It happened after a whole week of mock battles between the Inner Disciples, supervised by Leinor. The groups were selected by random and everyone needed to work together to achieve their given mission. The catch was that every mission had a counter-mission issued out, pitting them against each other, trying to prevent the other team from succeeding. Everything went smoothly at first, until the last day of the exercise, when one of the groups, that just lost, got into an infight.
Toobu, a 19 year old young man was facing three of his companions, wearing a stoic, calm expression, crossing his arms before his chest. He was quite tall, reaching over 210cm, with a fit, athletic build. He had a sun-kissed, bronze colored skin and short, spiky, black hair and deep brown eyes. They were standing near the forest where the outing took place and where they failed to complete their task. It was only a few kilometers away from the Rorik Kingdom, but already in the Empire’s territory. They were originally waiting beside other, already finished groups of disciple brothers and sisters, when their argument broke out.
“You can try and blame me if you want, but it was your own fault for not listening to me.” Toobu spoke up with a deep voice, addressing his three compatriots, Keltin, Paran and Lox.
All four of them hailed from the Empire and all of them were born as the sons of small noble families. They were from the Empire but from its different regions. While Toobu was at the 5th stage of the body refinement realm, the other three stepped into the 6th stage a month ago, feeling powerful and confident when coming to this exercise, only to lose at the last day. As he faced all three of them he showed no fear, standing alone against three adversaries.
“You still try to act like the group’s leader?” Keltin snorted.
“Yeah! Yet you never were selected for the role!” Lox finished his friend’s words, while Paran nodded, agreeing with the two.
“Well you should have made me the leader then.” He answered without a shred of shyness. “I already told you three after our first clash with the other team, what were their weaknesses and strengths! I also devised a plan on how to counter their skills and gain decisive advantage over them! Yet you ignored everything I said!” Toobu sighed, opening his arms wide, looking down on them literally and figuratively too. “You three fucked it up! I tried to support you as much as I could yet you just had to rush into such a dumb trap! Maybe you three are infatuated with Miyiri on the other team but I couldn’t give two shits about her! If one should be angry here it should be me, that you three cucked the whole thing for me!”
“Fuck you said?!” Paran walked up to him, looking a bit upwards as the three boys were almost a head shorter than Toobu.
“I see!” He raised his eyebrows. “You are not just dumb, you are also handicapped! Let me translate it for you!” He moved his arms, forming strange signals with his fingers as all three immediately stepped back, raising their auras. They were ready to fight but no spells came from Toobu in the end. After he finished, he just flashed a small smile, keeping up the last sign before slowly putting down his arms.
“What…?” Paran whispered, looking at his friends who just shrugged.
“Dunno!” Lox replied.
“Are your eyes also bad or I spelled it somewhere wrong?” Toobu asked. “My sign language is not perfect, it was a very long time ago when I last used it! Then let me say it slowly too, try to read it from my lips!” He repeated once again but now articulating every word loudly, mocking them, “Why not beat your meat before going on a mission? Fucking it up because of a girl… pathetic!”
His last words were the sparks that lit up the fire as a brawl ensued immediately. It was happening right at the edge of the forest, while the rest of the disciples watched on interestedly, forming a circle around them. They had the restraint to not use their full power and went at it raw, fighting with their fists only. The power behind one punch in their realm could still shatter a normal human’s skull or go through brick walls, so it was not pretty. Even though it was an unfair advantage against Toobu, the trio could not really work together which was used against them immediately. Toobu was grabbing Keltin’s punching arm, pulling on it, dragging him close as a meat shield. It was him who ate up the quickly arriving fist of Lox, with his own face.
“Idiot! Don’t punch me, punch him!” He screamed but came another fist, landing on him again, now the culprit being Paran who knocked one of his teeth out. “Fuck you too!” He screamed again while Toobu was holding him firmly with intense strength, dragging Keltin along like a ragdoll.
“Now you are fighting against each other? How fragile the ego of the peacucks~” He laughed loudly but then Keltin threw his head backwards, with all of the force he could muster, landing a clear hit. “Well you CAN use your head! What a surprise” Toobu continued to laugh, spitting out some blood but not letting go, just lifting up Keltin like a log, throwing him at the other two.
