-70- [ Prodigies ]

It's Winter.

Outside the door, the wind and snow are falling, covering much of the world in a vast expanse of white, rendering the surroundings somewhat monotonous.

Inside a luxurious mansion, in contrast to the cold outside, the atmosphere is lively.

At this moment, many people dressed in traditional Japanese attire have gathered in a place resembling a dojo, standing around the center, leaving a large space vacant.

Gathered in this place, these individuals are whispering and discussing, while at the same time, they are closely watching the two young boys in the center.

These two boys are of similar age, but upon closer observation, one appears slightly older, while the other seems more tender and naive. Both are dressed in traditional Japanese attire, surrounded by wooden puppets with no discernible features.

The man named Akabane Kuukan sits with his face serious, sitting in a meditative position at the head of the gathering, observing the scene from afar. After a while, he nods towards a person acting as a host.

The person immediately understands and steps forward, coming to the center of the two boys and raising their hand.

"The puppet battle between Akabane Tenshin-sama and Akabane Narugami-sama is now beginning. Both sides pay their respects."

Upon hearing this, the two boys, Akabane Tenshin and Akabane Narugami, take a step forward simultaneously.

These two boys have completely different temperaments, one appearing dignified and composed, while the other seems lazy and childlike, forming a sharp contrast."

But amidst the onlookers, all eyes were filled with one emotion - respect.

Under the watchful gazes, the two young man began to exchange salutations.

Then, a surge of powerful magical energy emanated from both of them.

"Buzz!"

Accompanied by a slight hum in the air, the magical energy transformed into pure power, acting upon the wooden puppets surrounding the two young man.

In the next moment, a faint glimmer of light appeared on the outlines of these puppets, bringing them to life.

There were six of them.

However, this was only the number of puppets that had come alive. There were a total of twenty puppets standing beside the two youths - ten on each side. Currently, three puppets on each side were animated.

These six puppets seemed to be connected by invisible threads, gaining a semblance of life as they moved forward.

Immediately, these six puppets engaged in a fierce battle.

It was an intense confrontation indeed.

Despite not wielding any weapons, the six puppets moved with the precision and technique of highly trained soldiers, displaying martial arts-like punches and kicks in an orderly fashion during the fight.

Moreover, it wasn't merely a series of one-on-one fights.

At times, some puppets would suddenly abandon their current opponents and rush towards another puppet, exposing its back to launch an attack.

At other times, some puppets would jump into the air to exchange positions with another puppet behind them, collaborating to attack the enemy together.

There were moments when a single puppet would hold off all the puppets from the opposing side, allowing the other two to break free and launch sneak attacks.

And there were instances when the three puppets would form a mysterious and profound formation, exhibiting powerful coordination and positioning, showcasing astonishing suppression power.

This intricate and unparalleled group battle was beyond belief - it was hard to imagine that wooden puppets could perform such feats.

In fact, achieving this was no easy feat.

If it weren't for the manipulation of the two youths behind each puppet, this scene would never have come together.

The magical energy of the two youths was being freely spent, constantly swirling and radiating around them.

Both of them gazed at each other with a hint of a smile on their faces.

After a while, the composed young man spoke first.

"You've improved again, Narugami. Your Telekinesis has become even purer compared to last time."

Named Tenzen, the older youth praised his younger brother as an amiable elder brother would.

In response, the lazy and immature youth rolled his eyes.

"Are you mocking me, Ten-nii?"

The youth named Narugami retorted, not in the mood to accept the compliment.

"Even if my Telekinesis has advanced somewhat, it's still just the 'First Level,' while the coordination between your puppets and the perfectly ordered formations you just displayed, that's clearly something only 'Sixth Level' Heaven's eyes can achieve, right? It's on an entirely different level."

From his words, one could gather that the 'Sixth Level' surpassed the 'First Level' by a significant margin.

However, Tenzen shook his head.

"The so-called 'Levels' merely indicate difficulty and complexity, not strength. Telekinesis and the Heaven's eyes are two entirely different techniques and cannot be differentiated by strength in this way."

Hearing this, Narugami nodded in agreement and smirked cunningly.

"Ten-nii is right. To prove that you're not just making empty claims, I'll increase the strength of my Telekinesis and see if your Heaven's eye can keep up."

With that, Narugami's magical energy surged once more, transforming into pure power and acting upon the puppets around him.

Soon after, the remaining seven puppets also came to life and joined the battle.

"Controlling ten puppets?"

The surrounding spectators couldn't help but stir with astonishment.

It should be noted that the more puppets one controls, the more magical energy is consumed, and the difficulty of manipulation increases exponentially. It is not an easy task to achieve.

However, Narugami effortlessly accomplished it, seamlessly integrating them into the battle.

"Well, well, you've been holding back, then so will I."

Tenzen couldn't help but smile and also sent out a large amount of magical energy, controlling the remaining seven puppets around him, adding them to the battle.

As a result, a total of twenty puppets completely occupied the entire training ground, engaging in an even more intense battle, with the sound of wood clashing echoing throughout the arena.

Watching this scene, Kuukan's sitting on the main seat, though not saying anything, showed satisfaction in his eyes, tinged with a hint of pride.

After a while, Kuukan raised his hand.

"Stop."

With this single word, the resounding noise in the arena came to a halt.

The twenty puppets, which were intertwined in the center, also stopped simultaneously, returning to the side of the Akabane brothers under the guidance of magical energy.

Witnessing this masterful manipulation, the surrounding people finally began to clamor.

"They truly are Young Master Tenzen and Young Master Narugami."

"The renowned 'Heaven Child' and 'Divine Child' of the Akabane clan are indeed deserving of their reputations as prodigies."

"Miss Nadeshiko is also quite talented. Although she may not match up to Young Master Tenzen and Young Master Narugami, she is still a genius worthy of being recorded in our clan's history."

"Compared to the two young masters and young miss, Young Master Raishin..."

Such voices kept resounding, slightly altering the previously lively atmosphere, and casting a shade of gloom in the eyes of Narugami's father, Akabane Kuukan.

As for Tenzen, he lowered his head, appearing somewhat worried.

On the other hand, Narugami, or rather, Rozen, looked at this situation and couldn't help but sigh.