Chapter 152 - Challenge (2/2)
From a distant point in the training grounds' complex, Teacher Song Yazhu was high in the sky. After sparring with Hu Jie for a while, he left him to rest on the ground so he could check on the situation of the other students. Moving his eyes to every occupied training ground, he saw numerous interesting students that had potential. At one point, his eyes stopped on Hei and He Fen.
'That boy... has experience in hand-to-hand combat. It can be seen from its fluid movements. It is an unusual thing seen nowadays; everyone focuses more on the laws and the use of weapons. It isn't at Hu Jie's level who has mastered a high number of different fighting styles, but the few styles he knows have been trained to a very high level. That other green-haired boy with red spots is just an amateur in hand-to-hand combat. But he has the spirit and, above all, a great determination. If this continues, he will improve by leaps and bounds.'
Song Yazhu looked away to observe the other students. Although several students intrigued him, his job was to train all of them without giving preferences. Regardless of their background, he had to make sure that even the least talented of them could have the means to improve themselves. Coming from a zero background, he much appreciated those who worked hard until they sweated blood to become stronger. After all, it was only through his continuous training that he had reached the rank of spirit king.
*
Thud!
He Fen fell disastrously to the ground. Small streaks of blood came out of his lips and were falling drop by drop to the ground. Hei had by now lost count of how many times He Fen himself had. Yet, each time, He Fen would have risen, prompting Hei to continue and hit harder.
Hei was very surprised by his determination. He understood that there was an important reason that was supporting He Fen. ”He Fen, can I ask you why you are doing all this? It isn't just to overcome Feng Chen and Hu Jie. I feel there is something else, no, someone else who is motivating you to move forward.”
Hei's eyes focused intently on He Fen's. The young man from the He Family returned his gaze and sighed intensely. Sudden streaks of fire came out of his mouth and then mysteriously vanished.
”Do you know the difference between a Pure Bloodline and a Royal Bloodline?” He Fen asked as he clenched his fists.
”No, I know the difference between a Pseudo Bloodline and a Pure Bloodline, but I don't know the details of the Royal Bloodlines,” Hei sincerely answered as he became even more curious.
”Regarding the increase in power and understanding of the laws, the difference is zero. So why such a distinction? Simple, the Royal Bloodlines are those that have the purest concentration and, therefore, a higher probability of transmitting the bloodline to one's descendants. My family hadn't produced a member with a pure bloodline for dozens of years. Then suddenly, my older sister was born and then me. Except that my sister's bloodline isn't very pure, it's almost at the pseudo-bloodline level. However, since she is very beautiful, the elders of the family have agreed to give her as a bride to the son of one of the elders of the Que Family, the Vermilion Bird Family, one of the Eight Big Families.
My sister is still young; she is only twenty years old. She has a whole life ahead of her, yet she has been denied the opportunity to fall in love and live her life as she wishes. If it were possible, I would take her and run away with her, but there are our parents and my other brothers and sisters who cannot survive without the help of the family. For them, my sister would be willing to sacrifice herself and live a life locked up in a building as a prize to be displayed when guests come. I can't let that happen.
The elders of my family say there is still time for the actual wedding. Three years. Within this period, I have to beat in an official one vs. one challenge one of the members of the Que Family. Obviously, he will be a martial artist belonging to the younger generation, but if he were someone with talent equal to Hu Jie and Feng Chen, my chances of winning are practically zero. This is why I desperately need to get stronger at all costs. You're the only one who gave me a feeling similar to the geniuses of the Eight Big Families. And after receiving your blows, I know you're still hiding your strength. Please, I beg you, without going through the wrath of hell, I will never be able to reach the power I desperately need.”
At He Fen's plea, Hei closed his eyes. He could understand his despair. Hei also had sisters, after all, Ye and Xing. He would do anything for them to make them happy. If they had been forced into a life of unhappiness as if they were a bargaining chip, he would have been inundated with anger.
”Alright. Since I perfectly understand how you feel, I will no longer restrain myself. Don't die, He Fen. Not now that I'm starting to feel sympathy for you.”
Hei then began to rotate his left arm with Snake Coiling as he prepared to use Spider Lance. With Spider Run, he moved around He Fen to confuse him. However, the latter chased him and began to launch a series of attacks to prevent him from attacking. Seeing this, Hei smiled, though. Then, while pretending to be overwhelmed, he received a kick from He Fen, who pushed him backward.
'Now!'
Forcefully thrusting his toes into the ground, he braked the backward momentum and launched his technique.
'Snake Whip + Snake Coiling + Beast Claws + Spider Lance, Piercing Lance Javelin.'
Dislocating all the bones of the left arm and shoulder to increase the radius of action, the lethal hand like the tip of a spear came against the defensive layer of He Fen's spirit power. The young man, totally taken aback, had no way of parrying. Hei's technique broke his defensive layer of spirit power and penetrated him into the flesh. But before he could reach even more in-depth, He Fen heard a dry sound, and Hei's claw-sharp nails were pulled back.
To avoid seriously injuring He Fen, Hei had asked Lian to stop him using her ribbons. The young blue-haired woman carried out the order, and as soon as He Fen's defensive layer broke, she used her ribbons to push Hei's arm back. However, since Hei's spirit power was all about attacking, the only way to stop him was to break his arm while performing his attack.
Clenching his teeth to suppress the pain, Hei was now standing as he looked at his dangling arm, tilted at a strange angle. Promptly, he turned to Lian.
”Lian, nice job. Don't worry; you did what I asked you to do. Don't be sad because you think you've hurt me. I am the one who is sorry for asking you to do such a thing.”
”I know, but even so, I don't like to see you hurting yourself, even more so if I'm the one doing it.”
Hei then approached Lian and stroked her head as usual with the other arm. Quickly, their other companions approached them, surprised by Hei's injury.
”Hei, lie down. We will medicate you immediately.” Mia said worriedly.
”Okay. Wait a minute, though.”
Hei clenched his teeth again and, using his spirit power, folded his arm back to its original position. The others looked at him in surprise because Hei was doing all this without batting an eyelid. Eventually, Hei sat up while Mia and Lilian used their healing techniques.