Almost an hour later, I found myself in Clan Thorne's training hall. It was a large building located some distance away from the main hall. While the walls and ceiling were wood, the floor was rough stone. It didn't smell like roses here. Instead, the faint smell of sweat lingered in the air.

They didn't bother with lanterns in this place. Instead, they embedded glowstones into the walls and ceiling. Each one emitted a warm yellow light.

The training hall was divided into two sections. One section was filled with all kinds of training equipment. It even had some stuff that we didn't have back at the Northern Annex at Sturm Manor. I made a mental note to acquire some before we left Sunheart.

The other section of the training hall was an open area meant for sparring and such. There were multiple arenas, each one marked off by a circle drawn on the ground. This section was also perfect for duels.

I stood in the largest arena, with Lord Miles standing at the opposite end. Both of us had changed into simple red training robes in preparation for this duel. Lord Miles went through some stances to warm up, while I limbered up by stretching.

This wasn't a fight to the death, so neither of us carried actual weapons. I wielded a blunt training sword in my hand, while Lord Miles wore specialized leg armor.

While others within Clan Thorne might use weapons or other fighting styles, the main family specialized in kicking techniques. Thus, they had armor designed with that in mind. Back in the Icefall region, I had seen how dangerous Anna could be without that armor. Hell, I experienced it firsthand when we fought. So I knew just how powerful Clan Thorne's fighting style was.

Behind me stood my family. Father and Mother looked calm. They knew what I was capable of, especially after hearing about my exploits in the Icefall region. Kaylee, on the other hand, looked a bit nervous. Understandable, since she never saw me in action before.

Lady Josephine, Lord Trevor, and the Clan Thorne elders stood behind Lord Miles. Lady Josephine looked annoyed, while Lord Trevor wore a confident expression on his face. The Clan Thorne elders appeared resigned, except for Grand Elder Luther. He wore a thoughtful expression on his face.

Other members of Clan Thorne occupied the remaining sides of the arena, forming a small crowd. Scions from collateral families, vassals, guards, etc. Word must've gotten out that I would be dueling their young master, so they started trickling in one by one. Their level of power varied, but on average most were at Third Star.

They murmured to one another, commenting on the duel. Some expressed curiosity, others skepticism, and a few outright disdain. More than one frowned at Lord Miles, unhappy with him for challenging someone weaker than him.

For some reason, Lord Dominic was nowhere to be seen. Like his father and his older brother, he didn't want me to marry Anna. So I found it strange that he wasn't here to support Lord Miles. Nor was I the only one who thought so.

"Where is Dominic?" Lord Trevor asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Lady Josephine smirked.

"I sent him to get Annabelle." She said.

Both Lord Trevor and Lord Miles looked at her with surprise and trepidation.

"Why would you do that?" Lord Trevor asked.

Lady Josephine snorted.

"Did you really think you could keep this from Annabelle?" She asked. "You know her feelings towards Lord Gabriel as well as I do. Despite that, you fools still cooked up this asinine scheme." She gestured to her husband. "Prepare to suffer the consequences of your actions."

Lord Trevor opened his mouth to respond, but then the door to the training hall slammed open and Anna marched in. Everything else became muted. I was still aware of everything else, but they paled in comparison to her.

Seeing Anna again, after weeks apart, felt like a balm for my soul. Rainfall after a long drought. Dawn after an endless night. A warm fire after a harsh winter.

Anna became the center of my world.

She looked furious as she marched into the training hall. I think she had been in the middle of getting dressed before she came out here. She wore a gorgeous Murim style dress with golden roses embroidered on it. It contrasted well with the blue and silver choker around her neck.

However, her hair was messy and her makeup was half done. Despite this, she still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world to me.

As Anna marched forward, the other members of Clan Thorne made way for her, as if avoiding an oncoming storm. Lord Dominic slunk into the training hall a few moments later, sporting a new black eye. Lord Trevor and Lord Miles looked at Anna with fearful expressions on their faces.

"Annabelle, Dear," Lord Trevor said, "please hear me out."

"Sister, I know you're angry." Lord Miles said at the same time.

Both of them fell silent when Anna stopped a few feet away from Lord Miles. A tense moment passed before Anna spat on the ground in front of them. She then marched towards me. Her expression became gentler. Unable to hold myself back any longer, I walked towards her as well.

We met halfway and embraced each other. Anna's lips found mine, warm and welcoming. Her vanilla scent filled my lungs. The two of us devoured each other, like starving beasts. Neither of us seemed to care that we were in public, with both of our families right there. However, we weren't completely far gone. We kept our hands to ourselves, though I'll admit that I was tempted to explore Anna's body.

A few moments later, we pulled apart and stared in each other's eyes.

