There was just one more day until New Year's Day. Andrew would be traveling with Zachary to Goldridge, the headquarters of the Southern Martial Union.

That morning, Chantelle drove over to Serenity Villa and was surprised to see Andrew training with his five top disciples, each drenched in sweat.

"You seriously plan to turn them into martial arts masters?" she asked.

Andrew kept a calm expression. "They're still a ways off from becoming true masters, but they've already crossed the beginner's threshold. They can definitely handle your average fighter."

Chantelle watched them for a moment and nodded. "Ms. Stevens already has some martial foundation. Reaching Martial King level won't be a big deal for her. But Ms. Aicker and Ms. Rhodes? That's another story. I'm going to be blunt, even if you don't want to hear it.

"Training them now is just a waste of your time and energy. Their bones are already set. Trying to get them to break into the martial arts world at this point is ext