The next morning, inside a tavern.

Drake liked to take a break from cultivation by going for a walk in the streets, frequenting restaurants and taverns, and occasionally interacting with the public. Holt allowed him to leave, provided he was accompanied by guards, who were standing behind him now.

Drake was enjoying his breakfast when he heard a cry.

“Mommy, I don’t want to eat!” cried a baby boy.

“You have to! Otherwise, how will you grow up properly?” the mother asked as she held a spoonful of rice close to the boy’s lips.

“Then, will you tell me the story of the Seraphim?”

“Again!? How many times do you want me to say it?”

“Please ma! Just one more time!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you.” The kid became excited and started eating.

“Once upon a time, over a million years ago, the entire world was ruled by the Seraphim. They were a proud and majestic race, with wings as white as snow, and carried incredible powers.”

“What happened to them?” asked the kid excitedly.

“Then, the evil god Raksha descended and started killing everyone!” she said, making a scary face.

“Oh no!” the boy cried. “And then what?”

“Then, the Seraphim united all the races and kingdoms under them to wage a huge war. More than half the world’s population died, and many strong cultivators were killed before they finally defeated the evil god. But in his anger, he cursed the world by creating onis that plague our lands to this day!”

“What are onis ma?”

“Something that you should always run away from!”

“Bu-”

Drake lost interest in their conversation. But he had heard that story a lot since coming to this world.

A million years ago was when the Great Calamity happened. It destroyed a huge chunk of the world’s population, and the oni races started appearing afterwards.

There were originally eight races in the world, including humans. But after the Great Calamity, ten oni races appeared.

These races possessed an inborn hatred and aggression towards the native races. Wherever they went, their dark aura would corrupt normal animals from ants to elephants, bears and wolves, physically transforming them and infesting them with the same hatred for humans. Ordinary animals transformed by their dark aura became extremely powerful and were called demons.

There wasn’t a lot known about the details of the Great Calamity, or how the world used to be before that, however, it was a key turning point in the history of this world.

Finishing his breakfast, Drake went back to the front yard of his home to start practising his sword swings, movements, and postures. Zhao Gaumond could not come today as he was busy trying to organise the expedition party. As usual, his heart wasn’t in it, and he practised half-heartedly.

After some time, Holt walked out and began correcting and instructing him.

Unlike on normal days, however, just as Holt approached Drake, Elwin came out of the house as well.

“Father wait!” he shouted across the yard.

Holt was surprised.

Normally at this time, Elwin would be preparing for his private lessons.

This world had less of a priority on academics, however, they were still important. Normally, upon reaching five years old, the children would start their lessons on those subjects and continue till they graduated, while also learning mana cultivation, swordsmanship, etc simultaneously.

Of course, this was only because they were the village head’s family. A commoner would be hard-pressed to find any education at all, and simply learn whatever trade they could from their parents.

Only the children who were part of the upper class would be given a formal education. Out of these, only the village head’s children were given private tuition at home, the rest went to the academy.

Given Drake’s identity as a world-class physicist in his previous life, even at a young age, his academic knowledge was in a league of his own compared to the rest of this world. The maths they taught was extremely trivial, and the same was true for most other subjects.

On the very first day, after confirming Drake’s almost supernatural intelligence, his teacher said that he needed no further education in those topics. The only thing he was taught was history and geography, which he also quickly grasped and became really good at.

As a result, he had a lot of extra time, that enabled him to learn more about cultivation and such, despite not actually starting yet. The books about cultivation were limited, but they were enough to keep Drake occupied and gave him a decent knowledge of the basics. On top of this, he spent some time learning the local geography, maps, legends, and other useful information.

At this moment, Elwin was carrying a long sword in one hand, but in the other, he was carrying another sword. Holt’s sword.

Holt normally wouldn’t take it out unless he was going for a fight, but Elwin had brought it now. Holt was puzzled as to what his intentions were when he saw Elwin throw his sword at him.

