"Master, you're so brutal," William said as his face automatically healed itself, once Celine had stopped her attacks and given him a moment to recover.

"Isn't it fine?" Celine grinned as she twirled the spear in her hand. "Inside this place, even if you die a thousand times, you'll still be alive and kicking in the real world."

William narrowed his gaze as he took a fighting stance to resume their battle. He knew that talking with Celine was pointless because the other was hell bent to make him suffer. Since that was the case, he would do everything in his power to teach her a lesson as well.

"Master, I was holding back earlier," William stated in an arrogant manner. "This time, I won't hold back. I apologize in advance if I hurt you!"

The young boy channeled all of his strength inside his body and prepared to give Celine a good beating.

-----

Five minutes later….

"Master, it hurts! Please stop! Forgive me!" William cried out like a pig being slaughtered as Celine continuously spanked his butt using the flat edge of the blade on her spear.

"You were acting so sure of yourself earlier, and now you're begging for forgiveness?" Celine sneered. "I wonder where that confidence of yours is coming from."

Earlier, William had unleashed his full power and fought with everything he had. Things were going well in the first few minutes, but the balance was broken when Celine executed an aggressive battlestyle that cut off William's limbs one after the other.

As the limbless boy fell on the ground, Celine kicked his body until his face was facing the floor. Seeing his defenseless state, Celine felt mischievous and began spanking Wiliam's bum with the spearhead's flat edge.

After having her fill, Celine stopped spanking the boy and allowed William to regrow his arms and legs.

"I have to admit that you've grown quite a bit in your absence these last two years," Celine said with praise. "Compared to that simpering ten-year-old boy that arrived on my doorstep, you've come a long way."

"Really, Master?" William asked with a smug expression on his face.

"Yes. But, it is still far from being able to beat the geniuses of the Elven Race. At most, you will only last a minute in a direct confrontation with one of them."

William frowned. He didn't want to believe that he wasn't a match for any of the geniuses of the Elven Race. With his current power, he was very confident that no one of the same age as him would be able to beat him in a one-on-one battle.

"You think a half-baked boy like you can fight against geniuses that have trained since they were young?" Celine asked in contempt "You think that having a crash course of a year in monk training, and seven months of Archer training, is enough for you to beat an Elven Prodigy? You're far too naive, boy.

"Elves inherit the blessing of the World Tree. When they reach the age of six, their physical abilities are already comparable to Silver Ranked fighters. Compared to the starting point of human children, the elves are much more superior."

William snorted, "If the elves were so strong, and superior then why did they have to ask for a mere human to help them to fight against the Demon Race? If they were so strong then why did they almost become slaves to the Demons? Master, your Elven Race is not as strong as you think it is."

William thought that Celine would be angered and lash out at him, so he was surprised when the latter only smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes," Celine replied. "Back then, the Elves had no choice but to lower their heads and dignity to ask others for help. Do you know the reason why?"

"I don't."

"Well then Little Will, allow me to tell you the reason why the Elven Race almost lost the war a year before you were born. The reason why they had to humble themselves during that time is because the World Tree was dying.

The proud and arrogant race had lost the blessing of the World Tree and their power had been greatly weakened. When the Demon Race got wind of this, they immediately launched their invasion to conquer the Silvermoon Continent while the elves were at their weakest."

William listened seriously to Celine's story because he wanted to know everything about the Silvermoon Continent. The place where his mother and father were currently staying.

"The funny thing about this whole event was that due to your father's sacrifice, the Dying World Tree became healthy again. I'm sure that the Elven Council didn't expect such a boon to happen when they invited your father to help them fight against the Demon Race.

"Naturally, they also didn't know your father was so good at conquering women that the Saint had fallen head over heels for him. Both were unexpected outcomes, but for the Elves, the world tree was more important than their Saint. There were already plans to replace your mother as the Guardian of the World Tree, but the tree rejected the Saint Candidates they presented.

Perhaps it was due to your father's lingering emotions, or perhaps the World Tree cares for his current Guardian. This was why, until this day, your Mother is still the Saint of the Elven Race despite the fact that she has given birth to a Half-Elf."

Celine sighed as she looked at the young boy in front of her. "After the World Tree recovered its vitality, the Elves of the Silvermoon Continent also recovered their strength and arrogance. William, you are the son of the Hero and the Saint who saved the Elven Race. However, many Ancient Families bear a grudge against your father for marrying their Saint."

Celine didn't continue because William understood her meaning. Since they couldn't do anything to his mother, they would shift their attention to him. This was why his beautiful Master told him that the Elven Council wouldn't give him time to grow up.

They were afraid that he would become just like his father. Someone with domineering strength that could threaten their existence.

Of course, the majority of elves treated William's father, Maxwell, as a hero and idolized him. The same could be said for his mother, Arwen. However, the elves who were greedy for power and position, hated them for their influence.

Even though the Aenarion Family was the current head of the council, there were still many elders who were dissatisfied with the current status quo.

"William, if you don't want to die, become stronger than your father," Celine said. "Surpass him and the Elven Race will have no choice but to listen to your demands. That is the way of this world. The strong will always have the last say in every matter. Pep talk is over, let's fight."

William was also not in the mood to talk after realizing that the Elven Council was a bunch of hypocrites. The only thing on his mind was to become strong. Strong enough to ensure that his fated reunion with his mother and father would not be a pipedream.

----

When William opened his eyes, he found himself alone on Celine's bed. The things that had happened inside his Sea of Consciousness were still fresh on his mind. The young boy sighed in his heart because his Master's training regimen was still as brutal as always.

He was about to get off the bed when he realized one important thing and that was… he couldn't move his body!

William had experienced a similar feeling when he was still in the Temple after clearing the Trial of Courage, so he didn't panic and handled the situation calmly.

'System, can you analyze my current condition?"

'How long before I can move my body?'

William sighed internally. Celine had already told him the purpose of his training. It was to develop his fighting style with his spear and to strengthen his soul against spiritual attacks. The beautiful elf reminded him that there were Spiritual Masters that could bypass the defenses of the body so they could just focus on attacking a person's soul.

Celine was training William to resist such attacks, and allow him a chance of survival if his Sea of Consciousness were invaded by spirits who wanted to corrupt his soul.

While the boy was thinking of ways to pass his time, the door of the room opened and Celine entered with a mischievous smile on her face.

She was carrying a few tools in her hand, and William could tell with a glance that his beautiful Master was up to no good.