"Huh? Don’t kid yourself, Shen Yuan. Handling four awakeners with varying powers has proven tricky, even for an S-Class awakener. Don’t overestimate yourself, or else you will drop dead faster than saying the word arrogant," Mo Zhu said, crossing his arms. Due to surprise and disbelief, he didn’t realize that he set aside his decision not to confront Shen Yuan.
Minus the sarcasm and the confrontational tone, this much is a natural reaction to when someone dared to fight four awakeners with no one else but himself.
Mo Zhu doesn’t know how powerful Shen Yuan’s assistant was, but he’s sure that the agents Chairman Mao sent were all A-Class awakeners. As agents, each of them is excellently trained to handle awakeners like them.
This is the difference between hunters and agents.
Hunters are trained to kill all kinds of dungeon monsters. Meanwhile, agents are cultivated to handle awakeners who have gone rogue and threatened the public’s order.
Dealing with monsters and awakeners are different things. In Mo Zhu’s opinion, it’s the latter that’s complicated because, obviously, humans are craftier and more intelligent than monsters.
"A new and untrained S-Class mage dared to challenge veterans? What a mess," Mo Zhu thought. Actually, some of him wants to see Shen Yuan humiliated, so he’s silently looking forward to this sparring.
Xia Jinhai remained silent. Deep inside, he knew something like this was coming.
On the other hand, Yanyan was gaping in front of his Daddy. Will his Daddy really beat a lot of people? That’s super cool!
"Then let’s make it five versus one," Shen Yuan nonchalantly responded to Mo Zhu.
"You’re really arrogant and reckless and downright crazy," the red-haired omega said, clicking his tongue and raising his brow at Shen Yuan. "Then, who would be the other one you added in your crazy stunt?"
Shen Yuan didn’t respond. He just licked his lips and looked at Mo Zhu like a predator who spotted prey.
Everyone instantly understood that look, and that was when Mo Zhu realized that he messed up.
"Huh? Why would I want to spar with you? I can’t see any merit in doing that!"
Shen Yuan smirked, "True. These guys are doing it to introduce themselves to me, and to make it fair; Gu Jinpeng will receive a bonus for participating in this sparring."
Hearing this, the bleak expression of Gu Jinpeng instantly vanished. Well, what harm is it to suffer a few body pains in exchange for money? The last time his boss, Shen Yuan, gave him a bonus after cleaning up the mess they made in the love hotel, he received three thousand hundred yuan. That covered two months of his brother’s medical treatment.
Now. even if I receive less than that, it will still be a huge chunk of money!
Mo Zhu felt even more pressured upon seeing the assistant brimming enthusiasm and fighting spirit.
"Right, that’s why I will never spar with you!"
But The celestial fox spirit already has something up his sleeves to make him say yes.
"Well, don’t you want to show my husband you’re the better choice? This is your once-in-a-lifetime chance. Show us that you could beat me even for once." Shen Yuan stood confidently in front of his rival.
It’s time to put Mo Zhu in his rightful place.
"Oh, and as a handicap for an S-Class awakener, I will not use my flames and lightning. I’ll just enhance my physical abilities."
"Leader Shen, is that okay?" His subordinate asked him.
Shen Yuan nodded, "In the first place, we are doing this to convince me with your skills to work with you, not to flex my power. Don’t mind it."
Hearing this, Mo Zhu had second thoughts about declining. If what Shen Yuan said was true, he might have a chance!
Shen Yuan needs some humbling.
"Fine!" Mo Zhu replied, confident of his choice. He also started as an agent, so his skills are pretty solid.
On the side, Gu Jinpeng turned his head to hide his smirk. He’d never seen a stupid mistake done arrogantly like this. He’s already praying for this omega’s soul.
~~~
The group that was about to create chaos moved to the garden. Shen Yuan was standing in the middle of the circle that his opponents formed. He’s literally standing out because, in the group, he’s the only one who isn’t armed. The only thing he had was high-quality black leather gloves made from A-Class Black Ogre skin, the one that Bai Tingfeng gave him.
But despite being obviously under-geared, no one’s looking down on him.
His fox tails are already swaying behind him, and his magical powers are ready to be used.
