Chapter 10: Abuse of Power (3)
"Thank you so much!"
"...Huh?"
Elias felt like having a case of déjà vu. Except, instead of oranges, there was a bowl of pears on the table.
Apparently, the gardener got more cautious after William's first larceny. They'd installed a fence infused with qi around the trees. Since he was in a hurry, William didn't think much about it and went to the easier target instead.
It seemed that he had to say something to this kid before the entire garden got turned into a maximum-security facility...
While munching on the juicy, oval-shaped fruit, the prince observed William's countenance with a piercing gaze.
"You broke a kid's leg."
"I..."
William lowered his head. However, Elias didn't even show the slightest change in his expression.
"What's the big deal?"
As if he was talking about the weather.
William was taken aback. He blinked a few times at the prince.
"But... I've hurt him."
"You guys are cultivators. You got hurt. You healed up, and got stronger. It's normal. The kid's meridian wasn't injured. His life wasn't in danger. Again, what's the big deal?"
William suddenly comprehended something. He remembered that the fourth prince had been permanently crippled, preventing him from cultivating any further. When compared to that, this case was indeed too mild.
He felt ashamed that he had dared to bring this up.
"I... back in my village, there was a kid two years younger than me. He was an energetic boy. Everyone likes to play with him. One day, he climbed one of the tallest tree in the forest, saying that he wanted to see what it looks like from up above."
"Did he fall?"
William froze. Slowly, he followed with a nod.
"It was a horrible sight. His leg bones were crushed into pieces. He had fainted from the pain, but he was still visited by a dangerous fever. In the end, after three days, he died."
Perhaps, it had become a mental scar in his heart.
The conversation had stopped on that sour note. The only sound in the room came from Elias, who was devouring the pears in a relaxed manner.
Soon, the bowl was emptied clean.
Elias stood up, and then walked around the table until he reached William's side.
"Kid."
"Huh?"
Without any warning, he grabbed William's shoulders, and then pushed down with his body. One hand was pinning the kid down, while his other hand reached for his hairpin.
As he pulled it out, his bun unfolded, spreading his black hair down like a river made out of the night sky.
The smooth, silky texture made William involuntarily gulped.
His straying thoughts were cut short as the tip of hairpin was coming down at him. Even though it wasn't sharpened, when combined with the strength of a middle-rank elementary stage martial artist, it would still be able to do some degree of damage.
As it was about to pierce through William's neck, however, he suddenly felt a strong resistance stopping his hand's momentum. It was like pushing against a brick wall which grew thicker with each passing seconds. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through.
A proof of qi condensation stage, William had manifested his aura in the nick of time. Moreover, the spot where the hairpin was about to land seemed to be thicker than normal, glowing brighter than the rest of his body.
While William was still dumbfounded, Elias leaned closer, to the point that the tip of their nose was about to touch.
"...Why didn't you push me away?"
"Huh?!"
William let out an unintelligible noise.
"Surely with your cultivation, a mere elementary stage practitioner wouldn't be too hard to handle...?"
That was true. Given that they were separated by an entire stage, William's physical prowess alone had already surpassed Elias's by multiple-folds.
However, he didn't react at all, just lying down there like an idiot...
"But, if I pushed you, you might..."
'You might got hurt.'
Elias rose up, heaving a long sigh as he looked down on William's stupid face.
"I told you before that you're too nosy. It appears that I was wrong. You're just too kind. A kind idiot."
"...Excuse me...?"
Ignoring William's complain, he walked back to his bed. Lazily playing with the hairpin on his hands, he abruptly changed the topic of their conversation.
"Those two youths were third brother's lackeys. I'm sure that they've been sent to harass you. That's also why the disciplinary committee was so biased toward them."
"Ah..."
William had that suspicion before. Now that it had been confirmed, he surprisingly wasn't too affected.
"Heh. I'd love to see their shocked face when you broke one of the youth's leg."
"Eh? You mean... that wasn't in the plan?"
"Of course not. Third brother might be a bully, but not to the point of sacrificing his own people. At most, they'd just left you with some bruises. Just some childish pranks, nothing serious."
"Nothing serious?"
William was flabbergasted.
"You almost drowned in that freezing lake, that's one of his 'childish prank' too, wasn't it?"
"It was in the middle of the day. Also, it's not like I can't swim. He knew that as well."
"He poisoned your food!"
"Laxatives, white peppers, sour berries... barely can call those poisons."
"You- why are you so resigned about it?!"
Elias moved his gaze, staring right at William's eyes.
"Indeed, I am resigned about it. What does that have to do with you?"
William immediately closed his mouth. For a while, the two of them didn't say anything else. They merely stared at each other, as if unwilling to concede.
In the end, William was the first to break eye contact.
"It's... wrong. Harassing other people is... wrong."
That was his answer.
A slight smile appeared on Elias's face.
"Kind as always."
He reached out his hand to touch William's head. And then, he gave him a gentle stroke.
