"Congratulations Uncle!" Shi Ling hopped around him as he walked in with a drunk man.

He'd already dropped Mark off…well, Mark was spatially taken when Kong Jing came to pick him up.

"What for?" Ebony questioned. He was already congratulated for the upcoming marriage.

"You got your first bounty!" Shi Ling showed off her surprisingly quick information flow.

"Thanks. Is that a common occurrence around here?" Speaking in their language felt natural now.

"Yeah! I remember when I first got my bounty. Those whiny aliens couldn't handle a proper loss and put a bounty on me. I-uh forgot what their race was called again but they were some ugly mantis-people that used energy more tangible than mana." Shi Ling hopped from one foot to another and they crossed the obstacle course with normal human stats.

"What do you do about it?" Ebony swung with the swinging log trick.

"Huh? Uh, I don't know, I'm not sure if anyone comes after us. At least I don't remember any bounty hunters…whatever, there are so many bounties on us. Shh, the Wen Clan holds the greatest number of bounties and collective value but don't tell anyone I told you." Shi Ling leaned in and whispered when she used their clan's skill as a movement technique to chase him.

"Mmm." Ebony landed and leaned as far back to the floor as he could when a barrage of needles shot towards his face.

"Aren't you gonna ask me how much out of curiosity?" Shi Ling spun her coat in a spiral to catch all the needles without slowing her momentum down.

"If you want to tell me."

"You're weird Uncle."

"..." Ebony tossed Hector's body onto a tree branch to spring off another trap in advance.

Hector slept through the entire obstacle course.

Neither of them broke their record time since it was a leisure activity while Hector got his name on the board as a guest for being carried through the entire course.

"Shi Ling, does radiant diamond bell mean anything to you?" Ebony probed. He missed the chance to ask earlier.

"How do you know my core skill?!" Shi Ling grabbed his arm by the elbow. She would've crushed his elbows with her grip if they weren't still in the course's normal human affliction.

"Do you like to eat pudding? I got some for you." He changed the subject and confirmed his suspicions again.

"Milk pudding! Yay, thank you Uncle!" Easily excitable and distracted, Shi Ling was a wonder.

An abnormality in the Shi family. Enough that Ebony was interested in finding out who was her father to be able to influence her for her personality to be so different. "Aww, only a bowl…"

"Eat less pudding."

"So how do you know my core skill?" Shi Ling took a spoon out of her inner coat pocket and dug in. Her spoon and pudding phased through her mask without the need to uncover her lips like Xin's or Kong Jing's.

Ebony told her about the man and what he said about the ossification being the key to her skill.

"Ohh, I'll test that."

"So you use diamond magic?"

"Eeeh I don't use magic, though I use the diamond element it's an aspect. I'm not a mage."

"That's not something used in these parts are they?"

"I don't think so? Ah, you've never fought someone who uses aspects instead of spells. Aspects are more bonded, a piece of each of us. When one taps into their aspects, they manifest their qualities into reality. Eh, it's pretty much the same as magic but my mana is a lot different and it's almost unrecognisable to the mana I was born with by now."

"I noticed. Are you interested in training this uncle of yours?" Unlike most of the Xengs who could perfectly hide their mana, Shi Ling felt like she was steaming with a thin energy. Wisps of gaseous energy always escapes her but stuck very close to her body so he would only feel it when he was near her.

"Hehehe, you talk weird uncle." She Ling cleaned her bowl and smacked her lips under her mask.

"..." Hit by the honest feedback once again, he got a training partner for the day.

He didn't get to find out what aspects were like when Shi Ling fought him.

She was impervious to any spells he threw at her.

Gravity couldn't latch onto her, just like any other spell he had. His pet cube blocked a punch for him but even with Tempestuous Lull Pelt cast over it, it would likely have been destroyed if he didn't let the cube fly back.

She cried out about how pretty his flames were, they couldn't penetrate her skin.

Her hand-to-hand combat ability was great but he could put pressure on her if it wasn't for her immense physical advantage. That seemed to put her cheerful nature into a more serious mode.

Shi Qiang, his older cousin was watching from the side because Shi Ling didn't have great control over her strength. Sipping tea while watching her clan members play in the sand.

Sound magic, more precisely his reflection of vibration seemed to work best against Shi Ling. When she parried Icicle with her forearm, what seemed like a flinch showed from her involuntary reactions. The tensing of her shoulders, her hips tightening and shifting to redirect the force.

Ebony saw all of that.

