"Lin Ke, are you willing to be my disciple!"
Ove's voice was like a rolling thunder, and in an instant, everyone in the castle heard his voice.
John and Knicks, who were closest, were startled by Ove's sudden shout.
Even Ove himself was surprised by his own shout, feeling his whole body stiffened.
Wow, awkward.
To think so many people heard his voice!
Lin Ke was stunned for a second, then immediately knelt down: "Lin Ke is willing to be Teacher Ove's disciple!"
Goodness, even though he didn't know why Ove suddenly took a fancy to him, the opportunity shouldn't be missed!
Ove hadn't expected Lin Ke to be so decisive, and then he remembered Lin Ke's concerned look earlier.
Indeed, what a gentle child... Ove felt a slight warmth in his heart.
He had always noticed how Lin Ke tried hard not to be afraid of people, and all of Lin Ke's efforts didn't escape Ove's sight.
"Child, rise."
Ove's voice was gentle.
Lin Ke felt a bit guilty; such a gentle elder was actually tricked by him using all sorts of methods.
Looks like he must treat this teacher well in the future.
And so... there was harmony between teacher and student; the more they looked at each other, the better they seemed.
"Teacher, I'm planning to go into town for some shopping in two days. Would you like to come with me?"
After a while, Lin Ke inquired.
The last shopping trip wasn't long ago, but Lin Ke needed a lot of materials.
Coupled with the castle's two celebratory events—celebrating Ove's arrival and Lin Ke's attainment as a *Scholar*—which required the castle to procure some top-quality ingredients again.
And they needed quite a lot.
After all, according to Butler Billy, Young Master Like should no longer be eating ordinary ingredients now that he's become a practitioner.
Coincidentally, Lin Ke wanted to take a nice stroll through the town; last time he went, it was so rushed that he didn't have a chance to explore properly.
"Hmm, I won't be going."
Just thinking about the crowds made Ove feel like he was being scorched a hundred times by a level-nineteen Lava Giant Beast from head to toe.
However, Ove thought about it and added, "I heard last time you encountered a level-two Deep Blue Giant Tiger... So, I'll summon a level-five Servant of Truth to accompany you. If you encounter danger, remember to use it."
Level five is considered quite good.
As far as Lin Ke knew, every two levels provide a skill slot.
Skills, compared to magic, consume less energy, require less time, and can inflict greater damage.
It sounds like just magic's equivalent, but if you think about the difference between swords and guns, you'll understand.
Undeniably, swords can be more useful in certain circumstances, but most times, practitioners prefer solving issues with a single shot.
A level-five magic or skill requires a level-ten practitioner to cast.
The previous Deep Blue Giant Tigers were just level-one and level-two.
"Thank you, teacher." Lin Ke expressed his gratitude.
Ove nodded and momentarily felt dazed—his first disciple in hundreds of years was right before him, making his usually solitary life feel utterly different.
Next, the lessons began.
Ove started discussing knowledge from other fields.
He primarily had some knowledge in the studies of strength and thunder, but only "knew a little" and "heard of" other fields.
Nonetheless, this allowed Lin Ke to quickly absorb knowledge and thereby gauge the general research level of the world.
In this manner, two days later.
…
The ox cart slowly set off again.
This time, Lin Ke and Fulon's safety drastically increased.
Because of Ove's presence in the castle, Lin Ke could designate more guards to accompany him.
And the guards themselves were different, too.
Lin Ke purchased the bow-making techniques from some local hunters and produced two hundred bows, with specialized archery training.
Butler Billy said that his wretched father never had such divisions like infantry or archers; his troops were always knights.
Except that was just the profession **Knight**.
"Little Lin Ke, we won't encounter those tigers again this time, will we?" Fulon was a bit worried and didn't get off the cart to play.
This made Knicks, who was nearby, feel a bit guilty, prompting Lin Ke to hurry up and comfort Fulon: "It's okay, Mother, I'm now a powerful practitioner."
Unfortunately, Lin Ke hadn't learned any magic or skill slots because he wasn't even level-one yet.
His claim of strength was just meant to comfort Fulon.
"Yes! Little Lin Ke is really impressive now." Watching Lin Ke, Fulon couldn't resist pinching his cheeks.
Lin Ke allowed himself to be pinched a few times.
Fulon felt better, then got off to play, and John followed her.
Bringing Fulon out this time was originally Lin Ke's idea; having encountered the tigers last time, Fulon, as a young girl from the village, hadn't seen much of the world and was quite scared.
It's a good opportunity for her to relax.
Lin Ke looked at Knicks: "Knicks, don't blame yourself. Even if I hadn't sheltered you back then, those two tigers would have encountered us just the same."
The two tigers would have sniffed Knicks and chased him, which would lead them to Lin Ke and his group.
And upon encountering the two tigers, Lin Ke's first thought would surely be predators coming out of the woods to hunt, possibly attacking immediately.
So, Knicks needn't blame himself.
Knicks nodded, his expression easing a bit.
The convoy made its way northward, not too fast, not too slow.
Lin Ke closed his eyes in the carriage, beginning his training.
Seeing Lin Ke, with such good talent, constantly training, Knicks sat down as well,
…
Outside the Soul Space was a pitch-black darkness, with various light spots flickering within it.
Lin Ke's consciousness spread out, capturing those faint light spots, then feeding them like fodder to the "knowledge" saplings growing in the Soul Space.
This is meditation.
With Andrew-level talent, his saplings could consume a lot of light spots, so he had to feed plenty.
Fortunately, his soul was strong enough, not just due to the fusion of two souls when he transmigrated, but perhaps also because of the King of Gods' remnants at play.
Suddenly, Lin Ke saw in the darkness a large green light spot amid the scattered ones in the distance.
What a huge wood element!
Lin Ke rejoiced and immediately abandoned the small light spots, lunging towards the big light spot with all his might, wrapping it and dragging it back.
Dragging it outside the Soul Space, he relentlessly smashed it onto the knowledge bloodline.
The moment it touched the light spot, the bloodline absorbed the large wood element spot like a sponge soaking up water.
Instantly, a sense of fullness came from the knowledge bloodline.
Wow, so much!
Finished and done.
Lin Ke had barely closed his eyes when he opened them again, noticing Knicks was training nearby, so he quietly slipped out.
"John, aren't you meditating?"
Lin Ke jumped off the cart, seeing John happily helping Fulon adorn flowers in her hair.
John was having fun when he heard Lin Ke's words, causing his body to stiffen.
Lin Ke shook his head and persuaded as he walked over: "If you want to catch up to Knicks and follow my footsteps, you have to work very hard."
Training, or meditation, is quite tedious.
Just like studying in the previous life.
But to get into college, you have to calm yourself, control your urge to play, to achieve success.
No need to discuss right or wrong, the world's rules are like that.
So, if John wants to accomplish something in the future, he must train diligently.