“Enough!” came a commanding voice before it could escalate further as Boursat slowly descended from the sky. His aura made the rest of the disciples nauseous as the odor of blood permanated the area. Toobu just stood back, wiping the small trace of blood from his lips while the others scrambled to stand, heaving and huffing, looking with vicious eyes at him. “Who do you think you are?” Boursat asked with a strict and loud voice.
“...” Everyone stayed silent, as even the disciples who just enjoyed the little show, did not dare to look up at Boursat.
“I guessed so.” He snorted loudly, landing before them, at first looking at Toobu then the rest. “All four of you are to be deducted for 20 contribution points and confined for 3 days in solitary cells!”
“But-” Keltin spoke up but then Boursat’s aura washed over him as his legs gave out, crashing to the ground once again, with a pale face.
“6 days it is! Any more stupid words you wish the spew out of your mouths?” looked over at everyone while Toobu just shook his head.
“It’s a fair decision.” Toobu answered calmly when his eyes met with Boursat’s.
“You are disciples of the Immortal Wonders Sect.” Boursat continued, warning the others too. “None of you should even dream that I would ignore something disgraceful as this!”
“Fighting is not forbidden between disciples…” Paran murmured but Toobu just shook his head. Paran suddenly trembled and found it hard to breathe while Boursat’s eyes were looking into his eyes and almost making him pee himself.
“Another 20 points of deduction and 1 more day.” Boursat said coldly, “Fighting is not forbidden, yes, but it needs to follow procedures you are all familiar with!” He explained, still maintaining eye contact with Paran. “Issue a challenge. When the challenge is accepted, the challenged party can set the date and time of the match that is going to be held in the Arena. OVERSEEN by at least ONE Elder. Do I need to continue? I am familiar with the rules, I was one of the Elders who wrote them!” He closed his eyes slowly as the pressure went away, letting everyone breathe freely once again.
Nobody dared to talk for the remainder of their outing, not even when the rest of the groups returned as Boursat stood beside the four troublemakers. Only Toobu looked relaxed, sitting down and cultivating while they waited. When Leinor arrived, being the last to return, he was surprised as he received the voice transmission of Boursat. He flashed a little smile, unseen by the rest, before continuing to act normally, only giving an understanding nod towards his great-granduncle.
“I was already informed what happened. I wish not to talk about it anymore.” He said softly “When we arrive back at the Sect, I’m going to announce the result tomorrow. The team with the most points is going to get 30 contribution points. Each member, of course. The second team gets 20, and the third gets 10. The rest needs to be satisfied with only the experiences you gained!” Leinor smiled just as Ren usually did. “You all are going to have a week off, there won’t be lessons, so you can focus on going through what you learned! Make good use of it!” He clapped his hand, ending the little exercise for the Inner Disciples, taking them back to the Sect on the Skyshark.
…
….
…..
It was early morning when Toobu walked out from the Disciplinary Hall and stretched in the rays of the morning sun, sighing loudly.
“Nothing can beat fresh air! Let's see what happened in the past few days.”
Arriving at the Mission Hall he checked out the new posts, coming across the announcement of Ren’s competition and also the post by Kyu, offering services to help disciples practice spells.
“Oh? This is perfect!” He grinned, copying them down before hurrying back to his room for a quick shower, change of uniform and going straight to the training ground where Kyu was waiting for disciples to come to her.
“Stop!” rang out the voice of hers, quickly arriving before Toobu. She was not even reaching his waist height, looking up at him. “If you are here to train, first you need to pay the fee to Kyu! This is the rules, this is Kyu’s field!” She said firmly, hands on her hips.
The training grounds were separated to ten, big fields, where disciples could come and practice freely but it seemed Kyu claimed ownership of one of the slag fields, shooing away anyone who did not pay her.
“I read the announcement of Lady Kyu!” Toobu smiled, kneeling down to be at her eye level. He was wearing a friendly smile and speaking flatteringly, that clearly softened up the proud little demon’s expression.