"I missed you." Anna whispered.

"I missed you too." I whispered back.

Anna grinned, before her expression hardened.

"Kick Miles' ass." She said.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Such a coldhearted sister." I said.

Anna sneered.

"That's what he gets for going through with this asinine scheme." She said.

I chuckled.

"Very well." I said. "As you command."

Anna nodded, before she walked over to stand next to my family. If her feelings on the matter hadn't been clear before, they were now. My parents greeted Anna, though it was obvious that Mother was unhappy with her. Meanwhile, Kaylee regarded Anna with a sardonic expression on her face.

"Would you like me to help you finish getting ready?" Kaylee asked in a dry voice.

Anna shook her head.

"No." She said. "I don't want to miss anything."

I turned back towards Lord Miles. With the exception of Lady Josephine, who wore a knowing smile on her lips, everyone from Clan Thorne stared at me in shock. Lord Trevor looked at me in disbelief while Lord Miles appeared stricken. Lord Dominic stood next to his father, hanging his head like a scolded puppy.

Moments later, everyone recovered their composure. However, most of Clan Thorne regarded me with newfound interest in their eyes. Lord Trevor's expression darkened, while Lord Miles' face twisted with anger.

"I will make you pay for putting your filthy hands on my sister!" He said, pointing a finger at me.

I gave him a mystified look. It was clearly mutual, so why was he acting as if I had despoiled his beloved?

Unless…

No.

They were siblings. Adopted siblings, but siblings nonetheless. Even then, they were members of the same Clan. They shared a common ancestor.

However, if their lineages were far enough apart… I stopped that revolting train of thought before it went too far. For the sake of Lord Miles' relationship with Anna, I hoped he didn't harbor any romantic feelings towards her.

A few more minutes passed, and then the appointed hour arrived. Lady Josephine walked into the center of the arena and addressed everyone in attendance.

"We are here to witness the duel between my son, Miles, and Lady Sturm's son, Lord Gabriel." She said. "This is so we may witness Lord Gabriel's martial arts skills and determine if he is a worthy husband for my daughter, Annabelle."

That was a good way to word things. That way, if I lost, we still had some wriggle room to push the engagement forward. Lady Josephine understood what her husband and sons failed to, or perhaps they were in denial.

Annabelle wanted to marry me just as much as I wanted to marry her. So, rather than stand in our way, Lady Josephine decided to help us along while also making me work for it. After all, my family initiated things in the first place. It was only fair that I put in some extra effort.

"The rules are simple." Lady Josephine continued. "The duel will continue until one of the combatants surrenders, or is unable to continue fighting." She gave both Lord Miles and I warning looks. "Don't take things too far. No permanent injuries. Either I or Grand Elder Luther will intervene if necessary. Understood?"

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Lord Miles and I nodded.

"Good. You may begin on my mark."

Lady Josephine walked out of the arena. I took a stance. Lord Miles did the same. It was identical to the one that Anna took, when we fought back in the Icefall region. I resisted the urge to smile.

Tension built up as we waited for the duel to begin. Time seemed to slow down. The spectators were filled with anticipation and excitement. Whether it was to see their young master in action, witness my martial arts skills, or both. I didn't care.

Despite the importance of this duel, I maintained a calm state of mind. I was confident in my skills, but I dared not grow complacent. There was a reason Clan Thorne managed to become so powerful, and Lord Miles was a member of the main family.

Meanwhile, Lord Miles glared at me as if I were his mortal enemy. I wondered if we were destined to hate each other, the same way our mothers hated each other when they were younger. Perhaps so.

"Begin!" Lady Josephine shouted.

Before she even finished speaking, Lord Miles and I charged towards one another. I moved faster, but each of Lord Miles' steps seemed to contain explosive power.

However, in the moment before we clashed, I breathed out a cold white mist. This was a new technique I developed, still unnamed, by applying Ice to [Concealing Mist]. I figured that this duel was the perfect opportunity to test it out.

The mist blanketed the entire arena. The weaker members of Clan Thorne, the ones below Third Star, let out exclamations since the mist obscured the arena from their senses. However, that wasn't the main effect.

The mist's purpose was to lower the temperature over time, chilling my opponents and slowing them down. It wasn't that cold right now, but that would change the longer the duel went on.

After breathing out the mist, I used [Lightning Dash] twice in succession in order to get behind Lord Miles. As I moved to attack him, he snorted.

"Paltry tricks." Lord Miles said.

He turned to face me and blocked my attack with his leg. A clang rang out as my blunt training sword met his armored leg. Lord Miles then retaliated with an attack of his own. Roses made of fire seemed to coat his leg as he kicked towards me. They burned away some of my cold white mist.

