Sage’s Cultivation: Mage in Cultivation World - Chapter 209

Gabriel went straight to the open yard of the camp. The rain had already stopped, and just as he had arrived, he sensed an unusual, or rather stupid, incident that might occur.

Before he left the building, he could still hear gossip about him. But, there was a topic that stood out for him, and it was the same as the common underestimation because of ego. Gabriel knew it well since he had it too, but he didn’t let it control him.

While his eyes were closed, Gabriel had a soliloquy. ‘I should wait for them. They would step forward to prove themselves, I knew it.’ And a smile came afterward.

Meanwhile, the soldier Gabriel ordered conveyed the message to the 16 squad leaders of the battalion. But some of them had unusual facial expressions as if they were insulted. Some of them had already heard the rumor about Gabriel paying his way to get a rank. Despite it being an absurd rumor, they believed it.

“Rumors have a basis. And if that rumor existed, then there must be a reason behind it. After all, I can sense that that young man was acting highly for him to call us all. Even Captain Wang was not acting like this.” One squad leader said while on their way to the open yard. However, although some of them had the same idea, not all of them had the guts to loudly talk about it, except for him.

They were only silent until they arrived at the open yard, where they saw Gabriel standing firm having his own peaceful world. Gabriel showed his resting face as his eyes were closed, and just when he noticed them, he opened them.

Gabriel darted his usual eyes at them and called them over. “Come here.” He gestured to call them, but 3 of the 16 didn’t listen to him.

Gabriel peeked at them and patiently waited. “I just said, come here.” Gabriel pressed, but they were still being stubborn.

He let out a sigh and then raised a question. “Why aren’t you listening to me? Do you want me to call you for the third time? I am still patient. Don’t shorten it.”

“I am intimidated, young general! Please don’t punish me! Hahaha!” The three of them laughed at Gabriel while they unwillingly dragged their bodies to the group of squad leaders. But, Gabriel had enough and he didn’t have the interest in tackling each of their stubbornness. And as a result, he took steps forward.

The three noticed it, but didn’t do anything, and nonchalantly continued to remain unbothered. But, their relaxed attitude didn’t last as Gabriel suddenly disappeared and, in just the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of them.

This scene made them surprised and astounded as Gabriel nonchalantly raised his elbow and smashed it into each of their shoulders. This incident made their eyes wide, as well as the other squad leaders.

The three were smashed down to the ground. At that point, everyone already knew who was in front of them.

“I am not joking, junior brother. But, let me remind you that we are at war. Despite not being at the front line, we are the next to the defense after the elite army.” Gabriel said flatly and then turned away from them. He then faced the other squad leaders.

“We are going to reform the system in this camp to become more productive. First, introduce yourself. And second, if you have any complaints about my rules, be sure to tell me without making a ruckus behind my back. I will gladly punish you.”

Gabriel created a tense atmosphere in the open yard. The three also dragged their injured bodies to the group while the other squad leaders were introducing themselves.

“You must have already heard about me. I am Gabriel Fang, Clan Leader of the Jue Yu Clan. I don’t want to hear any questions pertaining to me. We are here to protect the continent! Understood?!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Gabriel nodded and let out a sigh. “First, what I noticed about your attitudes was that all of you were relaxed. You don’t have observant eyes, and we will tackle it later. What I want you to do is discipline your squad. Train them every day! If they have any complaints, beat them until they surrender. I suppose that all of you were the best in your squads, right?”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Gabriel nodded again and then continued with his intimidating gaze. “I want the battalion to be strong. Meet me again tomorrow, and I will give you your training.

***

Gabriel had already imposed himself on them, showing them fear. Even the rumors changed, phasing to his advantage. But, something was not right about this. As the squad leaders announced Gabriel’s orders, they complained about it.

They didn’t like the idea of training every day. For them, something like that was impossible, and only cultivators could do it. And imagining Gabriel’s personality, their training would be bound to be harsh.

They could just let out a sigh, but their complaints were useless as the squad leader, after hearing it, would punish that soldier.

“General Fang ordered us to beat those who complained about the new things that would be implemented in the camp. If you want to survive and protect your family from the tyrannic northern continent people, act more than talk.”

The next day, everyone filled up the wide-open yard, and Gabriel was already waiting for them. He assessed each of the soldiers with a mere glance at them, and just when he had already thought of what he should do, he smirked and revealed himself.

He faced everyone and leaked some of his aura. “I want you to run at Death Lake. Swim if you want to, but be sure that you won’t die. If you die, I will kill you.”

This sudden order was surprising. As absurd as it was, Gabriel didn’t give them any preparation for the training. In reality, was this supposed to be training? They had questions in their minds, and all of them were rampaging that they couldn’t handle much of it.

“Sir,” Someone raised their hands. Gabriel calmly let him talk. “The Death Lake is where the chimeric crocodiles and other aquatic magical beasts live. If we swim through that lake, some of us will die.”

Gabriel didn’t respond for a few seconds, giving them some relief that he might be taking their questions into account, and even having second thoughts about his order. But, they were disappointed as Gabriel didn’t take back what he ordered.

“Are you really a soldier? Why are you afraid to die? How can I be certain that you will risk your life to fight with the enemies if you don’t know how to deal with fear?”

After he said it, everyone was shut down in silence. They were clueless about what Gabriel had just said, and when they were about to ask further questions, he glanced at the squad leaders.

“Sir, what if we lose our lives before we can fight at-!”

The squad leaders nodded, and just after they understood what Gabriel wanted to convey to them, they raised their scabbards and started beating those who complained about the training course for this day.

“You already realized that this is training, right. But, I didn’t tell you the rules you should follow. You must not fight the monsters in Death Lake. Instead, you will not fight back, and continue to pass through the course of the lake. If you could leave without any wounds, you could have a week of lenient training. But if you return wounded, you will continue to train with my harsh plan. Are we good?”

No one responded, which indicated that there were no complaints about his idea. And just as he was dejected, Gabriel ignored it and focused on his own body instead. The battalion had already left, leaving him in the camp on his own. And as he had the time to use them, he utilized them to train in other techniques that Lucas gave him.

“Shadow Movement Technique… I still couldn’t understand this but I can feel that I am near.” Gabriel mumbled as he followed what was written in the book in his mind. He had memorized the recitation of the technique as well as the direction of how the flow of magique Qi should be, but still, it was in vain.

Gabriel meditated, trying to have some enlightenment about the technique. He had been doing this for straight half a year, but still, he did not surrender, as his hardships wouldn’t be useless if he learned this technique.

From the description that Lucas shared, he should be able to travel through darkness using the movement technique. In a place that had endless shadows and darkness, his body would be able to move freely like a shadow.

But, it seemed to be impossible. He couldn’t imagine what the true Shadow Movement Technique was. What he could only think of was that the technique was some kind of mystical art, as he knew that Lucas’s specialty was in this field.

“Even still, I should not give up. I will learn this technique!”