《One Above All》


 Chapter I: Lady Ophelia Drakern

    ''''After a fall when I will take over. All life will stall or at least grow slower? What am I?''''


    Inside a beautiful garden that was adorned with flowers and birthday decorations, three young girls were sitting before an ornate table. They were leisurely drinking tea and riddling each other. Despite being underage, each one of the three budding flowers was about to bloom into wonderful women in a couple of years.


    Each girlwas more beautiful and delicate than the other, and they were clearly different from the common rabble. Allof them no doubt came from an influential family, and all three wore clothes to match their status...and the colors of their hair. A young miss who sported a wavy, brunette hair which ended in curls, was playing with said curls as she was thinking an answer.


    A red-haired girl who carried a ponytail was sipping tea with a smug looking expression, while a blonde with a high-class hime-cut was just quietly listening, visibly uninterested about the whole game.


    Few seconds passed and before they could turn into moments a calm and collected sound echoed, belonging to none of the three girls sitting at the table. ''''...Winter.''''


    The voice that interrupted the riddling came from another girl in the garden. She was sitting on a ground farther away from the other three while meditating, her posture and discipline were evident from how she sat. It was a brilliant lotus position and appeared completely natural and serene.


    This fourth girl sported a spiky and stubborn black hair which was barely long enough to cover her ears. Unlike other girls, she wore a black tank top and white shorts made out of fine cotton. Compared to the other girls, this wild short-hair had a larger physical stature and clearly toned muscles over her whole body. Spiky gave a single glance towards the table. Brunette''s face grinned ear to ear while the Redhead looked dejected. Spiky was then struck with a finger point of doom.


    ''''Ophelia! You said earlier to not disturb you while in your meditation. Now you dare to raise your voice and wish to participate in this? Also...it was correct...hmph!'''' Red-hair busted in agitation and even hmphed while the brunette giggled and commented. ''''Rii, you are mad just because Offy solved it so easily. Tehe~''''


    ''''Che! It is not like either you or Hina could do any better. Ophelia would just solve whatever you two come up just as easily...and what the heck is a Rii?'''' Maria argued while turning her gaze towards the blonde, and then to now silently meditating Ophelia.


    ''''Please, don''t group me with Dina.'''' Hina chimed, still looking bored.


    ''''Really? Let''s see...'''' Dina gently swayed her head side to side while thinking, finally coming up with a riddle. ''''You can swallow me, but I can consume you too. What am I? ''''


    ''''Pride.'''' Ophelia answered without any hesitation, crushing Dina''s hopes. Dina laid her head down on the table in defeat. Mutterings of ''unfair'' and ''cheating'' could be heard withinDina''s whimpers. ''''Blank...help...''''


    Blonde calmly sipped her tea and placed her porcelain teacup back on the table. A burst of challenge erupted from her eyes as she looked at Ophelia. ''''I have three riddles. Answer them perfectly withing 10 seconds from each other or you will lose.''''


    ''''Okay.'''' Ophelia sighed, now regretting taking part of the whole thing.


    ''''A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, what am I?'''' Hina launched her attack mercilessly.


    Ophelia finally turned to look at the other girls and looked Hina like she was dumb. ''''Rain is the answer.''''


    ''''I am the beginning of sorrow and the end of sickness. There''s no happiness without me nor is there sadness. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You will find me in the sun, but I am never out of darkness.'''' Words were spoken as passively as before, and the answer followed just as fast.


    ''''Alphabet, S.'''' Ophelia said while standing up, dusting away grass from her white shorts.


    ''''...You are correct.'''' Hina confirmed and immediately spoke again her mouth twisting a bit. ''''There was once a criminal brought before a judge who ordered the man who was about to be sentenced to make a final conclusive statement. If this statement would hold true a lighter penalty of six years of labor would be enforced, but should the man lie he would serve full twelve years of labor. After the judge heard what the criminal had answered him the judge decided to let the man go free. What did this man tell the judge? What is the answer?''''


    Dina''s and Maria''s eyes widened. They both immediately began to try to solve the answer on their own, but they found it hard to even fully comprehend the riddle. Ophelia could feel two eyes piercing holes through her. Hina was confident in this riddle, but after seeing Ophelia''s calm demeanor her lips and eyebrows twitched.


    ''''Answer to your question is: ''You will sentence me for twelve years of labor.'' '''' Ophelia said while taking a wider stance with her legs. She then began to do stretches at her own leisure.


    Hina''s eyes widened and her stoic image finally took a hit as her mouth opened wide, her composure was lost. Dina and Maria were both confused by Hina''s reaction and Ophelia''s answer.


    ''''I don''t get it at all!'''' Dina exclaimed while she was doing wide motions with her hands. ''''Explain it so I can understand it better...please?'''' Ophelia chuckled at Dina''s cute reaction and explained it to her in detail.


    ''''It is a dumb riddle that only works because of most people in high positions, like a judge, for example, have an extraordinary sense of pride. By making a statement that he would be sentenced to twelve years of labor would either be true or false depending on the judge, but it wouldn''t matter. If the statement was false it would mean that the judge was sentencing the man for six years of labor. If he was sentenced to work for six years it would, in turn, make man''s sentence false. Meaning judge would need to punish the man by sentencing him for twelve years, in turn making his statement absolutely true. This kind of conundrum forces the judge to either: Not care about his own face, and sentence the man to twelve years anyway making him a filthy liar and risking his body to become a nesting place for a heart devil. Or he could just let the man go free. In the most likely scenario, Judge would refuse to go against his own word and would simply let the man go free. Mortal men who are put into powerful positions are all full of pride and fear, meaning they would never take a chance to go against their own word. I hope this clarifies my answer.'''' Ophelia finally smirked.


    ''''Alternatively, the man could have told the judge ''I am a Houtian.'' If the man was really a Houtian expert he could just kill the judge, and no one would have been able to do a damn thing about it. Personally, I like the Houtian answer better.'''' All the girls giggled at Ophelia''s alternative solution. An answer like that was more fitting to a fighting maniac like Ophelia.


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    In Drakern family''s young generation Ophelia was known as a straightforward child. Despite being witty and smart she still showcased youthful vigor that was shown mostly in boys and preferred to go through the problem rather than around it. Her choice in clothing was always practical and minimalistic. Thanks to her rather tall physique and short hair, she naturally gained the reputation of being a tomboy.


    Even though many women also chose to train in martial arts. It was usually more sensitive ones like musical, bow, spiritual and sword or dagger arts. However, some women also trained in more physical arts and knew many finger, palm, and leg techniques but it was hardly ever a true focus for them. But Ophelia had always shown to be a hard worker in both spiritual and physical cultivation and it showed in her outer appearance.


    Ophelia, now at 13 years of age stood a magnificent 5.7 feet tall and her body was nicely toned. Her muscles at right places were completely visible unlike that of girls who did no such training. In the future when she would reach full maturity she would become known as a great beauty. Her olive skin, raven black hair, athletic body, and height gave her confidence in this.


    Ophelia finished her stretches and waved her cousins'' goodbye. It was time for her daily training routine. She would freely run around at her family''s lands. Drakern family was one of the wealthiest families in the kingdom of Mideen and they were known for their mighty warriors and martial experts who would follow the path of martial arts in hope for wealth, power and eternal life it promised.


    Not only did Drakern family possess vast fields of farmland and dozens of rich mines, they were also rulers of a Golden-ridge City. A second largest city in the whole Mideen Kingdom and the trade capital of the whole nation. Golden-ridge City only lost in size to the capital of Mideen, Aurum.


    Drakern family had their own family district next to the districts that house other wealthy and influential families. Just the area where the main family''s mansion was located was over a thousand hectares, without even taking on account to branch families and servants quarters. It took hours if she wished to circle both main and the branch family districts.


    After finishing her daily run she would begin training with weights and spar with other people from the younger family. She would always seriously study martial arts when one of the Drakern family''s elders bothered to teach them about the basics. But after today her training regime changed drastically as she received her very first technique which she could use to cultivate. She became a lot more secluded and secretive while she was training. She no longer appeared to spar in front of others and only met with her closest friends.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


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    With a thud, Ophelia collapsed in the middle of her own personal courtyard. Her face was pale and drenched with sweat, and her breathing was erratic. She rolled onto her back and took deep breaths. Ophelia was brightly smiling, she had finished her new daily training regime consisting of lifting, striking and smashing boulders.


    Every day after she would have finished her training she would simply collapse in her courtyard and stare at the sky. She would think back into her previous life and how she felt right now. She was living a dream. Although she was born as a what some could call a ''weaker'' sex, she would not let it bother her. She had apparently been born with a good physical talent, also her family was one of the richest in the nation and she had never had anyone bully her. What was there not to like?


    ''''I wonder how would my life be if I was still living as William.'''' Ophelia thought before quickly touching her lips. Saying her own old name in a girly voice was weird. After all, she was now called Ophelia, had been for thirteen years now.


    ''''Anyway, did I gain anything for my efforts today?'''' Ophelia smirked and concentrated deeply. Then a simple window materialized in front of her. This was the ability that had saved Ophelia for more than once already, a status window. She could see all of her training, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses represented in real time, ability to see one''s own true power was incredible.She had never heard of an ability which could see one''s power as a video game like fashion. So she was confident that this was her own unique cheat.


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    Ophelia Drakern


    Realm: Qi Awakening Realm Stage 5.


    Age: 13


    Level: 1


    Health: 1500 / 1500


    Stamina: 30 / 1750


    Martial Qi: 3100 / 3100


    Strength: [20+1] = 21 + (15) = 36


    Endurance: 20 + (15) = 35


    Vitality: 15 + (15) = 30


    Dexterity: [15+1] = 16 + (15) = 31


    Mind: 17


    Spirit: 0 + (62) = 62


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    ''''Sweet, my physical base strength has increased from 20 to 21 and dexterity has similarly increased.'''' Ophelia gasped and took deep breaths trying to recover her stamina while admiring her status, there was still so much she didn''t know about her special ability.


    She had done all sorts of training, tasks and alike to raise her level but not once she had gained any experience towards raising it. At least she had never gained any notification about doing so. Being only thirteen-year-old girl also meant that she had never killed anything or anyone either, she had never even been allowed to go hunting. Ophelia was pretty certain that level was only raised by killing things, but she had no idea what leveling actually does.


    She also didn''t have an idea about what was actually considered a skill or not. She also didn''t know for certain how she could gain them. In her status window, she had an another tab which was specifically for skills and techniques she possessed. Mundane things like jumping, running, regular punching, kicking, writing and such weren''t considered skills because she never gained any despite doing those things every day. She only had very few skills.


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    <u>-Spiritual Breathing Technique-</u>


    Rarity: Common


    Grade: Low


    Level: Stage 10. [MAX]


    Type: Active


    [Basic meditation technique which every martial artist would know. By remaining calm and breathing slowly and deeply, one can absorb spiritual Qi from the atmosphere, and quickly replenish their stamina and own martial Qi reserves. Each level recovers 10 Martial Qi and Stamina while meditating per minute.]


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    <u>-Qi Awakening Realm-</u>


    Rarity: Common


    Grade: Low


    Level: Stage 5


    Type: Passive


    [First realm which martial artists must overcome. Each stage of Qi Awakening Realm increases martial artists Qi reserves and each stage widens the gap between the martial artists that lag behind. Each stage effectively doubles the increase in Spirit which was gained from the previous stage, body''s other improvements in Qi Awakening Realm are relatively small. All in all, there are ten stages in the Qi Awakening Realm.]


    Stage 1: +2 Spirit, +1 Strength, +1 Vitality, +1 Stamina, +1 Dexterity.


    Stage 2: +4 Spirit, +2 Strength, +2 Vitality, +2 Stamina, +2 Dexterity.


    Stage 3: +8 Spirit, +3 Strength, +3 Vitality, +3 Stamina, +3 Dexterity.


    Stage 4: +16 Spirit, +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +4 Stamina +4 Dexterity.


    Stage 5: +32 Spirit, +5 Strength, +5 Vitality, +5 Stamina, +5 Dexteri


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    <u>-Basic Qi Circ</u><u>ulation-</u>


    Rarity: Common


    Grade: Low


    Level: N/A


    Type: Active


    [Most basic way to circulate Qi in one''s body. By concentrating one can gather pure spiritual world qi from the atmosphere and gather it into a vessel within a body. By circulating the gathered Qi it is possible to turn it into a Martial Qi and make it into a permanent addition to one''s power. This technique is one of the most basic of its kind and it takes a lot of effort to make one circulation and can only take martial into the peak of Body ReconstructionRealm.]


    Qi Circulations Per Hour: 10.


    Next Qi Awakening Realm Grade = 600 Circulations


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    ''''No matter how many times I look at this it stays amazing. But it is weird that the cultivation realm is treated like a normal skill by this system.'''' Qi Awakening Realm was indeed incredible, just by condensing world''s Spirit Qi, Ophelia could transform that into her own Martial Qi and make a breakthrough and gain instant benefits. It takes incredible effort to raise a base stats naturally, but by making a simple breakthrough in Qi Awakening Realm the points came down like a rain in a rainforest.


    ''''But I must invest in a better circulation technique. Basic Qi Circulation is incredibly terrible. It would take me almost 9 hours of Qi circulation every day for a week to advance 1 grade in Qi Awakening Realm.'''' Even if this kind of speed felt really slow for Ophelia it was actually incredibly fast. Although it was possible to circulate Spiritual Qi in one''s body for ten whole rounds per hour, it wasn''t normal that every youth could actually do this.


    One of the big reasons was because of youngsters lack of patience and the feeling of stagnation when no visible progress was being made. Because of this, not everyone trained to the full potential of Basic Spiritual Circulation. Persistence and amount of hours poured into one''s training separated commoners and those who were considered to be genius


    For example, Ophelia had only gained Basic Qi Circulation skill from an elder when she had officially become a ''''teenager'''' at thirteen years of age, as children of Drakern family were forbidden to cultivate till their foundation had become solid enough to avoid possible accidents. That had been a mere month ago. Thanks to her quick training she entered a massive growth spurt and stood way taller than any of her friends. And she was still growing, albeit a lot more slowly.


    Ophelia opted to rest for an hour and recover her stamina using Spiritual Breathing Technique. She would then continue with her daily routine, to eat, circulate qi, perform strength and fitness training in her courtyard, sleep and then repeat. She had lived like this for nearly a month now, only distractions to her routine were the visits from her three female cousins and her own personal maids.


    Because Ophelia''s parents were busy with working in lofty positions, and the fact that her siblings were all older than her and were cultivating while adventuring, almost no one in their family actually knew about her recent and rapid advancement in cultivation aside from her personal maids and her three cousins. In a little over a week, an examination would be taking place. It would be a physical one and it would be in a form of a tournament between the younger generation. All children from thirteen to fifteen years of age would be asked to participate in the examination.


    Drakern family was a large clan and because of that it wouldn''t be strange to see hundreds upon hundreds of children participate in the''''Youth Evaluation''''. Thanks to huge numbers of talent, scouts from kingdom''s many academies and combat schools were present at the event. But the biggest scouter was from the kingdom''s Tertiary Dragon Sect.


    Tertiary Dragon Sect was a huge martial sect that has the military power to match a whole kingdom, or two, and it is thus categorized as a ''''kingdom / third grade'''' sect. Tertiary Dragon Sect works under two larger sects.Empire class Secondary Dragon Sect and continent class Primary Dragon Sect. And graduates from Tertiary Dragon Sect either continue their studies in Secondary Dragon Sect, or they are dropped and receive a ''''Tertiary Dragon Stipend'''' and a title of a ''''Tertiary Dragon.''''.


    However, even if Tertiary Dragon Sect''s scout was there it was unlikely that many would even make it to actual Tertiary Dragon Sect. Because all new students would first have to be accepted into a Tertiary Dragon Sect''s own Combat Schools and perform well in there. Golden-ridge City had one of these institutes and it was called Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House. This was also Ophelia''s goal. As a person from earth, he was used to going to schools anyway. Sohe immediately likened the sects asjust another school system.


    While training and thinking about her future, a whole week quickly passed by, and Drakern family became a lot more lively.

 Chapter II: Youth Evaluation - Beginning

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    Ophelia Drakern


    Realm: Qi Awakening Realm Stage 6


    Age: 13


    Level: 1


    Health: 1800 / 1800


    Stamina: 2050 / 2050


    Martial Qi: 6300 / 6300


    Strength: 21 + (21) = 42


    Endurance: 20 + (21) = 41


    Vitality: 15 + (21) = 36


    Dexterity: 16 + (21) = 37


    Mind: [17+1] = 18


    Spirit: 0 + (126) = 126


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    Ophelia''s POV


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    I took a good look at my status and I firmly nodded in satisfaction. I had reached the sixth stage of Qi Awakening and received a massive boost in my physical power and performance. After the bath, I admired my own figure which was getting more and more perfect every day. Why couldn''t I meet a woman who was starting back at me from the window in my old life?


    I quickly shook my head and playfully slapped my cheeks, what would my parents and siblings say if they saw and heard my thoughts. ''Hey! Our daughter is a perverted and narcissist lesbian pedophile. She wants herself.''. I shuddered at the thought and proceeded to dress up. Today I decided to go black. Dina and Maria always tell me that I have no taste, only wearing colorless clothes. But I do love my blacks and whites.


    Tight black shorts and tight tank top were my choices today, well I always wore shorts and tops or t-shirts. Then I did mess with my short hair for a few moments to make sure it looks natural and wild enough but didn''t spend any for makeup. My skin is practically unblemished so there is absolutely no need for me to spend time on it. Qi Awakening has all kinds of wonderful effects on people'' appearances and I''ve heard that girls become more and more divine looking the further they take their cultivation. Even the thought just makes me tremble.


    After a few poses in front of a mirror to assure myself that my body is and will be in the league of its own, I proceeded to leave for Drakern Family''s Martial Pavilion. The ''''Youth Evaluation'''' would begin tomorrow so it was about time I would go and request a martial art for myself. Although my basics were incredibly solid because of my memories and training from two different lifetimes, it would still be good if I had something I could exhaust my Martial Qi with. It is just kind of...there...not doing much.


    But that would be fixed today!


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    Third Person


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    Drakern Family''s Martial Pavilion!


    It was a large hall like building with four expansive floors. Two bottom floors were used to keep martial techniques that are of the [Common] quality, the third floor was reserved for the most powerful [Common] techniques and also most [Uncommon] techniques. Only on the fourth floor of the pavilion, the select few [Rare] techniques of Drakern family are kept along with most powerful [Uncommon] class martial techniques.


    In total there are twelve different ranks of martial skills. And in each rank, there are four different grades of techniques. Lower Tier - Middle Tier - High Tier and Peak Tier. Between each of the twelve ranks, there is a large gap in both power and difficulty to master it. Those twelve ranks are known as:


    Common - Uncommon - Rare - Earth - Sky - Heaven - Epic - Mystic - Legendary - Saint - Phantasmal and Celestial.


    Even though ancient and powerful martial arts are known to exist in Sun Glory Empire there has never been a single martial artist who has possessed an [Epic] ranked martial art. Mideen Kingdom which is just a single country belonging to Sun Glory Empire, in turn, lacks a single [Heaven] ranked martial art.


    Because of the lack of martial art techniques of [Epic] and above, it is usual for small sects, families, and schools to only know about the first six ranks, while being oblivious to the other six ranks.


    Ophelia walked towards the pavilion''s front door and easily pushed the big door open. Martial Pavilion from the inside looked like a massive library. Thousands upon thousands of different common and uncommon techniques could be seen everywhere.


    An older gentleman wrapped in loose gray robes was sitting on one of the tables close to the entrance, and his gaze bored right onto Ophelia''s face as if it tried to pierce a hole with his gaze. Ophelia felt this and smiled and gazed back at the old bookkeeper, who in turn was appraising the new girl who he couldn''t remember seeing before.


    ''''Hmm? You are... ah...'''' Before the old bookworm could say anything he ran his eyes across Ophelia''s whole body. At first, he was surprised, but he quickly collected himself. ''''Why can''t I remember seeing you in here before?''''


    The question was completely reasonable. Ophelia not only looked older than she was, she was also graded six of the Qi Awakening Realm. Such a genius would have made many visits to this old place and would have chosen multiple different arts to try before choosing her favorite.


    ''''Elder, this young one is called Ophelia. Because of various situations, I couldn''t visit to choose a technique before today. So I was thinking of choosing now.'''' Ophelia said respectfully before bowing while cupping her fists.


    The elder who was responsible for looking after the Martial Pavilion gave Ophelia an approving nod and stood up, walking towards a staircase before turning to look at Ophelia again. ''''Since it is your first time, and since you''re so pretty it would be a shame to choose something among the garbage. Come on up.''''


    Ophelia''s face brimmed with a delighted expression and she followed the bookkeeper into the second floor...and then into the third floor. It was as expected, she would not be allowed to go the fourth floor just like that.


    ''''Search for a material you would like to work with, I will be back to check on you shortly.'''' Elder said and briskly left Ophelia on the third floor while quickly disappearing somewhere. Ophelia had seen some other people on the first two floors, but there were significantly fewer people currently on the third floor. But Ophelia didn''t have time to care about them. What she needed to do now was to search for a suitable martial technique.


    Ophelia searched for an hour. Since there was no time limit enforced upon her she took a good while deciding a technique. And she was torn between two different ones.


    First one was a finger technique simply called [Illusionary Finger]. This finger technique launches an illusionary finger from the very finger tip of the performer who uses it. Although not able to cause damage to large area it is still a piercing technique that can be used from both short and mid range. It is one of the better [Middle Uncommon] techniques and would aid Ophelia nicely if she could comprehend just a little bit about it.


    The other technique was called [Hard Leather Body] which was a defensive technique that hardens the skin of the user to similar to that of a hardened leather. In the end, Ophelia couldn''t choose just one and she left for the downstairs to ask the Elder for his guidance.


    After arriving at the first floor Ophelia was greeted by the same elder. After a brief explanation and a secret hint by the Elder, Ophelia decided to forget about Hard Leather Body. Although it was a good skill she was informed that even a better martial skill was being kept on the fourth floor of the pavilion. By doing well in the tournament she could almost certainly ask to be let into the fourth floor so she should wait to claim her prize.


    Instead of Hard Leather Body, the elder handed a manual which Ophelia hadn''t seen before. Information about the book immediately floated in a opened screen in the front of her. [Flaying Steam Palm] it was a palm skill which was a [Peak Uncommon] technique. Ophelia was taken back by this. This skill was definitely from the fourth floor, it was almost good enough technique to be a [Lower Rare] skill.


    ''''Why are you giving me this?'''' Ophelia could only ask, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. Elder would, of course, take this time to tease her and not give a clear cut answer.


    ''''Maybe I thought that you were pretty, what other reason would there be for me to go to the fourth floor and gift you such a great martial technique?'''' Elder said while trying to muster the most lecherous smirk he could. It really wasn''t a good one.


    Ophelia only gave him a pity smile, the elder''s eyes didn''t come off as perverted so there must have been something else going on here. Ophelia respectfully bowed and left in a hurry, she would need to utilize all the time she had remaining to learn at least a piece of the contents described in the skill manuals.


    What Ophelia didn''t hear were the old bookkeeper''s mutterings about something. ''''Ah, she is like a spitting image...''''


    Ophelia''s Courtyard!


    Ophelia was sitting in a lotus position while flipping pages of the manual describing [Flaying Steam Palm]. She learned that [Flaying Steam Palm] was just a single martial technique and that the book didn''t contain any other moves. In fact, it was possible that [Flaying Steam Palm] was just a part of a larger and more comprehensive martial art meaning that someone just separated the [Flaying Steam Palm] from the original source and made it a [Peak Uncommon] single move technique. If it was part of a martial art it would probably be a part of a [Peak Rare] or maybe even [Lower Earth] level martial art.


    [Flaying Steam Palm] was relatively easy to master, one would simply need to meditate, circulate Martial Qi in the arm and supercharge the Qi and release it rapidly from the Qi Points that reside in the bodies of martial artists. If Ophelia had a [Fire Soul] in her possession it would be easier to use this technique and she could possibly release steam without having to concentrate on the technique itself.


    A few hours passed by as Ophelia read both manuals and then proceeded to circulate the qi around her body, concentrating vast majority of it into her arms according to the instruction found in the manuals. After a short while Ophelia could feel her understanding increasing, and when she finally checked the menu where her skills were sorted, two new ones were proudly present.


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    -Illusionary Finger-


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Middle


    Level: Stage 1 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 500 Martial Qi


    [Despite its reputation of being the weakest of any ''''flying finger'''' techniques, the very fact that it is one at all garners a certain amount of respect. Due to it being still a relatively common technique of the middle tier rank the distance of the shot illusion and its strength are relatively small.]


    Stage 1: +16 feet distance, 408 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2 Progress: 100 repetitions.


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    -Flaying Steam Palm-


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Peak


    Level: Stage 1 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 1,000 Martial Qi per minute + 1,000 Martial Qi for a steam projectile.


    [A technique which coats the arms of a martial artist with a hot steam formed by Martial Qi. The user also has to coat his own hands with another layer of Martial Qi so that the technique wouldn''t burn him as well. Those who master this technique often use it to simply induce passive extra damage rather than use the actual projectile because it is more cost effective to keep the steam rather than release it.]


    Stage 1 (Passive): +50 bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 1 (Active): +16 feet distance, 630 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2 Progress: 100 repetitions.


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    Ophelia examined the information carefully, though she didn''t have any clue how the damage was calculated at all. There must have been some complicated math at work there for sure.


    ''''Ugh...a hundred repetitions...I have about fifteen hours remaining before tomorrow''s competition so I have no idea if I can manage that, but I must try to increase my chances to do well.'''' Ophelia flat out ignored the Illusionary Finger. Flaying Steam Palm had a lot higher damage so naturally, she would try to train that one.


    With no time to waste Ophelia circulated and concentrated her Qi to her arms. In no time at all light steam was rising from her hands. The temperature on her arms was clearly quite high as her arms gleamed reddish color. As Ophelia opened her fists up a small puff of steam was released and trails of steam continued to erupt from her fingertips as she practiced punching and striking with them. A flurry of her punches ended with an open palm strike, releasing a palm-shaped erupting steam cloud that covered roughly five meters in front of her before dissipating.


    In no time at all Ophelia had exhausted her entire Qi reserve and she fell down on her knees, quickly assuming a position of meditation. By breathing according to the teachings of Spiritual Breathing exercise Ophelia could boost her natural recovery with a hundred Qi and Stamina per minute.


    Ophelia had never been in a situation where she had to recover her Qi quickly so she had never paid attention to her natural regeneration rate. By meditating a mere minute, the value of her Qi bar raised from 300 / 6300 to 518 / 6300.


