In the city of Vaduz, Ren Xiaosu was walking in front of Chen Cheng and An’an with a swagger while they followed behind like subordinates. This made the two bounty hunters extremely peeved.
Occasionally, Ren Xiaosu would even order Chen Cheng and An’an to buy some snacks without paying them.
Chen Cheng wondered, “I can understand you asking us to help you buy things, but why aren’t you paying for them? It’s not like we want to eat this glutinous rice cake anyway.”
Ren Xiaosu threw his hands up and said matter-of-factly, “I don’t have money.”
He really did not have any money. Ever since he arrived in the Kingdom of Sorcerers, he did not have to spend any money since the sheeple took care of all his basic necessities. There was no need for him to cough up any money. Ren Xiaosu still had quite a bit of gold on him, but he did not want to use it.
On one hand, it was because the circulating currency here was issued by Sorcerer Bank. If he used his gold directly, it would arouse suspicions.
On the other hand, using other people’s money to buy his stuff made him much happier.
Chen Cheng suddenly understood why Li Chengguo and Liu Ting were so annoyed with Ren Xiaosu. This fellow was way too skilled at provoking others. He could leave them exasperated just by doing anything. Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “By the way, have you two received any forms of stress training before?”
“Stress training?” Chen Cheng was stunned. “Of course we did.”
“In which aspects were y’all trained in?” Ren Xiaosu wondered. He wanted to understand what kind of training the sorcerers were put through so he could formulate a battle plan for the future.
Chen Cheng and An’an looked at each other. This didn’t seem like a secret, so Chen Cheng answered, “Before our coming-of-age ceremony, we’re required to sleep in the cemetery for a week. No matter how scared we get at night, we cannot run away or make a sound. If we violate the rules, the duration resets.”
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. “And what else?” “We also have to eat the raw internal organs of animals without spitting them out.” Chen Cheng said, “And we have to survive in the wilderness alone for a month too.”
“Are you allowed to bring your Eye of True Sight with you?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“Of course. The Eye of True Sight is the weapon of a sorcerer, so how can sorcerers survive in the wilderness without bringing their weapons?” Chen Cheng said.
Ren Xiaosu curled his lips. “That’s not the kind of stress training I’m referring to.”
Seeing that Ren Xiaosu wore a look of contempt, Chen Cheng was a little unhappy. “The training we bounty hunters have to go through is not something other sorcerers are capable of handling. We’re the only ones who’re up to it in the entire Kingdom of Sorcerers.”
“Then I’m relieved.” Ren Xiaosu sighed emotionally.
First of all, it might be possible to train one’s courage by sleeping in a cemetery for a week. But in Ren Xiaosu’s opinion, that was not very useful.
Second, surviving in the wilderness alone for a month was pretty good training, but these people were still allowed to bring their Eyes of True Sight with them, so it could not be considered as being trained in an “extreme environment.’
Honestly, the sorcerers were so highly regarded they were used to living a pampered life. Even the bounty hunter organization, which had to fight for its own survival, had a training curriculum for children.
SU
Many soldiers in the Central Plains had to go through the kind of stress training Ren Xiaosu was referring to. The most basic example was requiring soldiers to score eight or above with every shot on a target in marksmanship while someone fired a firearm next to their ears. Another example required soldiers to quickly navigate a map with someone cursing loudly next to them. Yet another example called for soldiers to memorize all the marching routes in five seconds while someone removed a grenade’s safety pin next to them.
Stress training was not about making someone go through extreme hardship, but rather, to train someone to maintain their focus under extreme pressure.
Chen Cheng looked at Ren Xiaosu and said, “Are you looking down on us sorcerers?”
“You can say that.” Ren Xiaosu nodded casually. “Despite having such a powerful ability, y’all neglected your combat training.”
Chen Cheng was still somewhat unhappy. “You…”
Before he could finish speaking, Ren Xiaosu turned to him and said with a smile, “Why don’t you take out your Eye of True Sight and try to recite an incantation now?”
Chen Cheng was taken aback for a moment. Then he recited, “The-“
Midway through the incantation, Ren Xiaosu stomped on his foot and Chen Cheng abruptly stopped reciting “Ouch, ouch!” Chen Cheng shouted while holding his foot.
“See, you can’t even finish reciting your incantation.” Ren Xiaosu said, “When you can persist and finish reciting your incantations in any circumstances, that’ll be when you’re qualified to fight me. Of course, that’s only the prerequisite. Earlier at the blacksmith’s workshop, I merely grabbed your necks and your Eyes of True Sight immediately fell to the ground. Think about it. If I really wanted to kill you both, would the two of you have any chance of resisting?”
Chen Cheng and An’an looked at each other and wanted to say something, but they felt that what Ren Xiaosu said made sense.
If someone could interrupt their incantations by stepping on their foot, what was the use of having the ability to cast spells?
A lot of people thought they could focus as long as they kept their minds on it, but that was not the case. If they wanted to remain unaffected by external interference, they would have to be put through a great deal of harsh training.
Chen Cheng asked, “Even you might not be able to remain focused in any circumstances, right?”
Ren Xiaosu laughed and said, “You can try stepping on my foot and see if I get distracted.”
While Ren Xiaosu was speaking, Chen Cheng raised his leg and stepped on Ren Xiaosu’s foot. However, Ren Xiaosu did not get cut off mid-sentence, and even his tone was totally unaffected.
Ren Xiaosu continued walking forward. “See my point? Your incantations will only be useful if you can maintain your focus.”
An’an caught up to him and said in seriousness, “How do I train myself to take the pressure? Teach me! I can pay you in gold coins.”
A smile appeared on Ren Xiaosu’s face. “I can teach both of you, but I don’t require any payment in gold coins. I only need to see how you two perform.”
“How we perform?” An’an asked.
“The pancakes over there look quite delicious. Why don’t the two of you get me some?” Ren Xiaosu said.
All of a sudden, An’an and Chen Cheng felt they might really end up becoming Ren Xiaosu’s servants on this journey!
In truth, Ren Xiaosu could tell them all this because he was already certain the organization they were from was the same organization Ren He had left behind in the Kingdom of Sorcerers.
That was because the moment he stepped into the blacksmith’s workshop, the palace informed him he had found the second clue related to Ren He. As for how much information he could find out from this clue, that would depend on how Ren Xiaosu looked into it.
When they passed by the cathedral in the city center, Ren Xiaosu saw a lot of residents moving things around. He asked curiously, “What are they doing?”
An’an thought for a moment before replying, “It’s the tradition of the Berkeley family. It’s the last day of May today. Every first day of the month, there’s sorcerers conducting a worship service at 6 AM together with the residents.” “Is there any special significance to it?” Ren Xiaosu did not understand.
“They probably hope the residents will forever remember the grace of the Berkeley family,” Chen Cheng answered.