Thursday morning. Clear skies.
Sol arrived early at the RandomPlay video store on Sixth Street, answering Belle's invitation.
Since they had already established their master–disciple pact, he couldn't possibly miss the chance to train his little apprentice.
"Sol, you're here!"
Belle, who had been dusting off the lucky cat figurine, hopped once and rushed right up to him. "You're here to teach me how to get stronger, right?"
She immediately remembered that promise. She had thought Sol was joking—she hadn't expected him to actually show up.
"Yes, that's what I'm here for."
Sol smiled and nodded at Wise on the side.
"Well, to be honest, I really appreciate you coming to teach Belle, but I hope you won't expect too much from her."
Wise gave Sol an awkward smile, not trusting his little sister's ability to execute anything.
A sister who complained after walking two kilometers? Hard to imagine her becoming someone who could cleave through Ethereals with a blade.
"Bro, I haven't even started yet and you're already discouraging me."
Belle stomped her foot unhappily, tugging Sol's sleeve. "Don't listen to him. I will become strong and shock him!"
She yearned deeply to become stronger. When acting with Proxies before, others always had to split their attention just to protect her.
If she had strength, no one would need to worry, and she would even be able to protect her frail, sickly brother.
Just imagining it filled her with a sense of accomplishment.
"I believe you, of course."
Sol patted Belle on the shoulder, giving her full confidence.
With his training, wouldn't Belle ripping Ethereals apart with her bare hands be child's play?
"Where are we going to train?" Belle rubbed her fists together excitedly. "A professional dojo? Or are we skipping straight to real combat?"
She swung her arms, already imagining her heroic figure slicing down Ethereals one by one.
"Today, we start with the basics—testing your perseverance. Any open space will do."
Sol thought for a moment, then smiled. "Your garage looks perfect. Convenient, too."
The garage behind the video store was spacious and well-lit, more than enough for Belle's daily training.
"Oh, okay."
Belle was a little disappointed at the lack of ceremony, but still agreed.
"Then I'll leave her in your care."
Wise looked at Sol with a serious expression.
Although he didn't think Belle would succeed in training, Sol was still a teacher worth thanking properly.
He was a Void Hunter–level powerhouse—if they had to pay for lessons, who knew how expensive that would be?
"No worries. We're all family, after all."
Sol waved generously.
"…"
Wise's smile froze.
Honestly, if Sol only wanted his sister, Wise—though heartbroken—could accept it. But this guy was clearly a flirt!
"Don't overthink it. He's my teacher, so of course he's family."
Belle gave a sly smile at Wise.
Hehe, with this excuse, she could spend as much time with Sol as she wanted.
"Heh."
Wise smiled mysteriously.
Little sister…you think I'm buying that?
A moment later—
In the open-air garage, the beloved car used by both Belle and Wise was bathed in golden sunlight.
In the cleared space, a small table appeared, laid out with snacks and tea.
A wooden lounge chair sat there, and Sol reclined on it comfortably.
"Setting aside where you got all this stuff from…is this really how you plan to guide my training?"
Belle stared at Sol, who looked like he was on vacation, and sighed helplessly.
"Of course. Doesn't this give off the vibe of a master?" Sol lifted his tea, sipping leisurely. "Besides, teaching a total beginner like you doesn't require anything professional."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate me. My progress will shock you!"
Belle huffed, lifting her chin confidently.
"I'll be watching." Sol waved casually. "Start with a Two-Character Horse Stance. Let's see your basics."
"A what horse?"
Belle blinked, utterly clueless.
Sol raised his hand, and a 3D humanoid phantom appeared, demonstrating the stance perfectly.
The so-called Two-Character Horse Stance was a variation of a normal horse stance, a basic foundational posture in Wing Chun. Practicing it long-term could strengthen one's core and kidneys.
"So it's just a horse stance? Watch me!"
Belle bent her knees confidently and half-squatted.
Sol took a sip of tea. "Belle, sink your waist lower, bring your knees in, and don't lean forward."
Belle adjusted accordingly, getting into a passable posture.
