The Real Truth of The Training

As two months passed, we more focused on the training side of combat. I had to tell the life-changing truth of the training itself to Yan, as the time was right...

After, I complete this 'training' session with Yan, of course.

...

As moonlight from the another Crescent Moon illuminated the river, the forest, and the earth, a series of torquoise and brown blurs passed away.

BANG BANG BANG!

Smell of metal and gunpowder mixed in the smell of the natural forest, and the sounds of thundercracks filled the forest with fear to the animals dwelling near in the forest to run away.

Only leaving a not-so-human, a real human, and a spirit to trash the whole forest to bits.

...

"FUCK,YYYYYYYOOOOOOOUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!" Yan cried in defiance as he shot multiple bullets of Dou-Qi at me with his revolver. I narrowed his eyes and deflected them all with the blunt side of the sword with great accuracy and ease.

Yan cursed himself and dashed/hopped to tree to tree in quick speeds as I was in hot-pursuit.

"Damnit!" Yan cried out in damnation, until he pulled out some smoke bombs (that I made, when did he stole them?) and threw them near a tree and enveloped the whole area in black thick smoke.

I quickened my pace and dashed through the smoke with the Force.

"Resistence is futile." I spoke out in a monotone and pulled his body with the Force as I willed to crush his windpipes-

And then I saw a blur of Yan aiming an elbow strike to my gut underneath. Shit! He used the momentum of my Force Pull as an advantage to increasing the speeds of the Octadic Smash to become more faster!

"Fuck- CRAK CAAARRRGHHH!" As I tried to block the attack, but I was too late.

Painfully enormous amounts of force struck me at my gut and forced me to puke red blood out of my mouth as the force sent me flying in high speeds.

"OCTADIC, SMASH!" Yan cried out loudly as he howled as he flung my body in lethal speeds to a tree. Body met bark, as the body went smashing through the tree.

The tree fell down on my body as Yan ran back away from me in retreat. I grit my teeth, ignoring the stench of iron and blood from my nose and willed the tree to be pushed away from me.

I was almost surprised at the fact that Yan had tried so hard to catch me off-guard when he did it successfully, but I knew he ran away because he couldn't face me head-on, as it was suicide to do so.

"Hoh? Nice try, Yan. You did a very good job landing a strike on me..." I smirked as I wiped the blood off my mouth. The broken ribs inside my body already fixed themselves of my Dou-Qi.

Octadic Smash was a powerful technique that could smash huge boulders easily in great speeds. If hadn't blocked it with my own Dou-Qi at first, I would've been dead in pieces.

However, one must have a strong body to endure the Octadic Smash, or they would break their arms as a result. So far, the training only allows Yan to do it once. And that strike was his closest chance of defeating me.

"But what did I tell you earlier?... It doesn't matter..." I grinned darkly as the blade gleamed from the moonlight, as it thristed for blood.

...

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Xiao Yan cursed himself as he ran for his life as he couldn't before. Sweat covered his whole entire body as he breathed rapidly. He was also cautious and expected at any second, Mark would ALWAYS be there.

His instincts suddenly told him to block a strike from a monster, NOW.

CRACCKKKKLLLICCC!!

Cold steel met defensive as Mark suddenly and expectedly came out of knowhere to struck Yan. Like an ancient war beast meant for exterminating warriors, Yan did not want to loosen his grip on his sword as he was overpowered from the strength that Mark squeezed him with fear as he was on the top, ready to cut down his head in half.

It was suffocating, exactly the same emotions and feelings of despair he felt when Mark choked him to death, but it was far WORSE.

It didn't help the fact that Mark's face showed a cold, dark mask devoid of any emotion terrified him, but it just only made his sword grip tighter. Gritting his teeth, he let his sword be pushed from the superior strength of what Mark gave and let Mark's sword be swung downwards.

He quickly rolled himself out of the powerlock and immediately positioned himself in guarding pose with his sword pointing downwards. Mark's sword swung at his own harshly and powerfully, as Yan was forced to stepped back from the force Mark gave.

Yan took another big step back, and he repositioned himself to defense by using Form III of Lightsaber Combat, Soresu, with the sword in front and center at Mark, who began attacking rapidly by swinging his sword in random directions by using Form V of Lightsaber Combat, Djem So.

[AN: I may have used a wiki about Star Wars. But... You guys don't care about this, as you already read that this is a 'fan' fiction...]

All of them that Yan anticipated were barely blocked by using Soresu, because of the fact that he had training lightsaber forms for at least a few months, but they prevented major injures to himself, however, he knew it was inevitable to have cuts and multiple minor wounds on his body.

Mark continued to strike a barrage of powerful swings and slashes in random directions, each strike becoming more stronger than the past strike. Yan had no time to counter-attack the strikes as they would also be quicker and stronger as every second passed.

