"Hoho... Second Young Master is challenging First Young Master's, Draw Sword... He really wants to die!"
"This is completely stupid! Young Master Naizen is famous for his Draw Sword..."
"Yes, yes, even I heard Master Kenzan admit that Young Master Naizen's Draw Sword has already surpassed him!"
The crowd buzzed at the sight of Hirata's stance. The members of the Musashi clan were certainly familiar with the stance. However, they thought it foolish to challenge Musashi Naizen with Draw Sword.
Everyone in the arena had the same thought, the winner had been decided right after Musashi Hirata had challenged his brother with the Draw Sword.
Musashi Kenzan, sitting in the main seat, shook his head in disappointment. He thought his second son would have learned something or gained more experience outside. Musashi Kenzan murmured in a low voice, "You are at your limit!"
But the disappointment only lasted a moment. He rose from his seat as soon as he noticed Musashi Naizen's defensive posture. He had not expected his second son to put Naizen on the defensive in the first exchange.
No, he was thinking the same as the others. Musashi Kenzan predicted that his first son would win the first exchange. But the shock continued as he failed to see Hirata's movement. What he could see was only a blurred figure passing Musashi Naizen.
Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!
Then the sound of the sword clashing caused a spark as Musashi Naizen retreated three steps. Musashi Kenzan then noticed that his first son was in a state of confusion. From his seat, however, he saw that his second son was behind his first son.
Then he saw Hirata place the sword at Naizen's neck as Hirata declared in a calm voice, "It seems I have won! There was no excitement in his tone and he just smiled calmly as he looked at his mother.
The buzzing arena fell silent at the shocking sight. They had predicted that Musashi Naizen would win, easily. But the result they witnessed was completely different from the scenario in their minds.
*** ***
Xing District
Despite the low number of visitors in the past month, the people of Xing District decorated their shops with a red theme. The festive atmosphere filled the district despite the spectre incident.
This month, the Central Government and the Hero League inspected the city, giving top priority to the core region, the inner region, and the trade region.
During the inspection, the central government found 87 spectres in the trade region, while the core and inner regions were clear. This news spread fear among the people living in the outer region, causing them to lock themselves in their homes.
However, the news did not affect the activities in the Xing District. The festive decorations added to the atmosphere in the district. Each shop owner placed a thick branch on the shop board and dyed the leaves red.
The branch placed there for the Luminous Hyacinth. They did not know who started it, but the people in the district regarded the Luminous Hyacinth as a symbol of prosperity. They hoped that one of the Luminous Hyacinths would stop by and bless their shops.
Amongst the crowd, however, there was one man who had no idea what was going on. Sitting next to the window, Heero scanned the area from inside the shop, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"What's wrong with people today?" Heero murmured in a low voice.
"Huh, you don't know?" Han Ying, who was standing next to him, asked.
Heero answered the question with a blank face. He really did not know why the people outside decorated their shop in red.
"Fighter Anteriority is near, they are preparing to welcome the coming day, a festival!" Han Ying explained. But her explanation was vague for Heero.
"A festival? Isn't Fighter Anteriority a competition between heroes and rankers? What festival?" He only knew that Fighter Anteriority was a competition between fighters with a tempting prize. The heroes and rankers from the other cities also came, but what was the connection between the Fighter Anteriority and the festive atmosphere in the district?
Han Ying rolled her eyes and continued with a question, "Do you know the story behind the Fighter Anteriority?"
Heero shook his head.
"Fighter Anteriority is a day to celebrate humanity's survival of the catastrophe that happened over 600 years ago. The central government holds the competition to celebrate our survival from the catastrophe. So Fighter Anteriority is a celebration for the heroes~"
"However, we, the ordinary citizens, have another name for the Fighter Anteriority, the Red Festival. Around that time, we celebrate it our way! At least, people around here call it the Red Festival!"
Only then did Heero understand why the people were happy and why they were decorating their shop. It was a positive event.
"Why don't we decorate our shop as well?" Heero suggested.
"Hong Yu already went out with the girls to buy the decorations. Tonight we will decorate our shop," Han Ying replied with her usual gentle smile.
"But why the Red Festival? Is there a hidden meaning in the name Red?" Heero asked again.
"I don't know, but people have been calling it the Red Festival since before my mother was born!" Han Ying shook her head and approached Heero.
"When are you going to teach me how to fight?" Speaking of fighters, she remembered Heero's promise to teach her something about self-defense.
Heero activated his Mystic Eyes and scanned Han Ying's body. There was still a faint grey energy in her body, "Hmm, not yet... We need to do it at least two or three more times..." He whispered haughtily.
Han Ying rolled her eyes, "The shop is about to open!"
She kissed Heero on the cheek and stood up. If she stayed in his lap any longer, she would be eaten by her husband. After that, she fled to the kitchen.
Heero shook his head with a broad smile and turned his eyes back to the window. Not long after, his smartwatch vibrated. He looked down and saw that it was a message from Kang Seo-Yeon. The Heero Academy was almost finished, only the final touch was needed. And today, Kang Seo-Yeon informed him that she would take him on a short tour to introduce him to the new academy. Heero said goodbye to Han Ying and headed for the academy.
*** ***When he arrived at the gate of the Heero Academy, two women in business suits were waiting for him. He recognized the red-haired one from a distance, she was certainly Kang Seo-Yeon, but he did not know the other one.
Somehow, though, the figure looked familiar. Heero had the feeling that he had met the girl before. He picked up the pace and just as he was about to say "Hi! The two women turned around, seeming to notice someone approaching.
"Yo, morning boss~"Kang Seo-Yeon greeted Heero as if they were close friends. But Heero did not respond to her greeting as his eyes fell on the other woman, Bai Xin Yue. Yes, Bai Xin Yue was with Kang Seo-Yeon, which surprised Heero. He was a little stunned before he returned Kang Seo-Yeon's greeting with a nod before he turned back to Bai Xin Yue and asked, "What are you doing here, Miss Bai?"
"Xin Yue!"Bai Xin Yue said in a soft tone and continued with a smile, "I'm here as Director Kang's assistant, didn't you know?"If it were other men, they would fly high at the sight of the Ice Queen's soft smile. But Heero was immune to the Ice Queen's beauty. When he got the answer, he turned to Kang Seo-Yeon, "Is that true?"With her bright smile, Kang Seo-Yeon nodded, "Yes, I told you I needed an assistant and you said I could do whatever I wanted. That's why I didn't tell you about the result of the assistant recruitment!"Although Kang Seo-Yeon had a bright smile on her face, her heart was alarmed when she saw the smile on Bai Xin Yue's face. From the way she spoke and the gestures she made, it seemed that this sister of her's had also fallen in love with the same man. Why did she think that? It was because this was the first time she had seen Bai Xin Yue treat a man so gently. Before, she would treat a man coldly, no matter what his background was.
Ugh! I can't lose to her! I have to speed up my plan!Kang Seo-Yeon warned as she planned to speed up his plan. She was worried because her rival was not just an ordinary woman, but the famous Ice Queen.