Dirty martial art?' Arlo frowned and wasn't so sure of learning such a martial art anymore.
Evangeline's expression became serious.
'Boy, what do you think is the strongest power?'
Arlo was stumped and couldn't answer even after several breaths.
'There is no strongest technique!' Evangeline continued.
'What differs is your will; your will for survival .'
Arlo thought deeply about the words Evangeline said but before he could even digest it, Evangeline threw him another question.
'Boy, what will you do when you go up against an enemy that is far within your abilities?'
Arlo didn't hesitate to answer:
'Of course, you run!'
Evangeline's hearty laughter resounded in his mind.
Arlo didn't mind though. To him running from a fight you can't win doesn't make you a coward. Instead fighting a losing battle just makes you a fool.
But his entire view was soon about to crumple.
'Do you think you can run away from someone that truly outclasss you in every way possible?'Evangeline sneered.
'If you can, that simply means that person is not out of your league.'
'So I ask you again, what will you do if you face someone who is way out of your league?'
'I-I don't know.' Arlo whispered.
There was a moment of silence.
'Fight dirty!' Evangeline suddenly said.
'But...' Arlo wanted to refute but Evangeline's voice cut him off.
'Will you hope for some form of last-minute powerup? Or perhaps wait for when you lose someone close before you burst out with unimaginable power?'
'Wake up!'
'This is reality, not some fantasy novel.'
'When your opponent is far stronger you, throw away your pride and do whatever you can to ensure your survival.'
'Dirty martial arts will ensure you survive even against opponents that are many times above your cultivation level.'
'No matter how strong a person becomes from cultivating, a poke to the eye, a kick to the groin, a punch to the throat...'
'Will allow even the weakest to surmount the strongest. Of course, that is if you have sufficient skills to pull them off.'
Arlo fell silent.
>
Even with Old Bro encouraging him, Arlo still hesitated.
Such a classless and vulgar martial art went against his very core.
Sensing his hesitation, Evangeline smiled:
'You need not worry. Dirty martial arts is just like any other martial arts. It contains moves you can use in any normal fight. And it is only when you have no other choice, do you need to use it to its full potential.'
Upon hearing that, Arlo finally agreed.
Ric stood silently a few meters in front of Arlo.
Every trace of contempt on his face had already been wiped off.
He could still feel the pain in his joints. And that was after considering the enormous durability of his body which was his to-be clan's specific ability.
Evangeline simultaneously spoke to both boys in their minds.
"Speed is not your forte. Don't try to compete with your opponent in that aspect."
"You have a strong defense, use it wisely!"
'And how do I do that?' Ric grumbled in his mind.
Evangeline didn't seem to mind his attitude and continued:
'I am going to teach you grappling techniques.'
At the same time, she was guiding Arlo.
'Raise your arms and allow your elbows to reach your eye level.'
Arlo did as instructed, as he adjusted his fighting posture.
'The beginner level of Dirty martial art involves using every part of your body as a weapon. For today, we are going to limit it to your elbows, knees, and head. You must not use any other part for the rest of today's training.'
Ric suddenly moved toward Arlo, but this time he wasn't as fast as before.
He threw a right fist.
Arlo responded by calmly ducking to his right.
But.
Ric's fist suddenly changed direction and grabbed Arlo's raised left arm.
"Caught you!" he grinned.
Arlo didn't panic and instead tried to elbow him in his left rib.
But because he was accustomed to fighting with his elbows, his speed was slow and his movement was a bit clumsy, allowing Ric to clutch his right arm under his left armpit.
Caught off guard, Arlo tried to free himself.
However, Ric made use of this chance to free Arlo's right arm, and quickly grab his neck.
Before Arlo could react, he was lifted into the air before he was slammed back into the ground as Ric executed a choke slam.
'There is an opening!' Evangeline hurried Ric to act.
As Arlo felt the air escape from his lungs, and as his body rocked back into the air from the rebound, Ric quickly grabbed his head, before locking it under his right armpit, successfully placing Arlo in a submission-style, neck choke.
Arlo's face quickly turned red from the lack of air.
He didn't even get a chance to catch his breath after slamming into the ground.
He tried to escape from Ric's choke to no avail.
Ric used the full advantage of his bigger size and pressed Arlo beneath him.
'Alright, that is enough!'
Hearing Evangeline's words, Ric let him go.
Arlo gasped heavily for air, as he laid on the ground.
"How is that for a payback?" Ric snickered.
He felt like he had redeemed himself.
After a short while, Arlo stood back up.
