Chapter 251: Section 39: Teaching My Son Combat Skills
The night breeze blew gently, and stars dotted the sky.
In a secluded corner of New Moon Town’s back mountain, a dazzling red light suddenly erupted from the thick darkness.
The intense heat of Dragon Flame blazed fervently, and the temperature of the air soared terrifyingly fast.
Innate Magic—Intense Dragon Breath!
The Dragon-man youth opened his mouth, maintaining the innate magic present in his King of Flame Dragon bloodline, while laboriously turning his neck.
As he turned his head, the Intense Dragon Breath swept across, tracing a line through the air.
The youth ceased the spell, and before him lay a large swath of charred rock.
“It still needs improvement!”
“Although I’ve only practiced a limited amount, I can now slightly divert the direction while breathing fire. However, the speed of turning is far too slow; it has no practical value in real combat.”
The knight youth had been relentlessly honing his skills.
Although his practice with Dragon Breath was minimal, the progress made was not inconsiderable.
Before, he could hardly turn his head while breathing fire. Any shift would destabilize the Dragon Breath, making it fluctuate in intensity. Now he had overcome that difficulty, stabilizing the Dragon Breath, but the speed at which he turned his head was too slow and needed significant improvement.
“Next, I need to improve the turning speed.”
“After that, the goal is to try moving my feet while breathing fire.”
At the moment, once he started breathing fire, he could only stand still, becoming a live target.
The youth had a clear training plan in mind.
He knew he had to overcome these challenges.
Combat Skill required diligent study and practice.
“Dad, you’re so awesome!” exclaimed the Big guy, interrupting the Dragon-man youth’s contemplation.
The Dragon-man youth smiled slightly.
This time he was not practicing alone; he had specifically taken the Big guy with him.
“How about it? Are you scared?” the Dragon-man youth asked with concern.
Dragon Breath was his strongest attack to date, one which most silver-level fighters could hardly withstand. Even at the Golden Level, they would have to tread carefully.
The Big guy shook his head: “Dad and I are the same, not afraid.”
The Dragon-man youth laughed heartily.
In the presence of the Big guy, he could relax completely. Perhaps it was because of the Big guy’s limited intelligence and sincere heart, or maybe it was for some other reason.
“How are you doing with the Fighting energy technique I’ve recently had you practice?”
“Come, let me check.”
The Dragon-man youth approached the Big guy.
The Big guy was sitting cross-legged on the ground, still disheveled, with a grin revealing his yellow teeth, looking frightful. However, unlike on Mysterious Monster Island, he was now dressed in leather armor.
Although the leather armor was crude, it protected his vital areas like the heart and waist, lending the Big guy a hint of martial dignity.
As for the horn on his head, it was deliberately styled as a disguise to conceal the Big guy’s true identity.
Upon hearing that ‘dad’ was going to check his Cultivation, the Big guy became visibly nervous.
His smile vanished as he bent and bowed, bringing his large head close to the Dragon-man youth. He had immense trust in the Dragon-man youth.
The youth chided him with a smile and a pat on his head: “Just extend your arm to me.”
So the Big guy straightened up and extended his arm.
The Dragon-man youth grasped his wrist, slowly channeling Fighting energy into his body, while his spirit naturally spread throughout the Big guy’s physique.
Soon, he detected a substantial reserve of Fighting energy hidden within the Big guy.
“Huh?” The Dragon-man youth was taken aback.
The extent of Fighting energy within the Big guy surpassed his expectations.
“Have you practiced this before?” the youth couldn’t help asking.
The Big guy shook his head: “Dad didn’t let me practice.” Clearly, ‘dad’ here referred to the old shipwright.
The Dragon-man youth took another good look at the Big guy.
He had not expected the Big guy to have such excellent talent!
After receiving the Fighting energy technique, the Big guy learned how to train under the personal guidance of the youth. In just over a dozen days, his reservoir of Fighting energy had accumulated profoundly, nearly reaching the Bronze Level.
“If the old shipwright knew about the Big guy’s talent, would he have given him the Fighting energy technique to cultivate?”
The Dragon-man youth’s thoughts wandered.
Immediately after, he shook his head.
The old shipwright was just an ordinary person and couldn’t instruct the Big guy in Cultivation. More importantly, he was very afraid that the Big guy would cause trouble, often teaching him to endure and to only call for him to back up the Big guy when bullied.
Even if the old shipwright had entertained the idea of the Big guy practicing, the other members of Pig Kiss wouldn’t have allowed it. Even with exceptional talent, the Big guy’s intelligence was inadequate, and he had fits of madness!
“Dad, I will definitely practice diligently. Don’t be angry, okay?” The Big guy, seeing the youth’s shaking head, suddenly became scared.
The Dragon-man youth quickly reassured him: “You’ve been practicing very well; dad is very pleased. You’re really great! You have true talent!”
“Really? Heh heh heh.” The Big guy grinned foolishly, scratching his head embarrassedly.
The youth suddenly thought of the Big guy’s Fighting energy technique.
The Big Guy practiced a Combat Skill called the Heartless Sleeping Form. It was a skill the Dragon-man youth specially selected and exchanged for him from the Empire’s inventory.
This Combat Skill had a major flaw: the accumulation of Fighting Energy was extremely slow. However, its advantage was quite prominent, which was that the method of practicing this Combat Skill was very simple and convenient.
