Red wasn't keen on getting even more sleep. He had rested for most of the day already and was too eager to continue his training. While the rest of the guild was presumably in their beds, the boy practiced his Vein Opening technique and started to encroach onto the third acupoint of his Upper Leg Vein.

It was only now that the youth was reminded of the consequences of his earlier choice. Back in the underground, Red had chosen to open two acupoints on his left leg due to his injury at the time while leaving his right leg untouched. This had created an imbalance in his Spiritual Vein, and the boy could feel the Spiritual Energy being pulled in two directions.

This next acupoint was going to be particularly hard to open, but Red would be able to solve the issue once he cleared this obstacle. He couldn't accurately guess how long it would take, but there was no other option than to keep at it until the acupoint gave way.

After he was done training, Red laid down on the bed and got a few hours of sleep before morning arrived. A rooster's crowing foretold the imminent sunrise, and a few minutes later the youth could hear the first signs of activity within the guild. The boy debated waiting until he was called upon, but after almost half an hour had passed he got tired of staring at the wooden ceiling.

Exiting the bedroom, Red looked around the courtyard before identifying the figure of Domeron. The man was rocking on a chair while sipping on a steaming mug and quietly watching the chicken coop. Hesitating for a bit, the boy finally decided to approach him.

As Red arrived by his side, though, the man did not react. The youth thought about making his presence known, but then he noticed something strange with Domeron’s appearance.

"You're missing an arm." The boy commented.

He didn't notice it in the meeting hall due to the large coat the man was wearing. Now though, Red could see the empty sleeve where his right arm should have been.

Domeron scoffed.

"Really? How did you notice?" He asked without turning around to face the youth.

"Because of your empty sleeve." The boy responded. "It's quite obvious when you look at it."

The rocking of the chair stopped for a moment before resuming a few seconds later.

"How did it happen?" Red asked.

"It got cut off." The man didn't elaborate. "Listen, Red, it's early in the morning and I like to enjoy my quiet time peacefully before Goulth starts banging on his forge. What is it that you want?"

"I want to train." He replied.

"Can't do that with only one functioning arm." Domeron shook his head. "Best you focus on recovering for now."

"Both my arms are working now."

"Hm?"

At that, the man finally turned around to look at the boy. Red waved his left arm to back up his claim. The bandages he was wearing were also gone, and all that remained of the shoulder wound was a dull aching pain and a nasty scar.

"...Did Goulth give you any special medicine?" Domeron asked, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Red nodded.

"I see... That girl is far more cunning than she lets on." The man muttered to himself with a smile. He pointed to an area of the courtyard in front of him. "Go ahead and show me the routine you use to open your veins first."

The youth hesitated for a second, but still decided to go along with it. As far as he was aware, there was nothing special about the exercise itself he did in preparation for opening his veins, so he had no reason to hide it. He entered his training posture, legs apart and slightly bent, and fists held at the side of his waist. And then he started.

Like always the exercise consisted of a mix of punches and low kicks that gradually increased in intensity and speed. In the past, Red could only keep up the routine for a minute before his body was exhausted, but now he was easily able to smash that mark. According to Viran, the longer you could go on, the better prepared your body would be to absorb Spiritual Energy.

The previous night the youth had discovered that his limit was just below two minutes, but he pushed himself harder this time around. Finally, he was barely able to cross that mark before his body was exhausted and the familiar tingling feeling got stronger.

Red sat down cross-legged and started to attack the acupoint. The barrier barely gave way, but the youth was already used to this kind of result. Opening veins was a matter of accumulation and true change would only come after weeks of training. A few minutes later, the boy was done with the process and looked up at Domeron.

The man was frowning, looking quite displeased, and the boy felt confused.

"I only meant for you to show me the basics of your movements, not to plop down in the middle of the courtyard and start cultivating." He complained.

Red shrugged.

"It doesn't matter." Domeron rubbed his forehead before continuing. "I assume the person who taught you this routine is the same one who taught you how to inject yourself with a Spirit Stone?"

The boy didn't reply, but his silence was enough confirmation for the man.

"This is actually a very old set of army exercises people used to practice up north. That is, before the cultivation community up there was wiped out by the Empire." Domeron explained. "There's nothing wrong with the method, but it's not ideal for a child's body to be practicing it."

With that alone, the man seemed to have figured out more about Viran's background than Red himself knew. However, the boy doubted that was enough to pin down his mentor's true identity.

"I'm used to it by now." Red responded.

"Your mentor was either not very good at teaching or he didn't care enough about you to do it properly." Domeron shook his head. "What else did he teach you?"

"Footwork." The youth said after some thought. "And also knives. Kind of."

"That's it?" The man frowned.

Red nodded.

"Alright." Domeron got up from his chair. "Follow me."

