Chapter 3

I jumped to the side as the mockery of my old mentor barely missed me with three blasts of wind. These weren't anything like the gusts that Huotian used. At most, if Huotian launched his wind at me, I would have been knocked back a few feet. Each one of these bullets was more destructive than the pile of sand he ignited underneath me, if the size of the craters was anything to go off of.

"Do you understand now? The difference between us?" Huotian yelled. "You're nothing compared to me!"

I gritted my teeth as I jumped back and narrowly avoided another blast. I inhaled deeply before charging at Huotian. The fake Fei Lian launched more projectiles at me, which I avoided by the skin of my teeth. I grabbed Huotian by the neck and punched him in the face, bloodying his nose.

I had been in battles before. I murdered my own father in cold blood during a duel for the throne. I bisected the Aesir's greatest warrior without batting an eye. I once even faced down Odin, the king of the Aesir, without feeling a thing. Never before did I ever feel fear during a fight.

The smile that spread across Huotian's face when I grabbed him chilled me down to my bones. Every inch of my body was screaming at me to run. With blood dripping into his mouth, he cackled.

"Galeforce."

The dragon dispersed, suspending teal particles in the air momentarily. They quickly reformed into an arrow pointed at my back.

I looked back and frantically shook Huotian, hoping to shake some sense into him. "Are you insane? You'll kill us both!"

"Will it?" Huotian asked as his skin burst into flames.

I winced as smoke rose from my hands, my flesh burning. If I let go, I knew he would fire without waiting. I had to hold on, or else I would die.

There was an audible whoosh as the arrow hurtled towards me, whistling as it cut through the air. I closed my eyes and braced for the impact, hoping it wouldn't do as much damage as I expected.

The sound suddenly stopped. I looked down, expecting there to be a gaping hole in my chest, but I was unscathed. I looked behind me and saw Yichen, coated in a thin layer of aura.

He took a few deep and shaky breaths before speaking. He clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Huotian. What were you thinking?"

"U-Uncle, I-"

"Don't give me any excuses!" he thundered. "My one rule was to not kill each other!"

"You said he was a knight-class aura user! A class-four spell wouldn't have killed him!" Huotian complained with tears leaking through his eyes.

"You know that it wasn't a class-four spell. Not when casted after dispelling that much wind mana." Yichen growled. "If I'm remembering correctly, Xiaolong helped you come up with that, and what did General Lu say about that? That it was equal to a class-six spell? Are you crazy?"

"Why are you getting mad at me? It's his fault that you needed to protect him!" the boy protested.

Yichen swiftly smacked Huotian on the head with an open palm. The boy gasped a little and paused, likely processing what just happened. He proceeded to burst into tears, wailing with unbelievable volume.

"Huotian. Being strong isn't everything in life. What good is strength if you only use it for yourself? Do you feel proud when you beat up someone weaker than you?"

My face twitched a little when Yichen said that, but I kept quiet. It was as if he was speaking to me as well. A familiar pain blossomed in my chest.

"I'm sorry for hitting you, but you need to learn the difference between power and strength."

"Father, is there really a difference between power and strength?" I asked, pulling on his sleeve to catch his attention.

"Well if I tell you guys, you won't understand. But yes, the difference between power and strength is the difference between a king, and a ruler. It's the same reason why even though they were both kings in name, only Styrmir is referred to as the king of the dragons."

"Isn't the difference just that Styrmir beat Iadra?" Huotian interjected, sniffling.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Yichen spoke first. He chuckled slightly, and patted Huotian on the head, ruffling his purple hair.

"You can ask Yunshu and Meili about it later. You'll probably understand when you get older."

"I hate to interrupt your little bonding session," Miss Zhang interrupted. "but I need to heal Xuefeng's hands before scar tissue forms."

She clasped my hands in hers, causing them to glow green once more. The stinging pins-and-needles feeling in my hands disappeared. I looked down at my stubby digits, scowling as I flexed them experimentally.

"Something wrong?" the woman asked.

"No, it's nothing." I mumbled, upset that I couldn't have been reincarnated in an adult body. This prison of flesh was frustrating beyond belief. I couldn't feel any mana flowing through me, despite my mana core being intact, and worst of all, I was stuck in the body of an aura user.

"Alright, it's getting late. You can continue the lecture tomorrow, Yichen." Miss Zhang said, ushering us back into the palace.

"Can I stay out here for a bit?" I requested.

Yichen raised an eyebrow, and Miss Zhang nervously looked to the side, wringing her hands together.

"Maybe it's not the best idea to-" she began, before being interrupted by Yichen.

"Alright. Stay outside as long as you want. Yunshu, keep an eye on him, please."

A dark mist swirled rapidly on the ground, before forming a void of pure black. A human head popped out, blood pouring from its eyes. I screamed and tried kicking it away, only to have my leg caught by a hand.

The head emerged from the ground, the trickling crimson trail disappearing immediately. He lifted me off the ground effortlessly, leaving my dangling from my ankle.

"This little guy? The one who ripped out my boy's eye?" he growled, glaring at me.

Yichen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, that little guy."

"Gotcha." He stuck out his hand in front of my head and grinned. On closer inspection, I could definitely tell that he was Huotian's father; if the sharp canines and windswept blue hair was anything to go off. "Nice to meet you, little man!"

Holy shit, this man was weird. He'd gone from playing a prank, to menacingly glaring at me, to attempting to shake my hand while I was suspended six feet above the ground. I slapped his hand away and spat in his face.

"Put me down." I demanded.

He dropped me immediately, not even bothering to worry about how I'd land. He pulled a handkerchief out of thin air, and wiped his face with it.

"Damn! Kid's got spirit!" he announced. He threw his head back and laughed loudly, likely waking up the entire palace.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Yunshu snorted and slapped Yichen on the back. Miss Zhang burst out into laughter as well, but I couldn't tell what was so funny.

"Yichen, look! He's a miniature version of you!" Yunshu howled, imitating me. "The little pinch of the nose, and the annoyed sigh! He does it the exact same way as you!"

"Yunshu, I'm going to throw you in jail and keep you there, if you don't shut your mouth." Yichen muttered, pinching his nose bridge and sighing.

This only prompted Yunshu to start laughing harder, clutching his sides as he struggled to breathe. Huotian looked away, embarassed, while Miss Zhang was mocking Yichen with little comments here and there.

After what felt like an eternity, Yunshu finally stopped laughing. I pointed at him and looked back at Yichen.

"You expect him to guard me?"

Yichen lifted his hand a bit and then put it back down, sighing. The movment didn't go unnoticed by Yunshu, who stifled a laugh with his hand.

"Despite how he acts, Yunshu is one of seven class-ten mages in the world." Yichen put a hand on my shoulder. "He guards me from the shadows, and most of our countrymen don't even know he exists. He's just that good at his job."

I did a double take, looking back at Yunshu to make sure Yichen was serious. The giant of a man had pulled out a bag of meat buns from who-knows-where, and was attempting to stuff Huotian's mouth with one.

Whatever a class-ten mage was, it couldn't possibly be that impressive if this fool was the standard. I couldn't even detect a mana signature from him.

I trudged past the adults and walked back to the training ground. I laid on the floor with my hands by my side and closed my eyes.

"What's he-" Yichen started.

"Shh. Just go," Yunshu whispered. "I'll take care of him."

After Yichen, Huotian, and Miss Zhang left, I was left in silence. The night was clear, free of any wind or rain. I focused on the sound of my breathing, and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

I took one final breath in, and then exhaled deeply.

Despite my eyes being closed, I could sense all the mana particles around me as if I was using my eyes. Small orbs were floating around the air, both teal and blue.

"Water and wind mana," Yunshu said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

The sound of his low, gravelly voice snapped my concentration. All of the colors I was seeing faded instantly.

"What did you just say?" I snapped.

"Water and wind mana," he repeated. "Teal for wind, blue for water. It's probably going to rain soon, judging by the amount of water mana here."

"How did you know I was seeing that?"

Yunshu's teeth glinted as he grinned. "It was obvious. Your core's still resonating. If I had to guess, I'd say you're attuned to fire, wind, and water."

In the blink of an eye, he grabbed me by the neck, restricting my airflow. He lifted me up to his eye level and narrowed his eyes.

"And you didn't have a mana core before today. To make things weirder, I saw you use knight-level aura. Who are you, and what have you done with the prince?"