    Thankfully Ophelia was no slouch and numbers quickly swirled in her mind, doing various calculations. Although she didn''t have the math formula, she could tell that her Qi regenerated 118 points naturally. And 218 points when combining with the Spiritual Breathing exercise. She was recovering exactly 13,080 points of Qi ever hour, or 6,540 Qi every half an hour.


    To perform Flaying Steam Palm a hundred times he would need exactly 100,000 Qi. Ophelia smiled after coming to a realization that it would take her little less than eight hours to complete a hundred repetitions to increase a stage.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Ophelia''s POV


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    -Flaying Steam Palm-


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Peak


    Level: Stage 2 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 1,000 Martial Qi per minute + 1,000 Martial Qi for a steam projectile.


    [A technique which coats the arms of a martial artist with a hot steam formed by Martial Qi. The user also has to coat his own hands with another layer of Martial Qi so that the technique wouldn''t burn him as well. Those who master this technique often use it to simply induce passive extra damage rather than use the actual projectile because it is more cost effective to keep the steam rather than release it.]


    Stage 1 (Passive): +50 bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 1 (Active):FlayingSteam Palm projectile has 12 feet distance, 630 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2 (Passive): +75 Bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 2 (Active): Projectile has 32 feet distance, 840 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 3 Progress: 250 repetitions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    In a mere eight hours, I have managed to increase my Flaying Steam Palm from Stage 1 to Stage 2. This ability of mine simply doesn''t care about bottlenecks at all. As long as I simply do enough repetitions and put in the work I will automatically make a breakthrough. This is definitely a cheat among cheats.


    Among the thirteen-year-old participants, I can guarantee that I am the most powerful one. Even if there may be a few people who are nearly a year older than me I still don''t think they have achieved Qi Awakening sixth stage. Thanks to my scouting information I have heard that most other children only spend around two to four hours in training, and spend rest of the time relaxing and socializing with their peers. Though there were obvious exceptions to this. Although nearly everyone in this world practices martial arts it is usually clear who take the martial way completely seriously.


    When I first began to circulate Qi around my body it took me twenty-five circulations to step into the Qi Awakening realm. Whereas some kids did this in a week, I only spend an afternoon training while furiously circulating my Qi with maximum efficiency. Stage two took me fifty circulations and stage 3 was a hundred. Stage four was a hundred and fifty circulations and stage 5 had been three hundred circulations. Stage 6 was six hundred circulations and to reach stage 7 would take double of that. Even I would need at least two weeks to do that. Other people could be stuck for multiple months or years if they couldn''t concentrate and circulate Qi properly.


    After eight hours of training, I had about seven hours remaining before the actual tournament would begin. Of course, I wouldn''t spend any of that time training. It would be time to bathe and sleep, I would be wearing similar tight black shorts and tank-top for tomorrow''s event so I don''t need to waste time thinking about it. I hope that Dina doesn''t freak out about my casual clothing choice, she should know me by now.


    After replenishing my body to best condition and bathing I still had about an hour left. I was tended by my personally assigned maid who insisted me of doing some make-up. So I let her do as she pleased.


    ''''Miss. Although you are beautiful and...strong, it would still make many people happy if you took better care of your appearance.'''' This girl! She was always honest and was unafraid of speaking when something was on her mind. One of the reasons I like her...aside from her big chest which I occasionally groped. Being a girl...and a young miss had certain perks. I naturally avoided being labeled as a sex offender.


    ''''Aino, I am thirteen years old. Give me a break.'''' I said shrugging my shoulders. Why would I care about such things as flaunting my appearance to others. Especially since I am not planning on marrying. My glare didn''t face this bold maid though.


    ''''You mean you''re ALREADY thirteen. It is not unusual for...'''' Before she could even finish I signaled her to stop talking. Right, this was that kind of world. In olden times people married young in Old World as well. But at least a modern society let the children be children, and not force them to mature into adulthood before their bodies or minds were ready.


    Aside from my inherent love for martial arts, this...marrying problem is the other main reason I have to do well in the Youth Evaluation tournament. If...when I am officially recognized as a genius within the family I doubt that there will be any talks about me marrying anyone for a foreseeable future. At least I hope that''s the case.


    ''''I yearn for a life of martial arts, not a mundane life as some idiots bed warmer.'''' I scoffed at Aino while I stood up. ''''I assume Father and Mother haven''t returned?''''


    ''''Of course, Miss.'''' Aino bowed respectfully. ''''There has not been any word of Lord and Lady. I believe they don''t intend on returning to this year''s Youth Evaluation.'''' Aino continued with an apologetic face. As Ophelia''s personal maid, she knew that Ophelia hadn''t seen her parents for seven whole years now.


    ''''Well, their work is important...I guess.'''' Yeah, it is a guess. Is it a bit curious that they haven''t told me where and what they actually do for work? Only things I have been told is that their work is really important and that both of them are rather important figures.


    ''''Oh, I almost forgot. Your esteemed brother has returned.'''' I could see Aino''s face brightening as she told me the news. I wonder which one it is? Being a family member of a large clan full of martial artists with an extended lifespan meant that a head of a family would have a lot of children to guarantee a succession. I, for example, am the youngest of my siblings...if my parents haven''t been busy these past seven years that is. I am not entirely clear about the age of my parents but the fact that I have thirteen siblings gives me a pretty good idea.


    The reason for this large herd of children is because Father is the first son of the current family patriarch and is first in line to inherit the position as the head of the family. But since he is never at home I doubt he wishes to inherit the position. So it might be passed onto my eldest brother instead.


    ''''Miss, aren''t you going to ask which one of your brothers returned?'''' Aino asked while tilting her head.


    ''''Um...which?'''' I asked her dryly. If my instincts were correct it would be...him.


    ''''One who returned is the 9th brother, Roman.'''' Aino beamed, as my expression stayed the same. It was within my expectations. Roman was two years older than me at age fifteen so this was the last time he could participate in the Youth Evaluation and try to win some resources and to catch the eye of a combat school scout. Although even if he didn''t catch anyone''s eye he could still attempt the entrance exams to get accepted to an institution.


    Roman had performed rather well in his last two Youth Evaluations. When he was thirteen years old he managed to reach the early third stage of Qi Awakening. And last year he was at the fifth stage of Qi Awakening and managed to make it into top ten. Roman was considered great talent among the Drakern family''s generation of youth. I fully expect that he has made it into the sixth stage of Qi Awakening because of pure peer pressure as he wanted to walk in footsteps of our three big brothers and our eldest sister.


    I have actually never met my oldest and third oldest brothers, I only know they are named. Roald and Albert. If I heard correctly Roald, Albert and second eldest brother Tyrin were all monsters in their own class when they participated in Youth Evaluation. Roald and Tyrin had only a single year age gap so the competition between the two had been fierce. Both of them apparently reached the peak level of Qi Awakening stage fourth when they were only thirteen, while Albert actually entered the fifth stage in his first year. Eldest sister Terrine also reached peak fourth stage of Qi Awakening.


    If I didn''t have the ability to see my progress and immediately make a breakthrough when I have trained enough, I would be nowhere near the fifth level of Qi Awakening, without even mentioning the sixth stage of Qi Awakening. Though, considering my love for martial arts I have enough confidence of making to the fourth stage of Qi Awakening even without this cheat.


    ''''Aino, we are going. It is better to be the early bird that gets the worm than the lazy worm to be taken. If I get the chance I wish to mingle with my brother.'''' I said and left my courtyard for the second time this month.


    ''''Yes!'''' I heard Aino''s voice ringing from behind me as we both vanished from the courtyard.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Third Person


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    In the main family courtyard an elevated arena made out of white tiles had been erected. Various cushioned seats were placed on the ground with tables filled with meat and drink. The further away the seats were the more elevated they became thanks to wooden scaffolding that had been build. This makeshift arena would be dismantled and build every year with different kinds of fashionable flavors.


    This year''s theme was simple. Masculinity and physical power. Powerful colors like red, yellow and orange were present in drapes and carpets. Images of a powerful burning lions and white tigers were also present along with a beautifully carved sizable statue of a red dragon which radiated warm energy.


    Seats were gradually being filled and most elders of the family had already arrived along with the Drakern family patriarch who was also Ophelia''s grandfather. Alaric Drakern sat down on an elevated seat where he could see the action best. He was greeted by various respectful gazes of different proportions.


    Despite Alaric Drakern''s advanced age, he didn''t look a day older than fifty. His long hair and short black facial hair hadn''t lost a single ounce of dark pigmentation. His brown eyes were sharp and brimmed with life.


    Ophelia was also sitting in the stands with her maid, those who sat close to her were naturally Hina, Maria, and Dina. Followed by their own personal assistants and servants. Ophelia''s eyes were keenly watching her grandfather. She couldn''t see through him at all, actually, this was true for most elders in Drakern Clan. Although she couldn''t see through his cultivation realm it was obvious that he was the strongest person among all who had joined the festivities today. Even the envoy of Tertiary Dragon Sect felt like nothing compared to Alaric.


    Although Ophelia didn''t say it out loud, she had a weird feeling about the Youth Evaluation. Actually, the whole time she had been part of the Drakern family she felt something was amiss. Today the feeling was especially powerful when she saw the elders of the family sitting close to each other, speaking in secrecy.


    For a Drakern family which hides this many powerhouses that she cannot see through at all, how is it possible for their Martial Pavilion to only contains so few rare techniques? And that almost no one from their own family could practice them? Only when they obtain high evaluation and seventh and above stage in Qi Awakening Realm can they freely enter the fourth floor of the Martial Pavilion.


    However, after reaching the Body Reconstruction Realm, the fourth floor would quickly become obsolete. There was definitely something secret that most of the family members were being kept dark about. This was all the more reason for Ophelia to perform better here.


    In the end, Ophelia was not able to meet up with Roman. Instead, she decided to keep company with her three cousins who would also participate in the youth evaluation. Her three cousins had all felt Ophelia growing in strength, but none of them ever asked guidance from her. Each of the girls had their own pride and wished to grow on their own and Ophelia respected and liked that about her friends. It is also the reason they never spoke about their own cultivation progress to each other so Ophelia was completely in the dark about their progress.


    Conversations became more and more rapid among the people when almost all 10,000 seats had been filled. People wished for their own children to do well, as well as cursing for others to fall. But the most interesting conversation was held between four people. Patriarch Alaric, his two sons, and the Tertiary Dragon Sect''s envoy.


    ''''Gareth. Who do you think will win this year? Roman has shown a lot of promise past two years, but compared to his three elder brothers he is lacking. But he is still passable, reaching the sixth level of Qi Awakening is above average result for certain.'''' Alaric asked from a man who was sitting on his left side. Gareth was the name of the elder who was in charge of the Martial Pavilion and was actually one of Ophelia''s many uncles and had given her guidance a day before. Ophelia rarely met with the most influential people of her family so it was actually reasonable that she wouldn''t even recognize her own uncle. Heck, thanks to her parents being constantly away she had almost forgotten what her own Father and Mother looked like.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ''''Hmm, we will see,'''' Gareth said mysteriously while spotting Ophelia from the crowd. Gareth knew that they had something special on their hands with Ophelia. Last time a talent like this appeared was with Ophelia''s third oldest brother Albert. ''Old Brother''s children are all little monsters.'' Gareth snickered to himself and continued to talk with his father. ''''I have to agree that Roman is strong. Although Roald, Tyrin, and Albert are in their own leagues, Roman is by no means a slouch. I wonder how high he has cultivated his offensive techniques?''''


    ''''Father, Brother. My daughter Hina is also competing this year. Although she is really quiet, she is always diligent and I think she will make an impact today.'''' The other gray robed figure on Alaric''s right side said with a confident impression. Although he didn''t elaborate where that confidence came from.


    ''''Reyes, she is your daughter? Little Hina is already thirteen? Wasn''t she born with enlarged meridians and high-quality spiritual veins? I have been waiting for her performance in this evaluation since her birth.'''' Alaric spoke gleefully. Although enlarged meridians and high-quality spiritual veins weren''t as good as a special constitution, it was still a physical advantage which would help tremendously when circulating Qi ensuring that Hina would have a lot easier time practicing Basic Qi Circulation. Suddenly a female voice joined the conversation.


    ''''Drakern Clan has such exceptional young talents, especially this year''s batch seems to be well above the traditional average.'''' A beautiful woman, seemingly in her early twenties spoke. Her voice was like wind chimes and sounded very delicate. She was wearing a bright azure robes with a beautiful golden three clawed dragon symbol woven into it. She was the Tertiary Dragon Sect''s envoy, Miun Kitara.


    ''''Ah, Little Kitara. How many invitations have you been thinking about handing out this year?'''' Alaric asked with a content voice, he would always feel pride when other people were saying good things about his family.


    ''''Hmm, I am not sure. Mr. Roman is certainly going to be attending Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House when the entrance exams take place next week. Well not like he needs to participate in the entrance exams. And if Miss. Hina''s level exceeds third stage Qi Awakening I am certain that she should be accepted into the combat school as well. Anyone who exceeds the third stage of Qi Awakening at the age of thirteen is a blessed genius and we need to carefully cultivate them.''''


    Miun spoke, partially answering the question. Roman was in, others were maybes.


    Soon a ringing of large gong sounded over the whole courtyard. This was the sound which signaled that the Drakern clan''s Youth Evaluation was officially underway. In this tournament age and gender were irrelevant, and people would pick lots which would place them into a certain bracket, against a certain opponent. Due to the sheer amount of participants the tournament became a single elimination tournament.


    Officials were scattering around helping participants drawing lots while drawing different brackets. A number of people were staggering: Over TWO THOUSAND children would be participating in the tournament. Soon it was decided that eight different brackets would be established that enough spots would be vacated by the weaker participants to make the number exactly 2,048. Each bracket would contain 256 participants and one would need eight wins to become a bracket winner.


    Eight bracket winners would then continue into the Champion''s Bracket and fight for the glory there. In total, one would have to win 11 fights without losing even once. All bracket winner would be rewarded with a Raretechnique and Spring Vitae Root. However top three would gain special rewards that wouldn''t be disclosed to the public.


    Ophelia had never thought about the tournament this way. She knew that the Drakern Clan was an expansive family clan and had tens of thousands of family members. But for there to be over two thousand children participating it would be truly a massive event spanning multiple days. Even some combat schools wouldn''t dream of holding a tournament this large. Ophelia could hardly wait for what the tournaments in the Dragon Sects would be like? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Maybe even millions of people? If a tournament were a single elimination how many fights would that be? How long would it take?


    After dozens of fights had been fought, Ophelia''s number was finally called up.


    ''''Oh, oh! Ophelia, that''s your number!'''' Dina bounced up and down on her seat in excitement.


    ''''Go, get ''em!'''' Maria encouraged, patting Ophelia on the shoulder as she stood up from her seat. Ophelia could have sworn she heard a faint and bored sound as she passed Hina. ''''Do your best, or whatever.''''


    Ophelia didn''t bother to answer any of her friends and simply nodded while walking closer to the arena and hopping onto the stage. On the stage, she looked back at her friends and all of their eyes had a weird gleam to them. ''These witches, they want to see me lose! Sorry to disappoint, but I am going to win this.''''


    ''''Ophelia Drakern vs Damel Drakern!'''' They were both announced and received next to no response. Ophelia was just a thirteen-year-old kid and didn''t flaunt her status as a grandchild of the current Patriarch. Damel, on the other hand, was already fifteen years old and his performance in last two Youth Evaluations wasn''t anything amazing.


    Ophelia was doing her best in suppressing the level of her Martial Qi. While it worked on youngsters, more seasoned veterans saw through her level rather quickly. However, Damel wasn''t one of those. Damel instantly released his full Qi and showed the level of his cultivation. Last year Damel was only a third stage Qi Awakening realm warrior but had now stepped onto the fourth stage.


    ''''How is this possible...'''' Reyes who was sitting next to Alaric hurriedly stood up. His eyes were fixated on Ophelia. ''How did this happen? What did she do?'' Those two questions were furiously spinning on his minds.


    ''''This is?'''' Alaric too was surprised. It was faint thanks to her suppressing her Qi, but Alaric could still make out the state of her meridians and spirit-veins. ''''How did Idris'' daughter grow to be so powerful...this...''''


    Gareth on the side was smiling lightly. Almost all of Idris'' children were exceptional when it came to martial art cultivation. When Gareth was younger he had often sworn to father the strongest children for the family and had caused various scenes with Idris when they were young. But as Gareth grew older he saw children of his brothers and sisters as treasures and his competitive spirit vanished. ''I shouldn''t compare talents of our children, how childish I was.''


    ''''Look it is starting, they''re both ready to go!'''' Miun chimed in and focused on the two youths.


    Damel who was dressed in a loose, and sleeveless blue robes spun his arms around a few time and took a stance. Damel''s clear blue eyes were fixated on Ophelia''s figure. She was anything like typical girls he usually saw around him. Despite being only thirteen years old she was nearly as tall as he was, losing only by one or two inches.


    Just as Damel had finished his preparation a sound came from an announcer: ''''Fight!''''


    <hr>


    [[Author Note: Search up and listen to Xtrullor''s ¨C Attack. A fitting BGM for the fight.]]


    <hr>


    In an instant Ophelia sped forward from her previous position and closed in the three hundred feet wide gap in just less than three seconds. Damel''s eyes widened and he desperately raised both of his arms to block a punch which Ophelia threw at him. A nasty sound of meat being flattened sounded in the air as Damel''s legs took off the ground and his whole body was sent flying for nearly sixty feet.


    ''''What?'''' A sleepy audience was immediately awakened by a shocking display of strength. Ophelia knew that their physical strengths were leagues apart. When reaching the fifth and sixth stage of Qi Awakening Ophelia''s strength had been enhanced by eleven more points than Damel''s. Ophelia also had trained in physical strength way before she had been gifted with the Basic Qi Circulation technique.


    Ophelia who had strength value of forty-two possessed enough strength to lift and hit at about one ton of force compared to Damel''s low seven hundred.


    Damel quickly began to collect himself. Though his arms were hurting it was only superficial damage, his biggest problem was not the pain or the damage itself but the shakiness the impact caused in his arms.


    Damel didn''t plan on fading away without a proper fight. Instead of giving up he steadied his hands and took his pose again. This time he knew about Ophelia''s speed and he would counterattack with his martial technique.


    ''''Hm, taking a pose again? Trying to counter me?'''' Ophelia knew, but she also didn''t really care. Damel''s body was weaker, slower and less durable. Ophelia, on the other hand, could go for a couple of exchanges with Damel and still be fine. Seeing as Damel didn''t intend on making the first...well the second move it would be up to Ophelia to end this farce. ''Fine, I will humor you...'' Ophelia though while speeding towards Damel once more.


    As Ophelia approached Damel, the latter groaned and a Martial Qi surged to his fist. ''''If you''re a warrior then prove it! Take my punch! Spike Crust Fist!''''


    Qi on Damel''s arm transmuted into a spiked object formed out of stone and mud. Spike Crust Fist was a lower graded technique, it''s rarity was completely ordinary. It was Uncommon Lower ranked skill. Deciding that humoring her opposition once was fine, Ophelia headed right in for the clash. Even though it seemed reckless there was something that Ophelia truly wished to test. Ophelia''s fist collided furiously with Damel''s. To the surprise of no one, it was Ophelia''s time to go flying.


    Ophelia''s arm flung back furiously and Damel''s fist contacted Ophelia''s stomach, sending her flying even further than Damel had been flung before. Ophelia quickly checked her status and was alarmed. ''Not good, not good at all!''


    Even if her own fist had mitigated some of the damage it hardly did anything to stop the full blunt of the attack crashing at her. Her current health had dropped below a thousand at 970 health remaining. Ophelia could hear murmurs from the crowd.


    ''''This is quite surprising, Damel has actually managed to reach fifth stage mastery with the Spike Crust Fist. That must hurt quite a lot. If you look past his cultivation level, reaching the fifth stage at an offensive technique is quite remarkable.'''' Someone from the crowd was rather loud so Ophelia could hear it clearly.


    ''I see, no wonder half of my health is gone. He is not going to hit me with that for the second time.'' Ophelia steadied her feet and also took up a fighting pose by raising her right fist forward and keeping her left closer to her armpit.


    ''''I won''t let you do whatever you want!'''' Damel roared and ran towards Ophelia, a new crust of dirt was formed on his arm. Ophelia sneered, Damel''s Qi reserves shouldn''t let him use that technique so liberally. He probably only had one strike more after this one.


    ''''Illusionary Finger'''' Ophelia used her right hand to send a mirage of a finger towards Damel. The finger was formed with a red Qi and looked ethereal. It was clearly a technique Ophelia had recently learned.


    A sudden apparition startled Damel, but only for a second. Illusionary Finger was a well-known technique and was usually a first finger technique martial artists learned. Because of this, it was a simple technique to counter. One would simply have to overpower it with more force.


    ''''Break for me!'''' Damel''s dirty fist collided with an enlarged finger illusion, creating a loud bang. Illusionary Finger dissipated while Damel continued forward with his arm still partially covered in mud, and spiky rocks. He was on a course to smash against Ophelia once more.


    As Damel rushed through the broken apparition he was expecting to see a shock plastered on Ophelia''s face. However, when his eyes met her''s he knew that something was up. A confident and calm smile then bloomed on her face, also her eyes had a hint of mockery in them. At least that is how it appeared to Damel.


    ''''Haa...here you come again then, trying to hit me with that big right straight, again. Do you know how difficult it is for an adult to fight seriously against a child, especially when you have to beat that said child? Sorry in advance.'''' Ophelia muttered. Damel didn''t have time to fully appreciate what Ophelia had just said as he saw the tanned tomboy duck and weave around his telegraphed haymaker.


    After trying to connect again Damel could feel Ophelia''s forearm smash onto his right elbow, distorting the trajectory of his punch giving his opponent a major opening. Ophelia didn''t waste any time as she dashed in and pushed her left hand into Damel''s gut, once...twice...then thrice. Between each blow, Damel would miss his strikes against Ophelia who simply and gracefully dodged everything he had thrown at her.


    After missing yet another haymaker Ophelia dashed even faster and Damel felt like time had come to a halt. She right before him half crouching. ''''Nighty, night.'''' was the last words he heard before darkness came.


    Damel''s head flew backward as his whole body was lifted off the ground. A spray of blood erupted from Damel''s mouth as he flew straight upwards till he reached the height of around sixteen feet.


    <hr>


    [[BGM: STOP!]]


    <hr>


    ''''Woah, what a magnificent uppercut''''


    ''''Referee, call the match!''''


    ''''Someone, anyone! Please catch him!''''


    ''''Offy is the best!''''


    ''''He is already dead!''''


    Just as Ophelia was ready to catch his falling kinsman, someone else ghosted into the arena, catching Damel. It was a curvaceous woman wearing a pure white clothing, worry clearly visible on her face. After a brief second, she sighed in relief: ''''Just unconscious...''''


    This woman was a doctor in charge of contestants bodies and was always ready to jump in when the fighting got too rough. She had almost rushed in when Ophelia was blown back, but for some reason, she had halted.


    ''''That''s the match! Winner by KO: Ophelia Drakern!'''' Referee announced. And the crowd cheered.


    ''''Ophelia is this strong?!'''' A youth from the audience gasped, his voice clearly shaken. It belonged to the warrior who was on the stage previously. He was Ophelia''s next opponent.


    ''''Despite her muscular look, this is absurd! Her power never appeared to be this tyrannical when she took part in those training sessions held by one of the elders! Ah! She stopped coming to sessions about a month ago...'''' Another young man chimed in.


    ''''Who are her parents?'''' ''''Some Elder perhaps?'''' ''''Does she even have parents?'''' ''''I don''t know!'''' ''''Maybe she is an orphan?'''' ''''Hey, ain''t you an orphan?'''' ''''What? No! My parents are working away. Just like yours are!'''' ''''She is so powerful! Did she came across a lucky chance or did she train longer than us? Maybe someone gave her the Qi Circulation technique when she was just a child?'''' ''''She is still a child though.'''' ''''Wouldn''t that be cheating?'''' ''''In your opinion all fourteen and fifteen-year-old participants are cheaters?'''' ''''I didn''t say that!'''' ''''You implied it though...''''


    A crowd started a commotion. Soon dozens upon dozens of questions were thrown into the air, each asking and raising ridiculous assumptions about Ophelia. She could feel thousands of eye pairs scrutinizing her and it made her feel uncomfortable.


    The beautiful lady doctor who was carrying unconscious Damel on her embrace turned to Ophelia. ''''Come with me to the infirmary, I wish to check up on the wound on your stomach.''''


    ''''Eh?'' Ophelia the noticed the place where Damel had punched her. Both crushing and piercing damage were present and even some stones had been embedded onto her bleeding flesh. Ophelia felt a cold pain emanating from the wound, it seemed like her adrenaline was quickly wearing out.


    ''''R-right away!'''' Ophelia stuttered and followed the doctor through the curtains and made her way to the infirmary.


    Maria and Dina were both amazed by Ophelia''s performance. Maria had an idea that Ophelia was powerful but not to that extent. She thought herself to be well above average and was proud of her strength especially since she wasn''t a part the main family branch.


    Dina thought about surrendering immediately if she came across any fourth stage Qi Awakening warriors, without even mentioning stage five or stage six.


    Hina, on the other hand, was quiet, listening to the crowd and observing the reactions and of course the next warriors. Hina'' eyes widened a bit when she heard a certain topic among the crowd. ''''Weird...''''


    ''''Hm? What is it?'''' Dina turned her head and her brown locks almost hit on Hina''s face.


    ''''Nothing...just an old topic I discussed with Ophelia suddenly came to mind,'''' Hina said calmly and tried to listen more.


    ''''With Offy? What kind of topic?'' Dina nosied.


    Hina sighed and decided to promptly ignore her chatty friend and listened to the loud crowd.


    ''''Rii! Blank is ignoring me...oh what are you doing?'''' Dina''s attention switched to Maria instead.


    ''''Ignoring you, failing miserably at it too. And what in the hell is a Rii? Shut it and prepare, it is your turn to crash soon enough.''''


    ''''Wah! Rii is mean as well...''''


    ''''She is exceptional. You mentioned that she is Roman''s little sister?'''' Miun inquired, her eyes full of gleamy sparkliness.


    ''''A...ahem! Why, yes. She is the daughter of my eldest born. A dragon like son doesn''t give a birth to a tiny lizard.'''' Alaric quickly composed himself and managed to sound somewhat calm and collected.


