Chapter 42 - Solemnity
"That's perfect, let's go together." Lisa sounded slightly tired.
Yes. Cassius nodded silently.
In the original timeline, Li Wei abhorred his cowardly self. He was constantly dreaming of that stormy night. The complex combination of anger, shame, and guilt hadn't been enough to push him to take revenge against Finn, but it, at least, fueled his motivation to train.
Li Wei had barely passed with his ranking of forty-nine. And after being in the Wind Elephant Sect for a little over a year, he became Lisa's first disciple by chance. Damien and Sharon hadn't been part of the same recruitment batch as Li Wei in the youth training camp, and had joined in the later batches.
A gentle breeze rustled the branches, and a leaf fell.
There were only a few people in the canteen. Lisa and Li Wei sat in a corner by the window, facing each other. They stayed quiet.
Lisa gazed at Li Wei across from her.
Why did she take Li Wei in? Out of pity? Though she loathed the boy's cowardice and lack of ambition, Li Wei truly had no one left in this world. He had no family, no friends…
After taking him in, she saw the boy train in silence, eat in silence, and daydream in silence. It was as if that accident had rendered him mute.
She took in two more disciples later on and while they were much more normal compared to Li Wei, their personalities and temperaments were just as useless. Both of them were lazy and feared pain; one was a spoiled girl, and the other hung out with riffraff all day. They were even worse than Li Wei!
Her eye for disciples was simply too poor…
Lisa sighed inwardly. She really couldn't think of anyone who could inherit her skills in a few years.
After a moment of silence, Lisa spoke first, "Li Wei, how has your training been lately?"
Cassius swallowed his bite of bread. "It's alright."
What he said was indeed fair. Li Wei, as cowardly as he was, hadn't slacked off in his training. His level in the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts was not much different from Cassius's.
[Elephant Soul Incomplete: Prickling 35.1% (Stage Three)]
[Wind Elephant Fist: Gale 12.7% (Stage Three)]
Li Wei's level in Elephant Soul was 2.4%higher than Cassius's, while his Wind Elephant Fist was 2.1% lower, but they were, overall, about the same.
Li Wei was now eighteen, and he had joined the Wind Elephant Sect's youth training camp when he was almost fourteen. It seemed like Cassius's six months of training was the equivalent of four years of Li Wei's hard work.
There were significant contributing factors to both sides.
Li Wei hadn't trained with the same level of single-mindednessas Cassius, nor did he have a serious mentor like Instructor Lisa giving him special combat training every day. By the time the Wind Elephant Sect's youth training camp ended, Li Wei had only reached the beginner level of Basic Combat Arts.
It took him over half a year to reach the advanced level of Basic Combat Arts, and another half year to become Instructor Lisa's disciple. He couldn't have trained as quickly in the Covert Martial Arts, as Cassius did.
Plus, with the double experience boost Cassius gained from the shadow and the ample herb resources in the real world, Li Wei managing to match Cassius's training results was already impressive in its own right.
Of course, this was only in terms of their level of Covert Martial Arts. In an actual fight, Cassius would undoubtedly dominate. Their ruthlessness and combat experience were on two completely different levels. It went without saying that Cassius already had experience with killing people.
And there was also the extreme stage of the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Arts…
"By the way, Damien and his gang haven't been bullying you lately, have they? You have to come to me if anything happens. Don't keep it bottled up. I don't want my first disciple to…" Lisa suddenly realized something and fell silent.
Most teachers had strong feelings for their first disciple. They were more enthusiastic and had higher expectations for them than the others. Usually, the first disciple represented a new beginning—the teacher's first time being a teacher and the disciple's first time being a disciple. Over time, the two would overcome their awkward beginnings and grow close, making this an undoubtedly special experience.
Damien's bullying of Li Wei likely had something to do with this. He was competing for attention.
"I understand." Cassius nodded. He left out the detail that he had made Damien wet himself just a few minutes ago.
He suddenly noticed that Lisa had a small tuft of white hair on her head. The teacher was only in her thirties, how could she…
Noticing Cassius's gaze, Lisa changed the topic. "Do you have enough ointment? Come by to my place later and grab a bottle.Take two if your training gets intense." When she smiled, the scar on her face looked less intimidating.
"Thank you, Master." Right as Cassius expressed his thanks, he realized something. Lisa used the same training ointment as her disciples. If she gave this to him, wouldn't she run out? He decided to ask her directly.
Lisa smiled and shook her head, saying it was fine and that she didn't need that much so Cassius could take it all if he wanted. She jokingly tacked on a condition at the end: if he wanted to take all the ointment, he should fight Damien to a draw in the next internal monthly test; the ointment would be his reward. The monthly test was in five days.
Lisa had high hopes for her first disciple, Li Wei. His talent was above average and he trained diligently. Unfortunately, his personality hindered him in combat. Despite clearly having the strength, he seemed bound by invisible chains, leaving him unable to perform.
Maybe one day, when the right moment came, he would figure it out, reconcile with himself, and it would spark his desire to change. Then, everything would be different…
Lisa hoped she could witness it when that day came.
After Cassius left the canteen, he decided to visit the back mountain where Li Wei's sister, Li Chu, was buried. She hadn't formally joined the Wind Elephant Sect and he didn’t have the money for a proper burial plot, so the most he could do was dig a grave nearby for her.
Cassius was hit with a disorientating feeling as he thought of the beautiful girl in his memories now lying in cold soil and rotting away. As he walked past a flower bed, he secretly picked a few white flowers, wrapping them gently in an old newspaper.
Unfortunately, Li Wei didn't have a black formal suit, so Cassius wore a gray-white combat attire. It seemed somewhat inappropriate for the occasion.
He walked along the path, feeling nostalgic. The buildings became sparser, and the path more remote.
Suddenly, three or four young men jumped out from the shadows of a nearby building with mocking expressions like they were eagles hunting rabbits. They fanned out and had Li Wei surrounded in an instant.
"Li Wei! I'll beat the crap out of you!" Damien, who was at the forefront, gritted his teeth and screamed hysterically, "Get him!" At his signal, everyone charged.
Half a minute later, three or four people lay curled up like lobsters, unconscious on the ground. On the far left, Damien was beaten to a pulp, an unknown liquid pooling beneath him.
On the path leading up the mountain, Cassius straightened his somewhat wrinkled clothes and checked the white flowers in his hand. Once he confirmed that everything was in order, he silently continued on.
Let’s be solemn to express my sincerity…
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