Chapter 5: The Structure of Martial-Arts

....

The battle between the two Chosen Ones was quickly coming to an end. Both of them were almost at their limit but they still didn't want to give up, because neither of them wanted to lose. No, to be exact, neither of them had ever suffered a loss.

Shin's nose was bleeding while Arthur's eyes had turned bloodshot. They had already started to feel the fatigue of their bodies but both of them still held on.

Noticing the condition of both of the kids, Captain Bernard took a step forward, intending to stop the match, but Old Plum had already blocked his path and prevented him from intervening. Even his father looked at him with a fierce expression.

One look on their faces was enough for him to stop in his tracks. He knew if he took one more step forward, he would end up with a few broken bones.

Then suddenly, both Shin and Arthur separated away from each other because of the powerful impact from their last attack. For a few moments, they both just stood on either side of the garden while facing each other.

Arthur closed his eyes and started to digest what he had experienced, whereas, Shin was catching his breath while feeling the changes in his body. Both of them entered a state of enlightenment.

When Captain Bernard saw this, he sighed with relief before taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it up.

Old Plum took a look at the two outstanding kids and said in a quiet tone. "Looks like asking to bring Shin in here was the right choice, Old friend".

The Old General nodded his head while smilingly said, "Of course, it was the right gamble to make. And what's more, it's because of it that you managed to find a fearsome disciple like this. So you should be thanking me for it, Old Plum".

"Entering the 'Body Strengthening' stage at the age below ten years old. These two kids sure have a bright future ahead of them".

.....

The Structure of Martial-Arts was divided into three major realms with different minor stages within each realm.

The first realm was the 'Foundation Building' realm. In this realm, a martial artist focused on forming their own martial-art foundation.

It was divided into three minor stages. The 'Body Strengthening Stage', 'Qi Refinement Stage' and 'Core Formation Stage'.

The 'Body Strengthening Stage' was the stage where a martial artist enhanced their body, transforming it into a huge furnace to contain a powerful energy.

In 'Qi Refinement Stage', one absorbed the force of nature and circulated it inside the body before transforming it into their own energy called 'Qi'. This 'Qi' could be used to strengthen the body to make it even tougher. It could also reinforce martial-art skills to make them even more powerful.

The aim of the 'Core Formation Stage' was forming a golden core inside the lower dantian using the accumulated 'Qi'. This core would become the center of the circulating 'Qi' inside the body. It would make the 'Qi' even purer and denser, making it even stronger.

The second realm was 'Ascension Realm'. This realm started to affect one's surroundings by becoming one with them. This realm was also divided into three different stages.

The first stage was called 'Ethereal Opening'. This stage was the starting point of 'being one with nature'. Anyone in this stage could feel the 'Force of nature' more clearly. They could even combine it with their own 'Qi' to create their own 'Natural Force'.

Each person had a different kind of 'Natural Force' as it was dependent on the person that created it. It was created through the combination of one's personal 'Qi', the element of nature they felt closest to and their own imagination.

A person could decide the characteristics of the 'Natural Force' as suitable to them. A violent wind, a destructive lightning, heavy earth, a chaotic flame, or baneful water, etc., anything was fine as long as it complimented their fighting style.

Next was 'Void Manifestation'. This was a little simpler. It was about creating something out of nothing. Easy to say but hard to accomplish.

This stage needed one to have a very high control on their own 'Natural Force', so that they could form battle armor based on it, or even an elemental weapon that could aid them in their battle.

A person at this stage could also walk on the air as if walking on a concrete road. This ability was called 'Void Walking'.

The last stage of this realm was called 'Domain Creation'. This stage was also the peak of 'being one with nature'. At this stage, one would be in complete control of the territory around them.

This territory was called 'Domain'. Anything that was inside your own 'Domain' would be under your control. You could even manifest your own 'Natural Force' faster and stronger if you activated it.

You could also execute a large scale destruction skill at this stage, and it was called a 'Domain Skill'.

The final Realm was called the 'Transcendent Realm'. This realm was not focused on breaking the restrictions of the mortal body anymore, but being a 'Transcendent Being' through Martial-Arts. And it was also called the Peak of Martial-Arts.

A person of this realm could destroy a mountain with a flip of their palm and could split the ocean with the wave of their hand.

The stages of this Realm were unknown since there were very few people that had reached this Realm. In fact, there were less than ten people that had reached this stage.

Those people had removed themselves from the worldly affairs and secluded themselves just to explore more about this Realm.

....

It had been a whole day since Shin and Arthur passed out from fatigue after their last sparring match.

Shin opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. What he saw was the familiar room that he was staying in since he had come to this place. He wanted to get up from the bed, but the moment he raised his body, his head got dizzy and he fell back down once again.

At the same time, the door of the room opened and a thirteen year old girl with blonde hair entered the room. She had a round face and clear blue eyes, coupled with her long eyelashes, her beautifully arched thin eyebrows perfectly match her natural sharp nose and pale red lips.

Her hairs were cutely tied in a pigtail and revealed her small white ears. Even though she was still growing up, the important parts of her body were already starting to mature.

'Beautiful!'

That was the only word that came to Shin's mind when he saw the girl.

She was cutely pouting her lips and humming a song while holding a basin with tap water in it. The moment she noticed that Shin was already awaked and looking at her, she got startled and almost dropped the basin in her hands, but she quickly recovered herself and formed a beautiful smile on her face after a brief moment.

