Chapter 73. The Slaves’ Training Progress, a Hidden Thunderbolt
William accepted the Exit Authorization handed over by Pand, the Chief Steward of the royal family. He selected a squad of Palace Knights and left the palace in the morning light.
The carriage wheels rolled over the stone-paved road. He lifted the curtain and looked outside, and the street scene seed no different from the first ti he had left the palace.
The hawkers calling out their wares, the patrolling guards, the children leaning out from windowsills, even the scent of bread drifting in the wind all felt strangely familiar.
When they left the city, the City Defense Army, as usual, sent a squad of soldiers to accompany them as escorts.
Not long after the carriage passed through the city gate, it arrived at the Slave Manor.
The Palace Knights at the entrance imdiately bowed when they saw him. William nodded in acknowledgnt and walked straight inside.
Shouts shook the manor grounds. The slaves were training in a frenzy, drenched in sweat. The dull thuds of wooden swords striking practice posts, the heavy impacts of fists and kicks colliding, and the sounds of rough breathing wove together into a scene full of taut energy.
Zoe’s father, Jess, spotted him at once and quickly stepped forward to bow.
“Your Highness.”
William swept his gaze across the Training Grounds and asked, “Jess, it looks like there are only a little over a thousand people here. Where are the others?”
Jess hurriedly replied.
“Your Highness, following the thod you laid out before, we activated two other unused manors and divided everyone into tiers.”
“This manor houses those at Bronze Rank, and resources are supplied at triple the standard amount. The second manor is for those at high Black Iron Realm, and they receive double resources.”
“The third manor is for the newcors who were just sent over. They only receive basic resources, but we make them fight frequently. Winners are given extra resources.”
He paused, then added, “Because of that, they train especially hard, and their advancent has sped up quite a bit. It is just that... the consumption of resources is truly enormous.”
As William listened, a smile slowly spread across his face, and approval showed in his eyes.
This tiered managent system was exactly the approach he had established earlier. It could both stimulate the slaves’ motivation and ensure that resources flowed precisely toward those most eager to improve. Jess had clearly executed it very well.
“It is normal for resource consumption to be high.”
William’s tone was calm as his gaze swept across the sweating slaves in the manor.
Although they all wore the sa gray training clothes, a fierce drive had been stirred awake in their eyes. Compared to the numbness they had shown when they were first brought over from the Ice and Snow Plains, they were like entirely different people.
“Here. These are this period’s resources. Use them for all you are worth. But there is one thing you must rember—waste is absolutely forbidden. Understood?”
Jess’s eyes lit up. He took the Spatial Ring from William’s hand and bowed at once.
“Thank you, Your Highness. With sufficient resources, the advancent speed of these slaves can beco even faster.”
William nodded and strode toward the Training Grounds.
One slave who was practicing downward strikes let his form slip slightly, and an instructor beside him imdiately stopped him with a sharp rebuke. Then the instructor picked up a wooden sword and repeatedly corrected his movents.
Throughout the manor, the sounds of shouted commands and clashing weapons rose and fell one after another, carrying a tense vitality.
“How long before a stable batch of Bronze Rank slaves can be produced?” William asked.
“Reporting to Your Highness, at the current pace, fifty to eighty can steadily advance each month.”
Walking beside him, Jess lowered his voice.
“Especially that slave you sent over last. He has already touched the threshold of high Silver Rank. His talent is astonishing.”
William halted and looked toward an isolated area on the eastern side of the grounds. The slaves there trained at a higher intensity, and an isolation barrier had even been set up around them.
“That slave is already a Silver Mage?” William paused, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
“Yes, Your Highness!” Jess could not hide the excitent in his voice. “This child is truly a genius, just like my Zoe. He understands the mont he is taught, and once he was given enough resources, his cultivation speed beca terrifying.”
William nodded, his interest growing even stronger.
“Let us go take a look.”
Jess quickly led the way, and the two of them hastened toward the isolated area on the eastern side.
As they drew near, they heard low chanting coming from within. Several Palace Mages in magic robes were gathered around a young boy, explaining sothing to him. The elental lights circling their fingertips were like dancing fireflies.
When they saw William enter, the mages imdiately stopped their instruction and hurried forward to bow.
The elderly man leading them spoke earnestly.
“Your Highness, please co and look at this child. His magical talent is truly rare. With our shallow knowledge, we simply cannot teach him anything deeper.”
“Would it be possible... to invite a Legendary Archmage of the royal family to guide him a little?”
“If we delay any longer, it would truly be a terrible waste.”
William followed their line of sight.
In the middle of the training area, the boy was holding a book of magic and reading it intently. His fingers moved unconsciously through the air, and with those motions, tiny wind blades quietly ford and dispersed.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the roof and fell across his face, illuminating a pair of clear eyes filled with stubborn determination.
It was the young boy with Domain Aptitude they had discovered earlier.
William walked forward. Sensing movent, the boy looked up. When he saw that it was William, he imdiately put down the book, respectfully bowed to him in a proper manner, and showed not the slightest timidity in his eyes—only a thirst for knowledge.
“You were just practicing Wind Blades?” William asked.
The boy nodded and said softly, “The book says the wind elent is the most agile, but I still cannot grasp its rhythm.”
One of the mages hurriedly added, “Your Highness, please look—he has only been exposed to magic for half a month, and he is already a Silver Mage. A talent like this only appears once in a hundred years.”
Looking at the light in the boy’s eyes, William suddenly recalled the small figure curled up for warmth on the Ice and Snow Plains.
In just a few dozen days, the numbness that had once covered this child had already vanished, replaced by vigorous life and spirit.
After a brief silence, he said to the mages, “Continue teaching him the fundantals with your current thods for now. As for a Legendary Archmage, I will think of a way.”
The boy’s eyes lit up instantly. He bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Master.”
William froze for a mont when he heard that, then reached out and patted the boy on the shoulder.
“You are very clever. You understand your own position clearly.”
Then he turned to Jess and said, “List his resources separately. Supply them at three tis the standard used for the royal family’s direct line.”
Jess imdiately responded, “Yes, Your Highness.”
William gave one more glance to the boy, who had already returned to studying the magic text in complete concentration. He gave a slight nod, turned, and walked away.
The mages and the boy all bowed together and watched as his figure disappeared at the end of the passage.
No one noticed that the mont William turned around, the pure thirst for knowledge in the boy’s eyes suddenly faded away, replaced by bottomless hatred, like poisoned icicles—cold enough to pierce the bone.
But that emotion lasted only for an instant. The next mont, he lowered his head again and resud that obedient, studious appearance, as though everything just now had been an illusion.
William knew nothing about it.
He was busy thinking about how he should speak to his father and request that a Legendary Archmage be invited to instruct the boy.
He had no idea that beneath the bed of that seemingly innocent child, hidden inside a secret compartnt, were several forbidden books on soul magic. The edges of their pages had already yellowed with age, and between the lines was recorded forbidden knowledge that had long since been sealed away, even in the royal library.
Every night, after everyone else had fallen asleep, the boy would read them by moonlight. Whenever his fingers traced across those twisted runes, a gloom utterly unsuited to his age would flicker in his eyes.
Outside the manor, the carriage slowly started moving again.
As William looked at the shadows of trees sliding past beyond the window, he calculated his next steps in his heart, never realizing that within the rough jade he had personally picked up, there might be hidden a dark thunderbolt that had not yet exploded.
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