Chapter 153 - Acquiring New Companions

"Lightning Law, Local Anesthesia!"

Lilian used one of her healing techniques. Suitable for her impetuous and roaring behavior, Lilian possessed the Lightning Law. Hei, who had deactivated his spirit power to get medicated, lost the sensitivity on his left arm as if it wasn't connected to his body. He tried to raise it, but there was no way.

"Law of Light, Thread of Light!"

On the other hand, a very thin, bright white thread formed in Mia's hands. Quickly, through the spirit power of the young woman, that thread penetrated Hei's skin until it reached the fractures between the bones. After that, it started to fix the bones properly while releasing part of its body where the bone fractures were evident.

"Okay, finished. The parts of my thread of light left behind serve only as a temporary remedy. The more you use your arm, the more they will disappear. It is a temporary solution, but it should last for the end of the day; you shouldn't have any problems for now. Since we are still in class, you will have to deal with this, but during the lunch break, Lilian and I will heal you completely, okay?"

Hei didn't reply immediately; his gaze was fixed on his arm. He was moving it here and there to check the result. Indeed, as Mia had said, there was no problem. It was as if it hadn't broken in the first place. But from the words of the young martial artist medic, it didn't seem that it was completely healed.

"It's all right, thank you, Mia, Lilian. Go back to your sparring session. I don't want the teacher to scold you because of me."

Hei then got up from the ground just in time to receive He Fen's question, who had silently observed the whole healing process.

"Why? Why did you go so far? You weren't obliged. If you did it because you feel pity for me, then-"

"It's not for that. If you want to know, the reason is that I felt like giving you a hand in achieving your goal. I also have two sisters, even if they are younger than me. So I understand your feelings well." Hei, therefore, reached out a hand to indicate Ye and Xing before continuing. "Although to others, they may seem like just two simple spirit beasts, they are my irreplaceable little sisters, and I would do anything to protect them. It doesn't matter if I am a human, and they are spirit beasts, we are united by something that goes beyond the concept of race. That's also true for Lian, isn't it?"

Lian, who was close to him, smiled and replied, "Love is a feeling that manifests its full power when it comes to protecting someone important. But to protect the person you care about, you can't treat your life so lightly. You have to survive and continue to protect your important person."

The words of Hei and Lian rang in He Fen. It was as if he was staggering in the dark until he received Hei's outstretched arm. The same arm that Hei had decided to sacrifice so as not to inflict a severe injury on him.

"I understand. My instincts were right. Please, I don't ask you much, but let me stay in your group. If I'm with you, I think I can have the chance I was looking to get stronger. To protect my sister and give her the future they want to deprive them of."

"You don't need to beg me. I am not the boss, nor are they my subordinates. If you want to stay with us, it's fine. But act like one of our companions." Hei answered calmly. Even if he denied it, his character and his way of doing had unconsciously attracted everyone else so much that he had actually become the leader of that strange group.

Mareo, Haruno, Lilian, Mia, and Leon, all of them looked towards He Fen and nodded to support Hei's words. He Fen felt as if the knot in his chest broke as a feeling of comfort flooded his body. Now he felt he could do it.

"If you're done sparring, I'll take your place."

Suddenly, a female voice rang near He Fen. The green-haired young man with red spots looked around in surprise. He quickly discovered that behind him was a beautiful woman with white hair and blood-red eyes. The ethereal beauty of this young woman left him breathless.

Lang paid no attention to He Fen's reaction, taking that as a yes. Then she advanced toward Hei with her wolf Fenrir.

"It will soon be the end of the lesson. Before it ends, I want to fight you. Beast tamer vs. beast tamer. However, like this guy, I want you to use your true power, and by this, I mean the true power of Ye and Xing and their true form."

Lang challenged Hei, who was surprised at the young woman's words. It was because she unexpectedly understood that Ye and Xing were using a technique to conceal their real appearance.

"How did you know?" Hei asked a little worried.

'The technique that Mother taught Ye and Xing was known only to her and Father. There should be no way for others to know about it. It was also something they used with caution. Therefore it cannot be related to being divine beasts. If I am forced, I can say that it is a family technique, which would correspond to the truth in any case.'

"Their aura. Not what is formed when you activate spirit power. But the aura that derives from the soul of a being. In a way, it's like when you feel awe in front of a creature of enormous size, but you don't notice the ant walking under you. It's the same kind of feeling. Your Ye and Xing give me the feeling of being a bigger predator than what they appear. The same has been said to me by my Fenrir."

"I understand... is it a technique of the imperial tamers? Or is it a technique of you, Renegade Families?"

At Hei's question, Lang bared her teeth, and so did her wolf Fenrir. She had been annoyed by the derogatory term used to indicate the family she belonged to.

"I had no intention of offending you. Actually, I don't care about the hatred someone can feel towards your family. I am not from some territory of the empire but the islands of the Forgotten Ocean. I honestly think your ancestors only did what they thought was right - protect their companions. I would have done the same too, Ye and Xing are worth more than my own life. If you want to see their true forms, I have no objections, but first, answer my question."

At Hei's words, Lang eased her anger slightly. Lilian and Mia had mentioned something like this, but she hadn't paid attention at that time. Yet now, after discovering that Hei was a beast tamer and had openly expressed his support for the cause her ancestors had supported, Lang couldn't help but drop her guard. Her Fenrir also showed no sign of picking up falsehood in Hei's words.

