Elder Boe thought if the pressure was weak, there was nothing to worry about. And even if it was initial, his grandson could stand for a couple of minutes, making a straight face.The examiner didn"t want to risk the wrath of Boe. He could not let Lee stand in the circle.
«Oh! There must have been some mix up! Ha ha ha, what a fool I am. I"ll fix it now!» - Kirsan exclaimed and with a guilty smile went to the nephrite... When suddenly, he heard Kyon"s voice.
«Didn"t you apologize to Mr. Bai just a minute ago, referring to the rubbed off slot. Weren"t you going to reschedule the test? Have some respect for the patriarch"s time?»
«Everyone can make a mistake, you little punk.»
«I said that the formation is working properly. If you change the formation, I"ll send you to h.e.l.l for incompetence. Another option, Lee checks if it works and says who of us is right. If I am wrong, I will bow at your feet a hundred times as a sign of my stupidity.» - Kyon said sternly a speech that wasn"t characteristic of his young age.
«Dumb sc.u.mbag. n.o.body cares about your worthless words. You can get out right now. It"s your loss.» - Kirsan resolutely approached the nephrite.
Suddenly, he heard the patriarch"s voice that made Kirsan freeze and tremble:
«Kirsan! I"ve asked Lee to check the formation, haven"t I.»
«Sir…» - His tongue was numb, his head was empty, and his heart was about to collapse. How could he forget Bai"s request...
Lee walked over to the trigram and stood in the centre without hesitation.
Kirsan turned pale, Boe narrowed his eyes, the rest in the audience waited for Lee"s reaction.
«Uhm…» - Suddenly, he coughed and fell to his knees. His face turned red. He could feel pressure in all his body that he could not withstand.
{Was it… Did grandpa arrange things at my qualification?!} – Lee understood everything now.
Now it became clear to him how far he was from those who had pa.s.sed the test without cheating. His self-esteem suffered a serious blow. The most important thing was... The patriarch and grandfather were looking at him!
Bai tapped the armrest and said sternly:
«It"s not funny! Get up off your knees, Lee! Enough of pretense. You have already pa.s.sed a test like this, and quite successfully.»
Elder Boe"s face turned red with shame and anger. Was his grandson nothing but a pathetic sc.u.m?! Why can"t he hold out for at least a few seconds? How could he be so miserable? The patriarch would quickly know the truth!
However, Lee never got up. He crawled out of the circle, short of breath. Sweat was dripping from his forehead.
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«What would you say, Lee?» - Kyon asked.
Stone number one was standing on all fours, still recovering. It didn"t matter what he would say. He would never get his self-esteem back. He could see no way out of the pickle he was in. Today wasn"t his day. d.a.m.n it! He wished he had refused Stephanie"s service!
«I think everyone understands the meaning of his silence. I suggest we proceed to the next test.» - Kyon said calmly and spread his arms.
No one understood what was happening. What if the pressure was real, but Kyon somehow ignored it? No... Most likely, it was a prank the wicked younger generation had arranged.
«You have staged a nice dog and pony show, father.» - Diana said.
«I don"t understand.» - Bai said, ma.s.saging his temples tiredly. If Kyon wasn"t Juno"s friend, he would have him punished properly and leave to work, after taking a couple of pills for a headache.
Boe glared fiercely at the pale examiner. His grandson trembled with shame next to him.
Kirsan brushed off the sweat from his forehead, cleared his throat and tried to speak impa.s.sively.
«We will not delve into the details of what has just happened. Let"s begin the next test on the battle skills. I need any fighter with an officially recorded level of the battle fist to evaluate the examinee in the way of comparison.» - He looked around the audience, carefully avoiding the patriarch and Elder Boe, when his eyes stopped on a girl. - «Stephanie Stone, please, come out here.» - If there weren"t any young people in the hall, Kirsan would have had to stoop to fighting with Kyon himself. It would be a crying shame.
The girl came up to the examiner, visibly nervous. She was desperate and a bit humble.