Instead, Yan continued to use Soresu on the defensive side in order to tire the opponent and give a more chance of succeeding a strike instead. As he focused on blocking and defending strikes that came to Mark.

As time went passed, Yan unexpectedly noticed Mark's strikes were getting... Weaker. Mark was also breathing heavily as if he was exhausted and very injured from the Octadic Smash. There. Yan had his chance and he took it.

He parried a weak strike from Mark, sending his own sword back away, forcing an opening for Yan to successfully counter-attack. Mark widened his eyes in surprise as he noticed an opening.

'NOW!' He swung downwards with his sword at Mark's sides with all his might and strength. Yan definitely knew that it would hit. It will HIT.

So why was Mark, who was in a disadvantage, smirking?...

"Gotcha." Mark spoke, who twisted his own body to turn his own blade that was already blocking his back to Yan's sword. The sword clanged and Mark let go his left hand, leaving his right hand to block Yan's blade.

And Mark quickly pushed forward, causing the metals to slide and crackle, and struck a swift elbow strike on Yan's jaw. Yan's head fell backwards as he lost his momentum and loosened his two-handed grip on his sword.

With unexpected great strength, Mark twisted Yan's sword with his own sword by using his right hand to reposition in front of him, and pushing Yan's sword like an arc. Yan's sword twisted out from his two hands, as Mark pointed his sword downwards at the other side.

While Yan's sword out of his grip and in the air, Mark used this opportunity to kick away Yan's sword away from the battle, decreasing Yan's chances to win. Yan held a hand on his jaw in pain and later endured it.

Yan did not lose his composure as his sword was out of his reach. He maintained a safe distance between Mark as he waited for him to act. Eventually, Mark swung his sword at Yan's head, who dodged it and let the sword slice clean through the nearest tree like it was a hot knife going through butter.

Yan walked a couple of steps back of the opposite direction in the forest. Mark casually spun his sword around with one hand like it was a common thing to him and advanced menacingly to Yan.

Yan narrowed his eyes in irritation and pulled out his revolver and aimed at Mark. Mark stopped at his steps.

BANG BANG BANG!

Yan fired at Mark who twirled his sword repeatedly in a circle and blocked all the bullets that came to his face. As he fired, Yan searched his pockets and grabbed ahold something that would change the tides of the battle.

It was another smoke bomb.

"Oooumph!" Mark howled out in surprise as his vision was blocked from the black thick smoke bomb. Yan had directly nailed the smoke bomb at Mark's face with some luck.

"YAAAAAAAARRRGHH!!!!!" Using this chance, Yan cried out his war-chant(?) and charged to body tackle at Mark's body through the smoke.

Only to be cleared out of the smoke from the other side, hitting nothing in general. He widened his eyes turned his head around the area of Mark. He was nowhere in sight.

"Huh?" He spoke out in surprise. Where was Mark?! He hit the damn smoke bomb directly at Mark's face and he disappeared! Where was he-

"Gone..." He felt the Deagle's barrel point at the back of his head.

...

"And you're dead. Seriously, you made so many fucking mistakes that would kill you in seconds. The smoke bomb part was... decent. You surprised me when you took my smoke bombs without me noticing. Overall, you're shit." I explained and clicked the hammer of my Deagle, making Yan flinch in fear.

"Letme tell ya something. Instead of throwing multiple smoke balls, why not throw one at my face? That increases your chances of lasting longer in this training. More smoke balls, more resources for another plan if your last plan fails. Resource Efficiency. I'll give you credit on using the momentum of the Force Pull to increase your attack power." I complimented Yan as I casually pointed a gun to his head.

"Overall... You just need some more training." I replied in a monotone, and pulled the trigger on the Deagle to fire.

CLICK.

Yan breathed out a long, tired, sigh of surprise and shock. I pulled away my Deagle as it fired nothing and holstered it under my blazer. Yan stared at me incredulously as I would actually kill him.

I whacked the top of Yan's head. "OW!" I narrowed my eyes in seriousness.

"But you assumed that I would be weakened in that swordfight. Why? I was far superior to you, and you arrogantly thought that I was going to be taking damage from the Octadic Smash, right? You are wrong. Very deadly wrong." I warned Yan seriously. Yan glared at me as he rubbed the part where I hit him.

"Why was I-" "Shut up. You assumed that I would be weakened from the Octadic Smash, and give you a fair chance of defeating in a swordfight. But I tricked you as if I WAS weakened. But I wasn't. You assumed that because you arrogantly and stupidly thought this was your winning chance. That's your error. You fall into deception, and that was your downfall." I explained and Yan raised an eyebrow.

"Lesson. Always assume everything. Learn that a person's status of hiding their cards. Poker faces are used to hide their status and are used for deception. You might bluff or think your way out when fighting a stronger opponent than you. Do not underestimate them, nor do you overestimate them. Always find their level of skills and power first, then plan an attack." I explained to Yan.

