It was quiet in the morning. A few stars could be seen glowing dimly in the gray sky that looked like a dull veil cast over the land.
The sun was rising. The burgundy rays of dawn illuminated the windows of thousands of houses, waking the sleeping land of the living.
The most important time of the day was the morning. Li Changsheng's life had become more orderly. After sorting out the needs of his demon pets, he took Ai Xi to the training grounds and continued their training.
Galen, meanwhile, would continue mastering her skills in his room. It was only a few days since she was born, and she was still too weak. She would need a period of time to acclimate herself to high-pressure training.
There were less than 20 days to the clan evaluations. If Li Changsheng wanted a sponsored spot in the demon taming institution, he must improve the powers of his demon pets as much as he could and beat his opponents.
Combat was the most important aspect. This prompted Li Changsheng to make sufficient preparations. Once Ai Xi attained a certain level of skill, he would leave the mansion and go on an adventure in the forest.
Contrary to his previous exploits, Li Changsheng did not go inside the bamboo forest this time. He headed to the training grounds and prepared to proceed with the next level of training.
There was no shortage of hardworking demon tamers in this world. Many sacrificed sweat and tears to hone their skills in their craft.
It was a pity that diligence alone could not ensure that they would become strong. The most defining factor was their innate talent. Without talent, the achievements of a demon tamer would be limited, no matter how much work they put in.
The talent of a demon tamer was closely related to the demon pets he had tamed. The higher the potential of the demons, the greater the demon tamer's talent.
Among the demon tamers in his clan who had woken up early, Li Changsheng spotted Li Jianren. Arrogant and attention-seeking he may be, he was still as diligent as anyone else.
Demon tamers put their focus on cultivating their omniscience, and so their senses were more acute than the average person's. Feeling Li Changsheng's eyes on him, Li Jianren pouted. He kept on training his Fire Wolf.
Under his training, the Fire Wolf had shown great improvement. It had also grown a lot in size.
The Fire Wolf might have trained just as hard as Ai Xi, but Ai Xi had already caught up to it after a mere ten days due to the differences in their classes and bloodlines. It could match up to the Fire Wolf already, which was sort of a shame.
Li Changsheng averted his gaze. Aside from Li Jianren, he saw several more of his opponents in the same level, training their own demons hard.
Li Changsheng prepared to subject Ai Xi to limit-breaking training.
That referred to making a demon undergo training under conditions that straddled its limits. This was done to achieve the biggest improvements to the demon's physical condition, determination, and mental resilience.
Li Changsheng stood upright. His handsome face, on a rare occasion, revealed a stern expression. "Ai Xi, the training today will be very exhausting. Do you think you are up for it?"
Before the training session, the demon tamer must first raise the demon's fighting spirit. It was best if he could plant the desire of not losing in the demon's subconscious. This would contribute a lot to the demon's growth after training.
Ai Xi raised its head. It hesitated for a while before nodding firmly. Its determination grew.
"Good. Put these on. They make your training more effective."
Before the session, Li Changsheng helped Ai Xi put on several units of supplementary equipment.
They were four iron legcuffs. Each one of them weighed 2.5 kg, so it would be 10 kg in total. They were intricately designed, flexible enough to offer a snug fit to the circumference of the demon's legs.
They were passed to him after his parents had died. Both of them had been demon tamers, and so they had naturally left some unused equipment for him. The legcuffs were only one of them.
After wearing them, Ai Xi felt heavy. The demon itself only weighed about a dozen kilograms or so. It struggled to get used to the cuffs.
"Ai Xi, run around the training grounds. One circuit, as fast as you can!" At this moment, Li Changsheng issued an order.
The next moment, Ai Xi readied itself, then ran around the grounds, putting all it had into it.
At the same time, Li Changsheng flipped the hourglass, using it to evaluate Ai Xi's speed. With his data notepad in hand, every ounce of improvement would be documented, and it could be used to raise the demon's enthusiasm for training.
The grounds were vast. One circuit would be about 800 meters. When Ai Xi completed a circuit, one-tenth of the sand had already trickled down.
One-tenth of the sand would be equated to about one minute and a half. From the results, Ai Xi had achieved a speed of 8.9m per second with an additional load of 10kg.
For a human, this speed could be considered superhuman, but for a demon that was supposed to be fast by nature, this was not a passable result.
With Ai Xi's potential, there could be plenty of improvement after it had gotten used to the cuffs.
"Good job, Ai Xi. Take a five-minute break."
After running the circuit, Ai Xi had expended a lot of its energy. Its tongue was hanging out, panting.
At this moment, Li Changsheng took out a clay dolium. Upon opening the lid, an extremely refreshing scent wafted from the dolium, making one feel like they were in the center of a forest.
Li Changsheng moved swiftly. He quickly poured a bowl of bright green, sticky liquid out, and put the bowl in front of Ai Xi. He then sealed the dolium as quickly as he could.
This was the Healing Spring, the product of Galen's training the past day. It could replenish a demon's strength quickly.
Catching the scent, Ai Xi quickly lowered its head, so low that it looked like it wanted to dunk its face into the bowl.
After lapping up the Healing Spring, Ai Xi, who was feeling listless for a while, perked up again. It gave off a green glow Under the Healing Spring's treatment, a soothing feeling enveloped its whole body, and the aches all over its body disappeared.
Maybe it was an illusion on its part, but it felt like its limbs were lighter after it regained its energy. It was fascinated by the sudden invigoration of its body.
As such, Ai Xi carried the bowl between its teeth and placed it in front of Li Changsheng after finishing the liquid. It then squatted on the floor, waving its tail enthusiastically while fixing Li Changsheng with an expectant gaze, egging him to pour more of the liquid.
"Ai Xi, you're not a dog!"
Li Changsheng shook his head and continued, "If you want more Healing Spring, you have to work harder. If you can surpass your previous lap, I'll reward you with one more bowl! If you don't reach the target, you can forget about it!"
Li Changsheng was not being stingy. He simply did not want Ai Xi to rely on the stuff too much.
Most importantly, he had too little of the substance to spare. Galen had worked hard the past night, and yet all he had to show for it was this one dolium.
After Li Changsheng turned down its request, Ai Xi lowered its head. It looked eagerly at a point in the distance.
Soon, after the hourglass was overturned again, Ai Xi took off with all its might and dashed around the grounds manically.
Time passed slowly as they trained. Soon, an hour had passed.
Ai Xi gave it its all despite the extra weight. It did not dare slack off at the slightest. Each time, it surpassed its last attempt.
Unfortunately, the rate of its improvement started slowing down after the acclimation period. If not for the beneficial qualities of the Healing Spring, it would have collapsed long ago.
Ai Xi had failed to reach the target on a few occasions despite having drunk the spring water. True to his word, Li Changsheng did not give it any of the Spring those times.
Another circuit later, Ai Xi was exhausted when it finished. There was mud over its coat of expensive fur as it collapsed to the floor, not wanting to move.
"You've worked hard, Ai Xi! You improved again this time. Here's your reward!"
Noticing Ai Xi's exhaustion, Li Changsheng poured another bowl for it.
When Li Changsheng announced the results, Ai Xi, who looked like it would never move again, got up immediately and started lapping up the Spring.
"Oi, Changsheng. What's that you're giving it to drink?"
At this moment, Li Jianren walked toward their direction, his eyes fixed on the clay dolium in Li Changsheng's hands.