With his accumulated experiences, Ren snatched the second leaf with little difficulty.

He stood on the banks of the river, contemplating over the next part of the trial. Observing the violent current, he gulped.

'I need to float on the leaves. The first problem is keeping the leaves attached to my legs. Then, I need to partition another force to float. Therefore, I need two forces. The first to attract the leaf and the second to balance my weight. Good! I'll begin with this plan.'

Ren placed the two leaves together on the water. The current immediately guided them away. Without hesitation, he leaped onto the first leaf. However, he had underestimated the leaf's slippery texture.

Splash!

Like landing on a banana peel, he slipped and plunged into the water. Even his qi failed to help him in this situation.

Struggling, Ren resurfaced to recover his breath.

Breathless, he looked ahead and his face paled. The edge of the waterfall greeted him.

The current pushed the helpless Ren down the waterfall.

Underwater.

‘I can’t see…’ Ren's vision faded. Physical fatigue conquered his body and he struggled to hold his breath.

He had touched upon the thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness. His body refused to move, and the pull of the water grew stronger with each moment.

In this state, he saw the visage of Azen, and something snapped in his mind.

‘I can’t fall here! I can’t die yet!’

Ren felt his heart rate rise. A sense of rivalry overcame him. A new strength, with no apparent source, filled his body. He swam upwards, fighting the current with his renewed strength.

Cough! Cough!

Ren came ashore. Breathless and tired, he collapsed on his knees, coughing.

Even after escaping from near death, the kick in adrenalin hadn’t faded.

He wheezed, intaking as much air his poor lungs could carry.

'I survived...' He collapsed on his back. Dangerously expanding and contracting, his lungs teetered on the verge of an explosion.

After stabilizing his breathing, he approached the cliff.

He searched and found the red sword mark. The portion of the cliff above the arrow looked polished. It did not possess any cracks or extensions. Apparently, someone didn’t want others to climb this section of the cliff.

This time, Ren did not complain. He touched the cliff, gathering his qi into his fingers. They acted like tiny magnets, helping him hold onto the cliff.

He slowly climbed the steep cliff. However, midway he met a new problem. He was lacking in energy! His remaining qi wouldn’t suffice to finish his climb.

Recognizing this, he steeled his heart and abandoned the cliff. The cliff flashed past his eyes.

Gritting his teeth, a mad glint flashed past his eyes. Concentrating all his remaining qi into his left leg, he slammed it onto the ground.

Crack!

He swiftly rolled to divert the remaining momentum. Unfortunately, the damage had been inflicted. Ren held his leg as his face shriveled in pain.

A few minutes later, he approached the cliff again. He had replenished his energy and pondered over his mistakes.

This time, he swiftly climbed the cliff without taking any pauses. Without any untoward incident, he reached the top.

Taking a breather, he searched for the bottle of pills and ate one of the black pills.

‘Bitter!’ Ren’s face contorted. The pill had an extremely bitter taste and an even worse aftertaste.

After he swallowed the pill, Ren experienced a weird, warm feeling in his abdomen. Along with this warm feeling, his fatigue faded and a wave of energy massaged his injured body. Although it did not heal him, it replenished his tired body and rejuvenated him.

Ren looked at the pills and pondered for a while. In the end, he approached Lena, whose entire attention had been stolen by the book.

“Sis Lena-”

“What is it? Giving up already?” She grumpily asked. Ren wondered if he upset her reading session.

“No. Do you have a small bag or pouch?”

Lena’s eyebrows creased. She searched her bag and withdrew a small cloth.

“Here.”

Ren thanked her and departed, slightly limping. Each step he progressed, he was reminded of his broken leg. However, he didn’t want a broken leg to end his training.

He took a few pills and covered them in the cloth. After binding the cloth, he threw it down the cliff. Punching his face, he continued his training.

A few minutes earlier.

While Ren nearly drowned below the waterfall, Lena's heart skipped a beat.

‘Oh no! He’s sinking... He’s not moving! I must move now!’ Her two moon-like pupils gazed at his direction.

Her gaze penetrated through her book and the waterfall. She panicked and clenched her book hard, hesitating on whether to intervene or not.

‘He’s moving! …Yes! He reached the shore!’ She heaved a huge sigh of relief. The last moment had her incredibly tense.

‘He’s probably going to quit now. That’s good! Lena! You Idiot! Why did you give him this ridiculous course? How many times should I forget? He isn’t Kaero!’ By now, she had inwardly cursed herself a million times.

‘I’ll go pick him… Huh? He’s climbing the cliff… No! He doesn’t have enough energy. Ren!’

Seeing Ren climb the cliff, her face paled. She had noted the quantity of energy he possessed while he climbed the tree. She knew that it was insufficient for his climb, especially with his slow pace. Nevertheless, she waited until it emptied before saving him.

However, Ren betrayed her expectations. Before emptying his minimal reserve, he plunged down, sacrificing his left leg to stop his momentum.

Lena flinched, nearly tearing her book in the process. Seeing Ren struggle, she felt like killing herself for recommending this stupid training course.

‘No matter what! If he doesn’t move for half an hour... I’m stopping this training!’ She convinced herself. Her eerie eyes remained focused on Ren.

Once again, betraying her expectations, Ren merely rested for another 15 minutes before climbing the steep cliff.

This time, he had learned from his mistakes and reached the top in almost no time.

