"Hmm…" the old man's deep voice resonated through the entire cave. This voice, accompanied by his aura, was enough to send shivers down the spines of many. However, those before him were his granddaughter and his student. They had seen his tough side, as well as his soft side. So being terrified of him was especially out of the question for both youngsters.
"Hey grandpa… do you mind getting down here? I'd like to complete today's training and return to cultivation," Zhang Xiu called out to the old man. Her grandfather took a deep breath before exhaling heavily. His exhale was more like a sigh of resignation than a normal exhale.
'What a troublesome one you left me with,' he thought with a tone of utter resignation before standing up from the rock and jumping down the ten-meter-high rock. However, despite the impact of his landing, he made no sound at all.
"What is it again, Xiu Xiu? Must you always disturb me?" the old man complained. Wang Chen just giggled, as he noticed the exhausted look on his master's face. She turned her gaze to her grandfather and raised a brow and gave him a questionable look.
"What do I want? We're here for our drill. It's time for training," she claimed before suddenly furrowing her brows and leaning closer to her grandfather, taking a closer look at him with a suspicious expression, "Or are you starting to lose your touch, old man?"
Wang Chen's eyes widened, at the same time, grimaced before quickly turning his gaze away. He felt the sharpness of Zhang Xiu's words and he couldn't help but try to anticipate his teacher's reaction.
'This is turning into something else,' he thought in his mind but at the same time, hoped his master's reaction would be calm, as his image of Zhang Lee was always a calm and composed man. However, he was in for a shock.
"Ooh…" Zhang Lee uttered as the side of his lips twitched and veins popped on his head, "Are you questioning my sanity?"
"Yes, I am… whatcha gon' do, old man?" she provoked. Now Wang Chen was getting worried and he faced Zhang Xiu and gestured for her to take it down.
"I think you're going too far with this, Xiu. Why don't you and Shifu Zhang take it easy…" he tried to convince her but was met with the glare of both parties.
"Stay out of this!" the duo barked in unison. Wang Chen immediately shut his mouth up and backed away.
"Ok. Ok. I'll just go right there," he said, pointing to a nearby rock and excusing the grandfather and granddaughter duo. The two looked into each other's eyes. Wang Chen knew that there was no way he'd be able to separate these two, so he watched them from the sidelines.
"You've grown a lot of wings, young lady. And I believe you'll need a little bit of discipline," the old man claimed, but Zhang Xiu squinted her eyes and gave a devilish smile.
"I'd like to see you try, old man…" she taunted, and the old man seemed to be falling for it. They both exuded deadly auras, and it looked like a fight could ensue at any moment. Wang Chen, who was watching all this happen, couldn't help but get worried.
He wasn't worried about his teacher, of course, but about his best friend. Zhang Lee is a whole realm higher than Zhang Xiu, and no matter how much Zhang Xiu trains, she can't change that fact. Not until she becomes as strong as him, and by that time, his master would've advanced to the Transcendent realm.
'This is really bad. I will need to stop them both from fighting…' Wang Lee thought to himself and was just about to make another bold move. However, the duo's next move stunned him so much that he found his brain lagging for a few seconds.
"Zhang Xiu… I challenge you to a battle of Food. Whoever eats the most Chow Mein and dumplings will get a full-body massage from the loser," Zhang Lee bellowed.
"…" Wang Chen was completely stunned to the point of collapse. His mind went completely blank, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"HUH?!" He exclaimed. If Zhang Xiu had issued the challenge, he wouldn't be surprised. She was full of surprises, and he knew it. However, it was the most respected man in his heart. He saw Zhang Lee like a god. But even gods have their setbacks.
"I accept. Let's see who gets to eat the most between us," she uttered, and they were both locked in a kind of deadlock. Wang Chen, however, was still dumbstruck, and his mouth dropped agape.
"What… the HELL!" he yelled.
**************
In a distant forest, the bright moonlight illuminated the land, and some of its rays passed through the thick canopy of forest trees.
The breeze suddenly increased in speed, slightly forming a whirlwind. The birds in the trees flew away from the scene as if they were scared. Many animals went back into their abode to hide.
In the middle of the whirlwind, a circular black void appeared. It was plain but had depth. The diameter of the void began to increase until it became over three meters. Black lightning struck from the sides of the portal, burning the surrounding trees and grasses.
The portal finally stabilized, and two silhouettes walked out of it. They looked nothing like normal humans and spoke a language that couldn't be understood.
"The air of this world disgusts me. We should just kill the leader of this world and get this war over with," one of them said. In human terms, she could be said to be the female in the group. Just like the others, she wore tight-fitting armor that exposed her slender legs. Her skin, however, was red in color with a few scales on her body.
She had a pair of horns on her head, resembling that of dragons, and long claws on her hands. She possessed long fangs as teeth together with a long, whip-like tail. Her brightly shining red pupils were extremely intimidating, and her long ears could hear almost anything from a three-kilometer distance. She had a whip on her waist and some knives too.
"It's not that easy. This world has numerous leaders and protectors. We can't just end the war that easily, Samanther," her partner replied. He was bigger and had spikes growing out of his body. He held two hammers in his hand and looked like he could destroy everything and grind it to bits.
The portal closed right after another figure walked out of it. He looked more composed than the rest and his face was serious… Not like it was obvious, since he wore a mask that covered it. He looked at his wrist and pushed a few buttons before a holographic map appeared. On it was a glowing red dot. He closed it and walked past the other two. "We need to get moving, guys. The child of prophecy will not kill itself," he implied. The other two nodded and walked in the direction of the shining moon. Almost instantly, they disappeared.