Still feeling the thrill of victory, Zhao Ren tiredly made his way off the platform. He had a few cuts but nothing too bad. Not wanting to bother the healers over such minor wounds, he pulled out a small healing pill that he had prepared for just such an occasion.

  The warm energy spread through his body, rejuvenating his tired muscles and slowly closing the small cuts and scrapes. It wasn’t a very effective pill and would take some time to work. His enthusiasm still not tamped, he went to find out if his friends had also qualified. He saw Bao Hua heading in his direction from his own fight.

  “Bao Hua, over here! How did it go? Did you win?”

  Ren didn’t even need the reply, as a wide grin showed on his face.

  “Hahah! Of course I did! Wouldn’t all that training have been a waste if I stumbled here?! As for you, I had no doubt you would make it!”

  Laughing, they clasped arms to congratulate each other and went in search of Mei Ling. She found them a few minutes later, having already spotted them.

  They both looked at her in askance.

  “I saw the last of your match, Zhao Ren. You fought well. But I hope we don’t face each other until the final round.” Saying that, a bright smile slowly emerged on her face!

  They had all made it to the next round! Now completely swept up in the atmosphere of the tournament, they made their way to the audience again. There would be a short break before the next category of fighters would be fighting, and Ren was eager to see what the peak of the qi gathering realm looked like when they fought seriously.

  Ren wasn’t one to gamble usually but was fine if it was with his friends. He had made inquiries and found that Senior Xi Yao would be in the 1st group. His uncle Tai would be competing in the 4th group. Senior Chun Wei was also in the same group. Ren was conflicted. He was grateful for them both, and he wanted them both to win, but his first allegiance was to his family.

  Finally, he ended up choosing neither and backed Xi Yao to win the tournament. Mei Ling had decided to bet on Zhen Bing, another favorite to win. Bao Hua had simply countered them, saying neither of those 2 would be the final winner. Just a single spirit stone each, but Ren knew winning those 2 spirit stones would bring him more joy than any large bets.

  The higher category was mostly filled with the 9th layer qi gathering disciples, with far fewer of the 7th and 8th layers. As you cultivated to reach higher layers, the impact of each layer became more significant. Higher reserves of qi, stronger techniques, and more endurance as their meridians had been widened to the utmost.

  Yet this was still just the very first realm of cultivation, so the gap wasn’t beyond reach. If someone was more experienced at fighting or someone lost focus at the crucial instant or even just got ambushed, victory could be seized. That’s what many were counting on. The melee was especially favorable to them.

  Unfortunately, Ren knew that belief was flawed. It may be technically possible but only against the average cultivator who had reached the peak. Not the chosen elite of the cultivator families. Then those chances were nonexistent. They bought skewers of meat and went to watch the fights.

  The higher category of fights was very different from their own. Talismans weren’t allowed at this stage, only in the later duels, but they had no need of them. They didn’t rely on just weapons but also on more mystical qi techniques. The elites were immediately obvious as they dispatched those surrounding them with deceptive ease. They were rarely challenged alone but were instead ganged up on. Even then, Ren watched Xi Yao’s blindingly fast sword crush them despite their numbers.

  In another corner, another had used a flame technique to launch bursts of fire. Those set on fire were quickly pulled away to the healers. In less time than it took a stick of incense to burn, the numbers had been whittled down to the last 4.

  Their skewers were still where they had stopped, halfway to their mouths. Where had such displays been during the practice spars earlier?!

  Beside him, Bao Hua softly said, “We have a really long way to go.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Ren shook his head, thinking of his childhood friend Xi Yuan. Sometimes, you can never catch up. The difference from their birth was already a huge hurdle, never mind their heavenly talent.

  The other fights had ended just as quickly, and just as he had hoped, both Senior Chun Wei and Uncle Tai had made it. Likewise, Zhen Bing had effortlessly dominated her group.

  With little time left before their own fights, they couldn’t even find out the names of their competition until it was almost their turn.

  Their opponents had been assigned such that Ren would face Bao Hua at the semi-finals and Mei Ling at the finals. He was grateful for that, but whether they would make it that far was uncertain. Mei Ling had a decent chance, as she had made it to the 6th layer and none of her opponents looked too tough. Bao Hua had the rotten luck of facing Jian Feng in the very first round.