She hesitated, wondering if she should stop the training. Before she could come to a decision, Ren limped towards her. Seeing this, her eyes returned to their normal black color.

‘He’s probably going to curse me. But that’s okay… I deserve it. I shouldn’t have given him such a hard task. I’ll apologize…’ She relaxed, but she abhorred the thought of receiving Ren’s resentment.

“Sis Lena…”

“What is it? Giving up already?” As the words left her mouth, she froze.

‘Lena! Why did you say that? Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! He’s definitely going to hate me now!! You're supposed to be angry at yourself! Not at Ren!!’ Her irritation grew as she felt like punching herself.

“No. Do you have a small bag or pouch?”

Lena fell speechless. Dazed, she searched her bag and found a piece of cloth.

“Here.” She passed it to Ren.

“Thank you.”

She remained in a trance as Ren packed a few pills within the cloth and tossed it down the cliff.

‘Lena… he doesn’t need your help.’ A smile crept up her face, and she refocused her attention on her book.

Seeing that she hadn’t progressed from the first page, she smiled wryly.

Time flew by.

Ren did not know what time it was, nor did he care. In his mind, he only desired to conquer this training course.

The sky had darkened and night set in. His injuries grew worsened, and his clothes were drenched. Yet, he showed no signs of stopping.

During this intense round of training, he no longer noticed the whereabouts of Lena. Nearing midnight, she had returned to the cottage at the insistence of her elder sister.

Thus, Ren trained alone.

His focus laid only on the trial. After many hours, he succeeded in floating on the leaf. Now, he tackled a new challenge that taxed his mind... The optimization of his energy usage.

He barely succeeded in standing on the leaves but that did not last till the waterfall. By then, he would deplete his meager reserve of energy.

Thus, Ren utilized various methods to improve the efficiency of his qi usage. If he could optimize his usage of qi while floating, then he could remain afloat until the waterfall. Fortunately, with each failed attempt, he was slowly growing closer to his target.

During this time, he failed to notice the arrival of a new guest.

The stranger observed Ren’s practice routine with avid interest. After watching around 10 failed attempts, he lost interest.

He sat beside the riverbank and lit a fire. Staring at the river, he waited. Soon, a fish exited the river and dived into the flames. He dug into his coat and found a few seasonings. After sprinkling them into the flames, he slouched.

Enjoying Ren’s agony, he grabbed a flagon from his coat and chugged a few large gulps of alcohol.

In the meantime, Ren noticed this stranger. In fact, it wasn’t the fire that attracted him. Instead, the alluring aroma had snagged his attention.

The stranger bit into the fish, and Ren’s stomach growled. Looking at the water, he thought of imitating the stranger. However, he remembered Lena’s instruction and swallowed a few bitter pills.

Even so, his gaze remained on the fish in the stranger’s hand. Soon, the stranger noticed it.

He stopped eating and hesitated. In the end, he asked.

“Do you want one?”

Ren shook his head but his stomach growled in protest. If someone could speak stomach, they would have heard a slew of vulgar profanities. Unfortunately, Ren’s Omnilingual Evolution couldn’t comprehend stomach language.

“Are you sure?” The man asked.

Ren nodded.

The man awkwardly took another bite into his roasted fish. Thanks to his technique, the fish had absorbed all the flavors. The delicious spicy taste, accompanied by the soft chewy texture, mesmerized his taste buds.

Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy the delicacy. Ren’s gaze resembled a honed spear, piercing into his conscience. Losing appetite, he pulled another fish from the river and roasted it.

“Come here. It’s ready.” He said.

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” Ren replied and shifted his gaze with immense difficulty. However, his stomach once again protested and cursed, clearly dissatisfied with Ren's decision. It even considered switching owners.

Ren's reaction annoyed the stranger. He regretted his decision to eat next to the river.

“Kid, stop thinking too much! Your training doesn't prohibit you from eating good food.”

Ren hesitated, not sure if he could believe the black-haired stranger. Although Lena didn’t forbid him from eating other food, she did order him to depend on the pills for food.

“Kid! Either come here or get lost*gulp*. Your face is ruining my appetite!” Ren's indecisive attitude angered the stranger. He snapped before taking another gulp from his flagon.

Ren immediately chose to follow his poor stomach’s desires. Even lions would admit defeat at its growling.

“How do you know about my training course?” Ren asked while enjoying the most delicious food he had ever tasted.

“I’ve passed it a long time back.” The stranger casually replied. The flames reflected in his black eyes.

“Was it hard?”

The stranger rubbed his messy black hair. Thinking back to his first attempts, he nodded.

“Yes. It was hard, but the result justifies the pain. Still, I haven’t tried completing with only qi.” He sipped from his seemingly endless supply of alcohol.

Ren had the urge to ask him for some tips. But he quashed that thought. He couldn’t always depend on others to solve all his problems.

The duo silently finished their roasted fishes. They stared at the flames, each person with their different thoughts.

In the end, the stranger decided to leave. He strolled towards the river and lifted a handful of water. He splashed it on the burning flames. The flames weakened for a while, but they regained their strength.

He poured another handful of water. This time, the water spread evenly throughout the flames. However, it failed to extinguish the fire.

Annoyed, he waved his hand. A large volley of water splashed onto the flames, thoroughly extinguishing it.

Without another word, he disappeared into the darkness.

On the other hand, Ren stared at the place where the flames died. After a few seconds of deep thought, a wave of inspiration struck him.

He had found the solution to his problem!