In the three months that followed, aside from cultivation, spear drills, and the occasional quiet evening spent with Sylra and Jen, Lumberling's nights were filled with hunts alongside Grokk, seeking monsters not just for the challenge or essence, but to fuel something deeper.
Lumberling had begun training the Ironblood Tempering Scripture, a body refinement method far more brutal than the Imperial Mindseal Meditation. If the mindseal tested the boundaries of thought and control, then the Ironblood Scripture tested flesh, marrow, and resolve. But unlike before, he had no memories to rely on, no teacher, and no clear path. He had only the fragmented scroll and his own grim resolve.
…..
The moon was high, cold silver casting eerie shadows across the village's training ground. Lumberling stood bare-chested beneath the pale light, arms loose at his sides. Before him loomed Shade, hulking and still, each of its eight abyssal limbs twitching with silent tension.
