'Uuughhh! Who has the time to train those idiots? I'd rather be with my Nightingale…'
Ace groaned inwardly and just as he was about to reject, a thought appeared in his mind and he accepted it readily.
"Don't fret, Mr. Kalm, I would see to it that those bra- disciples perform better than all of your expectations.
So, when should I start? I am available now if you want"
Seeing him readily accepting the request, Sect Leader Kalm's eyes widened in disbelief but that was only for a moment, his expression quickly returned to normal and he nodded.
"That would be great, Elder Ace. Alright, Elder Ryan will choose the best 15 disciples and will accompany you throughout the training. You can start your special training after an hour."
Ace nodded in agreement before he glanced towards Elder Ryan who nodded at him.
"Alright then, since Elder Ace would only be training the disciples for around 2 or 3 hours a day, I would like that all other elders would train their disciples accordingly. I hope you won't disappoint me or the sect on the grant stage."
"Yes, Sect Leader Kalm"
Sect Leader Kalm nodded before he stood up, followed by all the others as the meeting came to an end.
…
1 hour later.
Right now, Ace was walking alongside Elder Ryan as the two walked towards the training hall.
Of course, this time, it was different from the last when Ace had to teach them (though he didn't do that either), this time, there was no time for extra theory, Ace could only improve and refine what they already know.
The two then entered the training hall and unlike last time, where he was welcomed rather oddly and he himself was too lazy to teach them anything, this time, the disciples seemed pleased that he was there to teach them and even Ace was looking forward to it.
Of course, he had ulterior motives.
His little nightingale was about to participate in the upcoming tournament, though these disciples weren't exceptionally good, they at least amounted to average level of a competitor if not better. Through training them, he could gain more accurate and detailed information about the enemies his little girl had to face and train her accordingly.
Thinking all that, he smiled and stepped forward.
"Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you. I see some familiar faces here"
He spoke as he glanced at Sophia, who nodded at him with a smile. He nodded back and continued.
"Well, as you know, I will be training you to boost your battle power efficiently in a small amount of time. I would like if you guys give your best for the sect and raise its glory at the grand stage.
Now, Sophia Christen, you step forward, the rest divide themselves into 2 groups of 7 each."
Ace ordered and the disciples followed.
"Alright, now everyone from the 2 groups will fight each other, a total of 7 fights, give the best you all have."
Sophia frowned and questioned, "Elder Ace, what about me?"
"I already have a rough idea about your battle power and since I know none of them would be able to bring out your full power let alone defeating you, I'd rather have you step back and save some time"
Ace replied without looking at her and even though every other disciple heard him, none said anything against it. First, it was a statement from the strongest person in the Sect, second, the statement was right, so no one dared to utter a word.
Even Elder Ryan seemed to nod at Ace's decisions, from her first participation in the tournament 8 years ago, Sophia has improved herself at a frightening rate. This year, the Sect elders even thought that she had a chance to defeat the strongest youngest mage in the city, Maya, of the Gracious Flower Sect.
Well, they weren't wrong as well, with the battle power shown by Maya during the last Annual Sect meet, it was actually possible for Sophia to defeat her long time rival, even thought that, but after seeing Maya using her full powered to the best of her capabilities against Maeve some time ago, he was forced to believe that no matter what, Sophia has zero chance of going against Maya.
Well, except if she trains under Maeve for these 4 months, that is.
Of course, since Maeve is busy training Gracie, there is no way she would waste her time on her either so that door is also closed.
Well, not that it mattered to current Ace, who was watching the fight between two disciples who were giving there all against each other and he had to admit, unlike last time, where he deemed the disciples as trash, now that he learned that Gracie would have to face them, he was a little worried.
They all were strong and have trained for more than 15 years, if he goes according to how he initially planned (a torture free, clean, and straight road for Gracie's training), Gracie would need around 1 year to catch up to them.
Well, now that the demon instructor has taken the charge, he knew that Gracie had some chance and was rooting for her. But be that as it may, he wasn't neglecting their training either and was correcting some mistakes as the disciples continued fighting while collecting valuable information about their weakness, movement and reaction speed.
"[Wall of Fire]"
"I… I give up!"
And with that, the third fight ended before Ace stepped in and neutralized the fire with his bare hands.
"You both did well, next" He muttered and the next pair walked into the stage.