Looking at the rapid increase in his lifespan, Caleb Li's jaw dropped to the ground. Slowly, a wild grin crept up on his face before he burst into wild laughter.
"YES!" He screamed in excitement.
"Now, I don't have to worry about dying anytime soon."
The thought of having only a couple of days to live was nerve-wracking. Even though he tried not to think about it, subconsciously his mind wandered around the idea of him dying in the next couple of days.
After regaining his calmness, he looked at the last notification. For a couple of seconds, he didn't blink.
Huh!
He let out a deep breath and grinned foolishly. He wanted to control himself from screaming and shouting, still, he made some military dance before he could rein in the joy in his heart.
'So, I didn't just increase my lifespan but also my cultivation.' He mused with a foolish smile.
"I don't need to use the second Grade-1 Vitality pill. I should reserve it for now."
With enough lifespans, his mind quickly went to the three martial skills he learned from home, and he smiled. He focused his attention on the martial skill, ready to comprehend it.
[Ding!]
[Would you like to use 10 days of your lifespan to comprehend the Shadow Steps?]
[Yes | No]
'Yes.' He responded in his mind without thinking about it.
[10 days of your Lifespan have been deducted.]
[Lifespans: 370 days.]
Instantly, his mind cleared out, and all the intricate parts of the Shadow step vividly appeared and explained to him in his mind.
Thirty minutes later, the epiphany slowly came to an end, and he opened his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked at the notification floating right in front of his face.
[Congratulations! You've reached the Small Success of the Shadow Steps.]
Without stopping, he used another twenty days of his lifespan to comprehend the Iron Fist Strike, Wind and Fire Sword Dance.
After two hours of comprehending three common-grade skills, his head was getting heavier. Without even telling him, he knew he had hit the limit of what his mind and brain could process.
Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and stood to stretch his body. With three powerful common-grade skills in his mind, he knew he only had one thing to do — Train.
Coming out of his room, it was already evening, and all those who came to train on the training ground had already left. Left with an empty training ground.
"This is even better." He chuckled.
"I should start with the sword skills."
Quickly, he began to practice the Wind and Fire Sword Dance. Previously, he thought he would quickly grasp the sword skills, but now, he realized how wrong he was.
Wind and Fire Sword Dance was dual swords that required a high coordination between both hands and mind. His hands and feet must be flexible enough to perform the skills.
Two hours of intensive training, he could barely use both hands at the same time. But he wasn't depressed. He rested for half an hour and continued.
He knew he only needed to get his body and mind attuned to dual processes. He needed to split his mind into doing two different things at the same time.
Covered in sweat, he trained from night to daybreak.
Watching the early morning rising from the horizon, he stopped his training and packed his weapon and left.
However, a deep smile etched on his face as he went back to his room.
For three days straight, he trained his dual sword skill during the night and practiced his archery during daytime for two hours. He cultivated and slept for the remaining time.
His high-intensity training was quickly obvious in body coordination. When shooting, he effortlessly hit the mark at a 50-meter range. He only needed to pull his string a little, and the wind would do the rest.
Huh! Huh!
Under the bright moon, Caleb Li practiced the Wind and Fire Sword Dance. Both of his hands moved in sync as they performed different attacks.
It was like two people were attacking at the same time. His right hand carried the fierce momentum of fire, while his left carried the blinding speed of the wind.
He could counter defense and attack at the same time. Even though he was only a Rank-3 Mortal Warrior, he could fight a Rank-6 Mortal Warrior without breaking a sweat.
As for a Rank-7 Mortal Warrior, that would depend on the situation and conditions of the battle.
After training for another hour, he wiped off the beads of sweat from his forehead. He raised his head and looked at the bright moon, grinning. "This life… I won't be someone else's puppet."
He averted his gaze from the moon and looked deep into the night and muttered. "It's time for me to take a mission. I need money, and I need to leave this place."
With that, he left the training ground and went back to his room to sleep; tomorrow would mark another beginning.
Early the following morning, after taking his bath, he went to the lobby to meet the old man.
"Kid, how was your training?" The old man asked, staring at him with a light smile.
"Not bad." He responded calmly.
"Alright. What do you need? A new cloth or what?"
"I want to take the bronze mission." He said and went to the mission board and tore a bronze-grade mission.
The mission was simple. He only needed to kill a common-grade Dark Beast and bring its ear to earn 20 Bronze coins.
Though the money was little, he could kill as many as possible, making it suitable for people like him.
"Are you sure?" The old man asked with a slight concern in his voice.
"I'm sure."
"Alright." He took the paper from his hand and stamped it. "Good luck, don't die out there."
"I won't."
With that, he left the mercenary building. With his bow and arrow on his back, two swords sheathed on both thighs, he was proudly with a throng of people who went out of the village.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes had locked onto him.