The atmosphere was shrouded with thick tension, and everyone could feel the silent bubbling of the mana in the surroundings, a sign that something big was about to happen.
Since Xia Jinhai was the only person not included in the madness headed by Shen Yuan, he was responsible for acting as the umpire. On top of that, he will also babysit Yanyan since the boy wants to stay because he wants to watch his Daddy.
"The sparring will only last ten minutes, and the rules are simple. Usage of superpowers is permitted. No lethal attacks are tolerated and..." The handsome beta looked at Shen Yuan, asking for confirmation. And the platinum-haired omega nodded.
"The sparring will stop once the opposing side can incapacitate all their opponents. Battler’s ready?" Xia Jinhai immediately held his arm up and conjured a strong force field to contain the destruction that they would cause in the area.
"Fight!" And with that, the opposing sides started to make their moves.
Shen Yuan greeted the first one to charge at him. It was quick as if the person had moved with the wind. He saw a shiny dot moving his way. He instinctively used his strengthened fist to meet it halfway.
Clang!
Stopping a sharp metal spear, he said to his alpha male subordinate, "I thought you were my fan. I didn’t expect you to be the one to take the initiative in attacking me. What is your name?"
"Li An, Leader Shen," The alpha couldn’t help but flash a sheepish smile.
"I didn’t expect that Leader Shen would notice me. I have indeed been your fan since you started modeling. But now..." Li An gripped his spear tight and gritted his teeth while smiling. "I’m your opponent!"
In one powerful swing, he tried to swipe Shen Yuan aside with his spear’s shaft. A strong wave of wind was created by that swing, almost cutting the shrubs nearby.
But fortunately, the omega was light and quick to his feet. Shen Yuan dodged this strong attack by back-flipping his way out of that attack’s trajectory.
He moved gracefully like a butterfly flapping his wings at his opponent’s face.
"Go Daddy!" Yanyan cheered upon seeing his Dad’s display of skill.
"Not bad," Shen Yuan commented.
Quick and strong, this Li An is a pretty balanced fighter. He’s strong enough to strike and then run away from his opponent. He’s also level-headed since these qualities make him more dependable once they are facing the Cardinals.
So, internally, he checked Li An box in his mind.
Li An charged at him like a war horse, constantly trying to attack him with his spear. Its long, metallic shaft was like a helicopter blade whenever it approached him.
It creates a bothersome feeling of fluctuation in their midst.
Just one moment of hesitation and Shen Yuan will be unapologetically hit by that weapon.
It’s difficult to pull this off especially in a situation where he needs to constantly monitor his other opponent’s.
"Waah, I think Daddy is having a hard time!" Yanyan was at the edge of his as he watched his Daddy struggle.
"Well, it’s only natural since Li An was a world-renowned spearman. He’s an A-Class awakener whose proficiency on his weapon could rival a swordmaster like Bai Tingfeng, your father," Xia Jinhai commented.
Just like Zhu Kai, the only thing that holds Li An in the realm of A-Class is his lack of mana.
Shen Yuan didn’t shy away from this strong contender. Even with the long reach of the spear, he still managed to find an opening and slip past it to deal three successive punches to Li An’s body.
It was hard, but with perfect angling of his body and speed, it was possible even to hit falling dry leaves.
Shen Yuan was busy attacking his fanboy when suddenly, he felt a strong fluctuation of mana coming from behind.
Shen Yuan decisively dodged it, but only by a hair-thin margin.
Boom!
The ground near him cracked, and he saw a solid golden light heavily impaling the ground.
Shen Yuan quietly studied it.
"No, this isn’t just a normal golden light. This is an arrow made from condensed mana!" He internally screamed.
Up in the tree several meters from him, he saw the only woman in his team holding a golden bow that was created from mana. Her arm muscles are emphasized as she’s preparing for another shot.
"Damn, I should have known that Chairman Mao gave me a complete set," Shen Yuan uttered. He’s got a spearman and an archer in his team, so undoubtedly, Chairman Mao had given him the perfect support system.
It’s all good and well if he knew it earlier. Because now, he felt like he had made a terrible mistake by challenging this group.
"Now, what should I do with this?" Shen Yuan asked himself, a cryptic smile forming on his lips.