"Of course. Or do you expect to go unscathed in all the fights you take part in?" Lya c.o.c.ked her head, as if she didn't understand were his surprise came from.

"Well…" Amon looked away somewhat ashamed. She had certainly seen through him to a certain extent.

"The sooner you learn how to keep your cool even if you are losing, the faster you will grow." She said as she approached him.

"It is not because you know good techniques and is stronger that you will automatically win in a dazzling fas.h.i.+on." She lightly patted his head, making a cold wind slightly mess his hair. "That is utterly nonsensical. People who think that have never fought before."

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"We train, train and train some more." "When I think you are good enough, we can go to that Warrior Hall you mentioned so you can at least get some experience before the tournament."

"Very well." Amon nodded as he took a deep breath.

"It's good that you understand. Now go back to your room and go back to the first stance of the Fundamentals of the Sword."

"There is one thing I must do first." Amon said as he walked to his mother's room.

He entered the room after knocking. As always, his mother was sitting on the bed, looking out the open window.

"Good morning." He said with a soft voice.

"Good morning." Rebecca answered in a somewhat low voice.

Amon felt it had been really awkward talking to Rebecca ever since he lied a few weeks ago. It was as if a wall had appeared between them.

"I just received an invitation to a Promotion Compet.i.tion." Amon said as his eyes looked at hers, his tone gentle. "I want to partic.i.p.ate."

Rebecca looked at him for some time in silence, pondering her words. She finally asked after some time, "Partic.i.p.ating would be good, but do you think you can win?"

"I have six months to prepare for that. I think I have a chance if I don't slack." Amon said seriously. Rebecca's gaze turned serious.

"How do you have such confidence? You are inexperienced and training alone." She said dejected. She was already expecting a lie.

Amon closed his eyes and sighed. He remembered Lya's words about the importance of promises. He wouldn't lie to her again, but he also didn't want to tell her the truth.

"Mom, I don't want to lie to you." His golden eyes shone with regret. "Please don't ask about my training."

"I won't ever lie to you again, but I also can't tell you about this matter." He had a troubled expression as he faced her. "Please trust me on this."

Rebecca closed her eyes and gave a sigh. When she opened then again, they were bright and full of life. Still, there was a hint of coldness hidden in then, a suspicion, a fear of being hurt again.

"Can you promise me that?" She asked looking at him with such eyes. Amon didn't avert his eyes from her gaze, instead, he received it gladly.

"I promise you." He said as he looked in her eyes.

Rebecca smiled hearing that and opened her arms. Amon hugged her tightly, feeling her warmth.

"Then I'll trust in you." Rebecca said as she ruffled his ashen hair.

They separated and Amon stood up.

"I'll be off to train." He said with a smile.

Rebecca nodded and he left the room.

---

"Hmm…" Abyss Sect's Fifth Elder frowned as she examined Daniel's right arm. The wound on the arm were closed, but it was scarred beyond recognition. The skin that covered the wounds was thick and distorted, and when put together with the missing chunks of flesh it made for an awful sight.

"Well, the muscles and skin have healed completely, and the fractured bones are also nearly fully healed." She diagnosed Daniel with her piercing eyes still fixed at his arm.

Many imagined the Fifth Elder as an old woman that spent her life studying the ways of healing, however, she was surprisingly young for her role and the knowledge she possessed.

Natasha Barnes seemed to be a middle-aged woman with a gentle face. Her brown hair was tied up in a knot in the back of her head, and her brown eyes could pierce one's soul. Her brows seemed to always be furrowed, as if she was always pondering over something. Even so, she was a beautiful woman, and had a scholarly bearing to her.

"The severed meridians… well, there is nothing we could do." She said with a soft voice. "I'll say to you again, but I'm sorry that the sect could not fully heal your arm."

"Managing to keep my life is enough for me, thank you very much." Daniel smiled as he thanked her. "Do you know when I'll be able to leave?"

Hearing his question, Natasha looked up for a moment, thinking.

