When Tina returned to the forest house, Arad had already finished cooking dinner, and this time, he had made a lot more than usual. Before, she was the only one who needed to eat, but now, they had two guests for the first time.

The moment she walked inside, the Hermit threw a glance toward her. "You really did come back, how strange." He then blinked, "And, the callouses on your hands have healed, and even your vitality has been replenished."

"It’s nothing that amazing." Tina sighed as she walked past him and headed to the kitchen, where Arad and the Hermit’s daughter were still doing the finishing touches on the dinner. Arad had roasted two whole hens and even made a thick meat soup with a lot of vegetables and meat.

The Hermit’s daughter, on the other hand, made a whole basket of meat buns and even grilled some potatoes with butter and dried hot pepper.

"That’s a lot of food." Tina walked in and the daughter turned around. "A lot? I bet he can eat all on his own."

She smiled, "Of course he can, all of this isn’t enough for him. But..."

"I’ve already eaten. I’ll eat a bit, but this is only for you three." He covered the roasted hens and put them back into the oven.

The daughter shrugged, finished her preparations, and sat on a chair. "But I have to say... you’re weaker than I expected. A broken soul, and a body that is barely holding up. You’re basically disabled with how damaged you are."

"I’m working on it now. You won’t believe it, but I’m tens of times better than I was before." Tina sat on a chair facing her as Arad headed to talk with the Hermit.

"I understand that is the reason you joined the sect? But I have to ask, how in the hell did you get along with him? Where did you find such a... monster, for the lack of a better word." The daughter asked, and Tina sighed.

"First, my name is Tina, what about you?" She smiled, and the daughter cleared her throat. "Liana, and my father is called Gulang."

"Well, Liana. I didn’t find Arad; he found me in an underground city of criminals. I was sold as a slave there, and he saved me." Tina smiled, "By the way, that city is now gone."

Liana looked at her in silence for a second, "Yeah, I guess they are gone." She then looked at the living room where Arad and her father were already talking. "So, really powerful, is he? Do you have any idea?"

"Didn’t you fight him? Or was it just your father?" Tina lifted an eyebrow, and Liana shook her head.

"I was knocked out with a single hit to the face. He spun around, then smacked my mouth with the back of his hand, ripping most of my teeth out, and sent me to sleep on the spot." She then smiled, "He isn’t gentle, even with women. I’ve seen many powerful fighters that aren’t willing to go that far."

Tina smiled, "Arad doesn’t care if you’re a man or a woman, if you’re elderly or a child, when a fight is on, it is on." She pointed a finger at her, "It is called showing respect for a fighter. Or would’ve liked it more if he underestimated you just because you’re a woman."

Liana giggled, "Well, I would’ve liked it more if he underestimated me; that is an advantage. Some women that I know get really offended when taken lightly just because they are women, but I see it for what it is, a thing that works in my favor." She leaned forward, "Underestimate me as much as you want, because it only makes winning easier."

Tina laughed, "And that doesn’t work with Arad. Next time if you fought him, be always on your guard."

"Speaking of that." Liana looked back at Arad, "Those forearms of his, they are thicker than my hips, and all of that is just muscles. I had my entire body reinformed, and he easily shattered my teeth and knocked me out." She then sighed, "And do you know what hurt more? I can clearly tell that he could’ve ripped my head off, or shattered my skull."

"What are you talking about?" Tina leaned forward, and Liana whispered to her. "I bet he swung with more force, but when the back of his hand impacted my face, and my teeth started shattering, he dialled back the force of the swing so my skull won’t just explode."

She then waved a hand, "Such fine control, I’ve never seen someone who can do that. Just give me a close estimate. How hard could that hit be if he didn’t hold back?"

Tina thought about it for a second. "You won’t believe it even if I tell you." She then looked toward Arad, "ARAD! How much can I tell them?"

"I can destroy this entire region to the shores, and I’m not sure about this, but I should be able to chop that World Tree in a week." Arad replied directly, and Liana immediately burst laughing, "Well, that is impossible. If you don’t want to tell me, then it is fine. I’ll have plenty of times to see how powerful you are." She waved a hand to Arad and then went back to talking with Tina.

The Hermit sighed and looked at Arad. "If I couldn’t take you down while going all out, then it probably isn’t far-fetched to say you can do that. I can destroy a whole mountain if I go all out."

"I know that, you hit me with it." Arad smiled, "I took you to another dimension so this forest and the nearby sect won’t get damaged."

"By the Tree... where were you those past centuries?" He looked at the ceiling, "But that doesn’t matter since you’re here now. If we can get rid of those pests, this world would survive far longer." He then threw a stare toward his daughter and Tina, "Say, do you take disciples? I already taught her everything that I could, but her growth had long since stagnated."

Arad looked back and then turned back to the Hermit, "Gulang was your name? I bet that with your strength, there aren’t that many more powerful people out there."

"Yeah, I’m probably the best teacher she could have, and I’ve already taught her everything. She still has a lot of potential, but as you probably know, growth doesn’t come without a challenge."

Arad shrugged, "Well, I’ll try pushing her to the limit and see what she can do." He turned around, "Liana, come here for a second."

She looked at him for a second, stood, and approached. "Your father asked if I would train you, so I just want to test you a bit. Are you okay with that?"

She looked at him for a second, "Well..." and then glared at her father, "Depends, what would you do?" She then immediately scratched the back of her head, "No, I shouldn’t waste this chance. Fine, hit me with whatever you want."

Arad smiled, "This would be the worst feeling you’ve ever felt, so get ready." Then, without even dropping his smile, his eyes flashed purple.

She immediately dropped to her knees, and all the veins in her body bulged. Arad was using gravity magic to push her down, and his blood magic to interfere with her blood flow, but that wasn’t all. He used his magic to suppress hers, and even jumbled her thoughts with his mental magic. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Her father gasped. "What did you do to her?"

"I’m testing her on all fronts at once. Her raw strength, her body’s endurance, her magic control, and mental fortitude." Liana was still on her knees, unable to even say a word or cry. After a minute, he stopped, and she fell on her face, screamed, and almost lost consciousness.

"You’re quite strong to have withstood that. I can’t teach you any techniques or secret arts, but I can allow you to train your already known skill under this pressure. Want to give it a try?" As Arad spoke, Liana barely pushed herself up. "What was that?" She then giggled, "Yeah, I’d want to train under it. If I could last a bit longer, if I could move an inch with all of that weight on my back... I’ll be that much stronger."

She stood, "Come on! Once more."

"No," Tina walked toward them, "It is dinner time, the training can wait until tomorrow."