Chapter 9 – First Meeting
When the imperial golden carriage arrived at the General’s mansion it was Anya at the gates, welcoming it, dressed in a skyblue, silk dress.
“I’m sorry for the early intrusion, Lady Anya, you shouldn’t be out here, the mornings can be chilly this time of the year!” Leinor bowed after he got off the carriage.
“Please don’t say that Prince Leinor, it’s reasonable to welcome your presence personally. Honestly I'm surprised it took so long for you to visit us.” Anya giggled, putting her hand in front of her mouth while watching the fidgeting Prince who wore a fancy white suit.
“You are right Lady Anya, it was my fault and for that please accept my apology!” he said hurriedly and bowed again.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, I'm just teasing you, a Prince should not bow so easily to others. Come, come, I'll take you to my daughter.”
Mentioning Ren, Leinor’s face immediately gained a small hue of red but only nodded, silently following her while signaling to the guards next to the carriage they should stay where they are. As they walked past the mansion to the back garden, shouts could be heard and soon Leinor’s eyes fell upon the small figure flying through the air, landing a kick on a young man’s blocking hand. The scene was familiar from what he saw years ago and couldn’t help but gulp loudly.
On a small, circle shaped training field stood Zern and Ren, opposite to each other, wearing tight fitting, black training clothes. Zern wore a stoic, calm expression as he blocked Ren’s kicks and punches, which were flying quickly towards him, before suddenly moving and sidestepping one of her attacks, landing a blow on her small back which made Ren crash into the ground. Leinor immediately furrowed his brows but Anya just smiled, watching his reaction.
“Ouch… that huuuurt~” Ren moaned as she stood up, rubbing her forehead which absorbed the impact of the “landing”.
“Lady Ren, when you feel yourself in great advantage you tend to loosen up your defenses and overreach, giving your opponent a chance to counter strike.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s a bad habit of mine to enjoy the fun of combat and fail to concentrate on the changes of its rhythm.”
Zern only gave a small sigh as this wasn’t the first that his young practice partner knew about her mistake but still couldn’t fix it, even after months of constant training. Like a bad habit that integrated itself into her subconsciousness. Ever since having that match of theirs, Xendar asked for him to come by every week and be a sparring partner for his daughter. Since then he fought with Ren multiple times and he himself noticed the benefits as the little, impish daughter of the General always fought dirtily, going for his weak spots. This helped expose what he needed to fix, improving himself greatly.
“The young Miss has incredible eyes. As soon as I fix something in the way I fight, she immediately adapts and finds something new to fix… so this is what a true genius is…” thought Zern admiringly.
“Khm.” Anya coughed softly.
“Lady Anya.” Zern cupped his hands immediately.
“Mom! Oh?” Ren rushed forward and when she saw Leinor a grin immediately came crawling up on her face.
“Prince!” Zern flinched, a little shocked, saluting immediately as he recognized the guest.
“Good morning everyone.” Leinor greeted Zern, watching him for a second before turning to Ren and bowing towards her “Good morning Lady Ren, my name is Leinor, I'd wanted to meet you for a long time, I'm terribly sorry it took so long.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure! It’s good that you came, Zern already reached third refinement on his arms, he can’t attack me with full force or Dad would be mad at him! You are still at first level no? Let’s fight!”
“Wah- ah, Lady Ren I, I just started refining my arms and I didn’t come here to fight you!”
“Eh? Still not completed it yet? Really? But it’s already been a year since you had your ceremony, no? Tsk… slow!” she said, shaking her little head completely ignoring the second part.
“Ren.” Anya said scoldingly “You are still at second refining yourself for more than a year now, no?”
“It’s because I want to build it up a little more before advancing! Okay, I was rude, sorry~ You aren’t angry, are you?” Ren giggled, grabbing Leinor’s hands which immediately changed the little boy’s face to completely red.
“I’d never be angry at you Lady Ren, you are right, compared to your genius I am indeed slow!”
“Ahaha, you know how to give compliments ah? Anyway, you said your legs are at first refinement, yes? Then attack me! I want to improve my defenses!” Ren said giggling, while jumping backwards, into the ring.
“Zern, could you help me with something? Let the youngsters play.” Anya said, smiling and soon they were left alone while Ren waited for Leinor’s move who was a bit flabbergasted as he didn’t expect this at all.
