Chapter 23: Training and Trouble Again

"Brother, I understand that you want to make a move against him, but I would really advice against it. From what I remember, Benicio not only is a big name in tech industry, but he also has connections in disciplinary committee, and you don't want trouble with them. Let this go for now."

"Alright if you say so. I will drop this class and see if any other class is available. I will talk to you later now; It's time for my training."

He hung up the call and swiftly arrived at Shreya's place. Upon entering, he discovered Evelyn was already there.

"Evelyn!" Zen called, approaching her.

"Zen! Are you also here for training?" She came near him and held his hands. They hadn't seen each other since the incident, though they texted daily.

|Ahem|

"Yes, she asked me to be here every day in the evening. According to her, I need more experience."

|Ahem, Ahem|

"Oh! We can also spar to build combat awareness. By the way, are you thinking of infusing any bloodline soon?" They sat together on a bench.

|Ahem Ahem Ahem|

"No, not right now. I plan to visit my parents next year before considering it. My mother wants to consult with her before I even think about infusing one, so it's better to wait for 8 more months."

"Listen to me, you assholes!" Someone shouted.

"Listen to me, you assholes!" Someone shouted.

Zen and Evelyn were shocked to see Shreya in front of them, hands on her waist. They immediately broke off their handhold and looked at her.

"Umm, master... since when were you here?"

"Since you guys started flirting. I've been coughing to save you from embarrassment. But, my god, you guys are irredeemable."

"Wh- We were not fli…"

"Shut up and come inside. I don't have time to listen to your excuses." Shreya immediately stopped Evelyn from giving excuses.

They went inside and Shreya guided them to the training area. Zen was flabbergasted. This area was at least a few times bigger than the whole gymnasium.

"What the hell is this? Why is it so big, and why does it have more gear than a spaceship?"

"What do you mean? Of course, it my personal training ground. It has to be this big. You want me to have a training ground equivalent to the school gym? HELL NO!" Shreya answered with a smug smile.

"Master you aren't embezzling the money, are you?"

"S-Shut up! Don't ask unnecessary questions."

'She is definitely using academy's fund' Zen and Evelyn nodded but kept quiet.

"Okay, Zen, come and spar with me," Shreya said as she removed her top, revealing a deep-cut sports bra.

"WOW!" Zen couldn't help but blurt out. Realizing what he did, he turned his head and looked at Evelyn. Evelyn was just there smiling, but for some reason, it didn't seem like a smile at all.

"Ahem, I am ready, master. Don't try to distract me." Zen tried to recover, earning him an eye-roll from Evelyn

"I'll tell you where I'm attacking while I'm attacking. It might or might not be true. Ready?"

"Left leg!" Shreya shouted and immediately attacked; Zen instinctively blocked his left leg... but she attacked his chest instead.

|CRASH| Zen hit the ground.

"Stand up! Don't just listen; feel the tempo of the battle."

As soon as Zen stood, she moved.

"Right shoulder." Again, Zen defended his right shoulder but then tried to observe Shreya's movements and defend his waist... but Shreya attacked his shoulder this time, and |CRASH|.

"Again! Don't be paranoid and don't overthink your moves."

This went on for a while. Shreya tried many ways to distract Zen, from using her voice to using her eyes to give her attack away.

At first, Zen hit the ground every time she attacked. Gradually, Zen started to be aware of the rhythm of the battle. He learned to read the opponent without getting distracted.

'Who is this boy? It's like he's born to fight. He adapted to my presence as an opponent in just 2 hours. Just 2 freaking hours.' Shreya was going insane right now.

"Alright, we'll stop here for now."

Zen immediately crashed on the ground.

"Huff huff" Zen was breathing heavily. His body was bruised from top to bottom.

"Zen, don't you want to know why I'm not teaching you martial arts and wasting your time?" Shreya asked with curiosity. Evelyn also wondered about this. As per Evelyn, this was entirely a time-waste. A good technique is more important.

Zen finally stood up and looked at her, tilting his head.

"Why would I dictate how you train me? If I have to write my own training system, shouldn't I be called the master instead?"