“Mmm! Of course you did!” She nodded happily.
“Here, I brought 30 points. That should warrant 10 hours, yes?” He gave her a purple card that she immediately snatched, her head bobbing like a chicken’s.
“Kyu likes you! You are nice, you get Kyu’s special discount!” laughed, giving back only one point, almost making Toobu choke… but he kept the smiling, face calm and collected.
“Oh, no, no, thank you but I think Lady Kyu needs it, a full 30 points should be worth something… tasty, no?” He said, trying not to twitch.
“Ahaha, now Kyu likes you even more! You are a good man!” She pulled her hand back immediately, pocketing everything and getting ready to start. She was jumping from one leg to another “What do you want to do?”
“I need to test a spell of mine, of course.” Toobu stood back up.
“Sure, sure!” She nodded, hopping there defenseless, like a child doing hopscotch, clearly waiting for him to start. Kyu was not really afraid of his powers as she was used to Leinor and Ren’s power levels.
Toobu did not get angry at Kyu for taking him lightly, like some other disciples did. Knowing it was the Junior Sect Head’s infamous pet demon, easily eating up her attacks. It was futile to mention beginner spells from cultivators in his own realm. After taking a deep breath his left hand turned icy blue, cracking, as frost covered it up, right to his shoulder while his right hand lit up with flames. Stretching out the one that was on fire, it acted as a flamethrower, spitting out blazing, hot fire, rushing towards Kyu.
“Kyu likes spicy food!” She laughed as she opened her mouth and a black array formed inside of it, gulping down the flames continuously.
“Tsk… First time seeing and feeling it… The rumors were not even close…” Toobu clicked his tongue with a bit of fear in his voice. He felt like if Kyu would put in a bit more effort, she would drain him of his life with one breath. “Let’s turn this up!” He groaned as his icy hand stretched out, but towards the ground. The air around him turned colder and colder, and on the slag frost grew, quickly turning into ice. His flames burst out with renewed intensity, turning from orange to almost completely white.
“More!” Kyu demanded loudly, raising her hands too, consuming it faster, draining Toobu from his energy almost in a few seconds so he had to cancel the spell.
“E-enough! Huh… s-sorry, I need… a breather!” He tumbled backwards, gasping for air, leaning forward after catching his balance, preventing him from falling over.
“Uuu… it just got yummy!” Kyu moaned, smacking her smoking lips, walking closer, patting her hands. “It was hot and warmy! Kyu’s tummy felt great from it!”
“T-thanks?” He chuckled, regulating his breathing.
“What are we going to do next?”
“Next?” He asked with a sly smile. “I’m completely out of energy. I need to go home and rest. I’ll be back tomorrow.” He answered honestly.
“Huh? But… but…” She blinked, completely stunned, opening her mouth and closing it, trying to say something.
“Yeah, I paid Lady Kyu~ Don’t worry, I keep track of time, we did train for 17 minutes! Let’s round it up to 20! That will make our life easier!” Toobu nodded, keeping up an innocent smile. “I still have 580 minutes that I paid for in advance! Don’t worry, until the competition comes I’ll use them up!” He cupped his hands then left, leaving behind a stunned Kyu.
“B-bu-but… but… then next time he comes Kyu won’t get more points…? Uuuuu!” She puckered her mouth, now being upset as in her mind he should use it up at once! So when he comes back he needs to pay her again! “This is cheating!” She grumbled, stomping on the ground, cracking up the ice that was still there.
“See?” Leinor smiled, standing below a tree, leaning against it, while Ren sat atop a branch above him, swinging her legs.
“Yeah! He really has a special constitution… and he is really sharp!” She murmured with a voice that was surprised, nostalgic and troubled at the same time.
“Mmm? What is it? You don’t sound excited.” Leinor looked up, catching the weirdness in her tone.
“I am… in a way… and I can see why you want him as your first disciple!” Ren nodded, watching the leaving Toobu. “But his draining effect is different from yours.”
