On one side, a middle aged man dressed in armor similar to the local guardsmen, but made of a strange white metal, wielding a scholarâs sword descended from on high to block the attacks of Zhen Hai and Zhen Yue.
On the other, an old man in a simple black robe, leaped down to block the palm strike of Zhen Ren Fa.
Both of these men radiated the power of a Grandmaster or higher, so they could easily block the attacks. How they went about doing so though was another matter entirely.
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<<[Repulsing Slash!]>>
The man in white armor quickly channeled aether into his sword and slashed forward, releasing a blast of energy that didnât cut through Zhen Hai and Zhen Yue, but had repelled them instead like a powerful gust of wind.
"Oof!"
"Bah!"
Their attacks were broken in an instant as they were launched back several feet away from the man in white armor.
It took a couple of seconds but Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai were eventually able to regain their footing and stop their momentum.
Once they settled down though, they came to a rather nasty realization.
"This guy..."
"He held back a lot...but it still hurt like crazy..."
In that quick exchange of blows, they could tell this new arrival was an Aether Lord at least, and one that had been at this level for a number of years.
<<You two stand down,>> the man in white armor commanded, <<this fight is over. Now then, Ren Fa...>>
The middle aged man turned so that he could admonish Zhen Ren Fa, however...
<<You know better than to-wait, what?>>
He was stunned by a most unbelieve sight.
<<How in the...>>
Hell, even Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai couldnât believe what they saw.
"How...how the fuck is he doing that?"
"I...donât know..."
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Meanwhile at the opposite end...
<<Huh? Out of the way old man!,>> Zhen Ren Fa shouted as she rushed forward with an aether powered palm strike.
The image of a great dragonic beast made of water could be seen overlaying her arm, casting an illusion that made it look as if it was carving the land beneath it with incredible force.
It made for an impressive to be sure, and the amount of power behind it more than justify its flashy appearance.
Most warriors would either move out of the way or channel their aether into a defensive art if they were careful, or an offensive if they were reckless and confident in their abilities.
However, this old man did none of those.
In fact, aside from standing there and taking on a strange fighting stance, Zhen Ren Fa couldnât detect the faintest hint of an aether fluctuation coming from the old man.
She was even taught how to detect anima power, and she couldnât even sense that coming off of him either.
Did this guy have a death wish or something?
Regardless, Zhen Ren Faâs aether art was too far along its performance to be stopped at this point, so she made a mental note to try and find this old guyâs next kin.
In other words, she didnât expect what was actually about to go down.
âApologies old guy, but this is where you-â
"And...grab."
*Grab*
âHuh?â
In one fluid motion, with absolutely no aether, no anima, not even a hint of dragon force or even killing intent, the old man had effortlessly stopped Zhen Ren Faâs attack by leaning his body in such a manner to avoid the initial blow and then grabbing the womanâs wrist.
From outside point of view, it looked as if the old man had grabbed a whole ass dragon by the neck and was holding it in the same manner as one would a snake to prevent it from biting and flailing.
<<How in the...>>
It was at this exact moment that Zhen Ren Fa saw her Uncle Ba Yin and the two "Shen" Aether Masters watch on in stunned silence at this turn of events.
An understandable reaction, sheâd make the same one if she wasnât the one subjected to the hold.
âWhat the hell is this grip strength?! Itâs like trying to escape the claws of an Adamantine Crab!â
As it would turn out though, this was only the start of their reactions of disbelief.
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âHoly shit it actually worked...hah! And yâall thought I was crazy for wanting to practice this move. Now letâs see if that other one Iâve been practicing also works...â
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"And...pop."
*Pop!*
<<What?!>>
<<Huh?>>
"Like a fucking bubble?!"
"Why...an I getting a sense of deja vu?"
In a moment you had to see in order to believe it, the old man then proceeded to defuse the aether art entirely by simply poking at it with his finger.
Zhen Ren Fa couldâve sworn the old man channeled some minute amount of an energy she didnât recognize, but that observation was quickly thrown out the window the moment she saw her aether art pop.
Now she just wanted to figure out who the fuck this old guy was and how the hell he managed to defuse an aether art with what was essentially his barehands.
Granted, she wasnât the only one who wanted to know.
Zhen Bai Yin was stunned silent for a moment, but quickly recollected himself so that he could go over and reclaim his niece from the grasp of this mysterious old man.
As he did though, he overheard the old man speak perfect Tide Tongue, lecturing Zhen Ren Fa no less.
<<Well then missy, I hope you take this moment to learn about the importance of de-escalation, and how some people may have a terrifying old monster behind them. Now, where is your guardian? Actually, where are my disciples?>>
<<Uh...excuse me?>>
<<Hmm? A guardsman?>>
<<Uncle Ba Yin?!>>
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âOh of fucking course the main Zhen Clan has one of their guys in charge of the local police...dressed in what Iâm assuming is a suit of armor type aether treasure. Gods above I hope he isnât a bastard.â
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Once Zhen Ba Yin made his presence known, he proceeded to stand a bit straighter and presented himself in the light of a professional lawman and not as a doting uncle.
A change in demeanor that the old man couldnât help but notice.
Without missing a beat, the old man decided to initiate conversation under this pretense.
<<Is there something I can help you with, officer...>>
<<Captain. Captain Zhen Ba Yin of the Willow scale guard.>>
<<Oh. My apologies, captain,>> the old man said in a sincere tone.
<<Its quite alright, but back to the matter at hand. Would you mind handing custody of my niece over to me?>>
<<Oh of course, but not before I know my disciples are okay Iâm afraid.>>
<<Youâre disciples?>>
<<Yes, my disci-oh there you two are!>>
"Huh?"
"Say what?"
<<Hey! Let me go!>>
The old man dragged Zhen Ren Fa briefly before placing the girlâs wrist into Zhen Ba Yinâs hands, which due to him following the rhythm of the movement, proceeded to hold onto the girlâs wrist in the old manâs stead.
As for the old man, he walked over to a visibly confused Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai and proceeded to grab the two of them into one big group hug loudly declaring he was happy that the two of them were okay in Hoof Speech while also making sure their heads were close enough to either side of his face so that he could whisper into their ears.
Just to double safe though, the old man also used a small touch of "aether" to make sure no one else heard them."
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"Alright, at this point Iâm fairly certain yâall are very confused by whatâs going on, and thatâs fine, just know that for all intents and purposes that Iâm on your side. If you two want to get out of this situation with the slave girl in tow, and your cousins, play along or else they might not be willing to listen."
"I...wait, why should we trust you?," Zhen Hai asked with understandable suspicion.
"Not to be rude," Zhen Yue added, "but we donât know who you are."
"Because Iâm also the reason why yâall managed to cross the ocean safely on the S.S. Nemona in the first place. Also, âShenâ? Really?"
The moment he name-dropped that moment, and the fact that he knew they had faked their names, Zhen Hai and Zhen Yue eyes went wide as they connected the dots as to who this guy was.
He was their cousin Zhen Liuâs mysterious master!
Granted he looked remarkably different than the giant red horned demon man they saw on the ship that evening, but they just chalked that up to aether armor being weird.
But now that they knew who this guy was, they quickly agreed to play along with the ruse.
"Excellent, now then..."
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The old man proceeded to release his two disciples from his embrace before turning towards Captain Ba Yin and his niece.
<<Now then, should I assume I am free to take my disciples and leave or not?>>