They fought still.
The morning light glinted off Kyle's brow and blade, illuminating his ferocity.
Where once his moves were disjointed and raw, now they flowed, feints, sidesteps, cross-slashes.
Every flaw pointed out earlier, grip too tight, swing too broad, shoulders locked, was now gone.
He had learned mid-fight, adapting, evolving.
Finally, Cassian stepped back, breathing heavier than before. "Tell me, Kyle… Are you certain you are not some kind of beast?"
"Hahaha." Kyle chuckled, breathing heavily as well. "I'm not, Father, I'm your son."
It was like he had forgotten how clumsy Kyle had been while trying to copy him at the beginning of this training session.
His real-time improvements had overwritten all those earlier errors. All that occupied the Marquis' mind now was how good this young man was with the sword.
It was unreal; that kind of improvement was not supposed to be possible. People spend a lifetime learning the sword.
They take decades to absorb the kind of skill Kyle had. And yet he was only sixteen. Well fifteen. In a week, he would be sixteen.
That's right, Kyle's birthday was a few days away.
Kyle paused. His eyes, glowing faintly reflecting the sunlight, his gaze held no pride; he felt oddly calm and composed still.
No visible sense of accomplishment from that sort of improvement in a single session in the night, like it had all unfolded exactly how he expected it to in the end.
Silence.
"Kyle, you are one hell of a talent. The future looks promising." Cassian went up to shake Kyle's hand.
"Uhm, thanks." He did not know how to respond to his father complimenting him like that, but he took it in stride.
Surprisingly, Nuna was also in the training hall. She was sitting on a chair and had been silently spectating the whole time.
She was the most stunned, because she had the clearest view of the three of them.
She interjected with her own question, unable to contain her excitement. "What was that, Kyle? That was spectacular!"
Kyle walked over to her, holding himself back from embracing her and pulling her into a kiss. He gave her a little pat on the head.
They both smiled at each other.
She had been the one to clearly see Kael stumble a few hours ago, and now somehow, he had not just his movement and footwork down; his skills and mastery had gotten so good, it put her own martial skills to shame.
Nuna practiced a scythe martial art, meaning she was a scythe user. But she could tell that Kyle's mastery with his sword was equal to or greater than her mastery with her own primary weapon.
In a fight of pure skill, Kyle would most likely win, even though she was stronger. Without taking into account their Qi cultivation.
However, she did not feel jealousy or anything of that sort. What she felt was extreme joy and happiness.
The Marquis, however, narrowed his eyes at Nuna and Kyle's interaction.
'When did they get so close? If I didn't know any better, I would say they were a couple... No, that's not possible.' He shook his head, writing it off.
"Kyle, you might have just caught up to your peers in a short time. No, you have just surpassed the majority of them. I can't say how proud I am of that."
Kyle smiled.
"But, my question from earlier, you haven't explained yet. How did you reach the late Qi condensation stage so quickly?"
Kyle nodded, and he began to explain, though he looked a bit shy.
"That. Well, you see, I cultivated my Qi using a technique called The Radiant Lord's Dual cultivation technique. And I uh, cultivated with Nuna, leaping through to the late stage in one go."
Silence.
The Marquis's eyes were wide and distant. It didn't even look like he was listening anymore. So he was not imagining the sparks flying between the two of them...
However, his attention was drawn to the words 'Dual Cultivation technique. '
"What? Did you say dual cultivation?"
"Yes... I did?"
"But those kinds of techniques were lost millions of years ago. Where did you get it?"
Dual cultivation techniques were the stuff of legend. The most anyone had heard of them was when reading history books in a library.
In the books, they said such techniques were lost in time either because there was an event in history where they were frowned upon, or a large-scale war that wiped out a sect or family happened.
But what they did say, however, was that Dual cultivation techniques required an intimate connection between two people of the opposite gender to trade their essence, in other words, sexual juices, or cum.
But most people did not believe that such a thing existed; many had tried based on the little information they had, but it never worked.
They did confirm, though, that body fluids did contain pure, refined Qi. But with no way to extract it, it was useless.
It seemed like a proper technique was required. The common populace, however, had no access to a vast library, and so hardly anyone knew about dual cultivation.
Even with his vast experience and knowledge, Cassian had only heard rumors of their existence.
He had never heard of anyone who had actually seen one. So, Kyle suddenly saying he had a Dual Cultivation Technique was quite a surprise.
"And your relationship with Nuna... How has it progressed this much? I hope it was consensual. You did not force her to do anything, did you?"
"Of course not, Father. I have loved Nuna for the longest time."
"Is that so?" He asked, narrowing his eyes
Kyle blushed, but nodded confidently. "And, ehem, Uhm, I uh wish to take her as my official partner if possible." Kyle looked toward Nua affectionately.
Cassian looked between them, reading the air. " You can do what you want, But. Not many will approve of this kind of union. I hope you realise that, and are prepared to bear the consequences."
"I am, Father, I have made up my mind."
"But, going down this road comes with its own responsibilities; You still have Jasmine, it's not easy, having more than one partner and taking care of all their needs."
Kyle nodded, his expression firm.
"However, if I hear you have been mistreating this lovely young lady over there, I might have to disown you. Treat her well."
Kyle gulped, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.