Cruel Reality

" Son, you are going to be late for your big day if you don't hurry..."

Yone heard his mother's voice, which made him stop his meditation session and get up.

"I'm coming right away," Yone yelled internally as he thought,' Big day she's saying, this family is as annoying as ever and not just on this specific day. I can never have some free time without interruption while living with them.'

He slowly walked towards the door and opened it.

The instant Lilia saw him, she jumped on him and went for a hug, kissing him multiple times on his cheeks.

"Here are your new clothes, son," Lilia said as she handed him a black jacket made from durable silk and leather pants complementing it, with additional lightweight, flexible shoes.

"This..." Yone's eyes widened when he saw the clothes his mother bought him.

"Mother, this is too expensive." He worriedly said.

" Don't worry; It's a must that a martial arts user has, and even if you can't become one, we can just sell this so you don't have to worry about it Yone."

Yone still had a hesitant expression.

" You must wear it," Lilia insisted as she stared at him with her blue eyes.

" Alright, fine, fine." Yone could only helplessly yield to his mother and accept her gift.

Right behind Lilia, Tom almost puked watching this scene, his eyes uncontrollably rolling at his brother's acting skills.

' If only she knew what I know, her image of her perfect son would immediately crumble and shift to the opposite.' Tom recalled Yone's cold indifferent face when they were alone, his body uncontrollably shuddering.

"It's your special day and something that will decide your future. You have to be careful, my son."

" Yes, I understand, mother." He nodded his head as he went back to his room.

Yone inwardly was amazed by how advanced this world was in terms of daily life necessities, buildings, and even clothes and food. This village alone was several times more advanced than a large town in his past world. He could only imagine how advanced the places outside of this village were.

***

Yone leisurely changed into his black martial arts attire, and put on the leather pants before looking at the mirror to check himself.

His build was lean and athletic, unlike his brother's muscular physique. His eyes were striking pitch-black, perfectly complementing his black-short hair and soft face with high cheekbones and well-defined jawline.

' Not bad for a kid. Still, my last body was countless times more handsome than this one.' Yone casually stated as he touched his forehead, he felt a stinging pain stabbing his heart whenever he failed to feel anything up there.

' Sigh, it took me a hundred years to find that legendary dragon and several years to accumulate enough strength to kill him and cultivate his body parts. Yet, in the end, everything was lost.' For a moment, Yone felt disappointed by the outcome, but that only lasted for a split second before he immediately pushed those random thoughts to the back of his mind.

He then closely inspected the attire his mother gifted him.

It was a typical martial arts attire designed to enhance every aspect of the wearer's body, albeit by only a slight margin. Although made of silk, they incorporated special materials and were usually tailored to perfectly fit the user upon wearing them.

Surprisingly, their use didn't just end there.

The main reason everyone acknowledged this attire as the martial arts uniform was its passive skill. The jacket and pants helped smooth the cultivation of what people in this world call qi.

From what the servants told Yone while he was growing up, Qi was the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that had existed since the dawn of time, which people used to cultivate and become stronger.

Unfortunately, the servants had only provided him with meager information, knowing little more themselves. This was why Yone had spent years silently cursing his family.

It was obvious to him that his family had gone to great lengths to keep anything related to martial arts hidden from both him and his brother. He had been deliberately kept in the dark, and the servants they assigned to him were mere mortals who knew next to nothing about the subject.

Still, Yone cleared his mind and stepped out of the room, only to find Lilia, David, and his twin brother Tom all dressed up, looking neat and presentable.

"Are you going with us?" He asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Of course, we are going, how can we miss this special day for both of you," David answered with a smile," Also, even though you can't practice martial arts yet, knowing your talent is beneficial since it determines if you can catch up to your peers in the future or not."

"Let's go then," Yone said as he walked down the stairs leaving the mansion.

Inwardly, Yone couldn't help but roll his eyes at his father's words. "Oh, David, your dreams are nearly impossible if you think you can catch up to the noble household that banished you from the Kingdom of Elinar."

He sighed helplessly.

For some reason, his father seemed to forget that a thirteen-year gap in martial arts training was no trivial matter.

Even if Yone possessed the greatest martial arts talent seen in centuries, he still wouldn't be able to catch up. Setting aside the endless resources noble houses and kingdoms showered upon their prodigies, a far more terrifying issue loomed over his family—one they all overlooked.

If Yone ever voiced these thoughts aloud, he knew people would gaze at him with a mix of confusion and disbelief. And his response would be a simple, knowing smile followed by three words.

You won't survive!

Indeed!

The real problem in this situation was survival, which was how he knew he was walking into a wolf's den, courting death if he wasn't allowed to practice martial arts.

Why?

Many people would naturally ask that question, and it would be completely reasonable to do so.

Yone, however, would respond with a bright smile on his face.

The moment he or his brother was discovered to possess a talent that could threaten those responsible for banishing and prohibiting their family from practicing martial arts, their deaths would be certain—long before they could grow into that potential.

At least, that's what Yone would have done if he were in their enemies' shoes. And frankly, he doubted anyone with real power would hesitate to take such measures against them.