Manstein closed the door behind him before he returned to become lost in thought. There were so many things he wanted to tell but now he could not even tell anyone which became an indirect source of spying from his enemies.
‘I can't even tell which person is safe or at the indirect spying from that person. But at the least, the influence that crown prince has don't reach this place.’
The concern for one enemy towards his allies and family was great on his shoulder. But to surely defeat them one had to become strong by their own strength. This was what Manstein had to think for now.
‘I should find a place to refine the golden core..’ just as Manstein took the golden core, he realized that the golden luster which previously obvious now dimmed all of a sudden.
Manstein looked at a certain place and saw the blurring figure appeared and disappeared really fast. He knew what that meant but soon after that, he continued his walks.
He got out from the clinic and enjoyed the crowd the city had to offer. Even the cloudy sky in the winter only served as an accessory for his view.
Then he suddenly felt something strange because he had a faint feeling that could not be said. He got the same feeling when he was inside the wormhole.
“This feeling, is some space power appear in this place?”
The space power, that was something even he could not fully understand. But from his experience in this world, he could tell the change in the space but not too strong.
“It is concealed well. Someone might be using this to prevent large-scale alertness. Eh, wait a second?” Manstein revealed his astonishment when he read the information sent by his device.
Even though he wanted to do his investigation but it could be postponed for a moment and there was no need to worry about the target escaping from the city.
-
“I..lose again.” Lying on the ground in the middle of the training room, Ye Yingyuan felt irritated about his loss. This was the second time he had lost in a sparring match against the same practice partner.
He had promised his grandfather to stand at the peak but when he saw his current situation, he could not accept it that his strength was insufficient.
Gripping his sword tightly, he tried to stand up once again. This gave the onlookers surprise and helplessness however they also understood the difference in strength was clear.
“Please, once again! I want to become stronger so that I can fulfill my promise as well as helping my father. That is my intention for doing this so please cooperate with me, Li Ling.” Said Ye Yingyuan in a loud voice.
“But if you keep going then you will have an internal injury. How am I supposed to continue if you force yourself like that.?” On his opposite, stood a girl with her hands held a saber. Her eyes now full of worries but the aura she had was still like a tiger eyeing the prey.
“I don't care as long as I can get the slightest hint to comprehend sword intent. From someone like you who had your intent already, this is the good method. Let's go!” without further explaining and warning, Ye Yingyuan threw himself forward while brandishing his sword.
‘I can feel it. I clearly feel as if a thin curtain prevent me from advancing to the basic stage of sword intent. What am I lacking?’
As the tip of the sword almost arrived at the target, which was the body, Li Ling started to move her saber. She already had the basic stage of intent and then she also successfully integrated it to her saber.
Seeing the serious and determined expression Ye Yingyuan had, she could not help but revealed a faint smile.
‘Different people will have a different kind of learning ability and understanding. But hard work and efforts also contributed to it and now I can see someone with these two in a good aspect. Yingyuan, I will help you push your understanding to the utmost limit!’
Of course, she would help him but the problem was Ye Yingyuan already received an attack from her saber intent and that made him had a red line on the corner of his mouth.
She kept her attacking stance because that was the special thing about saber as it was a one-edged sword, meaning that it could only be used to hack and slash, only strong at offensive. Li Ling just stepped forward a little and she slashed her saber horizontally.
Ye Yingyuan reacted by parrying the attack but despite the difference in their cultivation base, it did not matter too much when it came to intent. That was the difference between someone with and without intent.
He was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment stage while Li Ling was at the peak of Qi Condensation stage and despite that fact he still lost to her.
He even retreated three steps, not because of fear but rather the tremendous power of the slash Li Ling just made.
At the safe side of the training room, Shan Rao kept watching the fight calmly. Her eyes moved from the boy to the girl, each movement of their weapons and their stance.
Sparks kept appearing when their weapons clashed. They were good enough to parry the attack not using the sharp part so the weapons would not break easily.
At this time, Ye Yingyuan was forced to a defensive and passive state when faced with weapon intent. He used his signature defensive skill to give him some time to think, analyze and learn from the attack.
“Airflow Curtain!” he spun his sword, creating a flow of wind to protect himself. He focused his attention on the strike that would land to him.
‘What is it that I'm lacking?’
Li Ling gave her all to the strike and she did it to let Ye Yingyuan observe the intent behind her attack. They already did this for more than three times for this training session and that did not count how many sessions Ye Yingyuan had done.
