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"..."

Tylem patiently waited for Emily's response.

Finally, Emily parted her trembling lips, "Tylem, dear."

Tylem trusted her after all... Emily was moved to the point of tears, but she held them in.

"You have my full support in whatever you do." Emily stared at Tylem. "Honey, when you're outside, just remember that you're my son."

"I will never let anyone mistreat my family." Kissing the child's smooth forehead, Emily whispered, repeating the same words she had said back in the police station.

"You can trust me. I will ensure your safety no matter what happens in Ivla." Emily promised. "As your mother, that is the least I could do."

Right now, Emily faintly believed that she could leave everything up to her son; she even began to have the thought that her previous support was unnecessary. This was the immense persuasive might of a true cultivator, even when unseen.

The mysterious powers Tylem displayed before had greatly moved her heart. Of course, her son was so capable!

Emily was very curious about how Tylem achieved his amazing strength at such a young age. It was definitely through something special, but she planned to give him the necessary time to tell her things on his own.

Their relationship was still budding, after all.

"Once all of this is over, I will speak to Lynne about everything." Emily assured, but she did not go into detail on the reason behind her firm choice of waiting.

"Mn." Tylem nodded, trusting Emily.

Previously, Tylem was indeed limited because of the status difference.

[That's right... I'm not alone anymore.] Tylem's resolve intensified. [I have a family I can depend on. I don't have to face everything on my own.]

Right now, Tylem was assured that Emily had his back. Even if the world turned on him, she would not. Furthermore, she seemed to have the power to back up this claim.

Otherwise, from what he knew of Emily's character, she wouldn't have said so unless it was the definite truth. Tylem thought back to his plans for Ava.

There was a minuscule chance of failure, but he now had the confidence to carry through with his plans. Besides, on the very off chance he failed, Emily would be there to support him.

Forming a fist, Tylem said with a resolute face, "You can leave it to me, Mother."

At the same time, Tylem had another thought arise.

[I should also learn some variation of martial arts or fighting technique.] When Emily had raced ahead of him, Tylem once again confirmed that he couldn't be too cocky and rely solely on his physical abilities to win every conflict.

The world was so vast: there was bound to be people stronger than him out there. It was better safe than sorry.

[I need to specialize in a technique so that I can win even when my opponents are stronger in brute force.]

* * *

The next day, Ivla.

Lunchtime. The rain hit the classroom windows, and within the room sat two figures, who were Tylem and Kaden.

In the last week, Kaden had gathered some lackeys using his now-famous name: there was use to them. These motivated students, who desired to follow him, had been helping protect Lynne throughout the week.

It was to the committed point that Tylem had grown numb to the followers' loud voices that begged him every day for him to become their master. It was a small group of five.

These students were naive youths who were obsessed with mythical tales and martial legends.

There had not been serious trouble with the protection because most of the Ivla students who wanted to stir up trouble with Lynne during this time did not have much status.

The majority of them were just seeking to impress Ava and Onel.

Thus, lots of the harassers backed down upon seeing the group of 'well-hidden' hotheaded male students, who were all eying them down with a vicious gaze.

Fortunately, Ava, the one who held the most power out of the harassers, seemed to be laying low for whatever reason as she did not target Lynne during this time, or perhaps she just forgot about her.

"What's the plan for Onel, bro?" Kaden asked while doodling Ava as a devilish girl with horns.

"Like I said before, we don't need to directly deal with them just yet." Tylem smiled, continuing, "The situation is rather simple. Heh, once we make our move against Ava, everything else will fall into place."

With enough time, he would ensure that Onel came crashing down.

Tomorrow morning, the core part of their plan would commence: everything was now set-up and ready to go.

From what Tylem knew so far about Ava's background, she was the eldest daughter of the current Yan Family's head master. It was supposedly one of the most powerful families in all of Beijing.

In Beijing, the famous top five families holding the most power on the surface were the Lin Family, Jinas Family, Tian Family, Xinling Family, and the Xia Family followed close behind as the weakest.

The Yan Family was also up there amongst the top, ranking not far behind the famous five.

These ancient families were, of course, being supported by strong underworld powers.

It was speculated that these families were the true rulers of the capital, even having a massive sway over government affairs. There were rumors that, without receiving their approval, normal people were unable to ascend into a high official–government position.

Corruption was in the air.

"I trust you, bro." Kaden gave a thumbs-up. "Anyway, let's grab something to eat."

"I'm starving!"

* * *

In the school cafeteria, Tylem and Kaden had just finished ordering, and there were many students watching him closely. Recently, he had grown used to their looks, which ranged from fanaticism to simple curiosity or jealously.

Drinking the peach-mango smoothie, Tylem couldn't help but smile.

"Tastes good, right?" Kaden laughed. "The chefs here at Ivla do an excellent job."

The two walked down the cafeteria together toward their table, and along the way, Tylem spotted two familiar figures.

Martin and Arian.

Regarding the basketball bet, in the end, both parties had agreed on a tie without any trouble.

Seeing Martin and Arian, Tylem remained impassive with a hint of coldness. Oddly enough, the two had got on their knees and apologized to him and Kaden a few days earlier, even wanting to follow him.

According to the two, he had become their idol, and, to be honest, it was a bit nauseating. With his judgment, Tylem noticed that Martin and Arian were honest in their approach and truly did no longer have any hard feelings.

Toward those who had the open-mindedness to wholeheartedly accept and repent, by themselves, for their own mistakes—Tylem didn't mind such people.

If it wasn't for all that and the fact that Martin and Arian did not even attempt to bring up the issue that he and Kaden had forfeited and 'lost' upon leaving, he wouldn't have just left things here. The two had gotten off scot-free in the physical pain department.

Besides...

In the modern society, some would argue that a simple fight and bet between middle-schoolers wasn't even that serious. In fact, there were few people who'd even say that it was harmless and beneficial for both parties.

Furthermore, he and Kaden had not gotten hurt at all throughout the conflict.

But Tylem understood his situation the best. In another timeline, a world where he was alone and not a cultivator, he would have been humiliated and bullied for the remainder of his school life, falling deeper and deeper into depression.

In that world, Martin and Arian would have trampled all over him and Kaden while moving on with their lives without a care in the world. It wasn't fair. The world wasn't fair.

Thus, with all things considered, Tylem believed that he was being benevolent in not pursuing the matter further.

[It's because I'm a cultivator that you even have the thought to care in the first place.]

"Hey, Tylem." Martin scratched his head with a dumb smile as he tried to approach Tylem. Meanwhile, Arian, the good-looking boy with ashen hair, bowed.

However, the two basketball athletes were left disappointed. Tylem turned away, treating them like passersby.

Leaving Martin and Arian behind in his shadow, Tylem had no plans to get himself involved with them further—unless provoked.

Kaden also wasn't fond of Arian and Martin, and he followed Tylem to their table.

It wasn't long before two rather beautiful waitresses delivered their food, which was laid out with obvious care on a large white plate. Like always, the food smelled heavenly, looking spectacular.

"Kaden, are you interested in training in a martial art with me?" Tylem inquired, cutting up the tender ribeye steak.

"Me?" Laughing, Kaden thought about it. "I mean, I don't think I'm cut out for that sort of stuff, but I'll give it a go."

"What would we even train in though?" Kaden asked.

"For now, I'm planning to join Ivla's Kyokushin Karate club." Tylem smiled.

In the future, he would try to master every martial art, patching up all his weak spots.

He would take one step at a time.

"That's not a bad idea." Nodding, Kaden imagined himself taking down an army by himself, which was a far stretch.

"The instructors for the fighting clubs in Ivla are all top-notch." Kaden informed Tylem. These martial arts instructors were renowned throughout the entire province.

"Yeah." Tylem's pitch-black eyes burned with the desire to improve.

Weeks ago, on the first morning of his reincarnation, Tylem's motivation to improve was almost non-existent, but now he was becoming more and more curious about the ball of light hiding within his school uniform.

From what he had seen so far, the ball of light was a sentient being, but just what was it? It was far too mysterious, even bestowing him with a cultivation manual of legend. {Soaring Above the Great Dragons.}

Tylem wished to learn more about the ball of light, but it would never provide him any clues.