Sacred Arts

30. Full Fledged Assassin

"You really have been doing great these past few months since you've been here," Jake told Amon. "I appreciate that a lot, I've been working as hard as I could," Amon replied. "I can also tell that you are a lot more powerful than you have been letting on," Jake said, grinning. "I'm at the peak of the spirit realm and my two other subordinates are right under me, despite that fact, you have been able to best them," Jake continued. "I want to really test your power," Jake exclaimed.

"OK sure, I'll come at you with my all," Amon said, with a determined look in his eyes. Dustin and Lee were approaching the training field to observe the battle between Jake and Amon. Jake drew his short straight sword and focused on his breathing. Amon let out a tremendous aura and drew his short straight sword. "This guy is barely thirteen and his cultivation is only at the peak of the mind stage," Jake thought, confused.

"How could he even conjure such a powerful aura," he continued. Amon focused on his breathing, taking in energy from his surroundings. "He is really using spirit force in tandem with chi," Jake muttered, amazed. Amon activated his "Whispering Wind" technique and charged at Jake. Amon vanished from everyone's sight.

"Amazing!" Jake said, smiling as he looked all around the training field in an attempt to locate Amon. Amon leaped high into the air and took out several kunai knives, throwing them at Jake. Jake looked up in the air and saw the incoming projectiles. He leaped backwards to evade them, but right at that moment Amon threw another kunai knife at one of the previously thrown knives so he could change its trajectory. The two kunai knives collided, resulting in one continuing its assault on Jake while the other hit the ground.

With another Kunai knife quickly incoming Jake sidestepped to dodge it. Almost instantly, Amon appeared in front of him, aiming a kick at the side of his head. "This guy is an amazing strategist," Jake thought as he blocked the kick. The powerful kick was strong enough to push Jake back several feet. "I see why he's the leader," Amon thought to himself.

"He was able to get away with barely even a scratch after all that," Amon continued. "My turn," Jake declared, charging at Amon. Jake threw six kunai in the air. Immediately, he began punching and kicking the six kunai, sending them directly to Amon at great speed. "What speed," Amon said, barely dodging the first kunai that grazed the side of his face, leaving a small cut.

The next five kunai all came at great speeds as well, but Amon managed to dodge each one of them. Jake charged at Amon at top speed and Amon mirrored Jake, charging at him at his full speed as well. Both warriors had their short straight swords drawn and prepared to use them. A resounding clang of metal rung throughout the training field as the two warriors switched from offensive and defensive positions. Sparks flew as their swords kept meeting one another.

Jake threw his straight sword in the air and began to punch and kick at Amon. Due to the punches and kicks being faster than Amon's sword, Amon was quickly disarmed. As Jake's sword fell from the sky, he managed to grab it and attempted to vertically swing it down at Amon. Amon swiftly sidestepped and released one of his energy centers. The extra energy and power allowed Amon to quickly counter with a powerful punch to Jake's face, sending him tumbling back a few dozen feet.

"Good shot," Jake mentioned as he regained his footing and wiped the blood from the side of his face. "I think this would be a great time to show him, the attribute I'm starting to comprehend," Jake thought to himself, smiling. Jake inhaled and exhaled deeply as he began circulating his lightning attribute throughout his body. His battle intent intensified, and the surrounding energy became dense. "What is this?" Amon whispered as he stood on high alert.

"It's like every cell in my body is screaming," Amon muttered as all the hairs on his body stood up. At that moment, Amon channeled energy into his fist and began to punch out energy blasts at Jake. The energy blasts struck Jake but did no damage, because the energy surrounding him was so dense. "How is this even possible?" Amon wondered anxiously. "What is Jake doing?" Dustin asked Lee.

"I'm not sure, I've never seen him use this technique," Lee responded. A couple of seconds passed and streaks of lightning became visible around Jake's body as lightning attribute energy continued to circulate within him.  "He's comprehended an attribute," Lee said in amazement. "It's like no matter how much stronger we get, Jake definitely shows why he's our leader," Dustin said with pride. The elder walked up behind Lee and Dustin to join them in observing the battle.