"Right... I forgot you're totally stronger than me. And I mean WAY stronger." Yan groaned as got up. I crossed my arms.

"Though, I don't blame you for thinking you'd have a winning chance. You've always lost in every training sessions, and that makes you furious at not winning. Not winning means not trying hard enough. Not trying hard enough means being weak and not close to being stronger. But... I can tell you that you're trying very hard on your training. You've improved. But not in the stage you can beat me." I explained and Yan looked at me in surprise and gratefulness as his doubts and feelings were vanished.

"Though, here's a fact you should always remember: You cannot beat me for any circumstances. You literally cannot. Even you become a god, you just can't. Remember that you can't beat me, kay?" I pointed a finger at Yan, who nodded.

'Not because of any Plot Armor, I'm just THAT powerful.' I thought amusedly as I remembered I couldn't have Plot Armor to begin with.

"Hey Master, how long do I hit Dou-Qi 7th Level?..." Yan asked curiously to Lao. Lao manifested in front of us, hands behind his back.

"Mark's style of training caused your training speed to exceed my expectations, Xiao Yan Zi. Because of the fact your Dou-Qi was supressed, the rebound makes your Dou-Qi rate to increase. You might reach Dou-Qi 7th Level in two months, but you've already reached it yesterday!" Lao explained. Yan got up in shock and excitement of the fact he's reached the 7th rank already.

"Already?! Fucking YEAH!" Yan exclaimed in satisfaction as he hit the 7th rank already. I deadpanned.

"Don't get too carried away, Yan. Remember what you told me earlier..." I asked to Yan who blinked.

"Oh yeah. Master, my limitations of Octadic Smash is a BIG problem. On top of that, I know only two techniques..." He explained as his techniques were Vacuum Palm (we soon corrected the name as we misread the Skill as Vaccum Punch, not Vacuum Punch) and Octadic Smash.

"Vacuum Palm." Yan held a hand out to the direction of his training sword and blasted out a beam of vacuum from his palms. He pulled his training sword to his palms with some struggle and difficulty and set it next to him.

He later breathed again and pulled a small rock with Vacuum Palm. He again blasted out a beam of vacuum from his palms, but this time, it was different.

With a cry, his palms shot out a opposing force of vacuum that was pushing and pulling the rock, later soon the rock was squeezed from the force and later shattered and exploded when it got closer to Yan's palm.

Lao widened his eyes in surprise. "A Counter Push?! Not bad, kid! To actually come up with this kind of method to strengthen your Vacuum Palm... Makes me wonder where you got the inspiration from..." Lao smirked as Yan totally copied the idea of Force Push and Pull.

Yan smirked in response as he was caught red-handed. Too much Star Wars-ness, I regret showing it.

His face later masked a tone of seriousness. "But, I just need to ask to you master, do you know any technique that would combo with Vacuum Palm?" Yan asked to Lao. Lao hum-ed as he put a hand on his chin in thought.

"Well... I do remember getting something like that long ago when someone asked me to make an elixir..." Lao put a finger on his forehead in thought.

"It's been so long, I wouldn't have remembered if you hadn't reminded me today... Ok, let me find it!" Lao closed his eyes and searched for any techniques inside his mind that might combo with Vacuum Palm.

Lao suddenly snapped his eyes open. "Found it. Xuan Class Lower Level, a technique is able to create strong wind pressure: Fire Blowing Palm!" Lao pointed a finger at Yan's head and uploaded the Skill inside.

Yan groaned and put a hand on his head as the process was finished. He huffed and focused energy onto his palm and pushed a pressurised wind beam out to his palms at a nearby tree.

I walked towards the tree for a closer look, seeing that the tree had scorch marks on the bark. I guessed that the technique made the user to shot out a beam of pressured wind at the opponent. Only that the wind travelled to a speed so fast that it caught on fire from the friction of the wind.

You know in Sci-Fi movies where a spaceship crash-lands to a planet? The spaceship travels so fast to the atmosphere, it goes to a temperature where the spaceship creates fire from the friction between the atmosphere and the spaceship.

Something like that, I'm not a science teacher.

"Awesome technique. But I've got to tell you something, Yan." I stared at the huffing tired MC of the cultivation novel.

"All of this... This hellish training that you've suffered, endured, and pained was just a... Warm up for the true basics." I confessed, and Yan looked like his pet dog was shot in front of him.

"A-all of this... Is just a-a warmup?...." Yan stuttered in shock. I nodded.

"Then... All of the training, the suffering, the hard-work, and the endurance... Was just a warmup?!" Yan shouted. He later fell down on the grass in shock.

"If this was warmup, I don't think I'll handle another training..." Yan died.

I deadpanned.

I stepped back a little, away from Yan's dead body. I ran and jumped at Yan's lying body.

