Under the Veil of Night

The Ryukalin Clan Headquarters

The Old Man was looking at his son with bewilderment. From what he remembered, Neo hated physical training the most. What made this boy change his mind and follow Mike's training regimen? Everyone knew how intense Mike's training was.

"Neo, did you hit your head somewhere?"

Neo rolled his eyes as he laid on the ground. "Is that the first question you should ask, Old Man? I'm dead tired over here."

"Nope, you can still shout just fine."

"…" are you really my father?

On the side, Ryan watched their interaction with amusement. These two were extremely funny. Even if they were father and son, they barely had those kinds of moments as they usually argued a lot, acting more like friends.

The Old Man sat down on the chair. "Did you perhaps make Clan Head angry? You should know better than to test his patience."

Neo scoffed silently. He also knew that it wouldn't do him any good to test Kevin's patience. Besides, he was only reminding that man about the consequences of pursuing Kanae. There was nothing wrong with a subordinate trying to remind his superior.

However, this subject was kind of sensitive for Kevin, and all members knew that. For their Boss, there were only two subjects that they could never mention in front of him. One of them was the matter of marriage with a normal commoner.

"I wasn't testing him. I just breached a subject that he hates the most," Neo answered as he tried his best to sit up straight.

"Did you forget the rule?"

"I didn't!"

"I never thought that there would come the day that you speak about topic that he hates the most," the old man said amusingly. He noticed that his son seemed to grow up much more.

"Get lost," Neo's face darkened. It was already enough that he got punished to follow Mike's training. There was no need for his father to make him enraged even more.

The Old Man laughed. He chose to ask another question. "How long will you be following Mike's training?"

"One month," Neo answered with a grim face. This would be the worst vacation in his life ever.

The Old Man shook his head lightly. Knowing his son's abilities, it would be a miracle if Neo could still move normally after one month of intense training. This was going to be extreme hell for his son.

"Good luck, I won't be able to help you much, brat."

"I'm not hoping for you to help me out," Neo retorted. "I can do this just fine. It's just one month."

He tried to console himself about it. In fact, he himself knew better than anyone that he wouldn't be able to survive unscathed. The sole fact that he didn't have a good talent in martial arts nor a sturdy body made it even harder for him to cope with Mike's intense training.

Ryan shook his head. "You have made Boss extremely angry this time. He would've just asked you to train with a weaker member than Mike if you didn't cross the line."

Neo shrugged. He was still resting as he leaned back on the short table behind him. "It's fine, I don't regret saying it to him. Besides, if I ma nage to survive this one month, I'll be much stronger than before."

"Boss will be the Clan Head legally soon," Old Man said out loud. "Are you going to follow his lead or defect to another side?"

"Do you have to ask me this, Old Man? I will never leave Boss's side," Neo answered immediately. He had cemented his resolve long ago and he would never back down from his decision. This was something he had decided from long ago.

"I'm not only asking you," Old Man glanced towards Ryan.

Sensing the heated glance that Old Man directed at him, Ryan sighed. The two of them have been together for a long time, but there was one thing that could make this long-lasting friend break apart. Whenever the matter of the Clan Head was mentioned, even the closest friends might battle to the death because of the difference in opinion.

Ryan looked back. "My answer is still the same, wait and see."

The Old Man frowned. "Do you still think that Boss is not capable enough? You have seen a lot for the past two and a half years."

"I know," Ryan answered simply. It would be a lie if he said that he didn't see anything. He was among the oldest members in the clan and obviously already saw Kevin's efforts in the process of taking over the clan after the latter's father's death.

As a young teenager, Kevin had grown up even quicker and proved that he deserved the position his father left him. Many of the members had decided to follow after Kevin unconditionally because he was their clan head. Only a handful of them still adopted the stance of wait and see, or even refused to acknowledge Kevin's position.

In the past, the Clan Head's position was always passed down to the most capable son. However, Kevin was the previous Clan Head's only son. Many thought that he was unworthy of the position, thus they deemed it to be extremely unsuitable for him to take over the position.

When the previous Clan Head passed away, many of the members questioned Kevin's authority. Using his own power, Kevin had pushed them into accepting him and following him. However, there were still some of them left in the clan who were still unconvinced. Ryan was merely one of them.

"You're not that young anymore, Ryan. You should be able to see that Boss is great in his own way," Old Man shook his head in disappointment.

Ryan smiled back. "It's because I'm not young anymore that I can see better. I know he's powerful, but I can't entrust the position of the Clan Head to him right now. For me, he's still the same brat as before."

"If you decide to go against him, you should know what to expect," for a moment, Old Man let out a powerful aura.

In front of him, Ryan stayed unperturbed. The two of them were equal in strength, and it was unclear who would win should they clash. If the time truly came, no matter how much they didn't want to, they would have to fight.

Ryan nodded his head calmly. "I know. You don't have to threaten me. I understand my position very well, Old Man."

"That's good," Old Man retracted his murderous intent and looked as harmless as before. Unlike Ryan, he trusted Kevin to bring their clan to greater heights. This was the reason he decided to follow Kevin early on.

Even though Kevin was nothing more than a brat at that time, he had decided so. He would not change his decision just because of his friend.

On the side, Neo watched their exchange with his back full of sweat. The moment his father showed his ferociousness, he felt a chill run down his spine. Even if it was not directed towards him, he still felt tremendous fear creeping up.

'This is the difference between those who have fought countless battles and those who barely fight any,' Neo thought to himself.

Even if his position was Kevin's left hand, he barely fought on the front line at all. As he was more proficient in using guns, he has long been honing his skills to fight from the back. This made him lack the ferociousness that people who fought on the frontline nurtured after countless life-and-death battles.

At this time, he heard the voice of his friend. "Neo, where are you? It's time to practice again."

Neo's face darkened. He barely rested his body, but he had to train again?

"I'm coming, Mike…."

The Old Man watched as his son walked out the door and glanced towards Ryan. "Shall we have a game of chess while we're already here?"

"Don't you have better things to do, Old Man?"

"I'm already old, Boss doesn't give me much work anymore," Old Man smiled back.

Ryan nodded his head. "In that case, don't cry if I win."

"Likewise."