After lunch, Jiang Mang followed behind Invisible Leaf. The next training segment would be self-defense training. Jiang Mang would be attacked by his master and he had to shield his body by moving his arms or moving his body. He could only use the sound of the attack to sense the attacks which would hone his sensory abilities while also becoming accustomed to fighting against opponents. The first attack came and though he heard the attack he could not sense the direction and was thus hit, afterward the second, the third, and so on came but there were no improvements. After fifty attacks he was allowed a break and he sat down on the ground while thinking. His break was over and he was again attacked but this time he not only heard the attack but also sensed a certain direction in which he held his arms crossed. The attack went below his arms but he still had the direction right which shocked Invisible Leaf again. After another fifty attacks, he was allowed a break again but this time he had blocked a couple of hits which was a remarkable improvement. He went again deep in thought about his experience until the break was over. The process repeated itself and after each session, Jiang Mang would improve to the point that Invisible Leaf was shocked numb.
When it was time for dinner, he had improved to the point that he could block three out of ten attacks consistently while also dodging a few each session. He was asked by his master to wash the vegetables which he was able to after some trial and error. During the meal, Invisible started explaining his deficiencies during his self-defense training which he could mull over after dinner. He went to his bed after dinner and started digesting everything he had learned that day before he went to sleep.
The next day he was again woken up at sunrise and had breakfast before starting physical training which showed a marginal improvement and he was hit lesser and lesser, session after session until it was time for lunch.
He could now work-out the first half without being hit which also meant he started feeling the effects of the work-out. Unfortunately, he also lost his stamina much quicker as he performed the exercise more and more at ease. After Lunch, He started the self-defense training again in which he also showed a remarkable improvement in contrast to the previous day. When it was time for dinner, he was much more exhausted than the day before but when you looked at him you could see a youthful smile filled with determination. After dinner, he went to bed in preparation for the following day.
A week went by where each day was a repetition of the former. At the end of the week, he could already work-out completely on his own without being hit and react to every attack that came his way while dodging the occasional. Invisible Leaf was shocked at the boy's stellar improvement over a single week resulting in gains he only expected after a month of hard work. Jiang Mang and his master sat at the dinner table when the latter spoke up: " Jiang Mang, you have improved at a faster pace than I imagined. From tomorrow on you will only pause your physical exercise when you have hit the limit of your current stamina, your self-defense training will also increase in intensity where you will only stop after hitting your limits."
Jiang Mang nodded in understanding before returning to his bed. The next day, the training intensity increased and he only stopped his exercise after repeating the work-out for half an hour, he rested for five minutes but instead of repeating the exercise he had to endure self-defense training which lasted for a quarter of an hour before he reached his limits again. He could rest for ten minutes now when the process of exercising started again. The training continued in this manner until lunch. After Lunch, the process of switching between exercising and self-defense training continued until he fell unconscious of exhaustion halfway through. Invisible Leaf brought him back to bed and left something to eat before leaving. He was impressed by Jiang Mang's tenacious personality during the day, unlike other children even older than him by a decade he persevered through a hellish regimen without a single word of complaint.
Jiang Mang continued the regimen until he fell unconscious again the next day. This process repeated itself for an entire month until he could complete a full day of training without falling unconscious. During this month, the boy improved dramatically where he could exercise for more than two hours before depleting his stamina while also being able to sustain blows for more than an hour in which the blows had become faster and stronger every day after the first week of training. His master Invisible Leaf was amazed to the point he had grown numb at the boy's rate of improvement and found it only a normal occurrence. During dinner, Jiang Mang asked when he would start learning the use of hidden weapons on which his master responded: "Only when you are capable of fighting me for an entire hour when I lower my power to the level of a teenage boy will you be allowed to learn how to use hidden weapons."
Jiang Mang was astounded by the requirement before feeling a bit dejected which wasn't unnoticed by Invisible Leaf who felt relieved that the child could act normal from time to time. When Jiang Mang returned to bed, he thought about the requirement before gritting his teeth and renewing his determination. The next day, he tackled training with renewed vigor and improved at an even more astounding rate which made Invisible Leaf smile. At the end of the day, Invisible Leaf brought Jiang Mang back to the castle to rest for a couple of days and spend time with his family. From then on, at the end of every month's training period, he would return to the palace for two days before restarting a new and intenser training regimen. He would occasionally invite Song Meilin over at the palace where they would spend the day together listening to stories or conversing with each other, Jiang Mang listening to Song Meiling talking about all the gossip in the capital.
It was two days before the awakening ceremony and Jiang Mang was hunting the king of the forest, a bear who is equivalent to a mid foundation stage cultivation but its defensive ability can even block attacks from late foundation stage opponents. This was the last task his master had given to him before he would graduate from his tutelage.
