Niya was discouraged after her sword had been deflected away 20 times by Anfey. She left to practice combat power on her own. Anfey watched her for a while from a short distance and then he got to thinking.
The combat power training was quite simple in this world. It was neither as complex as Kung Fu, nor as systemic as Taoism. There was a saying that "all roads lead to Rome". People who had practiced Kung Fu and Taoism independently could benefit from learning from each other. There was a saying in Chinese that learning fight moves without practicing breathing and other exercises to build up strength would lead nowhere.
The speed with which Niya swung her sword was very slow whenever she was practicing combat power. She had to give a lot of thought before she could slash with her sword. The red light around her was getting thicker.
Ernest had told Anfey that willpower was a such a strong power. When swordsmen practiced combat power, first they had to be so focused that they could not notice their surroundings, and then combine both willpower and focus together to practice combat power. These were the entry level skills required for combat power training.
It was easier said than done. Ernest recalled his combat training when he was young: he had to wake up very early to practice and stay focused until very late. When he had finished training for the day, he could not even move his fingers. He also had splitting headaches after the training.
This method of practicing combat power sounded stupid to Anfey. He had read Shaolin Temple 72 Kung Fu Arts. He found that combat power trainings were similar to Cinnabar Palm and One Finger Zen trainings. Cinnabar Palm training involved daily rubbing hands in sand in a basin. This appeared to lead to the ability to move the sand without touching it, and even being able to generate electricity between the palms. One Finger Zen’s training followed the same principle. This simple and raw method had allowed Ernest to be a master swordsman with powerful combat power. It it was partially a credit to the environment on Pan Continent. Anfey had benefited from practicing on Pan Continent. The achievement of practicing for a few years on that deserted island on Pan Continent was greater than if he had practiced diligently over ten years elsewhere. Anfey had reached a level he never had thought possible.
Time, everything took time. Given time, Anfey believed he could be as good as Ernest. If he could reach the level of a saint, Ernest would not even beat him.
Anfey was deep in thought for so long that the sun was high in the sky. Christian and his group had finished their meditation and were walking out of the cave. Everybody took some rest and ate some food. Blavi and his friends used levitation magic to fly in four different directions to check out routes. Christian and his group went to the pond together. Niya did not want to join them since all the guys would bathe in the pond. Anfey worried about Niya’s safety, so he dragged her along with him. He thought Niya could just walk around in his company while everyone else could do whatever they wanted.
Climbing over a hill, the pond was just ahead of them. Christian, who walked in the front, suddenly stopped. Anfey looked up and heaved a slight sigh. Whatever he did not want to happen always happened. He was worried that he would meet those two sisters again, and he did.
The younger girl was holding a lot of leaves and grass in both her arms. She was shaking from the cold when suddenly she saw a group of people. She was scared, but she could not yell for help because she was afraid the group might attack her for yelling. Her shadow was trembling with her. It was easy to tell how panicked she was.
"Shally." A clear call arose from the hill.
"Sister." Shally stepped back and screamed.
A strong combat power appeared from the hill. A cloud of white light was rushing down from the hill. The leaves and branches in the path of the white light were all crushed into powder. Nothing could stop that cloud of white light. That cloud of white light appeared in front of everyone in a second.
The elder girl, who fought intensely with Anfey the previous night, stood in front of everyone. The ocean-blue jacket made her so striking, and her white combat power was so shining, but none of those characteristics allowed others to neglect the soft, feminine and lovable look on her face. She might have been so rushed that she was bare-foot. Her white and fleshy toes clinched the ground tightly, which showed her stubbornness, just as she had been yesterday. Her eyes showed a slight panic, seeing a group of unexpected people. It was not only because of the number of people she was facing, but also because they were all mages. Even if she could defeat all of them, she was not sure if she could protect her little sister in the battle.
Some women looked stunning, some cute and affectionate, like your old friend when you had met for the first time. The woman in front of everybody gave them a different feeling, like a little grass, weak but tough at the same time. She was a feisty heroine, ready to fight with everything she had.
Christian’s second group walked in the front. They were only shocked for a second when they saw the two girls. Christian moved one step back and heard waves of magic surges in the air. A guy from the team moved in front of Christian and set up a magic cover, another one moved behind Christian and took out a magic scroll.
