Inter Dominial Competition I

In the quiet room, the sound of bones cracking was heard. And with a 'trump', someone's unconscious body fell to the ground.

'Damn it, look what you made me do.' Master A stared at Titan's unconscious body that was on the ground. But she didn't feel frightened at all. She just waited for a moment to see what was going to happen.

Back in the cave, Tiana sat on the floor with her legs curved. She seemed to be performing a spell but in the next minute, she felt pain around her neck area. Apparently, she was trying to connect with Titan but when master A knocked Titan out, she also felt the impact.

"Damn it! Who in hell was that?" She groaned as she held her neck which was hurting.

Not too long after Master A knocked Titan's out, her red hair began to turn normal and her eyes which were closed didn't have dark veins anymore because Tiana had lost the connection she had and needed to recuperate.

It took a while before Titan tightened her eyes and slowly opened them. She struggled to get back on her feet but her neck hurt at that instant.

"It's sad! You're a weakling." master A shook her head and simply returned to the window where she sat then stared at the sky again.

Titan was confused. 'What happened? Why did I find herself on the floor? Have I started sleep walking?

As if reading her thoughts, master A stood up from the window and straightened her skirt. Sarcastically, she spoke.

"You were sleepwalking. Apparently you don't like your bed. Maybe I should send it to someone else." As she said that, she walked towards the door leaving Titan baffled.

'Sleep walk? What did she mean by sleepwalk? I'm sure I don't sleep walk. But then again, it must be due to stress?'

Master A stopped at the door and turned only to see that Titan was still surprised about sleepwalking. What if she had told her the truth? The truth that she was not only sleepwalking but she also attacked her just now. She immediately shrugged the thought away then waited for a moment before speaking.

"Your afternoon classes have been canceled. The head master has an important announcement to make. Get dressed! You wouldn't want anyone to see you in those"

Titan snapped back to reality. When she looked down, she noticed she was wearing so little she immediately jumped on her bed and covered up with the sheets then, nodded like a woodpecker.

After saying that, master A purses her lips unsure if Titan heard a single word she said then, she exited the room.

Watching master A leave, Titan sighed in relief then tiptoed to bolt the door. Master A had always known that Titan was a girl. She wasn't sure how she found out about it though.

She quickly got dressed and stared at a mirror which hung on the wall. 'Hmm' she sighed inwardly then headed out for the announcement. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the strand of red hair on her head.

When she woke up from her dream, she didn't remember anything that she saw and therefore, she wasn't bordered at all.

At a very spacious hall, the teachers sat at the upper chamber while the students stood at the ground level. The head master stood in front of the crowd and addressed them.

"As you all know, the interschool competition was supposed to take place seven years ago but for some reasons, it was moved till further notice. Well, I'm here to inform you that the interschool competition will hold in two days time."

As she said this, students and even teachers began to murmur. Apparently, even the teachers had no idea. Master A raised her brow. Something was not right. This competition usually took about two years of preparation yet, she's moving to such a short time.

"I've already sent letters to the schools that would be participating and I'm sure, they'll be here very early. This is my announcement. And to all my students, Good luck." As she said this, something green flashed in her eyes. It was so fast that no one saw it. No one except Master A.

After she concluded her speech, she dismissed everyone and went back to her chambers as well. As she got to her chambers, a sinister smile formed on her lips as she stared at a mirror that hung on the wall. Her brown eyes turned green and the veins on her forehead pupped up.

###

At a familiar temple, by the river side, stood a young man on one foot. One of his leg was bent over the other and the one that was straight, levitated. Practically, he was on air.

His hair was shaved, not entirely, but it was very low. He had beards like that of a fully grown man and his eye were closed because he was focusing.

Zagan was practicing his lightness balance skill and this was just one of his many morning routines.

In his first few years of staying at the old man's temple, he always stayed in his own space responding only when addressed to and training only when time was due. In fact, he and the grand master barely saw each other. In such a big temple and with only two people in it, it was easy for one to forget the presence on the other. But sometimes Zagan would sneak out and eventually, he made friends.

Master Wen Xu knew about this but couldn't care less at the beginning. After all, that wasn't part of his rules. Subsequently, master Wen Xu's strong heart began to open up some room for Zagan. Although he never showed his liking for Zagan because of his past experience, he couldn't deny that the young boy had warmed up his heart without even realizing it. Even though Zagan didn't utter a word in all these years and he seemed quite distant sometimes, the grand master still could not help but like the boy.

As he was levitating, a tiny broom stick wiped his leg. But even with that, he didn't loose focus. He simply opened his eyes. Those beautiful emerald eyes were his charm.

He looked down and realized that he had gone quiet a height and the person who used a broomstick on him was the grand master who was struggling at the roof top.

This old man sometimes looks weak but when one least expects, he becomes as energetic as a horse.

"Hey! What are you doing? Do you want to kill this old man before his time?" Usually, master Wen Xu accompanies Zagan for these routine but some times get to just watches from the side.

Zagan smile lightly revealing his deep dimples, but in the next instant, the grand master levitated higher and started the next routine which was jumping from one tree to another.

This act of the grand master caught Zagan off guard. 'Haya! This cunning man. I should have known that that was what he had in mind.'

He quickly joined in and began chasing the old man. In these nine years, the old monk didn't change one bit and one would think he was even getting younger.

They trained for a while before someone interrupted them. A familiar person was staring strangely at Zagan as they sat in one of the rooms.

"Grand master Wen Xu, its been so long."

"Indeed it has." The grand master replied with an expressionless face. One wouldn't be able to tell if he was happy to see this person or not.

The man searched around the room in askance. "Where is Zagan?"

Zagan instinctively turned to the grand master and thought. 'Why would master Shi De act as though he doesn't know me anymore? Did I change so much?'

Looking at the scene before him, master Shi De gawk for a while before returning to himself.

"You punk! Why didn't you say so from the very beginning?" Although Zagan didn't actually say anything, his expression revealed it all. Master Shi slapped the back of Zagan's head in both excitement and astonishment.

"Oh my! Just nine years and I couldn't remember your face anymore. You changed so drastically... You're all grown up, you even already have mustache. "

Zagan smiled lightly and bowed receiving the praises that were showered on him.

Master Wen Xu on the other hand didn't seem so happy to see this person. 'Why did he come now? Was he here to take Zagan away? Well, that's not going to happen. I'm simply going to tell him that Zagan is not done with his training.'

In the next second, Shi De passed a letter to Wen Xu.

"This is for an inter dominial school competition. I'd like if Zagan could come along with you."

Noticing the grand master's hesitation, Shi De tried to persuade him.

"It's so that he can get to meet other students. You can just treat this as a challenge or test to see how well his training is going."