63 Book 3: Chapter 3 – Sworn Brothers 

After receiving his new weapon, Ace promptly made his way through the network of caves and out of Yin-Yang Mountain.

As neither Lance nor Milianna were actually members of the Pavilion, they decided to make a small wooden cabin just over a kilometer away so as not to feel as though they were intruding but still be close enough to see Ace and Killian regularly.

As Ace approached, he saw Lance training his spearmanship outside whilst Milianna sat cross-legged with her back to him, seemingly deep in meditation.

Ace couldn't help but smile when he saw how content they both looked. After five years of living together, Milianna and Lance were officially a couple and happier than ever.

As he got within 200 meters of the cabin, the corners of Ace's mouth crept up. At some point during the last five years, Milianna managed to successfully awaken her [Observation haki]. Although nowhere near as monstrous as her sons, she was still able to stretch it out by almost 200 meters without compressing it.

That wasn't her only improvement. Being Arianna's disciple, the Pavilion's guardian spared no effort in training her. As a result, Milianna was now a rank two mage and warrior. Though it was far from impressive when considering her age, after taking into account how much emphasis Arianna puts on comprehension over realm, it was a remarkable accomplishment.

Sensing his appearance, Milianna gracefully stood up and slowly turned to face her approaching son.

Despite being five years older, whether it was her flawless milky white skin or her silky, long dark hair, Milianna looked more beautiful than ever.

"Ace, you're here early," Milianna greeted with a gentle smile. "I didn't think you would be here till tonight."

"I finished early today, so I thought I would spend my free time here with you guys," Ace replied.

"You mean you thought you'd come and steal whatever food you can get your hands on," Lance said, helplessly correcting the topless teen as he stuck his spear into the ground by his feet.

Lance was, without a doubt, the least talented person in the vicinity of the Pavilion, but he was also one of the most hardworking.

After Milianna was picked to be Arianna's sixth disciple, Lance began training harder than ever. As a man, he wanted to be someone Milianna could rely on. Despite having no warrior manual to train his battle-qi, he still managed to reach the early fifth rank on his own almost two years ago. Though, that had a lot to do with his diet of magical beasts he'd hunt in the local forests.

Between his diet and his constant practical combat training, his training speed was like a rocket. At least by his standards, anyway. Unfortunately, he still reached a bottleneck after reaching the fifth rank preventing him from making any further progress.

Thankfully, he was surrounded by people who essentially stood at the top of the food chain on the continent. Upon finding out about his dilemma, Milianna asked her master for a solution for her now partner.

Not wanting to disappoint her sixth disciple, Arianna handed over a water-based battle-qi manual for Lance to use.

He felt slightly uncomfortable receiving something he, and most ordinairy people, would see as extremely precious, for free, but since his pursuit of strength was primarily based on his desire to want to protect his partner, Lance decided to quietly accept it.

From then, Lance's progress continued at a slow and steady pace. After another two years of hard work, Lance had reached the peak of the fifth rank, and like many of the nobles he had heard stories of and used to look up to, he also had successfully cultivated a water-based battle qi that dramatically increased his power.

If Lance were still in Wushan Town, with his current strength, he'd be second only to Hogg and Hillman.

"Do you really think so little of me?" Ace asked back.

Though he didn't respond, it was clear from the look on Lance's face that the answer was a resounding yes, not that it seemed to bother Ace in the slightest.

"But you did have a reason for coming, didn't you?" Milianna asked.

As his mother, she was still the person who knew him best.

"I came to say goodbye," Ace sighed.

"It's that time already?" Milianna asked with a hint of unwillingness. "When do you guys leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"So soon?" The beautiful dark-haired mother asked in a dispirited manner. "How long will you be away for?"

"Six months," Ace answered honestly.

She had known for some time that Ace and the other children would be sent on a training exercise in the not-so-distant future, but she hadn't expected it to be for so long.

Ever since Ace had joined the Pavilion, Milianna knew that she would have to start letting go of her baby, but it didn't make it any easier. In her eyes, he was still her baby. Still, she refused to spend their last day together in sadness.

The trio spent the next few hours peacefully enjoying their last day together. At some point, Killian even turned up, making their little family of four complete.

All four of them spent the night in bliss. It was only when Ace and Killian got up to return to the Pavilion that Milianna's feelings of unwillingness threatened to overwhelm her.

