Book 3: Chapter 14 – Future Rival
With that solved, as the only one with an interspatial ring, Amira stored the corpse of the Azure dragon in her ring before they gathered all their stuff and took their leave. They all knew that a battle like that would bring visitors sooner or later, and those that dared to come likely wouldn't be weak.
The group ended up setting up a makeshift camp a few miles away. Amira even had Linley stay with them, telling him that she would be able to help heal him after she recovered in a few days.
Linley felt a bit awkward accepting all things considered, but he knew he was in no condition to refuse her help.
Even though Bebe's injuries weren't too bad when taking his vitality as a divine beast into account, he still didn't want to take any chances, not when he didn't need to. He had too much to accomplish to allow his pride to get the better of him.
Over the next few days, whilst the others were recovering, Ace was the one who guarded them. However, he spent most of that time training. Now that he wasn't feeling so emotional, his excitement over touching the impose boundary resurfaced.
He trained like a madman in the hopes of comprehending it properly, but it wasn't that easy. He expected at least that much, though. Impose was the last thing stage of comprehension for mortal warriors. If it were so easy, even with the help of enlightenment, it wouldn't have been so elusive for so many that had come before him.
After a few nights' rest, Amira finally recovered enough to help Linley heal.
Despite being a mage of the fourth rank, Amira had actually used the fifth rank spell, [Angelic Light]. Once again, Linley and his master were beyond shocked.
"What institute did you say you three belong to?" Cowart asked.
"The Yin-Yang Pavilion," Julius answered.
Of the three of them, he was the most friendly to their new companions. Amira tended to be aloof to most people until you grew close to her, and Ace was still unsure how to treat Linley, so he decided to just ignore him completely, at least until he spoke to his mom and the others.
"I've never heard of it," Cowart mumbled to himself. "It must be a new institution."
"Five years old, to be exact," Julius explained.
"The teachers must be quite spectacular to attract three talents like you," Cowart said curiously.
"They are. There are two saint-level instructors, and the other three instructors, whilst not at the saint level, are no weaker than the average saint." Julius casually explained.
Other than the presence of the sect's guardians, Mathias had already told them that there was nothing they had to keep secret. In fact, Mathias had given them several not-so-subtle hints that they should do whatever they could to spread the word about the Pavilion's prestige so that when it was time for them to recruit in the future, there would be a giant influx of potential new students.
Whilst Cowart was slightly surprised by that revelation, he had also expected something similar after seeing the talents of Amira, Ace and Julius first-hand, but Linley was literally gobsmacked!
Till now, other than the saints who did battle in the skies above Wushan town when they were younger, he had never seen another saint. How could he not be shocked by the fact that they had two actual saint-level instructors?
But as Julius went on to explain the inner workings of the Pavilion, not even Cowart, a former saint could remain unsurprised.
"You mean of the ten of you, aside from Ace, the rest of you can insta-cast all the spells of your rank, and aside from you, the others have all at least comprehended one with their respective weapons?" Linley asked, dumbfounded by the notion of ten such geniuses all being under one roof.
As it stood, even the weakest disciple of the Pavilion was no weaker than him, with the strongest being several times stronger than he, a supposed genius and the strongest student of his generation at the Ernst Institute.
He couldn't help but think back to the day he heard about Ace's results for his talent test in Fenlai city five years ago. Like everyone else, though he acknowledged the talents of Ace, Killian, and Alissa – whom he hadn't met – he thought they would be wasting their potential away at some unknown school. It was only now that he understood just how wrong they all were.
Part of him wished he could go back in time and enlist in the Pavilion with the rest of them. With his talent, whilst he might not be a match for Ace, he wouldn't be as far behind as he currently was.
But when he looked down at the large gourd in his hand, a confident smile took shape on his face. 'They may be stronger than me now, but they won't be for much longer.'
Inside the gourd was all the blood drained from the Azure Dragon. Earlier in his journey, he was lucky enough to stumble onto some blueheart grass – the other ingredient needed to safely awaken his latent bloodline.
Though he was impatient, as he had everything he needed already, he forced himself to wait till his return to the Ernst Institute, where he wouldn't have to worry about his safety.
Thinking to there, Linley cupped his hands and bowed slightly. "Thanks again for everything, but I should really get going. I've been in the mountain range for two months already. It's about time I return.
Please thank Ace again for me and tell him he has my word; I will definitely keep my promise."
Amira nodded calmly as she took her leave, no longer paying Linley any further attention.
"Don't read too much into it. She's like that with most people until you really get to know her," Fatty explained when he saw the wry smile on Linley's face. "And don't worry about Ace. After saving Amira, you've already earned a permanent spot in his good books."
He didn't need to explain any further. Ace's feelings for Amira were obvious for everyone to see at this point.
"I understand," Linley nodded. "Thanks again. I hope to see you all again soon."
"Take care," Julius waved as he watched Linley disappear into the forest.
"How are you feeling, Linley?" Cowart asked as he suddenly appeared behind his disciple from inside the ring.
"It's hard to believe that there are so many talented people in the world," Linley sighed.
"The world really is a big place. I hope this has put things into perspective for you," Doehring replied.
"It has. I was truly ignorant to think so highly of myself in the past," Linley answered. "But even though there are so many talented people out there, I won't lose to any of them in the future."
An appreciative smile appeared on the old man's face as he felt the unrestrained confidence his disciple was radiating as the grip around the gourd of dragon blood tightened. "I believe in you."
Even though he wasn't there to personally see Linley off, Ace could sense the soon-to-be awakened Dragonblood warrior's presence getting further and further away as Amira made her way over to him.
"You didn't want to say goodbye before he left?" Amira asked.
"No need," Ace replied as he continued to practice his glaivesmanship. "We've said everything that needs saying for now."
Amira didn't respond immediately. Instead, she just silently watched Ace practice for the next few minutes. It was only as his glaive finally came to a stop that she posed her next question. "In 30 years, when he finishes his family matters, what do you intend to do when he forfeits his life to you?"
"When? Not if?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. "You think he'll be able to destroy an organisation as powerful as the church in only 30 years?"
"Don't you?" Amira asked simply.
Ace looked blankly at Amira for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. "Isn't it weird to have so much faith in someone we just met? Especially one who has such an unrealistic goal…"
"Maybe if he were an ordinairy teen," Amira shrugged. "But Linley's talent was already no worse than anyone else at the Pavilion. After he awakens his bloodline as a Dragonblood Warrior, using the blood of an Azure Dragon no less, I wouldn't be surprised if his talent was able to match yours in the future."
Most would feel somewhat offended hearing the girl they had feelings for singing the praises of another man, but Ace felt more excited than anything else.
He was well aware that his classmates stood at the peak of their generation, and yet, of them, only Amira, Julius, and potentially Killian in the future could rival him. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, he could never see any of them as a true rival, at least not in the way Whitebeard saw Roger.
Though he could still get a challenge from fighting those older than him, he believed that it would only last until he matured, and then he would be alone at the peak of this world. To many, that sounded like a dream, but Ace couldn't think of anything worse.
It was why the thought of Linley unearthing potential that didn't lose out to him brought him no small amount of excitement.
While many in his position would be worried that Linley would be a threat to them if his future potential was too strong, Ace was worried that Linley wouldn't unearth enough potential to give him enough of a challenge.
Though she didn't receive a direct answer to her question, Amira didn't feel the need to ask again. The excited grin on Ace's face told her everything she needed to know.
-------------------------------------
P.S. Support me on the Patreon listed below to read ahead - Release rate is at least 2x as many chapters every week! XD
Currently 34 chapters ahead
P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon
Book 4 - Chapter 20