Chapter 423 The Return Of The Outcast

"Hiyaa!"

Boom!

"Take this!"

Swoosh!

"Feel my power!"

Bam!

"Oorah!"

Boom!

In the training field of the manor that Danzel and the lasses had been staying in for over two years, the lasses were sparring with Basil. it had been two years since they indulged themselves fully in training, so they wanted to show their improvement off to Basil—this was their way to catch up with each other.

Clarissa had become a Middle Stage Yellow Core Knight in two years, which was absurd, thanks to Basil's training manual and the Body Forging Technique he gave her. Her Technique, while not flawless, was still more than the average Yellow Core Knight could do, so one might say she was talented.

Shirley had just become a Fourth Circle Mage a few weeks ago. She had managed to upgrade two of her Magic Circles into Grand Circles, so she was by no means an average Fourth Circle Mage despite being a new one. She instant cast every Spell she knew and they were all just as powerful.

Julia, Basil's junior whom he had come to consider as one of his sisters, was still a Third Circle Mage. Different from Shirley, she still had a fairly long way to become a Fourth Circle Mage; however, she had managed to turn all three of her Magic Circles into Grand Circles.

The two Mages were not that far apart in terms of power. Should the two have a go at each other, however, Shirley would be the one who came out alive.

Finishing his analysis, Basil stomped the ground once, shaking the entire training field. "I want to have some words and I want you to properly listen to what I am about to say."

The lasses stopped moving and then retracted their Qi and Mana as they approached Basil. The Pacifer looked at them in the eyes and said with bemusement, "Is there a need to shout whenever you are about to land a hit? I am sure I have taught you lot to keep as quiet and unpredictable as possible."

"Eh…that is…" being the one who shouted the most, Clarissa scratched her head in embarrassment.

"We watched tournaments often, Brother," Shirley explained. "I believe you have already noticed that the way fight is heavily influenced by Huaxia Martial Arts. The shouting comes out naturally."

Despite being Spellcasters, like Clarissa, Shirley and Julia didn't hesitate to engage Basil in close combat. They didn't fight like a Battle Mage, however; they fought like Daoists but with Magic.

Turning his head to face the audience seat, Basil asked, "Did you teach them?"

"Ha-Ha-Ha. I did. They aren't bad, are they?" answered Tian Long with vigour.

In Huaxia, meeting Tian Long alone was a very rare occasion. Being trained by him was close to being unlikely—one had a bigger chance of dying in one's sleep. One would unhesitatingly say the lasses were extremely lucky. Basil also appreciated Tian Long's initiative since the result could be seen clearly.

Still…

"You lot fight too much like tournament participants. You should know better that the tournaments you have watched are nothing more than entertainment. What you should expect are life-threatening battles. In a life-threatening situation, being loud tells your enemy your position and that means death."

Having seen too many tournaments and too many people fight that way, the lasses had come to normalize such a thing. They had been weirded out at first; however, after two years, they would be weirded out if people didn't fight without shouting.

Upon being reminded by Basil, they realized the absurdity of what they were doing. Strangely, however, despite knowing what harm it might cause them should they keep doing it, they were rather hesitant to stop doing it.

"I will argue otherwise, Basil. In a one-on-one battle, you are bound to reveal all the cards you have. Shouting, while letting your enemy know that you are going to attack, lets you release more power. It releases something powerful inside you—the desire to win."

"You shall not let your emotion dictate your emotion in a battle," Basil rebutted. Tian Long was about to open his mouth; however, Basil beat him to it. "…yet, I won't argue that emotion is a powerful thing. I just want to let these lasses know how important it is to maintain self-control."

"They are very composed in my opinion, Basil. You are using yourself as a standard, which is absurd, and that is why you want to argue they are not."

"I won't deny it."

Tian Long smiled and then stepped into the training field. The girls immediately knew what was about to happen, so they got out of the field.

Standing beside Mei Qi, they expected what was about to unfold meanwhile the latter dreaded what kind of chaos the two would cause. Danzel joined them with a cup of tea in his hand and a calm look on his face.

Diana also joined in not long after and she couldn't help giving Danzel a bewildered look at how calm he was. He was very different from the worrywart Danzel she knew two years ago.

Noticing Diana's gaze, Danzel said, "You came here because you knew about Basil's 'betrayal' late, didn't you, Mrs Diana? You thought Basil ran away here, so you raced here to make sure he was okay."

"Yes…?" Diana quirked her eyebrow, not knowing where the talk was going.

"As one of Basil's supporters, you are willing to be chased down like him and die on his side." Danzel paused, turned around and then smirked. "You view my lad highly; however, you seem to forget about something, Mrs Diana. My lad…Basil will never lose."

