Chen opened his eyes once again while the sky was still dark, lying on his soft silk bed. He rose instantly and put on his clothes. He was now officially considered a candidate for succession, which was why his attire was quite extravagant and eye-catching. White and red blended beautifully in his outfit.
Afterward, he immediately went to the training grounds and began practicing with various weapons. Today, he tried using the bow and the mace. Hours passed, and it seemed that neither of these weapons suited him.
Just as he was about to finish his training and rest, Aka arrived with a man beside him. Chen immediately stood up, and when Aka quickly left, Chen charged at the man who was left alone. He tripped him, knocking him to the ground, then finished him off with his bare hands—punching him repeatedly while letting out hysterical sounds of pleasure, as if he were enjoying it immensely. After receiving Aka's permission, Chen continued training with other weapons.
Aka took the corpse and left it in his workshop, but only briefly. He did not deal with it further, as he needed to speak with the steward.
He went to the steward and said that he wished to meet Master Wang. The steward conveyed the request, received approval, and then escorted Aka to the master's room.
Master Wang:"How is Chen's training progressing, Master Aka?"
Aka:"The Young Master is improving very well. However, there are two important matters I must report to you, if I may."
Master Wang:"Speak."
Aka:"First of all, the Young Master has grown significantly stronger over the past three months. Because of this, the criminals you bring no longer contribute to his growth, and he kills them with ease. From what I have observed, this situation has caused the formation of something known as Blood Will, Master Wang."
Master Wang:"What is Blood Will, Master Aka?"
Aka:"To put it simply, when ordinary people kill someone, they feel disgusted and come to hate themselves. That is what is normal. Even if such people commit murder again later, those feelings—though reduced—still remain. However, some individuals, even if they experience those emotions during their first kill, may become addicted to the act of killing due to various reasons. It appears that this has already begun to form in the Young Master, and I do not know how it can be resolved."
Master Wang:"So, in short, he gradually becomes addicted to killing?"
Aka:"Yes."
Master Wang:"Hmmm… I understand what you mean by there being no solution. But since you say it is gradual, we can prevent it from going further, can't we?"
Aka:"Yes, Master. And this leads to the second matter I wished to mention. As I said, the Young Master has become very strong, and criminals no longer help him improve. Therefore, it is time for him to fight stronger opponents. My request is that you allow him to spar—even if only once—with martial arts masters."
Master Wang:"I understand. Very well, I will handle it. However, it will not be weekly. It will be once every two weeks, and it will not be regular—it could happen at any time within those two weeks."
Aka:"Thank you, Master Wang. If you permit, may I ask one more question?"
Master Wang:"You may."
Aka:"At what point will he fight the other heir candidates and the current heir? Facing them would greatly benefit Chen's development. However, I believe the Blood Will issue must be resolved first, otherwise he may kill the other candidates."
Master Wang:"After your training period is complete, he may fight the others. If the issue cannot be resolved, he may be removed from candidacy. Still, his strength will benefit our family. For now, I am satisfied with the results of your training. You may leave."
Aka bowed respectfully and left the room.
This conversation taught Aka many things. Most importantly, if Chen's Blood Will problem could not be resolved, Aka himself would be killed to conceal the murderous nature of the Wang family's eldest son.
However, a brilliant idea immediately came to his mind. Although the family was large, it was still too small to possess knowledge of rituals or Physical Energy. Because of this, if Aka were to perform Chen's second ritual, it was an undeniable fact that no one would be able to stand against him. After all, aside from the Master, Aka knew no one with absolute certainty who had undergone a second ritual. Even if he had never seen it, the guards had most likely completed their second rituals as well—but Aka had no confirmation.
Aka's overall plan was to make Chen the heir, then ask him for access to the treasury. He would take a treasure and kill the Master, then go to the nearest branch of the Wudang Sect and report that the task was complete, moving one step closer to the day he would escape with her, 29.
Lost in deep thought, Aka had already reached his workshop. He opened the large door carved with dragon motifs and stepped inside. The interior was like a museum, filled everywhere with various bones—but today, most of them would be gone.
Aka took roughly twenty percent of the bones and turned them into an adhesive. By binding different bones together and coating them in the final stage, he created a bone breastplate for himself. To test it, he struck it with all his strength—BINGO. Not only was the breastplate undamaged, but thanks to the adhesive layer applied to the front, a small portion of the force was reflected back onto Aka.
Very pleased with the result, Aka proceeded to make two greaves and two arm guards from bone as well. However, creating this armor consumed nearly seventy percent of the bones he had gathered over months. The remaining amount was too little to make gloves, so Aka used his brain and used the bones wisely.
He replaced the spikes on his gloves with bone spikes and sharpened them. They were not as sharp as before, because strangely enough, when sharpened, this material could become even more cutting than ordinary steel. He attached the bone spikes to his gloves using bone adhesive, completing the process.
With the remaining bones, he crafted three bone throwing knives. He was extremely satisfied with the result, as they were much lighter than steel, allowing them to accelerate far faster.
Satisfied with the outcomes, Aka left his workshop and went to sleep on his incredibly soft silk bed.
If you've read or taken a look, thank you so much. If you have any thoughts — good or bad — please leave a comment. I'll probably see and reply right away. Thanks again, and I wish you a great day.