Kirsan announced:
«Stephanie Stone! You have recently pa.s.sed my qualification for four combat fists, that"s why I"ve chosen you as a partner in the sparring test. The rules are very simple: you are allowed to use only your body and combat skills. It"s forbidden to use any elements or anything like that. Your level of development must be equal. Leaving the arena is tantamount to admitting defeat.»
Stephanie reduced her development to the 9th (1) stage.
«Fighters, take a position in the arena. The battle begins after my signal and lasts five minutes. It will be enough to estimate the examinee"s level of the battle fist. If the level is three or below, he will be disqualified.»
Kyon and Stephanie stood in the circle.
«Fight!» - Kirsan shouted.
Stephanie approached Kyon and did a roundhouse kick aimed at his chin. She carefully watched his body position, ready for any attack.
However, something went wrong... Her lightning-fast kick went an inch away from the target. Then Kyon pulled her by the ankle, which knocked her off balance, and threw her over his hip.
«Аh!» - The room started spinning. And there she was kissing the floor while Kyon was sitting on her bottom, catching her in a leg lock.
«I give up!» - She cried in a high-pitched voice.
The elders looked at each other. The patriarch rubbed his eyes tiredly. Kirsan was speechless. Kyon had defeated the opponent who had the fourth level of the battle fist!
«Has he already won?» - Diana was surprised.
From the outside, Kyon did nothing outstanding. He had successfully dodged, grabbed Stephanie by her foot and threw her over. There was a little left to do.
«Have I pa.s.sed?» - Kyon asked, interrupting the gloomy silence.
«I will disregard your victory. You were lucky. Take a position and try again.» - Kirsan ordered.
Stephanie"s sweet face was red with shame. She took the fighting stance with no enthusiasm.
«Fight!»
A second later, the scene was just like the last time. Kyon was sitting calmly on Stephanie"s back. His instant victory was even more ridiculous. He used a holding technique that no one knew in this world because it was unnecessary. When fighting with elemental attacks, prolonged contact of bodies can be dangerous. All martial arts here were designed for blows only.
«Have I pa.s.sed?» - Kyon asked, lazily scratching his head.
The patriarch tapped the unfortunate armrest again. This time it broke in two. He said angrily:
«d.a.m.n it! Did I come to see a show or a qualification?! Can you do at least one test properly?! Stephanie, fight with dignity!»
«Yes, patriarch.» - Stephanie answered with tears in her eyes. Why didn"t the adults believe her? She was really powerless against Kyon!
Five seconds later, Stephanie was about to sob, warming the floor with her cheek. But it wasn"t her fault!
«It"s unbelievable!» - Bai said angrily and glanced at the leader of the youth in the Stone family. - «Lee, you are the role model for our younger generation. Go and fight against Kyon. And no more kidding!»
All the elders nodded approvingly. The leader of the generation wouldn"t fool around! Even Diana was curious how it all would end.
«No… Please, no! I am begging you…» - Lee looked desperate. They might ask him as well to jump off the cliff. – «I don"t want to fight him! I will lose!» - He knew too well that Kyon would defeat him. Kyon"s movements were supreme master level.
Boe hissed violently at his grandson:
«The patriarch ordered you to win, which means you must win! Give a good thras.h.i.+ng to this shameless puppy! You"ve been training with Welbourne, the best master since you were a child!» - The elder wanted Lee to atone for his faux pas with the trigram and quickly defeat the little brat.
Lee entered the circle, empty-eyed, his knees getting weak. He was trembling, his soul enveloped in complete hopelessness. The patriarch himself was counting on him! His grandfather had pinned his hopes on him! What could he do?! Who should he pray for help?!
A bright thought flashed across his mind. Kyon must play along with him! After all, he had persuaded Boe to arrange his personal qualification... He just had to give Kyon a sign!
Lee started winking at Kyon.
The patriarch had an acute migraine attack when he realized why the elder"s grandson was acting like this.
Boe"s face froze with despair, mixed with rage. He would kill Lee if he took a dive. Then would break Kirsan"s fingers for the farce that he had arranged for his dear grandson.
«Fight!» - Kirsan yelled, totally unaware of anything.