“What are you waiting for?” Ren asked, tilting her head sideways
“I, I didn’t prepare for this Lady Ren.”
“For starters, stop calling me Lady Ren, just Ren will do. Secondly, come on already!”
Leinor sighed helplessly but more so to calm his nerves down a bit before going to the small circle and soon launching a kick towards Ren’s side.
“Slow!” came the reply as she blocked it by raising her leg then quickly sweeping away Leinor’s, sending him to the ground with a loud thump.
“Ughh…” The little Prince moaned, laying on the ground while he felt like his whole leg had been broken by kicking Ren’s. After he stood up his white clothes were already stained by the ground and grass “A-again?”
“Yup.” Ren nodded with a devilish grin on her small face
…
….
…..
“I… I can’t… have mercy…” came the moaning, tired voice of Leinor who was now laying on the ground with bruised legs and face, gasping for air, while his white attire now more or less was brownish green.
“Ahaha, that was fun!” Ren laughed, wiping the sweat off her head while she sat down next to him on the ground. “Man, you are weak and slow, but father was right.”
“About…. What?” Leinor gasped as he tried to sit up
“Your family has life force for affinity, no? You endured much longer than I thought you would! Nyahahaha!”
“Ugh… I don't know if I should be happy now or not and anyway, you ARE stronger, this was pure bullying!”
“Boohoo, I always train myself against Zern, the simple difference between our toughness makes it like hammering against a steel bar.” she said while rolling her violet eyes “But you have potential, your resilience is great!”
“You mean I can be a great punching bag huh?” Leinor smiled wryly.
“For now.” came a giggle as an answer “What do you say if I train you?”
“Huh?”
“What, “huh”... you heard me! I always self study myself! I have some techniques I'd like to test out and I need a test su- i mean apprentice!”
“Self-made techniques?” Leinor blinked his eyes because this was something he never heard about, most of the techniques were for Harmony level experts and not for those who were still working on refining their bodies. “Are they from your Father’s instructions?”
“No. We don’t have any techniques. I mean we have but those are the same that are available for anyone in the Empire, the foundation fighting styles of the army and whatnot. Those are… I wouldn't call them martial techniques. I bet your family has some secret fighting skills, no?”
“There are, but they are for the Harmony level experts. We don’t have anything specific for body refining.”
“Mmm… I see… I thought father didn’t have any because he is of a poor background and mother didn’t teach me anything because of the difference in our affinity.” Ren murmured then added in her mind “Even though I'm sure they know I have hers too… then the only explanation then, they didn’t develop a complete fighting system yet and only the foundation of cultivation.”
“Ren?”
“Nothing. I have some ideas after cultivating to the second level. That's why I'm stuck or I would be at least half way through the third by now.”
“That fast? Awesome!” Leinor said with shining eyes, looking at her.
“It is!” Ren grinned with pride “While I was training I thought up moves, movesets that utilize the energy running through our refined body parts, releasing that energy. It’s still in the works but I had some achievements after watching Father.”
“General Xendar?”
“After he reached Harmony, he started to develop his own spells, since then he trains like a madman every day. He is out now too, he will only be back tomorrow.”
“Making his… own?”
“Of course! What, you want to learn the techniques of your ancestors only?” Ren asked, raising her brows “Listen Leinor.” she said while lowering her voice, looking seriously into his eyes “It’s good to learn other’s skills. But only for reference. If you fancy yourself a genius or at least someone with ambition, you should work on creating your own style, your own spells. Only those will be 100% in sync with you, only with your own skills can you reach a higher state! Other’s techniques are good crutches for starters, but that's it. Those who have mediocre talent are fine with learning other’s skills and using them but I won't be satisfied with that!” Ren declared proudly while standing up, placing her small hands on her hip and while the morning sun was shining on her back, it gave her an otherworldly aura, stunning Leinor.
“She is so awesome…” He thought, completely mesmerized.
“I’m developing moves that could be useful for those who have lightning affinity and are in the Body Refinement realm. I’d like to teach you some of it so you can reference it and create your own versions for your own affinity!”
“Y-you think I could do that?” Leinor gulped.
