"It happened after a whole week of mock battles between the Inner Disciples," Leinor began, telling his tale:

  The groups were selected at random, and everyone had to work together to complete their assigned mission. The catch was that every assignment had a counter-mission issued, pitting the teams against each other and trying to prevent the other team from succeeding. Everything went smoothly at first, until the st day of the exercise when one of the groups that had just lost got into an infight.

  Toobu, a 19-year-old man, faced three of his companions, wearing a stoic, calm expression, crossing his arms. He was quite tall, standing over two meters, with a fit, athletic build. He had sun-kissed, bronze-colored skin, short, spiky, bck hair, and deep brown eyes. As for his opponents, they were standing near the forest where the outing had taken pce and where they had failed to complete their task. It was only a few kilometers away from the Rorik Kingdom, but already in the Empire's territory. As for where they were, it was a gathering spot where they had originally been waiting beside other groups of disciple brothers and sisters who had already finished when their argument broke out.

  "You can try and bme me if you want, but it was your own fault for not listening to me," Toobu said in a deep voice, addressing his three compatriots, Keltin, Paran, and Lox.

  All four of them hailed from the Empire and were born as the sons of small noble families, and being back 'home,' they felt a bit more conscious about it. While Toobu was at the 5th stage of the body refinement realm, the other three stepped into the 6th stage a month ago, feeling powerful and confident when coming to this exercise, only to lose on the st day... It was more than annoying... it made them angry, and they began bming him for their loss. However, as he faced all three of them, Toobu showed no fear, standing alone against his three adversaries.

  "You still try to act like the group's leader?" Keltin snorted, looking at him coldly.

  "Yeah! Yet you were never selected for the role!" Lox finished his friend's words while Paran nodded, agreeing with the two.

  "Well, you should have made me the leader then," Toobu answered without a shred of shyness. "I already told you three after our first csh with the other team... I specifically expined their weaknesses and strengths. I also devised a pn on how to counter their skills and gain a decisive advantage over them... Yet you ignored everything I said!" Toobu sighed, opening his arms wide, looking down on them literally and figuratively, too. "You three fucked it up! I tried to support you as much as I could, yet you just had to rush into such a dumb trap. Maybe you three are infatuated with Miyiri on the other team, but I couldn't give two shits about her. If one should be angry here, it should be me that you three cucked the whole thing for me!"

  "Fuck you said?!" Paran walked up to him, looking a bit upward as the three boys were almost a head shorter than Toobu.

  "I see..." Toobu raised his eyebrows. "You are not just dumb; you are also handicapped. Let me transte it for you!" He moved his arms, forming strange signals with his fingers as all three immediately stepped back, raising their auras. They were ready to fight, but no spells came from Toobu in the end. After he finished, he just fshed a small smile, keeping up the st sign before slowly putting down his arms.

  "What…?" Paran whispered, looking at his friends, who just shrugged.

  "Dunno..." Lox replied.

  "Are your eyes also bad, or did I spell it somewhere wrong?" Toobu asked. "My sign nguage is not perfect; it was a very long time ago when I st used it... Then let me say it slowly, too; try to read it from my lips!" He repeated once again, but now articuting every word loudly, mocking them, "Why not beat your meat before going on a mission? Fucking it up because of a girl… pathetic!"

  His st words were the sparks that lit the fire, and a brawl ensued immediately. It was happening right at the edge of the forest, while the rest of the disciples watched, interestedly, forming a circle around them. They had the restraint not to use their full power and went at it raw, fighting only with their fists at least. However, even then, the power behind one punch in their realm could still shatter a normal human's skull or go through brick walls, so it was not pretty. Even though it gave the trio an unfair advantage against Toobu, they could not really work together, and that was immediately used against them. Toobu grabbed Keltin's punching arm, pulling on it, dragging him close as a meat shield, so it was the boy who blocked the quickly arriving fist of Lox with his own face.

  "Idiot! Don't punch me, punch him!" He screamed, but another fist nded on him again, now the culprit being Paran, who knocked one of his teeth out. "Fuck you too!" He screamed again while Toobu was holding him firmly with intense strength, dragging Keltin along like a rag doll.

  "Now you are fighting against each other? How fragile the ego of the peacucks..." He ughed loudly, but then Keltin threw his head backward with all of the force he could muster, nding a clear hit. "Well, you CAN use your head! What a surprise." Toobu continued to ugh, spitting out blood but not letting go, just lifting Keltin like a log and throwing him at the other two.

  "Enough!" came a commanding voice before it could escate further as Boursat slowly descended from the sky. His aura made the rest of the disciples nauseous as the odor of blood permeated the area. Toobu just stood back, wiping the small trace of blood from his lips and nose while the others scrambled to stand, heaving and huffing, looking with vicious eyes at him. "Who do you think you are?" Boursat asked in a strict, loud voice.

  "..." Everyone stayed silent, as even the disciples, who had just enjoyed the little show, did not dare to look up at Boursat.

