Child of Destiny

...…

Eastern Sea Region, Ace City

Magic Ace Academy

Shin walked out of the training room. He just finished his training in both the tasks that Old Ryong had asked him and his regular study of energy.

For the training in his swordsmanship, he just fully learned how to infuse the will of 'heaviness' with his sword. He could not help but become more surprised the more he trained in this method that Old Ryong had introduced.

Not only did he fully understand the word 'heavy', but he also realized that everything could connect, especially when he had also mastered the will of 'quickness' and 'swiftness' earlier.

His heavy strikes had already reached another level, but when he learned this new will, the quick attacks had become more different compared to before. His quick draw had also become much faster.

Along with these two characteristics, he had also partially learned the wills of 'flexibility' and 'sharpness'. With this, his quick draw and other forms of sword strikes had not only become 'freer', but they also carried a scent that had never been there before.

It seemed to have carried the scent of 'death', albeit not as strong as the other experts who majored in controlling the Death Aura such as top-class assassins.

Aside from these, Shin had also started to learn more about his other innate attributes, the 'Wood' and the 'Water' attributes.

He might not fully learn everything about them, but he had already gained a certain level of understanding.

Compared to these two attributes, his understanding of the previous three such as the Fire, Metal, and Earth attributes had reached another level. He reviewed his understanding of them after learning the 'wills' from his current training.

Shin was contemplating himself and reassessing his training when he realized that the entire training ground was currently empty. All his seniors were currently not present when they supposedly training usually at this time given what he had heard from Benedict.

Even Benedict, who usually cleaned the place before heading out, could not be found.

Confused, he walked around the training ground while wearing a deep frown. He felt quite strange, but he could not put his finger on what exactly it was.

While he was lost in his thoughts, the door of the training ground suddenly opened as Rock entered.

The moment this muscular guy saw Shin, he suddenly smiled and said. "Oh! Junior Shin! I heard that you have become stronger compared to before. Want to spar a little before going home?"

Shin thought for a moment and was about to agree when Benedict suddenly entered and said. "You can't. The professor wants to talk with Shin, so you that sparring will have to wait."

"Tsk!" Rock clicked his tongue but did not say anything. He just shrugged his shoulder before walking toward the energy room personally designed for him.

Shin, on the other hand, turned to Benedict and asked. "Professor Henry wants to talk to me? What for?"

Benedict shrugged his shoulders as he answered. "I don't know either, but it seems like he wants to hand you something."

He then pointed behind him while saying. "The professor is at the conference room waiting for you."

Shin nodded his head and thanked Benedict.

…

Inside the conference room that looked like a rundown storage room, Shin walked inside and found the professor tidying up the place.

"Why are you cleaning yourself, sir? Can't you let the seniors do this? It is not like they are that busy anyway," said Shin as he ran toward the professor and lent a hand.

"Heh! You can't trust those guys with this," said Professor Henry as he shook his head. "This place may look a little shabby, but it hides a few treasures here and there. Those guys may steal a few things here if I let them do the cleaning."

Shin raised his brows when he heard that as he swept his gaze at the entire room. Given the appearance of the room, he didn't think that the professor was in a position to say that.

Seemingly reading what Shin was thinking, Professor Henry laughed. "I know that his place looks like this, but no one will be able to steal anything here unless I let them enter the place."

Not explaining any further, the professor took something from a pile of 'trash' beside him and tossed it to Shin.

Shin caught it and saw that it was a chain bracelet. He confusedly looked at it and could not find anything special. Through his eyes, even if he used his True Sight skill, he could not anything strange on the bracelet.

He then confusedly looked at the professor and about to ask what it was.

Before Shin could even open his mouth, Professor Herny suddenly said. "Put it on at all times and don't take it off."

"It is a special item that I found in one of the ancient ruins that I have explored in the past," continued the professor, explaining. "It may look ordinary on the outside, but those chains are filled with ancient runes used by cultivators in the ancient era."

"I've studied the language and found the usage of this item," Professor Henry paused for a moment before adding. "Just wear it at all times for now and you will understand how it works naturally."

