Chapter 32: Chapter 32
Inside the residential area’s streets, most of the snow had been shoveled to the sides of the road by the residents.
However, because it had snowed continuously for several days recently, in reality, only a section in the middle of the road wide enough for about two people had been completely cleared, while the rest was still covered in snow.
After walking a stretch towards Ron’s house in the east, Jason took the initiative to speak: “Did Arnold bring out the Aberrant Beast’s horn again to scare you guys?”
“Uncle Jason, you know Chief Instructor Arnold?”
“Of course I know him. To say I know everyone in the territory would definitely be unrealistic, but how many Formal Knights are there in the territory in total? Naturally, we all know each other.”
At this point, Jason seemed to have opened up the conversation:
“Speaking of which, Arnold and I were apprentices in the same batch! It’s just that he became a Knight earlier than me, and he has repeatedly made meritorious contributions in battle. Let alone me, even my current Captain has to respectfully address him as Captain when he sees him!”
“That Aberrant Beast’s horn…”
“It is real, but you don’t need to be too nervous. That horn came from an exceptionally powerful Aberrant Beast. The territory spent a great deal of effort to eliminate it, and that horn is Arnold’s trophy.”
“Instructor Arnold said…”
“He definitely said that a very important metric for apprentice training is to get you to be able to look directly at an Aberrant Beast, right?”
“Right!”
“That statement isn’t wrong, but what you need to know is that an ordinary Aberrant Beast’s deterrent aura is actually about the same as that horn Arnold brought out. As long as you can face that horn directly, it will be enough to face ordinary Aberrant Beasts.”
“So that’s how it is!”
Ron had thought that just any Aberrant Beast’s horn could have that kind of effect. If it were truly like that, this world would probably have no living space for humans.
But immediately after, he thought of a crucial point. “Right, Uncle Jason, when the Aberrant Beasts breached the defensive line and entered the territory five years ago, logically speaking, ordinary people shouldn’t have had any power to resist, right?”
“That’s true, but you also have to be clear about one point: the vast majority of males in the territory have undergone Battle Formation training. Additionally, there is another point you might not know: the closer one is to becoming a Transcendent, the greater the impact they receive from Aberrant Beasts!”
At this point, Jason gave a rather inappropriate example. “If you want to eliminate those ordinary Aberrant Beasts, to some extent, pure ordinary people might even be more suitable than Knights!
“In their eyes, an Aberrant Beast is just a slightly weird-shaped beast, and they can even directly eat the meat of Aberrant Beasts. Conversely, Knights or Knight Apprentices have to face a trial the very first moment they see an Aberrant Beast: the trial of its deterrent aura. Furthermore, the meat of Aberrant Beasts absolutely cannot be eaten directly, otherwise, it will highly likely cause aberration.”
“Uncle Jason, you mean…” Hearing this news, Ron was profoundly shocked.
Judging solely from the impact of facing Aberrant Beasts head-on, this so-called transcendence didn’t seem like transcendence at all; it was simply like a curse. On what grounds could ordinary people be fine, while Transcendents instead had to experience multiple trials?
If this were the case, did he really need to continue on this path of transcendence?
And this was only Aberrant Beasts. Outside of Aberrant Beasts, just how many similar trials existed on the Knight Path?
But on second thought, if the Knight Path wasn’t necessary, then there absolutely wouldn’t be the current state of development. Furthermore, Ron had already joined the Territory Guard. Setting aside his own feelings, the territory would never allow him to abandon the path of transcendence.
As for himself, if he didn’t have his original Light Orb and had just directly transmigrated his soul, then he might genuinely consider delaying or even giving up on transcendence. After all, the current environment of the Sis Territory was still relatively secure.
The external threats had existed for so long, yet they had never managed to completely strike down the Sis Territory, not to mention the world outside the Sis Territory, the Kingdom of Helios, and even other nations beyond the kingdom.
This world ultimately possessed civilization and order.
But with his original Light Orb, Ron held a completely different perspective. External pollution, including the impact of Aberrant Beasts, was all realized through Pollution Secret Patterns from the Light Orb’s perspective.
And he could already move those Secret Patterns now, so it was entirely reasonable to expect them to be thoroughly erased in the future.
Under these circumstances, how could he possibly give up the path of transcendence!
…
However, the changes in Ron’s expression took on a different meaning in Jason’s eyes. He smiled and teased, “What’s wrong? Do you regret joining the Territory Guard?”
“No, I only hate that I couldn’t have grown up a few years earlier and joined a few years earlier!” This was, of course, Ron’s true inner thought, though it could never be realized.
In Jason’s eyes, this was just “Ron” wanting to use his own power to prevent his father’s death, so he stopped joking around. He told Ron with a serious expression:
“Do you remember what I just said? Ordinary people have more of an advantage than Knights when facing ordinary Aberrant Beasts, but when facing stronger ones, the situation completely reverses.
“Those exceptionally powerful Aberrant Beasts, even without a deterrent aura, possess strength powerful enough to reach a level where ordinary people simply cannot contend with them. Under these circumstances, only entities that have mastered transcendent power can deal with them.
“So you must remember, never give up the path of transcendence at any time. Do not waver even if you face countless trials, because only transcendent power is the true foundation for you to establish yourself in this world!”
Even without Jason’s words, Ron had no intention of giving up the path of transcendence. But with Jason’s words, he became even more certain about the future he had chosen.
“Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Jason. I will not give up the path of transcendence. If I can reach the summit one day, I will definitely see exactly what caused this world to become like this!”
Aberrant Beasts were absolutely not a normal phenomenon; at the very least, they were not common within the Kingdom of Helios. Conversely, Evil Spirits were much more common. Almost outside any territory of order, Evil Spirits roamed, constantly threatening humans who left the protection of order.
…
“Are there any other questions you want to know? I’ll tell you everything I can say all at once.”
“Right, Uncle Jason, Instructor Morris, who is in charge of our squad, told me that tomorrow’s Sword-Holding training relates to whether I can truly master the First Sword Stance. Can you give me some advice?”
“You’ve really stumped me!” Jason rarely revealed a hint of a wry smile. “When it comes to training ability, I am far inferior to your instructors! My only advice is to listen to your instructor’s guidance, train seriously, and don’t slack off.”
“Alright, I understand. Then regarding the Sword-Holding training, can you reveal some details, Uncle Jason?” Ron asked again.
“Since your instructor didn’t say it in advance, I won’t either. However, you don’t need to care too much about these details. Just do as the instructor instructs. You are all novices who have just come into contact with the Ice Sword Art, so the instructors definitely won’t make things too difficult for you. Go back and rest easy!”
“Mm, then I’ll head back.”
Seeing that Jason didn’t want to say more, Ron didn’t press the issue. After saying goodbye to Jason, he held his training sword and went home alone.