Anfey had told everyone earlier that team members were set and would not change, so they needed to think about how to work together in case they became panicked in surprise attacks. He also asked every team to design ten different plans to fight with different enemies.
Christian had followed Anfey’s directions precisely. Even though they only saw one person in front of them, they knew her ability was greater than anyone’s on the team, so they responded immediately. One took a defensive action, Christian was responsible for making offensive attacks to hold the enemies, while another one took out the only magic scroll assigned to their team.
"Do not misunderstand us. We do not want to hurt you." Anfey stood up quickly and nodded at the girl. "Hello," Anfey greeted her. Both parties were on the run, and they did not need to fight even if they could not be friends. Fighting would not benefit either of the parties.
"You, it is you." That woman recognized Anfey. Her face suddenly turned purple, and her hand was shaking badly with the sword. She was shaking even more than her little sister.
"It is me. What are you doing here?" Anfey said politely.
"You, You…" The woman stuttered and shook even more intensely. She could neither imagine nor understand how he could talk to her with that attitude after what they had experienced last night.
Christian and all the others were shocked and look back and forth between Anfey and the woman. They did not know what had happened between Anfey and those two sisters, but they did not drop their guard, due to Anfey’s excellent teaching. Christian and his group had finished silently chanting "abracadabra," ready to use their magic at any time.
"Eating this kind of food is not good for you." Anfey could tell what the leaves were that Shally held. There were few green fruits in the leaves. It was obvious those were their dinner.
Anfey whispered to Feller, and then Feller took out several linked sausages and passed them to Anfey. Anfey took the sausages and threw them at Shally’s feet. "Girl, these are for you."
"Sausage, Oh, Yeah!" Shally cheered. She forgot her fear and tossed the green fruits aside, picking up the sausage quickly. She held them in front of her chest, smelling them with her head tilted to one side. She looked so excited and happy.
The elder girl moved her lips a little, but did not say anything.
"We want to take a bath in the pond. Can you guys make way for us?" Anfey said softly.
"Walk straight ahead. This is my area!" the elder girl said coldly.
"Why are you claiming this area? Is this your territory?" Niya asked angrily.
"Ok, ok, we are leaving." Anfey hurried and pulled Niya away. "But I almost forgot one thing. Can you give me back my rubber rope? That was a rubber rope from a three-eyed cow monster, very precious."
The elder girl almost fainted, with her little mouth opening and closing quickly, like a struggling fish on the shore. What happened last night had shocked her so much that she would not forget it throughout her life. She could not believe this bastard had asked for that rubber rope back.
She wished to chop him into pieces with her sword. It was hard to imagine fighting with a powerful swordsman and over ten mages. If it were just herself, she might do it, but she had to think about her little sister.
"Big brother, is this one?" Shally was a polite and sweet girl. Since Anfey gave her sausages, she should have returned something else to him. Shally was worried Anfey would asked for the sausage back, so she decided to offer the rubber rope on her own without asking her sister first.
Anfey smiled and nodded when he saw Shally taking out a piece of rubber rope from behind her. "Yes, miss. Can you give it back to me?"
"Sure." Shally did not dare to walk to Anfey. She threw it at Anfey, but she did not have enough strength, plus the rubber rope was light. The rubber rope landed on the elder girl.
The elder girl took it off her body and threw it to the ground. She was staring at Anfey with the desire to kill him. She had never wanted to kill someone so badly since she was young. If she had a choice, she would have fought him without thinking.
"If you like it, you can keep it. Let’s go." Anfey shook his head hopelessly.
"Let’s go," Christian responded softly. He slowly moved backwards.
Both parties still kept alert until they were a safe distance from each other. Sante kept looking back to see if the two girls were making any moves. Niya had behaved quite well. She did not say anything after Anfey gave her a hint.
Seeing that Anfey and the group of people had left, Shally remembered to look at her sister. She said with a timid voice, "Sister, did I make you mad again?"
The elder girl’s face became stern, and she turned around quickly to her sister. She was about to say something when she saw Shally was holding tight to the sausages, with her fingers almost dug into them. She felt an unspeakable sadness and said softly, "Shally, you eat first if you are hungry. I am not mad at you."