"I know you've both grown stronger than ever, but make sure you don't take any unnecessary risks whilst you're away," Milianna voiced with tears welling up in her eyes as she held them both in her arms. "And remember, I love you. Both of you."

"We will," Both boys replied softly as they hugged her back.

As the two boys turned to make their way back to their accommodation, Lance took Milianna in his arms. "Don't worry. They'll be back before you know it."

"I know," She replied as she gently lay back in her partner's warm embrace, watching as their backs disappeared into the distance.

.

.

.

"Kil," Ace said just as the dark-skinned teen prepared to head back to his cave. "Come with me for a sec."

"Okay," Kil said as he followed Ace back to his cave, curious about what his best friend wanted.

Like Mathias explained all those years ago, the inside of the Yin-Yang mountain was essentially a network of caves. There was one long winding tunnel that led from the bottom to the top and several caves branching off.

Each of those caves branching off was essentially another room. Whether it was one of their bedrooms, the Pavilion's library, a training hall, and even a large dining hall where the students would be provided with meals, there were dozens of caves made. And despite how it was the inside of a mountain, it was extremely well-lit, giving the natural feeling of daylight.

Ace's bedroom was a cave almost 20 meters long and 10 meters wide which had a large enough opening in the wall which acted like a window.

Considering how Ace spent most of his time training outside, there wasn't much in terms of furnishing, only a small single bed that sat under his 'window' and a small desk, chair, and wardrobe in the opposite corner.

It wasn't his first time in Ace's room, but that didn't make Killian any less curious about what Ace wanted from him.

"What's that?" Killian asked in surprise as he watched his best friend retrieve a bottle of alcohol of some sort and two wine cups.

"I got it for us from the old fart a while ago," Ace said with a grin as he took a seat on the floor, motioning for Killian to join him. "We've been together for the last seven years, but this will be our first time truly apart."

As he said that, Killian couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness. Ace was right. Other than the odd week here or there when the other was focusing on their training, they had never been away from each other and even during those odd few weeks, Killian was able to take comfort knowing that Ace was always nearby.

"Since we met in Wushan town at their warrior training programme, we basically grew up like brothers. So I want to take this time to make it official," Ace explained as he poured two cups of wine. "You may not know this, but when you exchange cups of Sake, you become brothers."

Killian took the glass with a dazed expression plastered on his face. Though he'd never said it aloud, Kil had always seen Ace, Milianna, and Lance as his family, but hearing Ace say he wanted to make it official still warmed his heart to no end.

"What do you say?" Ace asked. "Are you willing to officially take me as your brother?"

Hearing that, Killian didn't hesitate as he downed the cup's content in one gulp.

"We were supposed to drink it at the same time," Ace chuckled before following Kil's lead. "Ooh, but just so you know, if anyone asks, I'm the older brother!"

"That doesn't make sense," Killian complained as the alcohol started to hit him. "I was born before you *hiccup*, and I'm biggeerrrr."

"It doesn't matter," Ace stated directly. "I'm strongest, so what I say goes."

Despite his intoxication, Killian could only stare at his sworn brother in awe of his brazenness.

"Fiine," Killian sighed, his head wobbling as he tried to sit straight. "But I'll surpaasss you *Hiccup* in theee future and taakkeee my riiiightfuuulll spooot asss the *hiccup* ooldeerrr brotherrrr!"

Aiden's collection of alcohol was anything but ordinary. He had learnt from Wukong that Aiden used to be quite the alcoholic, but after his soul started to really grow in strength, it became harder and harder to get drunk. With the level of his current spiritual essence, he apparently hadn't been able to get drunk in well over a hundred years, but never did he stop trying.

As a result, all the bottles of alcohol he had in his possession were incredibly potent, having been brewed with some of the strongest ingredients the Yulan plane had to offer.

Ace had explicitly asked his master for the weakest alcohol in his collection; it was only dumb luck that it happened to be a type of sake. Still, its strength wasn't something Killian could easily handle. Even Ace felt a little buzzed, but with the strength of his soul, he was able to remain somewhat sober.

Ace watched with a smile as his 'little brother' fell back, unable to remain conscious any longer. "I promise to be a much better big brother in this life."

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P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon: Book 3 - Chapter 26