"WAKEUPBITCH! PEOPLE'S ELBOW!" I slammed an elbow at Yan's groin.

...

Sooner or later, Yan was glaring murderously as he crossed his arms. His nuts were fixed of his rapid regeneration of his Dou-Qi, but it gave him a painful experienece.

"So why are we here again?" Yan asked as he continued to cross his arms in displeasure. I huffed.

"We're researching on the techniques. I theorised that Vacuum Palm and Fire Blowing Palm can actually help you a lot." I explained and Yan raised an eyebrow.

"See, pull that log in front of you." I pointed a far away log in front of Yan. There were a stack of logs standing in front of us in the forest. Yan thrusted a hand forward pulled the log in front of him.

"Now what?" He replied, not knowing the effects of using Vacuum Palm. I rolled my eyes.

"You've closed the gap between your opponent. You can use this when your opponent runs away and get closer to strike melee attacks." I explained, and Yan aww-ed in realisation.

"Sort of like this." I deattached the proto-saber on my belt and activated it, emitting a raw power of green plasma beam of death, and force pulled the log in front of me and cut it clean in half as it went behind me.

"Oh..." Yan replied in awe, as he forgot the displeasure of the elbow incident. I deactivated the proto-saber and sheathed my training sword.

"Or like this." I threw the training sword at the far away log, cutting it an inch close, then back to me using the Force Pull like a boomerang at my hand. Yan dropped his jaw slightly at the action.

"There's many ways of using Vacuum Palm. These are just the examples you have to find." I suggested to Yan, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, I didn't know... Maybe I should also think harder, not just work harder..." Yan replied as he eyed the two pieces of logs lying around the ground.

"Then... what's for Push?" He asked as he put a hand on his chin in thought. I motioned Yan to follow me as I walked to the river. Suddenly, I ran in speeds that a normal human couldn't achieve.

Yan flinched in surprise, but quickly took in the pace. No matter whatever Yan was using to get ahead of me, he didn't overcome my speeds.

I waited until Yan came up, huffing for breath as he couldn't catch up to my speeds. "How... are you so fast..." He rested his arms on his knees, gasping for air.

"I used Force Push. Force Push can also increase your speed by using your palms as rockets while pushing." I explained as he turned his face to me.

"It can also shove enemies far away, or to push them up-close, and maybe disarm them." I continued as I pointed the standing logs on the edge of the waterfall. Yan stared at me.

"You want me to push them off the ledge?" I nodded in agreement. He refocused his concentration and pushed a blast of strong wind at the logs, sending them down to the ledge.

"There's many ways you can use Push and Pull, and you're using the rest of one month to find them." I said and Yan nodded in agreement.

I clapped my hands in statement. "Alright, let's get working, people!"

"Wait, why am I trying to find them in the first place? Can't you just teach me?" Yan suddenly asked in realisation. I sighed.

"That's because you have to find them by yourself. I can't teach you how to do Jedi and Sith basics on Force Push and Pull because you're not force-sensitive. You know your body more than I do, and it'll be more easier to train." I explained. Yan narrowed his eyes.

"Bull. You're saying that because you're lazy." Yan answered. I put a finger, but no words came out.

"Yeah, you're right." I replied casually and sat on a rock. Yan groaned.

...

The Age Ceremony finally came up, as Yan's hellish training paid off. Groups of people from the Xiao Sect came and judged their rank on the testing station.

"Dou-Qi 5th Rank, Fail!" "Dou-Qi 7th Rank, Pass!" Called out as multiple members tested their ranks.

From far away, where the Head Elders and unexpectedly Ya Fei spectated when Xiao Zhan searched the area of his son.

'It's finally the coming of the Age Ceremony. Yan-Er, can you really pass this stage?...' The Patriarch thought in concern, as he continued to search for Xiao Yan.

Away from the group of people who were cheering to their members, along sat Xun-Er and Xiao Yan, waiting for their turns in testing.

"I wonder what kind of attitude the family members will have towards Xiao Yan Ge-Ge today?" Xun-Er wondered and asked to Yan, who smiled.

"My two brothers left after the coming of the Age Ceremony. Within the family clan, the only people I truly recognise are only my father and Xun-Er!" Yan stated as he rubbed Xun-Er's head with care.

"I only recognised you, Ge-Ge!" She replied back.

From far away, Xiao Ning grit his teeth in anger and jealousy. 'Xiao Yan, we'll see if you dare to be with Xun-Er after today!' He vowed to shame Xiao Yan.

"Xiao Mei! Dou-Qi 8th Rank, High Class, Pass!" Yan noticed his cousin hopping out from the testing stage.

"Hmph." She huffed and walked passed away from Xiao Yan arrogantly. Yan frowned slightly and then smirked.

"Being so arrogant when she trained for one year and only reaching the 8th Stage..." He replied.