Raising both elbows to his head level, he narrowed his eyes on Ric.
.....
The class lasted for several hours.
At the end of the lesson, Evangeline gave the elite ten students a task.
A common task.
They were all to only use martial arts tomorrow.
A few of them reacted at first, but after contemplating it for a while, they relaxed.
Even after limiting their abilities to martial arts, they were confident of standing above the other students.
And since those of the same level were similarly affected, they had nothing to fear.
Not to mention that they could still use their natural enhanced stats as vampires.
Night had already fallen when the lesson ended and Evangeline left.
Before leaving, she left one last message with Arlo.
'Get the first rank tomorrow and I will teach you the next part of Dirty martial art.'
The students left the training center.
But a select few remained.
Ric looked at the other elites around him and snorted, before leaving the training center.
The others upon seeing they were not the only ones with the same thought, also left leaving only three figures in the massive building.
Arlo stared at Dean and Arianne before raising one of his eyebrows, "What are we still waiting for?"
"I still want to train. Can you spar with me?" Arianne suddenly said.
Arlo thought about it for a moment and nodded.
He noticed that Evangeline was also training Arianne in some sort of unique martial art, so it was only natural that she still wasn't accustomed to it.
He was the same.
And they both needed to get used to them, if not they wouldn't be able to bring out their full power tomorrow.
He looked at Dean calmly.
"Don't mind me. I also have some things I would like to try."
Dean moved away, giving the two some space.
Arlo focused on using his elbows and knees to fight, while Arianne only used her legs.
Their training continued till late at night.
.....
Next morning.
The first years gathered once again at the enormous training center.
But this time there was a difference.
A few students occupied the seats surrounding the huge open space.
They were older than the first years and the aura around them was also far stronger than the first years.
These were the second-year students of the Darkblood Academy.
Some of them came to watch the first year's first-ranking war.
Of course, these were only the weaklings among the second years with some time to spare.
But even if they were weaklings, they were still far stronger than the first years, as the weakest among them was in the late advanced realm.
The principal and the teachers stood before the first years in the open space.
The principal spoke:
"This is going to be the first-ranking war. The first ten will be awarded appropriately while the first three will be given more special privileges!"
While they still hadn't had classes with all their teachers, the students still recognized them from their first gathering.
The principal turned and nodded to the teachers.
And by prior agreement, they all moved further away from the students.
Now standing about ten meters from the students, the principal spoke calmly but his voice was still heard by the far away students.
" The ranking war will be divided into two parts."
*Whoosh*
A massive formation suddenly lit up below the students.
Before they could react, the high ceiling of the dome-like training center suddenly parted aside to reveal the clear blue sky.
Immediately after, the ground below the students gradually rose into the air, drawing some reactions from the students.
Some students visibly panicked causing the few second years to chuckle.
After rising for more than 40m, the rising ground stopped.
The principal's voice resounded from beneath the now-raised dueling ring.
"The first part of the ranking war is a battle royale!"
"To eliminate the students, you need to incapacitate them or knock them off the dueling ring. Only when ten students remain will the battle royale end."
The place was enveloped by an eerie silence.
Those at the edges looked down before swallowing their saliva.
Even as vampires, they didn't doubt they would die after falling from such a height.
Swallowed by their deep fear, none of the students heard when the principal shouted "Begin!"
The silence continued for two minutes until someone suddenly moved.
Ric grabbed a student beside him and before the other could react, he threw him into the air.
"Ah!"
The student screamed as he fell down the 40m high dueling ring but before he hit the ground, a gentle force stopped his descent.
With a light thud, he fell to the ground, his face covered with sweat.
With their fear now gone, the students visibly relaxed. And then, a great fight erupted on the tower.
Different magical spells made from darkness flew abound.
There were arrows, spears, swords, and even bats.
Because the battle was large, and the students were not used to fighting in such large-scale battles, the majority of them suffered from stray attacks.
One by one, students were knocked off the ring.
Ric, Rosaline, Lysa, James, Bon, and the others were especially eye-catching as even without using their mana, they wove around the attacks and knocked the students out.
The winners of this battle royale were already decided from the beginning.
However, a change suddenly happened, making the heated battle come to a sudden stop.
Arlo and Arianne stood at opposite ends, putting Dean in between them.
Dean unrestrainedly manifested poison bombs before launching them at the surrounding students.
Painful shrieks echoed simultaneously as the students fell and writhed in pain, and intermingling with the screams was Dean's unrestrained laughter.
Guarded by Arlo and Arianne on both sides, none of the student's last-ditch attacks could reach him.
