"Oh... Look, it's Arun... Fancy meeting you here, isn't it?" William's smug face finally came into view.

"Déjà vu..." The boss is in front... that means... behind him another pair of voices made their entrance.

"Didn't I tell you, scrub? The time that William put you in your place... I would be there."

"Who are you again?"

Arun could clearly see Adam's veins growing. "You..." Adam wanted to retort, but his rage was far outclassed by his companion.

"You stole from me, Arun... your thievery cost me dearly... but that's alright... I will have you pay me back!"

"Ah, you're Eike. Do refresh your memory, you made me a thief... I grew up in a place that you despise, that many may call a 'trash bin,' but I have never been called that, I'll let you know."

"You took my bone marrow in the exam! I will break your arms and make your pet mine in order to remind you of your mistake!"

"HISS!" Paradox tensed up on Arun's shoulder. Dim streaks of lightning were appearing on its body.

"Oh, I did think that marrow was out of its place." Arun pet Paradox, then switched his focus directly to Eike and clenched his fist. "But to think a cheater is calling me a thief."

"Oh, I will enjoy this." Eike entered his stance, ready to strike.

"Eike, not yet." William spoke with a harsh tone. This was also the time when Arun met his gaze, then retorted to William.

"If you think that just because I did not make it into Divine Flame, you have won, you are mistaken. Even if I didn't get what I wanted this time, in the end, I will achieve my goal."

"I do not care about you not making it into that school, for I never believed you capable of it. It was just a joke, a delusion all along. To think you made it into a cultivation high-school at all is annoyingly impressive. However..." William paused, then his gaze changed. His eyes could not hide his hatred and disgust any longer. "You. You dared stand up to me."

His sudden change in tone took Arun aback.

"You trash, you came directly from the garbage bin with your ragged looks, yet you not only dared to speak to me, but you threatened me. This... is unforgivable. You did not only disrespect me, but my family as well! I cannot let that slide. I will give you a lesson about how this world works. I will put you in your place today. I figure your arms AND legs will suffice to break that little will of yours."

Arun did not lose sight of William, but he was visibly shocked.

"How... just how can somebody be so petty?"

"Petty? This is more than reasonable. You get to live, be glad."

"I see." Arun shook his head.

The time for words has passed. Sensing this, Eike immediately launched his strike. Similarly, Paradox pounced from Arun's shoulder, his thunder fully charged in order to take on Adam who was advancing from the side.

"Black Mamba Fist"

A seemingly weak strike from a high-human stage - easily counterable, most people would think. Arun knew better; he nimbly dodged by shifting his weight to his other foot while changing his body's position.

Snake techniques were tricky because the trajectory was unpredictable. Block a jab, and you might end up being uppercutted. Arun's quick thinking, paired with his knowledge, shone during these situations.

Eike's strike hit nothing but air. Arun, who now had the advantageous position, gathered ki in his left arm and punched him in the gut. Although that punch was not a technique, Eike was blown away while coughing blood. The sheer force of the impact even took Arun by surprise.

However, a moment of carelessness has a heavy price in a fight, be it a brawl or a battlefield. Stunned by his own display of force, Arun noticed too late when William took out his spear and attacked. He tried to jump out of the way but...

"Aargh!" Arun cried out in pain. The attack grazed his left arm. He didn't expect William to take out his spear for this. It was not an ordinary spear either - it was a blunt spear made specifically for breaking bones. William came prepared.

"Still looking at me, trash? Have you not learned your lesson?" William sneered.

Arun opened his mouth, ready to retort, but suddenly found himself locked in place.

Although the environment contained a tight area, allowing Paradox to perform his favorite move effectively and pounce wall by wall to attack, the difference in experience between the newborn and trained fighter was clear. Paradox's attacks were as fast and powerful as they were predictable. As such, once Adam got familiar with its pattern, he used the first opportunity to rush over and restrain Arun.

"I got him, boss. Strike him as you please," Adam said.

"Dang," Arun kept struggling.

"Finally. It was becoming a bit embarrassing," William said as he prepared for the second strike.

"That little tiger of yours won't strike me when we're this close, will he? In the end, it's just a kitten afraid to hurt his master." Adam whispered to Arun's ear.

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Arun stopped struggling as he let out a little smirk.

"'It' doesn't like to be called a kitten."

"Mwraaa," intended to be a terrifying roar, it instead ended up being somewhat of a battle "miaw" let out by Paradox, as if saying "Your enemy is me!"

Even though he lacked experience, Paradox possessed excellent accuracy, hence no fear that it would hit his master.

Adam loosened his grip as he was forced to dodge Paradox's claws. Arun, who was waiting for this moment, used the newfound space to headbutt his assailant. Blood ran from Adam's nose as he was forced to step back.

With no time to celebrate his freedom, Arun tried to dodge William's strike but still received some damage to his right arm. He could only grit his teeth while he felt his flesh twisting from the cruel weapon. He was lucky, he only received minute damage because William tried not to hit Adam. Camaraderie, how unlike him.

Now recovered, Adam and Eike prepared to jump on him again but William commanded, "Keep your positions. Next time, I will hit you if you get in my way. Don't make me do that."

Grumbling could be heard but they resumed their positions.

"So those two need to tie me down while William strikes me. This guy... he doesn't even want to face me properly. Well, this is in my favor for now. Let me inspect the situation while I can. I can't beat them all. I could probably beat those two clowns, but the current me can't hold out against William without a weapon.