It still wasn't standard, but Sol didn't correct further—beginners rarely got it right.
Thirty seconds in, Belle was full of confidence, perfectly relaxed.
She shot Sol and Wise a smug look, her gaze brimming with spirit.
Wise cheered her on, while Sol smiled silently.
One minute in, Belle felt some numbness in her calves, but it wasn't serious.
She was still confident, though definitely more focused.
Two minutes in, Belle's expression began to twist, her silver teeth clenched tightly.
Wise shook his head. With a customer coming in, he turned back to the store—he'd watch her fail later.
"How's it going?"
Sol looked at her with a gentle smile.
"I'm fine. No big deal."
Belle forced a grin, refusing to admit anything.
She, usually energetic and lively, now had trembling legs, flushed cheeks, and faint wisps of steam rising from her head.
Her slender, pale legs were trembling like fluttering butterfly wings—delicate and beautiful.
"What a lovely Butterfly Wing Tremor."
Sol chuckled, sipping his tea.
"Humph!"
Belle growled under her breath, seething internally.
A lie doesn't hurt—but the truth is a sharp blade. Sol was only describing what he saw, but Belle felt utterly insulted.
Two minutes later—
Belle finally collapsed after seven total minutes of horse-stance training.
Not because she passed any standard—she simply couldn't hold on anymore.
She stood shakily, puffing her cheeks. "Sol, are you messing with me, Phaethon style? Bringing the later-stage hell training forward?!"
She truly suspected he was doing this on purpose just to watch her embarrass herself.
Training this difficult should only appear much later!
"No, what? This is the easiest training."
Sol stared at her, utterly wronged.
Heaven help him—it was just a horse stance! As a kid, he was punished with thirty-minute sets at minimum.
He wanted to see Belle struggle, but they hadn't even begun actual effort yet!
Sol spread his hands. "If you're weak, then train more. Think about yourself. Seven minutes of horse stance wrecks you—what will you do when you have to swing a sword ten thousand times? Faint on the spot?"
"That was the easiest? Training is that hard?" Belle wanted to boast she'd easily beat the ten-thousand-swing goal…
But her legs were shaking so hard she couldn't even sit down.
She eyed Sol's lounge chair and dragged herself over.
With zero hesitation, she plopped herself right onto Sol's lap, leaning back until they overlapped, only their faces misaligned.
She loved moments like this, but the only time she'd experienced it was during Outer Ring Hollow racing.
She looked up at the blue sky, resting on a warm, reliable cushion—finally, comfort.
"Training is hard. Otherwise, New Eridu would be filled with strong people."
Sol brushed aside the strands of Belle's hair that swept into his eyes, catching a faint sweet scent.
No sweat smell—her workout hadn't even activated her sweat glands.
He picked up a pastry and popped it into her mouth.
"Yummy!"
Belle's eyes curved with delight, all her earlier annoyance evaporating.
A new idea came to her—she whispered in Sol's ear, "Hey, what if we let my brother train too?"
If she couldn't depend on herself…then maybe she could make her brother into a dragon.
She had Sol and lots of Proxies protecting her anyway. As long as big brother protected himself, that was good enough.
Sol shook his head. "He'd probably do even worse than you."
"Yeah…my frail sickly brother can't handle anything."
Belle sighed.
So much for making her brother strong—she'd have to rely on herself after all.
She firmed her resolve and whispered in Sol's ear, "Sol, please train me hard! I won't give up!"
"No need to be like that. With your talent and age, following a normal training path is already too late."
Sol gazed up at the sky.
Her sincerity was good…
But expecting a physically fragile girl to practice her way into a master swordswoman? Unrealistic.
"Eh? But you said you'd make me strong, teacher~"
Belle whined pitifully, the word teacher curling sweetly.
"You're shameless, Belle."
Sol sighed. "Fine. I'll make an exception for you."
"An exception?"
Belle perked up instantly like a kitten smelling fish. She flipped over, going from lying on him to curling up atop him, face close to Sol's.
"Is it some secret sword-master manual that turns me into a blade-wielding heroine?"
"No. You can't even hold a horse stance—you can forget manuals."