"Only the 8th Stage? You talk big!" Yan blinked as he heard a loud voice refering to him. He turned to see Xiao Yu, the elder sister of Xiao Ning standing in front of him boastfully in elegant clothes suited for an elite academy.

"Oh~ Xiao Yu Biao-Jie, aren't you supposed to be training at the Jia Nan Academy?" Yan asked in half-curiousness and half-challenging. She huffed.

"The coming of the Age Ceremony is such a big event, and naturally I'll come back! I also wanted to personality see how the ex-genius would be kicked out of the family!" She replied with visible smugness.

She wanted to taunt at her nephew for any reaction of defiance, as she knew her nephew was arrogant and challenging, and seeing her nephew break down like a pathetic trash he was, Xiao Yu, would take pleasure seeing it.

Xiao Yan blinked in surprise. Xiao Yu froze as she checked her nephew's reaction. He indeed blink. No whitty comebacks, no arrogant defiances, he just blinked.

"Okay?... Then you'll be probably be disappointed..." He shrugged casually. Xiao Yu was shocked beyond her core. Her arrogant and challenging nephew did not reply defiant to any of her taunts. She knew Xiao Yan had changed.

In Yan's mind, he thought about the uselessness of arrogance on what Mark had taught him in earlier training. Arrogance was simply stupid, as it effected yourself and others. He didn't make any biting comments to his cousin, as it was... kind of stupid.

#Flashback Starts#

Xiao Yan huffed in the ground as he laid in pain. Mark just stood next to him, disappointed at the rate of training he's done.

He grit his teeth at the look Mark gave him. It was similar to the stares that his own family members gave him before 3 years.

He gripped in frustration on the handle of the training sword as he got up hesistently. Mark sighed.

"Again." With a grunt, Yan held the sword in front of him.

"1." Mark struck in the sides, and Yan barely blocked it. Mark's frown appeared.

"2." Mark swung at the top, in which Yan hesistently blocked it. Mark's frown deepened. Why was it bothering to him?!

"3." Mark later struck a sweeping slash on Yan's legs in which he barely blocked it. Mark scowled. Now why was he scowling?!

"What's the matter? Getting too slow?" Yan later smirked in arrogance as he taunted Mark as he didn't gave a damn about Mark.

"No, you're just shit. The training's completely over. We're done." Mark suddenly stated and dropped the training sword, leaving a shocked Yan.

"What do you mean 'we're done'?! Aren't you supposed to help me?!" Yan shouted out in outrage. Mark coldly glared at him. He flinched at the sudden coldness from Mark.

"You're not even learning a thing about this training. For three weeks, and you haven't learnt jackshit. I'm not going to train a whining, arrogant, stupid, thick-headed child who weaps like a pathetic human being who can't clean their fucking room!" Mark shouted as sounds of a stormcloud shoved in the background.

"Shut up." Yan scowled in hatred as his pride was tainted.

"You haven't learned a thing after 3 years, have you?! You just thought it was so fucking unlucky that your 'reputation' dropped and had to deal with your family members calling you trash, when you are one!" Mark pointed a furious finger at Yan.

"Shut. Up." Yan warned as he clenched his teeth and knuckles like a raging fire inside him.

"Your mother died, your reputation fell, your fiancee denied you, and you landed on cow-shit! But you did not learn a single fucking thing from this! You were trash when you were born! Your family members are fucking jackasses and so are you! All of your loved ones are just fucking dumbasses thinking that you had a chance, but you didn't have a single one in the fucking first place." Mark went on and on, like a flowing dam.

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO INSULT MY FAMILY!" Yan went livid when Mark insulted Xun-Er and his father.

"I FUCKING DO! I HAVE NOT SEEN A MORE PATHETIC HUMAN BEING WHINING LIKE A LITTLE BITCH BECAUSE HE HAS TO DEAL WITH BULLSHIT! NO, YOU'RE JUST BEYOND PATHETIC! YOU'RE LOWER THAN A FUCKING TRASH!" Lightning struck the background as it was beginning to rain.

"YOU FUCKING TAKE THAT BACK!" Yan gripped Mark's collar harshly.

"WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET IS THE FUCKING TRUTH! FUCK YOU, AND ALL OF YOU!" Mark pulled away Yan's grip very forcingly and went to leave the forest.

Click!

"You fucking apologise for insulting Xun-Er and my father. NOW!" Yan coldly pointed the revolver at Mark's head as rain suddenly fell down.

Click!

"I ain't apologising shit. I'm through with you and your cultivation bullshit. I WILL end this bullshittery, Plot Armor and Story be damned." Mark warned coldly as he pointed a Deagle in response.

As a moment of silence washed away with the sounds dropping rain, Xiao Yan fired first.

Mark quickly dodged the point-blank shot from Yan with unexpected speeds although the wetness of his clothes effected him, he fired back at Yan's chest.