    ''''She...she is..'''' Reyes gritted his teeth. ''She is in the way!'' Was what Reyes almost yelled out. It seems that his daughter will not be the one to wear the halo of spotlight tonight.


    ''''Little brother...don''t think too much of it. I can see Hina''s cultivation from here and she is truly exceptional talent as well.'''' Gareth consoled as his eye was releasing hazy red light.


    ''''Son, although you possess a remarkable inner eye you shouldn''t use it to pry into the secrets of women. Especially your nieces.'''' Alaric whispered in a patronizing tone while restraining himself. He too wished to strip away the veil and inspect the cultivation progress of her grandchildren.


    ''''Despite Roman and Ophelia being this eye-catching, I will make sure to be fair and inspect all fights. Hina will have my full attention when it is her turn to fight, as will the members of the branch families.'''' Miun chimed in and arranged her thoughts and mental notes, preparing herself to observe next matches.


    '''' Next up to the stage! It is Maria Drakern vs...''''


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Doctor''s Office!


    ''''Ow! Ow-ow-ow!'''' Ophelia whimpered as the doctor was pulling pieces of stones from her stomach.


    ''''Oi you! Tone down the whining, I am almost done removing the stones!'''' Doctor hissed as she pulled the last stone off with her pincers. ''''Don''t you move now, I will now close the wound.''''


    A faint amount of viridian colored Qi gathered on doctor''s hand, which she then guided into the wounds on Ophelia''s stomach.


    Ophelia could feel a cooling sensation spreading across her midsection, and if she wasn''t attentive enough she would have slipped into dreamland. It was very comfortable.


    ''''Ah, it''s comfortable...thank you Doc,'''' Ophelia mumbled while wishing that the sensation would never end.


    ''''This is just another job for me, so you don''t need to thank me.'''' Lady Doctor said while finishing up the Qi treatment.


    ''''You can move around if you wish. If I were you I would be more careful in the future and not show that kind of recklessness in a fight again. If you want to make it to the end that is.'''' The doctor sighed and walked toward unconscious Damel and began to slowly treat him.


    ''''Tha...see you again Doc...probably,'''' Ophelia said while bowing as she left the infirmary. ''I can''t miss Hina''s fight.'' Ophelia thought as she hurried her steps.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    After arriving back into the arena Ophelia walked towards her friends. She saw Maria and Dina sitting on their cushions and squeezed next to them.


    ''''Offy, you''re back. You missed so much though...well...me! You actually missed my fight. And Rii''s fight as well.'''' Dina puffed her cheeks and pouted playfully.


    ''''Oh? Excuse me for missing such an important occasion.'''' Ophelia teased playfully. ''''Since you''re on such high spirit I imagine both of you were victorious?''


    ''''Of course, and it was surprising to see that this dummy had actually reached the third stage of Qi Awakening,'''' Maria said and slapped Dina on her shoulder.


    ''''I am not a dummy!'''' Dina protested while slapping Maria''s hand away, pouting even more.


    ''''Of course you''re not,'''' Ophelia smirked. ''''So where is Hina?'''' She continued.


    ''''''Ah, you returned at a good time,'''' Maria said, pointing at the stage. ''''Hina''s bout it next.''''


    Announcer walked onto the stage to welcome to competitors. ''''Fighting next are Hina Drakern & Illya Drakern, good luck for both of these young ladies.'''' It was a brief introduction that seemed completely unnecessary.


    Hina walked onto the stage serene calm on her face, it didn''t seem like she was worried of Illya at all. Hina put her left leg and arm forward and turned sideways. She taunted Illya with a single finger, beckoning her to bring it.


    Illya who sported a light green hair and red robes also turned red from anger. She reminded Ophelia of fresh strawberry. Illya released aura which indicated her to be on late Qi Awakening Stage 3. Which would have been impressive if Illya was thirteen, however she was already fifteen years old.


    Hina slowly released a violent, yet calm energy. Her energy completely shrouded Illya''s. Ophelia''s eyes widened in surprise. ''''Qi Awakening fifth stage.''''


    ''''Damn, I was sure I was stronger than her,'''' Maria grumbled. While Dina leaned backward till she was laying in a sleeping position.


    ''''It is just a dream...Blank is stronger than me...can''t be.'''' Dina murmured.


    Ophelia chuckled at Dina. Since when had Dina become so delusional that she thought her talent was match for Hina? ''''Maybe next year.'''' Ophelia encouraged.


    ''''FIGHT!''''


    As the announcement came, Hina phantomed from her previous position and was streaking towards Illya. It took Illya by such surprise that she could only raise her hands to block the shot.


    Hina stepped forward and spun around, sending a backhanded elbow strike towards Illya''s left ribs. Hit was perfect and Illya''s guard game undone thanks to Hina''s painfully stunning blow. Hina didn''t let up and immediately reverse her spinning motion and sending a punch straight at Illya''s face.


    ''''Windless Fist,'''' Hina said with no emotion as her fist suddenly sped up, cutting through the air in front of her, and slamming Illya right at her kisser. And just like that, it was all over.


    Illya''s body stuttered and she fell onto all fours. Her legs were shaking rapidly and no matter what she did she could no longer stand up.


    ''''Winner by TKO; Hina Drakern!''''


    As the announcer ended the announcement, the crowd broke into cheers. It was so fast! It was easily the quickest bout of the day so far. Hina who wasn''t sweaty at all walked back to her friends.


    ''''Good job!'''' Ophelia said smiling.


    ''''Nice fight, Hina! Let''s see if we can fight on Champion''s Bracket.'''' Maria said.


    ''''What, Hina fought already? I missed it, do it again.'''' Dina complained.


    ''''Mm,'''' Hina mumbled, nodded twice and sat next to Ophelia.


    As she did she leaned closer to Ophelia''s ear. ''''Remember the thing we talked about, just the two of us? Your suspicions seem more and more likely.'''' Hina whispered.


    ''''Hhhhh-'''' Ophelia sighed. ''''It seems that many people are in the same boat as us. Well...qualified people that is.'''' She continued and looked at the stage where two boys were beating the shit out of each other.


    Hina trembled a bit, gripping her own hands. ''''If what you speculate is true then...what does it mean?'''' Hina inquired quietly.


    ''''Ah, well, you see.'''' Ophelia stalled to organize her thoughts. ''''It would mean that we, and this whole place-''''


    ''''AND THAT IS THE MATCH! Leynarin Drakern wins the match!'''' Announcer screamed and the whole audience erupted in cheers.


    Leynarin was one of the winner candidates, holding seed number 2, right after Roman. Although Leynarin was still at the fifth stage of Qi Awakening, he was actually at the very pinnacle and could break into the sixth stage at any moment.


    ''''A-are you certain?'''' Hina''s voice wavered, as she looked directly at Ophelia''s face.


    ''''Yeah'''' Ophelia answered dryly. ''''I do think I know why they would do this, but it is still a hard pill to swallow.''''


    ''''What are you two whispering about?'''' Maria asked and leaned towards her two friends. Dina also got curious and leaned over Maria''s legs to listen in.


    ''''Oh? Nothing, nothing important at all.'''' Ophelia lied. ''''We were just discussing how long it takes Roman to finish his fight, speaking of which...''''


    ''''AND NOW, ONTO THE NEXT MATCH!'''' Announcer howled. ''''Roman Drakern vs Dakria Drakern!''''


    Two people then swiftly stepped onto the stage. Dakria was a boy of fourteen years of age and at the third stage of Qi Awakening. Roman was fifteen years old, stage six of Qi Awakening. Everyone knew that this would not even be a match.


    Roman was around 6.1 ft tall and had a lean appearance. Just like Ophelia, Roman also had a raven black hair, but unlike Ophelia''s short hair Roman''s was long enough to flow onto his back. Roman wore an elegant black robe with golden trimmings. Roman had a handsome face, although his sharp, slightly slanted eyebrows along with his dismissive expression made him look a little scary.


    Dakria looked puny in stature compared to Roman. 5.2 ft tall, but had a bit of muscle to support himself. Audience feared that this would be ugly.


    ''''BEGIN!'''' Announcer screeched.


    ''''Illusionary Finger'''' A voice mumbled, as a huge illusion formed from the terrifying amount of Qi.


    Dakria''s whole figure drowned inside the flying illusion and he was quickly blown out of the stage.


    A single move, single moment. Blink it and you will miss it.


    Doctors rushed towards Dakria who was obviously unconscious. Poor boy couldn''t even begin to fight before he was already unconscious. While Dakria was being taken care of Roman leisurely walked down from the stage. He already knew he was going to have a lot of time to fool around.


    And sure enough. The next two participants who were at Qi Awakening realm three forfeited. There was no point in fighting if you had to fight Roman, so might as well give up. Because of this Roman would get a free pass on round two.


    ''''Ophelia, your brother is impressive. Which level has Roman''s Illusionary Finger reached?'''' Maria asked with interest in her eyes.


    ''''Could be either stage four or five. My Illusionary Finger is still just at its first stage so I don''t know the difference between stages.'''' Ophelia answered and watched as Roman walked to meet Alaric.


    ''''I have returned Grandfather, Elders,'''' Roman announced and bowed deeply towards Alaric. Although he had returned this was the first time they had met since Roman returned from his training trip.


    Alaric''s face was all smiles. Another one of his sons has produced yet another genius. ''''Come hither.'''' Alaric beckoned, and Roman obeyed.


    Alaric looked at him up and down and nodded. ''''Good, good. It seems you have trained without pause. You are definitely ready to begin learning more advanced techniques. Miss. Kitara also promised that you would be enrolling into Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House. I have good faith that you will make rapid advancements while you are there. Tertiary Dragon Sect ain''t far away.''''


    ''''Thank you for your praise Grandfather.'''' Roman nodded, turning his eyes to Envoy. ''''It is a pleasure to meet someone from a big sect, hello.'''' Roman continued and bowed to Miun.


    ''''My, how well mannered.'''' Miun giggled. ''''Keep working hard, you are one of the top candidates to win the whole tournament.'''' She encouraged.


    ''''I thank you for the kind words.'''' Roman then turned to look at Alaric and his uncles. ''''Grandfather, Pavilion Master and Head Instructor, may I be excused? I would love to catch up with my sister.'''' Roman asked.


    Alaric simply gave him a nod and pointed Roman towards Ophelia''s direction. ''''She is over there, surrounded by her friends.''''


    Roman gave his third, and best bow and hastily left to meet Ophelia.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Fights were getting done quickly, and soon hundreds of fights in the first run were done. And a second round began. Ophelia and her friends were watching the battles progress as Roman approached the group from the side.


    ''''Good to see you, Sister,'''' Roman announced himself as the group of girls turned their heads towards Roman. Each of their reactions was different. Hina simply turned away after acknowledging his presence, Dina energetically waved, Maria only gave him a surprisingly timid nod, while Ophelia rolled her eyes.


    ''''Hello Ninth Brother, are you here to take part in the tournament for glory or merely to start trouble?'''' Ophelia poked.


    ''''Miss. Ophelia!'''' Aino gasped at Ophelia''s attitude. ''''Mr. Roman, please sit here.'''' She insisted while scooting over from Ophelia''s side.


    ''''Thank you, and thank you for taking care of my little sister,'''' Roman said as he sat down next to Ophelia. As he did so his hand wandered on Ophelia''s head and ruffled her hair. ''''How are you then, Little Imp?'''' Roman teased.


    ''''Shut it! Also hands of my hair.'''' Ophelia slapped Roman''s hand away. Roman only chuckled a bit to her sister. Ophelia could never handle Roman''s hands on style of affection. Being formerly a single child, and a man, she felt weird when she was being cuddled by a handsome elder brother.


    ''''Shy as always, despite being so strong. You actually have closed the gap between us.'''' Roman smiled happily and leaned in to hug Ophelia. Only to be greeted by her hand, and being pushed away.


    ''''Maria, please tag me out.'''' Ophelia pleads, in vain, while Maria was distracted by something else and nothing Ophelia said registered on her.


    ''''Mm...'''' Roman mumbled and disengaged her little sister. His eyes wandered and appraised her little sister. ''''I still find it amazing how heavens can be so unfair. Only thirteen and so strong already. However, your training in martial techniques is lacking. Your Illusionary Finger is just at the initial stage.'''' Roman spoke.


    ''''Haa...I know.'''' Ophelia sighed.


    ''''Although your improvement in Qi Awakening Realm has been quick you cannot get over your head alright? Third Brother managed to rise to the fifth stage while he was thirteen but he also trained his martial art to high levels. Listen up, even though increasing strength by racing through the stages is a great feeling, you cannot disregard the actual techniques. Alright?'''' Roman continued.


    ''''I know that, but it is just that I haven''t had time to train my skills to a high level yet,'''' Ophelia argued.


    ''''Though I am going to win this thing even without mastering the martial arts I currently possess.''''


    ''''Ha! Confident as always.'''' Roman smirked. ''''I promise I won''t whoop your butt too badly, it will be over quick.''''


    ''''Heh...as if.'''' Ophelia continued.


    While Ophelia and Roman entered to sibling rivalry mode, the tournament continued. More and more youths were being eliminated, meanwhile, winners were getting more and more tired. Soon enough it was Ophelia''s turn to fight again.


    ''''Excuse me, I forfeit!'''' A shaking voice came from before the stage. It was the boy who was supposed to be Ophelia''s next opponent. After seeing what she did to Damel he had been shaken. Roman''s viciousness also further cemented his decision to pull out from the tournament. He would only be hurt if he and Ophelia fought each other.


    ''''Esmier Drakern forfeits, winner by forfeit, Ophelia Drakern.'''' The announcement came before Ophelia could even stand up.


    ''''Gratz Imp, I guess you scared away the competition as well. I doubt we will see much action in next two days. It is all about the Champion''s Bracket for us.'''' Roman said as he once again ruffled his sister''s hair.


    ''''Good for you.'''' Maria scoffed.


    ''''Nice win, well earned.'''' Dina chimed in.


    ''''...'''' Hina gave Ophelia a silent stare and resumed watching the fights.


    Ophelia couldn''t even bother to slap Roman away anymore. She was disappointed that she couldn''t test out her Flaying Steam Palm. Ophelia then stood up, escaping from Roman''s grasp.


    ''''I hate you guys, you are always so mean,'''' Ophelia said with a sense of melodrama. ''''I have no time for this.'''' And walked away.


    ''''Good idea.'''' Roman agreed and also stood up. ''''Aino, you are going to figure out if Ophelia''s or my opponents suddenly gain some courage alright? We are off to train.'''' And also walked away from the stage.


    ''''Y-yes Mr. Roman.'''' Aino quickly bowed.


    ''''And here they go, must be nice to be nice to be Qi Awakening stage six warrior, must be nice,'''' Maria muttered.


    ''''Well she works way h-harder than us, so it makes sense.'''' Dina consoled.


    ''''Speak for yourself, I always work hard. That is why I am stronger than you.'''' Maria argued.


    ''''Rii is stronger than Dina? Is Rii certain?'''' Dina said with a playful attitude.


    ''''Yes, much stronger. But Hina could wipe a floor with either of us. It is just too depressing. Say Hina, how come you''re also so strong? I barely see you trai-'''' Maria cut off her sentence as she noticed the spot where Hina had sat, was empty.


    ''''Haa, so we are the only ones who have to be here.'''' Maria sighed as she heard her name being called by the announcer.


    ''''I am off, wish me luck,'''' Maria said with confidence.


    ''''Sure, block the shots coming to your face. It won''t look so bad when-'''' Dina teased playfully.


    ''''Oh, fuck you!'''' Maria cursed and stormed towards the stage, tired of Dina''s nonsense. But before she made it to the stage she turned back to Dina and blew a raspberry.

 World of Land I: The Land

    What actually is The Land? The Land is where people sow their crops, build their houses and raise their children. It is where the rain falls down and where oceans form and lay upon. As far as people living on the Land know, their Land is the center of the cosmos.


    And why wouldn''t they? Land gives them everything the people living on land could ever need. Materials to build, atmosphere to breathe in and protection from most cosmic and celestial powers.


    Is said that over 65% of the Land''s landmass is a dry land where only 35% of the Land is filled with oceans and other great bodies of water. Although the majority of the Land has not yet been thoroughly mapped, strong experts who have wandered further into the Outer Continent claim that it is almost completely filled with dry land, without taking the occasional rivers or lakes into account.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    In total, Land consists of six different continents, five of them which are inhabited and ruled by men.


    In the west:Foritas, the continent of outlaws.


    On the east: Sammus, the continent of culture.


    To the north: Borea, the continent of technology.


    At the south: Kehssa, the continent of knowledge.


    And at the center of them all: Artio, the continent of combat.


    And finally, unnamed Outer Continent which is rumored to be so huge it consists of 50% of the planet''s total landmass. Outer Continent is also hailed as ''''continent of opportunity'''' and ''''continent of monsters''''.


    There are only few who know what kind of beings and opportunities lurk in the Outer Continent, and even fewer dare to approach it.

 Chapter III: Winners, Losers & Future Insights

    <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" width="100%">


    <u>-</u><u>Illusionary Finger-</u>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Middle


    Level: Stage 2 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 500 Martial Qi


    [Despite its reputation of being the weakest of any ''''flying finger'''' techniques, the very fact that it is one at all garners a certain amount of respect. Due to it being still a relatively common technique of the middle tier rank the distance of the shot illusion and its strength are relatively small.]


    Stage 1: 5-meter distance, 408 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2: 10-meter distance, 618 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 3 Progress: 200 repetitions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" width="100%">


    <u>-Flaying Steam Palm-</u>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Peak


    Level: Stage 2 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 1,000 Martial Qi per minute + 1,000 Martial Qi for a steam projectile.


    [A technique which coats the arms of a martial artist with a hot steam formed by Martial Qi. The user also has to coat his own hands with another layer of Martial Qi so that the technique wouldn''t burn him as well. Those who master this technique often use it to simply induce passive extra damage rather than use the actual projectile because it is more cost effective to keep the steam rather than release it.]


    Stage 1 (Passive): +50 bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 1 (Active): Flaying Steam Palm projectile has 5-meter distance, 630 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2 (Passive): +75 Bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 2 (Active): Projectile has 10-meter distance, 840 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 3 Progress: 245 repetitions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    Ophelia was sitting in the middle of her courtyard, meditating to recover back her Qi. It had been little over four hours since the second round of the second round began. In that time Ophelia had decided to grind her Illusionary Finger and managed to advance one stage further.


    While she had been in middle of her zealous training, she actually forgot to keep some Qi in reserve and was now empty. It would suck if it was her turn and she showed up without any Qi. Thankfully Ophelia avoided that kind of fate and she soon was filled with Qi.


    ''''Training Flayed Steam Palm efficiently with a low amount of Qi just sucks. Maybe I should just focus on Illusionary Finger for the time being?'''' Ophelia reasoned, at the same time she could hear a knock on her door.


    ''''Miss? It is Aino. I just came to inform that your third round opponent also gave up.'''' Aino said as he stood in the door crack.


    ''''Oh, that is great. Now tell me how others are doing?'''' Ophelia asked while she began to hit nearby target dummies with her Illusionary Fingers.


    ''''Yes Miss. It is going as expected. Mr. Roman''s opponent already forfeited so did his third stage opponent. I don''t know if Roman has to fight anymore at all. He probably has already won the seventh bracket.'''' Aino began.


    ''''Hina''s opponent also gave up. Stage 3 Qi Awakening warrior has no chance against Stage 5 like Hina. So it was also expected. Maria surprised everyone by defeating a Qi Awakening Stage 4 warrior and was revealed to be Stage 4 warrior herself.'''' She continued.


    ''''Ah, thought so. Maria is always working hard so it is not surprising.'''' Ophelia praised while thinking. ''Actually, if I didn''t have a dirty cheat power, I think that I and Maria would be in similar positions.''


    ''''Dina was also victorious. After a long scrappy battle, she managed to defeat another Stage 3 warrior. Not sure why she is continuing to fight though. She clearly has no way to win her bracket as she is going to be paired against Maria sooner or later.'''' Aino concluded.


    ''''Dina is playful and lazy, but still managed to become Stage 3 Qi Awakening warrior. If she took the training more seriously, I think she might become quite formidable.'''' Ophelia said.


    ''''Hina, Dina, and Maria, along with Mr. Roman and you Miss, have all good chances of getting accepted into Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House. Along with the bracket champion''s of course.'''' Aino summed.


    ''Well, Roman, Hina and I are basically already in. Maria is also a higher than average talent. Rivaling the First Sister when she was young, or so I heard.'' Ophelia thought to herself.


    ''''Aino, please keep me informed if I need to fight anyone, alright?'''' Ophelia asked while Aino gave affirming nod. ''''That is what I am here for.'''' She said and left to catch more fights.


    <hr>


    Soon another four hours passed, then it turned into eight hours. Ophelia sat down in meditation. Illusionary Finger had reached the third level of mastery. The illusion that was produced looked bigger than before and was closer to Roman''s Illusionary Finger.


    Ophelia thought about training it further, but showing fourth or fifth level [Uncommon] martial technique would probably be a little too much. Especially since her age was so young. She had already established herself by reaching extremely high Qi Awakening realm at only thirteen years of age, so she didn''t wish to risk becoming demonized.


    Instead of training in offensive techniques, Ophelia meditated. After she was full of Martial Q she left her room. Aino hadn''t returned for nearly eight hours so she wondered where she was. Ophelia made it to her courtyard and was greeted by a gas-dwarf moon. ''''Oh right, It''s night...that rhymed.'''' Ophelia chuckled at herself.


    Thanks for her Qi Awakening Stage 6 cultivation she could stay up for nearly a week without rest, so she hadn''t even noticed the night and managed to stay energetic even so late. Also, there were no fights scheduled at nights so it a was great time to relax. ''I guess I might as well stroll around a bit, it will do me no good to overwork myself.'' Ophelia thought as she left her courtyard.


    Streets of Golden-ridge City were quiet. Occasionally Ophelia came across one or two people. Quietly Ophelia''s little stroll became a little jog, then a run. And about hour later she had done her daily cardio training and she collapsed on her courtyard''s grassy carpet, wheezing.


    ''''Haff...huff...why did that happen? Damn...haah...habit...'''' Ophelia gasped for air and meditated some more to calm her breathing. ''I have trained so much that even a basic walk turns into a sudden training session. This could be a problem in a future.'' Ophelia thought.


    ''I wonder if anyone else is awake. I don''t feel like training constantly, maybe someone else is awake to tell me what the results of day one were?'' Ophelia made a plan to spend some time walking on the Drakern District. She had to restrain herself with some difficulty, her instincts told her to keep running instead of walking with such leisure.


    As Ophelia kept walking past multiple courtyards, houses, and mansions. She became quite certain that she was only one who was appreciating the moon tonight. ''It brushes by closer and closer every single year.'' Ophelia thought while admiring.


    Ophelia remembered back to teachings her mother had taught her while she was still around. Ophelia was only six but she still remembered when her mother taught her about astrology. Suddenly, she felt like she was being pulled into the memory of what her mother had told her.


    ''''Ophelia, do you see that big light in the sky? What? No, it is not the Sun. That is what we call Daenma. Once every year it circles our great Land. Oh, what is a year? A year is a measurement of the time it takes Daenma to circle our great Land.


    There are many stories about an event called Daenma''s Cry. Once every ten thousand years the path of Land and Daenma come close to brush against each other.


    When those two align something terrible is said to happen. It is told that Daenma cries a stream of vicious blood and that it rains upon the Land where it becomes seeds for new life. According to legends, those seeds are said to give birth to a destruction of our world. Paving a way for new life to bloom.


    Each passing year Daenma crawls closer, ready to unleash its children upon the world. I feel it that we may live to witness Daenma''s Cry one day.''''


    ''Demons from the Moon? I look forward to seeing if the legends are true.'' Ophelia thought as she walked past a courtyard belonging to one of her friends. Inside the courtyard, she could hear loud shouting.


    Ophelia was curious to see what was happening, so she took a peek by lifting herself above the outer wall. What Ophelia saw was something that she didn''t think she would ever see.


    A figure was kneeling in front of a practice dummy. This figure had a messy brunette hair and wore a ripped robes that were stained by dirt and sweat. And a face which always appeared aloof and carefree in public was contorted in frustrated pain.


    If Ophelia didn''t know that this courtyard belonged to Dina she wouldn''t have recognized her at all. Dina''s indicating that she had been crying, her hands that grasped the mud below were stained with a mixture of dirt and blood.


    Ophelia could see Dina slowly standing up from the mud, hitting the training dummy with her filthy hands. A pair of servants, a boy, and a girl were looking at her with worried expressions.


    ''''My Lady, please stop...stop it already...'''' Boy''s pained voice cried. He could hardly look at her lady like this.


    ''''Ms. Dina, please...'''' The maid was also worried but couldn''t find the words to make Dina feel better.


    ''''Shut up, both of you! And leave me the HELL alone!'''' Dina growled as she hit the dummy in frustration. Ophelia had never seen Dina like this before.


    ''She lost her fight, probably lost badly as well.'' Ophelia wanted to console her friend but didn''t want to make the situation awkward for Dina. She just endured and kept watching.


    ''''Every. Single. Day. I exercise and exercise and push myself to limit each and every day. Why, why am I like this?'''' Dina growled and slammed the dummy again.


    ''''I train just as much as Ophelia, harder than Maria and definitely more than Hina. Why am I lagging so far behind? Just what is it that I lack? Talent? Is it talent I lack? I cannot accept that. With effort people can change that.'''' Dina uttered with spiteful frustration, her regular bubbly voice was nowhere to be heard.


    A talent was a mysterious thing. Lack of this talent separated regular people and those who are born special. Those who are born with natural physical or mental gifts are what are commonly referred to as a genius. A gap between genius and a regular person is nearly impossible to fill.


    A person who is gifted with amazing memory and reasoning can deduce mathematical problems quickly and with a little effort. While someone cannot wrap their minds around certain problems no matter how hard and how long they study for.


    ''People are not born equal after all.'' Ophelia thought. This was a cold, hard fact. There were always dreamers in the Old World who said all people were born equal and that all people start as blank papers. Ophelia hated this kind of idealistic thinking.


    ''Dina has the will to improve, she will go far. But Hina who seems to be natural at martial arts doesn''t need to put nearly as much effort in her training. No matter how much Dina tries she will never surpass Hina. That is even worse in my case. I...I don''t know what I could say to her.'' Ophelia lowered herself back from the wall and began to walk away.


    Ophelia reached Stage 6 of Qi Awakening Realm. What can a person who reached that kind of level so easily say to a person who is three levels below her, without sounding insincere? ''Maybe I could offer to help her? No, that would mean I think that she cannot walk the path on her own two feet. She would hate me for saying that.''


