Past

(Hicks)

*WHY CANT I BE LEFT ALONE!!*

"Ah what are you guys doing here?"

(Li Ning)

"You know well why we are here, Grandmaster told you that you had to take us with you. But instead you just left, you can be severely punished for that!"

(Hicks)

"And you can be punished for speaking to a member of the Heavenly Family in such a way, especially in our own Palace"

Li Ning glares at Hicks but Hicks ignores her and is more interested in Li Na

(Li Na)

"So what have you been doing since you got here"

(Hicks)

"Not much, just waiting for the challenge tomorrow"

(Li Na)

"Do you wanna spa-"

(Li Ning)

"Do you wanna spar with me! You know to get you warmed up"

(Hicks)

"I would like a spar, it has been a while. What layer are you guys at?"

*Argent what layer am I?*

(Argent)

"I don't know, your Dragon energy and God energy combining made it so I can't sense how strong you are anymore"

(Hicks)

*That makes no sense*

(Argent)

"Yeah well tough sh*t"

(Li Ning)

"Hello? Did you hear me? I said we both at peak of Bone-forging"

(Hicks)

"Oh ok then you guys can just team up on me"

(Li Na)

"That doesn't seem very fai-"

(Li Ning)

"Yeah okay, we will gang up on you"

*Heh overconfident jerk, this way we can put you in your place*

"So where can we fight?"

(Hicks)

"Follow me"

Hicks walks out of his courtyard and into the palace, he walks into a room where there are tons of people sparring. Hicks walks over to a sparring area and takes of some of his decorative clothing

(Hicks)

"Ok you guys ready?"

(Li Na)

"Yea sure"

Li Ning just rushes at Hicks and throw a punch. The punch hits Hicks right in the cheek but Hicks is unfazed. Li Na also charges and throws a kick at Hicks' head. He dodges it and grabs it, he swings her around a few times and throws her at Li Ning, she catches her and stands her back up.

(Onlooker)

"Woah did you see that? Young Master just yeeted that hoe"

Suddenly people start crowding around Hicks' sparring area to watch. Hicks stands there focused on the fight and ignores them.

Li Ning and Li Na charge at Hicks at the same time and yell

(Li Ning & Li Na)

"Ten Hits of Qi"

Their hand get surrounded with white aura and they both strike Hicks once, he grabs their wrists and push them away. He charges them this time and jumps in the air.

(Li Na)

"Dodge this!! NORTHERN WIND SMASH"

A large ball of wind forms and starts flying towards Hicks. In mid-air he charges his right hand with aura and cuts the ball in half. He then drop kicks Li Na in the stomach knocking her out.

(Li Ning)

"DRAGON RUSH!!!"

Li Ning surrounds her hand in a blue aura, the aura becomes the shape of a dragons head at her fist, she throws a punch at Hicks and it connects to his cheek. The energy dissipates and Hicks stands there unfazed. He punches Li Ning in the stomach and she collapses in defeat.

(Everyone watching)

"... WOOOOAAAAH!!!!! YOUNG MASTER IS AMAZING!!!!"

(Argent)

"But he barely attacked them"

(Hicks)

*Yeah honestly I was hardly trying*

(A Man In The Crowd)

"He must be on par with his eldest sibling! The challenge tomorrow is gonna be awesome!!"

Hicks gets them both up and takes them to the medical area near by. They heal up their bruises and small wounds with herbs.

(Hicks)

"You guys should stay here, I need to stretch"

(Li Na & Li Ning)

"Yeah ok"

Hicks leaves and sits infront of the palace. Back in the infirmary Li Ning & Na just sit there

(Li Ning)

"I can never figure him out. How about you?"

(Li Na)

"I stopped trying after a while"

An old woman comes over to them carrying some more herbs

(Old woman)

"You really should avoid anyone from the Head Family"

(Li Na)

"Why's that?"

(Old Woman)

"Because they are known for their brutal actions towards others that wrong them, beating them like dogs. Horrible just horrible"

(Li Ning)

"Then why do you work for them? It's the only way for me to get the money to heal my son, after he was beaten by the Palace guards for attempting to give away information to a former powerful family"

(Li Na)

"Former?"

(Old Woman)

"Yes, they were plotting against the Heavenly Family, when they caught wind of this. Well, I believe I should get back to my business"

(Li Ning)

"No what happened?"

(Old Woman)

"They sent soldiers to the Kingdom they ruled and wiped them off the map, the soldiers alone killed the whole family. No commanders or generals to accompany them. They grabbed all the children, and women and completely slaughtered them"

(Li Ning)

"Li Na, we should leave and forget about all of this"

(Li Na)

"You're right, but maybe if Hicks became head he could change all of this, you should go back and I'll stay behind"

(Li Ning)

"Are you sure?"

(Li Na)

"I'm sure, I think Hicks hasn't shown his true colors to us"

Meanwhile Hicks is sitting outside just looking at the plants that sit outside the palace.

(Argent)

"That old woman that was helping us, she didn't feel like a good person"

(Hicks)

*She isn't, her son was once a spy for a neighboring family, she tried to sneak into the palace and assassinate my father, but like a fool she used a wood club to kill him. The club broke over his head. My father being one of the most powerful cultivators alive was unfazed by this, for the sake of her son we allowed her to live and work for us to get the money to heal her son. He has been injured for 7 years. He is crippled, both in cultivation and physically*

(Argent)

"I feel you hold some sympathy for the old lady"

(Hicks)

*Yes I do, she was once my caretaker when I was a baby. I have vague memories of her, but my father found out that she was going to use me as tool to overthrow my father*

(Argent)

"So she already worked for you?"

(Hicks)

"She worked for my mother, she was never a fan of my father"

(Argent)

"You're life is more complicated than the construction of the golden needle"