“Father! I challenge you to a duel!” he shouted.

The birds sitting on a nearby tree fluttered away in fright. No one spoke for a moment.

Holt was the head of the village. If someone challenged him to a duel, he would have to fight with everything he had to maintain his reputation. But how could he go all out against his son? Holt didn’t find this situation funny.

“Listen, Elwin. Go back inside now,” he replied coldly, arms folded.

But Elwin didn’t budge. He unsheathed his sword and got into a fighting stance.

“Father, I will attack you in five seconds and I won’t hold back. You better prepare yourself. If I win, you must let me go on the expedition.”

Elwin immediately started counting.

“One!”

Drake was unaware of the conversation they had last night or the situation in the Beast Woods yet, so he was completely taken aback to see his brother, who was normally respectful and loving towards his father, display such an attitude now.

It wasn't just him. Elwin had yelled very loudly, causing Hazazel and Ray to also come spectate. They were equally confused but knew better than to randomly speak out in this tense atmosphere.

“-four, five. Here I come!” Elwin screamed as he pounced at his father.

Holt didn’t even pick up his sword yet as he didn’t think that Elwin was serious. However, now, Elwin was approaching him without any mercy, his sword aimed right at his heart.

Holt sighed.

‘So, it has come to this,’ he thought. But he knew better than to stand around in a daze when being attacked.

Holt stomped on the edge of the sword, and it bounced into his hands. He quickly unsheathed it and met his son’s charge. The two clashed, sword clangs resounding across the garden.

Elwin’s feet blurred and he slashed at his father at lightning speed. Holt easily blocked the strikes with his sword. Elwin aimed for his neck, but Holt ducked while aiming a kick at Elwin’s head from the other side. Elwin stepped back before instantly pushing forward and punched Holt in the chest. Holt couldn’t react in time and was thrown back.

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Holt was dumbfounded by the power behind that punch.

“You… when did you cultivate the steel body?!”

Elwin replied by charging again, his face was blank.

Holt was confused but he didn’t have time to think now. He changed tactics and started to reveal some of his true skills. He started blocking less and counterattacking, before changing to a full-on offensive.

Drake was awestruck.

Apart from mana cultivation, you could also cultivate your body and make it stronger. People who cultivated this way were called martial artists. Just like how mages absorbed the world’s mana, refined it, and used it to temper their mana cores by constantly breaking it down and rebuilding it, a martial artist would break down and rebuild their own skin and bones, making them stronger little by little.

Unlike mana cultivation, everyone could cultivate martial arts provided they found a suitable cultivation technique. However, the process was extremely painful and dangerous and required strong determination and willpower to pursue.

The cultivation of martial artists was also broken down into five realms: tempered body, steel body, undying body, shadow body, and astral body, and each had early, middle, late, and perfect stages as well.

The strength of a martial artist who had cultivated a particular body was similar to a mage in a corresponding realm, or a demon in the corresponding class. Holt, who was forty years old, had only cultivated the undying body, whereas Elwin had already cultivated the steel body at fifteen!

They exchanged moves so quickly that the vibrations and wind from their impact pushed Drake off his feet. Ray Dragmoor placed a hand on his shoulder to stabilise him while watching the battle intently.

Elwin emitted dense killing intent. Each of his stabs and cuts was aimed at Holt’s vital points. It was as if he was facing a mortal enemy, not his father.

Holt was surprised again and again. Elwin’s blows had become stronger and stronger over time. Elwin had been holding back at the start but after realising Holt’s skill, he now came at him with everything he had.

Holt was once again on the defensive, and Elwin kept pushing him back. Holt saw a boulder behind him so he retreated to the side. But this opened up a hole in his defence, allowing Elwin’s kick to land on his face. Holt was thrown back several meters but Elwin didn’t stop. He jumped into the air and aimed his sword at his heart. Holt couldn’t dodge midair and could only use his sword to deflect it.

