Two months have passed since the piano incident and from what I heard, the music hunter will be arriving in another two, hopefully to throw money at me. More accurately, he would give me some financial support to aid in my writing and given the overwhelming wealth of hunters, even giving me a billion jenny wouldn’t be a problem. But it is unrealistic to get that much. From what I gathered, I should get at least a million per finished piece and the introduction to the top echelons of the music industry, which could earn me obscene wealth from the motion picture industry which was on a steep rise. And once I gain enough influence, I could even write my own movies and create my own movie company. The Hollywood of this world would be in my hands.

Enough about that. Today is a great day. The reason being the change of martial arts teacher. While the others weren’t certain, I was. The teacher was challenged and if he lost, he would be forced to step down. And from my observations, that was almost a certainty.

The previous martial arts instructor was strong, but a horrible teacher. Just because one is powerful, doesn’t mean that one is good at teaching and he was a clear proof of that. He was the type to only teach the incredibly outstanding, once in a generation prodigy. While I could fall into that category if I showed my skills, I didn’t want to. There was simply nothing to gain. The only thing I would be receiving would be subpar teaching and a lot of shouting.

From my experience with him, even a single hair out of place would result in him saying “Wrong”, without any constructive criticism. How can I learn from that? How can anyone learn from that?

To make it even worse, he only showed the movement ONCE and if you didn’t memorize it fully, you would just waste your time.

So yeah, zero respect for that man. The situation was so bad that there were no students at all. The school didn’t intervene, because they had a contract and the only way to bypass it was with a defeat of the current instructor.

A wandering martial artist, who apparently exists in this world, heard the news and was so enraged that some arrogant bastard dared to sully the name of martial arts. It was a great disrespect to anyone in the field, yet alone to someone who spent his entire life pursuing it. So the righteous fury was understandable.

The school took advantage of this opportunity and promoted it to all students. It was a good way to spread their horizons and show what is possible in this world. A good choice.

With this incentive, the two martial artists, or at least the challenger would take more time and show more skills, showcasing the art, while humiliating the other party. The strength gap was just so large.

There were only a few minutes left till the start. The previously empty field now had seating erected around a platform made of martial arts mats. Around a thousand people came, which was a lot. The seats were completely filled and many people, including me, sat close to the arena, trying to get the best viewing experience.

As the sun reached its zenith, the match started. The two martial artists both wore a gi, which was just a sleeveless shirt and shorts. They stood in opposite corners of the ring, standing in a fighting stance.

As tradition dictated, the two fighters bowed to each other, before introducing themselves and their motives.

“I, Bolin Otto, challenge you for the position of martial arts instructor.”

“I, Yazor Tunda, accept your challenge. Please enlighten me.”

A sound of a gong sounded, as the match began.

The confrontation began slowly, as two combatants approached each other. When the distance was short enough, Yazor attacked and a series of hits started. This was just warm up as it was nowhere near the level of a real fight between experts.

The speed continued to increase, but their moves were as refined as ever.

But at one point, the previous balance was broken. Yazor could no longer continue to raise the pace so casually, so the only remaining option was to begin using his legs to kick, in order to exert more strength.

But that was a mistake it seems, as Bolin easily caught the leg and swept Yazor to the ground, with a foot pressing down on his neck. It was clear that the youngster’s skills were far superior to the middle aged man.

But the match wasn’t over. Bolin retreated and let his opponent stand up…

But second later, he was in a tight hold again, unable to escape.

At this time Bolin started speaking. He started commentating on the fight in a way that provoked Yazor, while giving the students insight.

With time, more and more techniques were thrown at Bolin, who effortlessly countered them all. The gap between the two was clear.

The beaten man continued to attack, with sloppier and sloppier form. With time, he began to look like an enraged toddler attacking an adult. Needless to say, all students lost the little respect they had left.

“The worst mistake you can make in martial arts is losing composure. To be calm is to be at your peak. Anger only dulls the senses and creates openings. Like this:”

said Bolin, as he pressed a single finger on Yazors heart.

With that, the fight was over and the crowd erupted in cheers.

The middle aged man lying on the floor was left there, gazing at the sky with hollow eyes. Over 40 years of intense training was nothing before a child, not even in his 30s.

*

While all that was happening, I thought about the fight. Both parties seemed to be using aura. At least somewhat. Neither was an aura user, I was certain of that. Their aura was too stagnant. From my observations on Subject #017, the aura was supposed to be vigorous and lively. Yet this was not the case for them.

This control over aura seemed to come from the years of training. They were capable of enhancing their body to a certain extent. But while Yazor’s was smooth and refined, Bolin’s was rougher. This seemed to indicate that the pace of aura growth was too fast for the refining to keep up. And the only thing I know that could cause this situation was when one comes into contact with a significant quantity of nen.

And James was showing similar signs ever since he entered the school. Even with my control, some aura still radiated out and because of his talent his body reacted. If things go at the same speed, he should be able to sense it in a few years. That is, if everything stays the same and no unexpected scenarios happen.

I better have a chat about it with him. I want to be the first person he talks to when he senses it. So I just have to sprinkle in some hints that aren’t so obvious and when he finally senses the abnormality, all of them would connect and form a picture. A talent like him is rare and it is even rarer to have a friendship with such an individual.