Sol shook his head mercilessly.
In fact, the [Edge of Taixuan] he originally planned to give her…he had already given to Hoshimi Miyabi.
He had even planned to start training Belle from toddler-level basics, but this performance? Tragically bad.
Truthfully, he knew Belle would persist because of her personality. But persistence…is both precious and utterly useless.
"All right, all right, I know I'm weak." Belle rubbed her cheek against his, pitiful. "Stop nagging and tell me what the good stuff is!"
Sol reached out and grabbed a blue card, then gently slapped it onto the top of her head. "Think of this as a high-tech enhancement serum. Gentle, non-irritating."
A blue-quality [Body Enhancement Card]—tripling an ordinary person's attributes.
And honestly, in raw numbers, it wasn't even as good as Sol's own homemade enhancement serum.
But well…since Belle called him teacher, he couldn't exactly drag her to bed on the first day.
Though in their current dynamic, "teacher and student" was practically a flavor of its own.
"So comfortable!"
A cool rush of energy surged through Belle's body, her cells greedily absorbing it.
Bone fragility, weakness—all gone in an instant.
Moments later, she opened her eyes, refreshed and transformed.
She had never felt so good—full of vitality, like she could lift a cow!
And it wasn't an illusion—she could lift a cow now.
Belle threw her arms around Sol, thrilled. "I feel overflowing with strength!"
"Mm-hmm. Overflowing."
Sol nodded, repeating it lazily.
This level of strength was nothing compared to when he first arrived in New Eridu—let alone now, when he could rotate magnetic fields at will.
Even in the Cunning Hares, she would only qualify to sit at the same table as Amillion.
"Come on, at least pretend to be impressed!"
Belle rubbed her cheek on Sol's, unable to get enough of him.
From a frail girl to someone who could hoist cattle—it happened in seconds. Compared to grueling physical training, this was infinitely faster.
A superpowered serum like this only existed in movies. She could imagine how valuable it was.
Yet Sol just casually gave it to her—he spoiled her way too much!
Before, she liked the satisfaction of earning rewards through hard work.
Now…not working for rewards felt pretty nice too.
"Do you have more? More?" Belle hooked her arms around Sol's neck, rocking the lounge chair. "Whatever weird serum you have, use me as a test subject! Don't hold back!"
"I do have better ones. A goblin serum that turns you into a green Metro Goblin. A giant serum that turns you into a three-story muscle monster. A dragonblood serum that grows dragon scales. A quick-tempering diamond-body serum that makes you bald…"
"So many…which should I pick?"
Sol smiled casually, listing examples.
These were all purple cards—far above the blue one. Any single one could create a powerhouse in New Eridu.
But their characteristics were…extremely distinctive.
Terrifyingly so.
"Never mind!"
Belle shivered. Absolutely not.
No matter how strong—if it made her ugly, she would refuse.
She wanted to stay a pretty girl so she could snuggle Sol forever.
Suddenly she grew worried. "The one you gave me…shouldn't have any issues, right?"
"There is an issue." Sol spoke seriously. "If you don't kiss me, I'll get mad."
"Get lost!" Belle shot him a glare, but still gave a tiny peck. "That's all. My brother is still in the shop."
"That's fine. Any more and I'd be scared."
Sol thought of Shenhe—he had remained pure because of that immortal beauty.
His ear twitched. He heard something. "Up you go—Wise is coming."
"Oh oh!"
Belle sprang up instantly, flipping off Sol and landing on her feet.
She dropped back into a horse stance, this time steady and composed.
Wise stepped out the back door, seeing his sister calm and stable—none of the trembling butterfly elegance from before. "Belle, I didn't expect you to improve so much in such a short time."
"Hehe, martial arts genius, that's me!"
Belle didn't blush at all. Lying to one's brother was a required class for little sisters.
Ignoring his smug sister, Wise looked at Sol and bowed slightly. "Truly, a master produces a fine disciple. Thank you for your hard work."
"Not hard at all."
Sol sipped his tea, clearing Belle's scent from his lips.
See? Wise was thanking him.