"We don't use the name Renegade Families. If you have to call us together, use the term Beast Families. In any case, we of the Beast Families are linked from birth with spirit beasts, being trained in uncommon ways. This is why we can perceive instinctive, almost animalistic, sensations. I cannot tell you that there are no beast tamers of the empire capable of this. Still, as for me, even among the members of my family or other Beast Families, I am considered to have one of the most sensitive instincts that ever existed. It was difficult for me to notice the particularity of your little sisters, and I doubt that anyone else besides me could perceive it."

Lang's response was sincere. She was the closest person to Hei in a certain way. From birth, she had grown up in an environment full of spirit beasts, developing a more beast-like nature than a human one. For this reason, Hei felt that she could be trusted.

"Okay. We will fight, but not now and not in front of everyone. I don't want to reveal the true form of my little sisters. Not for now. Is it okay for you?"

"All right. Provided that you keep your word. But what about others? "

At Lang's question, Hei turned around and saw everyone else standing there, listening to their conversation. Caught on the facts, everyone laughed embarrassed. Fortunately, Leon, who had previously found himself in a similar situation, intervened.

"If you don't want to reveal it to us, it's fine. However, rest assured that we will certainly not share it with someone else. We've only known each other for a week, but after years of meeting people worth less than trash, I've learned to distinguish people who are worth not to betray. I think I can speak for all of us when I tell you that whatever you are hiding, we will keep the secret."

Hearing Leon's words, Hei didn't know how to respond. He had spent a good week with all of them, but it was certainly not enough to have such a degree of trust in them. In fact, he didn't know how they could trust him so much. However, it was worth a try.

"Alright. Then, when I have to keep my word, you will come too. So you will see the true form of Ye and Xing."

Hei smiled as he took his little sisters off the ground. They had given their big brother the okay to show themselves in their true form. Obviously, they would avoid using the Elemental Laws and their Bloodlines. Perhaps in the future, however, they would reveal them as well to these comrades.

The hand-to-hand sparring lesson ended like this. Song Yazhu declared the end of the lesson and went directly to the one with the weapons. The modalities were similar to before, where the various students would face each other in pairs, this time using their weapons instead. The spirit beasts of the various beast tamers would also participate. After all, if they wanted to support their tamers, they had to be able not only to face other spirit beasts but, above all, the weapons of the opposing martial artists.

As for Hei's group, no newcomers showed up this time, bringing their number to twelve, including the three spirit beasts. Aside from the latter, the other nine members had the following weapons.

- Hei, spear;

- Lian, pair of ribbons;

- Leon, greatsword;

- Haruno, kitchen knife;

- Mareo, pan flute;

- Lilian, pair of scissors;

- Mia, scalpel;

- Lang, standard length sword;

- He Fen, wheels of wind and fire.

As a martial artist chef, Haruno's weapon was his kitchen knife created with a very resistant but, at the same time, flexible metal. Mareo, on the other hand, in addition to his voice, as a martial artist musician, used a musical instrument called pan flute. Even though it wasn't a real weapon, it could still ward off the blows as the pan flute's material had been hardened with metal powder.

Lilian and Mia, instead, as they were martial artists medics, used tools generally used by doctors. They were small in size and therefore weren't suitable for blocking. However, being small weapons made them easy and quick to handle. If one wasn't careful, although Lilian and Mia weren't specialized in combat, they could have easily killed or injured the enemy.

Leon instead drew his greatsword that Hei had seen in the canteen's accident. It was amazing how he managed to maneuver such a cumbersome weapon with such skill. It was clear that he had trained a lot. Lang instead drew a sword of standard length. However, the icy white color of the blade gave Hei a strange sensation, although he couldn't decipher well what it was. The most singular weapon was the one owned by He Fen.

The Wheels of Wind and Fire.

It was the name of his weapons that were similar to two metallic circles. Each wheel consisted of a flat metal ring with 40 cm in diameter. A quarter of a segment had a padded handle with a guard for hand protection; the other three segments instead had blades protruding in the shape of a flame. With one wheel in each hand, He Fen was able to cut, stab, parry or disarm his opponent.

Hei decided to continue the day by challenging him. He was intrigued by the unusual appearance of those weapons he had never seen before. He Fen turned out to be more dangerous than before. He skillfully parried Hei's insidious spear hits while counterattacking at the same time. It was no longer like before, where it was a one-sided fight, but they were on par.

Hei was amazed at He Fen's skill with the wheels of wind and fire. Honestly, Hei could have gotten the upper hand by using the Full Combat Mode, but the goal wasn't to win. He had to remedy his shortcomings and improve in each field separately so as to increase his overall strength.

After He Fen, he challenged Leon, who was the second one with whom Hei most wanted to exchange blows. In the Forgotten Ocean, most martial artists would have used standard length one-hand swords. It was difficult to meet other kinds of weapons. In the Sun Empire, however, it was different. Already in his group, none of them used the same type of weapon. And looking around, he could see weapons of various types, including even some he had never seen.

That way, they finished the lesson with weapons. Song Yazhu declared the start of the lunch break, recommending all students to show up before the beginning of the Elemental Laws class, or they would have bitterly paid for the consequences.

"Well, then. It's better to go to the canteen. We have a couple of hours before the other lesson begins. We, therefore, have time to eat and rest a bit on the grass. How about it?" Haruno proposed to everyone in his group in a lively tone.

The proposal was accepted unanimously, and everyone, including the reticent Lang and the newcomer He Fen, followed him to go to the canteen. Their group could be called unusual since it brought together people with different personalities and backgrounds. Still, strangely it was a combination of martial artists that could be called almost perfect.