"It will take one more week for the bones to be fully healed." She looked at Daniel as she answered with a serious look. "That would usually be the end of it, but you haven't moved your body in over a month."

"Because of that, you will need to undergo physiotherapy." She looked up again and held her hands behind her back. "One month of daily sessions should be enough. At most, one and a half months."

"That long?" Daniel couldn't believe it. He was in the late stages of Body Tempering, even if he indeed needed physiotherapy, he doubted it would be as long as one month.

"My job is to guarantee that you are fully healed and in peak form before I let you leave." Natasha gave him a meaningful glance as she spoke, hinting at something.

Daniel's face fell as he heard that. "I imagine the Second Protector asked you to be very cautious regarding that."

She gave a beautiful smile as she nodded. "Indeed, it is as you say."

Daniel's face twisted hearing that. He would lose almost two months of preparation for the Promotion Compet.i.tion. His father wasn't even giving him a chance. He couldn't help but send a resentful glance to the Fifth Elder.

Her smile turned even wider as she saw his expression and she spoke again. "Well, to be honest, I feel that you are too injured. One and a half months will hardly be enough."

Daniel's face turned deathly pale. His left arm started trembling as he closed his fist beneath the bedsheets. He gritted his teeth so hard they creaked.

"I believe that six months will be enough." Natasha said the words that cut into Daniel's heart.

"I doubt you can hold me here for more than a week if I am willing to leave." He said through his gritted teeth.

"You are merely at the late stages of Body Tempering. Do you think that you can resist a Divine Foundation High Elder like me?" She asked with a sneer.

"Why would you waste your time doing that?" Daniel was dumbstruck and completely confused. This was absurd. "You said so yourself, I am only at the late stages of Body Tempering. How am I worthy such trouble?"

"Someone asked me to." She said with an uninterested voice as she brushed some dust out of her white clothes.

"Would Lawrence really go that far?" Daniel while smiling bitterly. This was far worse than simply cutting his preparation time.

"Of course not. You father is very heartless. He always like to give a glint of hope to the ones he wants to destroy, even if such hope is meaningless. He feels that it is much more satisfying than to simply crush someone to smithereens." Natasha had a bored look in her face as she reb.u.t.ted him. It was as if Lawrence Meyer was of no significance to her at all.

"Then who?" Daniel asked, exasperated.

"Someone I have a higher regard for. More importantly, he will owe me one. You can call it an investment." She answered as she checked her nails as carefully as she did Daniel's arm.

Daniel was still confused as he looked at her. She gave him a slight smile, as if cheering him on into discovering what she meant.

Daniel started thinking. It was someone other than Lawrence Meyer that had made this absurd request, and the Fifth Elder held this person in an even higher regard. This meant that the person had to have at least the same status as Lawrence, or higher.

The problem was that none of the remaining three Protectors would lose their times doing something like that, it made so sense. The remaining option was Sect Master Borgin, but he didn't care about anything other than the sect. Such schemes were beneath him.

Then who?

Wait, the Fifth Elder called it an investment. What if that person was still not in such a position of power? Then the only one that would fit the descriptions would be…

"No way!" Daniel had a surprised expression as the pieces fell into place.

"Have you figured it out?" Natasha asked with a bored expression.

"It makes no sense. How would keeping me here help me?" Daniel couldn't think of a reason for that.

"Didn't I tell you before? My job is to make sure that you leave here at peak form. I'll be satisfied with nothing less." She sent him a meaningful glance.

Daniel was surprised as he heard that. The meaning of her words this time was completely different from before. These words were like a beacon of hope to Daniel.

"But my arm…" He looked at his useless right arm with a frown. What would they do? Even Natasha Barnes hadn't been able to recover it.

"We will find a way to get around this problem." She said, still bored. It was as if she could find a solution any time she wanted.

"Is he insane? Lawrence will never…" Daniel started mumbling. This would bring him a great deal of trouble if Lawrence ever found out.

"He knew you would say that. So he asked me to tell you this:" Natasha's bored expression faded away as she pa.s.sed the message to Daniel. In her expression, there was nothing but respect. "We are family. It is all that matters."