Alfred was right. Bruce did feel safe because of Marcus's return.
As his student, Bruce couldn't fully comprehend the extent of Marcus's powers. Whether it was the razor-sharp butterflies that could kill instantly or his ghost-like movements, everything about Marcus amazed him. After all, in the past, Marcus had only left behind a metal razor butterfly to protect them.
"Alfred, do you know the true extent of my teacher's strength?" Bruce asked.
"I'm sorry, Master Bruce," Alfred shook his head. "I don't know any more about Mr. Marcus's abilities than you do. But there is one thing I'm certain of—Mr. Marcus truly considers you his student."
This made Bruce smile. Just as he trusted Marcus, Marcus also placed great trust in him. Otherwise, he wouldn't treat Bruce as a genuine student.
"I should talk with my teacher. That kind of incredible power isn't something a normal person can possess."
Bruce had seen it clearly before. Those beast-like killers were no match for Marcus.
It seemed the assassins who had forced him and Selina into hiding for so long were no different from helpless infants compared to Marcus's power.
While they were talking, Selina woke up in the guest room. She played with the dagger Marcus had given her, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"He's back. Bruce and I can finally have some stability in our lives for a while."
For days, their nerves had been stretched taut, constantly fearing a direct confrontation with those killers. They'd been living in greater fear than ever before.
But now she knew they no longer needed to worry. Marcus was their greatest protection.
She also wanted to learn from Marcus how to master these powerful techniques, so they could defend themselves when danger arose.
Putting the dagger back into the scabbard at her waist, Selina headed toward the bathroom.
Compared to his students' reactions, Marcus hadn't changed much.
Though seeing Bruce and the others again was certainly pleasant, it wasn't exciting enough to keep him from sleeping soundly.
Marcus woke up refreshed and took out three combat suits from the space module on his belt.
"These will make perfect gifts!"
Bruce and Selina's stories from the previous night made Marcus even more satisfied with the gifts he'd prepared. Bruce had already encountered so many dangers before even becoming the Dark Knight.
In the future, Bruce would face even more powerful enemies, and the combat suit Marcus had prepared would be Bruce's first step toward becoming Batman.
"Speaking of which, Selina seems to be destined as Bruce's wife," Marcus thought, raising his eyebrows with a smile. It was obvious his two students had feelings for each other. Perhaps someday he'd even meet their children.
"However, Alfred is really getting old. We should find an opportunity to give him some of Howard's life serum."
As the Wayne family's butler, Alfred had always been Bruce's guardian, but he was indeed aging. Perhaps it wouldn't be many years before he'd be forced to leave Bruce's side.
Holding the combat suits, Marcus walked toward the garden of Wayne Manor.
A little later, Alfred arrived carrying a breakfast tray. Although Marcus had been away for a long time, Alfred still remembered his habits. Every morning, Marcus would train in the garden.
Behind Alfred, Bruce and Selina appeared in the garden wearing training clothes.
In the garden, Marcus was wielding a long sword, surrounded by countless flashes of light that made him appear impenetrable.
Whoosh... whoosh...
The sword whistled through the air, the sound resembling the cry of a peregrine falcon—sharp and piercing.
He had mastered formidable powers through the Vazarin School, and this display was little more than play for him now. Void energy spread from his hand along the sword, making the blade emit an even more terrifying power.
"Is this the power our teacher has mastered?" Bruce whispered in awe.
Bruce and Selina stood stunned by the scene before them. Fallen leaves and petals from the garden swirled through the air around Marcus and his sword, looking like something straight out of a fantasy.
Only Alfred quickly recovered from his amazement, setting the tray on a stone table in the garden to prepare refreshments for everyone.
After completing his sword dance, Marcus stopped and looked at them.
"You two, come and attack me. Let me see how well you've mastered what I taught you. If you impress me, I'll give you a gift."
Hearing Marcus's challenge, Bruce and Selina exchanged glances before approaching together.
First, Bruce pulled out a fully sharpened western sword from his back and saluted Marcus with it against his chest.
Then he suddenly swung the sword, attacking Marcus with the "Cunning Fox" technique.
No one worried about the situation. Even though Bruce was using a fully sharpened rapier, they all knew he couldn't possibly harm Marcus. If Marcus wanted, Bruce wouldn't even be able to touch the edge of his clothing.
Facing Bruce's Cunning Fox attack, Marcus didn't even move a step. He simply flicked his finger against the incoming rapier.
Ding~
The rapier was deflected away, but Bruce used the momentum of the deflection to spin around and swing his sword again.
This was the defensive counterattack move of the Cunning Fox style, called "Invisible Swing." As the name suggested, the sword instantly drew a ray of light through the air.
But the gap in strength between Bruce and Marcus was too great. Although Bruce's technique impressed Marcus, it still couldn't force him to move an inch.
Looking at the approaching blade, Marcus gently raised his hand and pinched Bruce's rapier between just two fingers, rendering it immobile.
The moment his blade was caught, Bruce released the hilt. With both hands, he reached for his waist and launched several kunai that Marcus had previously given him.
Simultaneously, he pulled out the dagger Marcus had given him and rushed forward.
He was doing his utmost to show Marcus the results of his training.
Facing Bruce's tactical assault, Marcus nodded with satisfaction. Bruce could now skillfully employ these fighting techniques. If there was a weakness, it was simply that he was just an ordinary human.
If Bruce's opponents were all ordinary people, then his current strength would be sufficient.
But the assassins targeting Bruce were obviously not ordinary humans.
With Bruce's current abilities, he could only rely on his environment and fighting skills to handle one or two such killers at most.
Any more than that, and his strength would be insufficient.
A vortex appeared in Marcus's right hand, sucking in all the kunai Bruce had thrown. With his other hand, he easily grabbed Bruce and pinned him to the ground.
"Good performance, but with your current strength, you shouldn't attack at such close range," he advised.
After saying this, he released Bruce and returned all his weapons.
"Next, it's your turn, little cat burglar!"
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