I was too close to evade, not without expending mana, so I deflected his attack with my sword. The heat from the roses seemed to scald my skin, even though none of them touched me. However, as I blocked Lord Miles' kick, the roses' petal broke free and shot out in my direction. I used [Lightning Dash] to avoid them.

Hmm, interesting. I had never seen Anna use that technique before. I guess one needed to be at Third Star to use it.

Lord Miles chased after me, not giving me time to react. He launched into a series of attacks, trying to use his superior strength to overwhelm me. More than once, he used that rose petal technique. This time, rather than use [Lightning Dash], I used [Elusive Mist] to contort my body and avoid the petals. They were hot enough that if one of them touched me, they'd cause some serious burns.

I remained on the defensive, using this opportunity to study Lord Miles fighting style and skill. He was at First Rate, which matched his cultivation level. However, he was close to reaching Master, the next level of mastery. Impressive.

That said, he was too hot-headed, too aggressive. His fighting style had flaws. There were many times when he overextended, leaving himself open. These openings were minute, and never lasted long, but they still existed. As long as these flaws existed, he would never become a Master.

Lord Miles also hadn't noticed that my cold white mist affected his movements, slowing him down. Not by a lot, but enough for me to take advantage of. This would only become more apparent the longer the duel went on.

After enduring Lord Miles' barrage of attacks, I used [Lightning Dash] to break away from him and put some distance between us.

"Is that all you can do, Coward?" Lord Miles asked, sneering. "Run away?"

"Oh?" I said in a mocking tone. "Is that what you think I've been doing?" I tsked. "In that case, let me correct you."

I dashed towards Lord Miles. He charged forward to meet me. We clashed again, though this time I was on the offensive. It soon became apparent that I held the advantage despite Lord Miles' higher rank.

I exploited each of his openings, forcing him to defend himself, giving him no opportunity to use his superior strength. At first he tried to ignore my attacks, thinking he could endure them, but he changed his mind after I hit him a few times. If I had used a real sword, he would've been bleeding from several places by now.

As we fought, I heard the spectators comment on the duel.

"The Young Master is losing?" Someone in the crowd asked, incredulous. "How?"

"Lord Gabriel has a higher level of skill." Grand Elder Luther said, pitching his voice to carry. "Not only that, but that mist of his is an Ice technique. It's slowing the Young Master down and sapping his strength."

When Lord Miles heard this, his face twisted with anger. He let out a roar and released his Aura. Thorny rose vines made of fire wrapped around his entire body, flooding the entire arena with heat. It felt like standing next to a giant bonfire. The heat burned away most of my cold white mist and forced me to retreat.

I clicked my tongue with displeasure and glanced at Grand Elder Luther. Interfering old man. I planned on dragging the duel out by sapping Lord Miles' strength over a length of time. This would allow me to test the full limits of the cold white mist. However, thanks to the Grand Elder's comments, Lord Miles escalated things.

"I'll kill you!" Lord Miles shouted, before charging towards me.

As he drew closer, the heat grew more and more intense. Right. Time to end things. I gathered the remaining cold white mist and formed six illusory blades using [Mist Sword]. Unlike my usual ones, these illusory swords glimmered like shards of ice. Instead of attacking with them right away, I held them in reserve.

I rushed forward to meet Lord Miles. At the same time, I summoned my own Aura. A silvery blue dragon formed around me, accompanied by the sound of thunder and the smell of ozone. However, there was another effect as well. A new one.

A chill filled the area, lowering the temperature.

It appeared that practicing with Ice and incorporating it into my fighting style had changed my Aura. However, I could test that out later. Right now, I needed to focus. My Aura would only last for a few seconds, so I needed to end things fast.

As we neared each other, Lord Miles lashed out at me first. He struck at me with a whip-like kick. However, to my surprise, several thorny rose vines made of fire whipped towards me as well. It was like being targeted by multiple kicks at the same time.

I used [Elusive Mist] to avoid most of them and Lord Miles' initial attack. However, two of them proved unavoidable. I used all six of my illusory swords to attack one of the vines attacking me. They were enough to stall it for a second, which was all I needed.

As for the last one, I faced it head on using [Storm Dragon's Claw], swinging four times. The first swing stalled the thorny rose vine, the second one pushed it back, and the third swing cut it away. I aimed the fourth swing, the most powerful one, at Lord Mile's neck.

By this, the remaining thorny rose vine resumed its attack towards me, but that didn't matter. My Aura would protect me from the worst of the damage, though I'd still suffer a serious injury.

Meanwhile, my attack would cut through Lord Miles' Aura. If this were a real fight, I'd take his head. That said, this was a duel, so I just planned on holding the training sword to his neck.