“Why not? If not, how do you plan on marrying me?” she laughed candidly as Leinor’s whole face resembled a tomato now “Watch!” she said and then suddenly took a deep breath, followed by a bellowing shout as she kicked backwards. Her legs shone with violet light and the air around it cackled with lightning, following its path, scarring the earth. “Hah!” Ren sighed, letting out turbid air through her mouth, wobbling a little “I’m still not used to it, it uses up sooo much energy!”
“T-that was… like a spell or… someone at the eight or ninth level, who can manifest their energy out of their bodies! How did you do that?!” Leinor gawked.
“I just told you, didn't I?” Ren sat down, exhausted, then took out a little coin from her pocket, which was flashing with electricity as she absorbed its energy.
“S-sorry… you… you are right! I want to learn! I want to become as strong as you!”
“Good!” she smiled while winking at him “I’ll need more of my father's coins if I want to finish it and also teach you how to imitate my methods.” Ren murmured as the little jade coin turned to dust between her fingers.
“Coins? Wait… was… was that one of the Thunder from the Blue Sky?!”
“What from where?” Ren blinked her eyes, totally confused.
“It’s General Xendar’s famous weapon! He came up with it 30 years ago! He filled jade pieces up with his energy and when he used them in battle they were like… little bombs, throwing them out and attracting thunderbolts from the sky! They are feared weapons of the Vanguard!”
“Really?” she asked flabbergasted, tilting her head to the side “I use them to cultivate.”
“Wha… what?”
“Yeah, they are great because they are filled with the perfect kind of energy! Father has a bunch of them stored away, I sometimes go and steal a few, they help greatly when I deplete my energy!”
“...”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Mmm, sure? When Mother says it’s nothing it’s always something.” she leaned closely to his face and their nose almost touched. Feeling her breath Leinor completely spaced out and he was sure, his heart did stop for a moment there “I forgot to say. This is a big secret. Keep it to yourself, okay? If not, I'll divorce you!”
Leinor couldn’t collect any clear thoughts and just nodded quickly which resulted in their foreheads clanking together.
“Ouch! Ahahaha, idiot!” Ren laughed while Leinor himself held his forehead with a happy smile on his face “Come, let’s take a bath then have something for breakfast!” she said, pulling him up, holding his hand, dragging him away and as he followed her, looking at their intertwined hands, Leinor could tell he never felt this happy before.
Chapter 9 – First Meeting
When the imperial golden carriage arrived at the General’s mansion it was Anya at the gates, welcoming it, dressed in a skyblue, silk dress.
“I’m sorry for the early intrusion, Lady Anya, you shouldn’t be out here, the mornings can be chilly this time of the year!” Leinor bowed after he got off the carriage.
“Please don’t say that Prince Leinor, it’s reasonable to welcome your presence personally. Honestly I'm surprised it took so long for you to visit us.” Anya giggled, putting her hand in front of her mouth while watching the fidgeting Prince who wore a fancy white suit.
“You are right Lady Anya, it was my fault and for that please accept my apology!” he said hurriedly and bowed again.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, I'm just teasing you, a Prince should not bow so easily to others. Come, come, I'll take you to my daughter.”
Mentioning Ren, Leinor’s face immediately gained a small hue of red but only nodded, silently following her while signaling to the guards next to the carriage they should stay where they are. As they walked past the mansion to the back garden, shouts could be heard and soon Leinor’s eyes fell upon the small figure flying through the air, landing a kick on a young man’s blocking hand. The scene was familiar from what he saw years ago and couldn’t help but gulp loudly.
On a small, circle shaped training field stood Zern and Ren, opposite to each other, wearing tight fitting, black training clothes. Zern wore a stoic, calm expression as he blocked Ren’s kicks and punches, which were flying quickly towards him, before suddenly moving and sidestepping one of her attacks, landing a blow on her small back which made Ren crash into the ground. Leinor immediately furrowed his brows but Anya just smiled, watching his reaction.
“Ouch… that huuuurt~” Ren moaned as she stood up, rubbing her forehead which absorbed the impact of the “landing”.
“Lady Ren, when you feel yourself in great advantage you tend to loosen up your defenses and overreach, giving your opponent a chance to counter strike.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s a bad habit of mine to enjoy the fun of combat and fail to concentrate on the changes of its rhythm.”