He led the youth to the other end of the courtyard, behind a few houses. Getting there, the boy saw a large fenced-off area that wasn't visible when he had first entered the guild. Wooden and metal dummies, sparring weapons, swinging bag obstacles, and other kinds of training equipment were all lined up in the outdoor arena.

As the youth approached, though, he noticed that a lot of these tools had signs of wear and tear. It was apparent that at least someone in this guild used the training space quite often. Domeron opened up the gate and went over to the weapon rack. He picked up a wooden longsword for himself and threw a small wooden baton over to the boy.

Red frowned and looked at the man.

"Sorry, it's the closest thing we've got to a training knife here." Domeron explained. "It's not my favorite kind of weapon."

"Are we not going to use the real thing?" Red asked.

"What, did your master train you with real knives too?" The man laughed.

However, his laughter eventually trailed off as he was greeted by the youth's entirely serious expression and an enduring silence.

"What kind of maniac did you have for a teacher anyways?" Domeron shook his head in resignation. "We are here to train, not to cut ourselves bloody while you try to figure out the basics. In the future, once you've shown a certain level of proficiency, then we can certainly raise the stakes and use real weapons."

Red nodded in understanding.

"So what do we do?" He asked.

"Now you show me your footwork." The man said. "Over here."

Domeron led him to the obstacle course. It consisted of a circle of tall wooden arches from which sandbags were hung using ropes.

"Stand in the middle of them." The man directed.

The boy did as he was told. Now, he was completely surrounded by obstacles.

"What now?" He asked

"Now you stay in the circle and dodge."

The man brandished his sword extremely quickly and struck one of the sandbags. The heavy sack came towards the boy with intense force, and Red had to stumble back to barely get out of its way. While he was still recovering his balance, though, another bag was coming towards him from a different direction.

This time the boy was more prepared. He swiftly jumped to the side, completely avoiding the hit. However, that was when he noticed he had just put himself in the way of two other bags swinging in his direction. The boy's mind turned, and he quickly figured out another path to safely dive to.

Unfortunately for him, though, the man seemed to have predicted his move. This time three bags were coming at him from different angles, and the youth could only throw himself at the ground to avoid being hit. Red looked up and noticed that in his prone position none of the heavy bags could reach him.

"What are you doing, you little smartass?!" Domeron scolded him from outside as the swinging obstacles eventually came to a stop. "I told you we were testing your footwork! If the objective was simply getting out of the way of the bags, then you could just step out of the circle!"

"You caught me by surprise." Red got up, patting the dust off his clothes and removing his shoes. "I'm ready now."

"Hmph." The man snorted in annoyance. "You better not have interrupted my morning routine just for this."

He swung his sword and sent another bag flying forward. This time, the youth adopted a different strategy in dodging. Taking a small step to the side, Red ducked out of the way. Then, with a quick assessment of his immediate surroundings, he sidestepped into a different position where fewer bags were in movement. Sure enough, his change in tactic was immediately paying off and the boy didn't feel nearly as pressed a few seconds in.

He had noticed that his desperate dives would often take him into the path of another obstacle. These large jumps were a habit he had developed after fighting against giant monsters who could kill you in a single strike, where the only thing that mattered was getting out of the way and not where you would end up after it. However, it didn't seem appropriate in this situation, when the man had more than enough time to predict where he would end up and create a trap for him there.

Using short and explosive movements, however, made his actions harder to read. Red also had to consider his position at all times, so that he wouldn’t end up trapped between two incoming obstacles.

This new strategy seemed to be working, but eventually, Domeron started to increase his speed. The youth felt his reflexes were being pushed to the very limit, and his mind was in overdrive figuring out the next possible move at every split second. Gradually, Red was forced to rely on his instincts to dodge.

The bags seemed to get closer and closer every second and some of them even scraped his clothing. The boy didn't know how much time had passed, but his body was starting to feel completely spent from the sheer effort. He had to rely on more desperate moves to get out of the way, but eventually, even that was not enough.

Red didn't see where the bag came from. He felt a heavy impact against his back which threw him to the ground, and after that, he knew it was over. The obstacles eventually stopped swinging and the boy was left on the ground, trying to recover his breath.

"Great work!"

Red struggled to sit up and saw the man looking down at him. This time he had a genuine smile on his face.

"While I can't approve of your teacher's methods, it seems like they really did work!" The man praised him. "Physical prowess and skill leave a bit to be desired, but your adaptability was certainly impressive. You were able to get to the crux of the matter faster than most kids your age."

"But I still failed, didn't I?" The youth asked, confused.

"Of course you failed, I was going to keep increasing the intensity until you got hit anyway." Domeron laughed. "It was just a matter of testing your limits. Since I know them now, we can start the real training."

"Real training?" Red frowned.

"Indeed."

The man cracked a wicked grin.

"Now that I know your limits, it's just a matter of pushing past them as often as possible."

Somehow, Red felt that Viran and Domeron weren't that different after all.