    Ophelia walked back to her courtyard, ready to train more and think what she could do to help her friend.


    <hr>


    In a meanwhile Drakern family''s currentPatriarch, Alaric Drakern was holding a meeting with his sons, elders and Tertiary Dragon Sect''s Envoy, Miun Kitara, who also had an elder accompanying her. She too wore an azure robe which carried a symbol of a three clawed dragon.


    This elderly lady was Golden-ridge Dragon Martial School''s, Dean. Although her face was old and wrinkled, and her hair was scarce and what little remained was gray, she still radiated power.


    ''''Little Kitara and Mrs. Hui-Lu, what do you think of this year''s batch?'''' Alaric asked while taking a sip of alcohol.


    ''''Patriarch Drakern, I think that the quality this year is high. Aside from fifteen years old, already established competitors, we had some surprised today. Ms. Ophelia, Ms. Hina, Mr. Reynald and Ms. Maria are all exceptionally talented, especially Ms. Ophelia who has reached Stage 6 or Qi Awakening.'''' Dean Hui-Lu praised.


    ''''Indeed.'''' Miun continued. ''''Also Ms. Dina, Ms. Aria and Mr. Llorn all showcased unyielding fighting spirit. Stage 3 of Qi Awakening is no means terrible and I think they all have bright future''s ahead of them.''''


    ''''Also the fifteen-year-old Mr. Roman is the biggest candidate to win the whole tournament, followed closely by Mr. Leynarin. Mr. Leynarin could reach Stage 6 at any moment.'''''' Miun added.


    ''''There is also the fourteen-year-old surprise, Karwin.'''' Reyes spoke up.


    ''''Yes, yes. He came as a surprise, he was only Stage 2 Qi Awakening warrior a year ago but has rapidly advanced to Stage 5. But I haven''t seen him visit the Martial Pavilion much, so I don''t think he ha s been practicing his martial skills. Instead, he is focusing on blindly increasing his realm. Haah, the na?vety of youth.'''' Gareth sighed.


    ''''Ain''t that fine?'''' Reyes argued. ''''While learning actual techniques is, of course, important isn''t it the foundation what ultimately matters in the end? Also, [Common] & [Uncommon] level martial techniques aren''t that great, to begin with.''''


    ''''Either way. It is good for young people to learn what it is like to learn a technique, no matter how elementary. How could they learn how to run before they know how to crawl?'''' Gareth put his foot down.


    ''''Now, now.'''' Alaric intervened. ''''Both of your ideologies hold merit, but after they enroll to Mrs. Hui-Lu''s school everyone will have a balanced curriculum with well-tailored teaching plan.''''


    ''''Indeed, also thanks to Drakern family''s discipline and patience all of them are eligible of learning the Lesser Serpentine Circulation method.'''' Dean Hui-Lu commented.


    ''''Mmm...'''' Reyes & Gareth nodded.


    ''''I must say, I am forward to seeing how long it takes for Roman, Hina & Ophelia to advance to Martial Foundation Realm. After reaching the first stage of Martial Foundation Realm they are eligible to enroll to my Tertiary Dragon Sect.'''' Miun chimed in.


    ''''Well, considering how quickly Hina and Ophelia have advanced this year, it wouldn''t surprise me if either one of them could make it to Martial Foundation Realm in a year. Lesser Serpentine Circulation is a much better method of circulating Qi so the speed that their cultivation climb should increase explosively.'''' Alaric said smiling.


    ''''It will work out great,'''' Reyes stated. ''''As a father, I am glad that my daughter has cleared the conditions required to begin training with Lesser Serpentine Circulation. Usually, even greatest geniuses begin their training when they reach Stage 5 of Qi Awakeningwhen they are <u>fifteen.</u><u>''''</u>


    ''''It is such a shame that in order to train great technique like Lesser Serpentine Circulation, you must keep your training as basic and uncontaminated as possible. Watching our children struggle using Basic Qi Circulation is so difficult to watch.'''' Reyes added.


    Gareth smiled and looked at his brother. ''''Brother, we have gone over this. Children who have no willpower or talent to reach Stage 5 of Qi Awakening Realm in two years have no future to rise to great heights. They should be happy with mortal life.''''


    ''''I know,'''' Reyes mumbled.


    ''Our family has to teachand send all of our children to walk the path of dragons. It has been the purpose of our family for ages, it is an oath as old as our very family. And we must honor it. This was the purpose our ancestors were gifted these training methods.'' Alaric thought.


    ''''Patriarch Drakern, what are you thinking about? I have been a friend to this family for a long time. You do not need to hide anything from me or my disciple.'''' Dean Hui-Lu commented.


    ''''I know, it is just that I am always wary when speaking about our secret techniques,'''' Alaric said while scratching the hair on the back of his head. ''''Even if there are not many who would begin training according to teachings of Lesser Serpentine Circulation, it is still our secret Qi Circulation method that should not be leaked to the public. I am sure Ms. Kitara agrees.'''' Alaric said as he turned to glare towards Miun.


    ''''As an outsider who has greatly benefitted from Lesser Serpentine Circulation method, I agree.'''' Miun quickly nodded.


    Miun Kitara was Tertiary Dragon Sect''s representative envoy, Dean Hui-Lu''s protege and one of the few outsiders who was given theprivilege to learn Drakern family''s secret skills. By sharing the cultivation method with Dean Hui-Lu and letting her protege to learn it, builds trust and invincible ties between them.


    It was long ago when Alaric decided to disclose the technique to few family friends in hope of them growing into instructors who would, later on, teach the children of the Drakern family. Dean Hui-Lu was one of those people.


    ''''Oh, by the way, Ms. Miun. How long has it been since you have liquefied your Qi?'''' Alaric asked.


    ''''So you did notice! Thanks to Lesser Serpentine Circulation I am still making rapid progress. It was two months ago.'''' Miun gracefully nodded towards Alaric.


    ''''You''ve made amazing progress, you may even reach Swirling Core by age of thirty.'''' Alaric praised.


    ''''My, then I wouldn''t be able to visit at upcoming years.'''' Miun giggled bashfully.


    ''''By attaining Swirling Core by that age would catch Secondary Dragon Sect''s attention. I wish Hina can reach Swirling Core as well.'''' Reyes dreamed.


    ''''But enough about me and my accomplishments, these days should be all about the children.'''' Miun smiled, as the Drakern family''s elders nodded.


    ''''Six rounds have already been completed. Ophelia and Roman have only fought once, although Ophelia''s fight wasn''t as eye catching as Roman''s it seems that people still understood her strength quite well. Neither of them had to fight since. I also doubt Roman has to fight before the Champion''s Bracket.'''' Alaric recapped.


    ''''If nothing goes wrong Karwin is going to dominate rest of the first bracket. Ophelia may need to fight at-least once more before she takes the second bracket.'''' Reyes began. ''''Reynald most likely wins the third bracket, while the fourth bracket will be dominated by Leynarin.''''


    Alaric agreed and gave a firm nod.


    ''''Ms. Hina is skilled and will not have much opposition in the fifth bracket and the sixth bracket has two winning candidates. Mr. Leobold and Ms. Lazuria.'''' Miun continued.


    ''''And finally the seventh bracket is going to be dominated by Roman and eight bracket is still unpredictable,'''' Alaric concluded.


    ''''Let''s hope that all of the contestants give their best tomorrow, I want to see the top contestant myself.'''' Dean Hui-Lu noted and yawned. ''''Mmn, I seem to have grown tired. I will retire for the rest of the night, my body is not energetic like it used to be.''''


    ''''On that note, I think this is a good moment to end this meeting,'''' Alaric stated and stood up, opening the door for Hui-Lu. Each participant agreed as they went their separate ways.


    <hr>


    ''''...50!'''' Ophelia finished counting and opened her eyes. She had spent five hours circulating her Qi through her spirit-veins. Ophelia spat out a foul tasting bile and proceeded with her morning routine of washing herself and dressing up.


    ''I will go with a white setup today.'' Ophelia thought and changed her clothes. Aino was nowhere to be seen so Ophelia decided to do something else today. She decided to solve some mysteries. Most pressing was the meaning of her attributes.


    Some of the attributes and their effects were easy to see. Vitality, Endurance, and even Spirit raised their respective statistic by exactly 50 points. ''Well, at least that is simple. Vitality affects my Health, Endurance my Stamina and Spirit my total amount of Qi''.


    However, Dexterity and Mind are way more difficult. Ophelia immediately knew that Dexterity had something to do with all kind of activities where feats of speed were necessary. However, how could she test exactly what each individual point of Dexterity actually did? Maybe she could do running tests and when she gained free points she could just add one to Dexterity to see if her time becomes better.


    Before she would bother to test her current speed, she decided to instead focus on figuring out her own physical strength. Ophelia had various different weights on her courtyard so experimentation with them wasn''t too difficult. After bench pressing a single ton weight and feeling that she couldn''t lift anymore, she reasoned that each point of strength was equal to around 25 kilos.


    Since she couldn''t see a status of other people she had no idea what did strength do in damage calculations. ''Maybe there is a martial technique that lets me spy on my enemies and read them like an open book?''


    After loitering around some more Ophelia decided to leave her courtyard by herself and make it back to the tournament venue. Ophelia could see that the fights were in full swing. She walked to same seats she and her friends were seated yesterday. She could only see Aino and Hina, and her maids.


    ''''Morning, which round is it?'''' Ophelia asked and signaled Aino to make room.


    ''''Oh! Miss, you came! It is the seventh round. It seems no one is willing to face off against you. Congratulations on making it to Champion''s Bracket.'''' Aino congratulated.


    ''''Not so fast, who am I supposed to fight in this round?'''' Ophelia pressed.


    ''''Julio, he is fifteen and has only reached Stage 4 of Qi Awakening. His give up announcement should come before the last match before you''re scheduled to fight.'''' Aino answered.


    ''''I see. Well Hina, how has the tournament treated you?'''' Ophelia began.


    ''''Mm,'''' Hina grunted.


    ''''Good? You do seem to be a bit fatigued. A massage?'''' Ophelia cheekily offered.


    ''''Nn, I need to visit a salon later,'''' Hina mumbled, either completely missing that Ophelia was teasing her or just unconsciously ignoring her.


    ''Never change Hina, never change.'' Ophelia thought and joined Hina in her silence as they both observed fights to come.


    <hr>


    Meanwhile, on the VIP seats Alaric, Gareth, Reyes, Miun and Hui-Lu were observing the fights. Gareth also noticed that Ophelia had returned to the stadium.


    ''''Ophelia has returned? She will be disappointed that she is not going to find an opponent in the seventh round either.'''' Gareth remarked. Alaric only now noticed Ophelia and leaned closer to Gareth.


    ''''You already know that Julio is going to surrender?'''' Alaric asked and stroked his beard.


    ''''Yeah,'''' Gareth admitted. ''''He only came out today to gain some experience. He already told the referee before hand that he wouldn''t fight in the seventh round.'''' Gareth said regretfully.


    Alaric''s eyes shifted a little, he was displeased when it came to Roman''s and Ophelia''s opponents. Where was the ambition and the never give up attitude? If you''re going to surrender like this how can you become a true martial artist?


    ''''How unbecoming...are they really members of our family?'''' Reyes scoffed. Surrendering without putting up a fight didn''t sit well with him either.


    ''''Ain''t it fine?'''' A mellow voice ringed. ''''A tournament like this which is relatively public casts a huge pressure on weaker participants. It is no wonder no one wants to fight and be embarrassed by losing quickly. I myself would put up a fight against an opponent who is a stage or two higher than me in private, but would I dare to fight in public without tricks? Probably not.'''' Miun explained.


    ''''Although it is a bit of face loss by surrendering before the battle, sometimes losing badly can lose you, even more, face,'''' Hui-Lu spoke. ''''Youngsters, especially men do not wish to be beaten to submission by a girl, especially when she is just thirteen.'''' She added.


    ''''Hmph, I still expect the members of our family to act with more pride.'''' Reyes hissed.


    ''''I concur. Maybe we should teach the importance of trying your best in the future. I didn''t think that the sense of personal pride among our family members was this low.'''' Alaric sighed. ''''Although there are good points too. I''ve been told by the Disciplinary Elder that there are very little bickering and conflicts between the younger generation of our family.''''


    ''''Although it is certainly good that children are getting along there are also bad points to this kind of environment Father,'''' Gareth spoke. ''''Rivalries and conflicts build character and strength. Those who have something to prove tend to grow further and faster.''''


    ''''Brother, that is something I agree on.'''' Reyes laughed.


    ''''But we have already announced the reward for winning the preliminary brackets,'''' Alaric said. ''''A rare technique along with a Spring Vitae Root. Don''t tell me the youngsters of this generation have no idea what a Spring Vitae Root actually is?'''' Alaric shook his hand in disbelief.


    ''''Well it is a reward so they know that it must be good, but I don''t know how many are actually aware of its effects. Also, we should add one more reveal to bracket winners, and announce it as the eight round begins.'''' Gareth said as he fetched a small red wooden box from his inner pockets.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ''''Son, this is?'''' Alaric shifted his head in a curious manner as Gareth opened the box in his hands.


    Inside the box was fitted with a red satin like fabric. Eight, small, black balls were resting neatly in two rows of four. Each of the pills gave a chilling feeling. Suddenly Alaric snatched the box from Gareth''s hands and quickly closed the lid.


    ''''Son, are you out of your mind? Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet is not something that should be given as a reward on an occasion like this! If any of those children were to consume this medicine they would explode. What are you thinking?'''' Alaric spasmed.


    ''''Che!'''' Gareth scoffed. ''''Of course, they would receive instructions to not directly consume it! By first consuming Spring Vitae Root the endurance and vitality in their bodies should see a dramatic increase. Then by adding this Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet to a boiling bath water and absorbing it by soaking in it, that way they should be able to absorb at least 50% of its medical properties without any side effects. For children that age it would be a huge boon.'''' Gareth argued.


    ''''Haa...'''' Alaric sighed. ''''I don''t know where or when you acquired these medicines, but they are yours so do as you wish. However, should there be complications...'''' Alaric''s gaze turned sharper.


    ''''Father, I know. Please relax or you''re going to pop a vein.'''' Gareth laughed.


    ''''Yes, yours,'''' Alaric said and knocked Gareth on the head with a small amount of force.


    ''''Now I really hope Hina manages to win her bracket.'''' Reyes smiles, hoping that her daughter would perform well.


    Miun giggled as he saw Gareth''s and Alaric''s antics. Cultivation was a strange thing and did even stranger things to ages of those who practiced it. If an outsider saw Gareth and Alaric side to side they would think that they were brothers. Despite Alaric being way, way older than Gareth.


    Reyes who was younger than Gareth, but behind him in cultivation would still grow to look even older.


    ''''Miun, don''t think too much of it,'''' Hui-Lu said as she noticed her protege''s curious look. ''''Even I don''t know how old Alaric is or the realm he has reached.'''' She said and shook her head.


    ''''Eh? Master doesn''t know either?'''' Miun gasped. ''''What about Gareth or Reyes?'''' She asked with a whisper.


    ''''I remember meeting Reyes when he was a child, and Gareth was already a fine young man back then.'''' Hui-Lu reminisced.


    ''And how old are you then, and when was that ''''back then'''' anyway?'' Miun almost blurted out. Her master never answered that, nomatter how much she wished to know. I guess woman''s secret must always stay a secret.


    ''''Miun.'''' Hui-Lu suddenly called out, startling Miun for a second. Did she somehow pick up what she was thinking?


    ''''Y-yes what is it, Master?'''' Miun stammered.


    ''''Since you''re so concerned with how old everyone around you is, then why don''t you take up interest in one of the various young masters at the Tertiary Dragon Sect.. Or maybe someone like Young Roman fits your particular tastes?'''' Hui-Lu said, with a deadly serious expression.


    ''''Master!'''' Miun cried out. This kind of bullying was too much.


    ''''Eh? Miss. Kitara is interested in marrying to the family? First I have heard of it.'''' Gareth played along. ''''But to have eyes for my nephew, a young boy like him is still innocent in various regards.''''


    ''''I too have a fitting son.'''' Reyes joined in. ''''Rayas is only ten, but a year here or there is nothing for a martial artist such as yourself. But please, could you wait for at-least three more years? But it is not plausible, I understand, and will do my best to have ''''the talk'''' with him sooner than I planned.''''


    Ahem! Alaric cleared his throat.


    ''''I must apologize, all of my children are a bit too seasoned. But if you are willing to wait for fourteen years then...'''' Alaric began.


    ''''I-I...I...hmph....HMPH!!!'''' Miun stuttered, groaned and stood up. And soon her figure floated away from the VIP section, accompanied by a roaring laughter.


    <hr>


    ''I wonder what Grandpa and elders are laughing about. Must be a joyous occasion.'' Ophelia thought and saw a figure walking towards Ophelia and CO''s seats.


    This figure belonged to a woman who was beautiful beyond belief. Long eyelashes, abundant chest and long and lithe limbs. Her loose azure colored robe and her flustered pink face only enhanced her attractiveness. ''Who is this woman, she was sitting in the VIP stands...''


    Miun who had been bullied by her master and the hosts had fled the VIP section, she didn''t have any sort of plan where she was going. Only by coincidence she saw few empty seats and decided to take a seat on one of them. ''These are suitably far away...'' Miun thought.


    Although it was her first instinct to just leave the whole area she knew she couldn''t do that. She was bound by duty to be present and rate the youngsters. She couldn''t just leave because of being embarrassed. ''''Um, hello?'''' A voice suddenly came from a seat next to hers.


    ''She sat right next to me, shouldn''t I say something?'' Was Ophelia''s first thought. So she simply greeted her, trying to make the first contact.


    As Miun turned around she could see Ophelia and Hina sitting next to her, along with their servants. ''Well, this is a pleasant surprise.'' Miun thought. ''''Hello.'''' She greeted back and smiled.


    ''''You are the Tertiary Dragon Sect''s Envoy? How come you came here?'''' Hina asked suddenly with her dull voice.


    ''''Eh?'''' Ophelia exclaimed. ''''You are the Tertiary Dragon Sect''s envoy?'''' Ophelia''s eyes flashed interest.


    Miun nodded, there was no denying her azure robes and the sect symbol on her back. ''''Yes, I came to look at the best prospects up close.'''' A lie was quickly spun. She obviously wouldn''t tell the real reason she rushed from the VIP stands.


    ''''Ah, I am the best prospect!'''' A voice suddenly came from a seat which was empty just a second ago.


    ''''Ah, Dina when did you arrive?'''' Ophelia asked while Miun turned her head to look at Dina.


    ''''Oh no, I was speaking about Ms. Ophelia and Ms. Hina.'''' Miun bluntly denied. If Dina''s inner ''me'' was visible it would be curled up in a fetal position holding its head.


    ''''Mm...blunt force trauma...'''' Hina noted.


    ''''Of course! Offy is going to win the whoooooole thing!'''' Dina exclaimed and grinned at Hina. Implying she was going to have a bad time, while visibly ignoring Miun''s comment.


    ''''Ms. Dina you have also already reached Stage 3 of Qi Awakening. So I look forward to seeing your progress in the future.'''' Miun gave some words of encouragement.


    Meanwhile, the announcer had walked on the stage and notified that Julio Drakern has withdrawn from the competition.


    ''''Your winning spree continues!'''' Dina grinned mischievously.


    ''''Mm...you''ve worked hard,'''' Hina added.


    ''''You have made it to the Top 16. Congratulations.'''' Miun earnestly congratulated.


    ''I hate you guys...'' Ophelia thought and smiled. ''''Thank you for your support Ms. Envoy.''''


    ''''Ah, I don''t believe I introduced myself. How thoughtless of me. Miun Kitara, core disciple of Tertiary Dragon Sect. I am also the current head representative of the disciples of our sect.'''' Miun introduced herself.


    ''''Eh? You''re a disciple?'''' Ophelia gasped. ''''Tertiary Dragon Sect''s disciples have the authority to decide who gets into Combat Schools or not?''''


    ''''Well not exactly,'''' Miun admitted. ''''We only scout and recommend students. Those who have been given highest recommendations do not have to take part in an entrance examination. But those who don''t still have to be examined by the teachers.'''' Miun explained.


    ''''Wait, since you a core disciple doesn''t that mean you''re really strong?'''' Ophelia''s eyes flashed.


    ''''Well, I am one of the core disciples, so it should be clear that I am strong. Only around 0.1% of all the disciples become core disciples.'''' Miun smirked.


    ''''Wait...'''' Ophelia said, her brain began to work at quick speed. ''0.1% really? So she is a super elite? If there are 100,000 disciples in a sect that would mean only 100 of them would be core disciples? 100 of them would get more resources and better treatment. It could be said that sects are only made to groom that top 0.1%. The other 99.9% would do chores, prove as sparring partners, go to do missions to get rewards for themselves and the sect, so that sect could better groom the 0.1%''


    Miun''s smirk became even wider when she saw Ophelia''s serious expression. ''''Haha, don''t you worry. With your talent, you will catch up to me soon. And when you become an official disciple of the Tertiary Dragon Sect you will have access to so much.'''' Miun reassured.


    ''''But to become a core disciple...only 0.1% can make it. How many disciples did you have at the Tertiary Dragon Sect again?'''' Ophelia asked, bit intimidated.


    ''''Hm? Although Tertiary Dragon Sect is only a third tier sect we have a five-star qualification. So we are one of the top third tier sects in all of Kehssa.'''' Miun said proudly, only to see Ophelia tilt her head in confusion. ''''Wait, you are not insinuating that you haven''t been told anything about how sects work? About the [Star System] either?''''


    ''''Well I know that sects are big groups that gather individuals with certain beliefs, and if you want to become a great warrior and martial artist you should seek to join one of them. Is that wrong?'''' Ophelia asked innocently. ''Well, I did read loads of fiction about how they work but I cannot assume anything.'' She thought to herself.


    ''''Well you are not wrong about that, but I guess I can educate you a bit more.'''' Miun smiled politely, but her eyes shifted to Hina who stood up. ''''Are you not going to listen? This is a good opportunity to you as well?''''


    ''''Nn...'''' Hina grunted and pointed towards the dueling ground. ''''It''s my turn.''''


    ''''Oh, I guess there is no helping it. I promise to go this over with you as well, alright?'''' Miun consoled.


    ''''...Thank you.'''' Hina thanked and bowed.


    ''How rare, she actually thanked someone.'' Ophelia thought as Hina stepped into the stage to face her next opponent.


    ''''Alright then, before I answer your question about how many members there are in our sect. I need tell you a bit about the Star System.'''' Miun began.


    ''''Listen up! Star System is a method to rank both sects strength, their capability to perform missions and the sects disciples. There are two different [Star Rankings] withinthe Star System. There is the [Sect Star Ranking] and [Warrior Star Ranking]. I will begin with the Sect Star Ranking.'''' Miun continued.


    ''''In the case of third-grade sects there are not much you need to achieve to be granted star ratings. Each [Bronze Star] reflects a certain number of students in the sect. In the case of third-grade sects, it is 10,000 students for each star and 5,000 students for half a star.


    However for a sect to gain a [Silver Star] and become a second tier sect they need something more than just numbers. But since we are not speaking about second tier sects I will leave it at that.


    Warrior Star Ranking, on the other hand, goes from one-star bronze to five-star gold star ranking, even on small third tier sects. Your star ranking also determines which rewards and resources you will receive from the sect each month.


    Warrior Star Ranking is determined by various different manners. For example, the first tier of bronze stars is determined by your contribution to the sect and the missions you have done. Meaning it is relatively easy to raise your personal bronze star ranking. However silver star ranking is harder to raise.


    To advance in stars inside the silver star ranking one needs to perform adequately in sparring and competitions. One also need to have a certain level of cultivation. Even if you perform well, if your cultivation is low, you will not advance.


    Gold star ranking is the most difficult to achieve. Warrior would need to actually take part in five-star missions and perform well enough to make a positive difference, win in major tournaments inside and outside of the sect. And win at competitions between different sects. Or simply to display superiority in power and high levels of cultivation. Well, that is the gist of it. But remember, Star Ranking, in the end, is just a ranking that decides your rewards and prestige you have in the sect.'''' Miun concluded.


    ''''And what does that mean?'''' Ophelia immediately asked.


    ''''Well, it means that even if you do get to silver stars or gold stars, it doesn''t mean that you are the top disciple and are ranked top. Combat Ranking is completely different, and is a measurement of your actual fighting ability and prowess.'''' Miun explained. ''''For example, you and Roman.''''


    ''''What do you mean?'''' Ophelia tilted her head.


    ''''Just that. Both of you are at the sixth stage of Qi Awakening. Your cultivation is the same, but your combat ability is clearly quite different. And this can be easily seen from your first battles. Where as Roman was graceful and elegant in his movements, you were powerful and unrestrained.'''' Miun explained.


    ''''Although you two are at the same level, your abilities, knowledge, strategy is on different levels, and it will all play a role in your own combat strength. This is why some geniuses who are few stages below their opponents manage to win. Not with power, but a skill for battle, get it?'''' Miun concluded.


    ''''Yeah, I got it.'''' Ophelia nodded and thought back to her original question.'''' So how many core disciple''s do the Tertiary Dragon Sect have? If Tertiary Dragon Sect is a five star, third tier sect, it means you have over 50,000 disciples right? So around fifty core disciples? Where do you rank among them?''''


    ''''Fifty? No, no. I said around 0.1% not exactly! We actually have just 23 core disciples. And I am currently third ranked, although that will change when I get back.'''' Miun smiled.


    ''''...I see...'''' Ophelia never knew how fierce the competition in the sect is, this was a good eye opener for her. ''To maximize my chances of becoming a core disciple I need to work harder!'' Ophelia thought with conviction.


    ''''There are even more things that you would need to learn when you attend our sect. For example, there are different studies one can apply to learn. For example, alchemy or blacksmithing. There are even factions dedicated to different arts like array formations or Scripture arts.'''' Miun explained.


    ''''I think I am being overwhelmed here,'''' Ophelia admitted.


    ''''There is no rush to these things, not for you at least since you are still so young.'''' Miun comforted.


    ''I am older than you! At least mentally, I hope. She can''t be even close to thirty...'' Ophelia reasoned.


    ''''When I arrive at the Tertiary Dragon Sect I...'''' Ophelia began only to be interrupted by bubbling audience. As she looked to the stage Ophelia saw Hina and her opponent bleeding.


    ''''Oh! They are really getting into it!'''' Miun exclaimed.


    ''''This one seems to be a bad match for Hina,'''' Ophelia remarked.


    ''''Kaia''s physique is not only taller, and it seems she has cultivated Hard Leather Body to a high level,'''' Dina said, startling Ophelia.


