Mais and Kasuur arrived at the city's largest training ground. It was the Red Road Arena in Moura, built next to the tavern. Kasuur usually conducted his combat training there, while Mais rarely visited. Any training he undertook would attract too much attention. He already had a small training ground at home, and, unlike others, Mais preferred controlled attacks rather than explosive ones.
Kasuur's activities were certainly noticeable, but he didn't seem to care much. Unlike him, Mais didn't appreciate being watched by unseen eyes.
They came here because Mais was going to teach Kasuur a sage technique. After all this time, Kasuur had seen a trace of the Earth Tao. For someone who had lived his entire life in the village, hunted in the forest, and was in constant contact with the earth, understanding this Tao was no surprise. He was also lucky. Mais had learned the basics of very few Sage techniques in the palace, and on top of that, the audiobooks in the Treasury Palace only contained a handful of techniques related to the four basic elements. Kasuur had done a good job of seeing the Tao trace of a basic element.
"Now, I'll teach you a basic sage technique. It's called—"
"Wait! Why entry level? I thought you'd teach me another peak technique," Kasuur said. His spoiled, sullen expression made one want to punch him. Mais just shook his head.
"You can only learn techniques at any level in the Core and Origin Energy Realm. In the Sage Realm, however, someone with such weak Dao knowledge as you should start from the beginning. You should learn a basic technique. You just saw the Tao Trace. You have no experience with Sage techniques. You can only grasp more advanced techniques by progressing step by step. Progress like everyone else," Mais said. When it comes to cultivation and the Tao, rushing is never good. Learning advanced techniques in the past wasn't a problem, but now, when it came to a Sage's technique — as with everything related to the Tao — it was necessary to proceed with a solid foundation.
As Kasuur nodded, a loud voice suddenly rang out from the arena entrance.
Mais stood there, his brows already furrowed, as Kasuur watched a crowd of people approach the gate.
"How pitiful! Not a single outstanding cultivator!"
A sudden sound caused an uproar in the crowd. The adult miners reacted angrily, while the offshoots of noble families watched silently from various parts of the arena. They frowned but didn't say a word.
Kasuur also frowned. He couldn't see the person in the crowd, but he knew the person speaking these bold words wasn't from the city.
The impact of the arrival of the capital's children was already becoming apparent.
"Overconfident words for a little boy. Get a good beating from this daddy and learn some humility!"
At that moment, the voice sounded quite familiar to Mais and Kasuur. It was none other than Bolt, who had lost to Mais in an arm wrestling match the day they first arrived in this city!
The large, red-haired man raised his fist, his long beard whipping through the air. He punched a massive fist through the crowd and found the skinny kid in his 20s who had said those words.
But the scrawny boy merely smiled. His reaction time far exceeded Bolt's movement speed, and he countered with his own fist.
CRACK!
Instant defeat. Bolt's arm was broken in three places, and a kick soared through the air and slammed into his face. Despite his extraordinary physical strength, the advanced Origin Energy Realm cultivator was sent flying through the air and knocked unconscious by two blows.
Mais hadn't seen the blows, but he had heard the sounds and hadn't sensed any Origin Energy waves outside of Bolt's. This could mean only one thing:
Physical strength.
"Perhaps teaching the technique here wasn't the right decision."
As the crowd thinned out around Bolt to examine his condition, Kasuur finally saw the power center that was the source of all this.
Or rather, power centers.
Five people stood there. They didn't seem like many, but even the weakest of them wasn't leaking any energy. They were all at least in the Core Realm.
During the previous fight, the puny boy had only used the physical power that his Core had channeled into his body. He hadn't released any Origin Energy. This showed that he wasn't weak even in the Core Energy Realm.
Four other boys stood behind him. They all looked young, and all but one looked muscular. Behind the skinny boy stood a young man with gray hair and hazel eyes. No older than 25, he emitted a faint wave of Origin Energy, unlike the others. It wasn't something he could hide, and it threatened the members of the side branches at certain ends of the arena. They didn't understand the depth of power contained in this energy, but they sensed the danger. Mais, however, sensed something more within him.
'Tao, Sage Realm.'
This young man was a sage, just like Malehit. Probably a very powerful one.
"As I expected. There are no true warriors in this simple city," the skinny boy said with a wide grin. The three boys behind him laughed, but the gray-haired man did not.
"Why don't you try fighting someone your own size?!"
A sudden, loud voice drew the group's gaze to the fat boy. His green hair waved heroically as he gazed confidently at the group, a white sword glinting in his hand.
Mais sighed and shook his head.
The hazel-eyed man, the leader of the group, frowned.
"Where did this freak come from?"
The scrawny young man also had a strange expression on his face.
"I'm way below your size, man."
His heroic aura and lofty chin suddenly faded with a few words. Kasuur was surprised and looked down at his belly. He weighed at least 130 kilos. He was probably even heavier than Bolt and twice the size of the scrawny boy.
He didn't exactly look like a 12-year-old.
"Well... I guess you're right. Does anyone else want to fight?"
As Kasuur looked around in bewilderment, searching for someone willing to fight, Mais lost all desire to fight. At this point, Mais could only admire Kasuur's skill. He had crushed his opponent's fighting spirit before the fight even began. Mais had to admit he was incapable of doing so.
Kasuur's constant circling, trying to sell the fight to Mais, only made matters worse. By then, the youngster's face was red, and his friends were starting to feel embarrassed, too. Moreover, despite Kasuur's imposing presence, his speed had permanently extinguished the youngster's desire to fight him.
His momentum was a joke. If the young man had fought him, he would have been buried in an avalanche.
Soon, others arrived at the arena.
Evra arrived with his brother's team and explained the situation to them. Maria was among them.
They stared in amazement as Kasuur suddenly appeared before them. They hadn't even noticed the crew of the gray-haired man behind Kasuur.
"Hey, Evra, how about a great match today? I know you love to fight. I've found the perfect opponent for you."
Evra was hesitant to fight anyone in front of his guests. But Kasuur was very insistent. He wouldn't stop talking, telling him what was happening in an interesting, less scary way. Moreover, he noticed a curious gleam of anticipation in the guests' eyes. They were his brother's comrades. He wanted to show them how strong he was.
Most importantly, there was the girl in the pink dress. How could he refuse a challenge when this black-haired girl was looking at him with those bright green eyes?
"So, who will I fight?" Evra asked, sighing with relief. Kasuur stepped aside with a wide smile, revealing his team and the skinny boy. At that moment, the capital team that had arrived with Malehit displayed unpleasant expressions. Maria was curious; Evra had the same heroic look that Kasuur had just a moment ago.
"You will fight that skinny boy."
The skinny boy was already embarrassed and wanted to end it quickly. He immediately lunged forward, and they began to struggle. Evra could barely react.
Kasuur retreated. He actually wanted to watch the fight, but he was hit in the back with a stick, as if to tell him they didn't have time. Mais's voice was heard.
"Let's go. I don't want to be here at the end of this fight."
As they left the arena, Evra was being beaten by the skinny boy. The gray-haired boy never took his gaze off the departing pair.