When the imperial golden carriage arrived at the General's mansion, it was Anya at the gates, welcoming it, dressed in a sky-blue silk dress.

  "I'm sorry for the early intrusion, Lady Anya. You shouldn't be out here. The mornings can be chilly this time of the year!" Leinor said as he bowed after getting out of the carriage.

  "Please don't say that, Prince Leinor. It's only reasonable to welcome your presence personally. Honestly, I'm surprised it took so long for you to visit us." Anya giggled as an answer, putting her hand in front of her mouth while watching the fidgeting Prince, who wore a fancy white suit, probably trying to impress Ren... which she knew wouldn't work at all.

  "You are right, Lady Anya, it was my fault, and for that, please accept my apology!" he said hurriedly and bowed his head again.

  "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm just teasing you! A Prince should not bow so easily to others. Come, come, I'll take you to my daughter."

  Mentioning Ren, Leinor's face immediately gained a slight hue of red, but he only nodded, silently following her while signaling to the guards next to the carriage that they should stay where they were.

  As the two of them walked past the mansion to the back garden, shouts could suddenly be heard, and soon Leinor's eyes fell upon a small figure flying through the air, nding a kick on a young man's blocking arm. The scene was familiar from what he had seen two years ago, and he couldn't help but gulp.

  On a small, circle-shaped training field stood Zern and Ren, opposite each other, wearing tight-fitting, bck training clothes. Zern wore a stoic, calm expression as he blocked Ren's kicks and punches. The young girl flew quickly towards him before, without warning, she moved and sidestepped, aiming to catch Zern off guard. But it did not work. Blocking one of her attacks, he managed to get close to a counterstrike and nded a blow on her tiny back, which caused Ren to crash to the ground. Leinor furrowed his brows at the apparent strength he put behind it, but Anya just smiled, watching his reaction.

  "Ouch… that huuuurt~" Ren moaned as she stood up, rubbing her forehead, which absorbed the impact of the forced 'nding.'

  "Lady Ren, when you feel yourself at a great advantage, you tend to loosen up your defenses and overreach, giving your opponent a chance to counterstrike," Zern answered, rubbing his arm where most of the kicks nded in the previous round.

  "Yeah, I know!" She shrugged, knowing it was the muscle memories engraved into her spirit from her previous life. Not that she could tell it like that... "It's a bad habit of mine to enjoy the fun of combat, and I fail to concentrate on the changes in the sparring's rhythm." She said instead, which was only half of the truth.

  Zern could do nothing but sigh, as this wasn't the first time his young practice partner had been aware of her mistake but still couldn't rectify it despite their months of constant training. It was indeed much like a bad habit that had become ingrained in her subconscious, which should not be the case, but... here they were.

  After having that match two years ago, Xendar had asked him to come by every week and be a sparring partner for his daughter. Since then, he had fought with Ren multiple times and noticed the benefits for himself as well, constantly improving his own technique. Primarily because the little, mischievous daughter of the General always fought dirty, going for his weak spots. This helped expose what he needed to improve, enabling him to significantly accelerate his own cultivation.

  "The young Miss has incredible eyes. As soon as I fix something in the way I fight, she immediately adapts and finds something new to fix… so this is what a true genius is…" Zern thought admiringly, looking at Ren.

  "Khm." Anya coughed softly, interrupting their training.

  "Ah! Lady Anya." Zern cupped his hands immediately, bowing towards her.

  "Mom! Oh?" Ren rushed forward, and when she saw Leinor, a grin immediately appeared on her face, stopping just right before the two.

  "Prince!" Zern flinched, a little shocked, saluting immediately as he recognized the guest one step behind Ren.

  "Good morning, everyone." Leinor greeted Zern, watching him for a second before turning to Ren and bowing towards her. "Good morning, Lady Ren. My name is Leinor. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. I'm terribly sorry it took so long!"

  "Yeah, yeah, sure!" Ren shrugged, waving a hand, "It's good that you came. Zern had already reached the third refinement on his arms! He can't attack me in full force, or Dad would be mad at him... such a bummer. Anyway, are you still at the first level? Yes? Let's fight!"

  "Wha- ah, Lady Ren I, I just started refining my arms, and I didn't come here to fight you!" Leinor gasped as he was already being dragged away.

  "Eh? Still not completed it yet?" Ren groaned, looking at him, "Really? But it's already been a year since you had your ceremony, no? Tsk… slow!" she decred, shaking her little head.

