Life went on peacefully in the outer ring of Balvan mansion, the only peculiar thing was a little kid going to the guards' building every week.
At first, he would always come out of the building full of bruises, but as time went by, the wounds on his body started to diminish, and a faint pressure began to surround him.
One of those days, that same little kid was seen early in the morning again while he was marching toward that guards' building.
'It's been two lessons since I last got hit. I wonder if in today's sparring Master will raise his combat level again.'
Since his second lesson, William had kept on engraving the forms of the martial arts on Noah's mind.
After three months of conditioning, his techniques were nearly perfect in their execution, so his Master chose to intensify the complexity of the training.
They had started to spar freely as William would boost his own performance each time Noah managed to hit him consistently.
By then, however, although that condition had already been fulfilled twice, his Master would still hold back from pushing his disciple beyond his limits.
Entering the usual room, Noah was surprised to find his Master sitting cross-legged on the floor, waiting for him.
No traces of his usual sleepiness were present as he was staring at a fixed point of the room with vacant eyes, probably in deep thought.
"Master, you're early!"
William's eyes regained their focus as he stood up and looked at his disciple with a complex expression.
"Can you use the "Breath" in your style?"
Noah was taken aback by that question.
Since the "Breath" in his body was limited, his Master had always forbidden him to release it during their spar or his personal training.
Noah's schedule was always so full that he could not find the time during his day to refill it with the Ice-Fire revolving technique.
His Master knew this, so he chose to forbid its usage and let it focus on nourishing the kid's body.
As a matter of fact, during the training, he had only tried to manipulate it, without ever releasing it.
That day though, things seemed different.
"I think I can, even if I have never used it in an actual fight, I should get the hang of it in a couple of tries. Why is that?"
William did a light smile as a bit of warmth leaked from his expression.
During those months, he had begun to better understand his disciple.
He would always smile and speak seemingly without overthinking, but he knew how things really were.
Noah was ruthless, he treated his body and mind like a piece of metal going through forging.
If the body did not bend, he would hammer it till it did, no matter how much pain he would suffer in the process.
If his mind were weak, he would heat it till its effects would reverberate to the body, causing a constant nauseous feeling lingering upon him.
He knew how much Noah was training and how determined he was in his search for power, so William could not help but start developing some kind of affection and even respect for him.
'This kid says that he might do it in a couple of tries, is he bluffing? Maybe he just doesn't know how much practice is needed to actually perform it. What a pity, if his position were different, he could have taken things slowly and have a bright future, with his talent and perseverance it's just a matter of time before he even surpasses me. Yet, the guys in the inner circle will never allow someone from outside the family to become too strong, especially someone that might have reasons to get revenge on them.'
The complex expression on William's face became more evident as he exhaled a sigh.
"Do you know how much time has passed since our first meeting?"
Noah thought for a little, and then realization dawned upon him.
He was so engrossed in his training that he had forgotten about the passage of time, but when his Master asked the question, he understood.
"That's right, almost six months have passed, and your progress with mental energy has long surpassed the standard I had set for you. Next week we will begin the treatment, so the "Breath" in your body is not that useful anymore. We better start with real martial art, that'll grant you some advantage if you manage to survive the process."
Noah's expression became serious.
'The time has indeed come, the life I was living was too perfect to continue, I almost forgot that all my training will be useless if I don't push my body to the next level.'
Thinking this, he went to the usual wall to pick two sabers and stared at his Master with resolution.
"No reasons to waste time then, right, Master?"
The slight smile on Noah's face was a blow delivered to William's mind.
'Does he really not care about death?'
He shook his head to repress the thought and took the usual wooden stick pointing it at Noah.
"Then come at me as usual, but this time try to mix some "Breath" attacks in the spar. You should be able to do three or four of them before the "Breath" in your arms depletes."
Hearing these words, Noah waited no more.
He swiftly charged at William with his body crouched so low it seemed he could fall on the floor anytime.
When his Master entered his range of attack, he thrust both his sabers in a diagonal uppercut infusing "Breath" according to the art's instruction.
Yet, his timing was a bit off, and the result was only a simple double uppercut that William easily blocked by positioning his stick horizontally.
"Almost. Again."
Noah rushed once more, this time in a cross-slashing position, but the result was the same as before.
"Concentrate! You can do your forms almost perfectly, and I know you can move your "Breath" according to the instructions, you only need to synchronize them!"
William knew that the process of synchronization wasn't so easy as he said but still wanted to increase the pressure on his disciple.
The only thought in his mind was how to increase the chances of the survivability of his disciple.
Even considering the poor results, he wanted to increase his handling of the "Breath" before the treatment.
This time, Noah didn't immediately rush to attack him but closed his eyes to sharpen his mind, his only thought became the rhythm of the twin saber style.
When he opened his eyes, he was ready for the last attack.
He slowly exhaled and then charged at William with a horizontal slash.
William mentally nodded and received his attack.
A piece of wood fell on the ground, it was half the stick in William's hands.
William stared astonished at the saber laid on his throat.
'That... That's a perfect execution! I aimed for him to dent the stick slightly, never would I imagine that he could cut right through it with some blunt weapons!'
Noah realized the situation he was in and hastily retracted his sabers. Some sweat was on his face and back, apparently using a martial art synchronized with "Breath" was way more tiring than what appeared.
"I'm sorry, Master! I didn't realize I could actually cut through it, luckily I stopped myself at the last moment."
William cleared his throat and touched the spot where the saber was lying just the moment before.
"Don't... Don't worry, it's fine. Do you think that your Master is so weak that a mere disciple could hurt him? Hmph! I have a rank 3 body, do you think that a martial art of rank 2 empowered with your poor "Breath" can actually-"
He had to interrupt, seeing Noah pointing at his throat.
A drop of blood was slowly falling from there.
"You wretched disciple. Don't be so smug about it!"
Noah could not help but laugh a little when he saw his Master lose his cool, but then William calmed himself and looked seriously at Noah.
Noah understood that it was the time for his last instructions before the following week, so he listened attentively.
"Next week, don't climb the stairs for this floor, but wait at the bottom of them, I will meet you there. I will perform the treatment in another place, after all the screams of a kid are not the happiest sounds to hear."
Noah gulped when he heard the word "screams" but then focused again, he had already decided to put his life on the line.
"If you survive, you will probably spend a week bedridden for your body to get used to its new acupoints, so remember to inform your mother about it. The day before the treatment, don't practice anything, and I'm talking seriously here. The only thing you are allowed to do is rest and read the tome about the Forging of Seven Hells, you must be at your peak condition when undergoing the process."
William smiled and looked at Noah again.
"Now go, sharpen your mind even more if you can. Next week it's life or death."
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Edited by: Alessandro Sica