It was about time for the clan trials to begin when the Velor Clan Leader, a small and friendly old man, walked among his disciples. Some elders of the Velor Clan were gathered around a large table, watching their juniors as they waited for the Test of Courage to begin.

“Courage... As part of the righteous side, we need to be brave. Be brave, even when fear threatens, keep going forward” the Clan Leader slowly stated while stroking his long white beard "Now the Test of Courage! You may start!" the old small man finished with a happy smile.

The younglings immediately took off running to the other side of the training ground shouting at the top of their lungs, while the rain poured into their faces. Their feet splashed into puddles as they ran through the mud.

On the other side of the training ground Elder Alda, one of the most powerful members of the Velor Clan stood alone with a severe look on her face. As the disciples came closer, the old woman began emanating her murderous aura at them. The younger disciples fainted when the energy reached them, the energy from a Clan Elder was too much for them. The older and more experienced young disciples quickly began circulating their own energy, to counter the murderous aura and protect them from the elder's wrath.

The Test of Courage was quite simple, all the disciples needed to do was to get to the other side of the training ground while facing the Elder's menacing aura. The young disciples of the Velor Clan had until their eighteen birthday to pass the test in order to continue to practice the Clan martial arts as Inner Disciples.

It was the fourth year that Jin was taking this test, he was sixteen years old and considered one of the best fighters of his age in the entire clan. With Jin's talent, it was expected that he passed the test last year with ease, but there was a small problem... He was completely afraid of his grandmother's gaze, the Elder Alda. She had always had this stern gaze while raising Jin, especially during training.

"This time I will pass the test!" Jin clenched his fists, determined to make sure that he would succeed, proving his worth. However, the more he fought back against Alda's murderous stare, the weaker his resolve grew. Now was time to put his special plan into action, Jin reached in his pocket and grabbed a black piece of cloth, and covered his eyes with it. Without his grandmother's eyes looking into his eyes, he believed he would be able to proceed to the other side of the training grounds safely. This was quite a humorous sight to the test spectators.

Jin continued moving forward while circulating his energy to counter Alda's aura. Suddenly, a strange noise filled the air. Even with his eyes closed by the cloth, he knew that this was the noise of an unknown object coming in his direction. This unknown object made Jin pause, did someone just throw a rock at him? Jin needed to react, he focused on the sound and ducked down evading the small rock. Then he sensed another rock coming in his direction, now the perfect plan to evade Elder Alda's murderous gaze... was not that perfect anymore.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Elder Alda wouldn't let Jin take the easy way out, seeing him cover his eyes made the murderous aura grow even more. The other disciples were having an even harder time because of this. The other clan elders that were watching the test couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Alda tossed multiple stones at Jin while he barely evaded them using his aura to sense the attacks. Jin continued to move forward trying his hardest to not lose his concentration.

"Focus!!" Jin thought. "Focus!! I cannot afford to fail this test!"

His concentration rose and adrenaline pumped through his veins. Thanks to the rocks flying in his direction he almost forgot that his grandmother was staring straight at him. Jin almost didn’t notice when he made it to the end of the Courage test. Jin finally removed the cloth from his eyes and could see that of the more than a hundred Velor Clan's youth, only twenty passed the first test.

"I did it!" Jin thought, jumping up and down with excitement. "I finally passed Grandmother’s test!" finished while letting a sigh of relief.

Elder Alda now had a stern but caring look in her eyes when looking at Jin, she knew that he had great talent and that this wasn't going to hurt her grandson in any way. She simply had to make sure Jin was capable enough to pass this test and later face the real Martial World.

"Good job everyone!" the Clan Leader congratulated, his voice echoed through the training grounds. He then continued to address the young generation, "Next, we will conduct our final test for the Inner Disciple promotion. In the next phase, you will demonstrate your understanding of the Clan martial arts and basic moves."

The other young ones were still a bit hesitant about passing the new test, but for Jin, the Courage Test was the harder part, now it was only a display of the basic form of the Velor martial arts.

With no further delay, the Clan Leader ordered the apprentices to begin practicing their forms and stances. Jin followed along with the rest of the students.

Jin held back a gasp, as he performed various stances along with the other disciples in front of the rest of the Clan. Each stance required specific techniques for the correct grip and stance. All of these techniques had to be learned and mastered before they could be incorporated into a fight. This technique they were performing was called the Justice Strike, which allowed the attacker to unleash a powerful force on the enemy; however, if one didn't have a firm grasp on the technique, it was impossible to execute it effectively. In addition, each stance took skillful manipulation and precision to execute. Jin made all the stances with perfection, his mastery of the basics of Velor Clan martial arts was greater than the other youths taking the test. His technique also helped ease his anxiety as he was able to focus on nothing else besides performing for the test. His hands felt warm and his heart calmed. Soon Jin was able to perform every movement almost flawlessly. He felt so confident that it was as though he was dancing instead of doing simple movements.

After all the stances were done and the test was finished, the Clan Leader announced.

"That concludes today's test! I'm proud of all of you, you all are the future of the Clan. Please continue to train hard and continue improving your skills!"

The clan members cheered and high-fived each other excitedly of the twenty disciples doing the second test, all passed. Jin's results were above average. That was to be expected from the one that Elder Alda personally trained. She strictly raised Jin since he was three years old, his parents were both strong martial artists that died fighting to protect the Clan. Her guidance made Jin stronger, as well as his dedication to learning and mastering his skills. When the tests concluded, Elders Alda and her grandson bowed and thanked the Clan Leader before exiting the Clan Headquarters.

"You have done well Jin" his grandmother praised him as they walked home. “I'm sure your parents would be proud of you,” she said in a gentle tone. This meant a lot to them both. Jin felt relieved.

"Your promotion to Inner Disciple status is well deserved, but you must remember your responsibilities to the Clan now as well." she said while walking slowly beside him; the sun was starting to set behind the mountains in the background of the Velor Clan, "Tomorrow a new phase of your life begins." the old woman explained while gently putting her hand over her grandson's shoulder.