Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Andrew exhaled with a light chuckle. "Not at all. Lauren, your strength is insane- too strong, actually. If I'm not channeling internal energy, just using my body

alone, I can't even keep my balance when facing off against you."

Lauren looked skeptical and called out, "Dylan, let's spar for a bit!"

Dylan grinned. "You got it, Ms. Rhodes!"

He intentionally held back, dodging her clumsy punches. However, when one of her wild swings actually aimed straight for his face, Dylan had no choice but to defend. He raised his arms and crossed them over his face to shield himself.

Yet, when the punch landed, it felt less like a soft arm and more like a sledgehammer.

A cracking sound echoed in the lawn, and Dylan's face went pale as cold sweat poured down.

To his horror, he realized his forearm had cracked under the impact. His arms rebounded off his face, smashing into his nose.

Blood burst out instantly.

Lauren gasped and pulled back with a scream. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, Dylan! I didn't mean to! Fran, hurry! Wrap him up. I didn't realize I hit that hard!" Francesca had already rushed over and was checking Dylan's injury.

Andrew said calmly, "It's nothing major. Getting beat up is part of learning martial arts."

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "You can go easy on someone, but not so much that you end up getting injured yourself!"

Dylan groaned, nearly in tears. "I wasn't holding back! Ms. Rhodes' punches are insane. I literally couldn't block them!"

Aspen blinked in surprise. "Andrew, is Lauren's internal power really that scary now?"

Andrew nodded with a grin. "Scarier than any of you realize."

Looking at Lauren's guilt-ridden expression, Andrew suddenly did not know what to say.

This was someone who had not practiced martial arts a day in her life. And now, in such a short time, she had unlocked monstrous strength.

And the craziest part? She was still just a delicate-looking woman.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced Andrew became that Tiana was definitely hiding something about Lauren from him.

Now it was time for the last one-Aspen.

As Andrew gave the signal to begin, Aspen had already pulled a dagger from seemingly nowhere.

Assassin training was always real, without rehearsals or warning.

With a sharp whistle through the air, the blade was already slashing toward Andrew's chest.

Andrew shifted his body just enough to dodge the deadly strike, countering with a chop aimed at Aspen's wrist. However, that slash had been a feint.

Aspen pulled the dagger back in time, flipped it in her grip, and stabbed again. This time, she aimed lower, with brutal precision.

Andrew smirked at how fast she was improving. There was no doubt that she was born to be a killer. It was a shame so much of her earlier life had been wasted in that rotten Bridgefields' Stevens family.

If she had gotten proper training sooner, she might have already made the

international assassin rankings by now.

"Watch out!"

Among his five top disciples, three were women. And of those three, Aspen was

by far the most cautious when facing Andrew.

In fact, she was the most careful

overall, constantly worried she might hurt her master. Even though she knew deep down, that even if she trained for another century, she would probably still never beat him.

Still, her subconscious was plagued with hesitation.

All of it traced back to her condition, one that made her feel only comfort and pleasure when Andrew dominated or punished her. And the moment she pushed back, even a little, she would be flooded with guilt and self-blame.

Andrew's fingers flashed like lightning, tapping three precise spots on her arm- her wrist, elbow, and upper arm.

Aspen instantly felt a surge of pain shoot up her arm. Her hand went numb, and the dagger clattered to the ground.noveldrama

However, it was not over.

Her long legs flew up in a kick that seemed aimed at Andrew.