Cirulus and Ace were being carried by Arianna as she led the others back to the Pavilion. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was skilfully using her battle-qi to shield them from the wind as she flew, her Aor his new subordinate would’ve been able to bear the wind pressure, but that was the st thing on Cirulus’ mind at that moment.

  ‘I ’t believe it,’ Cirulus thought to himself as he looked down at his new arms, still trying to get over his disbelief. ‘Following this kid may be the best decision I’ve ever made.’

  During their flight, Arianna casually healed all the injured members of the group, but unlike Cirulus, the others took it in their stride, already very much used to Arianna’s incredible ability.

  “What did you mean earlier?” Ace asked his master’s wife, ign his excited new subordinate. “You mentioned something about us going on a new mission?”

  “Your headteacher has decided that it’s time that the Pavilion officially opens its doors to the public for a fresh batch of students.” Arianna calmly replied.

  “It’s about time,” Aodded to himself, knowing that if Mathias’s pns for the Pavilioo bee a reality, they needed fresh blood. “But what does that have to do with us and a mission?”

  “Yours, Killian’s, and Amira’s exploits over the st year have done a lot to spread the name of the Pavilion, but it has still left the majority with more questions than answers,” Arianna expined. “Mathias has decided to capitalise on the Pavilion’s growing intrigue by sending each of you students along with an instructor to each of the leading institutes for you to single-handedly challenge a all their most powerful students.”

  “Ooh, fair enough,” Aodded.

  He could see the value in doing such a thing, and he khat even the weakest of their cohort could easily suppress the top students of the ti’s top schools fes and warriors. Still, at his current level, it was hard for Ace to get excited about challenging children ‘his own age’.

  “Not ied?” Arianna asked with a hint of amusement, able to guess what was going on in Ace’s head.

  “It’s fine,” Ace shrugged.

  After everything the Pavilion had already done for him and his family, how could he possibly say no to this request, especially as it’s a minor one for him?

  “What if I told you your target is a certain school for warriors in the O’Brien Empire?” Arianna asked.

  Still, Ace’s need for revenge was no longer focused on the O’Brien Empire as a whole, so be it the War God’s academy or the Yun Institute, it made no differeo him; they were still too weak to arouse his excitement.

  “Still not ied?” Arianna asked, gd that he wasn’t driven by a misguided need for vengeance. “What if I told you that one of your targets would have plenty of warriors of the ninth rank for you to challenge?”

  It was only at the mention of experts at the ninth rank that Ace’s ears perked up.

  “One of my targets?” Ace asked, no longer ued.

  “You didn’t think that the ti’s leading empire for warriors would only have a single school for those under 30, did you?” Arianna asked, amused by Ace’s rea. “If they had, there’s no way little Kong would’ve ever felt an impulse to challehem.”

  When Ace first heard of Wukong challenging the O’Brien Empire’s school for warriors, he was still just an ignorant ‘child’ who knew nothing about this new world and its various forces, and sihen, he hadn’t thought much about it, but Arianna was right, it would’ve only been a little uwo decades ago which would’ve made Wukong, at least at the seventh rank.

  It had to be remembered that the majority of mage and warrior schools were only for youths under 30, and most would choose to leave or bee a member of staff upon reag the sixth or seventh rank.

  With Wukong’s thirst for battle and incredible talent, there was no way he would voluntarily choose to challehose at the same rank as him.

  Thinking to there, Ace’s eyes shoh excitement, and his battle i surged.

  “I thought that might get your attention,” Arianna teased. “Whether it’s the Yun or O’Brien Empire, they both have institutes for the best and brightest warriors and mages of their respective empires. Even the Cult of Shadows and the Radiant Church have matg institutions, but the Yun Empire’s College of Light and the O’Brien Empire’s War God’s College are by far the best of the best.”

  Whenever she mentiohe Yun Empire, Ace could sense a heavily suppressed killing i leak out of his master’s wife. A killing i so faint that even with his incredible senses, Ace almost missed it.