Zern only gave a small sigh as this wasn’t the first that his young practice partner knew about her mistake but still couldn’t fix it, even after months of constant training. Like a bad habit that integrated itself into her subconsciousness. Ever since having that match of theirs, Xendar asked for him to come by every week and be a sparring partner for his daughter. Since then he fought with Ren multiple times and he himself noticed the benefits as the little, impish daughter of the General always fought dirtily, going for his weak spots. This helped expose what he needed to fix, improving himself greatly.
“The young Miss has incredible eyes. As soon as I fix something in the way I fight, she immediately adapts and finds something new to fix… so this is what a true genius is…” thought Zern admiringly.
“Khm.” Anya coughed softly.
“Lady Anya.” Zern cupped his hands immediately.
“Mom! Oh?” Ren rushed forward and when she saw Leinor a grin immediately came crawling up on her face.
“Prince!” Zern flinched, a little shocked, saluting immediately as he recognized the guest.
“Good morning everyone.” Leinor greeted Zern, watching him for a second before turning to Ren and bowing towards her “Good morning Lady Ren, my name is Leinor, I'd wanted to meet you for a long time, I'm terribly sorry it took so long.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure! It’s good that you came, Zern already reached third refinement on his arms, he can’t attack me with full force or Dad would be mad at him! You are still at first level no? Let’s fight!”
“Wah- ah, Lady Ren I, I just started refining my arms and I didn’t come here to fight you!”
“Eh? Still not completed it yet? Really? But it’s already been a year since you had your ceremony, no? Tsk… slow!” she said, shaking her little head completely ignoring the second part.
“Ren.” Anya said scoldingly “You are still at second refining yourself for more than a year now, no?”
“It’s because I want to build it up a little more before advancing! Okay, I was rude, sorry~ You aren’t angry, are you?” Ren giggled, grabbing Leinor’s hands which immediately changed the little boy’s face to completely red.
“I’d never be angry at you Lady Ren, you are right, compared to your genius I am indeed slow!”
“Ahaha, you know how to give compliments ah? Anyway, you said your legs are at first refinement, yes? Then attack me! I want to improve my defenses!” Ren said giggling, while jumping backwards, into the ring.
“Zern, could you help me with something? Let the youngsters play.” Anya said, smiling and soon they were left alone while Ren waited for Leinor’s move who was a bit flabbergasted as he didn’t expect this at all.
“What are you waiting for?” Ren asked, tilting her head sideways
“I, I didn’t prepare for this Lady Ren.”
“For starters, stop calling me Lady Ren, just Ren will do. Secondly, come on already!”
Leinor sighed helplessly but more so to calm his nerves down a bit before going to the small circle and soon launching a kick towards Ren’s side.
“Slow!” came the reply as she blocked it by raising her leg then quickly sweeping away Leinor’s, sending him to the ground with a loud thump.
“Ughh…” The little Prince moaned, laying on the ground while he felt like his whole leg had been broken by kicking Ren’s. After he stood up his white clothes were already stained by the ground and grass “A-again?”
“Yup.” Ren nodded with a devilish grin on her small face
…
….
…..
“I… I can’t… have mercy…” came the moaning, tired voice of Leinor who was now laying on the ground with bruised legs and face, gasping for air, while his white attire now more or less was brownish green.
“Ahaha, that was fun!” Ren laughed, wiping the sweat off her head while she sat down next to him on the ground. “Man, you are weak and slow, but father was right.”
“About…. What?” Leinor gasped as he tried to sit up
“Your family has life force for affinity, no? You endured much longer than I thought you would! Nyahahaha!”
“Ugh… I don't know if I should be happy now or not and anyway, you ARE stronger, this was pure bullying!”
“Boohoo, I always train myself against Zern, the simple difference between our toughness makes it like hammering against a steel bar.” she said while rolling her violet eyes “But you have potential, your resilience is great!”
“You mean I can be a great punching bag huh?” Leinor smiled wryly.
“For now.” came a giggle as an answer “What do you say if I train you?”
“Huh?”
“What, “huh”... you heard me! I always self study myself! I have some techniques I'd like to test out and I need a test su- i mean apprentice!”
“Self-made techniques?” Leinor blinked his eyes because this was something he never heard about, most of the techniques were for Harmony level experts and not for those who were still working on refining their bodies. “Are they from your Father’s instructions?”
“No. We don’t have any techniques. I mean we have but those are the same that are available for anyone in the Empire, the foundation fighting styles of the army and whatnot. Those are… I wouldn't call them martial techniques. I bet your family has some secret fighting skills, no?”
