I can evolve everything

A few minutes later, Ryan, covered in sweat and exhausted, stepped into his father's study.

Linus was sitting behind an oak desk, polishing a magnificent sword.

That was not his usual battle sword, but a ceremonial sword symbolizing the status and honor of the Wilder family.

"Father." Renn bowed slightly and greeted his father, whom he had never met before and who had come from another world.

Linus did not look up; his gaze remained focused on wiping the blade in front of him.

"Lina said that you haven't missed a single day of training in the past two weeks."

"Yes, Father."

"Do you think this will work?" Linus finally raised his eyes, staring intently at Renn. "Do you think fifteen days of sweat can wash away the ten years you've wasted?"

Faced with his father's questioning, Raine didn't feel much—it was the original owner of the body who wasted time, what does it have to do with me now?

Therefore, he neither backed down nor offered any explanation, but simply met his father's gaze calmly:

"I don't know if it will work. But if we do nothing, it definitely won't work."

Linus stopped moving.

He slowly sheathed his sword.

"You want to pass the apprentice knight exam?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Although Linus had put a lot of effort into this, he didn't want to talk about it at the moment.

"Is it for that ridiculous boast? Or to show off your new identity to those street thugs?"

"Neither," Ryan shook his head. "I just want to prove I'm not a piece of trash."

Silence fell over the study.

Linus stared at his son, seemingly trying to discern the truth from the falsehood.

Finally, he stood up from the chair. He was tall and imposing, and even in casual clothes, he exuded a sense of power.

"Come with me."

He didn't say much and walked straight out of the study.

Ryan followed silently behind him.

The two of them returned to the courtyard, one after the other.

Linus walked to the weapon rack and picked up a heavy two-handed practice greatsword.

It was a wooden sword specifically designed to train arm and waist strength, and its weight even exceeded that of a standard steel longsword.

"You want to know how to deal with a knight's attack?" Linus planted the wooden sword on the ground. "Then stand firm first."

He gestured with his chin towards Renn: "Get into position and take my sword."

Renn's heart skipped a beat.

He took a deep breath, spread his feet apart, lowered his center of gravity, gripped the wooden sword in his hands tightly, and assumed what he considered to be his most stable defensive stance.

Linus, on the other side, simply carried the huge wooden sword on his shoulder.

Just as he was about to make his move, his actions changed.

Linus gripped the hilt with both hands and slowly raised the greatsword above his head.

That starting stance was exactly the same as the high straight chop that Lena described for Sir Karen.

Facing his father, Ryan felt his figure growing larger and larger, and a terrifying sense of oppression washed over him. Ryan couldn't even feel his own breath.

At this moment, the figure of the father seemed to overlap with that of Sir Karen, whom he had never met.

"Watch closely, this is Karen's first sword strike."

Before the words were even finished, the wind howled in front of them!

Linus didn't even take a step; he simply used the strength of his waist, abdomen, and arms to bring the heavy, giant wooden sword down on his head!

Faced with this sword, Renn could only concentrate all his strength in his arms, grit his teeth, and parry with his sword held horizontally.

"clang--!"

A loud bang.

Renn felt as if he was blocking a bull charging at full speed.

An irresistible force emanated from the wooden sword, numbing his arms.

The wooden sword in his hand flew out with a thud and fell to the ground a great distance away. He himself was thrown back seven or eight steps by the enormous impact and fell to the ground.

Linus slowly sheathed his sword, looking at him expressionlessly: "Stand up."

Renn gritted his teeth and, supporting himself on the ground, shakily stood up again.

He picked up his wooden sword, his arm still trembling uncontrollably.

"Again."

Ryan readjusted his stance, his gaze more focused than before.

The second time, Linus didn't use a high-angle chop, but instead unleashed a sweeping motion.

Raine was easily knocked to the ground again, this time, he was thrown out along with his sword.

"Stand up."

The cold voice rang out again.

Raine coughed twice, used the scabbard to support himself on the ground, and stood up for the third time.

Three times, five times.

Each time he gritted his teeth and got up, he got back into position, but each time it ended in the same failure.

Linus's disappointment was palpable.

But he also noticed something unusual.

If it were the old Renn, he probably would have angrily thrown down his weapon and yelled that he was giving up after the first setback.

Although he was dazed and confused every time he fell, he did not back down in the slightest.

He simply stood up silently, preparing to parry the next attack.

After Ryan shakily stood up again and got into position, Linus finally stopped.

He put the giant wooden sword back into the weapon rack.

"Your will is commendable." He looked down at his son, his voice as cold as a winter's wind.

"But your body still lacks exercise. Go back, don't waste my time here."

He turned and left without looking at Ryan again.

"Looking like this, you can't possibly last a minute against Karen. Give up; at least that will preserve some of your pathetic dignity."

After saying that, he started walking towards the mansion.

Ryan stood there, his whole body aching as if it were about to fall apart.

There are only fifteen days left until the [Iron Wall Stance] evolution is complete.

In the days that followed, Ren continued to come to the courtyard to train every day.

There was just one more bystander.

Linus no longer just looked out the window of his study; he would occasionally step in and stand silently by the courtyard, watching Rein and Lina train.

He gave Ryan no further guidance or further tests.

He simply observed his son's every clumsy movement silently.

As the day of the trainee knight assessment drew closer, Lina's worries grew with each passing day.

She could sense the disappointment in her father's eyes, and she could also sense the persistence in her brother.

Two more silver coins had been secretly added to her savings for the boat ticket to Silver Sail City.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

There are only two days left until the assessment.

It was an exceptionally clear morning, and sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled patterns of light on Ryan's eyelids.

He woke up from his sleep, still somewhat groggy.

But the next second, a strange sense of insight and swordsmanship experience flooded into his mind.

Renn's body trembled, and he froze, as if he had entered a state of enlightenment.

Information about the advantages and disadvantages of Iron Wall Stance, one of the skills of knighthood, as well as methods for improving it, flooded my mind.

It was as if he had spent many years gradually creating the Iron Wall stance.

In addition, Renn felt a mysterious, almost ethereal feeling, like a sense of clarity.

It was as if his muscles and bones had been recalibrated and integrated overnight.

Raine quickly entered a meditative state, his consciousness sinking once again into the corridor formed by the gray mist.

On the wall of the corridor, a new line of characters has now appeared:

[Skill: Iron Wall Stance - Learned.]

coming!

Raine quickly exited the meditation, sat up in bed, clenched his fist, and stretched his shoulders.

His body was still the same, but he felt that his body was somewhat different.

Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly dressed and strode towards the courtyard.