  "I guessed so." He snorted loudly, nding before them, at first looking at Toobu, then the rest. "All four of you are to be deducted 20 contribution points and confined for 3 days in solitary cells!"

  "But-" Keltin spoke up, but then Boursat's aura washed over him as his legs gave out, crashing to the ground once again, with a pale face.

  "6 days it is! Any more stupid words you wish to spew out of your mouths?" he looked over at everyone while Toobu just shook his head.

  "It's a fair decision," Toobu answered calmly when his eyes met with Boursat's.

  "You are disciples of the Immortal Wonders Sect." Boursat continued, warning the others too. "None of you should even think that I would ignore something disgraceful as this!"

  "Fighting is not forbidden between disciples…" Paran murmured, but Toobu just shook his head. Before even finishing, Paran suddenly trembled and found it hard to breathe while Boursat's eyes were looking into his, and... it almost made him pee himself.

  "Another 20 points of deduction and 1 more day." Boursat said coldly, "Fighting is not forbidden, yes, but it needs to follow procedures you are all familiar with." He expined, still maintaining eye contact with Paran. "Issue a challenge. When the challenge is accepted, the challenged party can set the date and time of the match to be held in the Arena. OVERSEEN by at least ONE Elder. Do I need to continue? I am familiar with the rules; I was one of the Elders who wrote them!" He closed his eyes slowly as the pressure went away, letting everyone breathe freely once again.

  Nobody dared to talk for the remainder of their outing, not even when the rest of the groups returned, while Boursat stood beside the four troublemakers. Only Toobu looked rexed, sitting down and cultivating while they waited. When Leinor arrived, being the st to return, he was surprised to receive a voice transmission from Boursat. He fshed a little smile, unseen by the rest, before continuing to act normally, only giving an understanding nod towards his great-granduncle.

  "I was already informed what happened. I wish not to talk about it anymore." He said softly, when the exercise was over, looking at everyone, "When we arrive back at the Sect, I'm going to announce the result the day after. The team with the most points will receive 30 contribution points. Each member, of course. The second team gets 20, and the third gets 10. The rest needs to be satisfied with only the experiences you gained!" Leinor decred, and he smiled just as Ren usually did. "You all are going to have a week off; there won't be lessons, so you can focus on going through what you learned! Make good use of it!" He cpped his hand, ending the little exercise for the Inner Disciples, taking them back to the Sect on the Skyshark.

  …….…..

  It was early morning when Toobu walked out from the Disciplinary Hall and stretched in the rays of the morning sun, sighing loudly.

  "Nothing can beat fresh air! Let's see what happened in the past few days."

  Arriving at the Mission Hall, he checked out the new posts, including the announcement of Ren's competition and Kyu's post offering services to help disciples practice spells.

  "Oh? This is perfect!" He grinned, copying them down before hurrying back to his room for a quick shower, a change of uniform, and going straight to the training ground where Kyu was waiting for disciples to come to her.

  "Stop!" rang out her voice, quickly arriving before Toobu. She was not even reaching his waist in height, looking up at him, without any fear. "If you are here to train, first you need to pay the fee to Kyu. This is the rule; this is Kyu's field!" She said firmly, hands on her hips.

  The training grounds were separated into ten big fields where disciples could come and practice freely, but it seemed Kyu cimed ownership of one of the sg fields, shooing away anyone who did not pay her.

  "I read Lady Kyu's announcement." Toobu smiled, kneeling down to be at her eye level, wearing a friendly smile and speaking ftteringly, which clearly softened the proud little demon's expression.

  "Mmm! Of course, you did!" She nodded happily.

  "Here, I brought 30 points. That should warrant 10 hours, yes?" He gave her a purple card that she immediately snatched, her head bobbing like a chicken's.

  "Kyu likes you! You are nice; you get Kyu's special discount!" she ughed, giving back only one point, almost making Toobu choke… but he kept the smiling face up, acting calm and collected.

  "Oh, no, no, thank you, but I think Lady Kyu needs it; a full 30 points should be worth something… tasty, no?" He said, trying not to twitch.

  "Ahaha, now Kyu likes you even more... You are a good man!" She pulled her hand back immediately, pocketing everything and getting ready to start. She was jumping from one leg to another. "What do you want to do?"

  "I need to test a spell of mine, of course," Toobu said as he stood back up.

  "Sure, sure!" She nodded, hopping in pce, looking defenseless, like a child doing hopscotch, clearly waiting for him to start. Kyu was not really afraid of his powers, as she was used to Leinor and Ren's power levels... and every disciple knew that too.

  It was why Toobu did not get angry with Kyu for taking him lightly. Knowing it was the Junior Sect Head's infamous pet demon, she easily ate up her attacks... So it was futile to mention beginner spells from cultivators in his own realm. After taking a deep breath, his left hand turned icy blue, cracking as frost covered it up, right to his shoulder, while his right hand lit up with fmes. Stretching out the one that was on fire, it acted as a fmethrower, spitting out bzing, hot fire, rushing toward Kyu.