"That Jake really has grown very powerful," The elder thought, grinning. "For him to use what's probably his strongest technique on this kid must mean Jake is taking this battle very seriously," The elder continued. "That shows how powerful this boy is at his age," the elder whispered, glancing at Amon. The lightning continued to crackle as Jake began to focus all his energy into his right fist. "No matter what, I can't get hit with that," Amon thought nervously as he began to tremble slightly.

"I apologize for taking it this far," Jake admitted to Amon. "I just want to see what we are both capable of," he continued. "This battle has been fun, but let's wrap it up," Jake said as he charged at Amon. The lightning in Jake's fist sounded like birds chirping, as Jake raced at Amon at lightning speed. "I don't have any time to counter, let alone evade," Amon thought, panicking.

"What do I do?" He wondered. "What can I do?" He continued. With an act of desperation, Amon released three more of his energy centers, summoning all the energy he could into his fist and punched out an energy blast the moment Jake was within arms reach. At the same time, Jake roared "lightning shiver," as he aimed for Amon with his lightning jab. A loud boom was heard as dirt and debris flew from around the two warriors when they clashed.

"There's no way this boy could have defended himself against Jake's lightning jab," The elder thought to himself. To everyone's surprise, a loud roar resounded throughout the training field, as the energy waves cleared the dust and debris. "What's this?" Jake asked curiously, as the energy in his fist began to dissipate. "I knew I hit something extremely solid, it felt like I hit iron or something," Jake said holding his hand in pain. An enormous golden dragon with a blue hue shielded Amon from the lightning jab and roared even louder than before.

"This boy awakened a legendary soul beast," The elder exclaimed. "At thirteen years of age, he shouldn't be this powerful," The elder continued. Amon stood in the center of the dragon, sweating and panting heavily as the dragon's body was wrapped around him like a layer of protection. Fire attribute energy began to grow in the mouth of the dragon as the beast prepared a devastating attack. "If that attack hits Jake, he may not survive," The elder speculated.

"What strength?" Jake thought, with fear gripping his heart as he stared into the eyes of the dragon. The dragon released a powerful fire blast attack on Jake. The heat from the blast was so intense that it burned the air and scorched the earth. The blast connected, and another loud boom was heard as dust and debris flew in all directions. The explosion left what looked to be an ocean of fire all over the training field.

"That is enough!" The elder yelled. "This match is over," he declared as he held Jake, clearly saving him from a gruesome death. Sitting on the ground behind the elder, Jake was frozen in fear with sweat trickling down his face. "There's no way he is this powerful," Jake said. "Amazing," he continued as he stood up, snapping out of his daze. Panting heavily and sweating, Amon glanced at the elder before his soul beast faded away and collapsed to the ground.

The moment he landed on the ground, his soul beast disappeared and the scorching flames on the training field were extinguished. "This kid even managed to put out the flames before he passed out," the elder said, grinning, as he watched Amon's unconscious body lay on the field. "Come and let's get you healed," The elder told Jake. "You two grab the boy," the elder Ordered Dustin and Lee. After a while, the four warriors and the elder made it back to the barracks where Amon and Jake were being tended to.

A few hours had passed and the three warriors all waited for Amon to be completely healed. Once Amon was healed, he woke up in a state of panic as he shot up. "Woah, relax," Jake said laughing. "The battle is over, and we are back at the barracks," he continued. "You both did outstanding," the elder stated, complimenting the two warriors.

"I agree, you did," Jake said to Amon. "This is your official welcome to squad nine," Jake said to Amon, with a broad grin. "Congratulations!" The elder said to Amon. "You will now begin your missions and these are your squad members," the elder continued. "All of your lives depend on one another, so team work is essential," the elder added before he walked out the barracks. "Get some more rest," Jake told Amon, patting him on the shoulder. Amon happily laid back in bed so he could fully regain all his energy.