Swords, magic, and martial arts

Rhodes sat in the caravan's wagon, yawning as he looked out the window. He had been teaching Rakar how to make dumplings since noon yesterday.

As a result, after Lakal learned how to make dumplings, he started to taste all kinds of dumplings with him. Rhodes stayed with him until dawn the next day before ending this sad journey.

He didn't know why the old man was so energetic at such an advanced age; even he, a young man, found it hard to keep up. Rakar only let him go when he saw that they were about to leave.

He spent the entire afternoon and evening trying beef dumplings, chicken dumplings, venison dumplings... he tried every kind of food that could be wrapped in the kitchen, and finally even tried bread dumplings and dumpling wrapper dumplings.

Just as Rakar was preparing some alchemical ingredients to make dumplings and was about to taste them with Rhodes, dawn broke. Rhodes declined Rakar's offer, citing that he had to leave soon.

Rakar wasn't as domineering as one might imagine; he just felt a little regretful, sighed, and let Rhodes leave.

Before leaving, Rod told Racal how to make soy sauce and vinegar, asking him to find someone to research it, and also told him that dipping dumplings in vinegar and soy sauce would make them taste even better.

When Rakar found out, he wasn't so disappointed. He immediately arranged for people to prepare the materials so he could conduct the experiment himself...

Although he had been busy for so long, Rod was still very happy at the thought of being able to eat soy sauce and vinegar in the future. He would return here to ask Rakar for soy sauce and vinegar after he solved the curses of Baron and Waver.

What pleased Rhodes most before leaving was that while everyone else was busy preparing to depart, he secretly slipped into the castle's hot springs and took a hot bath.

The carriage drove out of the castle gates. Rhodes looked back and memorized the appearance and name of the ancient castle: Black Mountain Castle.

The caravan slowly passed through one snow-covered mountain after another. This caravan was transporting the more valuable local products of Black Mountain Fortress to the south to sell and to buy some supplies.

Due to its unique topography, the High Mountain Province is the coldest province in Nord, second only to the Far North Province. Because of its environment and climate, many animals that are not found in the south inhabit the deep mountains.

Some of these animals' furs were highly prized by the southern nobility, such as the pelt of the Phantom Lynx. The Phantom Lynx was extremely rare in the High Mountain Province; no hunter had caught one in the last decade or so, making its pelt fetch astronomical prices in southern Nord.

The caravans mostly transported the hides, teeth, and horns of rare animals.

This caravan will head directly to their destination: the province of Winterfell.

Rhodes was puzzled as to why Jon's family caravan would choose to sell animal hides near the end of winter, rather than before.

I don't know if they don't know how to do business or if there's another reason.

The caravan flew the banner of the Brad family's crossed swords, and no one robbed them along the way, unlike when they were in Daniel's caravan, where they had to live in constant fear.

Throughout the journey, Rhodes remained seated in the carriage, practicing his "Pouring the Yuan and Guarding the One" technique or refining his basic swordsmanship and Taizu Long Fist. After several days of practice, his Taizu Long Fist had reached level 2. While his basic swordsmanship level remained unchanged, Rhodes's left-hand swordsmanship was now almost as strong as his right-handed swordsmanship had been. This was likely due to the fact that his body was originally very physically gifted in all aspects.

Three days have passed since they left Jon's castle, and the caravan is about to leave House Brad's estate.

The previously listless guards in the caravan began to perk up. While flying their family flag in the Brad family's fiefdom had basically guaranteed their absolute safety, things might be different when they entered other families' territories.

Lords who find it difficult to maintain their territory might disguise themselves as bandits to rob them, but this only happens in the poor High Mountain Province; the security situation improves significantly after leaving the High Mountain Province.

It is said that such things often happened in the Roman Empire. Many nobles, in order to live a more luxurious life, did not hesitate to tarnish their family's honor by robbing passing caravans, stealing their goods, and selling the caravan members as slaves.

After experiencing bloating and pain in his body from countless attempts to practice the Divine Illumination Technique, Rhodes stopped practicing it. He asked Scholar Rakar about this, and the scholar, who was obsessed with dumplings, compared him to a dumpling wrapper and the energy in his body to the filling inside the dumpling.

To wrap more filling inside, a larger dumpling wrapper is needed. He said that Rhodes's magical power was too abundant, so he couldn't store much of that peculiar energy, which Rhodes called internal force. Besides increasing the size of Rhodes's dumpling wrapper, one could also compress the magical power or internal force within his body to make room for other energies.

There are many ways to increase the size of Rhodes's dumpling skin, such as bathing in dragon blood to improve his physique and affinity for magic, which is the upper limit of his capacity.

Spellcasters use their internal magical power to resonate with the elements in their surroundings, manipulating these elements according to their incantations to unleash powerful magic.

Only a few spells are completed entirely by the spellcaster's own magic power; most require the use of elemental forces in the environment.

Rhodes had previously tried his luck with the lottery in the medicine category of the shop. He tried three times: the first time he won the Ten Fragrance Tendon-Softening Powder, the second time he won the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, and the last time he won the Black Jade Bone-Mending Ointment. None of the three draws yielded the medicine he wanted to improve his physique.

Ten Fragrant Softening Powder: This poison is colorless and odorless. Once its effects take hold, it causes the entire body to become weak and sore. Although movement may return to normal after several days, internal strength can no longer be exerted. The poison and antidote appear identical. If the poisoned person ingests the poison again, they will die.

Lesser Rejuvenation Pill: A miraculous elixir, its color is emerald green. After depleting one's true energy, taking this pill will cause heat to rise in the dantian, and energy to permeate, thus aiding in the recovery of one's power. Martial arts practitioners dream of obtaining it.

Black Jade Bone-Mending Ointment: A unique secret medicine of the Vajra Sect, it is black in appearance and has a fragrant and cool aroma. Its medicinal properties are extremely miraculous. If an ordinary person suffers severe injuries to their hands, feet, or joints, resulting in disability, applying this ointment can still heal the injury and gradually restore normal activity.

After these three draws, Rhodes still had six more chances to draw. He resisted the urge to continue and decided to save his chances for a crucial moment.

"Why are you spacing out with your eyes closed again?" Baron said to Rhodes, who was sitting in the carriage practicing the "Embrace the Origin and Guard the One" technique.

Rod's absorbed state of mind was interrupted by Baron, marking the fourth time this had happened today.

The two-week peaceful trip left Baron feeling extremely bored, and now he's always looking for people to talk to.

"I'm practicing a special kind of meditation," Rod replied helplessly. He had a sudden inspiration and decided to teach Baron the method and key points of focusing on one's own essence, wondering if Baron could learn it.

"What's so special about it?" Baron asked.

"I can teach you. Now sit cross-legged like me, close your eyes..."

"Is it like this?"

"Almost, but don't say anything more."

"Why can't I feel anything?"

"If you don't speak, just quietly experience it for five minutes and you can enter that state."

"What was that state like?"

"You'll find out after you shut up for a while."

"Okay, but I need to have a sip of water first."

……