Yan, blinded by hatred and adrenaline, ignored the pain that was coming from his chest and continued to fire at Mark. Mark backed up and dodged the bullets and hid behind a large rock for cover.

Yan continued to fire at the large rock. The bullets were powerful enough to chip away the rock. Mark ducked for some more cover and shot multiple bullets at Yan's chest.

Yan's body backed away slightly from the force of the bullets. He did not care as he was consumed by hatred. He charged up the revolver with great amounts of Dou-Qi and discharged at the large rock.

The large rock exploded into pieces as Mark leaped and ran as he shot multiple shots at Yan, who didn't even flinch and continued to fire.

Shocked, Mark was suddenly flung backwards as he was hit from Yan's charged bullets. The puddles of muddy water went everywhere as Mark's body laid down, motionless.

Yan walked towards him and pointed the gun at Mark's head. Unexpectedly, Mark's motionless Deagle moved and pointed at Yan's legs and fired.

"AAUUUGHH-" Yan dropped the revolver in pain as he was kicked in the gut from Mark's feet as he doubled over in pain. Yan laid down on the ground, dirty from all the muddy water he was soaked up.

"Urrgh..." Mark stood up and later pointed the gun at Yan's head. Yan kicked the Deagle away from Mark's hands and kicked on Mark's legs. Mark lost balance and fell down again.

Yan went on top of Mark's body and strangled his neck. Mark held the wrists to pull them out.

"YOU LEARNT NOTHING. NOTHING! WHEN YOU EVEN STARTED!" Mark shouted out.

"WHAT HAVEN'T I FUCKING LEARNT FOR 15 YEARS?!" Yan screamed at Mark's face in rage.

"You refused to learn, your own ARROGANCE!" Mark kicked away Yan's back with his legs, shoving Yan to move over from him.

"ARROGANT THAT YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE THAT SUFFERED THE MOST! ARROGANT TO THINK THAT YOU WERE HIGHER THAN YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS! ARROGANT TO THINK THAT YOU WERE DESTINED TO BE THE TOP!" Mark punched Yan's face over and over.

"ARROGANCE JUST MAKES ME WANT TO FUCKING KILL MYSELF!!!" Mark held Yan's neck and Yeeted him. Mark breathed heavy breaths.

"Your lack of accepting your own arrogance is the problem. You vowed to defeat Na-Lan. If you defeat her, now what?! Show off your superiority to the Sect?! What a bunch of bullshit! You failed at your training because you're not trying hard enough. You're training because your fucking 'pride' was sullied from your family members and fiancee and want to grow stronger because you want to fuel your ego! I WILL NOT TEACH SOMEONE ARROGANT AS YOU TO SWING YOUR DICK AROUND THIS WORLD TO SHOW OFF!" Mark shouted in the mists of the rain and thunderstorms.

"AND THAT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT!"

"..." A moment of silence washed again in the scenery. Mark stared at Yan's lying body. Yan looked at Mark's cold eyes.

"T-then I-i'm just another trash, then...." Yan barely spoke out, as tears were visible on his eyes.

"I don't know what to do... I've suffered and endured all the insults and vowed to make them w-wrong... But you're saying that I'm... wrong. All this time..." Yan sorrowedly spoke.

"I just wanted to prove them wrong! Wrong that I wasn't trash! But someone strong enough to protect those who care about! I want to protect my loved ones! Xun-Er! My brothers! My father!" He cried out as tears came.

"WHY IS IT SO WRONG TO HAVE THESE DREAMS?!" Yan shouted as Mark had no words. Yan continued to wept in sorrow as rain poured in like it was despair.

"It's not wrong..." Mark confessed. Yan was shocked.

"Your goals are in the right track, protecting those who you care about, but don't be arrogant and selfish enough to turn a blind eye to those who are also suffering too!" He stated as Yan widened his eyes.

"Arrogance is stupid, no doubt. Don't let it consume you. Arrogance has led to many bullshit and unfair events such as wars and losses... Don't be like them. Be better." Mark finished.

"Don't hate someone because they tainted your 'pride'. Hate them for a solid reason. Go to the extent of understanding their source of being a dickhead. Don't make misunderstandings because of this." He explained.

"Don't hate your family members because they treat you like trash. They treat you like trash because they misunderstood. If you're not trash, then they are wrong. Don't make a scene where they insult you for being trash but you're actually not. Why be angry at a fact that is not true? Arrogance. Pride. They are useless to truth, and cause many misunderstandings that are very unnecessary." He explained and lent a hand.

"Like this training for example. You arrogantly thought that you would strive in training and grow stronger. Take things slow. You are not the king of the world. Nor do you are the god. You're just another trash wanting to become something more. But don't think that it'll be easy. You'll have to work your ass off if you want to be truly strong. No arrogance. Don't be cocky. Don't be high-horsed. Don't be an asshole. Just be better." The rains and thunderstorms shifted as rays of light came to the wet forest.