He could launch all his poison bombs without holding back.
This was what he worked on when Arlo and Arianne sparred last night.
With tens of poison bombs appearing around him one after the other, Dean suddenly had a thought:
'Vampires are not that scary!'
But that thought had not even lasted for five breaths when his face went pale.
The battle on the ring suddenly stopped before being enveloped by an uncomfortable silence that was occasionally broken by the painful grunts from the fallen students.
All the students stared at the three.
Even Arlo and Arianne gulped nervously at the unexpected development.
Looking at the tens of bodies writhing around Arlo's group and remembering Dean's unrestrained laughter, the students felt a volcano erupting within them.
Ric and the other elites exchanged glances before they nodded silently in agreement.
The eerie atmosphere was suddenly broken.
But not by the angry vampire students.
But by Dean.
"Well, I have done my part. I will leave the rest to you two!"
Arlo's lips twitched while Arianne turned and glared at him, causing him to flinch.
"Get them!" Ric roared in anger.
The now less than ninety students stormed Arlo's group from all directions.
It seemed as if Ric would be the first to arrive so Arlo prepared himself.
But suddenly, Lysa flashed before him, her legs already transformed.
Before Arlo could raise his hands to block, Arianne suddenly flashed in front of him and delivered a round kick at Lysa.
Her feet connected with Lysa's face and sent the latter flying.
Coincidentally the latter flew in Ric's direction, so he had to stop and attempt to catch her.
Within this short time, the other students arrived before Arlo's group.
"Arlo!" Arianne shouted before jumping high up.
Arlo understanding her thoughts caught her hands and roared at the top of his lungs.
"Get down!"
Dean who was behind the duo suddenly ducked down in time to evade Arianne who swung in a circle by Arlo, her feet connecting with several bodies.
All the students who had encroached upon them were sent flying before colliding with those behind them.
Arianne gently landed beside Arlo.
'That is right! I am not alone.' Arlo thought as he looked at Arianne from the side of his eye.
Looking at the rising students, Arlo took his fighting posture and spoke in a deep voice:
"Come!"
.....
AN: Why is Dean even counted among the elite ten?
FAA finally reached the hundredth chapter. It has not been easy to arrive at this point.
I would like to thank all my avid readers,
Dirty martial art?' Arlo frowned and wasn't so sure of learning such a martial art anymore.
Evangeline's expression became serious.
'Boy, what do you think is the strongest power?'
Arlo was stumped and couldn't answer even after several breaths.
'There is no strongest technique!' Evangeline continued.
'What differs is your will; your will for survival .'
Arlo thought deeply about the words Evangeline said but before he could even digest it, Evangeline threw him another question.
'Boy, what will you do when you go up against an enemy that is far within your abilities?'
Arlo didn't hesitate to answer:
'Of course, you run!'
Evangeline's hearty laughter resounded in his mind.
Arlo didn't mind though. To him running from a fight you can't win doesn't make you a coward. Instead fighting a losing battle just makes you a fool.
But his entire view was soon about to crumple.
'Do you think you can run away from someone that truly outclasss you in every way possible?'Evangeline sneered.
'If you can, that simply means that person is not out of your league.'
'So I ask you again, what will you do if you face someone who is way out of your league?'
'I-I don't know.' Arlo whispered.
There was a moment of silence.
'Fight dirty!' Evangeline suddenly said.
'But...' Arlo wanted to refute but Evangeline's voice cut him off.
'Will you hope for some form of last-minute powerup? Or perhaps wait for when you lose someone close before you burst out with unimaginable power?'
'Wake up!'
'This is reality, not some fantasy novel.'
'When your opponent is far stronger you, throw away your pride and do whatever you can to ensure your survival.'
'Dirty martial arts will ensure you survive even against opponents that are many times above your cultivation level.'
'No matter how strong a person becomes from cultivating, a poke to the eye, a kick to the groin, a punch to the throat...'
'Will allow even the weakest to surmount the strongest. Of course, that is if you have sufficient skills to pull them off.'
Arlo fell silent.
>
Even with Old Bro encouraging him, Arlo still hesitated.
Such a classless and vulgar martial art went against his very core.
Sensing his hesitation, Evangeline smiled:
'You need not worry. Dirty martial arts is just like any other martial arts. It contains moves you can use in any normal fight. And it is only when you have no other choice, do you need to use it to its full potential.'
Upon hearing that, Arlo finally agreed.
Ric stood silently a few meters in front of Arlo.
Every trace of contempt on his face had already been wiped off.
