When Jasper and Hunter finally crawled out of the foul-smelling ancient waterway and saw the light of day again, the eastern sky was already turning a fish-belly white.
Hunter leaned against a cold wall, gasping for breath. The gruesome wound on his back had stopped bleeding thanks to the powerful self-healing ability of a 'Barbarian', but the weakness from blood loss and the mental exhaustion made this proud son of heaven feel the approach of death for the first time. He looked at Jasper, who was just as wretched but was now, with an almost devout posture, carefully wiping the bloodstains from the fledgling dragon's wings with his sleeve. An unprecedentedly complex emotion filled his eyes.
He remembered how the other boy had unhesitatingly trusted him with his back in the waterway, how he had shown a do-or-die resolve under the pressure of the resentful spirit. This young man, whom he and everyone else had always considered a loser, possessed a resilience and madness in the depths of his soul that far surpassed any Extraordinary One he had ever met.
"That resentful spirit... it was at least Sequence 7," Hunter's voice was hoarse. "It's a miracle we survived."
"No," Jasper looked up, his gaze falling on Nidhogg's new, slightly clumsy wings. He said softly, "It was a price."
Hunter fell silent. He knew what price the other was talking about. He had witnessed with his own eyes how this little creature had transformed from a near-death, ashen state to its current form, brimming with life and destructive aura. This rebirth had been bought with another sacrifice.
"Ryan won't let this go," Hunter's eyes sharpened again. "Before I've fully digested the 'Barbarian' extraordinary trait and have the ability to advance to Sequence 7, we need a place to digest our own 'gains' and get stronger."
He looked at Jasper and said solemnly, "Come to my place. I have a separate training villa in the back mountains. The defensive arrays there are strong enough to block any probing below Sequence 7. No one can disturb us there."
Jasper looked at him for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
The next two months became the most critical period of secluded training in their lives.
In the fortress-like training villa of the Hunter family, Jasper and Hunter were almost completely cut off from the world, dedicating all their time to arduous training.
Hunter completely transformed the humiliating experience in the goblin cave into fuel for his 'Barbarian' acting. He no longer suppressed his anger but, in one high-intensity sparring session after another, learned to control this rage, turning it into the purest combat instinct. Every punch, every roar, was filled with destructive power, yet on the verge of losing control, it was restrained by an innate understanding of "rules" that came from the [Lawyer Pathway], forming a unique aura that was both contradictory and extremely intimidating.
Jasper's training, on the other hand, went to another extreme.
With Nidhogg recovered, he finally had the spare energy to truly begin "acting" as a Sequence 8 'Listener'. Following the system's guidance, he spent a great deal of time each day in meditation, no longer just accumulating spiritual energy, but sinking his consciousness into an invisible ocean of pain and emotion.
[Acting Principle: Listen to the whispers of the abyss, understand the suffering of all things. A qualified Listener can distinguish the faintest whimper amidst the loudest clamor.]
At first, he heard nothing. But as time went on, he gradually began to "hear." He could hear the sorrowful cry of the decaying leaves as the wind blew past; he could hear the trace of humiliation and unwillingness hidden beneath Hunter's roars during their late-night training sessions; he could even, through their mental link, "hear" Nidhogg's desire for the sky and its joy in its own power as it stretched its wings.
His world became "clearer" than ever before.
This ability allowed him to anticipate his opponent's attack intentions half a second in advance during their sparring sessions, enabling him to dodge with the slightest of movements. And Nidhogg became his best attacker. After the "Baptism of Dragon's Blood," its growth was not a single leap but entered a period of steady accumulation. In just two months, its body had only grown slightly larger, and its wings had become more resilient, enough to support short-distance glides. The dragon's breath it spat was no longer just a corrosive liquid but was now mixed with a trace of golden "source fire" that could burn spiritual bodies.
One man, one dragon, and one "Barbarian," in this peculiar symbiotic relationship, their strength grew slowly but steadily.
['Listener' acting progress: 32%]
[Companion 'Nidhogg' growth level: Fledgling Dragon (Initial Stage)]
As the last leaf of late summer fell, Jasper's digestion progress had taken a steady step forward. And Hunter had completely stabilized his Sequence 8 power, the ferocity and calmness in his eyes reaching a delicate balance.
One morning, a gilded admission letter was delivered to the villa's entrance by an extraordinary courier.
Jasper opened the envelope. On it was the ancient and majestic emblem of "Shanghai Martial Arts University."
"It's time," Hunter walked up to him and patted his shoulder. His injuries had long since healed, and he was taller and more composed than he had been two months ago.
"Be careful of Ryan at the university," Hunter warned. "Shanghai is full of hidden masters, and his family has some influence there."
"I know," Jasper nodded.
He put the admission letter away and glanced out the window. Nidhogg was spreading its wings, clumsily but diligently practicing its flight in the morning sun. Its obsidian-like scales glittered with a heart-stopping light.
A barely perceptible smile touched the corner of Jasper's lips.
He was no longer the boy who had to hide in the shadows, relying on cunning and sacrifice to survive.
He packed his simple belongings and hid Nidhogg in his coat again. As he walked out of the villa gate, ready to board the train to Shanghai, Hunter called out to him.
"Jasper," Hunter looked at him, then pulled him into a tight hug. "No matter what, I'll always be the arm you can rely on."
Jasper's body stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed.
He didn't look back. With his back to the rising sun, he stepped onto the unknown path.