"Listen here, young one," Sari pulled Gin's ears softly, "You will behave and take extra care while here, all right? None of that toothy attitude of yours."

"I think you mean smart mouth," Sato smacked Gin's lips lightly. "And, remember, Il San is invaluable to us, so take care!"

If me telling you the truth is being a smart mouth, then so be it, but! Gin fumed in his heart before chiding his parents verbally, "If you are going to miss me, just say so! No need to resort to violence!"

"Aw, of course, we will miss you!" Sari stuck Gin close in her embrace.

"Yes, very much. Now, let's go," Sato said as he took a case from behind the cart and set it on the ground. A servant came quickly and took the case, then stood to the side waiting for Gin.

"By the way, father. Will you leave me some spending money?" Gin inquired.

Not responding, Sato got on the cart, closely followed by Sari.

"Father?" Gin called out.

After taking the horse's reins, Sato paused to look at Gin, all fatherly love drained from his face. "You will be living in such a grandiose place, with such great living standards. What spending money?"

And with that, his parents turned the cart and left without even a proper farewell.

This father... Gin thought to himself in utter disbelief and bitterness.

"Yo, give me that," a voice came from his side.

Gin turned to see the servant giving his case to Kiri. He then felt a hand touching his shoulder, he turned again only to see Flower. They had tears in their eyes and were still visibly shaking from laughter.

"'What spending money'! Hahaha," loud strings of laughter continued their escape while Flower bent over and clutched their stomach.

Gin couldn't help but look at them hatefully. So he had a stingy father, what could he do? He was staying for only three months anyways, it was understandable that he wouldn't get any spending money. It wasn't as if he would need it, as his father said, he was going to live a rather grandiose life. But still...

Kiri joined them and placed his arm around Gin's shoulders. "In hindsight, you may have been better off with that money... Living a grandiose life, eh?" Kiri chuckled, and Flower lost themselves in more laughter.

"Gin, get moving," Il San ordered from behind them.

When Gin looked over, he saw his Master already heading towards the entrance of the Distant Jade.

"Yes, Master!" Gin answered as he hurriedly made his way to Il San. He was all too glad to get away from the troublemakers, very glad indeed!

Before Gin could take two steps, both Flower and Kiri on either side of him leaped forward and landed gracefully at the Master's side. Their casual action left him baffled, and it brought the fact that he was with the legends, though annoying, back to the forefront. Even though he had seen them fight, it still didn't dampen the shock of seeing the Divine Art in action.

The stories he heard of people being able to emulate the gods didn't seem too far fetched now. Coming from a small town, he had less of an interest in the Divine Art gossip and its testy written works. He had, unfortunately, been bombarded with the gossip anyway all thanks to Agi, the daughter of his father's right hand, an ambitious, snobby lass whom he wouldn’t miss! Be that as it may, the whole spectacle was a shock to last him a while.

Indeed, all he knew of it were rumors. The most concrete information he had known before witnessing the fight between Flower and Kiri would be about the Priests and Noble's involvement. The Divine Art wasn't something easily seen or learned by just anyone since a great fortune went into getting a Priest to teach someone the Art.

At one point, it was claimed that the Art was a right of passage and reserved for those of Noble Birth, but that claim began to deteriorate when folks learned that a Noble had to use half of their wealth to have their daughter taught the Divine Art. This revealed to many that Noble Blood wasn’t all that mattered, money played a huge role in the Art too. And the news had easily deterred many from the Divine Art since it was a spectacle too far away for them to care. Although, some did continue to fawn over it, and it was mostly due to those people, and those of old, that many rumors on the Divine Art continued to thrive. This was, of course, before the 5 legends.

About 50 years ago, a tradition started whereby after every ten years, an event would be held in Celebration of the King's Rule, and only then would a selected few see the Divine Art. People flying, painting the wind with spectacular images, mock fights that sent chills down everyone's spine, as the stories went. Ten years was too long a time to retain such information, and those that went to the celebration were people of note in the Royal Capital and other kingdoms under the King. All those not faring well financially or without much influence wouldn't get to witness it.

The commoners would suffice with skits, like the group of people that had visited Gin’s little town when he was 7 years of age, to perform a rather shoddy play-fight of the Divine Art. These groups of people would travel to various other parts of Jade to do the same performance to engage the people in the celebration. The whole thing did nothing but reinforce that the use of the Art was only for those who were privileged, both by Birth and wealth.

That was until the 5 legends made their appearance 13 years ago. Gin had still been suckling at his thumb without a care in the world. He knew not of Commoners with no Nobility or wealth to speak of that Il San of the Distant Jade had raised and taught the Divine Art. Their carefree activities made some witness a little of the might of the Arts freely. Songs of their adventures were woven into winding designs and illustrations on silk.

But, even with them, not much was known about the Divine Art. How was it taught? Which resources were required to learn? Their stories didn't deviate much from the knowledge provided from hearsay, and all it proved was that commoners like them could use Divine Art without Noble Birth; if, of course, they had the finances and connections to achieve it.

The 5 had been lucky to be chosen and learn the Art from someone of note like Il San, who had also been the subject of discussions when the 5 showed off their might. Il San had already been an enigma before the might of the 5 was showcased. A man who came to the outskirts of Janln, seemingly out of the blue, owned a humongous piece of land and built a large estate on it. The fact that he knew the Divine Art and could teach it was discovered only after the 5 went wild. This, of course, had only deepened his air of mystery. Truths and lies about who he was had been a heated topic, but no information was ever guaranteed unless you counted him being a commoner and chosen by the gods as one of them.

Would someone like Il San accept other students? Of course not. Some that tried to have him teach them the Divine Art were chased away, those that were persistent were beaten thoroughly by either one of his students. The vehement refusal saw some lose the little interest they had, others completely uncaring about it, but a select few left obsessed, Agi being among them.

Ahead of him, Gin saw Il San's sleeve flash and Kiri sent flying with his case still in his hand. Kiri landed heavily on the ground and rolled a few feet before he came to a stop. Gin's face was washed in shock as he looked at Kiri struggling to stand. For a split second, he worried more about the state of his case than the wellbeing of a fellow human. Turning back to look at his Master, he saw Flower step off the ground, leaping lightly away from the elder. They kept their distance from Il San, but instead of fear, they clutched their stomach while laughing, as usual.

If Gin said he wasn't scared, it would be an unabashed lie, making him eligible to receive an ear full of scolding from his father and mother on one of their synchronized bad days—which mainly involved them being unable to buy farm items at their fair price in the overpriced store, Farmer’s Galore, owned by Zehabi, his parents’ long term nemesis.

In front of Gin, Il San stopped walking and turned to look at him. Gulping nervously, the young boy made his way forward quickly. It was too late for him to run now; for one, where would he go? For two, with what spending money?

Father, you may have been wrong... What grandiose life?! Gin muttered weakly in his heart.