Chapter 44 - Not Afraid Anymore

Instructor Lisa glanced at the three disciples in front of her.

On the left was Damien. Average in terms of talent, he was lazy and quick-tempered, and spent his days idling with a group of bad friends. Upon closer inspection, his face was bruised, suggesting that he had been in a fight.

Sitting in the middle was Sharon, who came from a wealthy merchant family. Her talent was above average but perhaps due to her pretty appearance, she had a delicate and feminine air in the way she carried herself. Not only was she afraid of pain and exertion, she was even worried that training too much might affect her figure and skin. In fact, the only reason why she was even at the youth training camp was to gain prestige since the Wind Elephant Sect had a long-standing heritage with its influence spread across several nearby cities.

On the right was Li Wei, who had an above average potential. As the only one left in his family, he was diligent and eager to learn. He even made decent progress in martial arts. However, his timid and meek personality shackled him, rendering him unable to even use half of his strength. As a result, he often lost to his junior brother, Damien.

In summary, a bunch of incompetent people.

The only one with potential was Li Wei. If only he could overcome his mental barrier...but who knew when that would be?

Aish.

Lisa sighed in her heart. Her expression remained unchanged as she silently stared at the three.

She skipped the pleasantries and dove straight into it. "It's almost time. Let's start the monthly test. First match, Li Wei and Damien. Second match, Li Wei and Sharon. Third match, Damien and Sharon. Focus your minds! We will start now."

Upon hearing that the first match was him against Damien, Cassius gave Damien a peculiar look. Seeing that Damien also seemed to be looking at him, the corner of Cassius's lips couldn’t help turning up.

Damien's mouth twitched. He gingerly touched the bruises on his face. It had been five days and none of them had healed despite him using a healing salve. The humiliating memory of being beaten so badly that he wet himself replayed itself vividly in his mind...

He was already traumatized and he could feel his bladder loosen just at the mere thought of it. Seeing Cassius smile worsened his anxiety.

"Alright, Li Wei and Damien, stand up..."

Damien suddenly stood up, interrupting Lisa, "Instructor!"

"What's wrong?" Lisa frowned and looked over.

"Instructor, I need to use the bathroom! My stomach hurts." Damien dashed toward the door.

"Stop right there!" Lisa shot to her feet and shouted furiously, "I already told you two to use the bathroom before we started the monthly text. Don't make excuses in front of me! No matter what your relationship with Li Wei is, or who is stronger, Li Wei is your senior brother! Damien, can't you even show some respect? Come back!"

The truth was that using an excuse to avoid a duel right before it started was indeed disrespectful. Moreover, Damien often secretly bullied Li Wei. Knowing this, Lisa naturally came to the conclusion that Damien was humiliating Li Wei.

But the reality was, Damien was afraid of this completely different and ruthless senior brother.

"Instructor... I..." Damien stammered, frozen. He wanted to tell Lisa it was a misunderstanding but couldn't come up with an excuse. It wasn't like he could say he was psychologically traumatized from being beaten by Li Wei until he wet himself twice in a row and was now afraid to face him one-on-one.

Cassius wasn't sitting too far away and he glanced over with a somewhat mocking gaze. Damien sensed it too; he gritted his teeth.

"Instructor, I really can't hold it!" He shoved the door open and sprinted out.

"

Aish

..." Lisa looked coldly at the closed door. She turned to Li Wei, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and comforted him. "Li Wei, don't take it to heart. Your junior brother has been led astray by those bad friends. I'll discipline him in the next couple days."

"Instructor, I didn't take it to heart," Cassius replied.

Lisa nodded and, seemingly wanting to change the subject, asked, "How is your practice of Elephant Soul going lately?"

"I'm making some progress," Cassius responded.

"And the Wind Elephant Fist?"

"Same thing."

"Have you been practicing Basic Combat Arts as well?"

"I've been keeping at it."

Lisa gazed curiously at Cassius. His demeanor today seemed different from the past few years. He seemed inexplicably much more confident and composed. Had he finally made a breakthrough?

Let's have a match and see!

"Sharon, Li Wei, get up..."

A minute later, Sharon and Cassius stood five meters apart from each other. The floor on which they were standing on was illuminated by scattered sunlight from the window

They bowed to each other as a sign of respect, then instantly assumed combat stances. They bounced back and forth on the balls of their feet, poised to fight.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Hmm?"

Lisa raised an eyebrow. Why wasn't Sharon attacking first? She usually started off aggressively.

The two silently faced off for a while longer. Seemingly impatient, Cassius warned, "Junior Sister, be careful."

Sharon's heart skipped a beat, and her body tensed. After a few quick exchanges, she couldn't counter back and was swiftly defeated.

"Thanks for the match," Cassius said, retracting his fist.

Next to them, Lisa, who had witnessed the entire bout, slowly brightened.

Li Wei was different! His fighting style had undergone a drastic transformation and he was completely different from before! The formerly weak punches were quite powerful now. His fighting style was highly aggressive, and his moves were swift and aimed at vital points.

Since it was such a one-sided match, Lisa only managed to observe these few points in their short exchange. Suppressing her excitement as an instructor, she praised Cassius and encouraged Sharon.

She then indicated that the monthly test was over so Sharon left first, leaving Li Wei behind. The room became quiet, practically silent.

Cassius sat cross-legged on the floor while Lisa stood next to him, scrutinizing him with a strange, bright-eyed gaze. Although he felt a bit uneasy under her gaze, Cassius had a fairly strong mental fortitude. He sat quietly, waiting for Lisa to speak first.

Finally, several minutes passed. Lisa's voice broke the silence in the room.

"Did you have some kind of epiphany?"

"Sort of," Cassius responded. Li Wei's soul being replaced by his own could indeed be considered a unique epiphany.

"Have you made peace with yourself?"

"Mm."

"You're not scared anymore?"

"No."

"Good!!!" An inexplicable sense of pride shone through Lisa's smile. She felt a bit emotional.

In this world, no one was closer to the solitary Li Wei than herself. As her first disciple, Lisa had invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into Li Wei. She truly hoped Li Wei could one day step out of the shadows, unleash his potential, and prove himself to everyone.

Lisa paced back and forth in the meditation room, joy radiating out of her being. Li Wei's "enlightenment" seemed to give her quite a surprise. She suddenly stopped and stared at Li Wei. She said in a loud voice, "Stand up and spar with me. Let me test your skills!"