21 Are You Really Five Years Old?

*Drip Drip*

A crimson liquid slowly fell to the hard, stone ground. The redness seeped into the grey bricks, traveling through the cracks, trying to get as far as possible.

*Drip*

Another red liquid fell on top of the previous one's, furthering the distance they traveled. The crevices filled up with the thick and vibrant blood. Tiny pebbles drowned in the incoming bloody liquid.

Hair that resembled the crimson liquid swayed in the pushing wind. Further down, a small cut appeared on the pale forehead. This cut was the origin of the red liquid; the blood trailed down the sides of the sharp nose and slid over the dilated golden eyes. It reached the rosy lips and branched into two trails. One fell from the upper lip, sometimes entering the widened mouth, the other one kept going until it reached the jaw. It took a sharp turn toward the chin and fell towards the ground.

The man with the cut blankly looked at the fist that was touching his forehead. The knuckles only pierced the skin, going no deeper. The man followed the fist and found the attacker looking at him with a mocking smile.

"If this was a real-life situation, then you would not be standing right now." Arnin pulled his fist back and spoke in a way that only Brajus could hear. Coldness crawled down Brajus' spine when he heard Arnin's words. He knew that the boy was right; if this wasn't a sparring match, then his head would have had more than just a cut. He pulled himself together and took a deep breath. His aura slowly rose until it reached the peak of Orb Birth - Heaven. The way he looked at Arnin also changed, there was no anger or haughtiness. His golden eyes shimmered with determination, there was only battle intent and resolution in his stare.

Arnin didn't get into any position and only stared at Brajus with his undisguised scorn. His body began to also quietly reach its peak. Although one could not see Arnin in a battle stance, his aura was still building up.

Kelnorin and the other teachers that were watching had wide eyes. The smiled they had on their faces touched their ears, their hands clenched into fists. They never imagined that Arnin would be able to get Brajus by surprise in such a fashion. They were also very surprised with Arnin's cultivation realm. It wasn't at Orb Birth - Earth like most five-year-olds, rather it was already in Orb Birth - Sky. Not only that, it seemed to be fast approaching peak level. They couldn't help but mockingly laugh at themselves.

"Arnin, seems that you are much stronger than I thought. I won't be holding back this time, so make sure you are ready." Brajus jumped back before circling Arnin at high speed. His speed accelerated and created a dust storm. Rocks flew everywhere, and the dust created a type of smoke screen. Arnin stood in the middle calmly, his eyes looking at the storm intently, trying to pick up anything that could be abnormal.

Brajus kept circling Arnin and when he found that he wasn't moving, he leaped out of the dust cloud and rushed towards him from the back. He wasn't using killing blows, but his fist carried a great amount of essence and power. Arnin felt the fluctuation in the air, and instead of turning his head, the first thing he did was duck his head. The fist flew above him unstably, causing Brajus' body to fall forward because of the miss.

Arnin then lifted his body upward and jumped into the air. His head directly hit Brajus' chin, forcing him to fall backward. Brajus lifted his hands and grabbed his head. He felt dizzy and couldn't keep his eyes open.

Arnin noticed this moment of thoughtlessness and rushed towards Brajus. With the octagonal pattern in his body, Arnin was countless times stronger than when he fought Orsesa (Author note: The mother of the seven-year-old). However, he noticed that Brajus was also much stronger than Orsesa.

Just as Arnin was about to go and land another blow onto Brajus, the dust suddenly dispersed. A rapid wind tornado appeared causing everything to return back to normal. Arnin turned his head and saw Kelnorin walking towards him with a smile on his face.

"As a five-year-old, you are extremely gifted. You have Demon-like fighting capabilities. I wonder where you learned to fight in such a way. You are only five, so you shouldn't have experienced much, right?" Kelnorin looked at Arnin with a cunning smile. However, he was returned with an expressionless face. Arnin didn't puff out his chest or even accept the praises, he just looked at Kelnorin without much of a reaction. Only, there seemed to be a glint in Arnin's eyes that no one seemed to notice. Kelnorin noticed that Arnin wasn't going to answer, so he decided to switch the subject.

