In just a few minutes, a strand of Ki floated out from near his stomach, travelling upwards towards his chest.

To the side, Zhu stared at Zack, his senses focusing on the strand of Ki floating through Zack’s body. He nodded, thinking, ‘This brat isn’t half-bad. It’s rather rare for someone to get a hold of a strand of Ki this fast and control it to flow. He must’ve practised this many times.’

With rapt attention, Zhu kept observing the strand of Ki flowing towards the boy’s chest. In a matter of a few minutes, it reached the location of the heart, only to settle there and sit to dissipate.

Zhu’s brows creased. A frown surfaced on his face as he heightened his senses, taking another look around. Yet, even after a while, the strand of Ki didn’t move out as intended. Instead, it stayed as still as a rock, crumbling apart as the time passed.

Thinking of something, Zhu said, “Zack, let that strand go. Don’t manipulate it.”

Heeding the order, Zack stopped influencing the strand of Ki, letting it do as it pleased. The next instant, his expression sank.

The rate at which the strand dissipated grew, as if turning from a leaking bucket to a bucket lacking a bottom. In the blink of an eye, the strand disappeared as if it had never existed.

Disappointed, Zack opened his eyes to see Zhu rubbing his chin in thought.

He muttered, “This is odd. But you shouldn’t worry. People usually awaken Ki by the ages of thirteen to fifteen. It’s nothing to be stressed about.”

Zack sighed before asking, “Teacher, what should I do to quicken this process?”

Pondering over, Zhu replied, “There is a way, but it’s… a bit painful. I don’t mind following through if you agree to—”

Without a moment’s notice, Zack replied, “Teacher, I agree. If anything happens, I won’t blame you. This is my decision. Please help me.”

Looking at the boy before him, Zhu couldn’t help but ask, “Kid, is taking revenge really that important?”

“Did Uncle tell you about it? How much?” Zack asked, furrowing his brows.

Scratching his head, Zhu replied, “Not a lot, actually. He only told me that you’re only doing this to take revenge against someone strong. And when I tried to ask for more details, be it him or Lady Aria, both of them refused to give details. They only said that they support you and that’s all I need to know. All I can say is that the person is far stronger than you. Am I right?”

Zack nodded, “That person… I don’t know how strong he is, exactly. Uncle just told me that he is really strong. But all I know is I must kill him. He took away my family, leaving me half dead. This isn’t something that I can forget. No matter how strong he is, I must do this.”

Zhu shrugged. “Your people of Emriticia, and the Arcyllia mainland in general, are just too good at killing each other. Everytime I check, they’re fighting amongst themselves.”

Looking confused, Zack asked, “I know that Emriticia was the nation where I came from. But what’s Arcyllia?”

Zhu replied, “It’s the continent you came from, Arcyllia mainland. Well, knowing too much won’t be of any use to you, and it’ll take me too long to explain. What more, I don’t think I’ll do a good job at it. So why not just get to practise?”

Zack’s eyes shone with excitement as he asked, “Is it about that training method to let me master Ki Arts faster?”

Zhu smiled. ‘Did this kid really forget about all we were talking about at the mention of this? What a simple fellow. Only if grown-ups like us were as simple. World would be a much better place.’

He said, “Before we start, I must confirm a few things first. First, are you really sure about this? It will hurt a lot, and I’m not joking about that.”

With a voice full of conviction, Zack replied, “If it strengthens me, doesn’t matter. I was in a terrible state in the past. Compared to it, how worse would it get?”

Zhu held back a laugh as he asked, “Would you curse me for what it is?”

“Not at all. I won’t.” Zack replied without a thought.

Putting on a grim look, Zhu asked, “Say, if in the future you wanted to quit this, should I listen to you?”

Looking at the grim-faced Zhu, Zack hesitated for a moment before mustering up his courage as he shouted, “If I ask to stop, don’t listen to me! No matter what!”

Zhu raised his chin in acknowledgement before rolling up his sleeves.

Zack’s expression turned odd at the sudden change before a bad feeling crept up his spine. Before he could react, a sharp pain filled his shoulder, causing him to issue a miserable scream.

He looked at the hand that struck him in disbelief. But before he could reply, a kick to his side sent him tumbling, with the text thing he felt being picked up before a hand struck him in his other shoulder, rendering him shuddering in pain.

One blow after another struck him all over his body. Bumps formed all over his skin. He looked at his attacker in horror, thinking, ‘Why did Teacher beat me up? Did I say something—Ah! It hurts! Stop it!’

The beating continued for over half an hour, after which Zhu wiped his forehead, looking pleased with himself. On the other hand, wrapping his head in his arms, Zack rolled around on the ground. Wherever the ground touched the bumps on his body, a bitter pain would follow, causing him to clench his teeth as he did his best to endure. Just as the beating ended, an uncanny sense of relief filled him.

Before he could mutter a word, a kick from his behind made his body stiffen. Zhu’s voice rang through his ears, “Little brat, you better not curse me or I’ll beat you with a cane next time. Also, get up early tomorrow morning. We have to make your formal introductions.”

Zack turned to glare at the leaving Zhu. However, when the latter turned back, the former turned his gaze away, not daring to even make a sound.

After Zhu left, Zack got up. Looking down at his hands, he saw his skin swelling up, making his arm look thrice its original width. Walking over to the desk, he pulled out the chair before sitting down, only to feel a hot sensation in his buttocks which forced him to leave his seat.

His body shuddered with anger as he thought, ‘I worked so hard all to be beaten like this? At least tell me why you hit me?!’

In the end, he sighed and sat back down. However, the next instant, he shot back up, rubbing his behind.

Grabbing the sheets on the desk, he spread them on the floor before laying down, finding a position which caused him the least pain. Unable to do anything, he closed his eyes to meditate.

However, a few moments later, his breath turned rhythmic as he wandered off to the land of dreams.