Chapter 171: The Day Before 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Grandmaster, my martial arts takes priority over my family household." The youngster replied with respect.
"Di Youwen Household?" Garen was slightly stunned as household was very well known. It had the potential to be in the top ten households in the whole Federation. They often appeared in the news as well. The household was one of the founders of this country and had great authority. They were considered the big guns in the southern region, and Garen didn’t expect that a member from this household would want to join his sects.
"When did you enter White Cloud Gate?" Garen frowned.
Simon was stunned and quickly explained as he knew there must be some misunderstanding.
"Master, Yuan Reese joined when Corinne and I were taking care of the sects. He enrolled as a normal student after the battle between you and Andrela. I recommended him after I realized that he was qualified to grow even more."
"Oh?" Garen didn’t expect him to join in that early on. He looked at Yuan Reese. A youngster with deep eyes and a sharp gaze. He seemed to have very high perseverance, and obviously had a strong motive.
"There are so many sects out there. Is there any reason you chose White Cloud Gate?" He asked him directly without trying to hide his suspicion.
Yuan Reese was stunned for a bit but naturally recovered from it.
"Yes. Sister Felicity and I were best of friends. She was the one who introduced me to learn martial arts."
"Ah, Felicity." Garen understood and recalled that noble and naughty woman. "If it’s her then it’d be expected. How is she now?"
"She’s well, except that she is currently grounded and isn’t allowed out of the house." Yuan Reese softly replied. This youngster seemed to be very soft and weak when he spoke. He looked so elegant that he didn’t look like a male at all. People might have sized him up as a female if not for his adam’s apple.
After looking at Yuan Reese and Karina again, the female was cold looking whereas the male was gentle and beautiful. Although they looked different physically, both of them had the same, firm gaze. He wasn’t sure if they had joined the sects because of the benefits it would bring to their household, or if they were here on their own accord.
"Both of you have spirit. If you work hard enough you’ll definitely succeed before you reach twenty years old. It all depends on whether you guys can hold up to it." Garen nodded his head in satisfaction. No matter how you looked at it, Both of them represented the power of complete surrender on this land and a powerful household in this country. The White Cloud Gate would be fine with these two around. This was especially true for Yuan Reese as he, a household member of the top ten households in the Federation,and even enrolled into the White Cloud Gate, meaning that he acknowledged Garen and the entire White Cloud Gate.
"Since Grandmaster is here, I have a question to ask, but I’m unsure if you would want to answer it." Yuan Reese lowered his head and asked.
"What’s your question?" Garen agreed as he was in a good mood.
"It’s regarding the key elements to martial art. What is the most important factor for a martial artist? What makes the martial artist able to keep moving forward?" Yuan Reese directly questioned the core of the subject.
Simon, Corinne and even Garen was slightly stunned. If he asked this question, it meant that Yuan Reese was not mentally ready yet.
Garen looked at the beautiful boy again. Through his gaze, he saw a firm and strong will.
Only a faint breath and heartbeat could be heard in the performance hall, as no one spoke for a short while.
Yuan Reese continued staring at Garen. Although he looked relaxed, he was actually under a tremendous amount of pressure. He felt like something was pressing onto him whenever he tried to inhale. Sweat started to break out from his temple and flowed down along his face.
He had the same feeling when he met his uncle who was a lieutenant general. However it was not as intense as this. Even meeting the patriarch of the parliaments wasn’t this terrifying.
It was totally different from them. When he faced the Grandmaster Garen, he felt a sense of horror.
Yuan Reese’s was so horrified that his hair all over his body were frozen. It was as if there was an abyss in front of him and the moment he leaned forward he would fall into it.
"Your household didn’t agree to let you join the sects, right?" Garen suddenly questioned him.
Yuan Reese was stunned and bit his lips.
"Yes. They strongly opposed me from joining. I came here without their knowledge."
"This!!..." Simon and Corinne were both stunned.
Being a member of the top ten households in the Federation meant he had a huge authority.
"Didn’t you say they agreed to let you join?" Simon panicked.
"Sorry master." Yuan Reese lowered his head and apologized. "I was being capricious." He hadn’t really wanted to join the White Cloud Gate. At first, he just wanted to have fun and take it as a leisurely hobby. He didn’t expect to be targeted by Simon when they were having a conversation.
Even Simon agreed to let him become his disciple without a second doubt.
He wasn’t even sure how important was the relationship between a master and a disciple in the martial art world. Yuan Reese didn’t hold this relationship in high regard as well, and both of them confusingly went through the process of learning the Mammoth Secret Technique.
