Chapter 2: Kaishi Martial Arts School
As the golden ball of fire rose from the west, two 6-year-old children stood in front of a shabby wooden hut. They were dressed in long snow-white robes as they got ready to enter the local martial arts school, Kaishi Martial Arts School. These two were none other than Darien and Aviana. They were going to take part in the annual Kaishi Martial Arts School preparation camp.
The camp lasted 2 years and only six-year-olds were allowed to participate. This was because the perfect age to train the body was 6 years old since it was a time when the body was growing and could easily be transformed. During the two years, the students will be tested for their personality, talent and comprehension. By the time the students were eight, they would be able to take in the World Energy of Heaven and Earth and form a mana sea. When this happens the person would become a Martialist and would have a big status in society.
"Are you two ready?" Elaine asked the two children in front of her as she straightened their robes.
The two excitedly nodded as determination flashed in their eyes.
Elaine saw this and nodded with approval, "Remember, whatever you do do not tell anyone about the charts in your souls. Otherwise bad people will come okay?"
The two once again nodded their heads.
"Alright let's go then," Elaine smiled and took their hands.
----------------------
They walked through narrow streets filled with either beggars or gangs. Although the gangsters looked terrifying and were unruly, the moment they saw Elaine they wholeheartedly smiled. This was because of her husband, Mark, was the town's blacksmith and he provided weapons and tools for everyone in the town to use. Therefore, even if they did manage to kill Elaine, they will have to withstand the wrath of everyone in the town since it's widely known that Mark would never have stayed in the town if not for Elaine.
As they passed the narrow alleys they eventually ended up in the market square. It was bustling and vendors were constantly shouting as they tried to get people to buy their wares. The loud market square caused Darien and Aviana to feel uncomfortable. Their home was located in the outskirts of the east of the city and was very quiet. Even when Mark was forging he would usually do it in a nearby shed so the sound wouldn't be as loud. He also sold his tools and weapons in the town centre so people didn't come rushing to disturb the peace in the house.
However, the two quickly adjusted. They were only startled by how loud the people were but they knew that they would have to get used to it since scenes like this were common in any town or city that had more than a hundred people.
------------------
The Kaishi Martial Arts Academy was located on the west side of the city. It was massive. There was a huge three story olive building located in the middle of the square and it was flanked by two smaller two storey shamrock buildings. On the middle building, an emblem of a pine tree with a scarlet background, this was the emblem of Kaishi Martial Arts School. This emblem represented power and status in Walfor Town. This was because the Kaishi Martial Arts School was the most powerful existence in the town.
The group of three approached the main gate of the Kaishi Martial Arts School. The gates were still closed and there were many other people waiting outside the gate. Their clothes varied from rich silk robes to torn hemp clothes. However, the number of rich silk robes were noticeably higher. This was because the Way of Martial Arts was said to be only for the rich. Training in Martial Arts required large amounts of resources. This would double every time a Martialist achieves a breakthrough. As such only rich and powerful clans were able to support and groom Martialists. But if your talent was shown to be good enough then it is possible to be taken in by old sects who also have enough resources to nurture Martialists. While a power like the Kaishi Martial Arts School can teach Martial Arts to their students and even groom so talented ones, they aren't able to support the students for the rest of their lives. This was why a student of the Kaishi Martial Arts School had to graduate after four years.
10 minutes later a middle-aged man opened the gates causing the impatient children to rush into the school. The middle-aged man simply smiled and let the impatient ones through, however, he blocked any of the parents from entering.
Darien and Aviana stood obediently beside Elaine as they admired the view of the school from outside the gates. After you stepped through the gate, you were greeted by a vast open field. On the field were three big arenas. The arenas were white and looked extremely dense and tough. They could probably withstand a fight between two Martialists but a Martial Master could destroy such an arena by simply releasing their aura.