Jiang Mang was observing the bear together with a crane-like bird beside him. Two years ago, he discovered an egg inside in the forest and he brought it back with him to the hut. Invisible Leaf had told him that it was a spirit beast egg and that he should take good care of it. A month later, a crane-like bird hatched but instead of white and black feathers it had green and red feathers mixed. Invisible Leaf identified it as a mutated spirit crane beast and it was called Xiao Lu. Xiao Lu followed Jiang Mang everywhere and after two years it was already as strong as a peak foundation stage cultivator.
Jiang Mang stopped his observation and attacked the bear head-on. He would only be able to kill it if he were able to hit its eyes or mouth and for that, he would have to create his chances. He ran towards the bear but if you didn't look closely he would sometimes disappear and reappear somewhere else. Jiang Mang had over the five years also learned the forms of hidden moon traversal and shooting leaf technique and only lacked the internal circulation part for cultivators. Hidden moon traversal makes the user able to disappear before the eye before reappearing like the hidden moon while the shooting leaf technique allowed the user to turn a leaf into a throwing dagger. Unfortunately, he could only barely perform hidden moon traversal with his body alone.
While running towards the bear he threw a dagger which was like a willow leaf in the wind heading towards the bear's eyes. The bear growled and lifted his head higher but the dagger didn't keep heading towards the eyes but headed towards the bear's mouth all of a sudden. The dagger hit the bear in its mouth and wounded it internally. The bear went into a frenzy and rushed towards Jiang Mang who evaded and ran circles around it. He sensed that the bear's movement slowed down and threw multiple daggers who hit the bear's eyes and killed the target.
Xiao Lu dragged a bag with it and stored the bear's meat and hide inside before they headed towards the hut. Invisible Leaf was waiting there and smiled when he saw the boy and bird together. He asked: "Mang'er have you killed the bear king of the forest." Jiang Mang answered with a grin: "Master, I killed it easily by hitting its mouth and eyes. Look my loot is in this bag."
Invisible Leaf laughed before bringing the boy and bird into the hut for the last meal. He spoke when they sat down: "Mang'er you have inherited all my skills and even perfected your application of the willow leaf dagger throwing dagger art. I will leave you from now on but I hope that you will stay true to your self. You will find in this bag the scrolls explaining the inner circulation of the hidden moon traversal and the shooting leaf technique." Jiang Mang started crying before he kowtowed and said: "Master, your disciple will remember your grace and teachings."
After the meal, Invisible Leaf took him back to the palace where they parted ways. Jiang Mang sat in his room sitting across a wall thinking: "Master, I promise that I will become the greatest hidden weapon master of the Xuan Continent."
He suddenly heard his door open and turned towards the source. He heard deep and strong footsteps coming into his room. He identified these steps as his father's and said: "Royal father, why have you come to visit me?" Jiang Huang laughed with a gratified smile and looked at his son. He was happy that although his son was blind, he was able to see the world in his way and was even stronger than his peers in the kingdom. He was gratified by his son's hard work despite the hardships he had to go through. He was even looking forward to the awakening ceremony in two days and see what his son's results would be.
Jiang Huang spoke up: "Mang'er in two days will be the awakening ceremony where all your peers from the noble families in the kingdom will assemble to awaken their profound spirits. You will have to prepare yourself for the occasion and not shame the royal family's name."
Jiang Mang agreed and started his preparations when his father left. The next day, he performed some martial-arts techniques to train his body while also sharpening his daggers which he hid in his sleeves. He spent the rest of the day with his mother and his nine-year-old younger sister who was called Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling was a pretty princess who was doted upon by both the king and the queen. She was also doted upon by her brother who told her stories of jianghu every time they spent time together. She was the jewel of the royal family and brought liveliness to the palace through her mischievous nature and all the harmless pranks she pulled on the servants. She often tried to prank her big brother but never succeeded because of his heightened senses so she often bullied her younger brother, the third prince, who becomes agitated every time he sees or hears about her. The third prince who was named Jiang Chen is also a talented boy who started receiving training at the age of six in the way of the sword and can be called a genius in comparison to those his age. He often challenges the second prince to a spar where he would use a sword and his second brother a dagger. Unfortunately, he is every time beaten down the ground after a couple of exchanges and for this reason, has started setting his second brother as his goal.
The day ended in peace and the awakening ceremony would start the following day. Jiang Mang went to bed at sunset to have a goodnight's sleep for the ceremony the next day. That night the stars were shining brightly for the legend who would step on his journey the next day. The legend of a boy who defied expectations and proved wrong to all who opposed and scorned him.