"Just remember. Do not take it off under all circumstances," warned the professor, emphasizing the importance of the item.

Shin was confused but still nodded his head before wearing the bracelet. He did not feel anything strange after wearing it. But since Professor Henry had told him that he would come to understand it naturally, he had to wait patiently for that time to come.

At the same time, Professor Henry took a stack of books from a dusty corner of the room before placing it in front of Shin. "These are your new friends. You don't have to rush and read all of them. Just read one or two of them when you have gotten free."

"Just focus on your current training. It is more important," he added before tidying the place.

He then paused for another time before continuing. "I will be away for another research study for the next two weeks. If you want to ask anything, then go to either Benedict or Dayna. Those two will help you to the best of their abilities."

"You can also consult Old Lin Huang if you have some questions. I will be asking him to look for you when I am away," he added before gesturing to Shin that he could now leave.

Shin bowed and picked up the books before leaving.

Looking at the covers of the books, they seemed to be quite old – or very old even. They closely resembled those books that could be seen in the previous eras.

He then tried reading the titles of each book, but he could not recognize the texts and the language used. He becomes more confused and a little intrigued by these books.

Using his telekinesis, he opened the book sitting at the top to see its contents. That was when he noticed an extra piece of paper in between the pages of the book, and when he read through them, he realized that they were the transcription of the original contents of the book along with a few explanations.

He became immersed in reading the contents before he knew it. He stopped in a corner, trying to finish the entire page of the transcription before turning toward the original text.

"Don't tell me it is a study of the ancient cultivation?" he mumbled before tilting his head a little. "Why does Professor Herny want me to learn this?"

He then raised his head and turned toward the door of the conference room in the distance, pursing his lips. "Just what the professor wants me to do? What he wants me to learn from these ancient practices."

He stood still for a few moments before closing the book and walking away with a slight frown on his face.

As he was about to reach his car, he noticed that someone was leaning on the door of the Black Panther, seemingly waiting for him.

Squinting his eyes a little, he realized that it was Shiella. "Big Sis? What are you doing here? Are you waiting for me? You should have messaged me instead of waiting here like this."

Shiella turned to Shin and stared at him in silence for a few seconds before finally opening his mouth. "It is fine. It is not like I waited that long."

She then cleared her throat a little before asking. "Do you know where is that Senior Brother of yours? I heard that he went on a special mission with the elite clubs."

"But it seems like everyone, who is on the mission, is already back aside from him and the two others. You are a member of the Research Department. Did they mention anything?"

Shin slightly frowned, confused, before shaking his head. "I am not sure about his situation. I don't ask my seniors either."

"Why? Do need him for something?" he asked, wondering why Shiella was looking for David.

Shiella shook her head. "It is nothing. I just want to ask him something, but it is not urgent."

After that, she pointed behind her. "Let's go. Give me a ride back."

Shin tilted his head to the side, thinking of something, but did not say anything. He placed the book at the back of the car before taking out the keys from his pocket and unlocking the doors.

Shiella quickly opened the door of the passenger seat naturally before entering the. Shin, on the other hand, opened the trunk to put the books before running to the driver seat.

***

Meanwhile, the person in question was currently in another region dealing with another matter.

David was currently standing in front of Jerimiah, who was glaring sharply and fiercely at him. He was currently topless as his shirt had already torn into shreds earlier. He tore it apart as it was already hindering his movements.

His body was covered in blood. Even his head was bleeding, the blood was flowing through his face and dripping down to his chin. His appearance was terrible, but he still stood straight, carrying the haughty and proud look that he usually had.

He was holding the golden rod and tapping his neck with it while combing his air with his free hand.

The wounds on his body were healing fast. They were closing with a speed that could be seen through the naked eye. There was also black smoke coming out from those wounds as if something was being expelled from his body.

"This is harder than what I originally thought," he mumbled as he looked at Jerimiah, who currently had a black arm.

But that was not David's focus right now. Instead, it was the tallest statue of an Asura behind Jerimiah.