Considering the Big Guy’s limited intelligence, the Dragon-man youth deliberately chose the simplest Combat Skill.
Even so, it took him great effort and a total of three consecutive days to teach the Big Guy.
Whereas a normal person could get started in a minute or two.
“The Heartless Sleeping Form accumulates Fighting Energy very slowly, but the Big Guy has achieved such results. How good must his talent be?”
“No, perhaps it’s because his simplicity suits the requirements of the Heartless Sleeping Form.”
The Dragon-man youth remembered that the Heartless Sleeping Form emphasized repeatedly that the fighter practicing this Combat Skill needed to maintain a clear and devoid mind, free of any stray thoughts.
This was something very difficult for normal people to achieve. Therefore, during the practice of the Heartless Sleeping Form, drowsiness would gradually set in, helping the practitioner fall asleep.
While asleep, the fighter’s internal Fighting Energy would still circulate for a period. Because of deep sleep, which came without stray thoughts, one would reach a state of clarity.
Thus, since coming aboard the ship, the Big Guy spent most of the time in a deep sleep in the forward superstructure’s cabin. His snoring was so loud that the pirates secretly referred to him as the Sleeping Guy.
“Train hard, kid! Use all your time for Cultivation. Once you become a Bronze fighter, I will give you a gift!” The Dragon-man youth patted the Big Guy’s shoulder, very pleased.
The difference in value between ordinary people and Transcendents was immense. Once the Big Guy became a Transcendent, the youth had even more reason to keep him on the Justice, without causing suspicion because of the Big Guy’s excessive eating.
Even if the Big Guy weren’t with the youth in the future, his strength would allow him to avoid being bullied.
The Big Guy was most loyal to the Dragon-man youth. This was a point that neither Zi Di, Cang Xu, Zong Ge, nor Lan Zao could compare with.
“Dad, I can help you with work,” the Big Guy expressed some dissatisfaction.
In fact, just after coming on board the Justice, the Big Guy was constantly anxious because he spent his days eating, drinking, sleeping, and relieving himself—a stark difference from the backbreaking life he had endured aboard the Pig Kiss.
The Big Guy had also been taught by his adoptive father, the old shipwright, that he needed to contribute and have value for the group to accept him.
Apart from worry and fear, the Big Guy wanted to help the Dragon-man youth.
His willingness was utterly sincere.
“After you become a Bronze fighter, I’ll let you get involved with more activities. Remember, the stronger you are, the more you can help me.”
“Okay, now I will teach you how to use Combat Skills.”
“Just having Fighting Energy isn’t enough; you also need Combat Skills to have the ability to fight in real combat.”
The Dragon-man youth thoughtfully chose three Combat Skills for the Big Guy.
The first one was called Sweeping Through the Army, which used a wooden stick or arm to sweep across an area.
The second Combat Skill was named Earthshaking Strike, which involved using fists or feet or weapons like clubs to slam onto the ground forcefully, causing a violent tremor and possibly stunning the enemy.
The third Combat Skill was the Barbaric Bull Charge, where the fighter would sprint rapidly to ram the target with their body.
These three Combat Skills all shared one distinct commonality—simplicity! They were very simple!
The youth began to meticulously teach the Big Guy.
Combat Skill—Sweeping Through the Army!
The Big Guy swung the wooden stick, which flew out of his hands, and he spun around, falling headfirst to the ground.
Combat Skill execution failed.
Combat Skill—Earthshaking Strike!
The Big Guy slammed the front end of the wooden stick hard onto the ground.
Pff.
The ground did not crack, not even a shallow pit formed, and the Big Guy himself spat out a large mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.
A misdirection in the flow of Fighting Energy caused him severe injury.
The Dragon-man youth was startled and quickly used a Healing Potion to revive the Big Guy.
After resting for a while, the Big Guy regained his energy.
The Healing Potion, coupled with the Big Guy’s robust natural recovery ability, allowed him to be active again.
Combat Skill—Barbaric Bull Charge.
The Big Guy charged a few steps forward, then, as Fighting Energy went awry, he tripped over his own feet and fell, scraping out a long mark on the ground due to his immense inertia.
The Dragon-man youth crossed his arms over his chest and clutched his head with his right claw.
The Big Guy’s intelligence was worrisome; even such simple Combat Skills were hard for him to grasp.
“For him, even the Heartless Sleeping Form took three days just to get started. These Combat Skills are much more complex.”
“Can he master one in a month?” The Dragon-man youth estimated the time and felt very uncertain.
The Big Guy was too big and lacked a practice area.
Although the Justice was set to be retrofitted with three combat training rooms, none of them were suitable for the Big Guy.
As the first rays of Sunrise appeared on the horizon, the Big Guy still had not made any progress with the Combat Skills.
His entire appearance was bruised and swollen, as if he had been violently abused.
And the natural hills that originally presented a picturesque scenery now revealed a terribly disheveled state under the gradually brightening light.
A thought suddenly struck the Dragon-man youth; even if the Big Guy couldn’t master the Combat Skills, his sheer size and natural strength alone were formidable.
The Big Guy was endowed with a Giant Bloodline, and a giant’s physical attributes far exceeded those of the Human Race.
And once he became a Transcendent in the future and learned Combat Skills, how tremendous would the increase in his combat power be? And given his current progress, his talent most certainly wouldn’t be confined to the Bronze or Black Iron levels…
Watching the rising Sunrise, the Dragon-man youth felt his anticipation growing more and more.