It was too late when Yuan Reese realized that something was not right. He wasn’t able to break off this relationship since he had learnt and experienced the secret techniques of the White Cloud Gate. Not to mention, he even consumed the body quenching pill.
Garen had already made a name for himself here when he decided to break off the relationship with Simon.
The relationship between a master and disciple had become a complicated situation.
As Yuan Reese thought of this, he raised his head and looked at Simon. Both of them were speechless.
It would be considered a rebellion if Yuan Reese leave the sects now. Simon, who knew of Rosetta’s outcome started to fear for Yuan Reese, who also knew Rosetta’s situation as well. This was one of the reason why he wanted to meet Garen through Simon.
Garen smiled as if he was not concerned with the situation.
"Regarding your question, I can tell you the answer. However, every martial artist has their own answer to this question."
"Please enlighten me, Grandmaster." Yuan Reese collected himself and replied.
"In my opinion, there are two key elements to a martial artist." Garen slowly said.
"Number one: Talent. To be more precise, physical talent. You’ll learn faster and save more time if you’re physically stronger. This allows you to go to the higher level."
Everyone nodded as they agreed with the explanation.
"Second: Spirit." Garen raised one of his fingers to emphasize on this point.
"No matter if you’re a hobbyist, martial artist, or even Grandmaster of Combat. Spirit is very important." Garen was slightly emotional, "Take those who fights on the street for example. If one were spiritually threatened before the fight, will it determine the outcome of the battle?"
Garen continued his explanation as they seemed to be confused.
"If two commoners with the same physical attribute, strength and speed fight, the one with weaker spirit would have less confidence in himself and try to defend and avoid more. The one with a stronger spirit would continuously attack. If there are no major unexpectations, the winner will always be the one with stronger spirit."
"I’m starting to understand." Yuan Reese frowned.
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Garen looked at Karina, who seemed to understand the idea as well. Both children had a strong sense of understanding. Corinne obviously understood the answer. However, Simon was the only one who didn’t get it.
"What about the tier of the martial artist?" Yuan Reese followed up with another question.
"Martial artists want to be stronger so that they can showcase their courage and challenge the limits of the human body. so that they could become the Grandmaster of Combat." Garen calmly explained. "The spirit of martial art is formed from the courage and spirit of the user, which will show the personality of the martial artist. The effects differ from everyone. Some use courage to oppress the enemy, some use it to disrupt the enemy’s spirit. Since I have not met many Grandmasters of Combat, my knowledge here is limited."
"What’s the importance of spirit to a Grandmaster of Combat then?" Yuan Reese asked another question again.
"It’s too early for you to ask such a question." Garen sat down firmly as he looked at Yuan Reese, who was a youngster not older than fifteen years old. He was indeed a good seedling as he was able to converse with him without feeling pressured.
"However, I can tell you a little bit."
Garen answered him with some admiration.
"If you have a weak spirit, you will not be able to react fast enough to the enemy’s attack and the sudden change in the situation. If you have a weak spirit, you’ll hesitate, and slow down when it comes to making a decision. One mistake leads to another, and this causes the fighter to lose confidence in his decision, which then delays his actions even further. The chances of winning will definitely lessen, no matter how strong you are."
He added on: "If your spirit isn’t strong enough, you’ll not be able to react in time due to your hesitation. Most of the time it will be that crucial moment that decides the outcome of the battle. This is the importance of spirit and courage."
"This is why a lot professionals would try to break the opponent before battle. If they succeed, the opponent’s chances of winning will greatly diminish." Garen looked at Yuan Reese and continued, "Professionals who do not have a strong spirit will use other methods to attack their opponent. For example, they would use words to agitate, or hidden schemes to fight their opponent,"
"I understand." Yuan Reese nodded his head. "In short, one has a higher chance of losing a battle of equals, if one’s spirit is disturbed. This is because one is unable to bring out his true strength as the spirit, hence the chances of winning will decrease."
"How do we increase our spirit then?"
"This depends on the individual itself. There are a lot of methods in strengthening one’s spirit. All you need to do is find a method that suits you best." Garen didn’t give him any indication. He couldn’t help but to smile as he looked at the four of them who was pondering on what he just said.
"You can ask me any questions now since both of you, namely Simon and Corinne, will be managing the White Cloud Gate in the future."
Simon and Corinne looked at each other and stood up.
"Please teach us more master."
Both of them started to put out the White Cloud Gate’s pose as they were ready to fight.
Seeing the situation, both Yuan Reese and Karina got up and moved back.
"Come at me both at once. Let me see how much you have improved." Garen sat firmly and didn’t move at all.