A Father's Anger

Daniel swaggered out of the arena with Leon a couple of steps behind him. Lackey One and Lackey Two were not far behind. They were confused about what to do. Would they still follow Leon, or would they now follow Daniel?

"L-Leon." Lackey one mustered up the courage to speak to the sour faced Leon.

"What, Connor?" Leon grunted. He was not in the mood to chat.

"Do we keep on following you or do we follow him?" Connor asked.

"Follow Daniel. I'm nothing but his lackey now." Leon shrugged.

"But we want to follow you." Lackey two stepped forward and spoke.

Leon's shoulders sagged. "Do whatever you want to, David. I'm no longer your boss."

"You guys should keep on following Leon if you want to. And Leon, you don't have to follow me. All of that was just formalities." Daniel waved his hand as they reached the boys' living quarters.

Connor and David were like puppies that had just been given pet treats. Their shoulder bounced up, and their eyes sparkled with surprise when they heard what Daniel had said. They could keep on following Leon!

"See you tomorrow. I'm going to sleep." Daniel waved back without turning around as he walked to his shared house with Han, leaving Leon standing there, dumbfounded. He did not know if Daniel was simply trying to mock him, or if he seriously meant what he said.

"I'll show you!" Leon clenched his fist and turned around, storming to his own house. Connor and David followed him like the happy pups they were.

Daniel pushed pen the door to the house and slid it back closed behind him. A small light bulb illuminated the living area, where Han was eating a plate of rise on the low table, while sitting on a pillow.

"Have a seat. I made dinner." Han said, using his chopsticks to point at the other plate across the table.

"Thanks." Daniel sighed and sat on the pillow across the table from Han. He picked up the chopsticks, placed his hands together for a short prayer, and cracked them apart, before starting to eat.

"That was an interesting fight there." As they were eating, Han suddenly started speaking.

"Oh, you saw that?" Daniel smiled.

"Who didn't? You will probably be famous overnight, and also probably draw the ire of the elders of the Henarion Clan. You should watch your back." Han warned around a mouthful.

"Mhm." Daniel nodded his head and silently continued eating.

Ten minutes later, he placed down his plate and chopsticks and bowed his head slightly to Han. "Thank you for the meal. It was filling." He said and stood up, taking the bowl over to the sink to wash it out.

"You're welcome." Han nodded and remained at the table. He ate really slowly.

When Daniel was gone, he thought to himself with a frown, "The Elder was very interested in him. Allowing someone into the sect when we are not recruiting? Very strange."

.

.

Daniel laid down on his bed with a sigh. His body was almost entirely drained of all energy. Using certain techniques cost him a lot of energy and stamina. One of such was the technique he had used against Leon. Han's dinner had ended up helping him quite a bit.

The Shadow Step was a movement technique that allowed a person to move faster than their shadows. It was a high level technique, and very few people in the Highsword Clan knew about it. Even fewer people knew that Daniel knew it, and one of those people was the ill Clan Head, who had personally taught Daniel the move set.

The Shadow Step technique was rather simple. Upon activating the technique, the user's speed would be given such a tremendous boost that they would leave an after image, thus the saying, moving faster than their shadow.

Normally, Pseudo-Sword Initiates were never able to perform such a high level technique, but through some stroke of fate, Daniel had been able to pick up on it. It was incredible, but not for too long. He would not be able to advance on that technique if he ever became a Swordmaster, as he could only focus on one style through their entire carriers. People who focused on two were incredibly rare, and they also progressed much more slowly than others due to their need to focus on more than one Style and raise it to the max.

"I have only just gotten accepted into the Nine Peaks Sect." He held up his clenched fist to his face. "Wait for me, Patriarch. I will get strong enough to succeed you."

After some more time spent thinking, Daniel finally went to sleep to regain his energy and prepare for the day ahead.

.

.

"Leon made a deal to become a new student's follower? And he lost?!" A deep voice growled from within a dimly lit room.

The messenger outside the room trembled, with her head pressed down to the floor in fear.

"That stupid boy! I have always told him to mind his actions, lest he bring shame to the Henarion name!"

Bam!

The angry man slammed the wall, causing the room he was in to shake with his anger. A murderous aura seeped out of the seams of the door, and the trembling of the messenger intensified. She finally could not take it anymore. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she slumped on the floor weakly like saggy noodles.

The man noticed this, and his anger only rose.

"Useless people! All of them! Even my son has begun to turn into one of them. I must teach him a lesson!" He stood up from his perch on the soft mat and slid open the door to his meditation chambers. He stepped out without even sparing a glance to the unconscious messenger. One of her friends that were no doubt peeping would pick her up.

With anger and irritation, Leon's father made his way to the room of the Henarion Clan's highest Elder.