The Tenth Awakening

Even though Kane was dodging Arya's continuous attacks, which barely gave him any time to counter, he still took one or two side hits that hurt him slightly. Suddenly, he moved backward like a cheetah, lifted his right hand, and aimed at Arya. A small tornado formed and moved toward Arya, growing bigger and bigger in size. As the tornado engulfed Arya, Kane maintained it for a full minute before stopping the skill.

Just as Kane was about to recall his skill completely, a metal staff shot out from the dissipating tornado. Kane had no time to react and took a direct hit, knocking him unconscious.

Who knows how much time had passed before Kane woke up? When he opened his eyes, he saw Arya sitting in front of him in a meditative pose. As Arya slowly opened his eyes, a smile appeared on his face.

"What are you smiling for? I was just careless and thought you were already defeated, so I recalled my skill. I can still use that skill for a total of two minutes," Kane muttered in frustration.

"Yes, I know you showed me mercy," Arya replied. "But you forgot one thing—I was in my weapon master form. Your tornado attack barely affected me because my physical defense and attack power were doubled in that form. If I wanted to break free from your attack, I just needed to use a large amount of my elemental energy—almost half of it—but instead, I chose to wait for your skill to end and then attack directly."

"Yes, I miscalculated the power of my Wind Tornado skill," Kane admitted. "But your weapon is really quite powerful. Just one hit knocked me unconscious."

"Yes, its power is quite good. Want to go another round? I find it helpful to practice our skills through sparring, and I haven't recalled my weapon yet, so we can start again."

"Yes! Let's do it again. This time, I will definitely win!"

They both stood on opposite sides, but this time, Arya took the initiative. Kane was prepared, maintaining his distance from Arya. The advantage of a weapon master was in close-range combat, where they could utilize their physical enhancements and weapons more efficiently.

That was why Kane kept his distance, using his wind element to stay ahead. However, he couldn't continue this forever. Unlike Arya, who relied more on physical combat and conserved his elemental energy, Kane had high energy consumption. He needed to find the right opportunity to land a decisive attack.

After a few moments, Arya attempted an attack from the left. Kane saw an opening and immediately activated his skill. But this time, Arya was ready. He infused his fire element into his metal staff, causing the plain-looking staff to glow with a fierce, dangerous aura. As Arya spun his flaming staff, Kane's Wind Tornado collided with it—and dissolved upon impact.

Seeing his skill fail, Kane didn't hesitate. He started casting his wind skills from different angles and directions, trying to overwhelm Arya. After five consecutive skill uses, Kane's elemental energy was nearly depleted. He could no longer use his Wind Tornado.

Seeing this, Arya, who had been on the defensive, switched to attack mode. Since his energy consumption had been minimal, he still had 50% of his elemental energy left. Noticing that Kane could no longer use his skill, Arya rushed forward, his fire-infused metal staff ready to strike.

Kane, exhausted, could no longer maintain his distance. But just when Arya was about to land a blow, Kane unexpectedly switched his form from Seed Master to Weapon Master! His weapons were still hidden, but as he raised his right hand, two small arrows shot toward Arya.

The sudden attack caught Arya off guard. However, he wasn't an ordinary eight-year-old—he didn't panic. He quickly switched from Weapon Master form to Seed Master form and lifted his right hand. Instantly, Kane's small arrows changed direction. Before Kane could celebrate his successful counterattack, he suddenly clutched his chest in pain and collapsed.

This was the effect of Arya's Blood Seed Skill: Burning Heart. Even though this skill didn't deal direct damage, it was powerful in restricting movement. Against an opponent five levels stronger, it could halt them momentarily with intense pain. Against someone like Kane, who was only one level higher, the effect was even more devastating.

Kane had no idea what had happened. He had seen Arya switch forms and lift his hand, but he hadn't seen any skill being cast. His entire chest burned as if his heart was on fire, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing Kane in such pain, Arya quickly recalled his skill. After using it, only 10% of his elemental energy remained. But seeing its effectiveness in battle, he understood its true power. Even though Burning Heart couldn't kill enemies directly, its ability to restrict movement was extremely rare and useful. If Arya could evolve his Blood Seed to a higher level, this skill might become lethal instead of just restrictive.

As Arya withdrew his skill, Kane's face slowly returned to normal. He looked at Arya as if he had seen a ghost.

"What did you do to me?! It was so painful! I couldn't even move my fingers! Was that your Seed Skill? No… it can't be, because I didn't see you casting anything!" Kane exclaimed.

"What are you talking about? I was just about to cast my Seed Skill when I saw you lying on the ground in pain," Arya interrupted, pretending to be clueless.

"I knew it! It wasn't you!" Kane muttered. "I think I need to talk to the clan elders or the chief. This might be a serious body condition. I felt like my heart was going to ignite, and I couldn't breathe properly. I'll mention this when I return to the village."

As Kane turned to leave, he suddenly stopped and asked, "By the way, what is your Seed Ring Skill?"

Arya smirked. "That's a secret."

Kane sighed. "Fine. But I like the way you use your Seed Weapon. Your Seed Weapon is a small arrow, right?"

"Yes. I thought if I caught you by surprise, I would secure my victory. But this new issue interrupted my attack… Forget it. We'll continue our practice tomorrow. The village competition is about to start, and I want to be in the top seven to represent our village in the Four Village Competition. Your father, the chief, must have told you about it, right?"

Arya nodded.

"But you don't know the true benefits of representing our village in the Four Village Competition," Kane continued. "All representatives from the four villages gain incredible rewards, and if you achieve a high rank in the younger generation competition, the benefits are on another level."

Arya's eyes flashed with determination. "Yes, I've heard about it. I also want to achieve a high rank in both competitions."

"Then I'll see you in the village competition in six months," Kane said with a smirk. "Let's see how much we improve by then."