After one second of the battle, Lee repeated Stephanie"s fate. He stood no chance against Kyon. Before he knew it, he got knocked down. Lee was shaking, his eyes full of fear and despair.
Boe felt invisible scissors cut his connection with his grandson. The elder was disappointed beyond words in his descendant.
«Enough! I can"t stand this circus of fools anymore! Lee, you have seriously disappointed me. Our family needs a strong, courageous and worthy favorite. Not like you. Get out of my sight before you get your deserved punishment!» - Bai barked furiously. No one had ever dared to make a fool of him. It was unheard of! Young people held the older generation for idiots if they dare to arrange such stupid pranks.
«It"s not my fault!» - Young Stone number one screamed desperately, tears running down his cheeks.
«Lee! Shut up, you little b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Don"t you dare to argue with the patriarch! I have been sparing the rod for too long! It"s high time!» - Elder Boe left his seat with a red face and dead eyes. He grabbed his grandson by the scruff of his neck and dragged him outside, totally ignoring his cries and pleas for forgiveness.
Stephanie was wise enough to hide away from the older generation. She was so happy she hadn"t invited her father, the elder. However, the patriarch"s present was discouraging enough.
Diana covered her mouth with her hand. All this had cheered her up for the first time in the last three years. {Poor Lee. His grandfather will beat him hard for folly.} – Her father"s reaction particularly amused Diana. Only her husband Yurich could ever set him off.
Juno kept nervously turning a lock of hair on her index finger. - {How did he do the trigram trick? He must have used a protective formation. Or did he talk Lee into it? It can"t be. Then how?}
The audience didn"t care that Kyon had pa.s.sed two out of three trials. They were convinced he would fail the third.
It was impossible to pa.s.s the third test with Kyon"s level of development. Not if Kirsan was the examiner. That"s what made the qualification so challenging.
Kirsan coughed dryly. «Patriarch, sir. I suggest we move on to the third test and finish this rotten qualification.»
«Let"s do that.» - Bai agreed.
«Will he really fight with Kirsan? He"s only a weak boy!» - Diana explained, looking at Kyon. She also wondered how he could make Lee and Stephanie help him win…
«His problems do not concern anyone. He had persuaded Lee to arrange a qualification for him, so let him pa.s.s it. No more kidding.» - Bai said sternly. If Kyon wasn"t his granddaughter"s friend, Bai would have punished him long ago.
Kirsan entered the arena, spread his arms and said:
«Get ready for a real battle between us, examinee. You have to give one single injury. Any scratch or bruise will instantly mark your victory. In my turn, I will reduce my development to the first stage of the n.o.ble phase. The rules forbid the use of poisons and any formations. Feel free to pick up a weapon. I will give you a head start, so be it. Moreover, I won"t be using my flexible club I usually hit my examinees" heads with.» - He could not hold back an icy smile. Kirsan wanted to tear up the boy who had caused him so much trouble.
«He doesn"t stand a chance against Kirsan. Why are we wasting our time?» - Elder Qing asked.
Diana nodded. «I feel sorry for the bo ... He was too rude with Kirsan, showed him disrespect. I believe he will spend next few months in hospital.»
Juno looked at the a.s.sistant with wide-opened eyes. She couldn"t understand why he was so calm. In his place, any reasonable person would start worrying. Kyon"s impa.s.sioned face was bewildering.
She didn"t like what was going on. Her a.s.sistant"s plans were unclear. It would all come down to Kirsan finis.h.i.+ng him off with one blow. The examiner had an unbelievable advantage in speed, strength, skill, body resistance, a whole a.r.s.enal of techniques and skills. If Kyon was so keen to die, he could ask her about it. She would gladly carry out this plan...
Stephanie was also confused. May Laurel help him!
«Why is he so self-a.s.sured?» - Bai muttered and looked at his granddaughter. Apparently, she didn"t know the answer herself. Today, the patriarch met an amazing weirdo, beyond the ordinary standards. It was unusual... Fools like him were usually eliminated by natural selection or by their parents" brutal flogging when they were still kids.
The opponents took their places.