Chapter 223: The Might of Dragon Stirring

Standing in the room, Rod felt that faint call more clearly—it seemed familiar, strange in a way. But after searching the entire room, finding nothing but simple furnishings, he had no choice but to stop. Sitting on the bed edge, he gazed at the room, his brows slightly furrowed. Since arriving here, doubts had kept arising—this place seemed to hide too many secrets unknown to others.
After pondering for a long time without finding any clues, he decided to put his thoughts aside for now. Feeling tired and empty inside, Rod knew he needed to train properly and then rest. His aimless venting in the courtyard earlier had drained his combat energy and stamina!
With a helpless sigh, he sat cross-legged on the bed and soon began to train.
……
“Is everything arranged?” At that moment, in a small attic not far from Rod’s room, a man in black asked Hori standing before him.
“Everything is arranged!” Hori nodded respectfully. He felt nothing but reverence for this man—after all, it was he who had saved his life and trained him. So, he would carry out whatever the man decided without hesitation, right or wrong. Just like this time—though he knew the dangers of the demon race, since the man wanted to save and help him, he would just follow orders.
“Don’t you have anything to say? I’ve heard people discussing this matter down below these past few days. What are your thoughts?” The man in black stared intently at Hori, his presence radiating an invisible aura that made him appear towering. Standing opposite him, Hori even found it hard to breathe for a moment.
However, that feeling vanished in an instant, and everything returned to calm. Rod secretly breathed a sigh of relief—he really couldn’t withstand such pressure.
“I’ll just follow the man’s decision. I have no opinions,” Hori said firmly, taking a deep breath and looking straight at the man in black.
“Hmm. He’s a demon. Heh, though our organization has no feud with the demons, everyone still remains cautious!” The man in black sighed slightly, rubbing his temples, speaking with a hint of helplessness.

“Lord… we all trust you. The brothers below just have some doubts; they certainly don’t mean to defy you. If anyone dares, I, Hori, will be the first to kill them! What do we have to do with the grudges between the demons and the rest of the world? We’re just people who have been abandoned. Without the Lord and this organization, we might have already disappeared from this world!
So, the Lord and the organization are our heaven and earth. As long as you give the order, even if it means destroying the world or piercing the heavens, we, who stand outside, won’t hesitate at all!” Seeing the black-clothed man in such a state, with his seemingly weak posture, Hori panicked and spoke hastily, feeling even more distressed than he did in his own situation.
“I understand your feelings, and I know the brothers below as well. I’ve watched them grow up. If I can’t trust them, then no one else is worthy of my trust.
I know you have many doubts this time. Our situation isn’t great either—why save this demon? Why go to such lengths to help him? It only brings danger to us, right?
But I can tell you that neither the organization nor I will give up on Naitrod, no matter how dire the situation becomes. He’s very important to us, very important to me! Even if the whole world abandons him and hunts him, I’ll stand by his side! You’ll understand the reasons sooner or later!
Let him rest here for a few days first. In a few days, I’ll arrange for him to go out and train to improve his strength. You go and pick four brothers with similar abilities. Together with Rod, they’ll form a mercenary team to start taking missions! Struggling between life and death is the best way to improve strength!”
With a sigh, even through the veil, Hori could sense the bitter smile beneath it—the helplessness and desolation. For some reason, his heart ached, and an unprecedented anger surged within him, giving him a killing impulse. It was all because of that damned bastard talking nonsense behind his back. If he could, he would kill those bastards right now to spare the Lord such pain.
“Understood. I’ll arrange this,” Hori replied in a deep voice after taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Your state of mind has been affected. This is the first time, right? Be careful and train hard. You’re one of those four. Get ready; we’ll set off in a few days. I’ll handle Naitrod’s side!”

“Well, by the way, he must have asked you about those four kids, right? Give him the information—this will be your first task!” The man in black naturally noticed Horri’s distress. After spending nearly twenty years together, it was the first time he had seen Horri’s emotions fluctuate so greatly. With a silent sigh, he spoke to Horri.

