Book 5: Chapter 14 – New Mission

Cirulus and Ace were being carried by Arianna as she led the others back to the Pavilion. If it wasn't for the fact that she was skilfully using her battle-qi to shield them from the wind as she flew, neither Ace nor his new subordinate would've been able to bear the wind pressure, but that was the last thing on Cirulus' mind at that moment.

'I can't believe it,' Cirulus thought to himself as he looked down at his new arms, still trying to get over his disbelief. 'Following this kid may be the best decision I've ever made.'

During their flight, Arianna casually healed all the injured members of the group, but unlike Cirulus, the others took it in their stride, already very much used to Arianna's incredible ability.

"What did you mean earlier?" Ace asked his master's wife, ignoring his excited new subordinate. "You mentioned something about us going on a new mission?"

"Your headteacher has decided that it's time that the Pavilion officially opens its doors to the public for a fresh batch of students." Arianna calmly replied.

"It's about time," Ace nodded to himself, knowing that if Mathias's plans for the Pavilion were to become a reality, they needed fresh blood. "But what does that have to do with us and a mission?"

"Yours, Killian's, and Amira's exploits over the last year have done a lot to spread the name of the Pavilion, but it has still left the majority with more questions than answers," Arianna explained. "Mathias has decided to capitalise on the Pavilion's growing intrigue by sending each of you students along with an instructor to each of the leading institutes for you to single-handedly challenge and defeat all their most powerful students."

"Ooh, fair enough," Ace nodded.

He could see the value in doing such a thing, and he knew that even the weakest of their cohort could easily suppress the top students of the continent's top schools for mages and warriors. Still, at his current level, it was hard for Ace to get excited about challenging children 'his own age'.

"Not interested?" Arianna asked with a hint of amusement, able to guess what was going on in Ace's head.

"It's fine," Ace shrugged.

After everything the Pavilion had already done for him and his family, how could he possibly say no to this request, especially as it's a minor one for him?

"What if I told you your target is a certain school for warriors in the O'Brien Empire?" Arianna asked.

Still, Ace's need for revenge was no longer focused on the O'Brien Empire as a whole, so be it the War God's academy or the Yulan Institute, it made no difference to him; they were still too weak to arouse his excitement.

"Still not interested?" Arianna asked, glad that he wasn't driven by a misguided need for vengeance. "What if I told you that one of your targets would have plenty of warriors of the ninth rank for you to challenge?"

It was only at the mention of experts at the ninth rank that Ace's ears perked up.

"One of my targets?" Ace asked, no longer uninterested.

"You didn't think that the continent's leading empire for warriors would only have a single school for those under 30, did you?" Arianna asked, amused by Ace's reaction. "If they had, there's no way little Kong would've ever felt an impulse to challenge them."

When Ace first heard of Wukong challenging the O'Brien Empire's school for warriors, he was still just an ignorant 'child' who knew nothing about this new world and its various forces, and since then, he hadn't thought much about it, but Arianna was right, it would've only been a little under two decades ago which would've made Wukong, at least at the seventh rank.

It had to be remembered that the majority of mage and warrior schools were only for youths under 30, and most would choose to leave or become a member of staff upon reaching the sixth or seventh rank.

With Wukong's thirst for battle and incredible talent, there was no way he would voluntarily choose to challenge those at the same rank as him.

Thinking to there, Ace's eyes shone with excitement, and his battle intent surged.

"I thought that might get your attention," Arianna teased. "Whether it's the Yulan or O'Brien Empire, they both have institutes for the best and brightest warriors and mages of their respective empires. Even the Cult of Shadows and the Radiant Church have matching institutions, but the Yulan Empire's College of Light and the O'Brien Empire's War God's College are by far the best of the best."

Whenever she mentioned the Yulan Empire, Ace could sense a heavily suppressed killing intent leak out of his master's wife. A killing intent so faint that even with his incredible senses, Ace almost missed it.

Arianna was the very definition of tranquillity and serenity, so it was no wonder it took Ace by surprise. Still, he respected Arianna's privacy enough not to bring it up, especially as he knew he was too weak to deal with his own problems, let alone an expert like her's.

"Although it's possible for one to be accepted from anywhere as long as they meet the entry requirements of being 20 or under and a warrior or mage of at least the sixth rank," Arianna continued with her explanation, not seeming to notice Ace's reaction. "Most of the students of each college are graduates of either the Ernst Institute or the War God's Academy.

But the thing that makes them so attractive to warriors and mages all over the continent is that the best students of each college have the opportunity to become the direct disciples of one of the two human deities, and even if not them, there's still a very real chance of becoming a disciple of a saint.

Unfortunately, as it stands, you're the only one capable of challenging the strongest students of the colleges, so whilst the others are focused on defeating the disciples of the various ordinairy schools, your challenge is to defeat all the students of both the War God's academy and the War God's College."

"Is that really a good idea?" Ace asked with a slight frown as he couldn't help but worry about the potential fallout.

Ace would be lying if he said that he wasn't excited about going up against some of the most powerful and talented mortal warriors on the continent, especially as there was a chance one of them would become the direct disciple of O'Brien himself. Still, he wouldn't allow that excitement to cloud his judgement.

An approving smile suffused Arianna's enchanting face as she knew that Ace's concern had nothing to do with his safety and everything to do with the safety of his mother.

"You don't have to worry about anything other than defeating all the students of the college," Arianna said with a comforting smile to put Ace's mind at ease. "Leave everything else to me,"

Seeming to understand the hidden meaning behind his mother's master's words, Ace's eyes lit up. "You mean…"

"If we're going to show off the imposing might of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, we can't just leave it up to you students now, can we," Arianna said lightly. "Plus, if we want your mother to overcome her tainted soul without external help, that disciple of mine needs to understand that you'll be safe with me around."

Though she didn't come right out and say it, Ace immediately understood that even if O'Brien showed up in person, he wouldn't be able to do anything to him, not with the monster that is Arianna behind him.

"Good!" Ace said as a fiendishly handsome grin took shape on his face. "Very good!"

Cirulus didn't understand everything that was said, but what he did understand was that his former homeland was in for quite the shock.

With the speed of three incredibly powerful saints, it was only a few hours before they finally returned to the Yin-Yang Pavilion, where they found everyone else already waiting for them at the peak of the mountain.

Joel and the others didn't recognise the man carrying Alissa, but even though they knew he was a saint, with Arianna and the other instructors all present, they felt no fear as they rushed past him to welcome their fellow classmate back.

"Alissa, we were all worried sick about you!" Kannal exclaimed as he gave the silver-haired teen a big hug.

This was the first time in who knows how long that his presence had been all but ignored… By a bunch of kids, no less.

He couldn't help but be amused. Still, as he scanned each of the youngsters, he couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

Alissa had already told him everything about the Pavilion, so he had already expected each student to be incredibly talented, but seeing them in person was still surprising. Each of them was a genius among geniuses, the type of genius that just about all the major forces would fight to recruit, and yet here they all were, under one roof.

He knew that if all these children were allowed to mature, they would undoubtedly usher in a new era, and the Pavilion would undoubtedly stand at the peak of that new era.

Still, he better than anyone understood how hard such a thing would be. The moment all the other peak forces found out that there were so many genius-level talents under one banner, it wouldn't be long before they were targeted.

He knew that Mathias and the other instructors were incredibly powerful, all of whom could jump ranks to fight, but he also knew that even with Arianna's presence, things wouldn't be so simple.

But all he cared about was ensuring the safety of his fallen disciple's only child.

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Book 7: Chapter 10 – Son of Heaven Vs. Empress of Darkness