31 Can You Help Me Open the Door?
A week after Isar’s visit, Leon still hadn’t met the legendary grandma.
Leon couldn’t help but wonder—was that old Dragon King lost on the way to her granddaughter’s house?
Roswiser had mentioned that dragons with the same bloodline and power could vaguely sense each other’s locations, so getting lost was a bit of a stretch.
Right after, the Queen asked, “Why have you been bringing up my grandma so often lately? Are you anxious to meet the folks?”
General Leon waved his hand like a pro in denial, “I just want to see what kind of dragon can raise someone as peculiar as you.”
Roswiser couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.
The couple waited day after day for the grandmother’s visit while constantly sending out spies and scouts into Red Flame Dragon territory for intel.
If things calmed down a bit over there, they’d immediately set off to find Constantine’s trusted aide.
Of course, during the waiting days, Leon wasn’t just twiddling his thumbs.
He started studying the “Martial Arts Secret Manual” his Master had handed him when they exchanged intel a few days ago.
The Nine Gates of Hell
Leon sat cross-legged in the practice yard of the backyard, with some pastries that Moon had just brought sitting beside him.
Little Dragon Daughter had initially wanted to bug Dad to play for a while, but when she saw him seriously studying that book she couldn’t understand, she left the pastries behind and dashed off to play with the maids.
His daughter was growing up day by day, becoming more sensible, and General Leon felt quite proud of himself.
He opened the first page of The Nine Gates of Hell, where the preface contained the author’s inspirations and historical background for developing this body technique.
“Legend has it that there are nine layers of hell, each representing different human sins, with various punishments from the Hell’s Minions tailored for each sin.”
“Only those sinners who endure the trials of the nine layers of hell and achieve redemption will have the chance to traverse through the deepest layer of hell, returning to the human world or… reaching heaven.”
“When that time comes, those who successfully traverse the nine layers of hell will be like reborn from the fire, able to sweep through any challenges with just their physical form, undefeated…”
Reading this preface, Leon smirked slightly, muttering,
“The title is intimidating, the background even more so. Basically, it means that if I master this body technique, I can surpass human limits in physical strength—even without magic.”
The ancestors who created various magics, illusions, or techniques always had a knack for leaving behind some mythical or legendary snippets in the introductions of their ancient texts, showcasing how amazing their moves were.
What’s worse, this kind of writing style remains a mainstream favorite even today.
Everyone loves analyzing those tall tales spun by the ancestors, and some have even turned them into religions and beliefs.
In the Dragon Slaying Academy, there’s even a specialized course dedicated to studying the myths and legends left behind by the predecessors in magical texts.
Leon had taken this elective during his studies and graduated with flying colors.
The old professor of the course thought Leon was a prodigy in this field, so at his graduation, he repeatedly begged Leon to stay at the academy and help them decipher more myths and legends, together unearthing the secrets of humanity’s past and salvaging the forgotten remnants from the river of history, balabala.
Leon had replied, “Dude, you’ve got it wrong. I took this elective just to learn about different types of magic. As for your metaphors and myths… I was just jotting down some reflections.”
“Just jotting down some reflections” “Graduated with flying colors.”
If Rebecca had been in the same class as the captain back then, she probably would have realized he was an absolute expert at playing nonchalance much sooner.
After finishing the preface, Leon flipped to the table of contents.
Just like he taught Noia back in the day, when reading, first check the table of contents. If it’s knowledge he’s already mastered, draw a green line; if he’s unsure, a yellow line; and red for things he’s got no clue about.
This study method may or may not work for others, but for geniuses like Leon and Noia, it was efficient, to say the least.
After scanning the table of contents from top to bottom, Leon flipped to a later page.
The last sentence on that page read:
[At this point, your physical strength should meet the following criteria (meeting any one is enough):
Remain breathing steadily for over twelve hours while gravely injured;
Move at the speed of a Dragon King in human form;
Experience a significant uplift in self-healing compared to before practicing this body technique;
Engage in continuous combat for over five hours.]
Leon looked at these reference standards, smacked his lips, and shook his head, “Is just meeting one of these standards enough? Well, I should… qualify for all of them, right?”
Three years ago, when Victor pierced his heart and he was locked away by the Silver Dragon Clan, he lasted far longer than twelve hours;
Even when he wasn’t back at his peak, he kept up with Roswiser, who was known for her speed, while in a practically dying state;
His self-healing ability was through the roof; he remembered those days when he and Roswiser would get into pointless fights, and if she let him take a break for a few days, he could definitely give her a run for her money when it was time to hand in homework.
As for the last point, continuous combat for over five hours? General Leon had a lot of experience there.
Whether it was slaying dragons or “riding” them, he could go five hours straight.
The former was thanks to the excellent teaching from his Dragon Slaying Academy teachers; the latter was due to Melkway’s fine instruction.
All in all, Casmod was a good student!
“Meet these standards, and I can officially start practicing the Nine Gates of Hell.”
Leon flipped to the next page, which had a detailed introduction to the Nine Gates of Hell.
“The body technique ‘Nine Gates of Hell’ divides the human body into nine stages, represented by different ‘gates’ of various names.”
“The First Gate, Steel Gate—wait, what gate?!”
Leon thought he must have misread the text. He put the book down and rubbed his eyes vigorously before looking again.
Sure enough.
He wasn’t mistaken.
…
…
“Caw~~ Caw~~”
Two crows flew overhead, croaking sounds perfectly reflecting Leon’s current mental state.
Wait, your preface was all about hell and heaven, and now you’re leading me to this?
Even though it wasn’t the organ Leon had in mind, he just couldn’t hold back a laugh at this sudden pun.
“Only my Master would find such abstract secrets at the risk of life.”
Leon took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, and continued reading.
Thank goodness, the names that followed were all pretty normal, no weird puns. Leon let out a sigh of relief.
But when he saw the last gate’s name, his finger paused over the page, his eyes fixated on those two simple characters, muttering,
“d*ath Gate.”
Leon’s pupils quivered slightly, “Sounds like a move that’ll hurt me as much as my enemy…”
He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
He wasn’t practicing the last gate yet; he had to get the first eight down pat first.
“Alright, then, how do I unlock the first gate…?”
Leon flipped through the book, finding the corresponding content:
“To unlock the first gate, external force is required, preferably from someone trustworthy with Dragon King-level power…”
“Hiss… Dragon King… Dragon King…”
He pondered, and a name popped into his head naturally.
“Roswiser…?!”