  "Ren." Anya told her scoldingly, "You are still at second refining yourself for more than a year now, no?"

  "It's because I want to build it up a little more before advancing! Okay, I was rude, sorry~! You aren't angry, are you?" she giggled, grabbing Leinor's hands and immediately changing the little boy's face from pale to tomato red.

  "I'd never be angry at you, Lady Ren; you are right. Compared to your genius, I am indeed slow!"

  "Ahaha, you know how to give compliments, ah?" She grinned, measuring him, "Anyway, you said your legs are at first refinement, yes? Then attack me! I want to improve my defenses!" she added, giggling while jumping backward into the ring.

  "Zern, could you help me with something? Let the youngsters py." Anya sighed a little, smiling, and soon they were left alone while Ren waited for Leinor's move... which left the prince a bit fbbergasted, as he hadn't expected this at all.

  "What are you waiting for?" Ren asked, tilting her head sideways when nothing happened.

  "I... I didn't prepare for this, Lady Ren."

  "For starters, stop calling me Lady Ren; just Ren will do. The dy part makes me icky. Secondly, come on already!"

  Seeing no way out of it, Leinor sighed helplessly but more to calm his nerves. Finally, stepping into the small circle and unching a kick toward Ren's side, he no longer cared about protocol.

  "Slow!" came the reply as she blocked it by raising her leg, then quickly sweeping away Leinor's, sending him to the ground with a loud thump.

  "Ughh…" The little prince moaned, lying on the ground, while he felt like his whole leg had been broken by simply kicking Ren's own. It took him a few seconds to get back to his feet, and after he stood up, the dirt and grass had already stained his white clothes, turning them brown. "A-again?"

  "Yup." Ren nodded with a devilish grin on her tiny face, "We are training. Don't worry... You will enjoy it!"

  …….…..

  "I… I can't… have mercy…" came the moaning, tired voice of Leinor, who was now lying on the ground, again, with bruised legs and face, gasping for air, while his white attire was now more or less brownish green.

  "Ahaha, that was fun! Man, you are weak and slow, but Father was right!" Ren ughed, wiping the sweat off her head while she sat down next to him on the ground.

  "About…. What?" Leinor gasped for air as he tried to sit up.

  "Your family has a life force for affinity, no? You endured much longer than I thought you would! Nyahahaha! Zern usually taps out by now."

  "Ugh… I don't know if I should be happy or not, and anyway, you ARE stronger; this was pure bullying!" He answered, pouting and grumbling.

  "Boohoo, I always train myself against Zern. The simple difference between our toughness is like hammering against a steel bar," she said, rolling her violet eyes at Leinor, "but you have potential. Your resilience is great!"

  "You mean I can be a great punching bag, huh?" he smiled wryly, shaking his head.

  "For now," came a giggle as an answer, "What do you say... Would you improve faster if I trained you? I think you would."

  "Huh?"

  "What, 'huh'... You heard me!" She repeated, "I am always self-studying. I have some techniques I'd like to test out, and I need a test su- I mean apprentice! Yep. Apprentice."

  "Self-made techniques? Are they from your Father's instructions?" Leinor blinked his eyes because this was something he had never heard of; most of the techniques he knew of were for Harmony-level experts, not for those still working on refining their bodies.

  "No. We don't have any techniques you are thinking of. I mean, we have them, but those are the same as those avaible to anyone in the Empire, the foundational fighting styles of the army, and so on and so on. Those are… I wouldn't call them fighting styles. Father's techniques are not recorded, and yeah, those are for Harmony-level people, and he just started working on them... On the other hand... I bet your family has some secret fighting skills, no?"

  "There are, but they are also for the Harmony-level experts. We don't have anything specific for body refining either."

  "Mmm… I see…" She shrugged, sounding disappointed, "I thought father didn't have any because he is of a poor background, and mother didn't teach me anything because of the difference in our affinity." Ren murmured, then added to herself, "Then the only expnation is they didn't develop a complete fighting system yet and only the foundation of cultivation..."

  "Um... Ren?"

  "Nothing." She said, waving a hand, "I have some ideas after cultivating to the second level. That's why I'm stuck, or I would be at least halfway through the third by now. Or even in the fourth. Anyway..."

  "That fast? That's awesome!" Leinor excimed with shining eyes, looking at her like he had heard some secret news.