"Wh-"
As quick as he did it, however, he retracted his hand once again.
"You'll start your closed door cultivation tomorrow. Don't think about unnecessary stuff."
He rolled on the bed, turning his back to William. Just like the day before, that means that their conversation was over.
---
'Closed door cultivation' turned out to be just a fancy word for getting grounded.
In William's case, he got a mission of his own: trying to attain control of his aura.
The notes from previous lectures, as well as instructor Robert's pointers, was enough to serve as a base. From there, it would depend on William's own comprehension!
During this period of confinement, a disciple was tasked to bring the food to his room. However, the person didn't show up on the first day. Perhaps, the third prince pulled a string from behind the scene.
That coward-!
"You're too easily bothered. Just focus on your training."
Thankfully, Elias was kind enough to bring him food everyday. And not just that, he added another pointer, one that the instructors wouldn't be able to know.
"Your constitution, it has many names, but perhaps the most interesting one is 'Devil's Constitution'."
"Devil... is that bad?" William frowned.
"Silly. It's just a name."
Elias poked at the spot slightly below his navel.
"Your dantian is exceptionally powerful, but it's prone to be influenced by your emotion. Try to maintain your calm, and let your mind do the work instead. If you can't do it, then your opponent can take advantage of you."
Controlling his emotion... easier said than done. It wasn't as if he could be like Elias, who could mask his feelings so thoroughly.
'I just have to give it a try!'
Everyday was the same routine. He would spend some time doing basic exercise and reading manuals, but the majority was spent in meditative state.
It somewhat reminded him of that time when he was trying to break through to qi condensation stage.
Days passed quickly for William. In the blink of an eye, the last day of his confinement period had arrived.
During this month, Elias had been supportive of his endeavour, to William's surprise. Not only that he never bothered William's meditation, he also offered advices when he noticed that William was doing his training the wrong way.
How could someone in elementary stage have so much knowledge?
'Ah, they did say that he was once a prodigy, and his cultivation level was actually way higher than this...'
Perhaps it was remnants from those days. William decided to go with this explanation, since he got a feeling that Elias wouldn't tell him even if he asked.
William was all-smile as he demonstrated the result of his training to the prince.
"It's here, nope, it's now here!"
At first, he had enveloped his entire body with his aura. And then, he moved the majority toward his right fist, enclosing it in a bright white light. Meanwhile, the aura around his body became as thin as a membrane.
He then willed the light to recede, this time flowing toward his legs. With excess qi infused in them, his kicks would become more explosives, and he would be able to leap over greater distance than usual.
"Good degree of control," Elias commented.
"Heheh, it's thanks to you!"
At first, it still took him a few seconds before he could change the density of his aura. No matter how much he practiced, there seemed to be an invisible wall that stopped him from improving any further.
That was when Elias advised him to not just rely on his thoughts, but also his desire.
"Instead of thinking, 'I want my qi to move to my legs', think 'I want my legs to get stronger'."
A martial artist's qi, which they had collected and refined, was also a part of his body. They would respond to their master's will the best they could. Sometimes, it would be better to just give them a vague goal to reach, as they could find a faster way to do it instead of following the martial artist's exact thoughts.
After all, in a real fight, people would rarely be able to think in such detail. Everything relied on by-the-second decision. Honing their instinct was an absolute must.
"As a reward, I got some news for you."
"Yeah?"
"That kid whose leg you'd broken? He's fine now."
William sighed in relief.
"Also, your little friends in the outer disciple area had reached qi condensation stage."
"Little friends? You mean Sean and the rest? Oooh, wait, really?"
This news greatly excited him. Now that they were in the same stage, they would be able to exchange pointers properly.
"Hmmhm. That archery kid is slightly ahead at second rank, but the rest are still in first rank."
So, it was Gilbert. Well, William wasn't surprised about that.
Now that he think about it, he hadn't seen them again ever since he had advanced to qi condensation stage in the last month. Oh, how much he wanted to meet them again right now! He'd already missed those merry bunch of fools!
"You seem eager to meet them," Elias murmured.
"Of course! They're my first friends ever since I arrived in the capital! We might not have gone through a lot of things just yet, but they're already an important part of me!"
"Hmm..."
The way he was looking at him at the moment somehow gave William the heebie-jeebies.
"What is it?"
"Do you think that third brother will stop his vendetta against you, especially after you'd injured his people?"
"Huh? What does that have anything to do with this?"
Now that William had better control of his aura, he was sure that he wouldn't accidentally rampage like before. At the very least, he could protect himself better while fleeing from the fight. If that bastard third prince want to keep coming at him, then bring it on!
On the other hand, Elias just let out a sigh.
"Nothing. Be sure to treasure your friends well."
Leaving behind enigmatic words as always, the fourth prince once again retreated back to his own world.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
RanixAurus
RanixAurus You masters who've read too much novels, I guess you can guess what had happened / will happen next, huh xD
As usual, any comments or questions, just leave it down below. See you really soon~
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