"Water is down that way-, but the path seems to be overrun by thorns and bushes, can one of you three carve the way out for us?" Erin asked as before Buhara or Sophia could respond to his request, Rocky pulled out his dual swords and began hacking his way through.


    He swung his sword effortlessly, chopping down the tall thorny vines and thick bushes that blocked their way as everyone who followed him couldn''t help but be in awe of how skillfully he had managed to clear the path in front of them.


    Remarkably, Rocky''s sword seemed to cut through the air without making a sound, his movements demonstrating an efficient, minimal effort that belied the effectiveness of his strikes.


    The only noises breaking the silence were the sounds of the nts thudding to the ground after being cut and the heavy, rhythmic thumping of Buhara''s feet as he walked.


    "Whoa… What happened to you in thest three months? Your swordsmanship looks way sharper than it used to. Did you secretly practise?" Sophia couldn''t help but ask, seizing an opportunity to finally learn what Rocky had been up to. The transformation in his technique was undeniable, and she was eager to understand the story behind this refinement.


    In the intimate setting of their isted surroundings, Sophia knew that Rocky was sure to find it difficult to sidestep her question withouting across as dismissive and hence she hoped that the intimacy of the moment would encourage him to open up, providing her with the insights that she sought about his recent activities and improvements in his swordsmanship.


    "Well you really wanna know? Alright since it''s only you three guys here that I trust, I''ll tell you what I''ve been up to" Rocky said, as he continued hacking down the bushes and kept his focus solely on the path ahead, but still narrated a story.


    "I was sent by Principal Liam to a grand pce as a sweeper" Rocky started his story as he began cooking an borate lie.


    "A sweeper?" Asked Sophia as she felt like this was a weird role to send a student in.


    "Yes, even I had no idea why he sent me as a sweeper initially, however, there was more to the ce than what met my eye" Rocky said as he drew in the curiosity of all his friends.


    "I was sent to a Shaolin monk order as a sweeper.


    -official


    There, I was treated as an outer hall student and was forced to do all sorts of difficult physicalbour chores 24 X 7.


    Wet the floor, wipe the floor, wet the floor, wipe the floor and repeat.


    Day after day after day…." Rocky said as he hacked the nts ahead of him with an increased intensity.


    "Sometimes the head monk would check on me, stick needles into my back in the name of acupuncture and next day I would wake up slightly taller and have my constitution altered" Rocky said, as Sophia immediately understood what ce he was referring to.


    ''The Wushang n! This has to be the Wushang n'' Sophia thought as she mistook Rocky''s fake story for a real ce.


    The Wushang n was known for its secret acupuncture techniques that could unlock the hidden potential of one''s physique and Rocky''s tale seemed to be consistent with the reputation of that ce.


    "The broom I used to sweep the floor weighed almost as much as Buhara at 200-250 kilograms. It was very difficult to move, but I had to sweep massive halls with it-" Rocky said as he now began narrating the plotline of a popr story from Earth called ''Karate Kid''.


    "Finally a month after sweeping the halls, I snapped, asking my supervisor as to why I was being treated like a servant?


    Which is when the hall instructor beat the living crap out of me, but also demonstrated how much I had improved in the past month-" Rocky said as he even winced at this part, as if he still remembered the beating, making his acting seem ultra realistic.


    "Sweeping the halls and doing the chores has made my body more durable and improved my core strength.


    When they finally promoted me to learn martial arts, because of my improved core strength, I learnt the techniques much faster than I would have otherwise and it''s through this training that I improved a lot both physically and in the sword domain" Rocky said, as he concluded his story.


    "Wow, Human Rocky has gone through a lot it seems-" said Buhara as he shared a rare moment of solidarity with Rocky.


    "So that''s what you were up to, you were at the Wushang n!" Sophia said, as although Rocky heard this name for the first time ever, he acted surprised and gasped.


    "How do you know that name, I thought it was a hiddenmunity" Rocky said in surprise as Sophia raised her nose in pride.


    "Well, I''m the Champion of Poseidon, my family knows stuff" Sophia said proudly, as she seemed to havepletely gobbled up Rocky''s fake story.


    "Wow, Sir Rocky is so cool! I could have neverpleted such training… you must have gone through a lot-" Erin said as his eyes sparkled when he looked towards Rocky.


    In his mind, he believed Rocky had endured significant hardships, yet what he envisioned barely scratched the surface of the true trials Rocky had faced.


    Although Rocky had no desire to deceive Erin and Buhara, the presence of Sophia left him no choice but to do so.


    He harboured deep mistrust towards Sophia, and the only strategy to mislead her into thinking he trusted her was by keeping her close and acting as if she were a dear friend.


    *Trickle*


    *Trickle*


    "Do you guys hear that?" Rocky asked, as his ears caught on to the soft sound of water flowing from nearby as the pace of him hacking through the shrubs increased.


    Soon, the others began to hear the sound as well as everyone became excited at reaching their desired destination.


    "Sounds like water, Erin you''re a genius"plimented Sophia.


    "No it''s not me, anyone could have found this" replied Erin as soon the river came into full view.