    ''''You were still here!'''' Dina has been really quiet through their whole conversation. No doubt absorbing the information Miun had so kindly provided.


    ''''But of course, I wouldn''t risk missing see her fight,'''' Dina explained while pointing towards Kaia. Ophelia simply shrugged. ''Of course, you wouldn''t cheer for a friend.''


    In the middle of the stage, Hina''s rapidly moving punches hit her opposition time after time. ''''Windless Fist!'''' Hina proclaimed, her voice louder than usual. Her punches each sped forward and collided into Kaia''s body.


    However, instead of being staggered, she held on strong. Answering Hina''s punches with her own. Kaia''s long brown hair wavered back and worth as both exchanged blows. ''''Pthui!'''' Kaia spat out a glob of blood.


    ''''Persistent! Give up already!'''' Taller and older girl groaned as she pushed onward, channeling Qi to her hand. ''''Crush!'''' Kaia exclaimed.


    However, a large attack like that was bound to miss. Hina had the advantage in nearly every single category. But Kaia who was two years older had trained many elementary techniques. Her basic Qi enhanced strikes were as deadly as some actual martial techniques. However, Kaia was at Stage 4 of Qi Awakening, inferior to Hina.


    In the end, after an arduous battle, Hina had pummeled Kaia into a condition where she could no longer catch her or dodge her attacks. ''''Storm Wheel Sweep!'''' Hina spun around and her right leg which was covered in whirling wind, swept under Kaia''s legs and knocked her down.


    Hina pressed her leg over frustrated Kaia''s chest as she was ruled as the winner of the match. ''''Hina Drakern wins and moves onto eight round!'''' Announcer roused the crowd to cheer Hina, who quickly left the stage and rejoined Ophelia, Dina & Miun.


    Miun began to explain things to Hina, and Ophelia listened to the same explanation twice. It only solidified Ophelia''s belief that she should work harder. Winning the tournament would be the first tiny step on her long road.


    <hr>


    As the seventh round came to a close, there was surprise announcement from the announcer and referee. Apparently one of the elders of Drakern family wished to speak about something. Ophelia could recognize Gareth as the Pavilion Master in charge of various martial art manuals.


    ''''First of all, congratulations to everyone who have made it this far.'''' Gareth began. ''''It has become apparent that the talent in this year''s Youth Evaluation is higher than usual, and thanks to this it seems that many will get the privilege to enroll to our local Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House.''''


    Gareth produced a wooden box from his robes and held it for people to see.


    ''''For the sake of this occasion, I have prepared a great reward for all of you,'''' Gareth spoke and opened the lid of the wooden box. Eight black pellets were sitting on the box. Each pelletradiated energy.


    ''''This is a Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet, I have eight of them right here. And those who become bracket champions get to take one home with them.'''' Gareth continued. ''''I am sure everyone knows at least a little bit about Wyrms, or more commonly known as Sea Serpent. Although they are not true dragons, their blood still holds amazing benefits towards cultivation. I have no doubts that even a junior who is only at the first stage of Qi Awakening would directly jump at the peak of Qi Awakening after soaking their bodies in this medicine.''''


    By mentioning the benefit of the medicine Gareth was holding, it was like a cow was thrown into a pool of hungry piranhas. The crowd was getting more and more excited and fighting spirit between all the contestant suddenly took a sudden rise.


    ''Liar, Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet is a reinforcing medicine.'' Miun thought and smiled. ''Although it is a great medicine there is no way for anyone to advance that quickly. However, the constitutionof their bodies would almost double. Their physical prowess would see massive increases, without affecting their actual cultivation.''


    ''''I will need to go all out next time!'''' Ophelia exclaimed. To gainrewards that can escalate her cultivation by such a huge amount, how could she let it slip past her fingers? Hina''s eyes also burned with yearning, she would also do her best.


    While Ophelia and even Hina were getting pumped up for their next matches, no one saw Dina clench her fists, her fingernails burying themselves into her palms, drawing blood.


    ''''I wish for all contestant here the best of luck.'''' Gareth finished and shut the lid of the box, and returned to his VIP stand.


    ''''Let the eighth round of the tournament begin! Contestants Karwin and Farr¨¦n, please step up on the stage and prove your mettle!'''' Announcer howled as two young men stepped on the stage.


    Karwin was still only fourteen years old and had already reached Stage 5 of Qi Awakening. His average height and appearance aside, he wore a black hoodie, ripped jeans and a bandana covering his face, so it was hard to tell what he looked like. His hands were located in the pockets of his jeans and he generally looked like the fight didn''t really matter much to him.


    Farr¨¦n, on the other hand, wore atraditional white silky gown which many practitioners wore. His posture was upright and he held two distinct silver gauntlets on his hands.


    <u>Round 8, Match 1: Karwin vs Farr¨¦n</u>


    ''''Three...two...one...Begin!'''' announcer screeched, and as he did so both boys moved.


    The battle between Karwin and Farr¨¦n quickly developed into a close combat fight. Farr¨¦n''s shiny gauntlets cut the air as he tried to connect with Karwin, who was mainly evading and avoiding Farr¨¦n''s offense.


    After thirty-second first engagement, it was Farr¨¦n who disengaged first. He was frowning and visibly upset at Karwin who was only evading him.


    ''''Are you a chicken?'''' Farr¨¦n taunted, only to gain a yawn as a response.


    ''''Yawn...are you done with this little exhibition?'''' Karwin yawned.


    ''''Y-you mock me!'''' Farr¨¦n roared and burst forward. Another exchange began. Karwin once again avoiding Farr¨¦n''s strikes, but this time Karwin used his hands to help deflect some blows.


    ''''Aargh!'''' Farr¨¦n howled in frustration. ''''You damn coward, can''t you do anything other than ru-urgh!'''' At that moment Karwin''s fist bored into Farr¨¦n''s stomach.


    ''''You really are simple, aren''t you?'''' Karwin mocked. ''''You keep on attacking me with the most basic, nameless martial art forms and you actually expect me to take you seriously? Not only that, but you have no defense, didn''t you see I already took the hands out of my pockets? What do you think these hands are for?'''' Karwin mocked and let his hands fly.


    ''''Y-you!'''' Farr¨¦n stuttered as he was pelted by numerous quick punches. Farr¨¦n became desperate and hit his gauntlets together. As he did this he became surrounded by a faint Qi.


    Karwin''s fists felt the difference immediately. ''''A ward? I am not going to judge but...'''' Karwin spoke as his speed dramatically increased, and he circled behind Farr¨¦n. ''''...spending coin to purchase an item to increase defense seems foolish, if I were you I would have spent it on cultivation resources instead.'''' Karwin finished as his hand wrapped Farr¨¦n into a headlock.


    Karwin''s higher cultivation base completely suppressed Farr¨¦n''s gauntlet''s protective properties, and after a brief struggle, Farr¨¦n was choked unconscious.


    ''''Winner is Karwin Drakern, next match will begin shortly!'''' The announcer shouted as Farr¨¦n''s unconscious body was removed. Karwin was congratulated and immediately rewarded with a small red box containing Spring Vitae Root and Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet.


    After receiving his prize, Karwin immediately left the tournament area. There was no doubt what he was thinking about.


    <hr>


    ''''Well...that was easy,'''' Ophelia commented as she saw Farr¨¦n being carted away.


    ''''Hu hu hu, that is thanks to the difference between cultivation realm and attitude.'''' Miun giggled and continued. ''''Although Farr¨¦n''s defense improved thanks to the warding inscription on his gauntlets, it wasn''t enough. By cutting off the brain''s oxygen supply it doesn''t matter how tenacious or strong a fighter is, without oxygen a brain cannot operate and a fighter would be rendered unconscious.''''


    ''If that were the case, wouldn''t everyone just learn to wrestle and grapple?'' Ophelia thought.


    ''''Please don''t joke around, Ms. Envoy,'''' Hina spoke. ''''When you reach a certain level you will be able to breathe through your skin, so things like grappling become less effective.''''


    ''''Hm?'''' Miun tilted her head. ''''I don''t think you fully understood what I was saying,'''' Miun smirked, without bothering to explain Hina''s misunderstanding. They would figure out what she meant in time, or they wouldn''t. ''''Maybe one day.''''


    ''''So!'''' Miun pre-emptively interrupted any possible interruptions. ''''Next will be your turn Ms. Ophelia, excited to fight again?''''


    ''''Hardly, there is no one who is worth to fight other than Roman and Hina.'''' Ophelia shrugged. ''''But I am still going to still go all out. I want to study the properties of those medicines.'''' Ophelia smirked.


    ''''My, what confidence.'''' Miun smiled and placed a hand on her cheek.


    ''''Hina is the strongest of all fifth stage warriors and Roman is the only six stage warrior, other than me. It is difficult to bridge a gap between a stage, even if we are just Qi Awakening realm.'''' Ophelia reasoned while getting a glance from Hina before she turned away and mumbled something.


    ''''Anyway, I need to stretch and prepare a little,'''' Ophelia said and stood up from her cushioned seat. ''''It was great to speak to you Ms. Miun, now please excuse me.''''


    ''''Alright, it is important after all,'''' Miun replied as Ophelia turned away and left.


    ''''Ms. Envoy?'''' Blonde next to her asked.


    ''''Yes, what is it Ms. Hina?''''


    ''''Do you believe that Ophelia can win the whole tournament, and how powerful do you think she actually is?'''' Hina inquired. Dina also leaned over, it was uncharacteristic of Hina to spy on others as she usually only cared about herself.


    ''''Concerned?'''' Miun began to tease, but after she turned and saw how serious Hina''s face was she decided to drop it. It seems she truly expects a clear answer. ''''If I am going to be perfectly honest...''''


    Miun began and intentionally paused for an uncomfortable amount of time before finishing.


    ''''...she has no chance.''''


    <hr>


    <u>Round 8, Match 2: Ophelia vs Essrin</u>


    After ten having a ten minute of downtime, an announcement for Ophelia and another girl named Essrin to take the stage came. Ophelia was wearing her white sporty get-up while Essrin was dressed in a typical red martial art silks.


    The first instinct for Essrin was to give up before the fight could have even begun. However, the Wyrm Blood had changed everything. Essrin had a strong affinity for water techniques and Wyrm Blood could be a massive boon to her.


    So despite her being tired of multiple days of fighting and slight injuries she still took the stage. On the VIP seats, Alaric watched the unfolding battle with clear interest. How deep did Ophelia''s skill go, and could Essrin even provide good enough challenge for Ophelia?


    ''''Essrin is fifteen, not only that she is one of the older people in the tournament, turning sixteen next week. She barely reached the fifth stage before the tournament and is already exhausted. Maybe rousing the spirits of the youngsters were not that good of an idea.'''' Alaric shook his head.


    ''''Father, it is better than Ophelia taking my Wyrm Blood for free,'''' Gareth spoke against his father.


    ''''We will see, I just don''t want to see a child to be needlessly hurt.'''' Alaric sighed.


    Meanwhile, on the stage, Ophelia and Essrin had come face to face.


    ''''While I understand the temptation I would advise against fighting with me,'''' Ophelia said impassively.


    ''''Sorry Lil'' Miss, since I came this far I am not about to give in here,'''' Essrin said and brought her fists together in front of her.


    ''''Good...'''' Ophelia mumbled, stealthily licking her upper lip.


    ''''BEGIN!'''' The announcement came, and Ophelia immediately sprang forward. Without using any big techniques, both girls traded multiple blows, blocks, and dodges.


    Little by little, both of the fighters began to enhance each of their arms with Qi. However, unlike Ophelia who merely enhanced her striking ability and speed, Essrin applied an elemental enhancement on her hands.


    The water that now coated Essrin''s arms was unclear and heavy. Each of Ophelia'' blows which were blocked by Essrin''s technique harder. Suddenly the water on Essrin''s right hand became more active and was rippling.


    ''''Rippling Tide Blade!'''' Essrin exclaimed as she swung one of her arms. At that moment water on that arm extended into a form of a small sword. If not for Ophelia''s quick reflexes she could have been badly hurt by it. Instead of taking the blow full on, she had managed to take few steps back.


    She had once again been saved by her higher cultivation base, natural instincts, and knowledge of various stories. It was because of all of those things that had Ophelia never lost a focus on Essrin''s arms. However, a small cut was left on her shoulder as a reminder that Essrin''s blade was dangerous.


    ''Of course there would be a blade or a projectile launched from her arm. A passive coating of arms that never turn into either projectile or an extension almost never happens. I was right to be on alert.'' Ophelia summed and licked her upper lip again.


    ''''Nice technique.'''' Ophelia complimented and took a stance, putting her arms close to the sides of her body. Ophelia stepped forward strongly and soon she was closer to Essrin. However before she reached the striking distance she began to do a weird rocking motion by first lagging one of her legs behind her, supporting her balance with her frontal leg and switching the position of her back legs to either side she wished to rock towards. Thanks to that she completely slipped past Essrin''s Rippling Tide Blade.


    Getting through the guard, Ophelia launched a vicious blow to Essrin''s stomach. Essrin tried to mask her discomfort by trying to hit Ophelia with her blade. However, the weird movement continued and Ophelia''s other hand also connected to pit of Essrin''s stomach.


    After their exchange Ophelia took distance. ''Ginga movement seems to be effective on her.'' Ophelia thought whilesmiling. Ophelia had been a martial arts enthusiast in her previous life, and she had spent a lot of her time sponging up different techniques from various different martial arts. Although many people disliked Capoeira for its flashy movements, not all of them were useless or unnecessary.


    ''Maybe I should create my own school in time, and teach my own hybrid martial art?'' Ophelia smirked and took another stance, however this time it was a lot more conventional. A simple boxing stance of a slugger variation.


    ''''Essrin, while I would love to do this dance for a while longer I still need to pace myself for tomorrow. No hard feelings.'''' Ophelia said and concentrated more Qi on her arms. Opening her clenched fists revealed a smocking veil of steam, which rose upwards. Both of Ophelia''s hands were gleaming with a pink hue.


    ''''Hmph, using mere Rising Vapor Hands to combat my Rippling Water Blade? And you act that cocky!'''' Essrin spat as both of the girls rushed against each other.


    Meanwhile, on the VIP seats, Gareth smirked. In mere days Ophelia had managed to become proficient in using two different martial techniques. One of them was the Flayed Steam Palm which was a freshly developed martial technique that Gareth had derived from one of the techniques of his own, Steam King Art.


    Alaric noticed the similarity immediately. ''''Gareth, you...'''' But before he could finish Gareth interrupted him.


    ''''No Father, I didn''t impart her with my Steam King Art''s Surging Flare Fist. This is an incomplete version of Surging Flare Fist, I affectionally call it Flaying Steam Palm.'''' Gareth began.


    ''''Ophelia came to the Martial Art Pavillion for the first time earlier this month, since I rarely see my brother''s children it took me a few seconds to recognize her. But she sure looks like her mother.'''' Gareth laughed before continuing.


    ''''Since it was her first time at the Martial Pavillion I decided to give her something good. So I took a few minutes to write down an incomplete version of Surging Flare Fist. Because of her low cultivation and her age it is not possible for her to learn the real deal. Maybe after her Qi becomes liquefied, so basically there are no risks, as her body cannot even begin to store steam into it in a first place.'''' Gareth reasoned.


    ''''Although she is just at the beginning of her road as a martial artist I cannot understand why you would impact her with a technique like this one. It must consume a huge amount of her Qi to manifest enough steam for her attacks. We don''t even know if she has good affinity with Fire and Water elements in the first place. And you just go ahead and blindly give her a Steam technique to practice?'''' Alaric grumbled.


    ''''I agree with you Father. Brother, how weak can Flaying Steam Palm possibly be? Even without being complimented by Surging Flare Engine technique it must still be at-least a Peak Uncommon or perhaps even a Low Rare tier technique. Parting strong techniques like there to a newbie is pretty irresponsible. She could have hurt herself or other while practicing it.'''' Reyes joined in.


    ''''And here she goes, it seems that it victory for Ms. Ophelia,'''' Hui-Lu said and brought the men''s attention back to the fighting stage.


    On the stage Essrin was looking terrible, her opponent had been too fast and had unpredictable movements. Combined with the sizzling hot steam erupting from her palms it made it hard for Essrin to mount any kind of offense without spending extra Qi to protect her body from her opponent''s hot hands. Even the water which coated her hands began to heat up thanks to Ophelia''s technique. Essrin understood quickly that the technique her opponent was using was not a mere Common technique called Rising Vapor Hands.


    That is why Essrin prepared herself for one last attack. All the water on her left hand transferred to her right hand and formed a sizeable water blade. ''''Rippling Tide Blade: Longsword Mode!'''' Essrin exclaimed as she showed off her newest attack. Essrin brought her left hand on top of her right wrist and lifted the water blade.


    Ophelia could feel Essrin''s will to fight and accepted the final confrontation, as her own will to win flared up. She made up her mind to launch a projectile version of her Flaying Steam Palm. Lots of Qi began to accumulate on her hands.


    Essrin swung her blade of Qi across the floor in front of her, leaving a gash on the ground to prove that she was serious. She then took few slow steps forward before her steps turned into a jog, then a sprint. Her hands began to trail to her side as they held up her blade, ready for a mighty swing.


    Ophelia calmly widened her stance and readied her left hand, visible puffs of steam were erupting from her shaking fist which gathered steam like a pressure cooker and turning bright red.


    ''''Hm?'''' At the same time on the VIP stands Gareth had noticed something alarming. ''''Father, excuse me because of this. Inner Eye of Observation!'''' Gareth chanted as a white circular mark appeared on his forehead.


    Gareths own eyes became pure white as he observed both Ophelia and Essrin. Gareth''s eyes both worked independently of each other and soon he came to a sudden realization which caused him to gulp.


    ''''Father, it seems I have underestimated my Niece. Ophelia has already mastered the basics of Steam Flaying Palm and her attack will be way too much for Essrin to handle!'''' Gareth stated, clearly agitated.


    ''''Wait, you mean that-'''' Alaric began but was interrupted.


    ''''Damn, this clash will kill her!'''' Reyes stood up.


    Alaric quickly made a decision as he stood up. ''''The match is over!'''' His voice bellowed and echoed on the area, however, what was said landed on deaf ears.


    Essrin had closed their distance and was only about ten meters away from Ophelia. ''Just a little bit closer''!


    ''She is not approaching me, is her attack is not ready yet? If so then this is a chance, Just a little bit further!'' Essrin thought on her mind as her steps accelerated.


    Due to the excitement of the opponent in front of them, neither combatant had heard that the match had been called.


    9...


    8...


    7...


    6...


    ''''HAAAAA!'''' Essrin began her warcry, her left hand gripping her right wrist even tighter than before.


    5 meters!


    ''''Flaying Steam Palm!'''' Ophelia yelled and swung her left fist forward, opening it as she did. A terrifying cloud of hot steam erupted from her small fist. The eruption of steam expanded quickly and became unavoidably wide.


    Essrin''s eyes dilated in horror, the amount of released Qi, the sudden appearance of a thick cloud of steam and a burning sensation had all hit her at once. She immediately canceled her own offensive move and coated herself with as much Qi as she could muster.


    People around the area, including Miun, Hina and Dina watched in horror as Essrin was absorbed into the thick cloud. Miun understood better than most what this kind of attack could do a beginner. However, she had also barely seen additional movement in the arena.


    Just as the steam hit and began to scald the skin on Essrin''s face, she quickly felt a soothing stream surround her. A bubble of water had encased her and held her gently in the air. Gareth stood in the middle of the mist, between Essrin and Ophelia.


    ''''HA!''''


    With a sharp yelp, a quick discharge of Qi blew away all of Ophelia''s steam and the middle of the stage became revealed. Essrin gently landed on the ground as the sphere made out of water hit the floor and splashed around.


    Gareth looked at the referee, then both combatants and came out with a result. ''''Ms. Ophelia''s offensive attack was too destructive to let the match play out naturally. Ophelia waited and baited for Ms. Essrin to come into a distance where she could do nothing but take a full force of the blow. Because Ms. Essrin didn''t figure out her opponents ploy to reel her in and forced emergency measures to be taken to save her, this fight is Ms. Ophelia''s victory.''''


    Essrin who was rubbing the small burn marks on her face looked distraught. She knew that if Gareth didn''t step in to save her, she would have been a patient on a medical ward for an extended period of time. Essrin could only nod at Gareth''s decision. It was her dumb mistake to not consider a projectile attack.


    ''''W-winner is Ophelia Drakern!'''' Announcer finally announced the decision and the combatants left the stage. Essrin went to medical ward to get her burns looked at while Ophelia walked with Gareth till they reached outside of the main area.


    ''''Congratulations Ms. Ophelia, here is your reward for winning the second bracket.'''' Gareth produced a box that held three things: Scroll with a Rare technique, Spring Vitae Root & Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet.


    ''''Thank you, Pavillion Master!'''' Ophelia thanked and bowed, extending her hands to grasp the box. As she did Gareth spoke.


    ''''You have grown magnificently, not even in my wildest dreams I would have expected you to master these techniques so quickly. You may even learn a little bit of this Rare technique, but I suggest that you consume the Spring Vitae Root with haste. No doubt the other tournament winners are going to do so as well.'''' Gareth smiled as he let go of the treasures.


    ''''However, do not attempt to directly consume the Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet. If you try to consume it without the right knowledge, you will die.'''' Gareth finished.


    ''''Thank you for your guidance Pavillion Master, but how should it be consumed. If direct consumption is forbidden?''''


    ''''I will tell you the proper way to consume it after the Youth Evaluation concludes. If you become one of the top three there will be many more doors opened and for you.'''' Gareth spoke as he began to walk back into the arena, returning to the VIP seats.


    Ophelia opened the box she gained and took a quick glance before closing it. ''Wonderful, with these items I will definitely...''


    ''''Congratulations Miss! I knew you could do it.'''' Ophelia turned around and saw a short brunette girl looking at her with admiration.


    ''''Thank you Aino, however, I must continue to give you a tiresome task to spy on others the rest of the day. I need to indulge in my rewards.'''' Ophelia said apologetically.


    ''''No need to apologize, I am here to be useful for you. I will be there to wake you up tomorrow.'''' Aino curtsied and swayed back to the seats to watch more matches.


    ''Haa, her movements are just too much sometimes.'' Ophelia thought while shaking her head slightly, before returning to her courtyard to experiment and learn more about her gains.


    <hr>


    ''''That was dangerous,'''' Hui-Lu commented.


    ''''Truly, how long have you been teaching her Gareth?'''' Alaric inquired as he looked at his son with a doubtful look.


    Gareth shrugged.


    ''''I haven''t been teaching her anything. I gave her the material and she learned it all on her own.'''' Gareth smiled. As he did, he could see eyes around him widen, but no one denied what he had said. Gareth was known to be reliable and would not lie about things like taking a disciple.


    ''''For her to be only thirteen, and learn two different types of techniques like Flaying Steam Palm and Illusionary Finger. Just what kind of talent is that?'''' Hui-lu mumbled and was deep in thought.


    ''''Potentially a match for Elder Brother''s talent,'''' Gareth stated.


    ''''Ignis'' talent huh? First, he has three heaven defying sons and a daughter, and now his youngest son is also showing great promise and his daughter shows the largest amount of talent in our family''s history since him.'''' Alaric spoke.


    ''''It will be quite an interesting year,'''' Hui-Lu began. ''''I cannot wait to see how fast she will develop after she enroll''s to my school.''''


    A feverish discussion that began would continue on, and the attention of the elders would rarely shift back into the fighting stage. Even when the event was over for the day, elders continued their heated discussion to the middle of the night.

 Chapter IV: The Generation of Geniuses

    After her eighth round of combat had ended, and she had been crowned the champion of the second bracket, Ophelia had returned back to her own courtyard and was now sitting on the grass carpet, holding a wooden box in her hands.


    As she loosened the lid of the box, a refreshing scent of spring wafted out and tickled Ophelia''s nose. For a moment she could see herself walking along a quiet path, surrounded by budding birch trees. This serene feeling made her relax as she opened the box in full.


    On the middle of the box laid the so called Spring Vitae Root, which wiggled as if it was still alive. The vitality simply oozed from the green-yellowish root. Its appearance was similar to that of persons, the head of the root was bulbous and its carrot-like main body had four extending appendixes. While the main ''''body'''' and ''''head'''' of the root were bright green, each ''''limb'''' had a more sickly yellow color.


    Ophelia was instinctively drawn to the weird root, so she let her eyes wander freely. However soon she could see something appear in front of her. It was a typical window she would see when she looked at her own status or techniques she had mastered.


    <table width="643" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" bgcolor="#004b7a">


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    <u>Spring Vitae Root</u>


    A vitality and endurance enhancing medicine. Especially effective for anyone below Martial Foundation Realm. Spring Vitae Roots can be grown at medicinal gardens. Every stalk of Spring Vitae Root is over a hundred years old.


    Effect: +20 Vitality, +10 Endurance.


    Effect II: -50% effectiveness if consumed at Martial Foundation Realm. It has no effect at all when Martial Foundation Realm has been surpassed.


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    ''''Woah...'''' Ophelia gasped as she read about the Spring Vitae Root. This particular medicine was effective only when consumed at the beginning of one''s cultivation journey. The effects of the Spring Vitae Root clearly told Ophelia that it was very expensive medicine. It was clear that not every cultivator could consume this kind of medicine in their youths.


    ''''I am indeed blessed to be born to a generous family who would equally reward its members, based on their merits.'''' Ophelia thought and shifted her eyes to the scroll. After looking at it, she felt a surge of power from it. A skill which was described in the scroll was a technique known as Bronze Body Art, a physical martial art cultivation technique which differed greatly from the spiritual Basic Qi Circulation technique she knew. She also spotted an additional note that had been personally written by Gareth. However, before she even could begin to read it, a system screen popped up, compiling all the essential information.


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    <u>-Bronze Body Art-</u>


    Rarity: Rare


    Grade: Peak


    Type: Passive / Budo


    Requirement: 100 STR, VIT & END / Tempering Bronze Solutions & Virgin Alloy Fruit.


    The Bronze Body Art has five different steps one must complete to attain a complete Bronze Battle Body. These five steps are as follows: Skin Purification, Organ Cleansing, Bone Washing, Muscle Augmentation & Bone Tempering.


    Each of the five steps of Bronze Body Art has three stages to them. Minor Success, Major Success, and Perfection. By mastering Bronze Body Art, a person can stand and fight anyone below Houtian.


    Step I Skin Purification, Minor Success Requirement: Virgin Alloy Fruit & 5 hours of bathing in a Tempering Bronze Solution. Reward: ???


