"Why don't you want me to fight him?" Alex asked, sitting up straight. "Do you think I can't beat him?"
"That's not what I mean," Jeffrey replied with a gentle smile. "I'm just saying that you're the president of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association, so naturally, you're a very busy guy. You don't need to dirty your hands with the Ghosts when we can take care of them for you."
Will chuckled. "Who does that Jacob think he is?" he said. "Does he really have the gall to challenge Alex? He's been a nuisance by sending his lackeys after us. Alex doesn't need to waste his time on them either.
"I'll put together a list of all the known Ghosts, and we'll deal with them. Alex already took Drew out of the picture, and we can handle the others."
"Alex, you just became the president," Edward said. "You should focus on taking care of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association first. We can deal with Jacob later. Most of us are young, and he's an old man, so time is on our side. Let's just be patient and not do anything too hasty."
All of the martial artists nodded in agreement.
"I think you're very close to being able to fight Jacob, but it's best to train a bit more to make sure that you can take him out," Jeffrey said, looking off into the distance.
"Jacob has been an infamous presence in the martial arts community for decades now," Rufus chimed in. "No one knows the true depth of his skills, so you should be careful. He knows that your skill is increasing very fast, and he's jumping at the opportunity to cut you down while he still can. Don't take the bait."
"What he said," Edward added. "Bravado is dangerous against a guy like Jacob. We should wait to take him on until we're sure that Alex is ready. We don't need to fight him on his schedule. Let's make him wait."
After assessing what they knew of Jacob's skill and power, the martial artists felt excited that they might someday get to witness a duel between a martial arts legend and a legend in the making.
But they knew that even the combined strength of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association members was nowhere near as powerful as the most powerful Ghost. Their stomachs turned at the thought of Jacob cutting Alex down in his prime.
"Please think about it," Rufus said, and everyone nodded.
Alex paused for a few seconds before standing up and looking around at everyone.
"You all think too much," he said, sighing. "If you want to fight, you should fight. And I want to fight Jacob."
He turned to Russell. "Write a message saying that I accept Jacob's challenge and give it to the Ghosts to bring back to him."
Everyone's eyes fixated on Alex's resolute face. They could practically see the burning flame in his heart, and they felt their blood start to boil with excitement.
"We're a lot alike," Clark said with a big grin, slapping the table in front of him. "Once you have your mind set on something, no one can possibly talk you out of it. Let's do this."
He had sat quietly while the others had tried to dissuade Alex from accepting the challenge.
What a bunch of wimps, he had thought. Don't they believe in Alex?
But when Alex said he would fight anyway, Clark's face began to beam. He saw a younger version of himself in Alex, and he would do everything he could to support him.
"I don't agree with Edward and the others," Oscar said, leaning forward in his chair. "I'll follow Alex no matter what, and I support his decision unconditionally. He knows what he's doing, and we should help him get the job done."
If he can take out a master as powerful as Theo, he definitely stands a fighting chance against Jacob, he thought.
The crowd of martial artists began to echo Alex's words, and their chant grew louder and louder as more voices joined in.
"If you want to fight, you should fight," they shouted in unison.
"Don't worry about me," Alex said, smiling. "I can beat any enemy I set my eyes on. Just trust me."
All of the younger martial artists sat in awe of his confidence and offered their complete support. They had never seen anyone as sure of their own abilities as Alex was at that moment.
"Jacob is taunting the Baltimore Martial Arts Association and causing us all sorts of trouble," Alex said. "Since he's normally hiding in the shadows, this battle is our best shot at taking him down.
"If we can't stand up for ourselves in an honorable battle, then we're nothing more than an embarrassment to the entire martial arts community. I'll never let the association fall apart while I'm in charge, and I'll never let the Ghosts win without putting up a fight.
"Send the message to Jacob that I accept his challenge, and let's prepare for battle."
As soon as Alex had accepted Jacob's challenge, the martial artists excitedly discussed the upcoming battle.
Very few people knew that their president was already a master, and they thought he was crazy for challenging a legend like Jacob. Even the people who knew his true power thought that he should be cautious against the world-famous master.
When Jacob was thirty-eight years old, he had a duel with Tyson Slade of the Blood Brothers gang, and he had managed to severely injure Tyson with his swordsmanship skills. Tyson had been convinced that Jacob must have learned his unparalleled special technique through many years of practice all over the world.
The two masters had never met again, and no one knew if Tyson had dared to challenge Jacob after his initial defeat. He may have died before he felt he was strong enough to take Jacob on.
Alex had been strong enough to defeat Tyson, but Jacob was clearly more powerful and had been training nonstop for many years. The disciples feared that Alex's youth and confidence would be his downfall against the seasoned master.
Although some people believed that Alex was a master, they still had sneaking suspicions that he was embellishing his skills with special effects and props to make his abilities look far more powerful than they truly were. They thought he had a death wish and didn't value his life, and they worried that he would die in battle before he could reach his true potential.
Meanwhile, Alex didn't have a care in the world as others were busy fretting about him. In fact, his confidence had only increased after he had accepted Jacob's challenge.
He knew that he had to win the battle because he wasn't fighting only for his own life, but for the reputation of the entire Baltimore Martial Arts Association. He refused to let Jacob and his gang of Ghosts humiliate his organization.
He had been practicing martial arts under the glow of the moon for many months as he refined and strengthened his inner power. The ancient energy of the Moon Palace coursed through his veins.
He believed no matter how terrible of an opponent Jacob was, his martial arts skills would lead him to a decisive victory.