Chapter 21, Jing Xuan Doubt

Li Jain took out some kill  books and weapons from his space to distribute them. He felt that the earlier the children familiarize themselves with the weapons, the better.

He then pulled out a small wooden box with a lid. It was carved from wood, but had many tiny holes in it where the wood chips had been. The inside of it was filled with black powder. There was also an ancient metal scroll with a skull on top with some strange symbols engraved into it that were too faded to make out. Li Jain picked up a book from within the scroll and held it up. "This is the Book of Thorns," he said."You should learn to draw the symbol properly." He put the scroll back and handed the box to Li Juanxin.

"Thanks daddy." Li Juanxin happily accepted the book. He didn't care what it was exactly, he only knew that whatever was given to him by his daddy is good.

The next thing Li Jain took out was a set of hand gears, similar to gloves but was more like equipment.  "This is hands Gear, a magical weapon." he handed it to Li Zhang and explained. "Wear it on your hands to practice boxing." 

Li Zhang has the earth spirit root and incredible strength; therefore, Li Jain thought that magic gear would be the best option. This will give him a strong fighting stance when he is fighting against other martial artists and their opponents.  In order to use this power well he needs to build a powerful base.  With these tools, Li Zhang will have a great stand whenever he performs combat. The weapon also has powerful force and adjusts accordingly to the user's strength.

"I love this." Li Zhang took the magic gear excitedly and put it on his hands. It was not much different from the normal equipment.  There were  buttons  on the glove controlling how fast the gear was spinning. There were a few runes carved into the side of the gear, which makes it  able to change its size and weight at any time. 

As soon as Li Zhang put on the gear, it shrunk and fit his hands perfectly.  Before he could be happy, he felt a huge force pulling him down onto the ground due to the weight of the gear. 

"Boom!" He fell on the table, startling everyone.

He immediately stopped moving and lay there, staring blankly at the table. 

"How did it suddenly become heavy?"  He asked with grief, looking at his hands. Then he realized, "I can't even move my fingers now!" His eyes got teary.  "Why is it so heavy? How much weight does it actually carry?!"

Li Cheng sighed heavily.  "If you keep going at this pace, you'll end up being completely useless," he said, shaking his head. 

"Father, are you not going to help brother Zhang?" Li Juanxin asked innocently.

Li Zhang also looks at Li Jain with hopeful eyes.

Li Jain shook his head. "Your fourth brother has already started his training. If he's not able to get up and remove the gear, then he'll have to spend his entire day on this table."  

He pointed to Li Zhang, whose face was still buried in the table."It's just his hands. He should be able to figure it out. "

For the first time, Li Zhang found his dad to be so unfair.

What is worse than him spending his day lifeless on this table? Li Zhang thought miserably.

"No worries, brother Zhang is very strong. He'll finish this training in no time." Jing Xuan patted his chest and looked at Li Zhang on the table with admiration.

Li Zhang was helpless, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

"Oh yes, I forgot one last thing." Li Jain  took out a spear and looked at Jing Xuan with a smile. 

Jing Xuan immediately felt chill and began to sweat profusely.  He looked over at Li Jain, who was smiling at his reaction and raised his brows, waiting for him to respond.  But Jing Xuan remained silent.  

After a while, Li Jain's lips turned into a grin, then he spoke up again."Now then, Xiao Xuan... "

Before Li Jain could finish, Jing Xuan raised his hands: "Father, you know I love so much and I've been working very hard. I will put in lots of effort in my training. Just let me master my obstacle training first before moving to something else."  Jing Xuan hastily interrupted, fearing what his father would say next.  He knew better than to test his limits.   

Looking at his fourth brother's miserable appearance and his father's evil smile, he could only feel sympathy for himself.

Jing Sheng couldn't hold himself back anymore. He laughed heartily, covering his mouth with his hand.  Soon laughter spread around the room.  

How could they not laugh, seeing Jing Xuan making unnecessary excuses as if his life depends on it.

Li Jain could barely stand the sight and sighed. "Okay alright, I won't force you. Once you master your third obstacle course, you will begin the next training."

Jing Xuan immediately nodded in delight."Thank you father!" he vowed."You are the best!" He shouted cheerfully.  His joy was visible through his wide smiles.

"But...,"  Li Jain started after a moment of silence.  He paused for a while trying to find words to express what he wanted to say.  "Your third brother will be in charge of your training."

Jing Xuan felt like a bomb had exploded on top of his head. He stood frozen on the spot, looking at his father stupidly. 

After a second Jing Xuan came back to his senses.  A loud 'thump' resounded as he fell backwards on the floor, falling on his butt.  He stared at the ground for a while without uttering a single word. He then lifted his head, looked at his father with pleading eyes.

"Hahaha." Jing Sheng laughed heartily.  The expression on his face was absolutely priceless, he was enjoying the show.  He continued to laugh loudly until his sides ached.  Finally, he managed to stop laughing, but still couldn't take his eyes off Jing Xuan.

Li Zhang also smiled gratefully, thinking that his father wasn't mean to him after all.

Li Cheng cleared his throat, "Father, you can count on me. Xuan is very smart, he should be able to master his third obstacle course today."

Jing Xuan stares at the ground blandly, feeling like he has nothing to live for. He regretted not accepting the spear just now.

How did it become like this?