    Step I Skin Purification, Major Success Requirement: ???


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    <hr>


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    <u>Note from Gareth</u>


    Hello, Ophelia. This is the technique I spoke to you about when we met at the Martial Pavillion. This Bronze Body Art is one of the Four Metal Budo Arts. Even if it is the weakest of the four it is still a mandatory stepping stone in a path of Budo.


    Right now you might be confused about what Budo is, and probably you have no idea what Qido actually is either, but do not let it distract you too much. Let''s just say that there are two different kinds of ways to become stronger. Most people, like you, practice Qido which is known as Spiritual Path and leave Budo, or Physical / Martial Path completely unattended. Specializing in one or the other is completely fine, but dabbling and dual cultivating to see which method of the two you prefer is completely alright, in a matter of fact, I encourage it.


    Only by combining intense, physical training with right ingredients as supplements can one walk the path of Budo. However, for a squirt like you to cultivate Bronze Body Art which can typically only be cultivated by a Body Reconstruction martial artist is almost impossible since you are both weak and for the lack of a better term...poor.


    But do not fret yet, along with this Rare Technique I have also given you a sufficient starting point. After you consume the Virgin Alloy Fruit, train yourself to a brink of exhaustion for the Tempering Bronze Solution to take effect. However, do mind that the process of absorbing the Tempering Bronze Solution is remarkably painful. Your success in Budo depends completely on yourself!


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    Ophelia sat down in silence. Her eyes glued to her new Rare Technique, which turned out to be a cultivation technique. But not only was it a new cultivation technique it was also a completely different style of cultivation. There were questions floating in Ophelia''s mind.


    ''''What are the benefits?''''


    ''''How expensive is this thing to cultivate?''''


    ''''How often can I take the Tempering Bronze Solution bath?''''


    ''''How many times I can bathe in a single solution before it loses efficiency?''''


    ''''Where are the Virgin Alloy Fruit & Tempering Bronze Solution?''''


    ...


    ...


    ...


    ''''Where the hell is the Virgin Alloy Fruit & the Tempering Bronze Solutions Gareth spoke of in the note?''''


    ...


    ...


    ...


    She remembered Gareth''s voice in her mind: <u>''''You may even learn a little bit of this Rare technique, but I suggest that you consume the Spring Vitae Root with haste.''''</u>


    Ophelia''s lip was twitching.


    ''''That old geezer...he totally forgot about the Virgin Alloy Fruit & Tempering Bronze Solutions...learn a little bit of it he says. But of course, he would go and forget all about it, talk about a punch to the nuts. Eh, no! I mean, ah, forget it! Shit!''''


    Ophelia put the Bronze Body Art scroll back to the box and took out the fourth item. And the information again flooded her vision. Helpful.


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    <u>1,000-year Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet</u>


    A Coagulated pellet formed with a blood of a sea dwelling dragons, or more commonly known as Wyrm. This pellet has been formed from a blood of an over 1,000-year-old Wyrm. This blood medicine, as all medicines of its kind, will degrade in effect the longer they remain unconsumed.


    This particular pellet is three days old and begins to degrade in another four days.


    A vicious blood medicine like Wyrm Blood is usually heavily contested and only those above Houtian can ingest it. However, by adding a little bit of it to a tea, or by bathing a water with the pellet, it should be possible to gain 20% of the medicinal efficiency. However, absorption in this manner is both wasteful and very time-consuming.


    Effect: Affinity with Water is increased. Vitality, Endurance & Dexterity are increased by 100.


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    An audible gasp released from Ophelia''s lips. She had no idea that she had been given such an amazing gift.


    ''''For the effect to be that great, I am more than happy about the 20%.'''' Ophelia thought as she reread the information on the screen.


    But Ophelia knew that there was no such a thing as a free gift, there always was and had to be a reason, a logical reason for why she and the others would be gifted with such a wonderful treasure. Ophelia thought of it to be an extravagant gift for people like her who had just begun their cultivation journey.


    Although Gareth was part of the Drakern family, they weren''t close, they might not even have been closely related. Although Drakern family was known as a family, it was more like a clan with different branch families, all living on Drakern family residential district with the strongest branch of a family, which would be the main branch. At least that is how Ophelia saw it.


    Ophelia made up her mind to talk to Hina about their theories again. Theories about the truth of their family.


    ''''This is another clue Hina, there are many weird things and they keep piling up,'''' Ophelia said to herself, closing the box full of treasures and stood up. She then retired back to her room, took a quick shower, changed her clothes to loose tee shirt and pants, and finally relaxed.


    She loitered around for about an hour, burned a few sticks of incense to further calm herself. It was her first time absorbing a medicine after all.


    ''''It is time.'''' Ophelia sighed and walked close to a table where she had placed the box before taking a shower. She unlocked the box and held the Spring Vitae Root in her hands before taking a lotus position on a cushioned mattress.


    She took a few deep breaths before taking one final glance at the slightly wriggling ''''limbs'''' of the bizarre looking medicine. Ophelia closed her eyes again and traced the root in her hands.


    ''''Damn, I am stalling. Ahaha~'''' Ophelia proclaimed to herself with a nervous chuckle.


    ''''I mean, its limbs are freaking moving like it''s alive. I-it seems so disgusting. Can''t I cook this thing? Why am I talking to myself, I am stalling again. Fuck, just do it...like a...ugh...whatever.''''


    Ophelia after her procrastination and stalling took a hearty chomp. As her teeth cut through the root''s ''''flesh'''', she could feel an explosion of flavor and juice burst into her mouth. Ophelia could feel tears forming in her eyes.


    ''''G-green apple! It tastes just like a fresh green apple...''''


    She muttered as she took another chomp, her apparent disgust towards the wriggling of the Spring Vitae Root disappeared. She took in deep breaths through her mouth as she ate, trying to take in the flavor of the Spring Vitae Root.


    Apple, a popular and common everyday fruit from back home. However, in the world of Land, fruit like Apple didn''t exist, in fact, there are many common fruits and items that had no substitute here. Apple was one of those fruits.


    For Ophelia this taste was sweet and painful, it was delicious and painful reminder of home. There were things she missed, she used tohave loving parents, a little sister, delicious food, ...friends, and entertainment. Memories can be brought back to surface easily by eating nostalgic food like this.


    ''''Haha...last time I ever saw...her, we ate apples, didn''t we? It has been thirteen years, I wonder if any of them even remember me anymore? If she even remembers me anymore, I hope she is happy, wherever she is.''''


    Ophelia murmured and continued to munch the Spring Vitae Root until it was completely gone.


    As she took the final bite and gulped it down, she could feel a breeze and smell the grass, she could''ve sworn of hearing the shuffling of tree leaves in the wind. The state she had entered had multiple names, some called it the State of Tranquility, others the State of Immersion.


    Ophelia was truly immersed in the after effects of the Spring Vitae Root, and she could feel that a spring had come to her. Even though the spring had brought her painful memories, in the end, it was a season of new beginnings and opportunities.


    Ophelia could feel her cells rejoicing, a warm sensation wrapped her from the inside as the Spring Vitae Root nourished her whole body. She felt a similar feeling of euphoria akin to being a bit drunk, but not too drunk. She could control herself but felt lightheaded, more open and liberal.


    She couldn''t bother sitting formally anymore and laid down, eyes looking at the wooden ceiling. She could feel her body growing warmer, she perspired and her breathing got more labored and rugged.


    ''''C-control yourself Ophelia...it is just a...just a...haa...''''


    A red tinge formed on her tanned cheeks, her body was tingling all over.


    ''''W-what is happening...''''


    <hr>


    ''''I am getting old,'''' Gareth complained as he walked on the streets of Golden-ridge City. He had remembered that he actually forgot to gift Ophelia the Virgin Alloy Fruit and Tempering Bronze Solution while he was watching the rest of the matches. Without these things, she wouldn''t be able to begin her journey as a Dual Cultivator.


    ''It should be fine to show this much affection to a peerless talent like her, right? I mean, it is just a little push, besides Dual Cultivation is the strongest!'' Gareth asked and convinced himself while caressing an ornate ring on his finger.


    ''Bronze Body Art is truly the greatest possible choice for Ophelia. Thankfully I was there to dissuade her from beginning to take the path of ''''leather'''' arts and introduced her to ''''metal'''' arts instead. ''''Leather'''' style, while not completely useless, as they are easier to master but in the end, they lack the lasting power and paths tobecome trulygreat Budo Art. I mean, Bronze Body Art surpassed four of the Qido Realms, that should be all people need to decide which is better, hmph...'' Gareth thought.


    Gareth grumbled while taking strides towards the smaller courtyards allocated to what he and the older generation called ''''seeds'''', because of his quick pace he soon arrived in front of Ophelia''s courtyard. Although it would have been easy to a master like Gareth to just jump past the courtyard wall and the door, he still showed patience like any normal mortal.


    -THUD THUD THUD-


    Gareth slammed the metallic door knocker thrice and waited...


    Then waited for some more...


    No answer...


    ''''But I can sense that she is home, perhaps she didn''t hear me? Well, I still have to give these to her as I promised.'''' Gareth reasoned and pulled the largeish door open and made his way inside Ophelia''s courtyard.


    It was a small and a simple courtyard. All in all, she had a small pond, few cherry trees, a cherrywood table and a set of four chairs, punching machine, stone weights and a spacious thick mat of grass. Well enough space to do all sorts of training and relaxation. Gareth nodded in satisfaction but didn''t still see Ophelia.


    So he took a few steps towards the actual building the courtyard was adjacent to and arrived at a porch, walked up the stairs and tested the door. It was open so he instinctively opened it and took strides inside the wooden halls.


    ''''Ophelia, are you home? I brought the things I forgot,'''' Gareth announced his presence, only to hear a yelp from a room next to him. ''''Ophelia?'''' Gareth questioned and grabbed the door handle.


    ''''N-no! D-don''t open the door, don''t come in!'''' He heard a distressed voice address him, as he instinctively opened the door.


    What he saw was a sweaty Ophelia, flushed bright red, curving her back on a ground, it was a totally compromisingposition to find a girl in. Gareth''s eyes widened a bit before he smirked at the young girl.


    ''''So the spring HAS come for you!'''' Gareth teased.


    ''''N-n-no! It''s not w-what it looks l-like! I-I wasn''t! W-what are you doing here anyway!'''' Ophelia quickly defended and tried to sit back up. If Gareth had a poker face it had completely betrayed him, as he burst into laughter.


    ''''Don''t worry, Spring Vitae Roots side-effects are well known, so you don''t have to be ashamed of it. I will wait outside for you to collect yourself.'''' Gareth explained while still snickering at Ophelia''s misfortune.


    <hr>


    Thirty minutes passed quietly, and finally, Ophelia had gained back enough control of her body to not squirm in the ground in heat. Spring Vitae Root was delicious but dangerous. Dangerlicious.


    Ophelia opened the door of her room and walked out, into the hall, to her porch and finally into her courtyard where he saw Gareth patiently waiting while sitting at the table.


    ''''Oh, so the spring has finally passed?'''' He asked with a schadenfreude grin plastered on his face.


    ''''Ugh, just leave me alone,'''' Ophelia grunted and walked to the table and sat on the side, opposite where Gareth was sitting.


    ''''So!'''' Gareth spoke and looked at Ophelia. ''''It seems that the Spring Vitae Root is taking effect, you seem to ooze with vitality.''''


    ''''Well, now that the terrifying experience is over, I do have to say that I do feel pretty great,'''' Ophelia admitted and looked at her handsand body. She could still feel some warmth, but it wasn''t a hot sensation like before.


    ''''Mm, I hope you will keep doing well so that family would have even more reasons to invest in developing you,'''' Gareth said and traced a beautiful golden ring on his fingers. And in a blink of an eye, two chests appeared on the table. An ornate red and golden chest with a hefty lock, and a wide and flat black chest.


    ''''A storage ring!'''' Ophelia exclaimed. Of course, she would recognize what it was immediatelyafter seeing it. Dimensional pouches, storage rings, infinite chests, hammer space, those were all typical elements in many martial art fictions.


    Gareth placed his hands on both of the chests and a locking mechanism could be heard opening. Then Gareth took an additional key from a keyring he produced from inside his robes and used it to open the bigger, more visible lock on he red chest.


    Ophelia gave a questioning look to Gareth.


    ''''You can never be too careful, having spiritual locks and physical locks along with some formation and arrays placed to protect an item is generally pretty normal when guarding a good piece of treasure,'''' Gareth explained and opened the red chest.


    As the chest revealed its treasure, a cleansing aroma was released. Virgin Alloy Fruit came in the view. It was shaped like a lovely heart symbol, it had a silverish-metal coloration and it looked like it was slightly beating.


    ''''This is a Virgin Alloy Fruit. This is an important medicine which strengthens inner organs and improves body''s natural regeneration capabilities. This medicine also allows one to begin the great path of Budo with an advantage. I can guarantee that you can begin to transmute your mortal body to bronze battle body in no time!'''' Gareth said with pride.


    ''''It sounds really expensive,'''' Ophelia commented, slightly worried.


    ''''Hahahahaha~ It is expensive alright, probably more expensive than the Wyrm Blood I rewarded you with.'''' Gareth laughed.


    ''''And how expensive is that!?'''' Ophelia hurriedly asked as her voice raised up.


    ''''Well, since you are still untainted by otherworldly matters I guess I would need to tell about it using mortal terms.'''' Gareth stated and paused for a bit, organizing his thoughts.


    ''''Well,'''' Gareth began. ''''You probably know that the further a person cultivates the stronger he becomes. Longevity, beauty, and strength are all increased by each realm one reaches. If one is talented in a field of cultivation, they can even become figures that are not unlike saints or gods spoken in legends. Those kinds of people usually have no need for silver or gold, but cultivation resources and materials for armor and weapons.''''


    Ophelia silently nodded, letting Gareth continue.


    ''''Mortals however still have a need for bronze, silver, gold, and platinum are using metals and gems to trade. Because the coins mortals use among each other is the same between all five continents their value is the same everywhere. You know the value of each coin, right?'''' Gareth suddenly asked.


    ''''Of course, hundred copper coins is worth a single silver, a hundred silver is worth a single gold piece and platinum is worth a hundred gold,'''' Ophelia answered dutifully.


    ''''But what does that have to do with the value of the Virgin Alloy Heart?'''' Ophelia then asked.


    ''''Patience, I am getting there,'''' Gareth began. ''''Right, since copper is the lowest currency used by the mortals. A single piece of bread costs about three to five pieces of copper. With a high amount of copper or a bit of silver one can buy plenty of clothes and daily needs. Silver is mainly used as payment currency, while gold is used as a currency of adventurers and soldiers to purchase armor. Platinum is used mainly by the royalty or highly successful business owners.''''


    ''''Still waiting,'''' Ophelia smirked.


    ''''You are so impatient,'''' Gareth shook his head before continuing. ''''Do you know what this is?''''


    Gareth said as he produced a small white bead from his spatial ring. Ophelia''s eyes gleamed with curiosity.


    ''''Is that a Spiritual Pill?'''' Ophelia asked. In many stories at her old world, Spiritual Pills were the main currency used by cultivators. They had an effect of replenishing spiritual power and they also helped in the process of cultivation.


    ''''You would be correct, now tell me how much is this low-level Spiritual Pill actually worth, in the mortal currency,'''' Gareth asked while grinning.


    ''''How the hell would I know that!?'''' Ophelia exclaimed while slapping the table with her hand.


    ''''Give it a try?'''' Gareth said with a shit-eating grin.


    ''''Ah, what the hell! Okay, it is like double or triple my monthly allowance. 100 gold, 150 gold?'''' As Ophelia spoke the numbers Gareth laughed like it was the funniest thing he had heard.


    ''''300 gold, no 500 gold then?'''' Ophelia continued and Gareth shook his head dismissively.


    ''''A single low-level Spiritual Pill is worth around 100 Platinum,'''' Gareth said dryly.


    ''''T-that much?!'''' Ophelia stuttered.


    ''''That much, yeah,'''' Gareth said, before continuing. ''''A single low-class Spiritual Pill can enhance the amount ofQi rotations one can perform while training their Qido by temporarily purifying the Qi and increasing the speed of the Qi flow within consumers veins. A single pill guarantees that five rotations can be performed within ten minutes.''''


    ''''T-that...'''' Ophelia began but was cut off.


    ''''Crazy effect for a pill, I agree. By amassing dozens and hundreds of Spiritual Pill it becomes a lot easier to raise in the path of Qido. Even if the circulation technique is garbage.'''' Gareth said while Ophelia gave a nod of understanding.


    ''''Now that you understand some of the value of this single pill, It becomes easy to tell you the price of the Virgin Alloy Heart,'''' Gareth said and took a small pause. ''''10,000 low-level Spiritual Pills.''''


    ''''Huh?'''' Ophelia gave a small reaction.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    ''''EEH? Ten freaking thousand!!'''' Ophelia slammed her hands on the table and stood up, looking towards Gareth who had a faint smile on his lips. Ophelia''s reaction was more than amusing.


    ''''B...but one pill is worth hundred platinum, a platinum is hundred gold! I only get 50 gold from grandpa every month! T-this kind of ridiculous, how can I accept it!'''' Ophelia stuttered and yelled, meanwhile glancing at the Virgin Alloy Heart.''No wonder it is in a chest with such security measures, it is a priceless treasure!!''Ophelia screamed inwardly, stomping the ground while pacing back and forth.


    ''''Just take it, it is not like you complained about the Spring Vitae Root either and you still have the Wyrm Blood,'''' Gareth said.


    ''''Wait, wait, wait, wait. How much was the Spring Vitae Root worth?'''' Ophelia asked.


    ''''1,000 Spiritual Pills!'''' Gareth answered, his facial expressions didn''t change a bit while he did so.


    ''''I ATE A FORTUNE!'''' Ophelia screeched.


    ''''A small fortune, Coagulated Wyrm Blood Pellet you have should be worth about 11,000 or so low-level pills,'''' Gareth added fire to the flames.


    Ophelia meanwhile felt numb. A single platinum was an amazing price at the market she visited regularly.


    ''''Don''t think about it too much, these kind of reactions are why we really don''t speak about the prices of the cultivation resources in our family,'''' Gareth revealed.


    ''''But how can I ever pay the family back this kind of debt? I can''t think of many reasons why you would be so good to me.'''' Ophelia indirectly questioned.


    ''''Not a single reason? You are the greatest talent since your Father. You are Qi Awakening sixth stage warrior, and you have been cultivating for a very short amount of time. Why wouldn''t your own family want to see you grow and flourish?'''' Gareth asked, slightly confused by Ophelia. It was almost as she didn''t trust her own family.


    Ophelia''s mind remembered various novels from her old world. Haughty young masters, conniving old men, vicious uncles who would become kinslayers in a heartbeat if it got their own children the advantage. Those were the kind of thoughts that plagued Ophelia''s mind. Just because she hadn''t seen any signs of people wishing to get rid of her didn''t mean the plots didn''t exist!


    ''Maybe I am thinking too hard about it, maybe I am not infected with the Main Character Syndrome?'' Ophelia thought, looked at Gareth and nodded.


    ''''Thank you for all of this Pavillion Master.''''


    ''''Nay, don''t mention it. It would be a pretty shallow of us elders to give you a cultivation method to train with and not actually give you any resources you would need to cultivate it.'''' Gareth laughed and opened the other chest. A total of ten canisters sat on the cushioned spots.


    ''''This is the Tempering Bronze Solution,'''' Gareth began. ''''These ten canisters should last you the whole way. To use the Tempering Bronze Solution you need to add it to a boiling hot water, keep the mixture boiling and jump in. Each canister has enough ''''bronze essence'''' to last for hundred or so baths. Remember that it will be painful.'''' Gareth said before closing the chest again, and pushing it to Ophelia''s hands.


    ''''I will remember,'''' Ophelia said and took the black chest in her hands.


    ''''Now, it is time for you to take the Virgin Alloy Fruit. Eat it now, I will not be giving you this chest.'''' Gareth said while offering the Virgin Alloy Fruit to Ophelia, who gladly took it in her hands and stared at it till the information about the Virgin Alloy Fruit flowed into her mind.


    <table width="643" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" bgcolor="#004b7a">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td bgcolor="#003366" width="631">


    <u>Virgin Alloy Heart</u>


    A rare heart-shaped fruit that grows primarily in a Blazealloy Valley on Artio. But the species has also been encountered in Pyre Fiend''s Pit of Foritas and at Asteroid Falls of Borea. Virgin Alloy Heart dramatically increases the natural regeneration of those who eat it while strengthening their inner organs. But the largest benefit of eating a Virgin Alloy Heart is the affinity increase to different metals. Techniques requiring metal transmuting become easier to use and are stronger as well.


    Effects: +50 natural regeneration per minute, Minor Metal Affinity.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ''Affinity to metal, +50 regeneration? W-what?'' Ophelia''s mind swirled. A bonus to natural regeneration was huge! And affinities are also a thing?


    ''''Well then, I shall indulge!'''' Ophelia announced and bit her white teeth into the slowly beating fruit. Then the taste...didn''t come. The texture was smooth, but the taste was disappointing and bland. However immediately after finishing the fruit, she could feel pressure on her stomach.


    ''''Feeling a bit of pressure and discomfort after eating the Virgin Alloy Fruit is normal, it just takes your body a bit of time of getting used to it.'''' Gareth comforted Ophelia who was holding her stomach.


    ''''It feels like I have stones in my stomach,'''' Ophelia quietly mumbled to herself.


    ''''Well then, you still have around twenty hours to go before the next round of the tournament begins. So I would go and take the path and try to cultivate the Bronze Body Art. With your speed, I think you could actually make a small breakthrough.'''' Gareth said as he returned the red/gold chest into his ornate ring, and turned to leave.


    Ophelia bowed for Gareth. ''''Thank you for everything, Pavillion Master!''''


    ''''Just train hard, I look forward to seeing your performance tomorrow,'''' Gareth said as he left Ophelia''s courtyard.


    <hr>


    After Gareth had left, Ophelia focused and invoked her ability to check her own status. What she saw was slightly different than before.


    <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" bgcolor="#003366" width="100%">


    <u>Ophelia Drakern</u>Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Realm: Qi Awakening Realm Stage 6


    Age: 13


    Level: 1


    Health: 2800 / 2800


    Health Regeneration: 1.6 + (50) = 51.6/m


    Stamina: 2550 / 2550


    Stamina Regeneration: 76.5/m


    Martial Qi: 6300 / 6300


    Qi Regeneration: 158.0/m


    Strength: 21 + (21) = 42


    Endurance: 30 + (21) = 51


    Vitality: 35 + (21) = 56


    Dexterity: 16 + (21) = 37


    Mind: [17+1] = 18


    Spirit: 0 + (126) = 126


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    <u>Combat Techniques</u>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" bgcolor="#003366" width="100%">


    <u>-</u><u>Illusionary Finger-</u>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Middle


    Level: Stage 3 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 500 Martial Qi


    [Despite its reputation of being the weakest of any ''''flying finger'''' techniques, the very fact that it is one at all garners a certain amount of respect. Due to it being still a relatively common technique of the middle tier rank the distance of the shot illusion and its strength are relatively small.]


    Stage 1: 5-meter distance, 408 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2: 10-meter distance, 618 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 3: 15-meter distance, 828 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 4 Progress: 300 repetitions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table width="644" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" bgcolor="#003366" width="634">


    <u>-Flaying Steam Palm-</u>


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Grade: Peak


    Level: Stage 2 / Stage 5


    Type: Active


    Cost: 1,000 Martial Qi per minute + 1,000 Martial Qi for a steam projectile.


    [A technique which coats the arms of a martial artist with a hot steam formed by Martial Qi. The user also has to coat his own hands with another layer of Martial Qi so that the technique wouldn''t burn him as well. Those who master this technique often use it to simply induce passive extra damage rather than use the actual projectile, because it is more cost effective to keep the steam stored on users hands rather than to release it.]


    Stage 1 (Passive): +50 bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 1 (Active): Flaying Steam Palm projectile has 5-meter distance, 630 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 2 (Passive): +75 Bonus heat damage to all passive damage done with hands.


    Stage 2 (Active): Projectile has 10-meter, 840 damage for a solid hit.


    Stage 3 Progress: 245 repetitions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    <u>Qido Cultivation</u>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


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    <u>-Spiritual Breathing Technique-</u>


    Rarity: Common


    Grade: Low


    Level: Stage 10. [MAX]


    Type: Active


    [Basic meditation technique which every martial artist would know. By remaining calm and breathing slowly and deeply one can absorb spiritual qi from the atmosphere and quickly replenish their stamina and own martial Qi reserves. Each level recovers 10 Martial Qi and Stamina while meditating per minute.]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" bgcolor="#003366" width="100%">


    <u>-Basic Qi Circulation-</u>


    Rarity: Common


    Grade: Low


    Level: N/A


    Type: Active / Qido


    [Most basic way to circulate Qi in one''s body. By concentrating one can gather pure spiritual world Qi from the atmosphere and gather it into a vessel within a body. By circulating the gathered Qi it is possible to turn it into a Martial Qi and make it into a permanent addition to one''s power. This technique is one of the most basic of its kind and it takes a lot of effort to make one circulation and can only take martial into the peak of Body Reconstruction Realm.]


    Qi Circulations Per Hour: 10.


    Next Qi Awakening Realm Grade = 1150 Circulations


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <u>-Qi Awakening Realm-</u>


    Rarity: Common


    Grade: Low


    Level: Stage 6


    Type: Passive / Qido


    [First realm which martial artists must overcome. Each stage of Qi Awakening Realm increases martial artists Qi reserves and each stage widens the gap between the martial artists that lag behind. Each stage effectively doubles the increase in Spirit which was gained from the previous stage, body''s other improvements in Qi Awakening Realm are relatively small. All in all, there are ten stages in the Qi Awakening Realm.]


    Stage 1: +2 Spirit, +1 Strength, +1 Vitality, +1 Stamina, +1 Dexterity.


    Stage 2: +4 Spirit, +2 Strength, +2 Vitality, +2 Stamina, +2 Dexterity.


    Stage 3: +8 Spirit, +3 Strength, +3 Vitality, +3 Stamina, +3 Dexterity.


    Stage 4: +16 Spirit, +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +4 Stamina +4 Dexterity.


    Stage 5: +32 Spirit, +5 Strength, +5 Vitality, +5 Stamina, +5 Dexterity.


    Stage 6: +64 Spirit, +6 Strength, +6 Vitality, +6 Stamina, +6 Dexterity.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    <u>Miscellanies</u>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="TOP" bgcolor="#003366" width="633">


    <u>- Elemental Affinities-</u>


    Fire: -


    Water: -


    Earth: -


    Air: -


    Lightning: -


    Poison: -


    Metal: Minor Affinity [+10% Damage & -10% Cost for Metal Qi techniques.]


