Chapitre 22: Chapter 22 - Training and Revelations

Shortly after the two great lords of the Snow Wind Family left, the three young people were alone at that moment.

The boys smiled like fools, happy with the outcome of it all. But the girl, Ye Ziyun, had a saddened look on her face.

"What is it, Miss Ziyun?" Xiangju asked, noticing her downcast expression. Nie Li also quickly noticed and became extremely worried. Did she feel offended by his presence there? After all, he had intruded.

"Nothing, it's just that..." Ziyun stopped mid-sentence. For a moment, she really thought her father had come to visit and pay attention to her training, but he didn't even look in her direction, focusing only on the two boys. Xiangju was already breaking all the age-related limits they had, and Nie Li's knowledge rivaled that of great sages. In front of them, she felt like she was nothing.

The girl didn't need to say how she felt; they could see all the words and grievances she held in her eyes.

"Anyway... thank you for accepting my selfish request to train, Xiangju. And Nie Li... thank you, really." The girl spoke with a heavy voice as she moved away from them.

As she passed by them...

"Wait!"

"Hold on!"

Both boys spoke at the same time, each grabbing one of Ziyun's arms. The girl was surprised to be grabbed so suddenly, especially by Xiangju, since Nie Li liked to stay close by default.

Nie Li gave Xiangju an annoyed look, who then smiled awkwardly and let her go but began to speak.

"You were great today, Ziyun! Sorry if I scared you before; I just wanted to see how you would react. I think you should train with us more often!" Xiangju spoke in an enthusiastic yet courteous manner.

"With you two..?" Ye Ziyun said softly, looking towards Nie Li, who was still holding her, and then quickly pulled her arm back, embarrassed.

"I-I don't think it would do much good for me to train with you two; it would be easier for you to train with each other!"

She spoke hurriedly and embarrassed. Just thinking about staying around Nie Li, for some reason, was making her feel shy.

'He was so cool when he saved me, ahhh' The girl thought to herself, freaking out while thinking about the orange-haired boy.

Nie Li laughed smugly, as if he could read her mind.

"Oh, come on, Ziyun... don't you want to spend more time with me?" Nie Li teased her, making the girl start to stammer. Both boys laughed at this.

"But seriously, Ning'er needs someone to practice with; I'm sure she would love your company." Xiangju said with a gentle smile.

Ziyun became pensive; rekindling her friendship with Xiao Ning'er was something she always wanted, and having another girl to talk to would be a lot of fun.

She stayed silent for a moment, Xiangju looking at Nie Li, who just shrugged.

"Okay! I accept, let's go!" The girl said with a determined look and a smile on her face.

Now the three of them made their way to the training center where Xiangju had left his group training. Several hours had passed since Nie Li visited the Alchemist Association to establish himself as a high-ranking member. Everyone was so surprised by such a young master alchemist that they simply accepted some negotiation terms that weren't even advantageous for them.

Ziyun was even more impressed with little Li, now having truly accepted that his talent wasn't just something simple that made him special; with Nie Li's knowledge, he was nothing less than UNIQUE.

"But tell me, Xiangju. What happened to the library after all?"

Nie Li asked as they continued their way.

"Ah... it was an attack on the school, can you believe it?" Xiangju said quickly.

"But why would they attack the library? I don't see the point." Nie Li said aloud, thoughtfully.

"Ah, I really have no idea; I wasn't there after all..."

"You weren't? But weren't you the one who managed to save the books? Aren't those scars because of the fire?" Ye Ziyun interrupted the conversation, questioning Xiangju.

"Hahaha... true, true, what was I thinking, I did manage to save a good part of the books, hahaha." Xiangju spoke awkwardly, and Nie Li obviously noticed, laughing internally, probably thinking it was an attempt at cultivation.

"Oh really? The hero of history books." Nie Li joked, and Ye Ziyun laughed at what he said. Xiangju laughed awkwardly.

"Did you see the person who did it by any chance, Xiangju?" Nie Li prodded more, for some reason really enjoying bothering Xiangju, knowing he was hiding many things.