However, just as Lord Miles' attack broke through my Aura and mine cut through his, Grand Elder Luther intervened. In the blink of an eye, the old man appeared right between us and blocked both of our attacks with his bare hands.

A moment later, he struck us with his palms and sent us both flying. Despite this, the attack didn't hurt. Pulling something like that off required a great deal of control on Grand Elder Luther's part. I doubted I could've done the same, even at the height of my power.

I twisted in the air to land on my feet. Lord Miles, on the other hand, landed on his back and rolled a few times, using his momentum to get upright again. He tried to rush towards me, but Grand Elder Luther stepped into his path.

"Enough." The old man said, his voice filling the entire training hall. "The duel is over. Lord Gabriel won."

Lord Miles reared up, like a cat that had been struck on the nose.

"What?!" he asked. "How could that be?"

"Lord Gabriel's final attack was a killing blow." Grand Elder Luther said. "Rather, it would have been if he hadn't held back." He gestured to Lord Miles. "Your final attack was not. Thus, Lord Gabriel wins the duel."

As soon as Grand Elder Luther finished speaking, a wave of murmurs broke out among the spectators. They speculated on how I achieved my victory.

It was rare for a martial artist to defeat someone with more stars than them. It wasn't unheard of, but it almost never happened. Either the weaker martial artist got lucky, cheated, or had a higher level of mastery than the stronger martial artist.

I looked around the training hall.

Lady Josephine regarded the situation with shock, and a hint of suspicion in her eyes. Lord Trevor and Lord Dominic stared in disbelief. They never expected Lord Miles to lose.

My parents wore proud expressions on their faces. Mother, in particular, seemed happy. Kaylee appeared surprised, as if I had exceeded her expectations. Oh ye of little faith. Anna wore a satisfied smile on her face, and a fire burned in her eyes as she looked at me.

"No, I don't accept this!" Lord Miles shouted.

I turned towards Lord Miles and found him pointing a finger at me.

"He must've cheated somehow!"

"No, he did not, Young Master." Grand Elder Luther said in a stern voice. "Your mother, myself, and the other Clan Elders can attest to this."

Lord Miles looked at the Clan Thorne elders, who all nodded.

"It can't be." Lord Miles said, almost to himself. "It's impossible. I'm a full rank above him and I'm a First Rate martial artist. How can I lose to someone like him?"

Lady Josephine stepped forward.

"Miles, that's enough." She said, frowning. "Accept your loss with dignity and move on. Learn from it and grow stronger."

Lord Miles shook his head, his expression a mixture of denial and desperation.

"He cheated. He must've. Unless…" Lord Miles looked at me, understanding in his eyes. A sense of foreboding filled me. "You're a-"

"Miles!" Lady Josephine shouted. "I said enough! Do not say another word."

Lord Miles looked rebellious, but kept silent when he saw the furious expression on Lady Josephine. However, that didn't stop him from looking at me with a triumphant expression on his face, as if he discovered some big secret of mine.

Given what he said before Lady Josephine silenced him, I knew what he suspected. Well, to be fair, he wasn't wrong.

"Lady Sturm," Lady Josephine said, looking at my mother, "may I speak with you and Lord Gabriel in private?"

Mother nodded, a serious expression on her face.

"I'm coming too." Anna said, stepping forward. "This matter involves me, so I have every right."

Lady Josephine hesitated, before nodding.

"As for the rest of you," Lord Trevor said, looking over the crowd, "Keep silent about what you heard and saw here today. We can't let outsiders know that the Young Master of Clan Thorne lost to someone a rank lower than him. The honor of our Clan is at stake."

The spectators still appeared curious about what just happened, but they all nodded despite this.

Impressive. On the surface, Lord Trevor's words implied they were about saving face for Clan Thorne. However, I suspected they contained a deeper meaning.

"If you would all come with me." Lady Josephine said, gesturing towards me and Mother.

Mother and I nodded. However, Father grabbed Mother's hand before we could follow Lady Josephine.

"Be careful." He said, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Mother gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry." She said. "Gabriel and I will be fine. If Josephine meant us harm, she would've done something already. She isn't the type of person to drag things out."

Despite Mother's words, Father still looked worried. However, he nodded and let go of her hand.

"I'll be waiting for you with Kaylee." He said.

My younger sister walked over to Anna.

"If anything happens to my brother," she said, "I'm holding you responsible."

Anna nodded. With that, we headed towards Lady Josephine, who had been waiting for us to finish. Grand Elder Luther, Lord Trevor, and Lord Miles fell in beside us. The former appeared intrigued, while the latter two regarded me with wariness. Lord Dominic wanted to come as well, but Lady Josephine forbade him.

Well then, this was going to be an interesting meeting.

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