"..." Yan went silent as he stared at Mark's hand.

"Basically... Don't be an idiot and misunderstood things." Mark replied. Yan grasped Mark's hand and pulled himself up.

"... I get what you're saying... But..." Yan confessed as he made Mark confused.

"But?" Mark asked.

"If it was so basic to explain it to me, why did you have to explain all of it in the most dramatic way?...." Yan asked, causing Mark to sigh.

"If I hadn't, you wouldn't have listened. I also lied most of the time. You're training's not over. The insults... were somewhat exaggerated. And mostly... It was a good time to teach you not to become an asshole." He explained.

"Wait, what-"

#Flashback Ends#

So after learning the unnecessary use of arrogance, Yan later learnt that hating his own cousins and other family members was stupid, when you could just make them learn from their mistakes and later forgive them. It was all just a misunderstanding that could be forgiven and forgotten.

"W-well... Let's see how long you can be stuborn, you little pervert!" Xiao Yu regained her focus and hid away the shock.

"Hey! That year I only accidently saw you showering, there's nothing more to that!" Yan defended himself, as Xiao Yu blushed heavily and was reminded of the event when Xiao Yan accidently noticed Xiao Yu butt-naked.

"You... you dared to mention it again!" Xiao Yu spluttered, enraged at the audacity that her nephew gave. She went to grab her whip (for tactical reasons, not the ones you'd expect), furious at Yan's boldness.

"But now that I think about it... I don't think I actually apologised for that event..." Yan suddenly confessed. Xiao Yu stopped and raised an eyebrow in an angry manner.

"What do you mean? You actually would apologise for that event?" She asked, not even believing the fact that Xiao Yan would actually apologise for his mistakes.

"No. I apologise for accidently peeping into you, and I am also very sorry that I didn't apologise before." Yan slightly bowed in front of his cousin. Xiao Yu was again genuinely shocked at the mannerisms and the change in personality of Xiao Yan when time she was gone.

She only hated Xiao Yan's existence because it shamed the whole Xiao Sect, and the reason that her nephew was just an asshole. But she knew that Xiao Yan was her own nephew. She would protect the Xiao Sect, as it was her own Sect, but she would never betray those in the Sect, even Xiao Yan.

Gone, the ex-genius or the trash of the Xiao Family Sect she later hated for his whitty comments and bites of being a pathetic being, in front of her was a matured, humble member of the Xiao Sect...

"You're... actually going to apologise for this?... You're not going to deny it?..." Xiao Yu asked in shock. Yan nodded and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I was a bit stupid at the time now that I think about it, and I thought it was a good time to bring it up... Hope you'll forgive my actions. I'll get better soon." Yan chuckled awkwardly and continued to scratch the back of his head.

"U-uh... I-I.... of course, I will forgive you of your past actions, Xiao Yan. It would be disrespectful of me to deny your 'geniune' apology..." Xiao Yu stuttered and accepted the apology, unsure and confused what to do. What was she supposed to do?!

Normally Xiao Yan would just comeback a rude comment, and in response she would do hers. Now her oddly well-mannered nephew suddenly apologises for his actions! She wasn't going to insult him of how oddly kind he was, because that would mean disrespect. Maybe he finally learnt his lesson of how pathetic he was! Yeah! That sounded reasonable!

Xiao Yan smiled... In kindness? A-actual geniune kindness... But why did it seem like that wasn't the case?... For someone finally acknowledged their status, Xiao Yu expected somewhat a breakdown or a complete submission to the pathetic Xiao member, but instead was being kind.

"What is wrong with you, Xiao Yan?! After my time in the Academy, you've completely changed!" She asked the well-mannered Xiao Yan. He shrugged casually.

"Well... I learnt that even you were ones that neglected me, you're still one of the Xiao Family Sect. I still don't like you when you neglected me 3 years ago. But I don't hate you." He explained and crossed his arms. Xiao Yu was also shocked when her cousin didn't actually hate her at all. Another huge change to Yan's personality.

"You don't hate me?..." Xiao Yu asked in shock.

"Well... I did before, but now I don't. Well, thanks for coming at the Age Ceremony, Xiao Yu Biao-Jie. It was nice seeing you today." Yan smiled warmly as Xiao Yu felt a warm feeling of redness from her cheeks.

"..." She didn't reply as she ran fast as she could away from his nephew. Yan raised an eyebrow in confusion as to why his cousin ran away in a hurry. He shrugged and later watched the testing.

...

The scene changes where Xiao Yu failed to resist the urge to blush madly for some unknown reason.

'What is this warm feeling on my chest?! Am I in love with that... Idiot?! No! Never! I would die than admitting that I like that failure of a family member!' She thought as she huffed as she remembered how rude the past Xiao Yan was.

