Chapter 13: Sparring
The night is young. They went out of the academy pretty early and it was a good thing that they were at the Auction House or else, the young lady from the same clan could have been sold to the wrong hands by now.
Now, they are on their way home but there's one thing that bothers Ai and Nin...
"We've been trying to talk to her for a while now but we're not getting any answers... Is there by any chance she's deaf or mute?" Nin is really worried now.
"She must have suffered a lot. I don't think forcing her to answer us would do any good. Let's give her some time as of now. Oh, and make sure you don't use unseal arts to her slave mark. Everyone knows who she is by now after that display at the Auction Hall and if they see her not owned by anyone, then her life would be in danger. Not to mention, that would also help us in case she tries to escape." Ai, looks like an idiot, but he's dependable sometimes.
"I think you have a point but let's do something about it later. I don't want her as a slave. I only wanted to save her." Even so, Nin really wanted to free her but being free in this realm, that's like letting a sheep roam around wolves.
"That time will come soon. For now, let's get her home."
'Why does he sound like he's my husband or something... gross...' Poor Ai...
-Ai and Nin's Home-
They are finally back home. Both of them are exhausted mostly because the pressure of being in the Auction House is too tight considering most of the bidders are Master Rank or higher. As a disciple, their aura could swallow him whole.
"Hey, are you hungry?" Ai excitedly asked the young lady.
*Nods* Slowly nodding, the young girl sure is shy.
"Oh, at least she can answer a question by nodding! That's progress!"
Nin prepared the best dinner she could cook to impress the young lady who's the same age as her, though she's too small and thin for her age, while Ai is trying to show the young lady around the house excitedly. Thinking that the place is built for a couple, there's a spare room dedicated to the children. Aren't they a growing family?
But there's a growing doubt on Nin's heart... she could see something wrong inside the young lady's Qi Core. It's like it's enveloped with ominous Qi making her grow slower and even slow down her qi cultivation. 'No wonder she looks so young.'
"Are you alright? You look worried?" Nin realized that Ai couldn't really tell or see it because he's still a disciple. It's a huge burden for her as she couldn't do anything for the young lady.
"Nothing, it's alright. Just start eating and don't mind me." Both Nin and Ai started eating but it seems the young lady couldn't really relax and now eating slowly.
"So... I think we should talk about the most important thing here." For once, Ai decided to stop eating.
'Did he figure it out?!' Nin, is now worried. Based on the young lady's Qi Core, she could die within 2 months at most. It's sad but at least they could give her better care for her remaining time than being with other people.
"I mean, what am I supposed to call her? She can't speak and can't move that much. So..." Ai face got closer to Nin signaling her that he wants to whisper something. "So... should we give her a name?"
*Sigh* Nin let out a sigh of relief. If Ai could know her condition, he would be devastated. It would be better if he can't get too close to her. He will only be hurt.
"You can think of names for her, if she likes it then I won't mind. Don't forget that she's not a child, ok? She's the same age as me." Nin looking at Ai's expression, he sure is excited.
But after hearing her words, he doubtfully looked at both of them... "Wait... really?!"
...
Finally, the night has ended and it's another day for the three of them.
-Another day has come-
*Yawns* Ai raising both his hands trying to stretch his body and still sleepy with teary eyes and a couple of bruises on his face.
"Man, it's a shame that we have to leave her alone here. I hope she'll be ok."
"Acting like a dad now, are you? She's old enough, I'm sure she'll be ok." Still, Nin is way too worried for her that she used a Qi barrier around their house which she would be alerted if there are intruders.
'Thankfully, she listens when I'm talking and I was able to teach her how to cultivate her qi only using her qi core, it can help prolong her life. Still, I have to find a way to remove that ominous qi if I really want to save her...
Both finally left the house and headed to the academy.
-Academy's Armory-
This time, their class is now at the armory.
"WOAAAAAH!" Everyone was awed by the place as there are lots of weapons to choose from.
Melee weapons like short elegant double-edged swords, a single-edged brutish curved saber, spear with a leaf-shaped spearhead and a tassel lashed just beneath it, a staff made from wood or iron, and many more.
"SHUT UP! No talking!" It looks like their teacher is pretty pissed right now.
'Acting like this... she must not have gotten the 4-Star Beast Core...' Ai seems to be right.
"Every single one of you can choose any weapons you want here and today, it doesn't matter what you choose really, most of the weapons are normal class weapons and most of those are used for training. I will give you a few hours to get used to your preferred weapons. I will get back later after I finish my important business." Important business she says.
