Chapter 60 - Teamwork

Jason was just moving his hand as he tries to break free from the grand elder grip but whenever he tries to, the grip would be tightened. Gritting his teeth as he tries to endure the pain, Jason stomps his foot on the ground as he tries to attack the grand elder toe but fails in the process.

"What's the problem, I thought you were the one attacking so how come you are struggling now" asked the grand elder with a smile on his face. 

"You are really a pain in the ass old man, why don't you let go and see if you will be able to catch my fist again" replied Jason with an angry look.

"You must be joking if you think you will be able to beat me in a fight" said the grand elder with a light chuckle.

"Why don't you let go of my fist and see for yourself? '' replied Jason with a smile.

After the grand elder has let go of the fist, the first thing that Jason did was to create distance between them before rubbing his wrist that has gone sore from the grand elder's grip.

Looking at the grand elder who has a smile on his face, Jason couldn't help but feel annoyed as he turned to look at his surroundings in search of what he can use against the grand elder and that is when he saw Austin sitting on the rooftop with a hand in his cheek and that is when a cunning smile could be seen crawling into his face and the elder seeing this let out a sigh as he mutter.

"This kid, what must he be thinking for him to be smiling".

"Grand elder since I can't even lay a finger on your robe I guess that you are getting bored already so why not let Austin join in the fight to make it more interesting" said Jason with a smile.

When Austin heard Jason's suggestion, he was so determined that he quickly jumped down from the rooftop as he worked towards them while waiting for the grand elder to give his response.

"If you are thinking of teaming with Austin then I am afraid that I won't be able to pay you" replied the grand elder.

"Don't worry, I promise to pay you tomorrow since I don't have enough spirit stones with me" said Austin when he saw Jason hesitating.

"I see you willing want to have a spar with me" commented the grand elder with a chuckle.

"Now that the issue with my money is settled, are we good to ask?" asked Jason with a smile.

"Very well, besides I want to see what the both of you could do together as a team" replied the grand elder as he began to stroke his beard.

"Hope you are not going to return your realm to the way it used to be" asked Jason.

"It won't be exciting if I were to do that right" replied the grand elder before gesturing for them to come at him.

Being excited that he finally have a spar with the grand elder, Austin rush forward as he threw a powerful punch at the grand elder who lifted his hand to deflect the attack which wasn't easy as he was pushed back by the force behind the punch and before he could think of standing his ground, Jason was already standing behind him as he executes the iron fist technique but was not able to land a hit on the grand elder as he moves out of the way leaving Jason's attack to land on the ground.

"Dammit I can't believe he was able to escape from that move" said Jason in annoyance.

"Haha, looks like you are too slow, and yet you won't stop calling me old when I am even faster than you" said the grand elder in laughter.

"We'll see about that, Austin lend me a hand" replied Jason as run towards the grand elder.

Austin decided to attack from the side just as they did with the horned leopard but unfortunately for them, they are dealing with the grand elder. Before they could get close to where the grand elder was standing, he had already made his move as he went for Austin who seemed to be very troublesome. Throwing a fist at Austin who quickly rolled to the side but felt a stingy pain in his back.

'That's impossible, I was not hit so how come I was suddenly injured' thought Austin.

"It's a little trick he likes to play, so don't think too much about it now that you know he cheated '' said Jason as he knocked Austin out of his thoughts.

"In this world, the word cheating does not exist but the winner" said the grand elder with a chuckle.

"Whatever, you can defend your actions for all you care but the fact about you cheating still remains" replied Jason with a deep frown on his face.

"You are free to pull whatever trick you have hidden as long as it helps you in the fight then it is not considered cheating rather than a tactical plan to achieve your goals" said the grand elder.

"That is right Jason you can't complain it's cheating if you were dead" commented Austin.

"Looks like someone is understanding what I am trying to say here" said the grand elder with an approving smile on his face.

"I don't think this old fox is just playing with you but instead, he is trying to teach you guys something so you better pay close attention because you don't know what you might face later on" commented the bracelet.

"Hey Austin tries to avoid those tricks of his let's beat the hell out of him" said Jason as he ignored what the bracelet was trying to tell him.

"How are you supposed to dodge what you can't see or feel and only know it has happened after you have been hit" replied Austin with a twitched face.

"Then try to endure the pain if you can't dodge it" said Jason.

After saying those words, Jason was just about to say more but felt pain in his arm as blood could be seen flowing out slowly from the wound that was created from the invisible force.

"You sneaky old man can't you give us a warning or something before you attack" said Jason in anger to the grand elder who was laughing.

"Haha, this is hilarious. I thought you said he should defend himself against my trick so I thought that I should try it on you. Who would have thought you are not sensitive to your surroundings" reply the grand elder as he continued to laugh. 

"You are going to pay for this" yelled Jason in anger feeling humiliated by the grand elder.

Seeing Jason rushing in out of rage, Austin also follows suit but unlike Jason who went forward to face him head on, he went in a circle as he tries to strike when he let his guard down. The grand elder chuckled as he waved his hand at Jason who was rushing towards him and he was hit by the force from the wave but it did not stop him from going after him nor have a decrease in speed which surprised the grand elder as he was hoping to slow him don't. Looking at his face the grand elder knew straight away that he was really mad at his action.

Taking a deep breath, the grand elder clapped his hand together which created a shockwave that sent Jason flying into the wall of the alchemy room as he just remained still down there unable to move. Moving closer to check on his condition, Austin took hold of the situation as he charged at the grand elder but was quickly knocked into the wall.

"Do you think I have forgotten about you Austin" said the grand elder as look at Austin with a smile on his face. 

"I can't believe we are unable to beat you even when you limit your realm to our level" commented Austin in admiration.

"I have been through a lot and gained experience from many battles unlike you kids that are living in a peaceful age" said the grand elder before turning to Jason who still looked angry as he was stuck in the wall before saying.

"You need to learn to control your anger, else it will bring about your downfall, if it were to be a battle of life and death you would have been dead by now be it a weaker opponent".

"Oh now you want to lecture me when" said Jason with a frown on his face.

"You can call it whatever you want as long as it proves to help you understand something. I am happy" replied the grand elder with a laugh.

"There is a sense in what he is saying so don't get too angry at him" said the bracelet to Jason as he let out a light chuckle.