Boom!

As soon as the dialogue between Danzel and Diana ended, Basil's fist met Tian Long's. The air exploded, fluttering the clothes of the audience. Both of the fighters had agreed to fight solely with their physical strengths. They were assessing each other, gauging the limit of the other party.

Their fists were pushing against each other. Despite the lack of movement, one could see the intensity of the standoff.

Looking into each other's eyes, they challenged each other to break the standoff first. They knew they would eventually find out who was stronger by the end of the standoff, which was a very boring way to end the spar, so they prodded each other to be the "pioneer."

"Oh boy…" looking at the situation, Xiu Li muttered. Running toward the captivated audience, he immediately set up a Barrier as soon as he reached them. "Prepare yourself for impact!"

The audience were bewildered when they heard it; however, they soon understood the meaning.

Boom! Boom!

Fist met against fist. Basil and Tian Long were countering each other's punch with their punch. Their hands moved so fast that one even heard the explosion sound late. The shockwave that swept the entire place was enough to almost crack Xiu Li's Barrier, which was absurd.

Swoosh!

The punching abruptly stopped as the two fighters looked at each other; the ground below them had already shattered at this point. In the next moment, the two disappeared from the people's view. They couldn't see when the two reappeared; however, they could tell where the two reappeared, albeit late.

Kicks and punches were traded between Basil and Tian Long. Their movements were full of grace—vicious yet still beautiful to look at. None of them had managed to land a hit on each other yet they had developed bruises all over their limbs. The two had some parts lacking but they were roughly equal.

'This lad…just how good is his fighting technique? Also, what kind of Cultivation Technique he has to temper his body to such a degree?' Tian Long wondered.

'Hm…my combat technique is not as flawless as I want it to be,' Basil mused in slight dissatisfaction. 'Still, it is enough to hold my ground against Tian Long. The reason why he isn't losing yet is his absurdly sturdy body.'

The more time passed, the more bruises they got. Basil, at that point, had already grasped the essence of Tian Long's combat technique and could already direct Tian Long in the way he wanted, which was extremely terrifying for Tian Long.

Deciding to end the spar quickly, Tian Long went all out. He disappeared from Basil's view, prompting Basil to stop moving, allowing the audience to see him again.

The audience wondered if Tian Long had finally decided to use his Qi since they couldn't spot him anywhere. He was, however, hiding in a place that none but Basil could notice.

Appearing from the roof, Tian Long jumped at Basil in a very sneaky and swift manner. None of the audience realized his appearance until Basil did a circle kick, sending Tian Long skidding to the edge of the field.

"Woah…I am happy with the result but didn't expect it in the slightest," Danzel remarked calmly.

p No one but him commented on the result. The others were too focused on Tian Long as they wondered how he coped with his loss which, by the looks of it, he didn't expect.

Drip. Drip.

As blood fell to the ground from the fighters' injured knuckles, they looked at each other in the eyes and smirked. Both of them had expected themselves to come out triumphant; only one managed to realize his expectation but they still respected each other.

Curling their left hand, they cupped it with their right hand and bowed at each other. "That was a good fight," they said in unison.

When they righted themselves up, they both utilized their Qi. Rapidly, their injured knuckles healed along with their bruises. After a few seconds, all of the injuries they had gotten from their spar disappeared. They walked toward the audience while discussing their spar, looking like two normal people that hadn't just fought.

"If the people of this world suddenly lost their ability to use Mana and Qi, undoubtedly, you would be one of the top dogs…along with me, your uncle, of course. Ha-Ha-Ha!"

"I think Daoists will have a great advantage when that happens. They have tempered their body to the extreme, after all," Basil responded.

"Ah, indeed. Still, you know, some of us are just muscles. They have strong physiques but their fighting techniques are shit. They are no different from dogs with a knife: once you play it right, it is child's play to—what, my daughter?"

Tian Long stopped conversing with Basil when they were before Mei Qi. She was impatiently tapping the ground with her foot while keeping a stoic face.

"Isn't it time for you to cure Basil? Just to let you know, there is currently an Outbreak ongoing. Basil is our sole hope. If we wait any longer, my husband who is out there will possibly lose his life," Mei Qi said in one breath.

"Is that the case…?" Tian Long smirked but then quickly coughed nervously as he noticed his daughter's gaze. "Well, my dear daughter, your father is not wasting anyone's time. He is just waiting for his friend who can help him to call him back."

Before Mei Qi could ask when the said friend would call, a stork came down, holding a golden paper with its beak. The call had come.