"So, what do you want to pick, Ai?" Nin seems to be curious about what weapon AI would choose. He used a sword before but it seems it doesn't suit him well.
"I can't really choose. There are lots of things to consider. Right now, I don't know any arts or fighting style so picking one would be hard." She didn't realize that Ai really thought about it in a whim, unlike the others students who randomly picked weapons based on the weapons' looks.
"Woah! Look at this Axe! It's huge and shiny! One smash of this and I could destroy a monster!"
"Dude, that thing is heavy you know. That's why this shiny sword could do better!"
"Really?! Then this dagger could be even better because I could swing it faster!"
Every one of them has different opinions of what weapon to choose but they didn't really pick something that could really benefit depending on what arts or fighting style they use.
*SWOOSH SWOOSH!* Kiri, using iron knuckles as weapons, showing his expertise of delivering powerful punches and not only that, his Qi improves his overall speed and power making his attacks more flashy with force.
Deep breathe and eyes closed, Kiri's Qi started to pour out. Both of his hands wearing the iron knuckles tightly getting ready, he's about to launch a powerful attack. "BLACK FIST ART! TWO-KNUCKLE FORCE!"
Punching the air with both of his hands together, he launched a powerful attack *SWOOOOOOOOSH!* creating a powerful force ahead pushing everything away.
Everyone was startled by it and was forced to set a foot back. That should show the gap between him and the other students.
'Jeez... what a show off. As expected of Tanti's son, he's also using the same weapon as his father.' Ai seems to be impressed by Kiri's weapon mastery.
Tanti, Head Leader of Black Fist Clan, known to fight battles barehanded. With a single punch, he once wiped out an entire 100-man unit. Brute force is his specialty. No wonder Kiri wanted the same power.
"Teacher's not here, so how about a little sparring? All of you can attack me at the same time." Not only is he showing off his Black Fist Arts but he's also looking down on his classmates.
At first, they were skeptical of trying but they looked at each other and somehow, they don't want to be belittled by this brat and came up with a decision.
"You asked for it!"
*SWOOOOSH!* 2 attacks flew towards him, a chain dart and rope dart.
"Gotcha! How about that?!" Both weapons specializing in disabling targets from afar. Both chain and rope caught Kiri's arms easily. He sure has power but with intermediate speed.
The others rushed towards him with their corresponding weapons eager to teach the brat a lesson.
"Oh, but do you mean, I got both of you?!" Kiri didn't struggle but instead, he held both the rope and the chain and pulled it as strong as he could.
*SWOOOOSH!* An arrow almost hit him in the face. It was so close. He was able to move his head slightly at the right time.
'Shit... I underestimated some of them. It will be hard not to kill anyone here.' Kiri, still thinking of holding back and trying not to inflict server injuries on them, would still be hard even for him.
"WOOAH! Shit!" The rope user fell to the ground while-
*BAAAAM* The archer, on the other hand, got hit by the chain user's body after Kiri pulled him and swung him. Kiri, powerful enough to even pull two people at the same time and swing them easily, sure has the strength to do that.
*SWOOOOSH SWOOOSH!* The others swung their melee weapons towards him while he's still tied to the chain and rope and with only knuckles as weapons, he's still faster than most of the melee wielders. But even for him, dodging multiple attacks at the same time would be hard.
*BAAAM! BAAAAM* Kiri successfully landed counter attacks to two of his attackers but-
'Shit... those idiots are pulling their chains and ropes again! I can't defend!' One attacker using a sword is now above him and is about to slash his head off.
*CLAAANG* The sword from above nearly killed him, fortunately, the attack was blocked by his sister.
"I think that's enough sparring, don't you think?" Sha, stopped the stupid battle between his brother and the other students mostly ranked level 3-4 disciple.
If not because of her, even a lousy attack like that, it could even injure him severely on the head.
*SPIT* Kiri just walked away. Fortunately, the others are not injured that much. He somehow didn't put too much force or he could have really injured them.
"So, your bully is quite strong." Nin can say that Kiri posses power.
"You don't have to remind me. Sha is pretty strong too." Sha's a sword expert with elegant movement and swordsmanship. Combined with powerful Qi, she could really be famous one day.
"Hey, Kiri! How about another sparring with your old buddy here?" Ai... asking a for a fight with his bully... can he really pull something off?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone