“Why are you blaming me?” Elysian was taken aback by the curses hurled at him by the other boy. “You’re the one who insisted that we duel.”

Sybil could not find any retort, so he could only bite his tongue in silence, glaring at the young boy.

“I even offered to agree to your request, even if we don’t fight, but you wouldn’t listen. You even insulted me until I had no choice but to accept,” Elysian said, sighing. “I think you should take more responsibility for your own actions and decisions instead of shifting the blame onto others.”

Sybil scoffed. “Liar!”

“You’re accusing me of lying now?” Elysian asked in disbelief. Increasing the volume of his voice for everyone to hear, he addressed the soldiers present, “I believe many of you witnessed our fight yesterday, correct?”

“Yes, I saw the fight, young master,” Winnifred said, followed by most of the soldiers.

“The people here will be the judges. Now, tell me, which part did I lie about?”

“You said that you would cancel your engagement with Lyra, win or lose,” Sybil sneered. “So, did you cancel it? I knew you wouldn’t keep your word.”

“Crazy hormonal teenager,” he mumbled in frustration. “Are you still thinking about that girl in your situation?”

“You don’t deserve her,” Sybil declared, staring defiantly at him.

“Yes, I don't deserve her,” Elysian sighed, feeling defeated. “Don’t worry, moron. I will uphold my promise,” he said, suddenly increasing the volume of his voice and adding, “Everyone here is my witness. I will cancel my engagement to that cra…” He quickly stopped himself, clearing his throat before he continued, “As I was saying, I will cancel my engagement to Lady Lyra. Everyone here is my witness. If I break my promise, may the heavens strike me down,” he then smirked. “Or even worse, you can tell my father about it,” he chuckled. Some of the soldiers chuckled with him. Turning back to the older boy, he said, “Is that enough?”

Sybil nodded; his stare towards the younger boy had softened quite a bit compared to the intense hatred before.

“Hey, moron, why are you resting?” Elysian smirked. “You should start crawling again and declare your highest admiration to my brother, ‘Oh, Aldric, my charming prince! Your smoking hot body burns my heart!’”

“You bastard!” Sybil exclaimed, sighing. He started the whole routine again while Elysian and the servant provided him with some encouragement. Some soldiers, unable to contain themselves, burst into laughter.

“Good morning, young lord,” Lucas greeted, bowing.

“Good morning,” Elysian greeted back, nodding. “Captain, hmm, can I call you Lucas?”

“Yes, young lord, it would be my honor.”

Elysian smiled and asked, “Lucas, can I ask a favor?” When he saw him nodding, he continued, “In your daily training, can you include my servant Bran?”

“Master, are you talking about me?” the servant asked, a hint of concern in his voice. “Why would I need training? I'm just an ordinary servant. Also, I don’t want to fight anyone, master.”

“Yes, you’re a servant, but not an ordinary one, you big oaf,” Elysian said, scowling. “How can you be ordinary when you’re serving me? Are you calling me ordinary?”

“No, young master. You’re not ordinary,” Bran hurriedly said. “But…”

“There is no ‘but,’ big fella,” Elysian quickly interrupted. “Listen, you are my servant. In very rare cases where I’m in danger, what are you going to do?”

“Hmm, defend you?”

“Yes, you need to defend me,” he said, nodding. “But how are you going to defend me if you don’t know how to fight?”

Bran did not answer, remaining quiet and staring at the floor.

“I’m just curious, big fella. Why did you become a servant when your body is fit to be a soldier?”

The servant remained silent for a moment and said, “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“What if they hurt you?”

This time, the servant did not answer.

“I think I know the reason why he’s like that, young lord,” the captain said, watching the servant.

“Oh, really?” he asked, curious. “Tell me.”

“I’m close to his father, and I’ve known Bran since he was born. From what I know, Bran was bullied when he was little because he was chubby and had a meek personality. In one incident, there was a big fight, and many of the children who bullied him were in serious condition.”

“Was that true?” he asked, looking at the dejected boy.

Bran nodded, slowly looking up to Elysian, and said, “Ma got really angry at me. She told me to never fight again.”

“Hmm, I see,” he said, patting the servant on the arm. “You’re just going to fight to protect me and yourself from danger. I promise that you will not hurt or fight those who don’t deserve it. Also, don’t worry; I’ll talk to your mother, okay?”

He just nodded without speaking, still looking at the ground.

“Look at me, Bran,” Elysian said. The servant slowly glanced at him, staring him in the eye. “Can you trust me?”

“Yes, young master,” he said, nodding.

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Elysian grinned and said, “Now, get your butt in there and train. Your mother told you to lose some weight, so go there and work out. I will treat you later to a sorbet, okay?”

Bran grinned and enthusiastically said, “Okay, young master!”

As the lumbering servant went to run with a couple of soldiers, Elysian just shook his head and chuckled. “Just as they say, food is not just a sustenance for the body; it is a remedy for many problems.’”

The captain just laughed at what had happened and said, “Don’t worry, young lord; I’ll watch over him.”

“See that you do,” he said, patting him on the arm and adding, “Lucas, drill him the basics. I want him to have a solid foundation.”

