Only I Am A Reader

'He knows.'

As Leo quickly got to discover the true ability of a 1st rate Martial Artist, he additionally realized an important fact. Cheon Chang was completely aware of his 'secret' project.

He was already suspecting that possibility as his opponent was still an Absolute, but even his pseudo deduction ability couldn't confirm it. However, it was now completely obvious to Leo's eyes.

'This is blatant provocation.'

Rather than confronting or scolding him about it, Cheon Chang was provoking him to use them. He was being beaten either way, but this senior brother of his was intentionally using moves that could only be effectively countered by using the final form of the Black Dragon's Transformations!

Leo wasn't sure what it was like in Cheon Chang's vision, but what he saw made him instinctively want to use the martial arts that he had painstakingly overlaid. He knew that the Absolute Spear was amazing, but he still underestimated the limit of what he could do…

It was understandable for a pillar to have knowledge of most spear martial arts in the Heavenly Demon's library. However, without even seeing him use any specific moves, Cheon Chang had managed to deduce every martial art he blended in with his Spearmanship, dishing out strikes tailored for the purpose of being countered by them!

'Fine then.'

It wasn't like Leo wanted to restrict himself. If anything, he desired to give it his all! Since the cat was already out of the bag, there was no longer any need to hold back. Going this far, the Absolute Spear was more than sure of what he did, so it wasn't possible that he was just doing this to get evidence about his 'thievery', not that he needed any.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

No longer feeling the need to suppress the irritation brought by his incapability to perfectly counter Cheon Chang's strikes, Leo's spear bit the bait, dancing along the trail its prey had planned!

'That's more like it.'

Although both cases were incomparable, Leo could slightly feel how bad it was for Cheon Chang to suppress himself to this point after letting go of his own restriction. It still felt the best to give it your everything!

Spars weren't battles of death, but Cheon Chang was a master of keeping his opponent on edge. Fighting against him would either strengthen a person's will or break it. Luckily, Leo had already tasted plenty of despair as Arthur. Otherwise, he could only imagine what would have happened if this world had been his first stop…

Thud!

Even when still lacking the momentum to win at full ability, Leo could feel the effect as he was being pushed back. He could already tell that his martial art development would have probably gone smoother if he revealed everything from the start, but he didn't regret his choice. One wrong step would have easily resulted in a game over, with losing his advantageous start being the best case scenario.

'Better late than never.'

In any case, Leo was just thankful that he came upon someone like Cheon Chang who took kindly to his actions. At best, he just had to work more to make up for it!

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

Within the joint training hall, Iyeolhan stood atop the stage, looking down on the 19 students that had gathered once more. His gentle face showed slight disappointment as his gaze moved beyond the small crowd.

Observing for a distance, four instructors including Cheon Jeong had attended today. The fact that someone had already become a 1st rate Martial Artist was well known, but that only sparked more interest in the internal battle. Without the participation of a monster like her, the true level of 2nd rate battles would finally surface starting today.

"Cheon Yong, Cheon Sohee, come up to the stage."

Swish!

The opponent-less Yeon stood there like a decoration as the top performers under her rose to stage. Unfortunately, while Cheon Sohee's talent didn't necessarily lose to Cheon Yong, she had been a little too late.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

It was somewhat obvious that Cheon Yong would dominate a battle of this level, but this was much better when he fought someone like Yeon. Through this battle, the instructors could finally gauge Cheon Yong and Cheon Sohee's ability. At this point of time, the following battles were naturally worth observing.

'Why is he here?'

As a semi-referee that had to interfere in the case of possible death, Iyeolhan couldn't take his eyes off the battle, but he still occasionally threw glances at a certain empty corner. He pondered upon the possible answer for the few questions floating around his head before…

"Cheon Yong wins. Next is…"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Cheon Sohee was knocked off and the battle came to an end. However, as he announced the result and proceeded to move on to the next match…

"I'm sorry for being late."

Iyeolhan's eyes slightly widened as the last piece of the puzzle suddenly appeared, the face that he was searching for earlier had still come.

"Cheon Baekho…"

And just like his last public appearance…

"And Cheon Yeon."

He had appeared with a big surprise.

"Yes."

Leo didn't pause as he climbed the stage, picking up a spear from the weapon rack. Yeon's eyes didn't seem to fill with joy or drown in sorrow, but she temporarily froze before following his steps.

The two silently stood in front of each other as the instructors stared interestingly. No one could have expected that battle that they were awaiting in the near future would take place in the middle all of the sudden, at least not with a late bloomer as a participant!

'It's finally time...'

His mind already hated the idea of battling Yeon, but Leo firmly maintained his stance as he strengthened his resolve. This wasn't the reason that he had been absent from these monthly meetings so far.

Rather than running away from this battle, he was waiting for a proper stage where they could truthfully face each other.

'To show our worth.'

The first battle of the twin stars had begun.