'It was nice seeing you today.' She blushed as she remembered the last words of Xiao Yan. It was impossible for him to say that, after all the neglection made him into a witty, arrogant, smug, boastful-

'But I don't hate you.' Xiao Yu mentally screamed inside her head as she was totally confused if she should hate or accept her new side of her nephew. His mannerisms were refined into a kind gentlemen, bold but kind.

What was she supposed to do now?! What happened to Xiao Yan while she was gone?!

...

Yan suddenly sneezed. Was someone talking about him?...

"Next examinee, Xiao Xun-Er!" The announcer called out. Xun-Er got up from her area and went to the testing station. She looked at Yan.

"It's my turn, Xiao Yan Ge-Ge, don't be surprised!" She replied with a smile. Yan noticed while she was walking, that her Dou-Qi had might've advanced to a Dou Zhe (Dou Practitioner).

She put a hand to the testing station and measured her Dou-Qi. The Measuring Stone glowed as it showed 1-star Dou Zhe.

"Amazing!" "As expected from Xun-Er!" They cheered on to Xun-Er.

...

Meanwhile, the Head Elders stared in surprise. "1-star Dou Zhe..." They replied.

"Who would have known that she would advance to Dou Zhe that fast!" Xiao Zhan said, amazed at the rate of advancing of Xun-Er.

"Hmmm, the Xiao Family is really full of talents!" Ya Fei complimented.

...

Back to the testing stage, Xun-Er walked back to Xiao Yan, who crossed his arms and smiled in response as his childhood friend was that powerful.

"Xiao Yan Ge-Ge, how is it?" Xun-Er asked in search for Yan's praises.

"Don't be too proud, with your talent, I would be surprised if you didn't advance to Dou Zhe." Yan stated flatly and jokingly.

"Hmph! How disagreeable." She disagreed with Yan's statement.

"The last examinee, Xiao Yan! Come onto the stage!" The announcer called out. Yan smirked as was his turn.

"And I guess it's my turn..." He replied determinedly, walked confident steps towards the testing station.

"Good luck!" Xun-Er said.

"Trash Yan, will you be a Dou Qi 3rd Rank again?" "Do you need us to bring a ladder? Haha!" They all insulted and laughed at Yan, who rolled his eyes in displeasure.

Yan turned his head to his father's direction with a smile.

...

"Yan-Er..." Xiao Zhan spoke in gratefulness.

"It's finally to the climax! Right, clan leader..." "I will arrange a decent career for Xiao Yan, haha!" The Head Elders joked. Xiao Zhan's face darkened.

"Until the very end, the results are not determined!" He spoke.

...

'I guess it would be safe to show off...' Yan thought as he stopped at the stage.

With a swift motion, he leaped to the stage arena while front-flipping his feet on the floor. It was so quick, the audience took a while to process the fact and later went silent and shocked.

'Learnt that one from Count Dooku.' Yan smirked as he remembered the scene in Star Wars Episode 3, where Count Dooku front-flipped like a badass in front of the protagonists.

He stood next to the Measuring Stone and closed his eyes. After three years he's been suffered from his family members and his fiancee. After 6 months he's worked through blood, sweat, and tears to regain his power...

"And all of that... is over." Yan smiled determinedly as he rested a hand to the Measuring Stone.

Dou-Qi Level: Ninth Rank!

...

"9th...!" Xiao Ning replied in shock as an impossible feat was occured. Yan had reached the 9th Rank in six fucking months!

Xiao Yu was also very shocked that it wasn't Xiao Yan's personality was changed. His skill, power, and rank was changed into 9th Rank, like it was a miracle! What the hell is happening while she was gone?!

The Head Elders dropped their jaws in complete utterly shock. Ya Fei was also surprised to see the failure of Xiao Sect had surprisingly advanced into 9th Rank. This was interesting.

Xiao Zhan crushed the tea cup in shock as a miracle happened. "Yan-Er..." He spoke, as he grateful that a miracle appeared to his own son.

Xun-Er cupped her mouth as she cried in happiness. 'You increased six stages within half a year... Xiao Yan Ge-Ge, you've really made a miracle...' She thought as she was so happy that her friend wasn't trash anymore.

"Hmmm, young master Xiao Yan's training talent is quite shocking! A strong successor will be born from the Xiao Family Sect in the future." Ya Fei complimented the young master.

Xiao Zhan laughed in genuine joy as he heard Ya Fei's compliment. "Haha, Miss Ya Fei is flattering too much!" He replied.

Meanwhile, the Head Elders looked at each other in shock and disbelief. "How's that possible?" They both said the same thing.

...

Yan smiled as thought he was taking a step to the strongest. He later noticed Mark, who was selling corndogs while giving a thumbs up to him. Yan chuckled in amusement.

This was just the beginning...

[AN: Please review.]