‘I remember when I learned this power called ‘intent’. That is when I have nothing else in my mind, my heart and my act but the attack from my saber. It is actually what I wanted to do with my saber whether to attack in any forms or if necessary, defend myself.’
That was what inside the little girl's head but she did not count her fast learning and understanding. What Li Ling thought actually rather complicated to realize, in other words, easier said than done.
Fortunately, this training was only focused on training the intent otherwise even the two of them could unleash their full power from the start. And this was also the reason to let Shan Rao see the prowess of the two children.
Sadly, the same thing soon repeated itself. The curtain Ye Yingyuan made started to break. Cold sweat started to appear on his head as he felt the intent of the attack got closer and closer each time the curtain break. He had felt the same each time he failed to defeat Li Ling.
‘I don't understand anything. How many times I already did this for!?’ as his body being blown off by the strike, the only thought lingering in his head was why he could not understand the intent even though he witnessed its power numerous times.
“Damn! I don't understand, I don't understand at all.” He wanted to grasp this power as soon as possible because he knew that in the future there would be a danger as large as the invasion from another world.
He laid with his back on the ground, his face distorted as tears started to accumulate in his eyes. He felt powerless as his legs and hands trembled following the mood of his heart.
“Are you alright?” asked Li Ling. She waited for a response but there was none so she hurriedly went to the place where she saw Ye Yingyuan laid on the ground.
‘What's happening? Why is he crying?’ she saw the boy closed his face with his hand while sniffing.
“You don't have to cry for this.” Suddenly a figure closing the distance and even Li Ling unconsciously turned her head.
It was actually Shan Rao. She actually understood the feeling of unable to comprehend certain things but when she saw that boy crying over this, she felt slightly annoyed.
“Why are you so anxious to grasp the power of intent?” Shan Rao asked this because she could see from afar that Ye Yingyuan tried to understand the principles of intent by observing the attack close.
‘While the boy is rather stubborn but his determination and will to earn more is somewhat commendable..’ that was what Shan Rao thought in giving her evaluation to the children.
‘And of course I must make this girl the new candidate for Northern Ice Palace due to her body constitution but will she gladly accept?’ Shan Rao glanced at Li Ling when the girl moved closer to the boy.
‘Furthermore, from her eyes I can see that she has feelings for that boy. And to make things worse, that boy also has body constitution. This kind of body constitution will make that old man take him for sure, hmph.’
“Yingyuan, why are you crying like this!? This is not like you at all, not like you!”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Soon after she shouted, Li Ling turned silent.
“Do you know the feeling when you almost reach your goal but suddenly lose all of it? Do you know how much time I spend just to learn this despite the difficulties in it?” said the boy while sniffing.
“You saw me every day in this place, trying to understand something that I can't grasp. What is this called? The difference in our perspective and learning capability?” in a mocking tone, Ye Yingyuan smiled bitterly.
“Boy, do you know that haste makes waste? Or do you simply ignore that advice?” Shan Rao asked.
Ye Yingyuan turned his head, his eyes contained a slight confusion but he did not realize it. He stared at the person whom he barely knew.
“What, what does that mean? I already prepared and furthermore my foundation is solid enough right? Then what's wrong with me?” Ye Yingyuan did not know what was wrong with how he had done things.
“Listen to this old lady for a while and you won't regret it.” Shan Rao saw that she caught his attention so she pulled the boy further so she could say whatever she wanted.
“It's not a matter of your cultivation base whether it is solid or not but to use the power of intent, you can't rush things. And your train of thought, how can I explain it..?” Shan Rao had the essence she wanted to say but somehow she did not have enough words to express.
“Does ‘kinetic’ the right thing to say it?” from another side, Ye Yingyuan could hear what Li Ling had said.
‘Kinetic? Right, I said it from my mouth but how can that word even reach my head in the first place?’ Ye Yingyuan vaguely remembered the word along with the meaning behind it.
“So, little girl here wants to explain in my stead?” when Li Ling attracted her attention a moment ago, Shan Rao already planned to see what she was capable of.
“Thank you, Northern Ice Palace Leader.” Li Ling nodded slightly with a smile covered her face.
“I think that no matter how much you put your effort, you can't use this power easily.” Li Ling said with a helpless look on her face. Her sudden change in attitude made Ye Yingyuan almost fell into a rage but he still contained it.
“It is because you forced yourself to understand something without a calm and cool head. I may understand the reason for that but please don't lose control of yourself.”
What Ye Yingyuan realized that instant was the fact that his source of uneasiness and rashness were from his own body, or to be exact his own energy. He had the body constitution which produced a large amount of yang energy. This kind of energy slowly affected the mental state and emotional state of the owner. That was what Li Ling wanted to say.
