The cold night wind howled, and the moon cast its silvery glow over the deserted streets. Prince Eyrin stood atop a roof, awaiting Prince Khane's arrival. His eyes locked onto the lone figure walking down the street, and he jumped down to the ground.
"I've been waiting," Prince Eyrin said, his voice low and menacing.
Prince Khane turned, his eyes narrowing as he beheld Prince Eyrin. His jaw clenched, and his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "It's you."
Prince Eyrin stood tall, his unsheathed sword glinting in the moonlight. "I heard about your memory loss, which explains a lot, but that shouldn't affect your martial skills. You claimed to be in phase 8; I want to see what you're capable of." He pointed his sword at Prince Khane.
Prince Khane sighed, frustration etched on his face. "I already told you, I'm not who you think I am. And I can't spar with you—not just because I don't have a sword, but my martial arts skills are crippled." He turned to leave.
But Prince Eyrin's anger clouded him, and he didn't register Prince Khane's words. With a swift motion, he charged towards Prince Khane, slashing his sword through the air. Energy erupted, sending Prince Khane flying across the street.
Prince Khane struggled to rise, his eyes blazing with anger. He managed to support himself on one arm, his body bruised and bloody. "I already told you, I'm not who you think I am, and my martial arts skills are crippled!" he yelled, his voice hoarse from the pain. "Why do you want to kill me?"
Prince Eyrin approached him, his movements deliberate and calculated. "You may have lost your memories, Khane, but don't try to deceive me by claiming your martial arts skills are crippled.
I don't want to kill you, Khane; I just want to measure our strengths. If you continue pretending, I'll keep attacking!"
He raised his voice, his words intense. "So, if you don't want to die, fight me back!"
Prince Khane spat out blood, his eyes locked on Prince Eyrin. "You... are crazy," he laughed, his voice tinged with pain and surprise.
Prince Eyrin's smile was unsettling. "You'll see I'm more than crazy when I unleash my next strike. That is... if you'll survive it." He raised his sword, ready to strike again, his eyes glinting with a fierce determination.
"Destruction path," Prince Eyrin declared calmly, spinning with his sword and slashing towards Prince Khane. However, a burst of red energy suddenly countered the attack, sending it back towards Prince Eyrin.
Fortunately, Prince Eyrin reacted swiftly, blocking the strike but suffering injuries in the process.
Just then, a figure descended from the sky, landing gracefully on the ground. "Forgive my untimely entrance, Your Highness," Arnin announced, his voice clear and confident.
Prince Eyrin's gaze locked onto Arnin, recognition flashing across his face. "It's you," he said, his voice laced with surprise.
Arnin unsheathed his sword and slung it over his shoulder. "Yes, it's I, Arnin," he confirmed, positioning himself between Prince Khane and Prince Eyrin.
Prince Khane, now standing, spoke up, "Arnin."
Arnin turned to him with a reassuring smile. "What? Did you think your master would abandon you? You've only been my disciple for a few days.
Now,
watch
and learn." He refocused on Prince Eyrin.
Prince Eyrin spat out blood, his eyes narrowing. "So, you're a cultivator. What phase are you in?" He inquired, his voice tinged with interest.
"Must we introduce our phases before sparring, Your Highness?" Arnin asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "If I'm a phase lower than you, does it mean I'm unworthy?"
Prince Eyrin raised an eyebrow, surprised by Arnin's sudden verbosity. "You're different from how you behaved earlier today. I didn't know you could talk so much."
He chuckled, his eyes glinting with mockery. "You and Khane are just pretenders, birds of a feather flocking together."
Arnin's expression turned serious, his voice firm. "Right now, it's not a commoner facing a prince. This is a spar between cultivators. You want to spar with my disciple, but his meridians are damaged.
That's why we met Master K. This isn't the person you're looking for. If you want a spar, I'm here for you."
Prince Khane chuckled, teasing Arnin, "Did you take a boldness pill?"
Arnin's response was enigmatic: "I... went to heaven." Prince Khane couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
Arnin's expression turned serious as he faced Prince Eyrin. "You want a spar; let's spar." With that, he charged towards Prince Eyrin, his sword at the ready.
Prince Eyrin and Arnin clashed in a flurry of red and gold energies, their swords ringing out as they exchanged blows. They wielded their internal strength as a shield, defending themselves against each other's attacks.
One of Prince Eyrin's strikes landed, sending Arnin sliding backward. Arnin maintained his stamina, his eyes fixed intently on Prince Eyrin.
"Is that all you've got?!" Prince Eyrin taunted, grinning with satisfaction as he transcended and landed on a nearby rooftop. "Give me a real spar, and stop playing around!"
Arnin remained silent, his glare fixed on Prince Eyrin from the ground. Then he transcended and flew towards Prince Eyrin.
Prince Eyrin laughed, transcending and flying towards Arnin. "With your skills, you might be in phase 4, I've already won!"
As they clashed in mid-air, Prince Eyrin slashed towards Arnin, unleashing a burst of gold energy. Arnin blocked the attack with his internal strength, leaving his sword suspended in the air. Then he used his internal strength to strike Prince Eyrin with his palm.
While Prince Eyrin attempted to block the attack, Arnin swiftly struck his palm on Prince Eyrin's chest, catching him off guard. The force of the blow sent Prince Eyrin flying backward, his eyes widening in surprise.
Arnin's palm strike sent Prince Eyrin crashing into a nearby building, and he fell to the ground. Arnin opened his hand, and his sword returned to him, hovering in the air before settling into his grasp.
He landed beside Prince Khane, who gazed at him with concern.
"Is he still alive?" Prince Khane asked, his brow furrowed with worry.
Arnin raised an eyebrow, taken aback by Prince Khan's unexpected question. "I expected you to say I was awesome. Why should I care if he's dead or not? He clearly wanted to kill, not spar."
Prince Khane didn't respond to Arnin's remark. Instead, he turned to walk away, saying, "Let's find him."
Arnin followed, his eyes fixed on Prince Khane's back. "Find who?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
Prince Khane's response was simple, "The prince."