Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

"Oh? I guess he must have some useful abilities then?" The middle-aged man questioned while looking at Darcel. And at first glimpse, the man could already this boy has a steady mind going by his calmness.

Their eyes matched, and steadily, Darcel looked straight into his eyes. Like Darcel expected, even higher than Anne, this man had an enigmatic unfathomable presence.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Anne assured the man.

Looking at Darcel and thinking about it more, the man notices something. This situation was similar to the white-haired girl! Moreover, even the clothes this boy wore were identical to her.

Pondering upon this point, a flash lit up in the man's eyes as he told them, "Shall we get straight to testing then? Now I'm rather curious to see what he can do."

"He's Elder Wen, and this won't be a problem for you, right?" Anne sweetly smiled towards Darcel while basically asking a rhetorical question.

"No. I also don't like to mince words. Shall we?" Darcel walked past Anne's group and promptly stood only a foot away from Elder Wen.

Being straightforward and blunt was always a quality Darcel liked to see in people.

And Elder Wen seemed to be in the same agreement as slightly nodded at Darcel.

"Follow me then."

Elder Wen told him and swiftly turned around to walk to a specific large black wooden hut. This hut looked particularly fancy with several decorative ornaments on it and the glossy shine of the wood.

Darcel promptly follows behind, leaving Anne's group to themselves.

Turning around to them, Anne stated, "I'm sure the rest of you have some other tasks that need tending to. I'm going to see what else our newest servant can do."

Swiftly as she said it, Anne walked towards the same hut Darcel and Elder Wen was heading to.

"Tch, even with his standoffish ways, I would've liked to also see what else he can do. But, damn it, she's right. Haah, the privilege of being at the Qi Formation Sea realm…"

Marry sighed out as her curiosity about Darcel's abilities only grew stronger. She was at the seventh layer of the Qi Foundation realm, yet her eyes had trouble tracking Darcel's flying speeds.

"Look at it this way, with the way he acts and his abilities. That guy will probably ask to become a combat servant. Then we'll really get to see what he can do, but for now, let's just get our shit over with."

The burly boy told her with a simple shrug. And after taking one last look to Darcel, the other four youths went about their own tasks.

….

Inside the hut, Darcel found the place, like everything so far, as incredibly expansive. Several bookshelves were containing exotic looking scrolls and tablets.

Several male and female people were working around this hut, either cleaning or putting more items on the shelves. And overseeing all of this was a man who exuded power and ferocity.

He stood at the back wall donning a high quality of brown clothes compared to the others. He also had a muscular physique and showcased his powerful bulging muscles to the world.

Most of all, his face carried a fierce intimidating expression that already tells someone to not mess with him.

Darcel instantly felt mild pressure as soon as he walked in the hut and traded glances with this man. It was like his eyes were two sharp daggers that were trying to pierce his eyes.

Nevertheless, Darcel managed to keep his cool as he heard Elder Wen say,

"Elder Lian, Anne just brought in another servant. And from her words, he's quite the special one." As Elder Wen talked, Anne had walked in the hut, and eyes turned to Darcel.

Immediately the people working around here found Darcel as a shabby boy. Still, he at least looks like he knows how to confidently carry himself.

Elder Lian's eyes still haven't left Darcel finding this boy a bit intriguing. He could count on one hand how many youths dare to match his gaze and even keep calm under him.

Contemptuously smirking at Darcel, Elder Lian said, "Another 'special one' so soon again, eh? Though his realm isn't that high, just a mere fifth layer boy."

Now more eyes began to gather on this little exchange since they knew testing is about to begin. Hearing Elder Lian, Anne attempted to talk so she could back up her choice.

"I give you full honesty El-"

"Action speaks louder than words, Anne. Elder Lian, I'm all ready for testing." Boldly, Darcel cut off Anne and walked up to Elder Lian.

Honestly, he didn't have the time nor care for any words or thoughts they have of him.

Just as long he can finally get to Aniela, it'll be enough.

Anne, however, was momentarily taken aback! No servant ever dared to cut her off, yet Darcel didn't even look at her when doing it. Her eyebrows wrinkled but before she could talk again,

"Hoh? Bold and eager? I'll give you this much boy you're showing as much enthusiasm as our last special servant. Alright then. Fore! Come over here!" Elder Lian eyes held a devious light as he called this boy over.

For Darcel's confident and bold act, Elder Lian now wants to truly see if he is full of hot air or not. And already, Elder Lian has a faint premonition; his words will hold true.

"This boy is quite fearless, I wonder if he is just ignorant of his situation."

"He acts a little too confident to simply be ignorant. And now we're probably going to see a brutal beatdown."

"Even for just testing, Fore is simply too much for anyone at this boy level."

All other servants now put their full undivided attention on the group, making idle gossip about Darcel. One lone boy walked over to Elder Lian with a curious expression out of the people working.

Fore stood at an average height, smooth brown skin, and a decent looking face. One could tell he regularly trains his body to stay in shape by his lean fit physique.

"Elder Lian. You want me to test him?" Fore nodded to the Elder and asked.

Despite only being at the fifth layer of the Qi foundation realm himself, his tone about Darcel already shows the absolute confidence he has over him.

"That's right. As per testing rules, this boy will have one minute to see if he could best you in battle. Use whatever tricks or skills you have; you'll need it, boy."

