Arthur fell to the ground and didn't bother to get up. He remained on the ground, breathing loudly.
Without being prompted, he shouted, "I give up."
Jason laughed and said, "Good fight."
There were beads of sweat on his face. He was also panting. But he was still able to manage to grin. It looked as if nothing could put him in a bad mood.
He caught his breath for a short while before he went over to help Arthur up.
Then he patted Arthur's shoulder where he had struck him and said, "Good fight."
"As I promised, no one will bother you again. If they do, just tell me. I and my siblings will come and sweep through all of them. If they defeat us, we will go to our uncle and cry to him. He will surely seek justice for us."
Next he bowed to the dojo masters around and said, "I greet you, dojo masters. Please let this matter end here."
The dojo masters all smiled and bowed in return. They also promised not to trouble dojo master Red Mane.
Jake smiled as he conversed with them. Then he left the fighting pit and returned to wherever he came from. This left Arthur as the only member of the Dyson family present.
Many dojo masters came over to apologize to him. Some even promised to support him.
They said, "If you need anything, just ask. I'll do my best to help you."
Arthur didn't really believe their promises of assistance. He just took it as them being polite.
Master Owl Claw came over to him and bowed in greeting. "I hope you didn't take offense because of the challenge."
He shook his head and said, "Not at all. I know that you were only concerned that I was misleading my students. I'm sure that I have proved my worthiness now."
Master Owl Claw nodded and said, "You have more than proved your worth. Your students are lucky to have you."
Arthur smiled. "That's good. And you don't have to worry about me encroaching on your influence. I have decided to move my dojo."
Master Owl Claw was surprised to hear that. But after recovering himself, he smiled brightly. It was the first genuine smile he was making today.
He was so happy that he couldn't keep it out of his voice as he asked, "Where are you going?"
Arthur replied by pointing down and saying, "Here. I will teach here at this location where I faced off against all the masters of the city and won."
He didn't actually fight all the masters of the city, and he didn't win all his fights, but no one was going to refute him.
They all congratulated him even though they thought it was odd to move his dojo here.
They also thought many people might not like him appropriating a public site like this for his own personal use. But no one said anything about it.
He announced to the audience as they were leaving with a loud shout, "I will be holding morning class here from 8 am to 10 am. My training will be free."
"The class is for children between the ages of 10 and 16. Please come with your chair or mat. If you want to learn the breathing technique and change your fate, you must not miss my class."
Many people left after that because the fight was over. The dojo masters also left after giving their false promises.
But there were some people who wanted to ask him about his class. These people stayed back to speak with him.
While he was chatting with these people, Master Owl Claw was in a carriage consoling Sky Claw.
The master and adoptive parent asked Skylar, "What do you think about your loss now?"
Skylar wanted to say that he felt better about it after witnessing how difficult it was for a true son of the Dyson family to defeat Arthur, but he didn't think it was appropriate to say so because it might offend his master and because Jake is two years younger than him.
Saying that he feels better because of Arthur's defeat at the hands of Jake will make it seem as if he believes that he is inferior to Jake. So he picked his words carefully.
"I have realized that there is always a mountain beyond mountains."
Master Owl Claw chuckled and said, "You're not wrong. But who do you think the mountain beyond mountains is here?"
Skylar replied without much thinking, "Master Jake."
Master Owl Claw laughed and asked, "Why do you think so?"
Skylar thought it was obvious. He said, "Because he defeated Arthur."
Master Owl Claw shook his head and said, "You're wrong. Master Red Mane is the highest mountain here. He is just eleven years old, but his power is a match for ninth transformation masters. The only thing he lacks is fighting experience, but he has good fighting instincts."
Skylar couldn't believe it. He said, "He is at the ninth transformation already? That can't be right. Was he hiding his power? But he is so young."
Master Owl Claw also didn't have answers to these questions. But he knew what he saw, and it certainly wasn't a level of power at the seventh transformation. His many decades of experience won't fool him on that matter.
He could only say to his disciple, "You didn't lose unjustly. You lost to a great genius. He will surely spar in the future."
"Even if Jake hadn't come tonight and stood up for him, dojos would have to think twice before they decide to mess with him after you lost to him. But Jake's fight with him alone would have been enough to put out any thought of offending him out of their minds."
Skylar was in a daze as he said, "I wonder what level of power Jake has. Is he at the ninth transformation too?"
Master Owl Claw thought about that question and replied confidently, "I know this one. He was holding back, but I could tell that the control of his body was perfect."