Free Web NovelChapter 231: Decision in Training [1]
"That bastard... I overestimated him too much. I thought that he could at least defend my second attack and word technique, but it seemed too much for him." A grin appeared on Ro Xian’s face as he returned to the venue of the celebration.
His thoughts were entirely focused on his interaction with Lucas as he walked back. He had doubts about Lucas’s identification as a spy at first, but after evaluating Lucas’s potential, behavior, and body, he was now satisfied that Lucas was simply a servant under Ji An’s supervision.
He assumed it was impossible for Ji An to have someone as strong as Lucas, but after breaching the cover, he realized that Lucas was only acting strong to save Ji An from being humiliated. However, things have now been discovered.
A sly smile beamed on Ro Xian’s face as he lowered his head as soon as he arrived. He couldn’t wait until the showcase event in their sect, and at that event, he had already made a plan on how to remove Ji An for sure from his eyes.
’It was his fault for being dirt in my eyes. If not for him, the other councilors under Father would not have tried to observe him, trying to check if he had the same capabilities as his mother. But, I already cleared that path for him, since everyone in the clan and sect believed that the second wife of my father was cursed, or at least, useless even with potential.’
Ro Xian’s whole existence was as if it was made just to bother Ji An’s life. It was something that could be seen by people who had no knowledge of it.
Ro Xian stood as the next heir, while Ji An was the younger brother who was incompetent compared to him. The bastard and disappointment of the family: that was the basis of Ji An’s whole existence.
But, on the other hand, Ji An was just keeping his composure. Another plan had him motivated, so when he arrived at the dinner, even late, he couldn’t be moved by the guests’ noise and complaints. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Ji An remained unbothered by them. With Lucas behind him, they greeted Dalin Xian, as he was the Great Elder.
"We greet the Great Elder. Please accept my apology for being late." Ji An stated, with his eyes inwardly unbothered and uninterested in this whole cause.
"Hmph! If not for Father, you won’t even experience something like this. You should be thankful to him." Ji An heard Ro Xian mumble with a grin, but he just ignored it and faced the others.
"Please accept my apology as well. I wasn’t informed about the event, hence, I attended it late. Once again, I am sorry."
The clan’s guests and relatives remained silent. They realized it could be a lie, but they couldn’t voice their contempt for Ji An in front of the Great Elder. Others bought into his reasoning and simply accepted his apology because no one was harmed by that minor error.
***
Ji An suffered through the whole celebration. He was just quiet the whole time and kept his location out of the crowd. In the first place, they were not that heavily interested in his return since he was widely known as incompetent. However, the main reason why they attended was that it was the Great Elder’s invitation that they couldn’t afford to reject and offend him afterward.
As his eyes wandered around with a spiritless expression, he lowered his head in dejection. ’What a useless event. It was not even that great in the first place. Their eyes were just the same, prideful and full of ego. There is no chance for them to change.’
Throughout his whole life as an outcast, Ji An developed an ability to read people’s intentions with just their eyes. At first glance, he knew if someone was just using someone, but his ability was limited to a simple manner.
Ro Xian’s specialty was being both sly and convincing. And, having faced Ro Xian numerous times, he knew that the others around him were all for show.
If he acted that way, it may have been considered arrogant, but that was his way of observing the world around him. Even if he referred to himself as a genius and this environment as his home, there was nothing seriously wrong with him. They were just his desires and lies to convince himself that life wasn’t so bad for him.
’Lucas arrived... My word techniques were not that good compared to others, and I also don’t know any martial techniques.’ Ji An’s eyes fell on Lucas, who was just acting as usual. His eyes were still deep, and he was blankly looking at the white space.
The event concluded after a few hours, and Ji An had not even spoken with his father. And with that, he realized Dalin had just used him as a pretext to throw a celebration and bring people out of their quarters. Even with Ji An’s poor reputation, they still had to show respect to the Great Elder’s family on rare occasions.
’What I should focus on now was the showcasing event. If I manage to topnotch it, then my mother’s name will be fixed, and she will finally have peace.’
After the people dispersed, Ji An had decided to return to her chambers, but then suddenly, Dalin cut him off and grabbed his hands out of nowhere. "Son, we have to talk."
Hearing for the first time that Dalin called him "son," Ji An couldn’t help but be shocked by it. His eyes then turned in different directions and he tried to pull his hands away.
"What is it, father?"
"Please don’t disappoint me in the next showcase."
Ji An continued to pull his hands away from Dalin and turned his back. "I will be going now."
***
[Ji An’s Point of View]
’Just what is wrong with him? He suddenly called me his son, and now I don’t know if I should act normally or cry. He is being too much of a pain in my head. I just want to kill him now if I have the ability.’
I walked out of the room and went straight in the direction where my chamber was. And while on our way, Lucas asked me. "Master, your emotions suddenly changed. Did something go wrong with the Great Elder’s question?"
I was paused and silent. I didn’t know what to answer as I was also confused and clueless about what to answer. He then smiled, which made me ponder how he was able to show his emotions within my control.
"I don’t know..."
I just silently let it pass and then went straight to my bed. I was mentally exhausted and just didn’t know where to start. I had already made plans about what I would do, but to execute them perfectly, I should learn how to be flexible with my plans. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
I should be flexible on how to change the plan in the event of an emergency. Hence, if I train, I should keep an eye on escaping.
’My plan is to rise through different methods, even if they are sly.’
I noticed Lucas was looking at me from a distance. Even though I was already inside, he was still guarding me there, as if he was not human anymore. He was still a human, but his will was divided by my control of him.
Sighs... If only I could practice techniques other than word technique, I would be willing to do it. But, since I couldn’t still protect myself, I guess I should just keep Lucas by my side and free him afterward. I should also apologize.
***
[Third Person’s Point of View]
"The plan should not change." A voice was uttered in an authoritative tone in a circle of people within a dark room. It was as if darkness had been with them, keeping their identities in the shadows as well. They had worn black robes, and also covered their faces with black clothes, leaving their eyes bare.
They were ninjas, a category of assassins that specialized in shadows and darkness. However, this group of assassins had a mortal enemy, which was the target of their plan.
"This will be their final annual showcase. Since the Emperor is looking for the new governor and general of the Quanzhi Province, Word Users should not learn about it, as well as keep it alive to become a threat to the Chaotic Shadow Clan."
"If I must say, be sure that everyone, except the Great Elder, is alive. You can kill the Sect Leader he is powerless anyway. Only the Great Elder is the strongest of them all, and he is also the heir of the Chaotic Shadow. The Master had us destroy the spell shackling in his mind, left by his previous second wife before dying."
"Understood, Senior Brother Chan."
Every ninja around dispersed and moved in different directions. And as they had disappeared, only one person was left, and he was the leader of the faction that was going to attack the Great Clan of Word Users.
"Just wait, my brother I will save you from our mortal enemies."