  "Kyu likes spicy food!" She ughed as she opened her mouth, and a bck array formed inside of it, gulping down the fmes like it was nothing.

  "Tsk… First time seeing and feeling it… The rumors were not even close…" Toobu clicked his tongue with a bit of fear in his voice. He felt that if Kyu put in a bit more effort, she would drain him of his life with one breath. "Let's turn this up!" He groaned as his icy hand stretched out towards the ground. The air around him turned colder and colder, and on the sg, frost grew, quickly turning into ice. His fmes burst out with renewed intensity, turning from orange to almost completely white.

  "More!" Kyu demanded loudly, raising her hands too, consuming it faster, draining Toobu of his energy almost in a few seconds, so he had to cancel the spell.

  "E-enough! Huh… s-sorry, I need… a breather!" He tumbled backward, gasping for air, leaning forward after catching his bance, preventing him from falling over.

  "Uuu… it just got yummy!" Kyu moaned, smacking her smoking lips, walking closer, and patting her hands. "It was hot and warmy... Kyu's tummy felt great from it!"

  "T-thanks?" He chuckled, reguting his breathing.

  "What are we going to do next?"

  "Next?" He asked with a sly smile. "I'm completely out of energy. I need to go home and rest. I'll be back tomorrow." He answered honestly.

  "Huh? But… but…” She blinked, completely stunned, opening her mouth and closing it, trying to say something.

  "Yeah, I paid Lady Kyu... Don't worry, I keep track of time; we did train for 17 minutes. Let's round it up to 20! That will make our life easier." Toobu nodded, keeping up an innocent smile. "I still have 580 minutes that I paid for in advance. Don't worry, until the competition comes, I'll use them up." He cupped his hands and then left, leaving behind a stunned Kyu.

  "B-bu-but… but… then next time he comes, Kyu won't get more points…? Uuuuu!" She puckered her mouth, now being upset as in her mind he should use it up at once... So when he comes back, he needs to pay her again! "This is cheating!" She yelled, stomping on the ground, cracking up the ice that was still there.

  What the two didn't know was that their little exercise was being examined by two pairs of eyes.

  "See?" Leinor smiled, standing below a tree, leaning against it, while Ren sat atop a branch above him, swinging her legs.

  "Yeah... He really has a special constitution… and he is really sharp!" She murmured, her voice surprised, nostalgic, and troubled at the same time.

  "Mmm? What is it? You don't sound excited." Leinor looked up, catching the weirdness in her tone.

  "I am… in a way… and I can see why you want him as your first disciple." Ren nodded, watching the leaving Toobu. "But his draining effect is different from yours."

  "Of course!" He nodded, "But the concept behind it works the same way. He also derived this technique from that one lesson of yours. About the ancient constitutions and rare gifts that still pop up today here and there. Like my family or Lady Anya's line with their eye power... You were just speaking in broad terms, yet look at him; he has already developed a technique from it! It was-"

  "The Frozen Heart Physique. I know." Ren nodded, cutting in with a low voice. "He was also born with it. He can drain the surrounding area of its heat and convert it for his own use... You said he needs twice as much time to advance as others do; of course, he does." She shrugged, shaking her head, "If he does not adapt his body, it could freeze over or burst into fmes. Luckily, his mind is sharp, and he is using it without being told to." She sighed once again, which surprised Leinor, watching as she began rolling her eyes. "I sometimes wonder how some of the disciples function without being told to breathe in and breathe out every time they wake up!"

  "Ahaha, don't be so harsh on them!" He chuckled, still looking up at her. "Also, he always pces in the top 3 when we have written exams. Before he joined us, it was believed he had a cshing, dual affinity... But now it is evident he has a special constitution instead. I don't want to waste a talent like him."

  "Me neither. But his life isn't going to be easy!" She sighed the third time now, shaking her head once again, jumping down next to Leinor. "You need to guide him well."

  "Of course! But… What do you mean?" He looked at her with questions in his eyes.

  "Keep his emotions afloat!" Ren looked into Leinor's eyes with a serious gaze. "The name, Frozen Heart Physique, is everything you need to know. Don't let it evolve into its final form, or he is going to be devoid of feeling anything... The name is not only a fancy monicker."

  "Don't worry, I wouldn't, and if I can't figure something out, I can always turn to you too, no?" He joked, drawing a smile onto Ren's face.

  "Sure, but you'll need to pay my fees!"

  "Which is?" Leinor asked, gently pying with her hair.

  "Do you remember our old technique of joining energies? I came up with an upgraded version- Hey! Come back here! You dare to run?!" She ughed as Leinor was already flying far away, leaving behind sonic booms. "You are still slower when it comes to speed, LeiLei!" Ren shouted as she rushed after him, leaving rumbling thunder behind, echoing above the Sect on a clear day, waking many meditating disciples, making them wonder what even happened...