Leonard soon left the park. While walking home, he was given envious glares, but none dared to try something; those who witnessed his brutal acts didn't want anything to do with him, and he was still holding a bloody knife. They knew better than to try something with such a person.
Leonard, despite now having more money than most around here, still wasn't satisfied.
'My progress is slow.'
Leonard set a goal to reach the next rank. He was currently at Rank 1 Qi, also called the first stage of Qi Formation. He at least wanted to reach Rank 3 or 4 by the time of the coronation, but this was extremely difficult. On average, it takes a person six months to reach the next rank; if Leonard wanted to advance four ranks forward in the span of a year, he had to train hard, or he had to train like a crazed person.
'It seems madness has a crush on me.'
He soon entered his familiar room. He didn't read his books upon reaching it; instead, he placed the books on his bed and stood in the middle of his room. He breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. Although he seemed calm when extorting the criminals, he in fact wasn't calm. He was constantly lying; if the criminals didn't have the image of the Reaper associated with his name, they might have noticed it. But this didn't mean he was obviously spooked; he was good at hiding it.
What he was about to do next was more frightening than what he did the whole day. Leonard extended his hand, then closed his eyes and concentrated on his heart. As if responding to him, his heart started to slowly release something.
If Leonard were looking at his skin, he would have noticed faint golden lines moving from his chest where his heart was found to his hands. The lines danced gracefully but also slowly; it took five minutes just to reach his hands. They danced and danced until they reached his fingernails, then they left his body and moved diligently in the air and spun around. The color gold made the lines seem majestic, as if belonging to a king, despite the light being faint.
Leonard was sweating excessively. He was in deep concentration; his eyes were still closed, but yet he could feel what was happening. It was as if a finger was forming. The golden lines moved until they formed a golden saber. Once the saber was formed, Leonard felt as if a finger had materialized; it was a strange feeling.
He slowly opened his eyes. Once he did, a golden saber met his view.
"Just like yesterday," Leonard muttered to himself. His eyes held curiosity and... fear?
Clang, clang.
The saber fell on the ground. A metallic sound was heard throughout the room. He felt slight annoyance at the golden saber being dirty; he extended his arm and picked it up by the handle. He lifted it up and inspected it. It was the same as yesterday. The gold was extremely enchanting, especially to Leonard since he had never seen gold in his life; this was only the second time he had seen it.
"Huff..." he let out a breath of air.
He then stood straight and pointed his saber at the wall. He grabbed the handle tightly, which felt weird since the saber was like his finger; it was like he was grabbing his own finger from the bottom. He then delivered a strike to the air. The dust particles moved and the air shifted, but the wall was unmoved, which made Leonard rejoice inwardly.
His strike could only be described as crude and unrefined. It was to be expected, though; Leonard had never trained in swordsmanship. His hands weren't that muscular or refined. The fact that he was swinging a light weapon didn't help him at all; as such, his strike was crude.
He swung the saber a few more times before he called it a day. His body felt drained and his arms felt weak. Just like the first time, he saw the saber disappear in the air. Once he saw this, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
And just like before, he felt his Qi rush at his heart. The pain followed. Leonard wasn't a fan of experiencing pain, especially this kind of pain. It was so extremely painful that saliva dripped from his mouth, landing on his floor. To his rejoice, the pain soon stopped as his Qi settled at his heart, fading from sight.
'Ten minutes.'
Ten minutes was how long Leonard was able to use his saber until it disappeared. Leonard was able to move his Qi and create the saber mainly because of his intuition. It was like how one knows how to lift an object or jump despite never actively doing it; he was able to do it, though whether there was a better way of doing it, he didn't know.
Once he checked that everything was okay with him, he threw himself on his bed. He was extremely tired; the day was eventful and he still wasn't done. He still had to read the books he borrowed from the library, which had to be returned the next day. The time he had with the books was short; no one, no matter how skilled, could read the books in the time he was given.
Leonard decided to outline the important points and visit the library frequently to get a detailed explanation. Visiting the library wasn't the only thing he had to do; he also had to work out to get a refined physique. He had to train his non-existent swordsmanship; how he'd do these things, he didn't know. He had to learn and practice his saber abilities. He also had to get on the royalties' good side. He even had to extort a few more people in case he needed more money.
Leonard was suddenly busy. Every second was now extremely precious, as he had to be constantly doing something in relation to the goals he set out. He also couldn't neglect his sleep; a tired fighter is a dead fighter. With a sigh, he opened one book and started reading.