Watching a Protagonist in action
"Bai'er, why are you here? I thought you would be with your father." Li Rou asked as she noticed her son.
Climbing down from a tree, Xue Bai responded, "I was for a moment, but he told me that we would start tomorrow. So I came here to pass the time."
"But why are you here, mother? Huo Siyan had used the sword back at the Huo Clan. So I thought you would just teach her in the inner region."
Huo Siyan had also used a sword in the game, so his mother bringing her to an archery range slightly confused him.
"You're right. Siyan does use a sword, but since I am teaching her for the next few days, I want to see if she has any talent in archery. If she doesn't, then I will just teach her basic fighting, but if she does, then we'll stay here most of her time here." Li Rou answered.
"Umm, Duchess, if the Young Duke is here, wouldn't it be bad if we kicked him out of his own training grounds?" Huo Siyan on the side asked.
The past two days had been a fever dream for her, and though she had gotten through it all relatively smoothly, she didn't want to antagonize the Young Master of the place she would be staying at for the next month.
"No, its fine, Huo Siyan. I was getting tired, so I planned to leave soon anyway." Xue Bai replied.
Though in the Baishen plane, mortals were much stronger than on earth, he was still only eight years old, and the two hours of exercise had tired him out. So after fetching his arrows and bow, he said goodbye to his mother and went to go take a bath.
His clothes stuck to his body too well.
After Xue Bai left hearing distance, Huo Siyan asked Li Rou, "Duchess, why was the Young Duke here? I thought he would use the sword like the Duke."
Li Rou, hearing that, was slightly annoyed. 'Why can't my son learn my path as well? Those brain-dead swordsmen would die before even getting near me. The bow is clearly the better weapon.'
However, instead of saying what her mind thought, she smiled and said, "I wanted to teach him archery before learning to use the sword. His father will still teach him swordsmanship. It's just I was first nothing special."
Huo Siyan nodded aimlessly as she didn't know what the Duchess was hinting at in her words.
Xue Bai was once again in his courtyard, but Xiao'er wasn't inside this time. Now alone, he had to fill up his bathtub himself. And since he didn't know the specific recipe for the medical bath either, he had to use regular water. So Xue Bai went to the pond in his courtyard and fetched a few buckets of clean water to fill his tub.
After the bath, Xue Bai changed into a clean black set of robes he had. He was planning on doing what his father told him and going to visit the Huo Clan boys. He had left them alone for almost three hours now, so they should have finally gotten their bearings in the Duke's estate.
Though Xue Bai wasn't sure where they were exactly, they were probably in the soldier barracks in the outer region. So Xue Bai made his way there first.
As soon as he reached the barracks, he could hear cheering so loud that it went through the sound deafening array and outside.
Mostly every building in the Duke estate had either an array that blocked all sound or most of it. The barracks had the latter just in case something tragic happened in it. So the outside world could hear any screams that were coming from inside.
Curious, Xue Bai started to run over and see what was happening inside. And he was rewarded with a great sight.
Huo Long was doing what he did best, fight. He was shirtless, fighting two men using only his spear and, unsurprisingly, holding his ground. Though the men had their cultivation suppressed, it was still an amazing feat. The fight looked even as though there were two against him. Huo Long would constantly try and make the fights solo by making his opponent's spear clash against each other. And while the three fought, the crowd was cheering for the protagonist.
Everyone loved an underdog, and the still mortal, 10-year-old Huo Long fighting against two grown men in the Qi Sea Realm almost defined the word underdog.
Though it was exciting to watch, Xue Bai had seen better fights in the game, so after a quick see, he looked away, trying to find Huo Chen and Huo Yao.
He quickly found Huo Chen by his signature armor, as only commanders were allowed to wear armor like his. And Huo Yao was also standing next to him, watching Huo Long's fight with fervent.
So walking up to the two, Xue Bai asked, "Commander Huo, what started this?"
Though Xue Bai was curious about it, he had a guess and had only asked the question to start a conversation.
"Young Duke, you know how when there is a new batch of soldiers, the new recruits have to face a hazing period from their seniors, right?" Huo Chen asked back.
And after receiving a nod from Xue Bai, he continued, "Nephew Long didn't take kindly to that and instantly wanted to fight a squad leader. While hazing is normal, that squad leader had indeed something rather vulgar to a ten-year-old. And I felt that a fight was fair, so I allowed it on the behalf that the squad leader suppresses his cultivation entirely. as any squad leader would have the cultivation of at least the Qi Sea realm."
'Yup, I knew it. The protagonist's trouble magnet is still there even before he becomes a "Child of the Plane" thank the heavens I'm not one.' Xue Bai thought inwardly.
Unaware of Xue Bai's true thoughts, Huo Chen continued, "But surprisingly, Nephew Long beat the squad leader, and after being embarrassed and unresigned, he called in another squad leader to force Nephew Long to kneel. And that would bring us here."
"How long have they been fighting for? Huo Long is getting tired. I think they are using their endurance against him." Xue Bai asked.
"They've been fighting for about 5 minutes, but the previous fight was almost 20, so I think Nephew Long should be at his limit soon."
"Shouldn't you stop it, Commander Huo? Two men old enough to be his father are using their endurance to win a fight against Huo Long."
Shaking his head Huo Chen replied, "My nephew is still too arrogant and hot-headed. Losing once in his youth would make him better in the long run."
Xue Bai didn't agree with that, but it wasn't his family, so he wouldn't interfere with it. Also, he didn't think that Huo Long would lose the fight.
Why? Because Huo Long was a protagonist, who in their right mind would bet against one?
And sure enough, Huo Long started to improve so rapidly that it was to the point where it was visible to the naked eye. Every swing of his spear would use less and less energy but would carry the same force. He would dodge attacks by a hair and would constantly make his opponents stay on guard.
"Commander, I think he just might win this. Would that put a wrench in your plans?" Xue Bai asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Young Duke, what do you mean by wrench?"
"You heard wrong, Commander. I said would that disrupt your plans."
"Young Duke, I am in the Law Manifestation Realm. How could I mishear something that was so close to me?"
"Why are you asking me this? All I know is that you misheard me. But enough of that answer my question. Would Huo Long winning disrupt your plans?"
Though Huo Chen had a suspicious expression, he still answered the question, "No, not at all. If my nephew could win this, why would I be unhappy? It would only mean that I had underestimated his talents."
"At the end of the day, he is still my nephew, and I only want the best for him. Whether through strength as winning the battle or mentally through bettering his mentality from a loss. I only wish for him to grow fast so he could help me with my burden." Huo Chen spoke rather emotionally.
'My god, they're so united it's making me cringe. Plot against your nephew or something, you mob.' Xue Bai thought inwardly.
And as the two were talking, Huo Long finally knocked the spear out of both opponents' hands, winning the duel.
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