"Since you did outstanding in this test, way beyond anything that I have ever seen, you can proceed to the final test." Kelnorin was very satisfied with Arnin, however even though he showed an appearance of satisfaction, no one truly understood how he felt on the inside. His back had cold sweat, while he was also holding back his trembling hands. This was not of excitement, but of fear. Arnin's talent was way beyond that of anyone. Not only did he produce a frightening grey-black flame, his fighting skills were also on a much higher level. Kelnorin believed that if Arnin was given the same cultivation realm as him, then he would stand no chance against Arnin. He was especially frightened about how ruthless Arnin was when he fought, it was not something that he would see in a child or even in many adults.

Kelnorin decided that he needed to report information about Arnin to the principle and have him decide what to do with Arnin.

"Now, let me explain to you what the special test was. It is not a physical test or a talent test, rather it isn't even a test." When Kelnorin spoke, Arnin became confused. If it wasn't a test then what was it? Noticing the confusion on Arnin's face, Kelnorin put his hand into his robe and pulled out a white orb.

"There is a rule in our academy that only teachers know about. If a student is eligible to take the special test, they must accept three conditions in order to get into the academy. If you won't accept them then not only will you now be able to enter the academy, you will also not be able to enter any other academy in Afloria. The reason for this is because each academy has the same special test and it cannot be changed." As Kelnorin spoke and place the orb on the ground. It didn't roll around like a normal ball, rather it began to project a blue light that caused it to slowly lift into the air.

Arnin looked intently at the orb, but couldn't figure out what it was and what it was made of. His knowledge of the essence and everything else was too lacking to know what it was.

"What are these three conditions that you speak of? I will only accept them if I find them reasonable and not too demanding." Arnin made his stance clear before receiving the conditions. If they were something that would hold him back, then there was no point in attending such a restrictive academy.

Kelnorin smiled slightly before walking around the orb and standing beside Arnin. "The conditions are not too demanding, however, they will restrict you for a certain period of time. I cannot tell you the conditions myself so we will head to the academy right away so that the head of the academy can explain them to you." Kelnorin placed his hand on the orb and released some blood. The orb rapidly transformed into a set of wings that climbed flew onto the back of Kelnorin. Arnin was surprised when he saw what happened. He assumed that the orb was related to the test, but who knew that such an orb was able to turn into a set of wings.

"Teacher Kelnorin, I cannot head over to the academy with you just yet. I am waiting for someone who will be attending the academy with me, so I wish to wait until they arrive before meeting with whoever you want me with." Arnin took a step backward before speaking to Kelnorin.

"Umm, alright then. We will head over tomorrow. I will be away for the day, but if you need any help or have any questions then ask the teachers around here." Kelnorin quickly spoke to Arnin before flying into the air and heading towards the stoneless hill. Arnin watched him leave before turning around and walking towards the crowded area once again. Although he didn't like to be around crowds, he found that large groups easily spread information. Arnin wanted to collect some information about the academy and anything else that he considered important.

Vilis got up and followed behind Arnin, while the rest stood there blankly before walking away. Xillar didn't walk away with the other teachers, rather he decided to chase after Arnin and ask him a few questions.

"Hey, kid, wait a minute! I want to talk to you!" Xillar quickly ran towards the departing Arnin. His face glowed with excitement.

Arnin stopped walking and turned around. He looked at Xillar with some annoyance. "Yes, teacher? What do you need?" Xillar stopped walking and stared at Arnin with great interest. He looked at Arnin from top to bottom. His eyes landed on the tattoos on his head and didn't move for a few long minutes.

"I just have a few things I want to ask and discuss with you. Why don't we speak while we walk?" Xillar stretched his arm outward and allowed Arnin to begin walking first. He then flashed beside him with a quick step. Arnin didn't act surprised, which caused Xillar to have some speculations about his age.