And then Li Ling continued, “Furthermore, your head is full of something unnecessary like to get stronger. What's the meaning of that if you can't even focus on solely to be natural with your sword, moving along with your weapon?”
Then she stared intently at Ye Yingyuan while a faint smile started to appear like a blossoming flower in the spring.
‘That’s it!’ all of a sudden, there was a snap inside Ye Yingyuan's head that made him realize the mistake of his intention all when he did the training.
“See? A slight different in intention can make a great difference in results. You have this intention to become stronger and comprehending the power of ‘intent’ is indeed a way but to comprehend it, all you have to do is to let everything aside, empty your mind.” Added Shan Rao. She had already become an old woman but that also meant her experience in this issue was plenty as well.
“I understand fully now!” Ye Yingyuan exclaimed while his confidence was shown by the light on his eyes radiated with vigor and vitality.
“Thank you, for your reminder.” And he walked to Li Ling first. He raised his hands and pinched her cheeks while revealing a little evil laugh.
“Ah, you...” Li Ling stomped her feet in anger but she felt happy somehow. Of course Ye Yingyuan released his hands from her and went alone to train once more.
“How about your injury?” she wanted to ask this but got a surprise from him. When she saw a droplet of blood painted the ground, she forced herself to look after him.
“As always, every time I get this injury my body will become stronger. Besides, you helped me in many occasion so I feel thankful for that.” Ye Yingyuan wanted to just spill the blood that accumulated inside his mouth but forced to swallow it instead.
“I’ll accompany you.” With such condition, of course Li Ling could not ignore it and kept an eye on him in case something happened.
“It's good to be young.” The scene where the boy and the girl walked side by side painted deeply into Shan Rao's memory and she looked at them with expectation.
-
Only after entering the residence of Ye Family that Manstein could tell the matter with ease.
‘The nest, they will appear soon just as Alice planned. I guess only the existence with such power can make it look so easy.’
And there was a reason he had come to the residence and that was to discuss things with his foster family.
“And what do they mean my existence is profitable? Is there something like luck attraction charm on me?” Manstein suddenly remembered where the topic was about the recent benefit around the residence.
Manstein then found himself a good place to sit, on the simple but practical chair which was filled with a low trace of energy residue.
Right now he sat in the middle of the guest room but he did not mind at all. Other than that he started to wonder whether the family wanted to elect the new patriarch!
“Maybe only the patriarch knows what that truly meant. Oh, then I can ask about it.” Since that was the case, he would use this chance to ask.
On another room, it was the place where the types of equipment from the weapons, armors, and tools were placed. It was the storage room inside the residence near the yard.
One of the servants walked with care, afraid of disturbing the person inside. There was a silhouette of a person standing inside the storage room.
And at the most front of the silhouette, there was a figure. Judging from its height and width, it was clearly larger than the person in front of it. Then respectfully, the servant moved three steps closer and called.
“Master, someone wanted to meet you.”
The person and the figure then slowly revealed to the servant’s eyes when a little light illuminated the room. A middle-aged man was standing in front of the servant and both of them were in the front of a strange looking armor.
“Who? At this time when the position of the patriarch is empty, I don't know what I should do. Now I was forced by the rest of the family to become the new patriarch..” while saying that, the man only looked at the armor in front of him.
‘Father, I don't know how much you sacrificed your entire fortune. When I think about your words about fortune...I will be speechless.’
The man carried a sword around his waist but he just carried it around because of his habit. When the light finally showered his face, a reflection of the light as well as the strange feeling when the eyes shone made the servant rooted to his place.
“Just how long do you want to stay inside?” from outside, a beautiful woman walked towards the man.
“Oh, it's just you my dear wife.” When he noticed it, the clouds let a small portion of the sun ray landed to his place and even reached to the armor.
It was at that moment Ye Canghai knew that the time had passed longer and he returned to his sense. He kept looking at the armor while hesitantly turned his head to the exit where one servant and his wife were standing, waiting for was
‘But like what Father said, in this world nothing is eternal for it is the root of all the things. And why is it that no one can remove it?’
“Alright, I'm coming out.” Only after rearranging his state of mind that Ye Canghai got out from the storage room. And for that armor, it was actually the armor Ye Shui had used during the war and Ye Canghai knew about it.
Seeing the melancholy face Ye Canghai gave, Yu Feng moved to his side while only accompanying him in silence.