Too bad for him, the moment Icicle touched her forearm for the first time Icicle burst into wood splitters and Ebony felt reverberations trapped within his body destroying all of his organs. Petrifying his muscles and solidifying his joints.

'Is she trying the ossification thing already…Radiant diamond bell, is she the bell? Something along the lines of sound magic?'

Shi Qiang flicked her wrist and splashed her tea over Ebony's head and then flicked her finger to shoot her teacup at Shi Ling's mask.

"OWW!!" Shi Ling squatted down and held both her hands over her masked forehead.

Ebony felt mana wash over his very bones while his body was slowly released from the weird energy petrifying him.

Ebony concluded that they had similar reflective Fortifications. It was just that Shi Ling's reflective defenses were more potent than his and probably had a couple of Skills enhancing the ability.

He would need ranged attacks to prevent himself from being affected but her skin made all his projectiles and other ranged options futile.

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"Cousin. Your spells are complex but lacking punch." Shi Qiang commented.

"I know." His Intelligence stat was only enhanced by Resonant Battle Hymn while his physical stats were enhanced by multiple sources of complex mana based spells.

"I'll find you a quick fix for that, I was wondering what to get for your wedding."

"Thank you, sure." Ebony was mildly curious about what kind of fix she was thinking about.

"Alright, both of you need some whipping up."

Ebony and Shi Ling nodded.

"Let's set your win conditions to make me move a step. I'll handicap to…cousin Ebony's physical ability and no mana."

Shi Ling had plenty of fun and enjoyment from being buffed with sound magic and supported with gravity. Ebony didn't cut back on the compressed Domain buff that he did with Shi Ling, even with his already damaged chassis.

There was much to learn whenever his opponents weren't much faster or stronger but still forced both of them back.

Rooted to the spot, Shi Qiang only did one thing throughout what some would call humiliating the younger generations but it was merely her trying her best not to kill either of them. She would point her finger and flex their Clan Skill, effectively shooting air bullets.

Weak bullets that couldn't severely injure either of them but were enough to keep them both at bay.

'No magic, same physical ability… I can produce that kind of shockwave with just the muscles in my fingertips?' Shi Qiang scatters any congregation of mana at its core, scattering every flaming petal with a wider area of effect flex with her body instead of her finger.

She effectively pulsed the air around her by the movement and snapping of a layer of muscles under her skin to cast a physical shockwave that destroyed the spells that would've reached her.

She poked and even tickled Shi Ling who got close enough to touch her and the excitable girl's skin and defence appear to have disappeared.

Shi Ling was a King and she wasn't handicapped in any way during this spar. And his cousin was showing him how he could've handled Shi Ling with his physical stats.

Ebony used his illusions and shades but Shi Ling wasn't tricked by any of them. Despite watching it happen, he couldn't immediately understand how the younger girl was getting hit now.

He stepped forward when Shi Ling hopped back, getting a better feel for himself while the younger Shi pulled out a petite cone-shaped crystal bell. Pinched between her fingers, she gently rang the bell.

This time, Shi Qiang was forced to change her tactics and snap her fingers to destroy the weird energy or mana that was going to her. This allowed Ebony the chance for a Shade swing at her head while he swept at her feet with all his momentum.

A loud crack sounded out.

She uppercut Icicle's main body, breaking both the Shade and putting a crack on Icicle while the bones in his ankle up his legs shattered the moment he pushed against her feet.

'Right, she only reduced her power to mine but she's not handicapped to a Grandmaster. How are we supposed to push her.' Ebony rolled away when a poke was about to land on his forehead, Shi Ling slipped in and redirected the weak blow for him.

Regardless of Ebony or Shi Qiang's strength handicap, he wasn't going let Shi Ling take all the heat while he acted as a support. This was training for him too.

"You'll have to push her off, I'll keep her busy." Ebony knew that he had no chance at shifting Shi Qiang's feet even if he had his momentum built up. Shi Ling had far greater chances of forcing the older Shi to move with the handicap she placed upon herself.

"Okay!" Shi Ling's fists turned crystalline. Diamond.

Her very bones could be seen and they were of a different quality from the layers of her diamond muscles. "Cover yourself when I give you a signal!"

Ebony got back close and personal, his opponent wasn't moving any faster than him. He was confident that there should be no reason he would be at a disadvantage other than the fact that hitting her would hurt him more than it would her.

His mana and gravitational perception sensed a large bell slamming into the ground behind him. He didn't know what type of fighter Shi Ling was but it didn't seem like she was charging in with him as she started to punch the bell with her diamond fists.

"Cousin Ebony, that child's powers can't differentiate foe and friendly."

Ebony ignored the comment and stacked fists, swings, stabs and numerous kicks at every opening he saw. Shi Qiang couldn't move her feet as part of her handicap so there should be no way 2 limbs moving at the same speed can parry all of his attacks.

When her index finger slipped through his blindspot covered by Icicle, he gave up on his kicks and leaned away. His control of distance had always been impeccable. By giving up on a few thoughts of attacks, it gave birth to more possibilities as Phantasmal Shade Sovereign Arts didn't give way.

'I'm evading too much, but…I can't take a hit.' Ebony's gut feeling prepared him for the worst. It was better not to let that finger touch him. thinking about it clearly, she might have put her physical strength to be equal his but if she had, say a tier 7 skill at who knows what level, then it was obvious he was at a disadvantage.

When he imagined dodging the next poke at his chest, she flung him back with her Clan skill. The shockwave from her finger put a dent in his chest but his chassis was left alone. Likely since she handicapped herself to only physical means.

'The shockwave didn't come from her fingertip but her knuckles…good to know.' Ebony reevaluated what he had to look out for and simulated the paths of evasion that were cut out now that he found out her limitations were fewer than he initially assumed.

That moment he was interrupted allowed her to send probing attacks at Shi Ling that he had to cover. This space had long been filled with his Will, Perennial Everfrost Armaments were formed in the shape of his trusty turtle shell shield.

Fortunately, attacks of his power couldn't immediately destroy his shield. Not without Will or Domain-enhanced skills.

Ebony didn't know how else Shi Qiang was going to get around the fact that he was more of a defence specialist than an offensive fighter. At the current rate, she shouldn't be able to do anything to stop Shi Ling or even keep him distracted.

Then she nodded and curled her finger at him, "I'll play along."

Ebony dropped the shields and walked up to her.

She clenched her fists.

He gripped Icicle tight.

Although they were standing within arm's reach, he didn't let the unwieldy sword get to him. At this point, the sword's additional reach didn't handicap him even at an unoptimal range.

When they both swung out, he saw the numerous involuntary muscular shifts under her skin.

Icicle sliced through the air while his tooth was smashed out of his mouth.

'She slid under my arms, pushed my elbow with a tiny pulse of their clan skill while our arms crossed causing me to miss without moving herself. But…I already countered that with repulsion. Why did I still get hit? I don't see Shades or illusions being used here.'

Their exchanges got faster and faster, and Ebony quickly found out the simple reason. She was simply predicting him better than he was predicting her moves. Her flexibility in changing moves. Her far superior reflexes and reaction speed. Even if she didn't have those, he was still at a loss.

He lost at reading the flow of battle. As simple as that.

Ebony put all his mental power into it but it didn't change anything. He was being shown flaw after flaw that he didn't know existed. If she could use her feet, or if she pulled the one arm she placed behind her back he wouldn't even know how much more he would've been able to see.

'Not formless but a wide variety of masteries. Shi Qiang probably uses all sorts of weapons.' He adapted and adapted.

Seeing something new or having his battle sense fail him didn't cause him to falter.

No matter what, he refused to let Icicle go and he danced around his stationary opponent to barrage her with as many swings and thrusts as he could. Crystalline Avalanche was activated only to hit air time and time again.

'This is so fun. I have so many flaws!' A tug gradually pulled at his lips.

'Ting' 'Class Skill Ethereal Arctic Rivertide Art melded into Phantasmal Shade Sovereign Arts forming Phantasmal Flow Shade Sovereign Arts'

"No need to go easy on me Cousin." Shi Qiang continued.

A giant ice lance was conjured and repelled in her direction with most of the gravity cube's mana. He could barely conjure anything if it wasn't for his Domain. She might have had to pull her magic body back for him to have conjured anything.

It spiralled towards her as a Crystalline Avalanche with Quake 'Kick' raring to go.

Ebony continued keeping her grounded and left a Shade to continue his job when the giant lance was about to land and push her even a millimetre away from her spot.

"Now!" Shi Ling warned.

Ebony Flickered out as far as he could with all his speed augmentations and active buffs. Riding the repulsion of his gravity cube into the air.

A blast of energy swallowed the training field, turning everything down below into glittering diamonds.

The melodious bell rang once after the blast of energy hit the surroundings.

"Let's take this as your victory." Shi Qiang turned into a diamond statue, moved her right foot forward and patted herself down to dust off the diamond.

Whether or not she was impressed or disappointed was something only she would know, for the Shis did not make facial expressions as lively as his or Shi Ling's.

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