19 Leonard vs Dean

Accepting the challenge Leonard led Dean to a hidden place.

The hidden place was surrounded by healthy oak trees with a desolate feeling. Completely silent there was no other people here during the night.

Dean didn't mind the surroundings as long as there was no one to interrupt this battle. Given the obstacles such as trees in the forest territory gave Dean an advantage to showcase his scheming he's learnt within these 4 years.

There was one bargaining chip that gave reason for Dean to participate in this duel.

Leonard's talent

His pure potential on cultivation enabled him to allow himself to enter the Core Refiner stage.

Personality wise, he would be a great ally. His indifferent nature that only has the desire to pursue cultivation was one Dean respected.

Only loyal to the path of cultivation and family was what Dean noticed from Leonard.

Everything else was nothing and only when it was considered necessary to deem it important would Leonard take interest in anything.

In this case it was Dean.

With Leonard's background, Dean felt that making him into an ally would be a pure gold mine.

When ferocious beasts gain intelligence they are able to contain Qi and create a core.

This is known as a Beast Core

A cultivator may use this as a supplement to increase their cultivation.

After 4 years, Dean has collected hundreds of Beast Cores when he ventured into the wilderness and stored them into his blue orb.

If Leonard was trustworthy then Dean could potentially sell them to him in secret.

This was better than selling it to random merchants or schoolmates.

His schoolmates may take advantage of his 'weak cultivation' and could lead to people questioning how he managed to get all these Beast Cores.

Random merchants would only look for one thing; Profit.

If there was someone willing to pay the random merchants for Dean's information then his life would instantly be in danger.

These people may torture Dean just for the information of where he got those Beast Cores and if they felt he was lying then they would kill without hesitation.

Compared to Leonard who had a stoic and solemn attitude, Dean could clearly see which was more trustworthy.

Dean was ready to ask when the battle was going to begin but Leonard already struck.

A bolt was sent flying towards Dean's head after he tilted it to the side. Looking back to a tree behind him there was a small metallic blade embedded into the bark.

Dean looked back to Leonard to know that he was serious.

Leonard still contained a clam aura but behind that was a cold blood-thirsty hint of maliciousness. In his hand was a longsword that gleamed a sharp Qi that pressured Dean.

But the one thing that Dean noticed was his cultivation. It was a very weak sense and only Dean could sense it.

Nascent Soul 2

The exact same cultivation level as Dean.

If Dean continued to act gullible and weak then his death would be expected. There were two options.

Leonard didn't know that Dean was lying about his cultivation. This could lead to a dead man that the school would immediately dispose of.

Or Leonard knew that Dean was hiding his cultivation. This would make sense as the quality of that small blade was clearly poor.

It was made of common metals such as iron, probably to test Dean's reaction but the longsword in his hand seemed to contain a hint of a precious crimson metal.

Dean didn't have time to analyze what the exact material was but instead picked up a nearby stick.

Knowing that Leonard was hiding tricks up his sleeve, Dean responded by doing the same. Not wanting to show his hand he could only borrow a stick from the ground.

It was dark during the night so the exact pigment of the stick was unknown but Dean thought for a second that it was red however shook his head.

This may have been because he was slowly embodying the stick with Battle Intent.

It would act as a strong metal and instead of poisoning a practitioner.

Once the Battle Intent was able to settle within a body would it be considered deadly however there is a short time frame that allows a person to get rid of the Battle Intent.

The young man that Dean had sparred against couldn't have done that as he was passed out. If he used it against a random beast they would have to sit relax and remove the toxic aura before being killed by Dean

Although Battle Intent was effective there was an obvious weakness.

Dean would have to physically touch the opponent.

Then there were other factors including: Cultivation, age, health, duration of touch, etc

Dueling each other with their blades there was bound to be injuries.

Leonard underestimated Dean's makeshift sword as he saw it as a provocation which in turned was traded for a cut along the shoulder.

The wound spewed blood and made Leonard question what was happening.

With his high cultivation level it's already unusual for him to bleed this long. He should've healed this wound in seconds yet why does it bleed?

Checking his wound he realized that there was a type of aura surrounding the wound stopping him from healing.

Curing it with his own Qi he realized it wasn't too fearful.

The only problem was that during the time Leonard cared for his wound Dean had ran.

Dean escaped from the boring battle and wanted to see what else Leonard had hidden.

His swordsmanship was superb and could be said to have developed itself into one of a kind as Dean never read or even saw anything that could resemble that might.

If that sword fight continued for too long then Dean could have fallen into the tempo of Leonard. Leonard taking control of the battle meant that Dean would have few chances to escape from his grasp and not lose the battle.

Chuckling at his luck Dean ran into a tree.

Without a doubt the tree was severed and turned into two separate entities.

A stump and a log.

Collecting the branches enabled Dean to have a bundle of swords in his arsenal while the bark could be used like darts that could be sent flying towards Leonard.

The oddity of this tree was the sap that drenched Dean.

It had a sticky texture but the metallic accent was very familiar to Dean yet he couldn't recall what it exactly smelt like that.

The dim lighting originating from the stars and the moon made tracking Dean difficult but Leonard managed to see Dean after the loud ruckus.

Seeing Dean covered by a mysterious liquid, led Leonard to the idea that Dean may have been injured by the tree that could have possibly came from very old wounds.

This was a well thought out prediction by Leonard as it would make sense with Dean covered with scars that there would be some other hidden injuries that could not be seen.

Charging towards Dean, Leonard sent small marble sized water droplets towards Dean.

'He already knows Magic?'

Dean instinctively blocked the water bullets with a branch and threw his own leaves to block Leonard's sight.

Slicing through the obstruction without a sweat Leonard was greeted with a new sight. Dean had jumped through the air and using a long branch he smashed it towards the left cheek of Leonard.

The body remained still until Dean lunged himself to strike Leonard's abdomen with his legs. Leonard could only accept his fate as he fell flat onto the ground with a grunt.

Dean sat down and began to relax.

Leonard saw this and accepted his defeat

"You lied about your cultivation!"

"So did you. How the hell did you learn about Magic so fast?"

"That I-"

Their battle had ended and no grudge was formed but rather admiration.

Both opponents did not have the will to kill the other but rather learn techniques.

It was unfortunate as shrubs shaking and leaves crackling could be heard in the distance that interrupted their delightful conversation.

Normally a teacher would warn the students messing around at night however with the damage done a security guard should act more cautious.

A tree had been destroyed abruptly making the security guards think that there must be a powerful foe.

Why would they warn an enemy that could just run away.

Leonard sighed at his missed chance for learning and teaching

"Take this"

Throwing a jar filled with pills, Dean caught it with one hand

"What is it?"

"It's some pills I made. Enjoy."

Swallowing a pill, Leonard waved his hand in a playful manner before escaping out of the forest.

Hearing the rustling noise coming closer towards Dean he decided to also run away before he gets caught up in a mess.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

Waving his hand out of courtesy, Dean ran without turning back.

Leonard now wants to battle.