Shreya smiled. She never expected someone would answer like this.

"Good! Answer this. What do you think is the most important part when two beings of similar cultivation fight each other?"

"Hmm... how not to get confused and how to confuse the opponent."

"Correct! Good, you have a good grasp of things. You leave now, and I want you here tomorrow at the same time. Oh, and buy a healing potion from the store. I will let them know you are coming. Evelyn, your turn. You have to perform better than your little boyfriend." She said with a sneer.

"Master, are you jealous?" Zen asked with a cheeky grin.

|CRASH|

Yes, he was thrown out of the building as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Sigh. She herself said that I need treatment."

He looked at the time and saw it was around 7 so he left for cafeteria. He messaged Anna and she also arrived with Tanya.

"Howdie! You know your sister kicked ass of a noble girl from the Hilton house."

"What? Didn't you already have a match this week? Why did you agree Ann?"

"Well same old same old."

"He said that you are latching on Evelyn so that you can bring up your family status. Anna broke one of her legs you know. But you guys are in a bit of trouble. That girl is the girlfriend of strong member of Maxwell family. You already have bad blood with them."

"Oh! Is that so? So what? If he comes, he comes."

"Don't be so easy-going Zen. He is a third year who is close to breaking into 5th outer ring."

Tanya knew how predictable Zen was when it came to his family. School permits match between years if the one in the lower year agrees for the match.

As Tanya was thinking about the possible scenarios,

"You fucking bitch!" A loud noise echoed in the cafeteria. "How dare you put your filthy hands on Lily? I will fucking… "|BOOM|

Zen didn't give him the chance to finish whatever he was speaking but it didn't matter much. All Zen was able to do was to send him a few steps backward. Tanya was completely right, when it comes to family, Zen was an open book.

"Hahaha, a fledgling commoner with no cultivation attacked me, Shane Maxwell, huh? But it's good, now I can attack without even thinking about school rules. All I have to do is to leave you just shy of dead."

He declared and attacked Zen immediately. Worst part? He was a wind user. He had explosive speed and the cultivation of 4th ring. Zen was in no position to counter his attack. Zen was thrown away and crashed onto the wall.

"BROTHER!!" Anna shouted and went to check on Zen.

"STOP! Don't interfere or you will be thrown out of the school. He can't injure him fatally." Tanya stopped Anna immediately. She didn't want her friend to get thrown out because of this matter. She added, "Calm down Anna and call Zen's master. She can help him."

Anna breathed deeply and jumped into action.

While Anna was trying to help out Zen, Zen somehow stood up. But seeing him everyone was stunned. He was in a sorry state. He was bleeding from the crash. He was clothes were torn. But…. There was a big smile on his face. A smile with all the teeth red because of the blood. A smile that didn't match the tattered state he was in. A smile that put the shivers down the spine of everyone who was present.

Zen was breathing hard but the smile was there on his mouth. He looked at Shane like he was looking at trash. There was complete silence. No one knew what was going on.

"HAHAHAHA," Zen's laughter erupted, "This is all you can muster with your 4th ring? Pathetic." Even Zen didn't know from where he was getting this… arrogance.

Unwilling to endure further humiliation and not wanting to extend this fight, Shane charged at Zen, delivering a gut-wrenching punch. The force sent Zen sprawling, yet he rose again.

"HAHAHAHA" He continued laughing. "Punch harder you piece of shit! I can't feel fucking anything."

"STOP LAUGHINGGG," Shane pummeled Zen relentlessly, met with an eerie lack of reaction.

"HAHAHA…." Finally Zen stopped laughing, glanced at Shane who was holding him by neck with a cold smile, his eyes emitting a slightly silver shine, and said,

"Do you know what's the difference between a demon, a god, and a human? A God seeks benevolence, a human seeks vengeance, but a demon only seeks…" He paused, the smile taking on a maniacal edge,

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS MONSTER" Shane shouted. Everyone had the same doubt.

Zen then softly said, "DESTRUCTION"

|BOOMMMMM|