So it's flee. But where? I could probably break through those two, but then I'll be at school... I bet Will will have something planned for that. He prepared his weapon, he must have prepared other surprises too. A student showing up with his arms and legs broken warrants some attention, and some explanation, after all.

Then, my only chance is probably the bus. William wouldn't interfere with something related to the garbage bin... he would think that beneath him. What would he do? Run after the bus? That would be a sight to behold, the Xu youngling stopping a bus to beat its occupants. Even he would not get away from the PR nightmare unscathed. Besides, this prideful prick wouldn't even think that I could get past him."

But how do I get past him? Even with my full power, I am just... no... with my current state, this should work... even if I do not know what caused it, hesitating now would cost me dearly. I have to do this.

My arms hurt, but they are not broken... my ki pool is being drained fast as well. I need to end this now.

Arun united his palms, fingers clenched around each other.

"You know, even if you beg, you won't be spared. Though if you lick my boots..."

"Cut it out, William. Let's end this charade, I've got better things to do today."

Arun raised his clenched 'praying' fists above his head, his last bits of ki all concentrating in his hands, enhancing every muscle and strengthening his fists. Right now, Arun created a mace more daunting than William's spear. This was his own technique.

"Ooh... Yeah, let's, you are getting over yourself again. Time to hear you scream and beg. Get him!"

This was the moment his three enemies launched the most vicious attacks they could muster.

"Black mamba strike!"

"Black bear bunch!"

"Crushing point!"

But before their attacks even took shape, Arun's fists came crashing to the ground at a blinding speed.

"Shockwave!"

As the name implied, when the strike connected with the ground, a shockwave blasted Arun's immediate surroundings, followed by a cloud of dust. Eike and Adam were swiped off their feet immediately, but William resisted it, although he was in a swinging motion.

"You... auugh!"

Caught off-balance, he couldn't dodge Paradoxes' ferocious headbutt to the 'sacred spot'. Credit to him, even after such a blow, he did not collapse, and after a few seconds of agonizing, he split the smokescreen with a swing of his spear.

"Wha... WHERE?"

William hadn't even realized while he was recovering, Arun had slipped away. Then he looked behind at the station where a bus was just departing with his target in it.

----------------------------------------

Finally... so many things had happened, but his home was in sight. As Arun approached his home, his holographic armband received a call from Eileen. He opened the transmission and Eileen's face, as well as her surroundings, came into view. This technology allowed the 3D model to see everything around them.

"Hey Eileen... what's up?" Arun asked.

"Did you have a fight with William?" Eileen's concerned voice came through.

"Yeah, he assaulted me with his grunts on my way to the station like a true thug," Arun replied.

"I knew it. Are you okay?" Eileen asked.

"I'm okay. I've got some bruises, but I escaped. You should see the other guys. How did you know? Did they snitch?" Arun inquired.

"Yeah, the little maggots said that you ambushed them. Can you believe that? Should've kicked William harder back then," Aileen replied.

"Haha, don't worry. Paradox took care of that," Arun said with a chuckle. Paradox meowed proudly in response.

As Arun finally reached the door to his home, he stopped. His smile disappeared from his lips for the second time that day.

"Arun, what happened?" Aileen asked, sensing his unease.

"The door... it's open. Broken through," Arun whispered.

Eileen was silent.

"Paradox," Arun whispered to his pet. Immediately, Paradox sneaked through the barely open door.

"Arun, I'm going to call..." Aileen started to say, but Arun shushed her.

Arun tensed up at the door, ready to burst into the scene. He would have already done so, but his ki pool was still drained from the fight, so he assigned Paradox to scout ahead.

He awaited a signal from Paradox... a miaw, or the sound of fighting in the worst case scenario... but instead Paradox came back. The creation which shouldn't have a soul nor emotions of any kind looked distraught, unsure of what to do. On his paws a flash of red could be seen.

"Arun... is that?"

But Arun didn't hear. Instead, he immediately burst through the door. The sight which befell him... he could not accept.

"No..."

"Aaah!" Eileen shouted while covering her mouth.

"No... No..." Denying. He would deny it forever but the truth... was right in front of him.

"Arun... Arun, wait right there, we're coming to you... just... just sit still alright?" Aileen panicked and started shouting around more and more but all that... was just noise... background noise.

"No! No! No!" And then he kneeled before the figure that has been with him since birth. There was still a pulse.

"I won't let this happen!" Arun jolted into action, searching every nook and cranny for one of his creations. There was something, something he designed for cases like this, something that would help. After a few seconds that felt like ages, in which he cursed his own clumsiness, he found a small cylinder. Its white exterior was easy to spot, but he had to be careful as the construct was quite fragile.

Wasting no time, he placed the disk over his ma's heart and input some of his remaining ki into it. The device's LEDs sprang to life as continuous thumping started to be emitted from it. The green light transitioned from green to yellow to red as it monitored the situation. Yet, with the help of the ki that was continuously flowing into the body, her wounds, which were already treated by Arun, began to slowly close.

The world around him started to reappear as the light slowly switched from red to yellow. She was stabilizing, and Arun was finally coming out of his panicked state.

Tears made their way onto his face. At first, drips, then rivers. The world reappeared before his eyes as he inspected the devastated room. Broken chairs, table, and... a note. His eyes did not deceive him, a white note, also stained with crimson, was placed on an intact chair.