    Wood: -


    Light: -


    Dark: -


    Holy: -


    Unholy: -


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    ''''There is more information!'''' Ophelia exclaimed and went through all the added information. She had gained 20 Vitality and 10 Endurance from consuming the Spring Vitae Root, by eating the Virgin Alloy Fruit she had gained an affinity towards Metal. But more importantly, fifty points in regeneration. She almost recovered a single point of health per second.


    Previously her regeneration had been measly 1.6 health per minute. But then again it was reasonable, when people get hurt it takes some time to recover. That is why some competitors that made it into late stages of the tournament weren''t in the best of shapes.


    Ophelia decided to take Gareth''s advice to heart and begin training the Bronze Body Art. She retired back to her house and drew water for the bath and set a fire under a white basin made out of some kind of monster bone.


    After the water started to boil, she opened the black chest and took one of the canisters and opened it. A strong scent of metal wafted the bathing room. Ophelia didn''t think too much of it and simply poured the dark brown, almost black liquid into the water.


    It took mere seconds for the clean water that boiled to calm down, as it was smeared by the dark invading liquid. Soon the surface of the water became like a slab of molten bronze, steam silently rising from it.


    Ophelia had to make sure that she still had a fire going, and was relieved that it was. It seems that that the mixture wasn''t going to boil any longer, no matter how intense the heat became.


    She took a deep breath and stepped in.


    <hr>


    Unspecified Locations


    <hr>


    A night had fallen, and the noises and bustling of the residential districts had gone quiet. However, nine different courtyards still had lights or movement.


    In one of the courtyards, two girls were engaging in some night-time activities. ''''Miss, no! N-not there!'''' A sweet moan escaped the lips of a petite maid. As she opened her teary eyes, her vision was covered by a long, wavy, brunette hair which ended in curls. Suddenly her molestation came to an end as a finger was placed over her lips to shush her. ''''Shut up, you just be a good girl, a good substitute.'''' A sweet voice said as it whispered in her ear. ''''There is no need for you to say a thing, just quietly satisfy this burning sensation..,''''


    On another courtyard a man was lying down, completely motionless.


    Shrill screams and seemingly endless painful wailing came from the third courtyard.


    Sexual moans escaped from the fourth courtyard. A mix of feminine and masculine moans and grunts filled the close proximity.


    The fifth courtyard was dark, and only muffled feminine voices of pleasure were barely audible.


    Sounds of sparring, kicking, punching, grappling was heard from the sixth courtyard.


    Angry, bestial growls emanated from the seventh courtyard.


    The eight courtyard was utterly silent, calming smells were released by hundreds of burning candles that filled the room a man was sitting in. Tall, lean and handsome youth meditated in silence.


    On the ninth courtyard, noises of pleasant harp could be heard. A tune both relaxing and powerful.


    Nine courtyards, eight finalists of the Youth Evaluation.


    <hr>


    When the morning came, Maria had already woken up. She was always early to the bed, and early to wake after a good night''s sleep type of person. She had already performed most of her morning hygiene routine and was drying herself with a towel. After she had dried her beautiful red hair she walked up to a table and took a good look at the mirror on top of it, and then began to style herself.


    With the help of a black string and white needles, she formed a slightly off-centered ponytail that leaned slightly to the left. She smiled and nodded in satisfaction before opening a small case which held different beauty creams and makeup. Skillfully, she made a calm makeup and concealed bruises and cuts that were still present on her face. Only when she looked unblemished did she stop.


    Next up was the clothing. Cute, but bland white underwear, beautiful, frilly red dress, and black heels. Finished with a simple gold necklace and ring earrings.


    ''''Perfect!'''' Maria smiled gleefully and brought her hands to a clap.


    Maria left her room and a walked the wooden halls and into her own porch which led to her courtyard. Her courtyard was fairly similar to Ophelia''s although she didn''t have cherry trees nor was her pond as big as her''s.


    After leaving the confines of her home she immediately headed to pick up Dina. They both had a really bad experience two days ago after getting wrecked by Leynarin who ended up winning the fourth bracket.


    Maria hadn''t met up with Dina since the day they were both beaten. Maybe it was just a momentary weakness that allowed Maria to actually be worried for Dina. Maria had seen her get crushed by Leynarin and his animalistic fighting style. And by crushed she meant it, there was no contest at all.


    Thanks to the fight ending quickly and decisively there was not that much physical damage dealt. But the blow to her pride must have been incredible. When she had fought with Leynarin did it end quick? Sure, but it wasn''t a completely one sided crushing.


    However, Maria''s momentary concern for Dina has been swept away after she arrived at Dina''s place. Dina''s cute small nose, red lips, and round face was absolutely beaming with vitality. Maria could see the natural blush on Dina''s face as well.


    ''''Morning! We didn''t meet yesterday as I was resting, you certainly seem to be doing alright? What kind of cream do you use to make your cheeks look that smooth?'''' Maria questioned and smirked at Dina. There was nothing to worry, after all, she did pull through.


    ''''Oh, hello Rii! Were you worried for me?'''' Dina smiled and teased as she bounced to meet her friend. ''''And to answer, it is a new kind of product, very special and secret. Oh, oh! And it is not a cream, but a plant based product. However I wouldn''t suggest it to you, it will make you sweat like craaaazy at nights.'''' Dina giggled as she played with her curls, entwining her fingers with them. She then wiped the imaginary sweat from her forehead.


    ''''I see...maybe some other time. We should hurry, I want to get good seats!'''' Maria didn''t pry further and took the lead, with Dina following right behind her. It didn''t take long them to arrive back where the fights would be held.


    Thanks to being early they had a bunch of front row seats and they got comfortable, waiting for the day to begin. Today would be a quite a day.


    <hr>


    Ophelia opened her eyes, it had been nearly eighteen hours since she and Gareth had met, eighteen hours since she took the first step into the bath of hell. Ophelia stood up from her bed and began her morning routine, she bathed, dressed back into easy moving clothes. Short tee shirt and cut shorts.


    Nonchalantly she walked in front of the mirror and took a good look at herself. The image that stared back was different from yesterday morning, but Ophelia already knew that. She had soaked in the bath of hell for a total of ten hours. Thanks to her newly found regeneration capabilities her skin had rapidly molded and remolded multiple times.


    Her former, lightly tanned skin, had taken a more aggressive, brownish-metallic color, it was dull and dark bronze coloration. Ophelia didn''t really care either way, it was just another way to become stronger. But a thought passed through her mind. If she cultivated the Skin Purification step of the Bronze Body Art to Perfection would she have more shining, beautiful bronze skin? And since the Gareth had told her that there are three more techniques that complemented Bronze Body Art, would the next one be a silver one? Would she look like a walking piece of silverware?


    Ophelia left her room quietly and walked through halls of her house. It was a relatively large housing for a single person. It had a kitchen, two bedrooms, living room, guest room, toilet and even hallways between some of the rooms. Then there was a porch, attic and even basement where a bathing room was located. Ophelia shuddered at the thought of the terrifying room and remembered the hell of yesterday and was drawn back to it.


    At first, the pain hadn''t been that bad. Was it hot? Sure was! But unbearably painful? In all honesty, no. However, after submerging herself into the damned liquid the true hell began. Like a thousand wasps, hornets, and bees stinging at her everywhere. Ant''s gnawing at her eyelids, intruding the orifices of her ears, nostrils, privates. It was painful hell, worst was when he had opened her eyes because of the terrible pain, only to get her eyes roughed by the vicious liquid.


    The first hour had been relatively easy, the horrible pain came really quickly, and it didn''t feel like it would have intensified. But oh, she was wrong. When her skin had finally begun to erode, with it came wound, with wounds came bleeding. She remembered when the tug of war with the bleeding and fiery death began. Thankfully her regeneration was enough to supply blood to fill the wounds so the vile liquid couldn''t invade her innards. She knew it would have been over if it did.


    Then came the peeling.


    Molding of skin, she was like a fucked up caterpillar.


    Then came screaming which had been halted for too long. And with her opened mouth, more pain, more burning and stinging. It was on her tongue, tonsils, gums, her teeth felt like they were rotting.


    Doubts came, why was she doing this?


    Why would anyone do this?


    Why was Gareth doing this?


    What was wrong with him? What kind of sick fuck would give something like this to a thirteen-year-old child?


    What. The. Fuck...


    ...


    Then came tranquility, the pain, it wasn''t getting any worse. Ophelia thought that it wouldn''t matter if she died at that point, it was painful, but it was not getting any worse so she took some kind of misguided comfort in that feeling.


    At first, she didn''t know how long she had been submerged on the seemingly endless hell. However, no matter how long it had hurt, she didn''t leave the bath. She held til she felt something changing. She felt succor in the midst of all the pain, which was now subsiding ever so slightly.


    Feeling that something had changed she finally emerged from the pool of blood, discarded skin tissue, excreted body fat, tears, and the stupid Tempering Bronze Solution.


    She remembered when she first saw her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was like burned cheese that had been left in the oven for hours on end. She felt her skin crackling though, and she slowly peeled off the old and crusting skin. Yellow, liquid fat, and clear muscle fluids were released from under the peeling skin. She felt like she had been ripped apart, the worst kind of feeling.


    But she had survived it. Maybe it was mania, or that she had been confident that her body could withstand the hellish torment. Women were strong after all. Ophelia didn''t remember her own thoughts back then, relief perhaps, or a foreboding sense of doom. She already knew that she had to go back there again, back into that hellish pool.


    However she took four hours in regenerating her new skin, her color had changed to dark and metallic bronze color. She also opened her status and looked if she had learned anything, and she had. The price in her mental health had taken a hit but the prize was worth that price.


    <table width="643" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" bgcolor="#004b7a">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="631">


    <u>Bronze Body Art</u>


    Rarity: Rare


    Grade: Peak


    Type: Passive / Budo


    The Bronze Body Art has five different steps one must complete to attain a complete Bronze Battle Body. These five steps are as follows: Skin Purification, Organ Cleansing, Bone Washing, Muscle Augmentation & Bone Tempering.


    Each of the five steps of Bronze Body Art has three stages to them. Minor Success, Major Success, and Perfection. By mastering Bronze Body Art, a person can stand and fight anyone below Houtian.


    Step I Skin Purification, Minor Success: Damage Resistance +100.


    Step I Skin Purification, Major Success requirement: 20 Baths in Tempering Bronze Solution.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    One hundred points reduction to incoming damage. Simple punches from people who are at the same level as her will not be able to inflict damage without spending vast amounts of Qi to enhance regular attacks to use Qi to use actual martial techniques.


    She knew that this would definitely help her in the future. Aside from the increase of hundred points, Ophelia also saw a new statistic between Qi Regeneration and Strength, it was appropriately called: Resistance.


    <table width="126" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" bgcolor="#004b7a">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="114">


    Resistance: 114.9


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After four hours of rest from the pool was finished, she decided to do what a true cultivator would do. Get back into the pool. There she continued the hell for five more hours, before finally giving in and going to sleep. Thanks to her amazing healing factor she could completely regenerate all of her damage in less than an hour.


    That was the moments she realized the road she would walk and etched the choice she made in her mind, into her heart. Journey, which she would walk would be painful, but she who had barely begun could already see the wonderful benefits of cultivating both ways. Gareth, as crazy as he was, was probably right.


    Ophelia shook her head, snapping out of the horrible memory. At least there was something good that came from all that suffering she had to go through. But she did have to admit, this body she had was remarkable. If there was a person like this in the old world of her''s, she could just imagine the tests the government that was able to snatch her first would perform on her. Scary thoughts.


    Ophelia buried her dark thoughts and took off, she had a competition to catch.


    <hr>


    The seats of the stadium had begun to fill up as Ophelia arrived to scene. She quickly began to spot her competition and her friends. She quickly found Dina and Maria sitting on the front row and made her way to them and squeezed next to them.


    ''''Hello!'''' Ophelia confidently said.


    ''''Who?'''' Was the first word that came from Dina''s mouth. Maria looked over and her eyes enlargened,


    ''''And what on blazes happened to you? It is like you were dropped into a molten pool of cheap metal and immediately fished out of it!'''' Maria audibly gasped in wonderment.


    ''''Ah-ha-ha...'''' Ophelia gave a dry laugh. ''Could you not be that specific? It is just a fluke but...ouch...'' Ophelia winced.


    ''''It is a new training method, no need to worry about it. And no Dina, it is not a failed tan.'''' Ophelia continued. ''''But I am not only one looking different. Dina, you are glowing.''''


    ''''Aaw, don''t embarrass me, stupid you...'''' Dina smiled ear to ear and babbled on. Performing her usual, yet overly cute theatrics.


    Girls kept talking until more people gathered, and finally, a voice from the arena caught their attention.


    ''''Would the contestant please make their way to the stage?'''' Came the announcement.


    ''''Offy, That is your cue to go!'''' Dina exclaimed. ''''Do your best!''''


    ''''Give ''em hell!'''' Maria encouraged.


    ''''Thanks, I will do my best.'''' Ophelia smiled at her friends, she was glad to get some cheering from her friends.


    Since both Dina and Maria had dropped out of the competition there was no need for either one of them to wish for her to fail or something along those lines. Ophelia and other fighters rose up from their seats and made their way to the stage which had been reinforced with smooth, white stone slabs. Those in charge of the organizing probably thought that the fighting would become way more intense in the finals.


    As Ophelia was making her way to the stage she could hear multiple betting pools being opened up. Odds were created based on who was fighting who, their cultivation level, gathered knowledge and how impressively the fighters had performed.


    As their popularity became more apparent each fighter''s confidence surged. Thanks to their popularity each of the fighters had also received a nickname and public opinion about them. Ophelia was one of them so she received one as well.


    Champion of bracket one, Karwin Drakern, ''''the Prideful''''. Due to his sudden blooming to the fifth stage of Qi Awakening. He has become rather arrogant about his abilities and will rarely exerthis full potential from the beginning due to his pride.


    Champion of bracket two, Ophelia Drakern, ''''the Favored''''. A young child seemingly favored by a god of martial arts. Only fought in the competition twice due to people surrendering before even fighting her. Despite being only thirteen she has advanced to stage six of Qi Awakening Realm.


    Champion of bracket three, Reynald Drakern, ''''the Knight''''. Reynald is tall youth who dons a metallic armor and wields a sword. Due to his sword arts and armorthat he wears he was called a knight early on and the name stuck.


    Champion of bracket four, ''''Wild'''' LeynarinDrakern. Leynarin who fights with a reckless abandon, relying on speed and aggression. Despite being a higher level than most contestants he is prone of getting hurt thanks to his high risk, high reward style.


    Champion of bracket five, ''''Serene Princess'''' HinaDrakern. Her beautiful and lean figure, stoic and expressionless face has made her very popular, especially between all the other young male contestants. Graceful actions, graceful fighting style, truly fitting for a princess.


    Champion of bracket six, Lazuria Drakern, ''''the Bulldog''''. When people talk about a grit and never give up attitude,Lazuria''sname often comes up. She is resilient to a fault. She fought and overcome a dangerous battle previously, only winning thanks to besting her opponent mentally.


    Champion of bracket seven, Roman Drakern, ''''the Young Dragon''''. Unquestionably the favorite to win the tournament. High realm of cultivation, knowledge of many techniques and a stern personality. A young dragon in a making.


    Champion of bracket eight, ''''Lucky'''' Kara Drakern. A young woman who showcased extraordinary luck during the tournament. By winning matches that she shouldn''t and facing opponents who were a bad match-up with her or otherwise injured.


    <hr>


    Soon all of the contestants were standing on a stage, except for one of them.


    ''''Huh,?''''


    ''''Where is he?''''


    ''''What is that stupid doing?''''


    Voices from the audience groaned in frustration, one of the contestants was late. However, there was something else that was weird. VIP stands were abandoned and stood completely empty, the tournament wouldn''t continue until the Patriarch was present.


    ''''Where is Karwin?'''' Ophelia walked up to Hina who shrugged.


    ''''It''s weird, someone who is called ''''Prideful'''' would not miss a tournament for any kind of reason,'''' Roman said as he walked to meet Ophelia and Hina.


    ''''Maybe he was scared of me after my fight with Essrin?'''' Ophelia smirked. ''''And he simply decided it was not worth it. Another surrender coming up.'''' Ophelia joked.


    ''''Mm...not sure,'''' Hina said and pointed towards the entrance. Ophelia turned and saw her Grandpa Alaric, Pavillion Master, and Disciplinary Elder. Ms. Envoy was with them as well, along with another older woman. Their faces were stern and hardened. ''''Something must have happened.'''' Hina finished.


    As soon as Alaric sat down he beckoned the referee over. The referee who was one of the elders of Drakern family was shocked to hear what Alaric had to say. His face became just as hard. A few minutes of talking between the VIP''s, Referee and Announcer they had reached conclusion.


    ''''The first match, Reynald Drakern vs Leynarin Drakern! Other contestants, please leave the stage and return to your seats.'''' came the announcement.


    ''''What!'''' Ophelia exclaimed. ''''But a match with me and Karwin is first! What is going on with him?''''


    ''''Ophelia.'''' A calm but powerful voice addressed her. She turned around to look at Alaric who''s eyes were deep with meaning. He also lightly shook his head. It was when Ophelia finally understood the gravity. Her opponent wasn''t coming.


    Ophelia left the stage with heavy steps, followed by Hina. Roman, on the other hand, went to VIP section, he needed answers.


    ''''Congratulations Offy!'''' Dina happily said as Ophelia reached where Maria and she were sitting.


    ''''Y-yeah...'''' Ophelia answered weakly. She calmed herself and started thinking. Just what happened to Karwin? Either he is injured horribly or...dead. Ophelia took a peek at the VIP section and saw Roman''s terrible expression.


    <hr>


    Earlier that day, Alaric had gotten a shocking message brought to him by his personal butler. Alaric immediately left his quarters and arrived at Karwin''s courtyard in mere seconds. He followed a teary eyed maid and opened a door that felt heavy, even for him.


    What he saw in the room was a motionless body of Karwin, who just a day before had won the first bracket. His body was cold and his flesh was turning purple. It was a clear sign of poisoning or an overdose from an overpowering medicine. Gareth who arrived with his brother Reyes was devastated.


    Purple skin and quickly beginning signs of decomposition were signs of overdosing in Wyrm''s Blood. Karwin must have taken the medicine, but why would he do such a thing? Gareth had instructed each and every contestant to not consume the medicine directly, lest they wished for death.


    ''''Gareth, use your Inner Eye...tell me what you see.'''' Alaric calmly said, and Gareth did as asked as a white spot appeared on his forehead. It was as he feared, Wyrm Blood had given him a shock far too large and his blood had became clotted, and his brain died of asphyxiation. However, there was something weird.


    ''''W-weird...'''' Gareth stuttered and looked around, the room, finding the box he had given to Karwin.


    ''''What is it?'''' Alaric asked and walked towards Gareth and looked the box he had taken into his hands.


    ''''Spring Vitae Root is missing,'''' Gareth said. ''''Cultivation technique is still here though. Hmm...''''


    ''''What is weird about that?'''' Reyes asked as he as examining motionless Karwin.


    ''''Karwin''s body has no traces of Spring VItae Root.'''' Gareth slowly said.


    ''''So?'''' Reyes said, out of reflex and not thinking. ''''What does tha...oh...''''


    ''''Weird, right?'''' Gareth spoke again and looked at his father.


    ''''Yeah...weird...'''' Alaric nodded.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    As Alaric thought back to what had happened to Karwin. His grandson who stood in front of him had an endless amount of questions. Then finally, the right question came.


    ''''Grandfather, you don''t think that someone took the Spring Vitae Root do you?'''' Roman asked.


    Alaric and Reyes were silent both of them giving a look at Gareth, who was the first one to speak.


    ''''I think I have a pretty good idea what transpired, although there are no lines to connect all the dots. This is merely a theory of mine.'''' Gareth began. ''''When Karwin returned to his courtyard he was being followed, or the culprit simply knew where he lived. The culprit would wait until the right moment before snatching away the Spring Vitae Root. We don''t know when it took place, we have no idea when Karwin was planning to consume the Spring Vitae Root either.''''


    ''''So it could have been a crime of opportunity?'''' Roman interrupted.


    ''''Could be, but I don''t think so.'''' Gareth continued. ''''Maybe the culprit knew that Karwin wouldn''t be absorbing the Spring Vitae Root before night fell and struck when Karwin left the medicine unattended.''''


    ''''You would need to have intimate knowledge of him, and one would have to be cunning and insidious enough to steal something from a child. Also, the thief should be remarkably skilled, or he had help.'''' Alaric spoke.


    ''''Right...'''' Roman whispered. ''''But if the thief theory is true then why did Karwin die?'''' Roman asked.


    ''''Young Karwin was a man of pride. Someone stole an impressive treasure from him and he couldn''t bear to lose it. Just imagine, he would be the only champion who didn''t consume the Spring Vitae Root. Based on the books we found at his home he was studying medicine and was well aware of Spring Vitae Roots effects.


    Such a huge disadvantage and thoughts of being completely blown away by your younger sister probably gnawed at him. He had to grow stronger quicker, so he turned to something else he had: Wyrm''s Blood. It was dangerous, no, a suicidal endeavor, but he had to do it to stay competitive. At least that is how I see it.'''' Gareth said.


    ''''But how are you sure Karwin took the medicine himself, maybe he was actually killed and then the Spring Vitae Root was stolen. Maybe the Wyrm''s Blood was used to cover up tracks?'''' Roman offered.


    Reyes scoffed. ''''Impossible, Wyrm''s Blood behaves differently when it comes to contact with the dead tissue. It simply wouldn''t be absorbed into victim''s...well, in this case, Karwin''s bloodstream. We would only have found samples from his belly, not from his blood veins and brain.''''


    ''''So it was just an accident?'''' Roman asked in confusion, there was not going to be a murder investigation?


    ''''Just an accident? No-no. There were two goals in stealing Spring VItae Root.'''' Gareth said.


    ''''Two?'''' Gareth heard the four people ask in synch. ''''Absolutely certain, it wouldn''t make sense otherwise,''''


    Miun spoke up. ''''Two goals? I know that gaining the Spring Vitae Root was absolutely one of the thief''s goals, but what is the other one?''''


    ''''To kill Karwin Drakern.'''' Gareth seethed. While others were confused, how could he come to such a conclusion?


    ''''Son, explain,'''' Alaric demanded.


    ''''Father, think about it!'''' Gareth began, raising his voice in frustration. ''''A thief is a person who steals things for profit, to get something of value easily so they can live their lives being at ease. Why would a thief leave behind a valuable medicine like Coagulated Wyrm''s Blood Pellet and a priceless martial art technique?''''


    Silence followed, and Gareth continued.


    ''''Because they were after something else. If the thief knew about Karwin''s personality there is a possibility that the thief came to a conclusion. ''''If I steal the Spring Vitae Root, he will act like this, and he will die thanks to his stupid pride.'''' Also, it may be possible that the thief knew that Karwin would suspect him in due time, so it was also to get rid of a potential nuisance in the future.''''


    ''''Son, do you know what you''re insinuating,'''' Alaric said, his voice was grave.


    ''''I am saying that the thief, no, the<u>murderer</u>, and the victim knew each other. This could be a...'''' Gareth was cut off.


    ''''A kin-slaying...'''' Dean Hui-Lu concluded.


    Everyone fell silent. A kin-slaying, murder of one''s own kin was considered one of the heaviest of all crimes under the heavens. If news of this kind of incident spread out it would cause panic and distrust between family members. Alaric immediately formed a plan to deal with it.


    ''''Karwin''s death, situations surrounding it, is from this moment on, off limits. I will issue a gag-order. Reyes, make sure that Karwin''s servants are going to be quiet. Make sure of this, alright? Gareth, you will resume your duties as an overseer and overrule the referee if necessary. Also, make sure to keep an eye out of anyone suspicious. And Roman, I have something for you to do as well, at first you will...''''


    <hr>


    Ophelia felt like she had a lump in her throat. What did the look on Roman''s face mean? It couldn''tbe that, right? Ophelia was so distracted with her thoughts that she didn''t notice Reyes and Alaric leave for some reason. Only Gareth, Miun, and Dean Hui-Lu remained. Roman was also walking towards her group.


    A fight between Reynald and Leynarin also began. It was a classic battle between speed and strength, however, it seemed that Leynarin also edged Reynald on strength, slightly. Reynald strength training almost allowed him to have equal strength against a warrior who was a stage higher than himself.


    Roman arrived and Maria quickly scooted over and intruded on Dina''s seat. Before Dina could protest she too could see Roman and let Roman sit next to Ophelia. It was cramped but Roman still sat down.


    ''''Excuse me,''''He apologized to Maria who nervously dismissed that he was intruding.


    ''''Ophelia, don''t worry about it,'''' Roman said with a pained smile.


    ''''B-but I don'' t even know what happened to him! How could I not be a bit worried?'''' Ophelia protested.


    ''''Don''t worry, Grandpa says that it is not that serious. A little mistake in training, Karwin will be fine soon enough. I doubt it is life threatening.'''' Roman said his voice was calm and stoic.


    As Dina heard Roman speak her palms became sweaty, and she unconsciously gripped her dress, before she began to play with her curled hair, coiling them with her fingers. ''''What are you two talking about? Is Karwin sick?''''


    ''''Something like that, it is a mess,'''' Roman sighed. ''''But let''s concentrate on the fights from now on.''''


    ''''Yeah! Offy and Blanky can spy and benefit a lot from this!'''' Dina said happily. Not noticing that she was being glared by Ophelia who scoffed.


    ''''I don''t need to be part of this,'''' Ophelia said and stood up. ''''Hina, Brother, I will take a walk. I wish both of you luck.'''' She said as she stood up, and walked away.


    ''''Hm? W-what is with Ophelia? R-roman.'''' Maria stuttered as she stole glances at Roman.


    ''''Not sure, she gets like this sometimes,'''' Roman answered. ''''She probably needs some time to think about.''''


    ''''But why?'''' Dina quickly chimed. ''''She has it nice and easy due to Karwin''s absence. And I don''t think they knew or interacted with each other that much. Why would she be so upset?''''


    ''''Dina...'''' Maria just looked at her airheaded friend. ''''Just because she didn''t know him very well, it is common sense to feel bad. Karwin worked hard to get where he was and they were going to have a thrilling match. Obviously, she would feel bad for him.''''


    ''''Is that so,'''' Dina tilted her head. ''''Well, he can always try again next year.''''