He had already exhausted enough energy from the battle earlier, which was why he was now focusing on destroying the statue to free Jerimiah from the control of the evil spirits. Knocking down the latter was no longer an option.

Vincent helped David quite a lot, but the latter was still the one, who suffered the most. David bravely faced all the attacks that meant to end them, and always somehow survived in the end.

Vincent noticed that the influence of the cursed artifact was already weakening, which was why they were now targeting the statue. It was the main source of their problem, so they had to take it down to solve everything.

They could not do it earlier due to the powerful energy that it had. If they carelessly touched it while its influence on Jerimiah was still strong, then an accident could happen, risking the life of his cousin.

But with the current situation, they knew that it was finally time to act, which was why Jerimiah was now trying to protect it from the two since earlier.

While Vincent was preparing to attack, he suddenly noticed that David turned toward the entrance of the room, seemingly looking at something.

It was a little behind, but Vincent also noticed that someone had entered the temple and was currently walking toward this room.

As he raised his brows and thought that some experts nearby had sensed their presence, David suddenly said. "You are quite fast. I sense that you were still in the other region earlier."

"Tsk! So, you are still alive, huh?" answered a voice coming from the dark corridor. "I thought something happened to you when I sensed that you broke that 'Seal', so I used that teleportation talisman."

"Ah!? About that? It was just an accident. I lost focus in a moment," replied David as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

He then suddenly paused as he sensed something from that tone. "But what's this? Are you worried about me? Now I am touch."

Vincent confusedly looked at David as he watched from the sidelines. From the voice, he knew that the other party was a woman, and seemed like she was quite close to this guy.

Turning his gaze toward the door, he saw an ordinary-looking woman stepping into the room. It was Alyssa in disguise.

Alyssa did not bother to look around when she entered and just fixed her gaze on David. She seemed to be wearing a poker face on the outside, but she was frowning deep inside.

"You look terrible," she said after a long silence.

David smiled. "This is nothing. As you can see, I am still alive and kicking."

Alyssa rolled her eyes as she knew that he was just putting up an act. Given that the Sealing Talisman was broken, she knew that David was already about to reach his limit. It was only a matter of time before the blocked meridian within him was broken.

"Why are you going this far?" asked Alyssa.

David just pointed at Jerimiah with an innocent smile. "That's my friend over there. I can't just kill him when he needs my help. And you can say that I am the reason why he is like that."

Alyssa sighed before turning to Jerimiah and then to Vincent, who was standing in the distance.

"Is it a mission from Sir Adam-…son?" she asked.

David maintained his smile and simply nodded. He was pointing at the crown of the Asura Statue, particularly the gem embedded in it.

"As you can see, I am not as free as you to roam around without any concern," he said.

Alyssa rolled her eyes before gesturing in the air. Then an ancient-looking umbrella appeared out of thin air. She grabbed it and tossed it to David.

"Here is your toy. Use it to suppress that raging energy within you," she said as she tossed the umbrella to David.

"You brought it?" David was surprised as he caught the umbrella before breaking into a bright smile. It felt like he had missed this partner of his.

"You can rest for now, and leave the rest to me," she said with a tone that would not be accepting 'no' for an answer.

Hearing that, David could finally drop his strong front and collapse on the ground. He tightly held onto the umbrella as he sat on the floor of the temple. He did not have any energy to even raise his head, but he forced himself to say additional words.

"Don't kill him."

"All my sacrifice will be in vain if you accidentally kill him," he added with full difficulty.

Alyssa rolled her eyes as she heard that. "I've heard you already. Once is enough."

She then turned to Vincent and nodded. "Please excuse me."

Right after those words left her mouth, a katana appeared on her hands out of nowhere. She assumed a stance that made Vincent think of Shin due to the great resemblance.

The stance, the aura, and everything else were entirely the same. The only difference was how smooth and refined Alyssa's movements were.

Click!

Before Vincent could even think of any, a subtle sound suddenly reverberated in the entire temple followed by the familiar grinding sound of the sword being pulled out from its sheath.

Shing!

...…

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