"No, no, I didn-"

"You saw a big blond man, didn't you?" Ye Ziyun interrupted again. As soon as she said this, Xiangju stopped responding and looked serious, with frightened eyes.

The man from the Dark Guild, the same one who attacked Nie Li and secretly worked for the Sacred Family, Xiangju had blamed him since he wanted to expedite the case with the Sacred Family; the less time they bothered him, the better.

But now this had been a mistake, Xiangju remembered that Nie Li had seen this same guy on the mission he had just completed.

When Xiangju slowly looked at Nie Li's face...

A penetrating, serious look, perhaps even irritated.

"So that's it... I understand, good to know you're okay, Xiangju." Nie Li said Xiangju's name as if it were phlegm stuck in his throat, in a drawn-out and rough manner.

Xiangju just nodded with a forced smile and continued walking, now a little faster, overtaking them.

"You have a good memory, my dear." Nie Li teased Ye Ziyun, ruffling her hair, but for some reason, Ye Ziyun was more delighted with the compliment than bothered by the teasing.

A bit further away, at the new training field that Ye Xiu had provided for Xiangju and his group, several combat batons and wooden weapons had been delivered, along with training equipment, making it an ideal place for that purpose.

"TAKE THIS!" Lu Piao shouted cheerfully.

He had jumped towards Du Ze, aiming a front kick right at the boy's face as if trying to kick a soccer ball.

Du Ze said nothing, taking a step to the right, completely dodging the kick and grabbing Lu Piao's leg still in the air, using his body as leverage to throw Lu Piao to the ground forcefully.

THUD

"Damn it, Du Ze! I don't want to anymore, I give up, it's the tenth time already." Lu Piao said, now completely covered in mud.

"Get up, Lu Piao, it's just dust; it would be worse if you were soaked in blood!" Du Ze replied seriously to him.

Lu Piao gritted his teeth, taking advantage of being on the ground, he swept Du Ze's legs, causing him to momentarily lose balance and break his stance. To capitalize on this opportunity, Lu Piao did a handstand, supporting himself with his arms, and began advancing with several kicks towards Du Ze, forcing the boy to defend himself with both arms.

'What kind of crazy fighting style is this??' Du Ze thought to himself.

He again managed to grab one of Lu Piao's legs, but now the capoeira-style boy used his leg on Du Ze's shoulder to propel himself, throwing a kick with all his weight with the free leg, trying to scissor Du Ze.

WHOOSH

Du Ze had to release Lu Piao to avoid the attack, which grazed the tip of his nose.

The boy with tied hair had to take a few steps back to think about his next move, his style no longer keeping up with Lu Piao's unpredictability.

"Hahahahaha come on, DuZe, come on!" Lu Piao said, starting to bounce from side to side, preparing to make a big charge, but instead, he rolled on the ground, pushing himself up with his arms, displaying completely random behavior.

Until, defying any common sense, Lu Piao simply charged straight at Du Ze, even though this had failed many times before.

The boy jumped, Du Ze tried to grab his leg, but he continued spinning in the air without kicking.

'A 360-degree kick?' Du Ze thought quickly, now that Lu Piao was still spinning, bringing his leg outstretched like a scythe.

Du Ze ducked to avoid it, but once again, Lu Piao didn't kick.

"It's a 540!" Lu Piao shouted, finally making another half-turn and throwing a kick with all his might towards Du Ze.

THUMP

Dust rose, making any certainty about the result a mystery, but it didn't last long, after all, Lu Piao was one of the involved.

"Ouch, my head..." The blue-haired boy complained.

When the dust settled, Du Ze and Lu Piao were lying on the ground, but the difference was that it was Lu Piao who was in pain, not Du Ze.

In the last moment before the powerful kick hit Du Ze, the boy advanced towards Lu Piao, making him lose any chance of hitting him, and moreover, taking advantage of Lu Piao still being in the air, Du Ze quickly spun around him, holding tight to his waist, performing a complete suplex on Lu Piao, making him hit the ground hard once again.

"Okay, okay... You win." Lu Piao now said, having completely given up, Du Ze didn't even complain, the tension he felt was so great that he was exhausted.