  Arianna was the very definition of tranquillity and serenity, so it was no wo took Ace by surprise. Still, he respected Arianna’s privaough not t it up, especially as he knew he was too weak to deal with his own problems, let alone an expert like her’s.

  “Although it’s possible for oo be accepted from anywhere as long as they meet the entry requirements of being 20 or under and a warrie of at least the sixth rank,” Arianna tinued with her expnation, not seeming to notice Ace’s rea. “Most of the students of each college are graduates of either the Ernst Institute or the War God’s Academy.

  But the thing that makes them so attractive to warriors and mages all over the ti is that the best students of each college have the opportunity to bee the direct disciples of one of the two humaies, and even if not them, there’s still a very real ce of being a disciple of a saint.

  Unfortunately, as it stands, you’re the only one capable of challenging the stro students of the colleges, so whilst the others are focused oing the disciples of the various ordinairy schools, your challenge is to defeat all the students of both the War God’s academy and the War God’s College.”

  “Is that really a good idea?” Ace asked with a slight frown as he couldn’t help but worry about the potential fallout.

  Ace would be lying if he said that he wased about going up against some of the most powerful and talented mortal warriors on the ti, especially as there was a e of them would bee the direct disciple of O’Brien himself. Still, he wouldn’t allow that excitement to cloud his judgement.

  An approving smile suffused Arianna’s enting face as she khat Ace’s had nothing to do with his safety and everything to do with the safety of his mother.

  “You don’t have to worry about anything other thaing all the students of the college,” Arianna said with a f smile to put Ace’s mind at ease. “Leave everything else to me,”

  Seeming to uand the hidden meaning behind his mother’s master’s words, Ace’s eyes lit up. “You mean…”

  “If we’re going to show off the imposing might of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, we ’t just leave it up to you students now, we,” Arianna said lightly. “Plus, if we want your mother to overe her tainted soul without external help, that disciple of mine o uand that you’ll be safe with me around.”

  Though she didn’t e right out and say it, Ace immediately uood that even if O’Brien showed up in person, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to him, not with the mohat is Arianna behind him.

  “Good!” Ace said as a fiendishly handsome grin took shape on his face. “Very good!”

  Cirulus didn’t uand everything that was said, but what he did uand was that his former homend was in for quite the shock.

  With the speed of three incredibly powerful saints, it was only a few hours before they finally returo the Yin-Yang Pavilion, where they found everyone else already waiting for them at the peak of the mountain.

  Joel and the others didn’t reise the man carrying Alissa, but even though they knew he was a saint, with Arianna and the other instructors all present, they felt no fear as they rushed past him to wele their fellow cssmate back.

  “Alissa, we were all worried sick about you!” Kannal excimed as he gave the silver-haired teen a big hug.

  This was the first time in who knows how long that his presence had been all but ignored… By a bunch of kids, no less.

  He couldn’t help but be amused. Still, as he sed each of the youngsters, he couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

  Alissa had already told him everything about the Pavilion, so he had already expected each student to be incredibly talented, but seeing them in person was still surprising. Each of them was a genius among gehe type of genius that just about all the major forces would fight to recruit, a here they all were, under one roof.

  He khat if all these children were allowed to mature, they would undoubtedly usher in a new era, and the Pavilion would undoubtedly stand at the peak of that new era.

  Still, he better than anyone uood how hard such a thing would be. The moment all the other peak forces found out that there were so many genius-level talents under one banner, it wouldn’t be long before they were targeted.

  He khat Mathias and the other instructors were incredibly powerful, all of whom could jump ranks to fight, but he also khat even with Arianna’s presehings wouldn’t be so simple.

  But all he cared about was ensuring the safety of his fallen disciple’s only child.

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  Book 7: Chapter 10 – Son of Heaven Vs. Empress of Darkness