He could still feel the pain in his joints. And that was after considering the enormous durability of his body which was his to-be clan's specific ability.
Evangeline simultaneously spoke to both boys in their minds.
"Speed is not your forte. Don't try to compete with your opponent in that aspect."
"You have a strong defense, use it wisely!"
'And how do I do that?' Ric grumbled in his mind.
Evangeline didn't seem to mind his attitude and continued:
'I am going to teach you grappling techniques.'
At the same time, she was guiding Arlo.
'Raise your arms and allow your elbows to reach your eye level.'
Arlo did as instructed, as he adjusted his fighting posture.
'The beginner level of Dirty martial art involves using every part of your body as a weapon. For today, we are going to limit it to your elbows, knees, and head. You must not use any other part for the rest of today's training.'
Ric suddenly moved toward Arlo, but this time he wasn't as fast as before.
He threw a right fist.
Arlo responded by calmly ducking to his right.
But.
Ric's fist suddenly changed direction and grabbed Arlo's raised left arm.
"Caught you!" he grinned.
Arlo didn't panic and instead tried to elbow him in his left rib.
But because he was accustomed to fighting with his elbows, his speed was slow and his movement was a bit clumsy, allowing Ric to clutch his right arm under his left armpit.
Caught off guard, Arlo tried to free himself.
However, Ric made use of this chance to free Arlo's right arm, and quickly grab his neck.
Before Arlo could react, he was lifted into the air before he was slammed back into the ground as Ric executed a choke slam.
'There is an opening!' Evangeline hurried Ric to act.
As Arlo felt the air escape from his lungs, and as his body rocked back into the air from the rebound, Ric quickly grabbed his head, before locking it under his right armpit, successfully placing Arlo in a submission-style, neck choke.
Arlo's face quickly turned red from the lack of air.
He didn't even get a chance to catch his breath after slamming into the ground.
He tried to escape from Ric's choke to no avail.
Ric used the full advantage of his bigger size and pressed Arlo beneath him.
'Alright, that is enough!'
Hearing Evangeline's words, Ric let him go.
Arlo gasped heavily for air, as he laid on the ground.
"How is that for a payback?" Ric snickered.
He felt like he had redeemed himself.
After a short while, Arlo stood back up.
Raising both elbows to his head level, he narrowed his eyes on Ric.
.....
The class lasted for several hours.
At the end of the lesson, Evangeline gave the elite ten students a task.
A common task.
They were all to only use martial arts tomorrow.
A few of them reacted at first, but after contemplating it for a while, they relaxed.
Even after limiting their abilities to martial arts, they were confident of standing above the other students.
And since those of the same level were similarly affected, they had nothing to fear.
Not to mention that they could still use their natural enhanced stats as vampires.
Night had already fallen when the lesson ended and Evangeline left.
Before leaving, she left one last message with Arlo.
'Get the first rank tomorrow and I will teach you the next part of Dirty martial art.'
The students left the training center.
But a select few remained.
Ric looked at the other elites around him and snorted, before leaving the training center.
The others upon seeing they were not the only ones with the same thought, also left leaving only three figures in the massive building.
Arlo stared at Dean and Arianne before raising one of his eyebrows, "What are we still waiting for?"
"I still want to train. Can you spar with me?" Arianne suddenly said.
Arlo thought about it for a moment and nodded.
He noticed that Evangeline was also training Arianne in some sort of unique martial art, so it was only natural that she still wasn't accustomed to it.
He was the same.
And they both needed to get used to them, if not they wouldn't be able to bring out their full power tomorrow.
He looked at Dean calmly.
"Don't mind me. I also have some things I would like to try."
Dean moved away, giving the two some space.
Arlo focused on using his elbows and knees to fight, while Arianne only used her legs.
Their training continued till late at night.
.....
Next morning.
The first years gathered once again at the enormous training center.
But this time there was a difference.
A few students occupied the seats surrounding the huge open space.
They were older than the first years and the aura around them was also far stronger than the first years.
These were the second-year students of the Darkblood Academy.
Some of them came to watch the first year's first-ranking war.
Of course, these were only the weaklings among the second years with some time to spare.
But even if they were weaklings, they were still far stronger than the first years, as the weakest among them was in the late advanced realm.
The principal and the teachers stood before the first years in the open space.
The principal spoke:
"This is going to be the first-ranking war. The first ten will be awarded appropriately while the first three will be given more special privileges!"
While they still hadn't had classes with all their teachers, the students still recognized them from their first gathering.
