Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 354: You should smile more

"Th-this is hell..."

"N-no way this could be tr-training... he is j-just g-getting back at us f-for offending him."

"J-just kill me instead."

Several heavy-breathed murmurs and screams echoed across the training ground as some of the disciples ran around the field with weights skidding behind them, tied to their waists. Some were suspended upside down from trees, gripping the branches with their knees as they raised and lowered their upper bodies, weighted down, of course. Others were doing push-ups at the center, heavy wooden logs placed across their backs.

Lyra had already completed most of her morning physical exercises, so she was now practicing her sword skills, while Thorin, the heir, was having the toughest time of them all.

Since he had never trained his physique, his body was only as strong as someone at the first level of the Awakened Sage Realm, despite being at the eighth level.

Performing physical exercises of the same intensity as Lyra, who had somewhat trained her body, was killing him.

His breathing was ragged, his eyes barely open, and his entire body drenched in sweat as he staggered across the training ground, forcing himself to complete the final set of his hundred rounds.

What surprised me was that every Thunderbane, despite complaining and hurling every possible curse at me, completed their sets sincerely. It could have been their fear of Master Robert or the motivation of witnessing their idol train so relentlessly without complaint that drove them.

In the end, I was relieved that I would not face much difficulty training them.

By noon, most of the inner disciples had completed all their sets. Meanwhile, Thorin was still far behind because the intensity of his training was leagues harder than the rest.

After giving them just ten minutes to catch their breath, the noon sparring session began. Instead of one-on-one matches, I ordered them to attack me all at once. Of course, using Soulforce was not allowed.

Life returned to the eyes of those brats the moment they heard that I would neither use Soulforce nor any weapon against them. It was their chance. A chance to beat me to a pulp, to vent their frustration for the hellish training they had endured since morning.

With gleaming eyes and wide smirks, they lunged at me together like hungry wolves.

Bam!

Pow! Pow!

Boom! Boom!

Along with the sound of fists striking flesh, screams of pain and horror echoed across the training ground throughout the noon session as I beat them to the brink of collapse, making sure not to break a single bone in their bodies while striking every part of them.

Once I was done with them, Lyra and Thorin followed.

For Thorin, the rules were the same. No Soulforce, only physical strength.

However, the spar with Lyra was different. She was allowed to use Soulforce, as what she lacked was not physique but combat experience.

After two hours of meditation in the evening, I announced in a loud voice, "Alright! That is it for today. Reach the training ground tomorrow before sunrise. Anyone who dares to be late will have their training intensity doubled."

The moment I dismissed them, all of them, including Thorin, fell onto their backs, gasping heavily. Not a single part of their bodies was free of bruises. Their muscles screamed with cramps, and their eyes closed the instant they collapsed onto the ground, too exhausted to return to their abodes.

Approaching Lyra, who was still meditating beneath the shade of a tree, I said, "Sister Lyra, you should rest as well."

"Junior Brother Lucifer," she murmured as she opened her eyes and rose to her feet.

With a slight bow and a warm smile on her face, she continued, "Thank you."

I felt mixed emotions at her sudden gratitude. On one hand, I was glad that she was taking the training positively and diligently, unlike someone else. On the other hand, I disliked her bowing before me in the slightest, as she was my elder sister.

Hiding my feelings behind a cold facade, I muttered, "Do not thank me. I am not doing this for free."

"Oh, so the deal of exchanging the manual for Thunderbane Swordsmanship was in return for training us," she exclaimed, resting her index finger on her chin.

I remained silent and did not correct her misunderstanding.

She took my silence as confirmation and continued with a smile, "In that case, I will make sure to work even harder to repay every bit of what the sect spent to recruit you as our trainer."

I merely nodded and turned to leave. Just as I was about to step away, she called out to me again.

When I turned, she had moved closer. Rising onto her heels, she lifted her hand, patted my head, and said with a smile, "I do not know what is troubling you, but everything will be fine. You should smile more."

For a brief moment, my body trembled and my eyes flinched before I instantly regained my composure.

"Huh? How does she know that I am troubled? Is it one of the perks of her special body constitution? No, that cannot be possible."

I removed her hand from my head and said, "Nothing is troubling me, Sister Lyra."

"Oh, is that so?" she murmured. "I apologize for overstepping."

Her eyes grew heavy, her head lowered, and the gentle smile on her face turned into a sad, longing one as she whispered, "You just feel oddly familiar to my late little brother."

Her words caught me completely off guard. My composure slowly began to crumble. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to remove the mask and embrace her. However, before I could act on impulse, Ume’s ring on my finger began to glow.

Ding...

The Goddess is requesting to be summoned to the host’s location.

Would you like to accept her request?

[Yes] [No]?

"Good night, Sister Lyra," I managed to say before instantly using Blink to leave the training ground.

As soon as I reached my abode, I locked the door, took a deep breath, and pressed the [Yes] button.