“Of course! But the concept behind it works the same way! He also derived this technique from that one lesson of yours. About the ancient constitutions and rare gifts that still pop up today, here and there. Like my family or Lady Anya’s line with their eye power. You were just speaking in broad terms yet look at him, he already developed a technique from it! It was-”
“The Frozen Heart Physique. I know.” Ren nodded, cutting in with a low voice. “He was also born with it. He can drain the surroundings from its heat and convert it for himself to be used! You said he needs twice as much time to advance as others, of course he does! If he does not adapt his body, it could freeze over or burst into flames! Luckily his mind is sharp and it is being used without the need to be told to do so!” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I sometimes wonder how some of the disciples function without being told to breathe in and breathe out every time they wake up!”
“Ahaha, don’t be so harsh on them!” He chuckled, looking up at her. “Also, he always places in the top 3, when we have written exams! Before he joined us, it was believed he had a clashing, dual affinity! But now it is evident he has a special constitution instead. I don’t want to waste a talent like him!”
“Me neither. But his life isn’t going to be easy!” She sighed, shaking her head once again, jumping down, next to Leinor. “You need to guide him well.”
“Of course! But… What do you mean?” He looked at her with questions in his eyes.
“Keep his emotions afloat!” Ren looked into Leinor’s eyes with a serious gaze. “The name, Frozen Heart Physique is everything you need to know! Don’t let it evolve into its final form or he is going to be devoid of feeling anything!”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t and if I can’t figure something out, I can always turn to you too, no?” He joked, drawing a smile onto Ren’s face.
“Sure, but you’ll need to pay my fees!”
“Which is?” Leinor asked, playing with her hair gently.
“Do you remember our old technique of joining energies? I came up with an upgraded versi- Hey! Come back here! You dare to run?!” She laughed, as Leinor was already flying far away, leaving behind sonic booms. “You are still slower if it comes to speed, LeiLei!” Ren shouted as she rushed after him, leaving rumbling thunders behind, echoing above the Sect on a clear day as they woke up a lot of meditating disciples.
It happened after a whole week of mock battles between the Inner Disciples, supervised by Leinor. The groups were selected by random and everyone needed to work together to achieve their given mission. The catch was that every mission had a counter-mission issued out, pitting them against each other, trying to prevent the other team from succeeding. Everything went smoothly at first, until the last day of the exercise, when one of the groups, that just lost, got into an infight.
Toobu, a 19 year old young man was facing three of his companions, wearing a stoic, calm expression, crossing his arms before his chest. He was quite tall, reaching over 210cm, with a fit, athletic build. He had a sun-kissed, bronze colored skin and short, spiky, black hair and deep brown eyes. They were standing near the forest where the outing took place and where they failed to complete their task. It was only a few kilometers away from the Rorik Kingdom, but already in the Empire’s territory. They were originally waiting beside other, already finished groups of disciple brothers and sisters, when their argument broke out.
“You can try and blame me if you want, but it was your own fault for not listening to me.” Toobu spoke up with a deep voice, addressing his three compatriots, Keltin, Paran and Lox.
All four of them hailed from the Empire and all of them were born as the sons of small noble families. They were from the Empire but from its different regions. While Toobu was at the 5th stage of the body refinement realm, the other three stepped into the 6th stage a month ago, feeling powerful and confident when coming to this exercise, only to lose at the last day. As he faced all three of them he showed no fear, standing alone against three adversaries.
“You still try to act like the group’s leader?” Keltin snorted.
“Yeah! Yet you never were selected for the role!” Lox finished his friend’s words, while Paran nodded, agreeing with the two.
“Well you should have made me the leader then.” He answered without a shred of shyness. “I already told you three after our first clash with the other team, what were their weaknesses and strengths! I also devised a plan on how to counter their skills and gain decisive advantage over them! Yet you ignored everything I said!” Toobu sighed, opening his arms wide, looking down on them literally and figuratively too. “You three fucked it up! I tried to support you as much as I could yet you just had to rush into such a dumb trap! Maybe you three are infatuated with Miyiri on the other team but I couldn’t give two shits about her! If one should be angry here it should be me, that you three cucked the whole thing for me!”