When Shin saw that smile, he thought his heart had stopped beating. It was as if he saw an angel descend to the surface of the earth. But his fantasy was completely shattered the moment he heard what the girl said.

"Is this the first time you saw a beautiful girl like me? What a poor young man."

The girl put the basin down on a desk beside the bed and introduced herself, "I'm Shiella Springfield, the eldest daughter of this family. Nice to meet you."

Shin was speechless for a second before introducing himself, "Shin Kinghad, a nobody".

"A nobody huh? A nobody that managed to score a draw with the greatest genius of the Central District of the Main Region." said Shiella as if she was mocking Shin's introduction.

Shin was not concerned about the girl mocking him, because the moment he heard the word 'Draw' he remembered that he had made a bet with Captain Bernard. "That's right, the match! Where is Captain Bernard? I need to talk to him about my... Ugh!". He didn't even manage to finish what he was saying before being assaulted by a sudden aching in his head.

Shiella was taken aback by Shin's reaction and tried calming him down. "OK, OK, Relax. I'm going to call Dad and get some food for you to eat. You need to get some protein to recover your strength since you just broke through to 'Body Strengthening Stage' ". Shiella then ran out of the room.

A few moments later, she came back with Captain Bernard, leading a maid with a tray of food in their tow.

When Captain Bernard came near the bed he smilingly said, "How is the feeling of officially entering the ranks of Martial-Artists?"

Shin didn't answer him and asked his own question, "Can you give me my freedom now?"

The Captain smirked and said, "Kid, even though you manage to not lose, you also didn't manage to win. And from what I can remember, our deal was that if you won I'd do whatever you wished, but if not, you'd do what I said. It's quite clear right?" He paused for a few moments and patted the head of his daughter. "What's more, you get to live in my house together with my beautiful daughter. You can also have a sparring match with my son as long as you want".

Shin rolled his eyes at him while cursing in his heart. "What a cunning and shameless old man. Tricking a nine year old like me?"

...

April 19, Year XX07

Central District, Capital City of Main Region

In the backyard garden of the Springfield Villa, there were two teenage boys engaged in a sparring match. Their silhouettes kept flashing and clashing repeatedly.

One of them had Ash-colored hair and had eyes that were round and gray in color coupled with his natural, long eyelashes. Even a girl would get jealous of his eyes.

He had a sharp chin that perfectly matched his nose and pale lips. He was a typical example of a knight in shining armor.

His upper body was bare, showcasing his well shaped muscles. Even though he was not bulky and looked a little slim, you could still see that he was powerful.

The other guy had a triangular face and blonde hair. Sharp golden eyes together with sharp brows and pointed nose. He always wore a harmless smile on his lips.

His body was built similar to the other guy. He was the best example of a prince with a white horse.

They were, of course, Shin and Arthur. It had been six years since Shin came to stay in the Springfield Household. He always had sparring matches with Arthur from time to time.

After some time, Arthur failed to block one of Shin's kicks which landed on his abdomen, which resulted in him flying backwards and colliding with a tree.

Before he managed to stand up again, a foot was already pointing at the top of head declaring the end of the match.

"I won once again, looks like you will not be able to defeat me in this lifetime 'Golden Boy'.", said Shin before helping Arthur to stand up.

"In your dreams! You only manage to defeat me twice and that's including this time. You understand that 'Gray Eyes'? JUST TWICE!". said Arthur emphasizing the last words.

"Yeah you're right about that, but have you ever won against me?" replied Shin before taking out a small notebook from his pocket and writing something.

When Arthur saw that notebook, he hurried over to look at it while Shin was drawing another line after his name.

Shin - II

Arthur - O

Draw - ∞

The moment Arthur saw that, he frowned and angrily said, "Why the hell did you write a zero after my name!? It is as if you are saying that I will never beat you!? And What's with that infinity symbol after the draws!?"

Shin closed the notebook and returned it to his pocket. He walked away before replying, "Well it is true that you haven't defeated me. So I will never change it unless you beat me. And as for the infinitely sign...." he paused for a few moments while he wore his shirt before facing Arthur and said with a smile, "I got tired of repeatedly writing a line after line so I just changed it into an infinity sign, since it will not affect the result of our duels".

The corner of Arthur's mouth twitched when he heard it, especially the last few words. He was about to start another duel when a sweet and charming voice echoed in the corridor.

"I'm Home!!!!"

The voice was really pleasant to the ears and relaxing to hear. If someone heard that voice, they would hurriedly welcome whoever was the owner of that voice.

But Shin and Arthur were different. The moment they heard that voice, both of their bodies shivered and their faces turned pale. It was as if they heard the most frightening being on earth coming after them. And then both of them hurried to find a place to hide.

"What the hell is 'Big Sis' doing here? Isn't it Wednesday? I thought she was only going to visit us during the weekends? ", asked Shin while running in a panic towards the other end of the corridor.

"I have no idea either! From what I know, she should be accompanying Mom on a business trip, so there is no reason for her to be here!" replied Arthur while running along with Shin.

Before they were able to reach the exit of the corridor, they heard the voice behind their backs.

"And where are my cute little brothers going?"

The moment they turned their heads, they saw a beautiful young lady with blonde hair standing behind them, and looking at them with a sweet and charming smile.

That smile was so beautiful that it could melt a killer's heart, but when Shin and Arthur saw that smile, their faces turned even paler. Because they knew that this day was going to become their judgment day.