  Ren recognized his opponent as Mo Ying, the boy who had won a prize at the final class alongside Jian Feng. He too had managed to break through to the 6th layer, but Ren felt he stood a decent chance at victory.

  He couldn’t see Bao Hua’s fight, as they would be fighting at the same time. Ren calmed his nerves and approached the platform. His opponent was already waiting with a cocky smirk.

  “This is no spar. Let’s see how you fight now.” He mocked.

  Ren calmly bowed as was the norm before a duel, saying, “Please teach me.”

  With the sign from the referee, he drew his sword and got into a defensive stance. He knew how Mo Ying fought. It was a reckless offensive of heavy blows. They were powerful, but if they could be endured for a while, he quickly ran out of strength.

  As predicted, Mo Ying advanced with strong slashes. Ren reinforced his sword with qi and deflected them. He was confident he could outlast him and was following his strategy when Mo Ying took him by surprise. He threw out an explosive flame talisman, which sparked for an instant and then exploded.

  Even as Ren was blown back, he remembered how Mo Ying preferred to use money for every problem. Even his cultivation was propped up by spirit stones. Now Ren was paying for forgetting this key detail.

  He managed to stabilize himself before he fell, but he could feel burns along his forearms. Biting back the pain, he tried to see where the next attack was coming from, using his Third Eye Sense. Unbelievably, there was no attack taking advantage of his weakness. He looked up and saw that Mo Ying had been surprised by the strength of his own talisman and let the moment go by.

  Seeing the perfect opportunity, Ren channeled qi into his legs, activating the second of his hidden aces. The Earth Striding Leap. This movement technique allowed a quick burst of movement in a single direction. In a bound he appeared before the boy, who was only now recovering, and disarmed him before placing a sword at his throat.

  The referee announced his victory decisively even as Ren watched realization and anger cross Mo Ying’s face. Before any further words could be said, Ren quickly sheathed his sword, bowed, and said, “Thank you for the pointers,” and walked away.

  Heart still thudding in his chest, he hoped his response had been quick enough to avoid future conflict. Putting it out of his mind, he went to see what became of Bao Hua.

  The next match was already taking place, and he looked around and found his friend in the care of the healers. He rushed forward to find out what had happened. His friend was grimacing in pain but looked mostly fine. There was a bandage across his upper arm.

  “He won.”

  Knowing who he was referring to, Ren said nothing. It would have been difficult to beat Jian Feng who had been in the 6th layer for much longer than any of their cohort.

  “I barely lasted a few moves. He was strong.” He said, sounding frustrated.

  Having been in such circumstances himself, Ren knew that words of comfort rarely helped, so he simply said,

  “Make sure you’ll win next time.”

  Ren sat with him for a while before the healer chased him away. He had spent his short break and his next fight was soon. Bao Hua wished him well, saying, “May the Heavens watch over you, Brother Ren.”

  Ren found his next opponent was the same from his melee round who had given him such trouble. He looked about 25 years old and had a somber appearance. This time, Ren was facing him alone, with no chance to fish in troubled waters, unlike in the melee. The older man approached him on the platform, and they bowed to each other. Other than his strength, Ren had no idea how he fought, so it would be purely up to his skills.

  They drew their weapons and began. The older man was watching him cautiously. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to defend long, Ren chose to go on the offense. He used every move and trick he knew to catch him by surprise, but the man was clearly an experienced fighter. He started leveraging his superior strength to knock away Ren’s sword.

  They fought back and forth for a few exchanges, and Ren could already see what was coming. Two moves later, instead of fighting the disarming blow, he leaned in and let go of his sword. In the moment when the opponent was caught off guard, he channeled his qi into his fist for his 3rd and final hidden ace. The first technique, Cold Iron Fist, landed squarely in the side.

  Wincing in pain, he took a few steps back, and Ren pressed his attack. He lacked the reach without a sword and leapt forward using the Earth Striding Leap. It was how he planned to use them together. Jump into range to land blows with his fist if he was ever without a sword.

  His opponent reacted quickly and only took one more blow before he moved his sword in between them to block. The technique toughened Ren’s fists, but they couldn’t stop a sword. He tried to dodge to a side, but the man had already completely recovered. Now forced back out of range, Ren was in trouble.

  In just a few more moves, he had a sword pointed at his chest and was forced to surrender. The referee announced the winner as Zhi Ping. And that was it. For Zhao Ren, the tournament was over.