They both landed on the ground explosively, raising a huge dust cloud.

Drake and Hazezel couldn’t see anything, but Ray was stunned.

‘Since when was Elwin so powerful?’ thought Ray. Ray was at the perfect-stage steel body along with being a warrior mage, so he could clearly observe what had happened.

After the dust settled, Drake also understood Ray’s surprise.

Holt was lying on the ground with Elwin’s sword buried in his shoulder, causing him to bleed all over the grass and turn them red.

Elwin was panting heavily.

“He… he won?” Drake and Hazezel gasped. They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Holt was on the ground and looked at his son panting for breath, his forehead filled with sweat. He saw his emerald hair and blue eyes. They were not filled with the pride of a victor, but sorrow and desperation.

Holt could tell that Elwin didn’t enjoy this even one bit. But looking at him now, he was reminded of someone else.

His true love, June Reynard.

She too was a fierce warrior. Elwin resembled her so much he could not even distinguish their figures for a while. But then he sighed. His son had grown so much already.

But that’s precisely why, I must show him how dangerous the world is!

Drake could feel the mana in Holt’s body thrown into disarray. A huge amount of mana spiralled out of Holt’s body and covered it with a formless mist.

Holt’s wound stopped bleeding. He grabbed Elwin’s sword with his palm but it could not even scratch his skin.

Elwin was dumbfounded, ‘What was happening?’

Holt pulled the sword out of his shoulder and the wound immediately healed. He then swung the sword with all his might and Elwin was thrown into the air. Elwin’s momentum didn’t stop even when he crashed through a tree and landed heavily against a boulder, coughing out blood. Holt stood up like nothing happened and stared intently at Elwin.

‘That’s more like it,’ Ray thought, satisfied. He knew very well what the gap between steel body and undying body was. Holt had been going easy on Elwin from the beginning.

Drake was dumbfounded. But then he recalled something and understood what was happening.

When a martial artist cultivated the undying body, their bodies would be so infused with mana that a layer of mana would form on the surface of their skin. This mana layer could heal ordinary wounds and also formed a natural defence. Despite how thin it looked; ordinary weapons could not even pierce it.

Since Elwin wounded him before, Drake realised now that it was because Holt had allowed it and didn’t fight seriously.

Elwin stood up using his sword as support, coughing again and again. His hands and legs trembled but his eyes were more determined than ever.

He grabbed the sword with both hands and rushed towards his father once more. This time, both of them were giving their all. Their movements were so fast that Drake’s eyes could not follow along anymore.

Only Ray was able to observe the battle and told Drake and Hazezel what was going on.

Drake was in awe once again. He had never seen his brother fight before. He had heard about his brother's exploits during hunting. The other hunters called him a child prodigy, the genius of the Jain village, and so on. Even Zhao Gaumond, who was harsh and strict with Drake and everyone else had nothing but praise for Elwin’s martial arts.

Despite this, Drake had never thought much of his brother’s fighting skills. After all, he was still just fifteen years old which was young in his mind. He knew martial artists had powerful bodies, but this was the first time he was observing what that meant.

Holt was attacking mercilessly. It was Elwin on the defensive now. After Holt started using his true strength, each of his blows carried terrifying might. Even though Elwin blocked them, they sent reverberations through his very bones.

However, he couldn’t lose. He had to prove himself to his father, otherwise, how could he have the face to lead? If he didn’t go on that expedition now, he knew that no one would respect him.

At the very least, Elwin knew that if he was in the position of a commoner and saw the village head hiding in his own house while letting others risk their lives, he would have no respect for such a leader.

Both father and son exchanged blows after blows.

Hazezel was watching with a complex gaze. He didn’t know who to support in this situation. So like Drake, he simply admired the show.

Soon, Elwin was at his limits. He accidentally let one of Holt’s punches through and it ruthlessly knocked the wind out of him. Elwin gasped for breath, but Holt didn’t give him any time to recover. He pivoted on his right foot and kicked Elwin’s face with his left. Elwin was sent flying and the sword dropped out of his hands.