“Okay,” the captain nodded, glancing at him, and added, “Yong lord, you don’t want to train with him?”

“Hmm, I will train, but on my own,” Elysian said, smiling. “Do you have the keys to my father’s private training hall?”

“No,” Lucas said, pondering for a moment before adding, “I think the commander might know. You should ask Cedric about it, young lord.”

“Of course he would know,” he sighed. He did not like talking to the commander if he could help. He looked to the captain again and thanked him before he went to find the officer in his office. “Good morning, commander.”

Cedric just glanced at him for a moment, observing him. The silence was deafening; they were the only ones in the room as they both engaged in a staring contest until it was finally broken. “Why are you here, young master?”

“Do I need your permission to go here, commander?” he asked, smirking and raising a brow.

“No,” Cedric said, betraying no emotion. “Are you here to check if the bet is fulfilled? As you can see, the poor boy is now crawling on the ground, shouting some nonsense.”

“Poor boy, really?” Elysian could only shake his head, scoffing. ”I’m not here for that. Do you have the keys to open my father’s private training hall?”

“Why?”

“I think it’s self-explanatory, commander. Why ask?”

Cedric frowned and said, “No one is allowed to use that place without the Baron’s permission.”

Elysian chuckled and said, “I’m not part of that ‘no one,’ commander. Also, I’m not asking for your permission. I’m telling you to give it to me.”

The commander let out a sigh. Grabbing the key to the training hall, he handed it over to the boy, and said, “If you make a mess there or damage the place, you’ll be the one to answer to the Baron.”

Elysian nodded, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility.”

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

After changing into his training attire, Elysian made his way to the center of the hall, clutching a wooden sword. He stood there for a moment, attempting to channel qi through various parts of his body. He sighed, remembering how difficult it was.

‘This isn’t going to be easy. Well, at least my primary energy is psion, which will make it easier for me than for other people. I also need to exercise. This body is pretty weak. My body will surely sore after this.’

“Vitārī Kōkyū,” Elysian whispered, breath flowing in and out, harnessing his internal energy, trying to channel his qi to the different parts of his body with pinpoint accuracy. He started slow, increasing his speed as time went by.

Upon taking a step into cultivation, there were always three kinds of energy present: psion, mana, and qi. The ratio of 100:30:30 will be the same for everyone. Depending on what dantian they chose upon entering cultivation, the ratio of these energies on the body will be different. On Elysian’s part, he had a ratio of 100:30:30, with psion being the highest.

Each of the energies had different uses and effects. The type of cultivator you became would be highly dependent on this. Most skills, spells, and abilities would only work on a specific kind of energy. This was why you needed to carefully choose your dantian and the kind of energy to focus on early in cultivation because you could not change it later.

Also, these energies had specific effects unique to each. For qi, this energy strengthens the body, while mana increases the regeneration of energy, and lastly, psion increases the control of energy.

Whether in the desert or the east, most people chose to prioritize and place more importance on qi and mana, especially here in the north. Truthfully, he would have chosen qi if not for the guidance of his master. Luckily, he had someone who opened his eyes to the wonders it could do. This was even more crucial to him in the past, when he was just an average cultivator with an average energy reserve.

Elysian bent his knees slightly, centering his weight in a dynamic stance. Suddenly, he shifted his weight to one side, coiling his body like a serpent ready to strike before releasing all his qi into his feet in a burst. “Raijin no Ikari,” he said, propelling him forward like a ball of flesh. “F*ck! ” He cursed, failing to properly calculate his qi and his current weight. “Uroko Kōshin!” He shouted, putting all his qi on his skin and muscles that would be hit on impact. This area instantly hardened, forming a snake-scale matrix.

“That was close,” Elysian said, exhaling a sigh of relief while examining the damaged wall. He allowed himself to collapse onto the floor, staring at the ceiling.

‘I forgot that the energy in my body is nine times higher than when I began cultivating in my previous life. Even my age and body are smaller because I started cultivating this early. I should really be careful next time. I need to recalibrate how I use my abilities.’

“Time to start again,” Elysian said, sighing as he stood up.

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

“How’s the training?” Elysian asked, eating his sorbet while the servant did the same.

“My body hurts really bad, master,” Bran replied, concentrating on his food.

“You’re not the only one, my friend,” he said, grinning and showing him his bruises. “As we continue, however, it will get better.”

“So what did you do? Did you practice with a sword?”

“Yes, we did the basic thrust and slash repeatedly. That’s why both of my arms are very sore.”

Suddenly, both of them heard the commotion up ahead. Glancing, they noticed many people were gathering to observe the scene.

“Excuse me,” Elysian said, navigating through a throng of people.

“Hey, watch it, kid!”

Elysian just stared at him. Seeing his clothing, the man immediately backed off.

“What’s happening?” Elysian asked someone to his right.

“I don’t know. From the looks of it, a family is being harassed by a couple of thugs.”

One of the onlookers chimed in, “A merchant hired some thugs to get his money back.”

“Huh, master, was that one of the contestants in the duel yesterday?” Bran asked, pointing to a boy in front fighting a couple of thugs.

“You’re right, big fella. That’s one of the finalists, Osric.”