The children stood frozen in front of the gate as they gazed in awe at the size of the school. The middle-aged man gave them a good minute to take it all in before he coughed for attention. The field was as silent as space so everyone instantly turned their attention towards the noise.
"Is it beautiful?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
The children furiously nodded their heads. The middle-aged man warmly smiled as he continued, "Everyone calls me 'Aisuru' so you can call me Instructor Aisuru. I will be your instructor for the next two years so we will be getting to know each other well." Instructor Aisuru motioned around him as he said, "If you like what you see then train well for the next two years. Show me talent, comprehension and a good personality. You mustn't be lacking in any of those things else you will never be able to enter our school."
A child dressed in hemp clothing asked, "But Instructor Aisuru wasn't today supposed to be the recruiting day for Kaishi Martial Arts School?"
Instructor Aisuru still had a smile on his face as he explained, "That's right today is the recruiting day but that's only for those who passed the preparation camp. So since none of you guys has passed the preparation camp you aren't qualified."
The child's face reddened with embarrassment. His parents had told him that today was the recruiting day and he thought that he was going to enter the Kaishi Martial Arts School so he was surprised to hear that he wasn't a student yet.
A loud disdaining voice further embarrassed, "Hahaha! Look at this peasant wanting to enter the Kaishi Martial Arts School without even knowing the rules. Trash shouldn't be here get lost!"
Everyone turned to look where the voice came from. Standing outside the gate was a lavishly dressed young man. He was wearing a dark gold robe - a sign of someone from the Trairu clan.
"He's the Third Young Master of the Trairu Clan!"
Instructor Aisuru frowned at this young man's behaviour but he didn't do anything about it in the end.
Darien walked forward to reprimand the Young Master of the Trairu Clan however, Elaine had pulled him back at the last second. "I know that you are kind and want to help everyone you see. However, you have grown up now and need to weigh the consequences. The Trairu Clan is the tyrant of Walfor Town and is only below the Kaishi Martial Arts School." Elaine looked at the two of them and seriously said, "The Trairu Clan doesn't have to be afraid of the Kaishi Martial Arts School though. SO tell me what good will it do if you help that child?"
Darien bowed his head in shame. He hadn't realised this and only wanted to help. In his mind everyone was equal so what did it matter whether they are rich or poor? In fact if not for him being extremely obedient he would have rushed forward already. Aviana also had a frown on her cute little face. She didn't understand why her Aunt Elaine who had always been kind would refuse to help someone but she didn't argue.
Elaine naturally saw all their emotions and simply sighed, "When the two of you participate in the preparation camp you will understand. Remember to always stick together and trust no one but each other in the camp okay?" The two nodded their heads firmly. Seeing this Elaine was slightly relieved. However, she was still anxious since she knew that the two will undergo a big change in character after the preparation camp. She was worried that they wouldn't be the kindhearted people that they are now and would instead be people who would do anything to achieve their goal. She could only hope that she was wrong.
"Alright say goodbye to your family now," Instructor Aisuru said, "You won't be seeing them for two straight years unless you want to drop out of the preparation camp so I will give you time to say goodbye.
Darien and Aviana heard this and tears started to form in their cute little faces. Seeing this Elaine warmly smiled and wiped the tears out of their eyes. He endearingly told them, "Strengthen your hearts. Remember that the Path of Martial Arts is long and painful. Compared to what you will face in the future this is nothing." As she said she seemed to remember something from her past but she immediately shook it out of her mind. Darien and Aviana separated themselves from her and wiped their tears before taking firm steps toward Instructor Aisuru and standing behind them.
Instructor Aisuru simply stood aside as he watched the children say goodbye to their families. He secretly shook his head as he saw the children crying as they firmly embraced their parents. The Path of Martial Arts was long and arduous. One would encounter many tribulations along the way. If they couldn't simply say goodbye to their parents what kind of martial artists would they be in the future?
As he observed the children, Darien and Aviana caught his eyes. In the beginning, he had the least hope for these two as they were the first to start crying but now...