It was his loss.

Elwin laid there on the ground, panting for breath as he stared at the sky.

Is this really the best I can do? Can’t I even beat some old man?

“Humph!” Holt snorted. “With such little ability, you really want to go on such a dangerous mission?”

Elwin really had no comebacks now. He was the loser so there was nothing he could say. He had to accept the result.

Holt buried his sword on the ground, turned around and walked towards Drake.

However, Holt stopped midway. After a pause, he spoke slowly.

“Go to your room and recover from your injuries the best you can. You will need all your strength if you want to survive in the expedition.”

Elwin’s heart sank at first, it took him a moment before he realised what his father meant.

Holt was allowing him to go!

Elwin was flabbergasted. Why the sudden change of heart?

“Father I…” Elwin wanted to ask but Holt interrupted him.

“Go away before I change my mind,” he waved his hand dismissing him.

Elwin got up weakly, procured and sheathed his sword and used it as a cane to make his way back.

While Elwin left, Holt didn’t move. He was just contemplating whether he made the right decision.

Yesterday he was certain that he wouldn’t let him go. But today, as they fought, he understood a little more about his son.

First and most importantly, Elwin had undeniable skill. Despite his age, he had cultivated the steel body. So only commander class demons and onis would pose a real threat to him. From a purely objective perspective, it would make him a good choice to go.

But more than that, as they fought, he could feel his son’s anger and conviction. He was desperate to prove himself, to gain not only his father’s acknowledgement but also the villagers and most importantly, himself.

To be a leader and make decisions that could affect the lives of thousands was not an easy task. One needed a great deal of confidence in themselves. He knew that Elwin still didn’t have that confidence.

If he didn’t let Elwin go, then that feeling of inadequacy would never go away, and he would always think he was not good enough. That insecurity might let others take advantage of him. He was by nature an innocent soul, if he gained another weakness on top, then even if he was the strongest martial artist in the village, he would still be a weak leader.

Holt couldn’t have that.

Although it was risky, it would be a great opportunity as well. Moreover, he had clearly proven that he had the skill to undertake that risk. So how could he still stop him?

Was he not scared anymore? Of course, he was. He was terrified that once Elwin left, he wouldn’t come back. If that came to be, then he would not be able to live with himself.

But… if for his own peace of mind, he denied his son an opportunity, his heart’s true desire, and cursed him to a life of insecurity, wasn’t that worse? Wasn’t that extremely selfish? How could he do that? That’s why he decided to take this gamble.

It was all up to Elwin now.

Wrapping up his thoughts, he walked towards Drake.

‘Drake…’ he thought. ‘Oh, how heavens have blessed me with such talented children!’

Both Ray and Hazezel also walked towards Holt and Drake with inquisitive looks on their faces. Holt sighed and told them everything.

Ray was quite worried at first, however he soon realised that the elven village was the furthest away from the Beast Woods. So even if the worst happened and the demons attacked, they would likely suffer the least.

Also, the elves were slightly stronger than humans and their village was protected by the powerful Myra Wan.

‘My master is undeniably the greatest, strongest, the most powerful, and the most intelligent living being in the surroundings, no - the world! With her, nothing could go wrong!’ thinking so, he nodded to himself and calmed down.

As for the other two villages, Ray didn’t really care too much about them.

Drake on the other hand was extremely worried.

This was his second chance at life! He didn’t want to die prematurely again!

He was also worried about Elwin. However, seeing that fight just now, he was more confident that, at the very least, Elwin should be able to escape with his life from most demons and onis.

Hazezel also became extremely worried about the future. But he knew he couldn’t do anything and just felt helpless.

Ray left as Holt started instructing Drake again. Hazezel was also about to leave when they heard an urgent cry suddenly came from the door.

“Chief! Please have a look at this!”