  "It is, isn't it?" Ren grinned with pride. "What I'm saying is that while I was training, I thought up moves, movements that utilize the energy running through our refined body parts, releasing that energy. It's still in the works, but I've made some progress after watching Father... But I am just one sample; I need someone to compare it with."

  "What about General Xendar?"

  "Not good." She shook her head, "I need someone at approximately my level. And at my age. Dad, after he reached Harmony, he started to develop his spells, and since then, he has trained like a madman every day. I got the idea of watching him..."

  "Making his… own... techniques... so cool..."

  "Of course! What, you only want to learn the methods of your ancestors and nothing else?" Ren asked, raising her brows. "Listen, Leinor," she continued while lowering her voice, looking earnestly into his eyes. "It's good to learn others' skills. But only for reference. If you fancy yourself a genius or at least someone with ambition, you should work on creating your personal style and your own spells. Only those will be 100% in sync with you. Only with your skills can you reach a higher state! Other techniques are good crutches to start, but that's about it. Those with mediocre talent are fine with learning others' skills and using them, but I won't be satisfied with that!" She decred proudly, standing up and pcing her tiny hands on her hips. As the morning sun shone on her back, it gave her an otherworldly aura, stunning Leinor, "I will carve out my own path, up to the top and then... I will go beyond that, too!"

  "She is so awesome…." Leinor thought, completely mesmerized by her speech and glowing figure.

  "So, to be able to do that, I'm developing moves that could be useful for those who are in the Body Refinement realm. I'd like to teach you some of it so you can reference it and create your versions for your affinity!"

  "Y-you think I could do that?" Leinor gulped, feeling a sudden rush of excitement.

  "Why not? If not, how do you pn on marrying me?" She ughed candidly as Leinor's whole face went back to red now. "Watch!" She winked at him and then suddenly took a deep breath, followed by a bellowing shout as she kicked out. Her legs shone in a violet light, and the air crackled with lightning, following the path of her leg and ending up scarring the earth. "Hah!" Ren exhaled, letting out turbid air through her mouth, wobbling a little. "I'm still not used to it... It uses up sooo much energy!"

  "T-that was… like a spell or… someone at the eighth or ninth level, who can manifest their energy out of their bodies! How did you do that?!" Leinor gawked, not wanting to believe what he had seen. This was... unheard of...

  "I just told you, didn't I?" Ren sat down, way more exhausted than before, then took out a little coin from her pocket, fshing with electricity as she absorbed its energy.

  “S-sorry… you… You are right! I want to learn! I want to become as strong as you!"

  "Good!" she smiled while grinning at him. "I'll need more of my father's coins if I want to finish it and also teach you how to imitate my methods," Ren murmured as the little jade coin turned to dust between her fingers.

  "Coins? Wait… was… was that one of the... Thunder from the Blue Sky?!"

  "What from where?" Ren blinked her eyes, totally confused.

  "It's General Xendar's famous weapon! He came up with it... Let's see... about... 30 years ago. He filled jade pieces with his energy, and when he used them in battle, they were like… little bombs, throwing them out and attracting thunderbolts from the sky! They are feared weapons of the Vanguard!"

  "Really?" she asked, fbbergasted, tilting her head to the side. "I use them for cultivating."

  "Wait… what?"

  "Yeah, they are great because they are filled with the perfect type of energy! Father has a bunch of them stored away. I sometimes go and steal a few. They help greatly when I deplete my energy!"

  "..."

  "What?"

  "Nothing," Leinor muttered, not knowing what he should feel and say.

  "Mmm, sure? Man, you are weird." She pouted, tilting her head. "But true... Huh... When Mother says it's nothing, it's always something." She leaned closer to his face, and their noses almost touched. Feeling her breath, Leinor wholly spaced out, and he was sure his heart stopped for a moment there. "I forgot to say. This is a big secret, okay? Keep it to yourself, got it? I don't want some greedy bastards stealing my thunder! If you babble about it, I'll divorce you!"

  Leinor couldn't collect any clear thoughts at that moment, and he just nodded his head like a chicken, which resulted in their foreheads cnking together.

  "Ouch! Ahahaha, idiot!" Ren ughed while Leinor himself held his forehead with a happy smile on his face. "Come, let's take a bath, then have something for breakfast!" she moaned, stretching, pulling him up, and holding his hand as she dragged him away, not waiting for his answer. Not that he would have any... because while he followed her, looking at their intertwined hands, Leinor could tell he had never felt this happy before.