty, his powers, and his goals, as he wallowed in this newfound happiness.
A few days later, Lu Zhiyu waited outside the bathroom, standing guard. Autumn in the north was very cold, so the steam from the hot water covered the room. Training to become a knight required extremely specific conditions, including a special exercise method to temper the body to the limit. Afterwards, the brain would sense changes in the body, then unlock the bodily limits to awaken one"s bloodline talent.
This required both a steady supply and large amount of food, and a supply of various medicinal materials and tempering methods. Otherwise, the body would not be able to receive the energy necessary for such rigorous training, thus making it vulnerable to injury.
Lu Zhiyu supplied Verthandi with the best of the best. There was never a shortage of supplies. As for the tempering methods, Lu Zhiyu felt that they were completely useless.
In his mind, anything that he randomly made up would be better than these human methods. As far as tonics and medicinal materials were concerned, Lu Zhiyu had a free, unlimited supply of them.
However, the awakening of the bloodline only occured when one"s physique was almost stabilized. Recently, Lu Zhiyu felt that Verthandi"s talent was about to awakened, so he immediately prepared a nutrient solution for her eminent breakthrough.
At this time, from behind him, the door clicked open. Verthandi entered the room, squirming in her simple nightgown. It seemed that Lu Zhiyu"s preparations had paid off, and the awakening had been successful.
Verthandi shyly held the robe tightly. Lu Zhiyu looked her up and down. "What are you shy about? I"m your dad! Either way, you"re so thin and bony. What is there to hide? Other people are hiding their goods. You have nothing to hide!"
Lu Zhiyu dealt a brutal hit to Verthandi, who shrieked as her blond hair swayed. She threw the vase on the table towards Lu Zhiyu, cursing him by name. "Randhir, you old pervert!"
Lu Zhiyu steadily caught the seven or eight things that Verthandi had thrown at him, without missing a single one. Just as he was gloating, he saw a bucket of bath water splas.h.i.+ng towards him.
After playing around for a bit, Lu Zhiyu checked Verthandi"s awakened bloodline talent. He was astonished at the results!
"The Golden Eye? Unexpectedly, you have inherited Ahenaten"s Golden Eye. So, you now carry his bloodline!"
Verthandi was elated. She knew that she had awakened a visual ability. She had looked into a bronze mirror, seeing some subtle changes in her eyes. They had changed from their original brown shade to a more beautiful gold color.
When she looked at things now, she saw that the entire world had undergone tremendous changes. Not only had it become clearer, but her observations had also become sharper. Even the faces of the people, who were ringing the bells on the towers in the distance, could now clearly be seen. Even the vibrating wings of the bees that were flying by the window could all be seen clearly.
This would be a powerful ability in the battlefield, and could be used as a weapon of destruction. She felt that she would gain a decent ability, but she did not expect it to be the Golden Eye of the legends. News regarding this talent had non-existent for a long time. The ability to awaken this rare legendary talent was called the bloodline of the kings.
Verthandi was very happy. "Isn"t this the bloodline that you pa.s.sed to me? Dad, don"t you know that you are the descendant of Ahenaten? Therefore, I am also a descendant of the Golden King!"
Lu Zhiyu had a very awkward expression on his face. "It seems like I do have a pa.s.sing connection to Ahenaten."
At this time, there was a knock on the door downstairs. Lu Zhiyu opened it. It was a young orc cleric. "Sir, the bishop wants to see you."
Lu Zhiyu nodded. "What did Bishop Cory say was the matter?"
"It seems that the Elias Caravan has arrived. Sir Elias is currently in the front hall, chatting with the bishop."