“Fuck you said?!” Paran walked up to him, looking a bit upwards as the three boys were almost a head shorter than Toobu.
“I see!” He raised his eyebrows. “You are not just dumb, you are also handicapped! Let me translate it for you!” He moved his arms, forming strange signals with his fingers as all three immediately stepped back, raising their auras. They were ready to fight but no spells came from Toobu in the end. After he finished, he just flashed a small smile, keeping up the last sign before slowly putting down his arms.
“What…?” Paran whispered, looking at his friends who just shrugged.
“Dunno!” Lox replied.
“Are your eyes also bad or I spelled it somewhere wrong?” Toobu asked. “My sign language is not perfect, it was a very long time ago when I last used it! Then let me say it slowly too, try to read it from my lips!” He repeated once again but now articulating every word loudly, mocking them, “Why not beat your meat before going on a mission? Fucking it up because of a girl… pathetic!”
His last words were the sparks that lit up the fire as a brawl ensued immediately. It was happening right at the edge of the forest, while the rest of the disciples watched on interestedly, forming a circle around them. They had the restraint to not use their full power and went at it raw, fighting with their fists only. The power behind one punch in their realm could still shatter a normal human’s skull or go through brick walls, so it was not pretty. Even though it was an unfair advantage against Toobu, the trio could not really work together which was used against them immediately. Toobu was grabbing Keltin’s punching arm, pulling on it, dragging him close as a meat shield. It was him who ate up the quickly arriving fist of Lox, with his own face.
“Idiot! Don’t punch me, punch him!” He screamed but came another fist, landing on him again, now the culprit being Paran who knocked one of his teeth out. “Fuck you too!” He screamed again while Toobu was holding him firmly with intense strength, dragging Keltin along like a ragdoll.
“Now you are fighting against each other? How fragile the ego of the peacucks~” He laughed loudly but then Keltin threw his head backwards, with all of the force he could muster, landing a clear hit. “Well you CAN use your head! What a surprise” Toobu continued to laugh, spitting out some blood but not letting go, just lifting up Keltin like a log, throwing him at the other two.
“Enough!” came a commanding voice before it could escalate further as Boursat slowly descended from the sky. His aura made the rest of the disciples nauseous as the odor of blood permanated the area. Toobu just stood back, wiping the small trace of blood from his lips while the others scrambled to stand, heaving and huffing, looking with vicious eyes at him. “Who do you think you are?” Boursat asked with a strict and loud voice.
“...” Everyone stayed silent, as even the disciples who just enjoyed the little show, did not dare to look up at Boursat.
“I guessed so.” He snorted loudly, landing before them, at first looking at Toobu then the rest. “All four of you are to be deducted for 20 contribution points and confined for 3 days in solitary cells!”
“But-” Keltin spoke up but then Boursat’s aura washed over him as his legs gave out, crashing to the ground once again, with a pale face.
“6 days it is! Any more stupid words you wish the spew out of your mouths?” looked over at everyone while Toobu just shook his head.
“It’s a fair decision.” Toobu answered calmly when his eyes met with Boursat’s.
“You are disciples of the Immortal Wonders Sect.” Boursat continued, warning the others too. “None of you should even dream that I would ignore something disgraceful as this!”
“Fighting is not forbidden between disciples…” Paran murmured but Toobu just shook his head. Paran suddenly trembled and found it hard to breathe while Boursat’s eyes were looking into his eyes and almost making him pee himself.
“Another 20 points of deduction and 1 more day.” Boursat said coldly, “Fighting is not forbidden, yes, but it needs to follow procedures you are all familiar with!” He explained, still maintaining eye contact with Paran. “Issue a challenge. When the challenge is accepted, the challenged party can set the date and time of the match that is going to be held in the Arena. OVERSEEN by at least ONE Elder. Do I need to continue? I am familiar with the rules, I was one of the Elders who wrote them!” He closed his eyes slowly as the pressure went away, letting everyone breathe freely once again.