Elder Lian told, and with a clap of his hands, everyone made space for the two boys. Because the hut was incredibly spacious, Darcel and Fore had enough room to fight in.

'Hm, in our realm, we can't really rely on overwhelming power to quickly defeat an enemy. So this is supposed to test my adaptability in combat...I'll show off a bit to make things easier for us later.'

Darcel thought to himself as his unwavering eyes matched with Fore utmost confident ones.

"I wonder if he'll truly be as special as you claim. Fighting a human is far different from a Spirit Monster." Elder Wen remarked while standing next to Anne.

"For his sake, he better show what I saw from him!" Anne said a bit irritably, still annoyed over getting cut off. Though she wasn't so petty to immediately go against him, she brought him here after all.

"You seem pretty damn confident with that small smirk of yours." Fore pointed out nearly finding Darcel calm confidence a bit annoying.

In response, Darcel simply shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Maybe it's because I'll be able to relax some after beating you with only two moves…"

"Eh? Heh, hahaha! Alright, this boy's confidence is becoming quite funny!" An immediate reaction came from the observers, and similarly, everyone else held disbelieving expressions.

From what they knew about Fore, this was undoubtedly an impossibility! But it'll be all the funnier when Darcel inevitably fails.

Anne stayed quiet during Darcel's claim while Elder Wen had cracked a small smile.

"Begin!"

Elder Lian from the sides called out, also finding it a bit amusing about Darcel's unwavering confidence. Still, though, the nagging feeling that what Darcel is saying was true couldn't leave him.

"Two moves? Really now? Two moves?" Fore repeated with unamused expression while looking into Darcel's eyes. Holding his palm out to him Fore called upon his powers and,

'Chi!'

His whole hand ignited in black flames! Seeing the black flame, all others thought this would be very quick. Nobody knew what Qi could Darcel possibly wield if he had any special Qi at all.

But it was impossible to match the Wrathful Clan power of black flames!

Anne, however, recalled Darcel's pitch black hand when he was fighting with the wolves. She didn't mention it back then but, from her senses, that Darkness hand made her even a little weary.

Only a second pass when Fore brought his black flame in an intimidation tactic. The power he exuded should've been more than enough to make Darcel realize how foolish he was.

However, Darcel merely cracked an even wider smile.

"Heh."

He snorted and then immediately blasted off to Fore with blazing speed!

The servants who were watching had their eyes widen once seeing Darcel speeds. Even the ones at the seventh layer of Qi Foundation had trouble keeping track of him!

Darcel and Fore were only a few feet apart, yet all Fore could see was a black bur! Such groundbreaking speeds should be impossible for someone at his mere level.

Yet, in a split second, Darcel faced already came up close to Fore.

Fore couldn't even react when a palm coated entirely in Darkness flashed towards his chest.

'Pa!'

"Bwaaah!!"

With one swift clean palm strike, Darcel sent Fore flying like a bullet! At high speed, he crashed into the back wall while crazily puking out blood.

Through sheer will, Fore managed to land on his feet after bouncing off the wall. Though when his feet touch the ground, Fore felt intense pain coarse through his body.

And the most damaging was how he felt his blood stir in away the heavily affected his mind. He felt his head continuously buzzing, and a mix of primal emotions dazed him.

This dazed state couldn't continue for long as Fore suddenly felt a gust of wind swirled before him.

"Like I said, two moves."

Darcel's cold words blared into his ears. Holding his hand up, Darcel had then precisely chopped at Fore's neck, effortlessly knocking him out.

As Fore body lifelessly dropped to the floor, Darcel turned around to the servants' astounded eyes. Primarily, Darcel zeroed in on Elder Lian and asked,

"My results?"

Even if he did ask, everyone was still surprised at how quick and clean this fight was! Not only did Darcel have the speed to outstrip Fore, but he also had the strength to knock him around.

Moreover, he also had the precise aim to correctly knock out Fore with the least painful way possible. And most of all, there was that brief power of Darcel Darkness' hand that seemed extraordinarily strong.

Anne even had to do a double-take since this kind of prowess was even better than the one Darcel showed in the woods!

"Hm, you pass flawlessly, boy. Crain, you go take Fore to get checked. And what was your name again, boy?" Elder Lian asked as an older looking male went over to pick up Fore.

"It's Darcel." Truly in Darcel's mind, he was also a bit surprised by this fight. After flexing his body with those wolves, he didn't think it would increase his prowess like this.

Yet during this fight, Darcel felt his Qi was at a higher stage before. His control over it was continuously improving.

If any of the people truly knew how Darcel cultivated, they would've recognized him as a genius!

Although Darcel had no plans to stay here for long…

"Darcel, eh? Alright, come with me." Elder Lian told him and promptly started to walk out the hut.

"Hey...are you still holding back or something?" Anne had to ask, being even more impressed at Darcel's recent display.

Darcel already started walking behind Elder Lian, but he did turn to Anne saying,

"I showed everything I need to show."

His eyes bore into hers before promptly leaving the hut with Elder Lian.

"I guess you were more than right Anne." Elder Wen remarked, but he didn't receive a reply back.

Anne's mind was still wondering about this odd boy...

….

"This is where you'll mainly be staying, boy." Elder Lian had taken Darcel over to a more normal building.

However, Darcel couldn't pay attention to the building's detail, the people here, or what they were doing.

It was all because as soon as he set foot in this building, a mix of black eyes and white hair had immediately gazed over to him...