Watching Horri slowly retreat, the man in black sighed again, touching the silver mask on his face. His gaze became distant, his thoughts swirling as he fell into deep thought. It took some time before he managed to gather his thoughts again. Looking toward Rod’s room in the distance, he said, “Kid, don’t disappoint me. This is the last time I’m helping you. From now on, it’s up to you. I hope you won’t let us down!”

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished in a flash, disappearing completely from the room without leaving any trace. If those so-called strongmen had seen this, they would surely be stunned. This was the legendary ability to teleport, one said to be only achievable by god-tier warriors. This man in black was indeed a god-tier warrior, one of the rare members of that elite class in the continent.

At dawn, Rod was already in the courtyard. The events of the previous day had shocked him like nothing before, fueling his desire to become stronger than ever. He knew he still had a long way to go to reach that goal, so now was not the time to rest—he had to devote every moment to training.

Upon arriving in the courtyard, he pondered for a while before setting his focus on the latest sword techniques: Dragon Swoop and Sky Piercing. These two advanced moves required mastery and proficiency.

For Dragon Swoop, he needed to achieve a balance between hardness and softness, moving smoothly and gracefully, with the sword like a flying phoenix and his body like a dragon. The movements had to be dynamic and versatile, just like the rise and fall of the sun, moon, and stars—alternating in speed. Although Rod had seen this technique when he became a Golden Warrior, he had never truly practiced it. This time, he intended to take advantage of the opportunity to master it. As for Sky Piercing, it involved dramatic swings that, once unleashed, were like a storm that could break through anything. It was said that when practiced to perfection, it could even pierce through the air—hence the name of the technique. This move had emerged when he entered the Imperial Realm a few days ago. These two powerful sword techniques gave Rod more hope, but they also posed significant challenges in terms of training.

Starting with the Dragon Swaying technique, Rod had already tried and practiced controlling his strength and speed during the refinement of the Shadow Sword, thus gaining a certain foundation, which also laid the groundwork for the Dragon Swaying Sword. Standing still, he took a deep breath, recited an incantation, and began to move—each step was fluid like that of a dragon, while the Dark Dragon in his hand seemed to gain vitality and began to dance, with his moves emitting a whooshing sound as they were executed with ease! As he practiced, Rod gradually immersed himself fully in the subtleties of this sword technique. Having gained some experience in controlling strength and speed, he found it effortless to practice, though there were slight hiccups that were still within acceptable limits. After all, it was his first attempt at this move, and achieving this level was quite impressive. It was hard for outsiders to imagine that Rod was only trying this move for the first time—his posture and demeanor clearly indicated years of practice. With each changing move, Rod’s figure once again filled the entire courtyard. His steps were light, as if floating like clouds, and each move was executed with grace, like that of a flying phoenix. His control over rhythm had reached a mature stage—fast when needed, slow when necessary, in a well-ordered sequence, with dramatic fluctuations overall. Surrounded by red combat energy, he appeared even more majestic. In just three days, Rod had mastered the basic principles of the Dragon Swaying technique, at least enough to use it in battle without issues. Although his consistency wasn’t perfect yet, and his control over strength and speed wasn’t flawless, for now, this achievement was enough to make many people envious. “Break!” With a loud roar, he slammed his sword onto the ground, causing a tiny crack to spread outward, shaking the entire courtyard. With the Dragon Swaying technique, the surroundings trembled. “Be careful! If this continues, this place will be ruined!” Seeing the courtyard in disarray, filled with craters and cracks like a spiderweb, Hori, who had just arrived, complained in frustration. In just a few days, this guy had torn the courtyard to pieces, almost reducing it to rubble.

“Hehe, I forgot. I’ll be more careful next time!” Turning to look at Hori who had come behind him, Rod finally realized what he had said and spoke awkwardly, feeling ashamed. It was already the third time in a few days that he had said such things without remembering, yet he had never truly paid attention before. Four days—enough time for him to master the Dragon Slaying Sword, which filled him with excitement and anticipation, showing that his strength had improved once again. Having gained a deeper understanding of the sword’s power, he couldn’t help but marvel at its strength; it was indeed a formidable technique, no less powerful than Shadowless or Autumn Wind, if not even stronger!