“Please lead the way. Sorry for making you wait.” Said Ye Canghai to the servant. For him, every one was the same, with the same origins, even maybe the same ancestor so he did not treat anyone with contempt.
“Yes, sir.” Only when he said that the servant let out a relaxing sigh and smiled faintly as a thank for the kindness he had received.
“This kind of fluctuation, he already returned.” Ye Canghai smiled as he swept the entire residence with his detecting sense and found out there was an unusual person with a different kind of qi emitting from his body.
“What is it? Despite your previous condition, you can still make a sudden turn in your mood. You are really fast to change your focus.” Walking with a leisure, Yu Feng knew the instant Ye Canghai changed his mood so she could not help but asked.
The difference of their level of cultivation made one possible to detect others from a distance while the weaker ones had limited means to know the details.
“You know, that person my brother suggested to take in. Even my son support the idea itself and no one object so I feel like at a loss. But that's fine too even if he isn't someone close to her.”
Ye Canghai turned around despite his power to know what his wife had been doing to show his affection but he only met with a serious gaze with a trace of anger inside Yu Feng's eyes.
Her lips almost raised but she held back while her brows already met each other. Ye Canghai knew that something he had said made her angry.
“You mean our son, right?” Yu Feng kept her gaze to him as if dissatisfied with the words Ye Canghai had said.
“I see...I'm sorry.” Realizing his mistake as quick as a galloping horse, Ye Canghai instantly apologized. After all the years he had interacted with Yu Feng, he knew what to do when a problem arise and this was one of them.
‘How can I forgot about that!? She had to endure hardship just because of me. That same person which become her husband, me, even had forgotten about that.’
When that thought appeared, unconsciously Ye Canghai had his face changed like someone who suffered mental pain.
“Look who's waiting at the guest room?” to distract his thought as well as to remind him, Yu Feng dragged him by hands.
“Hmm.” Ye Canghai followed without much resistance. The reason was because she turned her head and she smiled gently even with a slight feeling of teasing in it.
‘Ah, that smiling face of yours is the best. Maybe you are really my fairy that came from the heavens.’
That was what Ye Canghai thought when seeing the smile. It was true after all that Yu Feng was a stunning beauty because when both of them entered the guest room, Manstein could finally see the beauty and the handsome from close up.
‘No wonder Ye Yingyuan is resistant to the cute and adorable girl because his mother is like this. Hmm, is this the cause?’
Of course Manstein did not have any thought of any beauty he had encountered and this also became such an occurrence as well. After all, even if he wanted to he did not have the hormones to do the deed.
That was what the Terminator Gene brought to anyone with it and worst of all that, Manstein did not even become a super soldier in his world.
“Can I call you two Uncle and Aunt?” to make things smooth and comfortable, Manstein took the initiative to ask.
“Yes, of course you can. And sorry for making you wait. This is because of this man of mine.” Replied Yu Feng. Of course she signaled back to the servant that brought them to this place to go.
“Is that fine? Please sit down too, Uncle and Aunt. I feel unpleasant when I'm sitting here while my aunt and uncle have to stand.” With that, Manstein acted quite fast as he brought the chair closer to them and with his gesture, he offered them to sit down.
“Alright then.”
With that, they could see directly each other. And because they sat opposite of each other, they would see any change of expression and the movement of the body.
“Where’s Father? It is because I can't meet him now that I ask for Uncle and Aunt.” Said Manstein but he was not sure with the feelings inside his heart.
It was the feeling of having a large family which made him doubt about the way he called or like the way they treated him.
“It's normal after all your foster father often goes to the training camp. And what's with your sour face?” seeing the current expression of Manstein made Ye Canghai closed the gap, even sat beside him.
“Is there something important to tell? Of course other than the matter of family.” Said Yu Feng when she saw all of the action. She rolled her eyes a bit but she just did that.
“We have to go out from this place. What I mean is, we have to move away from this continent. The sooner we leave, the better it will be for us.” Manstein then states calmly but his face still had the remaining trace of the previous sourness.
“Wait a second, what do you mean by this? Don’t tell me that this is the result of the yesterday’s mess? Please tell us in detail.” Ye Canghai, who was going to be a new leader, had to know about this.
“Then what about our sons and nephew? This will make Brother-in-law worried too.” Said Yu Feng hastily. It was because of this that they both worried for their family members.
“Oh, don't worry about that though. They will be here, it's just a matter of time as I can feel the power of space.” Manstein said this to calm down the tense.
But what he had said was true for he could detect the power of space albeit only in small scale and limited distance.
‘Surely this is the effect of taking the entire energy source from the nature and merge it with my body.’