“See this Pei Yuan? Isn’t my skill better than yours?”

Ikasa asked the boy as they plopped on the ground, sweat dripping from their forehead.

The two of them were training in the grounds of their new Villa. Xin Ruo was watching them with a smile from the other side of the grounds.

She couldn’t tell which was brighter; the morning sun’s brilliant rays or the radiant joy on their faces.

The two resumed their spar after a short break. Pei Yuan used his mastery of Fast-Faster-Fastest to close the distance between him and Ikasa quickly. Using Swift Attack, his only offensive technique, he tried to catch Ikasa off guard.

Even though Ikasa’s use of the Top Grade technique was unrefined, he still managed to mitigate the damage to a minimum. The attack that could have been a full-blown punch to his chest, glanced off his back causing little pain.

He started to counterattack with Chop, but  he withheld the energy to prevent severe wounds. He didn’t want a repeat of Li Fan with one of his own.

Pei Yuan started to evade according to the footsteps of Wind the Way and dodged every attack with accuracy. His well-trained body made it easier for him to master the skill.

“Big brother Ikasa, If that’s all you can do, you will lose.”

Pei Yuan said with a mischievous grin.

“You little punk!”

Ikasa became a bit more serious and started to follow his instincts honed through the Battle Technique tutorial.

Feeling the wind, he stepped according to his technique until he closed in on Pei Yuan without his knowledge.

“Here I come!”

Ikasa yelled as his false Chop landed on Pei Yuan’s back. The force behind the move pushed the poor kid face-first into the ground.

“Get it now? Big Bro is always the Big Bro!”

Ikasa said while ruffling the fallen teen’s hair. Pei Yuan sat on the ground,  still sulking about the sneak attack Ikasa had landed on him.

Ikasa extended him a hand and mocked,

“Am I raising a bunch of ingrates? I gave you a Top Grade Technique, and you still want to beat me up.”

Pei Yuan took his hands and patted his bum. He bowed ninety degrees. Acting formally, he said in a sincere tone, “Thank you, big brother, for your generous gift.”

Ikasa beamed with pride and held him up. When he met the younger boy’s eyes, he was reminded of the wish he had made.

“As long as you are obedient and good, this brother of yours will fulfill your every wish. You wanted a dagger, right? A few days later, we will go and commission one for you at the Smithy.”

Pei Yuan’s eyes shined with exuberance.

“You are the best!”

With a big, fat smile, he gave a thumbs-up to Ikasa. Before Ikasa could react, Pei Yuan ran to the other teens to tell them this good news.

Seeing their training session end, Xin Ruo walked over. The pure smile on Ikasa’s face had still not faded. It warmed her heart to see him spoil the kids.

“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” Xin Ruo asked, reminding him of his slip up on the ship.

“Not as beautiful as you,” he quipped back, causing her to blush.

Noticing her decided disadvantage, she changed the subject.

“I have set up a meeting with the City Lord this afternoon.”

She notified Ikasa. He changed his demeanor and became serious as they talked about the matters of business.

“Good. It has already been delayed for three days.” He remarked with annoyance.

“Any news from Yin Ying? Are you two getting closer?” Ikasa asked to know the status of the task assigned.

“Not quite. She speaks an entire sentence instead of just a word when talking to me. If that can be considered progress.”

Xin Ruo ruefully chuckled. She was ashamed of such slow progress.

“Take it easy.” Ikasa consoled her. Changing the topic, he asked, “What about her men? Is the Merit System in place?”

A glow shone in her eyes as she answered about her pet project.

“Yes, it is. The men are thrilled to receive this opportunity to learn a high-grade cultivation technique. With Li Fan, they could only watch but not use it. In fact, they are already spread throughout the City looking for useful information.”

“Anything I should know?”

He looked at her sharply. He had already received a report from Yin Ying. But he wanted to check how well Xin Ruo parsed the information.

“Nothing of importance. But the list of commanders on all three sides is ready. You should look at it.”

Ikasa gave her a 5 out of 10. She forgot to mention the conspicuous absence of the Monstrous Flame Sect and the abating tensions between the other two forces.

‘So, Yin Ying is not telling everything to Xin Ruo.’

Ikasa made a note in his head. He would not interfere as this was her battle to fight and win.

They parted ways at the entrance of the Villa. Caretaker Han rushed to hand him a towel and hot water.

“Master, Chu Kuang said they have found a location to settle everyone.”

When Ikasa saw him hesitate, he raised his eyebrow.

“And?”

“They need permission and funds to purchase the land.”

Caretaker Han completed the sentence with a quiver. Usually, Ikasa would scold everyone when they made unnecessary purchases.

In his eyes, this seemed like one. After all, why should his master spend coins to settle a bunch of slum dwellers?

“Ask him to come, see me tomorrow. I will take a look at this land myself.”

Caretaker Han nodded and excused himself while Ikasa buried his head into the reports and paperwork.

‘This piece of information will come in handy when dealing with the City Lord. Still, if it is true, I am playing a dangerous game here. Well, no risk, no reward.’

Ikasa admitted to himself. As he finished going through the reports, he rubbed his forehead.

Although the situation seemed to be de-escalating, it was the calm before the storm.

‘Feng Yan needs to speed up the process of getting new recruits.’ He thought, looking outside the window of his study.

He noticed the Sun had already reached its peak. The appointment with the City Lord was hardly an hour away.

Taking into account the distance he needed to travel, he murmured, “I should get ready now if I want to reach on time.”

In his bedroom, he changed into his prized robe tailored for formal occasions. He had purchased it in Sal City with the first pot of gold he made from Li Fan.

Standing before the mirror, he straightened the creases on the light blue robe. Then he tied the snow-white belt around his waist.

While checking his profile from both sides to notice any flaws, an idea flashed through his head.

‘Hmm, the craftsmanship is not the best, but it is much better than my other clothes. Maybe, I should get a suit tailored for me.’

Smiling widely, he observed the image in the mirror.

A square-shaped face was adorned by dark neck-length hair. The stubble growing on the sharp jawline enhanced the masculinity of the face.

The view stunned him.

The narcissist in him woke up and he couldn’t help but exclaim,

“I really am Handsome!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep