The next day was sunny, with the blue sky smiling above the Capital City.
Karlia stirred awake to the sounds of a fight.
"Yeah! Push him!"
"Right hook! Give him a right hook!"
"No, no! Evade! Evade him first!"
THWACK!
"Well, crap."
WHOOSH!
THUD!
CRASH!
A second later, Karlia saw the walls of her room shatter as one of her sons crashed through.
Her grogginess vanished instantly, replaced by a flash of anger in her eyes.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU KIDS DOING?!" she roared, shaking the entire Seventh Burdock Courtyard.
The young demon who had just fallen through looked up, only to see his mother glaring at him.
"H-hi, Mother… good morning," he said ekly.
"Darwill!" Karlia yelled, her voice carrying enough power to make the young demon float in the air.
"I-it wasn't my fault!" Darwill stamred. "It was the human challenger!"
"Human challenger?" Karlia narrowed her eyes, her mory flashing back to the fight she had lost just a day ago.
As she processed the statent, footsteps echoed from the courtyard. A familiar figure approached.
"Forgive the child. It was my fault," Lin Mu said, his expression apologetic.
Karlia stepped out of her room and surveyed the scene. Her children were gathered around a makeshift training ring. A few of them bore minor injuries, though nothing serious. Despite this, their vitality was palpable, like a fire burning just beneath the surface.
Her eyes moved to Lin Mu. His slim form seed out of place amid the group of robust demons, but the truth of what had transpired dawned on her quickly.
She sighed, shaking her head as she let Darwill down gently.
"So, a spar?" she asked.
"Yes!" Darwill quickly replied.
With their mother now awake, the demon children quickly ford three orderly lines, standing at attention like disciplined soldiers. It was evident this wasn't their first ti demonstrating such behavior; their training was well-ingrained.
Lin Mu had noticed their discipline the previous night when they had set up the training ring. The Seventh Burdock Courtyard was modest, with an open soil ground in the center and a simple garden where Lin Mu had sat earlier.
It had all begun when one of Karlia's children approached Lin Mu the previous night, curious about the human who had been capable of challenging—and defeating—their mother. The initial curiosity soon spread, and more of Karlia's children returned to see the mysterious challenger.
Far from being intimidated, their fighting spirits were ignited. They clamored to test their skills against him. Lin Mu, anticipating such enthusiasm, agreed without hesitation. He saw it as an opportunity to evaluate their abilities, having already set a high standard based on his fight with Karlia.
The demons wasted no ti. They quickly compressed the soil into a solid surface for the training ring and erected stone pillars to mark its boundaries. These pillars, of course, were fashioned from the courtyard's rock decorations, which they "humbly" repurposed with their bare fists.
With the ring ready, they challenged Lin Mu one by one, starting with the youngest and working their way up to the eldest. Only about a hundred of them were present; the rest were still exploring with their father.
When Lin Mu asked about Ziran's absence, the children explained that their father had taken the others to the Eastern Plains. The region was over a thousand kiloters from the Capital's borders and not easily accessible. However, with the flying Giant Skull as their vessel, they had reached it relatively quickly.
For so of the children, it was their first ti outside the Demon World, and their curiosity about Rust Sky World was insatiable. Ziran, unable to deny their excitent, had agreed to the detour.
Lin Mu, now aware of the Giant Skull's whereabouts, focused on the sparring. He faced the demon children using only his physical abilities, refraining from employing techniques like the Tyrant Bull Marrow Secrets. His goal was to challenge them without overwhelming them.
Throughout the matches, he provided real-ti feedback, offering pointers on their techniques. His guidance yielded noticeable improvents, further fueling their enthusiasm. By the end of the session, Lin Mu had earned the admiration of the young demons, who now viewed him as a worthy ntor.
The sparring session continued until Lin Mu faced one of the older children, Darwill. At the Four Tattoo Stage, Darwill was significantly stronger than the others, forcing Lin Mu to push his physical limits within the constraints he had set. Despite his efforts to hold back, an unintentional surge of power sent Darwill flying—right through the wall of Karlia's room.
And that was how the morning commotion had begun.
As Karlia listened to the account from her children, her initial anger faded, replaced by a small smile.
"Well," she said finally, "you all need to fight opponents of varying types to grow stronger. Lin Mu is a human I approve of."
"WOOOOOOO!" The children erupted in cheers, their voices echoing through the courtyard. Lin Mu, however, could tell their excitent was as much about escaping punishnt as it was about their mother's approval.
"How are you faring?" Lin Mu asked Karlia.
"We can talk about it later, since it seems like the kids still want to spar with you." She responded.
Hearing this the eyes of the demons lit up again knowing that they didn't have to end their playti prematurely.
"So can we continue?" The last remaining Demon asked.
"Go on, I'll watch it this ti." Karlia approved.
"Great!" The Demon said as he returned to the ring, waiting for Lin Mu's arrival.
Lin Mu walked up and the Demon greeted him.
Standing in a fighting fighting pose, the Demon greeted them him in their additional manner instead of the usual cupped fists. "I am Zerath, the Third of my na and and Fourth Eldest in the Lineage of Karlia the First!" the Maroon Skinned Demon with two curving horns introduced himself. "Very well, I'll test you Zerath." Lin Mu said with a smile as he raised his fists too.
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