The principal turned and nodded to the teachers.
And by prior agreement, they all moved further away from the students.
Now standing about ten meters from the students, the principal spoke calmly but his voice was still heard by the far away students.
" The ranking war will be divided into two parts."
*Whoosh*
A massive formation suddenly lit up below the students.
Before they could react, the high ceiling of the dome-like training center suddenly parted aside to reveal the clear blue sky.
Immediately after, the ground below the students gradually rose into the air, drawing some reactions from the students.
Some students visibly panicked causing the few second years to chuckle.
After rising for more than 40m, the rising ground stopped.
The principal's voice resounded from beneath the now-raised dueling ring.
"The first part of the ranking war is a battle royale!"
"To eliminate the students, you need to incapacitate them or knock them off the dueling ring. Only when ten students remain will the battle royale end."
The place was enveloped by an eerie silence.
Those at the edges looked down before swallowing their saliva.
Even as vampires, they didn't doubt they would die after falling from such a height.
Swallowed by their deep fear, none of the students heard when the principal shouted "Begin!"
The silence continued for two minutes until someone suddenly moved.
Ric grabbed a student beside him and before the other could react, he threw him into the air.
"Ah!"
The student screamed as he fell down the 40m high dueling ring but before he hit the ground, a gentle force stopped his descent.
With a light thud, he fell to the ground, his face covered with sweat.
With their fear now gone, the students visibly relaxed. And then, a great fight erupted on the tower.
Different magical spells made from darkness flew abound.
There were arrows, spears, swords, and even bats.
Because the battle was large, and the students were not used to fighting in such large-scale battles, the majority of them suffered from stray attacks.
One by one, students were knocked off the ring.
Ric, Rosaline, Lysa, James, Bon, and the others were especially eye-catching as even without using their mana, they wove around the attacks and knocked the students out.
The winners of this battle royale were already decided from the beginning.
However, a change suddenly happened, making the heated battle come to a sudden stop.
Arlo and Arianne stood at opposite ends, putting Dean in between them.
Dean unrestrainedly manifested poison bombs before launching them at the surrounding students.
Painful shrieks echoed simultaneously as the students fell and writhed in pain, and intermingling with the screams was Dean's unrestrained laughter.
Guarded by Arlo and Arianne on both sides, none of the student's last-ditch attacks could reach him.
He could launch all his poison bombs without holding back.
This was what he worked on when Arlo and Arianne sparred last night.
With tens of poison bombs appearing around him one after the other, Dean suddenly had a thought:
'Vampires are not that scary!'
But that thought had not even lasted for five breaths when his face went pale.
The battle on the ring suddenly stopped before being enveloped by an uncomfortable silence that was occasionally broken by the painful grunts from the fallen students.
All the students stared at the three.
Even Arlo and Arianne gulped nervously at the unexpected development.
Looking at the tens of bodies writhing around Arlo's group and remembering Dean's unrestrained laughter, the students felt a volcano erupting within them.
Ric and the other elites exchanged glances before they nodded silently in agreement.
The eerie atmosphere was suddenly broken.
But not by the angry vampire students.
But by Dean.
"Well, I have done my part. I will leave the rest to you two!"
Arlo's lips twitched while Arianne turned and glared at him, causing him to flinch.
"Get them!" Ric roared in anger.
The now less than ninety students stormed Arlo's group from all directions.
It seemed as if Ric would be the first to arrive so Arlo prepared himself.
But suddenly, Lysa flashed before him, her legs already transformed.
Before Arlo could raise his hands to block, Arianne suddenly flashed in front of him and delivered a round kick at Lysa.
Her feet connected with Lysa's face and sent the latter flying.
Coincidentally the latter flew in Ric's direction, so he had to stop and attempt to catch her.
Within this short time, the other students arrived before Arlo's group.
"Arlo!" Arianne shouted before jumping high up.
Arlo understanding her thoughts caught her hands and roared at the top of his lungs.
"Get down!"
Dean who was behind the duo suddenly ducked down in time to evade Arianne who swung in a circle by Arlo, her feet connecting with several bodies.
All the students who had encroached upon them were sent flying before colliding with those behind them.
Arianne gently landed beside Arlo.
'That is right! I am not alone.' Arlo thought as he looked at Arianne from the side of his eye.
Looking at the rising students, Arlo took his fighting posture and spoke in a deep voice:
"Come!"
.....
AN: Why is Dean even counted among the elite ten?
FAA finally reached the hundredth chapter. It has not been easy to arrive at this point.
I would like to thank all my avid readers,