Nobody dared to talk for the remainder of their outing, not even when the rest of the groups returned as Boursat stood beside the four troublemakers. Only Toobu looked relaxed, sitting down and cultivating while they waited. When Leinor arrived, being the last to return, he was surprised as he received the voice transmission of Boursat. He flashed a little smile, unseen by the rest, before continuing to act normally, only giving an understanding nod towards his great-granduncle.
“I was already informed what happened. I wish not to talk about it anymore.” He said softly “When we arrive back at the Sect, I’m going to announce the result tomorrow. The team with the most points is going to get 30 contribution points. Each member, of course. The second team gets 20, and the third gets 10. The rest needs to be satisfied with only the experiences you gained!” Leinor smiled just as Ren usually did. “You all are going to have a week off, there won’t be lessons, so you can focus on going through what you learned! Make good use of it!” He clapped his hand, ending the little exercise for the Inner Disciples, taking them back to the Sect on the Skyshark.
…
….
…..
It was early morning when Toobu walked out from the Disciplinary Hall and stretched in the rays of the morning sun, sighing loudly.
“Nothing can beat fresh air! Let's see what happened in the past few days.”
Arriving at the Mission Hall he checked out the new posts, coming across the announcement of Ren’s competition and also the post by Kyu, offering services to help disciples practice spells.
“Oh? This is perfect!” He grinned, copying them down before hurrying back to his room for a quick shower, change of uniform and going straight to the training ground where Kyu was waiting for disciples to come to her.
“Stop!” rang out the voice of hers, quickly arriving before Toobu. She was not even reaching his waist height, looking up at him. “If you are here to train, first you need to pay the fee to Kyu! This is the rules, this is Kyu’s field!” She said firmly, hands on her hips.
The training grounds were separated to ten, big fields, where disciples could come and practice freely but it seemed Kyu claimed ownership of one of the slag fields, shooing away anyone who did not pay her.
“I read the announcement of Lady Kyu!” Toobu smiled, kneeling down to be at her eye level. He was wearing a friendly smile and speaking flatteringly, that clearly softened up the proud little demon’s expression.
“Mmm! Of course you did!” She nodded happily.
“Here, I brought 30 points. That should warrant 10 hours, yes?” He gave her a purple card that she immediately snatched, her head bobbing like a chicken’s.
“Kyu likes you! You are nice, you get Kyu’s special discount!” laughed, giving back only one point, almost making Toobu choke… but he kept the smiling, face calm and collected.
“Oh, no, no, thank you but I think Lady Kyu needs it, a full 30 points should be worth something… tasty, no?” He said, trying not to twitch.
“Ahaha, now Kyu likes you even more! You are a good man!” She pulled her hand back immediately, pocketing everything and getting ready to start. She was jumping from one leg to another “What do you want to do?”
“I need to test a spell of mine, of course.” Toobu stood back up.
“Sure, sure!” She nodded, hopping there defenseless, like a child doing hopscotch, clearly waiting for him to start. Kyu was not really afraid of his powers as she was used to Leinor and Ren’s power levels.
Toobu did not get angry at Kyu for taking him lightly, like some other disciples did. Knowing it was the Junior Sect Head’s infamous pet demon, easily eating up her attacks. It was futile to mention beginner spells from cultivators in his own realm. After taking a deep breath his left hand turned icy blue, cracking, as frost covered it up, right to his shoulder while his right hand lit up with flames. Stretching out the one that was on fire, it acted as a flamethrower, spitting out blazing, hot fire, rushing towards Kyu.
“Kyu likes spicy food!” She laughed as she opened her mouth and a black array formed inside of it, gulping down the flames continuously.
“Tsk… First time seeing and feeling it… The rumors were not even close…” Toobu clicked his tongue with a bit of fear in his voice. He felt like if Kyu would put in a bit more effort, she would drain him of his life with one breath. “Let’s turn this up!” He groaned as his icy hand stretched out, but towards the ground. The air around him turned colder and colder, and on the slag frost grew, quickly turning into ice. His flames burst out with renewed intensity, turning from orange to almost completely white.