"Let me begin with a few small questions. What is your cultivation realm? I can see that you are at Orb Birth - Sky, but you were able to defeat an Orb Birth - Heaven cultivator with ease." Xillar didn't move his eyes away from the grey tattoos on Arnin's forehead. He couldn't understand how such tattoos appeared. He almost believed that they were placed there by another person, yet he couldn't help but deny that thought.

"My cultivation realm is as you say, Orb Birth - Sky. Me defeating that lobster head was only luck, plus he was really dumb." Arnin gave a vague answer, not allowing Xillar to divulge more into the topic.

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"Achoo!" Brajus suddenly sneezed lightly. His golden eyes watered up and his nose became slightly red. He lifted his right hand and rubbed his nose with a smile. "Seems like I am being spoken about. I wonder who is talking about me. Haha!"

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Xillar pitifully smiled when he heard Arnin's answer. Luck? Who would believe that after seeing the spar? Xillar just took it as Arnin not wanting to answer the question.

Arnin didn't truly want to expose his skills and other secrets about him, so he didn't answer truthfully. He didn't even try to think of a good reason because he knew the teacher would be able to understand his thoughts.

"Before I ask you more, do you have any questions for me? Say about cultivation or the academy?" Xillar puffed out his chest when he made such a suggestion. He knew that his knowledge had to be higher than a five-year-old regarding cultivation.

Arnin thought for a moment before looking at Xillar with interest. He remembered that he wanted to learn more about the orb from the scholar in his village, but because of the events that took place there, he wasn't able to quench his thirst for knowledge.

"Since you are suggesting this, then let me ask you some things." Arnin smiled towards Xillar. His obsidian eyes twinkled ever so slightly. Cultivation. It was the reason for him traveling and his reincarnation. Why wouldn't he want to learn more?

Xillar looked extremely happy with Arnin's response. He wanted to get on Arnin's good side in the early stages so that he would benefit later on. He was willing to be shameless if he would be able to benefit further down the line. "Ask away, young grasshopper."

Arnin lifted one eyebrow but chose not to comment on such a name. "Well, I wanted to learn about ways one can strengthen the orb threads in the body. For example, if I want to boost eyesight for a short period of time or boost my strength for a period. How would I accomplish that?" Arnin had always wondered if Afloria had something similar to the symbols he had in his body. Those symbols were able to strengthen his body indefinitely and even increase strength to a further level for a short period of time. However, the symbols were not completely in sync with the orbs; he wanted to know if the world had something similar that was tailor-made for the orb.

Xillar looked at Arnin with astonishment. He looked away for a few minutes and began to ponder the question. "Well, there is a way to do that, but one can only accomplish such a task if they enter Essence Manifest Realm, however even then, the strengthening wouldn't be too great. If I recall correctly, one can have characters placed in their body by a type of Mark Master." Xillar spoke with great admiration, however, there was also a seriousness in his voice. He looked at Arnin before opening his mouth once more. 'Why do you ask such a question? Do you want to get such characters in your body, or is there a different reason?"

His eyes glimmered as he intently inspected the tattoos on Arnin's head. They didn't look like characters, but he had a thought that maybe they were linked to Mark Masters.

Arnin was glad that there was a way to strengthen the body. What made him even happier was that this strengthening came in the shape of a character, which would be similar to his symbols. Mark Masters? Arnin thought of this job title but began to ponder deeply about how he should acquire a person with such skill, or if he was able to gain the abilities himself.

Xillar looked at Arnin and noticed that he didn't ask about Mark Masters right away, or even about how to speed up cultivation. In his experience, children would ask about cultivation increase tips and other common things, however, Arnin asked such an unexpected question. A thought appeared in his mind that he at first wanted to scratch, but couldn't help but not push away.

"Arnin, are you truly a five-year-old, or are you disguising as one?"