“There are, but they are for the Harmony level experts. We don’t have anything specific for body refining.”
“Mmm… I see… I thought father didn’t have any because he is of a poor background and mother didn’t teach me anything because of the difference in our affinity.” Ren murmured then added in her mind “Even though I'm sure they know I have hers too… then the only explanation then, they didn’t develop a complete fighting system yet and only the foundation of cultivation.”
“Ren?”
“Nothing. I have some ideas after cultivating to the second level. That's why I'm stuck or I would be at least half way through the third by now.”
“That fast? Awesome!” Leinor said with shining eyes, looking at her.
“It is!” Ren grinned with pride “While I was training I thought up moves, movesets that utilize the energy running through our refined body parts, releasing that energy. It’s still in the works but I had some achievements after watching Father.”
“General Xendar?”
“After he reached Harmony, he started to develop his own spells, since then he trains like a madman every day. He is out now too, he will only be back tomorrow.”
“Making his… own?”
“Of course! What, you want to learn the techniques of your ancestors only?” Ren asked, raising her brows “Listen Leinor.” she said while lowering her voice, looking seriously into his eyes “It’s good to learn other’s skills. But only for reference. If you fancy yourself a genius or at least someone with ambition, you should work on creating your own style, your own spells. Only those will be 100% in sync with you, only with your own skills can you reach a higher state! Other’s techniques are good crutches for starters, but that's it. Those who have mediocre talent are fine with learning other’s skills and using them but I won't be satisfied with that!” Ren declared proudly while standing up, placing her small hands on her hip and while the morning sun was shining on her back, it gave her an otherworldly aura, stunning Leinor.
“She is so awesome…” He thought, completely mesmerized.
“I’m developing moves that could be useful for those who have lightning affinity and are in the Body Refinement realm. I’d like to teach you some of it so you can reference it and create your own versions for your own affinity!”
“Y-you think I could do that?” Leinor gulped.
“Why not? If not, how do you plan on marrying me?” she laughed candidly as Leinor’s whole face resembled a tomato now “Watch!” she said and then suddenly took a deep breath, followed by a bellowing shout as she kicked backwards. Her legs shone with violet light and the air around it cackled with lightning, following its path, scarring the earth. “Hah!” Ren sighed, letting out turbid air through her mouth, wobbling a little “I’m still not used to it, it uses up sooo much energy!”
“T-that was… like a spell or… someone at the eight or ninth level, who can manifest their energy out of their bodies! How did you do that?!” Leinor gawked.
“I just told you, didn't I?” Ren sat down, exhausted, then took out a little coin from her pocket, which was flashing with electricity as she absorbed its energy.
“S-sorry… you… you are right! I want to learn! I want to become as strong as you!”
“Good!” she smiled while winking at him “I’ll need more of my father's coins if I want to finish it and also teach you how to imitate my methods.” Ren murmured as the little jade coin turned to dust between her fingers.
“Coins? Wait… was… was that one of the Thunder from the Blue Sky?!”
“What from where?” Ren blinked her eyes, totally confused.
“It’s General Xendar’s famous weapon! He came up with it 30 years ago! He filled jade pieces up with his energy and when he used them in battle they were like… little bombs, throwing them out and attracting thunderbolts from the sky! They are feared weapons of the Vanguard!”
“Really?” she asked flabbergasted, tilting her head to the side “I use them to cultivate.”
“Wha… what?”
“Yeah, they are great because they are filled with the perfect kind of energy! Father has a bunch of them stored away, I sometimes go and steal a few, they help greatly when I deplete my energy!”
“...”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Mmm, sure? When Mother says it’s nothing it’s always something.” she leaned closely to his face and their nose almost touched. Feeling her breath Leinor completely spaced out and he was sure, his heart did stop for a moment there “I forgot to say. This is a big secret. Keep it to yourself, okay? If not, I'll divorce you!”
Leinor couldn’t collect any clear thoughts and just nodded quickly which resulted in their foreheads clanking together.
“Ouch! Ahahaha, idiot!” Ren laughed while Leinor himself held his forehead with a happy smile on his face “Come, let’s take a bath then have something for breakfast!” she said, pulling him up, holding his hand, dragging him away and as he followed her, looking at their intertwined hands, Leinor could tell he never felt this happy before.