“More!” Kyu demanded loudly, raising her hands too, consuming it faster, draining Toobu from his energy almost in a few seconds so he had to cancel the spell.
“E-enough! Huh… s-sorry, I need… a breather!” He tumbled backwards, gasping for air, leaning forward after catching his balance, preventing him from falling over.
“Uuu… it just got yummy!” Kyu moaned, smacking her smoking lips, walking closer, patting her hands. “It was hot and warmy! Kyu’s tummy felt great from it!”
“T-thanks?” He chuckled, regulating his breathing.
“What are we going to do next?”
“Next?” He asked with a sly smile. “I’m completely out of energy. I need to go home and rest. I’ll be back tomorrow.” He answered honestly.
“Huh? But… but…” She blinked, completely stunned, opening her mouth and closing it, trying to say something.
“Yeah, I paid Lady Kyu~ Don’t worry, I keep track of time, we did train for 17 minutes! Let’s round it up to 20! That will make our life easier!” Toobu nodded, keeping up an innocent smile. “I still have 580 minutes that I paid for in advance! Don’t worry, until the competition comes I’ll use them up!” He cupped his hands then left, leaving behind a stunned Kyu.
“B-bu-but… but… then next time he comes Kyu won’t get more points…? Uuuuu!” She puckered her mouth, now being upset as in her mind he should use it up at once! So when he comes back he needs to pay her again! “This is cheating!” She grumbled, stomping on the ground, cracking up the ice that was still there.
“See?” Leinor smiled, standing below a tree, leaning against it, while Ren sat atop a branch above him, swinging her legs.
“Yeah! He really has a special constitution… and he is really sharp!” She murmured with a voice that was surprised, nostalgic and troubled at the same time.
“Mmm? What is it? You don’t sound excited.” Leinor looked up, catching the weirdness in her tone.
“I am… in a way… and I can see why you want him as your first disciple!” Ren nodded, watching the leaving Toobu. “But his draining effect is different from yours.”
“Of course! But the concept behind it works the same way! He also derived this technique from that one lesson of yours. About the ancient constitutions and rare gifts that still pop up today, here and there. Like my family or Lady Anya’s line with their eye power. You were just speaking in broad terms yet look at him, he already developed a technique from it! It was-”
“The Frozen Heart Physique. I know.” Ren nodded, cutting in with a low voice. “He was also born with it. He can drain the surroundings from its heat and convert it for himself to be used! You said he needs twice as much time to advance as others, of course he does! If he does not adapt his body, it could freeze over or burst into flames! Luckily his mind is sharp and it is being used without the need to be told to do so!” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I sometimes wonder how some of the disciples function without being told to breathe in and breathe out every time they wake up!”
“Ahaha, don’t be so harsh on them!” He chuckled, looking up at her. “Also, he always places in the top 3, when we have written exams! Before he joined us, it was believed he had a clashing, dual affinity! But now it is evident he has a special constitution instead. I don’t want to waste a talent like him!”
“Me neither. But his life isn’t going to be easy!” She sighed, shaking her head once again, jumping down, next to Leinor. “You need to guide him well.”
“Of course! But… What do you mean?” He looked at her with questions in his eyes.
“Keep his emotions afloat!” Ren looked into Leinor’s eyes with a serious gaze. “The name, Frozen Heart Physique is everything you need to know! Don’t let it evolve into its final form or he is going to be devoid of feeling anything!”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t and if I can’t figure something out, I can always turn to you too, no?” He joked, drawing a smile onto Ren’s face.
“Sure, but you’ll need to pay my fees!”
“Which is?” Leinor asked, playing with her hair gently.
“Do you remember our old technique of joining energies? I came up with an upgraded versi- Hey! Come back here! You dare to run?!” She laughed, as Leinor was already flying far away, leaving behind sonic booms. “You are still slower if it comes to speed, LeiLei!” Ren shouted as she rushed after him, leaving rumbling thunders behind, echoing above the Sect on a clear day as they woke up a lot of meditating disciples.