    ''''True, but Ophelia and I will not be here to see it,'''' Maria stated.


    ''''Hey! I will apply to Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House as well! I should be able to pass the exam.'''' Dina pouted. She was not going to let others leave her behind.


    ''''We will both have to do our best, you must train harder to pass as well,'''' Maria advised her friend and tried to make some more small talk with Roman.


    ''''Yeah, train harder..,'''' Dina hissed softly to herself.


    <hr>


    ''''It seems Ms. Ophelia left to be alone.'''' Hui-Lu commented.


    ''''Yeah, but it is shocking that she is capable of learning Budo at such a young age. I cannot imagine what kind of specialized training she had to endure to get this far. It is amazing that Drakern family has so much time to oversee her training such a difficult art.'''' Miun praised. She knew how hard training Budo was because she had tried and couldn''t handle it.


    ''''Truly, she had been showing marks of learning Bronze Body Art but it seems that she has now broken through the first stage of the first step of Bronze Body Art.'''' Hui-Lu praised, causing Gareth to sweat a little.


    Ophelia''s tanned skin was kind of a blessing here. Her light tan was easily mistaken as an early symptom of reaching the first step of Bronze Body Art.


    ''''But I will not condone this.'''' Hui-Lu suddenly said, shifting her tone. ''''To teach such a young girl such a harsh exercise is terrible. Even if you give her the pain relieving medicines or induce hypnosis it still wouldn''t completely erase the pain.''''


    ''''Well she is insisting on training it,'''' Gareth grunted. He hadn''t given her any painkillers or relieving medicine. There were three styles of training Budo, two of them which Gareth couldn''t approve of. Medicines lessened the effect of the Tempering Bronze Solution, meanwhile, hypnosis would slow down the actual absorption of the Tempering Bronze Solution. Only real way to train it was to do it raw, without any outside help.


    ''''Also, how can elders who remain at her side just listen to her wails?'''' She continued.


    ''''Well...'''' Gareth didn''t have anything he could say at this moment. There weren''t any elders to supervise her training. When training Budo it was typical for elders to oversee the training of a young Budo practitioner to make sure their cultivation didn''t rampage. However, Gareth completely ignored this rule as well.


    ''''My niece is strong, she laughs at things like pain and would rather train by herself. She is also a genius, truly a favored child of heavens.'''' Gareth praised. He truly was impressed by Ophelia and her cultivation speed and was certain that she could be able to take whatever training he threw at her. In fact, he had pushed her right into a bathing exercise, normally there were other preparations to be done before the true training could begin.


    ''''Haha, it sounds like you think Ms. Ophelia could train according to a barbaric method and not use anything to numb herself during training. People who try would lose their minds thanks to the pain like that. Without even mentioning the possibility of their bodies revolting against their minds and going berserk.'''' Miun smiled. ''''Such confidence in your niece.''''


    ''''Haha, yeah,'''' Gareth smiled.


    However Hui-Lu wasn''t amused, she would need to ask the young girl about her training regime.

 Chapter V: A Protagonist

    Ophelia sat on a bench, some distance away from the stage. She needed to organize her thoughts for a while. What Roman had said back there couldn''t possibly be the truth, she has lived for a long time compared to Roman and could tell when something was off. Roman''s face and voice always became indifferent sounding when he lied, he was terrible at it. But Ophelia suspected that other people from the younger generation would just think it as Roman acting cool.


    Karwin was dead, Ophelia had a feeling that this had happened. Someone from his family was killed, again. ''''This place, people who would do such a thing exist in this place too.''''


    Ophelia''s mind flashed a bit, images returning to surface.


    ''''William...''''


    ''''William, she is...''''


    ''''There was no way to know, William.''''


    ''''There was nothing you could do to stop it, William.''''


    ''''Y-you two were always so close...''''


    ''''William...''''


    ''''...William.''''


    Ophelia clutched her head, it helped and the voices, no, the memories went away. ''''Everyone was so sad the day when Charlene was...ugh...''''


    Ophelia took a few deep breaths. The memories still lingered, but she didn''t wish to remember them. She was gone, and so was William. There was just Ophelia now, and this new and crazy world. Ophelia had once again been thrust into a situation where a member of his family was murdered.


    The situation was completely different of course, Ophelia knew this, she knew, but she still couldn''t help but think that she could have known Karwin better. And if she had, how it would have destroyed her. How would those close to Karwin be affected by his death? Would they be as sad as William had been?


    ''''Stop acting stupid, you are not even sure that someone actually died,'''' Ophelia rationalized to herself. But the adults in this world were the same. Their faces were so similar, hardened like stone, trying to not show how fragile they actually were when dealing with a death of a child. Ophelia silently decided to keep thinking that Karwin was dead. If you assume the worst you will notget hurt in the end.


    ''Now who would kill Karwin? Did he have enemies? I didn''t know him well. So I am in no position to start asking questions. B-but who would gain and what from killing him? Wait, killing him? Why do I think he has been killed?


    No, it is the only explanation. Why would the adults be quiet about this if it was a death by natural causes? They wouldn''t, and that means that there had to be foul play at work here. They would have announced that Karwin had died via natural causes otherwise.'' Ophelia sorted her thoughts.


    After loitering for nearly half of an hour, she finally decided to return to her friends. Maybe the first round of the Champion''s Bracket was already closing its end. As Ophelia returned she was greeted by enthusiastic Dina and sat back down next to her. Hina was engrossed in a battle with Leynarin and Reynald that was still going on. Roman and Maria were engaged in small talk with Maria.


    Ophelia looked at the stage as the battle was finally coming to a close. Extended and sharp claws protruded out of Leynarin''s fingers as they embedded clear markings on the ground. Leynarin was using his speed to relentlessly charge at Reynald and forcefully halting himself by striking the ground with his claws.


    Reynald armor was coming apart as more and more claw marks cut deeper and deeper. Small splatters of blood were spilling into the stone surface. Reynald''s stamina was clearly spent, but he still managed to last this long which was surprising.


    Long battles like these were not common among more experienced martial artists and only occurred when neither side could produce an efficient finishing maneuver. That is why these kinds of slug fest were far more common between beginner cultivators.


    But slowly, the fight came to a halt as Reynald dropped the longsword he had been fighting with. Reynald felt that his muscles no longer responded to his commands. It seems that the cuts on his arm and back were way more severe than he had thought.


    ''''Heh,'''' A frustrated laugh escaped his lips. ''''I guess that''s it for me then. Referee, I surrender.''''


    Reynald promptly gave up, he was right-handed and had little to no training using his left arm. Further fighting would only lead to his destruction, a swordsman without a sword is useless. The referee took a notice and the fighting came to halt. Leynarin came out as a winner as predicted.


    As Leynarin left the stage he was showered with praises.


    ''''How Wild! Truly impressive performance, just like me when I was young.'''' Elderly male praised.


    ''''So fast and aggressive, I doubt I could last even a minute against him.'''' A young man''s voice echoed.


    ''''I wonder if he has someone he likes?'''' Few girls wondered.


    ''''Reynald did very well as well. If they were the same age who knows what might''ve transpired.'''' Someone mentioned.


    ''''True, he also did very well.'''' More people joined in.


    Even Reynald got his own share of praise from the crowd, as he should. To fight someone clearly stronger and not be defeated for over thirty minutes was nothing less than impressive. Reynald headed right toward the medical ward. Meanwhile, Leynarin took a different route and passed by Roman, Ophelia, and Hina.


    ''''I will wait for you at the finals.'''' Was the only thing he said as he passed by Roman. Disregarding Ophelia and Hina''s existence. Ophelia glared at Leynarin, just like Dina and Maria did. ''''You dare?'''' Maria hissed. Leynarin only spared a second to look at Maria and continued walking.


    Although it was almost certain that Roman would eventually beat Hina, there was no way that Ophelia would lose to someone like this. Ophelia was sixth level Qi Awakening warrior while Leynarin was at the fifth stage. Maria and Dina couldn''t understand why he would be so arrogant. Dina rose up from her seat, she was clearly displeased by Leynarin''s action.


    ''''Let it be,'''' Ophelia said with a firm tone.


    ''''But! He dares to be so arrogant!'''' Dina growled. Surprising Maria a little, she didn''t know Dina had such strong dislike against people like that.


    ''''Talking is cheap and it cannot hurt me,'''' Ophelia said and grabbed Dina by the hand and pulled her back to her seat.


    ''''Fine! Just kick his ass when the time comes.'''' Dina said and puffed her cheeks.


    Hina sighed at her friend''s little episode. Hina would give her best regardless who she fought, and she knew she was the underdog when fighting against Roman. So there was little to no chance for her to fight with Leynarin, especially since he had to go through Ophelia first.


    Hina''s fight was going to begin next so she stood up pre-emptively and walked up to the stage. There were loud applause and cheers coming from the audience when she took the initiative to approach the stage. Her actions, her looks and attitude all screamed one thing. ''Get over here already, I don''t have time to waste for this!''


    She gave off a domineering feeling. While being completely stoic as she always was. Most of the boys in their generation nodded in approval. In their eyes, she truly was worthy of being called a princess.


    ''''Do you best!'''' Summed up the feeling her friends felt for her. As long as Hina fought as she always did she would go far.


    ''''She truly is popular, but what kind of nickname is a ''''Serene Princess''''. Sure she has the princess look down, but which part of her is serene? People really just name things based on appearance.'''' Maria laughed.


    Ophelia smiled at this. Serene Princess is truly a great nickname, but she was not entirely sure if it truly fits Hina. It istrue that she keeps quiet most of the time, but that is due to fact that she lives by a certain teaching. '' ''''If you have nothing important to say, keep your mouth fucking shut.'''' Well, unless it involves fun...that is.''


    ''''Maria, what do you mean by that?'''' Roman asked as a spark of curiosity was ignited.


    ''''I mean what I say. Hina truly appears prim and proper, but she has a mischevious side to her.'''' Maria smiled and looked at her friend on a stage. ''''In fact, she probably went to the stage early to just piss Lazuria off.''''


    ''''Wait, really?'''' Roman questioned. When he''s on the family grounds he usually only hangs out with Ophelia or other boys. So his interactions with Ophelia''s friends were limited. He pretty much knew only as much as others saw.


    ''''Hina is actually really competitive and hates losing. She even challenged Ophelia to a game of riddles a while back.'''' Maria continued. ''''If I had to use some more adjectives to describe Hina I would say she is...''''


    ''''Tawdry?'''' Dina smirked.


    ''''Hush, you! I meant to say that she is a colorful and caring person when you get to know her. What is up with you lately?'''' Maria asked. ''''A little bit, jealous?''''


    ''''Sure, I want to be called princess!'''' Dina laughed. ''''Bla...I mean Hina truly is a good friend and she never gets angry with me. Eheh~''''


    ''''See, it is not that hard to give her some praise,'''' Maria said.


    ''''No, but I want to see her snap someday. It will be glorious, so shush about this.'''' Dina told playfully and pointed towards the stage. ''''Look, her opponent is coming out. She is pissed!''''


    <hr>


    Lazuria who was sitting patiently and waiting for her match to begin could hardly believe her eyes when she saw Hina walk up to the stage completely on her own accord. Her mannerisms and the look she directed towards her were truly arrogant. ''Is she making fun of me? Who does she think she is!?''


    Lazuria stood up from her seat and walked towards the stage with powerful steps. Her elegant, deep blue robes that matched her eyes fluttered as she stepped on the stage and made her way closer to Hina.


    ''''I will make you show me some respect,'''' Lazuria threatened with a dry voice. However, Hina has no reply to give. ''After that she ignores me? Ha!''


    ''''So that is how it is, you just wanted to come up here to get things done quickly because you are scared huh? You can quit if you like.'''' Lazuria snickered.


    ''''...'''' Hina gave her a trademarked cold treatment and simply looked at Gareth and referee. As if telling them to begin the match early.


    Lazuria was shivering slightly. ''Aren''t I being completely ignored here? What the hell is up with this?''


    '''' Hey! Look at and respect those who are older than you when they''re talking to you!'''' Lazuria exclaimed, finally getting fed up with Hina''s disrespectful attitude. ''''You are such a disrespectful...''''


    ''''Old bitch like you should have learned that barking constantly is annoying to human ears. So quit your yapping.'''' Hina spoke, completely cutting her off. Hina''s voice was melodious which made her words sting even harder.


    Then, there was silence. The audience was silent, her friends, referee and even Gareth who was overseeing the whole thing, they all were silent. Until...


    ''''Haha...'''' it was Dina''s voice. She could hardly hold back. And following that cute little laughter, came many more laughs. And soon most of the audience was laughing. Lazuria had no idea why. What was so funny about this?


    It didn''t take for more than a ten or so seconds for Lazuria to understand. ''''Y-you...'''' She growled and tightened her fists. She was going to beat this girl up.


    ''How dare she call me a b-bitch! My proud nickname...'' Lazuria complained inwardly. She was visibly trembling with anger. Being insulted by a girl who was two years younger was too much of an embarrassment.


    Lazuria had been an easy target for strategic teasing. She received an unfortunate nickname from the crowd that meant to give a positive image about perseverance. But it was turned completely on its head. Hina also took Lazuria''s age into consideration when she cursed her. She had walked right into that one by proudly claiming to be older than her to try and garner respect.


    ''''Referee, it seems our contestants are ready to begin.'''' Gareth''s voice carried through the arena as he suppressed his own snickers. Hina had inherited from her mother than Gareth had initially thought.


    ''''Ah, right! You know the rules, begin!'''' Referee hastily got the match to be on its way.


    As the referee gave the order for the match to begin, Lazuria immediately charged at Hina. She was adamant in teaching this disrespectful junior a lesson. Preferably by beating her senseless before she could resist.


    ''She really fell for such a simple provocation? She is not my opponent.'' Hina thought as she saw Lazuria rushing towards her. Hina then engaged Lazuria in a good old fist fight.


    Hina had the slight advantage in speed and her Windless Fist became sharper and sharper as the fight kept going. In no time at all, Lazuria had been barraged by dozens of jobs. In the stands Ophelia only nodded, Hina was classic out-boxer. Dancing around her opponent, countering and waiting for opportunities, and taking them when an opponent was frustrated and let their concentration wane just a little.


    Hina''s snappy jabs were quick, but light. An actual damage dealt with those were minimal but each blow was aimed precisely to her opponent''s cheeks and above her eyes. Lazuria tried to take distance after she noticed what was going on. These kinds of strikes were aimed to humiliate and induce swelling.


    Hina obviously didn''t get off without few smacks of her own. Her feet movement and weaving had made it difficult for any of Lazuria''s punches to connect with her face. Instead, she had vacuumed few blows to the body. After one particularlyeven exchange, a scratch opened up on Lazuria''s forehead while Lazuria''s kick connected with Hina''s ribs.


    Blood began trickling from Lazuria''s wound and began to harm her vision. After a few more punches, Hina''s punches began to emit sounds of cutting through the wind.


    This was noticed by most of the audience as well.


    ---


    ''''Say,'''' Dina began. ''''Is it just me or is Blanky''s punches getting slower?''''


    ''''Your eyes are not lying. Hina''s punches are getting slower, it seems that Windless Fist has reached its limit and she can no longer use it. Or she could be saving it.'''' Ophelia nodded.


    ''''That idiot, she is playing around too much! She is mischevious, but she has never shown so much arrogance!'''' Maria exclaimed and ruffled her hair in frustration.


    ''''Hmm,'''' Roman quietly mumbled. Hina didn''t seem like a haughty person who would jeopardize her chances of winning for having a bit of fun. ''''I think the reason why she is no longer using Windless Fist is way more simple than that.''''


    ''''Simpler?'''' Dina immediately asked and leaned in to listen.


    ''''Windless Fist is not a hard technique to learn and thanks to it being a Common ranked technique it doesn''t take too much stamina when used, but in turn, its effectsare also small. There are much greater techniques that increase punching power and speed in Uncommon and Rare ranks. Even I learned Windless Fist to just compliment my further studies but I didn''t bother to learn it as well as Hina has.'''' Roman began.


    ''''Brother, you are deviating,'''' Ophelia said.


    ''''Must you always be so impatient? If you get accepted by a master in the future I will feel bad for him.'''' Roman laughed, while Ophelia pouted at this remark. ''''What I am saying is that Hina has mastered the technique and knows the effects very well. She probably refuses to waste anymore Qi to use it and feel that she has done enough damage to go easier.''''


    ''''But she is still being pushed back,'''' Dina said flatly and pointed at the stage. She wasn''t wrong. A bit by bit Hina was being cornered and pushed back.


    ''''She is either coaxing Lazuria and letting her gain false confidence, or that kick to the ribs really took a wind out of her.'''' Roman speculated.


    ''''She would not lose after showing off like that, right?'''' Maria asked with concern.


    ''''Unlikely, Hina has only shown us Windless Fist which I doubt is the only trick she has in store,'''' Ophelia claimed with confidence. In her eyes, Hina and Roman were her only true opponents here and she couldn''t see either of them losing before facing each other.


    ---


    ''Troublesome.'' Hina cursed to herself. Damage and bleeding she had inflicted hadn''t slowed Lazuria down even for a bit. Even when she connected more punches to induce additional bleeding her opponent still kept going head on.


    But the worst thing was the kick Lazuria managed to sneak in at the moment Hina''s fist had cut her. Although it wasn''t a flashy technique Hina suspected there was some kind of martial technique at play here. While training she had taken multiple kicks and punches but none of them winded her like this one.


    Hina''s new strategy was to wait until she could properly move again. However ''''The Bulldog'''' had caught the scent of blood and was more tenacious than ever, clinging to Hina''s lowered pace the best she could. Her blows still held debilitating power and Hina could not afford for any of them to connect. Even blocking carried a harsh penalty as Hina felt her arms get heavier after each blow she blocked.


    Hina, however, didn''t plan to block forever and made a sudden backward dash, retreating away from her opponents range. After gaining a moderate distance away from perplexed Lazuria, Hina performed a kick, like one would do many times when warming up for a fight. This kind of sudden action naturally confused audience and Lazuria even further.


    ''''How come? I didn''t think I hit your head hard enough for you to go crazy.'''' Lazuria briefly taunted after recovering from her opponents display and dashed after her prey once more. With her Shock Energy Art, she felt unbeatable. With just a few blows her opponents would feel their muscles experience a numbing sensation and they would slow down, enough for her to pummel them into submission.


    But Hina''s fighting style and her speed proved to be troublesome for her. It wasn''t easy to land successive hits against her to cause numbing. Not only was her speed a problem, but so was her cautious nature. Many would simply engage her in a straight up fist fight without thinking and fall for her trap.


    ''''Your petty taunts will not work on me, come and taste defeat,'''' Hina spoke in her typical uncaring and cold manner, successfully taunting her opponent. Lazuria rushed in only to swing and miss while Hina retreated further and kited her opponent. She was visibly becoming quicker on her feet and began her offensive again, being careful to avoid each of Lazuria''s attacks and mixing kicks with her punches to make herself more unpredictable. Soon enough Lazuria was looking miserable.


    ---


    ''''Hina has won,'''' Roman claimed.


    Ophelia agreed. ''''Even while Hina was running away she had a superior reserve of stamina and was exhausting Lazuria. Even an unyielding person like Lazuria cannot stop fatigue from piling up indefinitely. She was also losing her strength due to bleeding and losing her vitality.'''' Ophelia summed.


    ''''I see,'''' Dina and Maria both nodded.


    ---


    On the stage Lazuria finally fell to her knees, wheezing for air. She had managed to fight with Hina this long because Hina had refrained from using kicking techniques from the beginning. Even if Hina''s situation had looked shaky for a while, truth was that she had not been critically damaged.


    However, despite the situation appearing bleak and hopeless. ''''The Bulldog'''' would bite to the bone, refusing to let go. Hina observed her staggering opponent as she pulled herself up from the ground. Lazuria as stubborn to the fault and she took a fighting stance, coating her arms in a thick Qi, ready to confront Hina again.


    ''''You should stop before you get hurt,'''' Hina warned and winded her right arm. Lazuria did all but listen to her opponent''s warning and good will, rushing towards her with even more ferocity than she had before.


    ''''Hmph, Winding Fist,'''' Hina muttered as her arm flared up, encased in a brilliant flash of green Qi. Hina''s leg stepped forward and she rotated her waist, shoulder, and arm to add vicious torque into her thrusting punch. A small horizontal, light green tornado erupted from Hina''s fist.


    Despite all the grit Lazuria possessed, she could not hold on and was blown back and out of the stage, falling unconscious from the vicious blow.


    ''''Lazuria has fallen unconscious, Hina wins this match.'''' The referee announced for the amazed crowd.


    ---


    ''''She did it!'''' Dina exclaimed happily.


    ''''Was there any doubt?'''' Maria smirked.


    ''''Nah, but where did she get a move like that? I visited the Martial Pavillion before but couldn''t see a martial art like that one? On a third floor, maybe from the fourth floor?'''' Dina guessed.


    ''''Maybe.'''' Ophelia chimed in, she had only been on there once and didn''t see any skill like that. Maybe the Pavillion Master gifted it to Hina from the fourth floor like he had done for her? ''''It is definitely an Uncommon technique though, probably a high-grade one as well.''''


    ''''Everyone has their trump cards, but I must get going now. It is my turn.'''' Roman said and stood up.


    ''''You''ll be fine,'''' Ophelia said with a smirk. ''''Or maybe Kara will get lucky again?''''


    ''''Yeah...''''lucky''''...'''' Roman mumbled and began to walk towards the stage. Roman didn''t forget to congratulate Hina on the passing. ''''Nice fight.''''


    ''''Thanks.'''' She replied dryly as she made her way back to her friends.


    On arrival, Maria lightly scolded her for her behavior while Ophelia praised her for her newly revealed offensive trump card. Dina, in turn, teased her for almost losing due to her carelessness. Hina was true to her nickname and took the abuse her friends dished out without batting an eye.


    ''''Ophelia, get ready for the next round. Roman will not take long.'''' Hina said and concentrated on the stage where Roman stood, waiting for his opponent to arrive. Hina had seen Roman''s determined eyes and was certain that he would not be playing with his opponent like she had done.


    ''''I know,'''' Ophelia affirmed and began to do stretches.


    <hr>


    Roman closed his eyes, only to open them when he heard a set of footsteps on the stage. He was greeted with a sight of a delicate looking girl taking her position. She wore a colorful flowery blouse and a long red skirt with a single slit revealing her right leg. On her hands, she held a simple wooden zither which further accented her already delicate looking persona.


    ''''Hello Roman, could you please go easy on a little old me?'''' Kara spoke with a fragile voice that felt like it could break at any moment. Roman could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes.


    ''''I won''t promise anything,'''' Roman sharply scoffed. He was not good with people like Kara.


    ---


    ''''It appears that Mr. Roman is quite uncomfortable,'''' Dean Hui-Lu commented.


    ''''But why? Roman''s strength is on a completely different level than Kara''s. She is only a Stage Four, right?'''' Miun asked her master. Ophelia''s group was having similar thoughts as Miun.


    ''''These two have history,'''' Gareth laughed and got Hui-Lu''s and Miun''s attention. ''''Despite being young, Roman is quite a ladies man, and is a heartbreaker for many young girls in our city.''''


    ''''He is that popular?'''' Miun wondered. Despite being a young maiden herself she had never felt what it was like being in love or having a crush on anyone. She and other serious women who decided to walk the path of martial arts and become true cultivators have no time to ogle at men as it would only slow down the progress of their cultivation.


    ''''Well, he is tall, talented and is a grandson of a family that is publicly known to produce many Warriors,'''' Hui-Lu answered.


    ''''Quite right. As a Cultivator, you should know the perception the Mortal public has on individuals who are known to be Warriors?'''' Gareth asked.


    ''''Well, I mean, obviously I know. Everyone knows that.'''' Miun hastily answered. ''''Mortals who cannot break over Qi Awakening realm or even enter it in the first place, hold those who break past the Qi Awakening realm but are under Houtian realm in a great deal of respect. Even Mortal royalty, even kings have to speak to strong Warriors with respect.''''


    ''''And true Cultivators are like divine beings for them.'''' Gareth continued. ''''Warriors who reach Origin Energy realm are all characters who become legends in the Mortal Realm. Roman is being perceived as a candidate to become a legendary figure, so it is only natural that he would garner attention.''''


    ''''I see, I understand now.'''' Miun bowed to Gareth, thanking him for giving her insight.


    ---


    ''''Roman Drakern vs Kara Drakern, begin!'''' The referee announced as the fight began.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ''''Illusionary Finger'''' was heard coming from Roman''s lips as a huge, illusionary phantom of a finger flew towards his enemy. Kara could only raise her zither in desperation as it crumbles away, and her body flew back, landing offthe stage.


    The audience, Roman''s friends, Ophelia''s group, and even the elders were all silent.


    ''''Roman wins by ring out, this fight is over.'''' Referee''s voice was heard once again. ''''Would Ophelia and Leynarin please make their way to the fighting stage?''''


    ''''WHAT? B-but I wasn''t ready!'''' Kara protested stomping her feet, only to be promptly ignored and escorted away.


    ---


    ''''What the hell was that?!?'''' Dina screeched.


    ''''Hina wasn''t kidding, that was quick.'''' Maria heckled.


    Roman quickly made his way back to the fold and wielded a serious expression. Suddenly using a martial technique at full power was allowed, but it wasn''t in good taste.


    ''''You sure made quick work of her,'''' Ophelia poked.


    ''''Had to, Kara allegedly uses sound waves to mess with her enemies perception. So I could not allow for her to get ''''lucky'''' against me.'''' Romanexplained his actions.


    ''''So she is that kind of fighter,'''' Girls around him nodded. Now understanding why Roman attacked so viciously.


    ''''You didn''t have time to stretch your legs, but do your best. You should be able to defeat Leynarin.'''' Roman said and gave Ophelia a pat on the back as he sends his own baby sister to fight against one of his rivals.


    ''''I doubt that I will have much trouble.'''' Ophelia dismissed Leynarin and walked to the stage where her opponent was already waiting. If Leynarin was gonna spit on her face and not show her respect as a fellow contender and a bracket winner then neither would she.


    ''''Don''t you lose! If you do you will give me the Wyrm Blood okay?'''' Ophelia could hear Dina putting stakes on a line. ''Sure, she is betting with nothing to bet...'' Ophelia smiled as she walked up to the stage. ''''Be right back!''''


    <hr>


    Soon enough Ophelia and Leynarin were looking each other face to face, and without further delays, their fight was on the way as the referee gave them the permission to begin fighting. Leynarin began the fight by exhibiting unconventional movements such as crouching low and moving wildly like a pendulum would. However, he noticed very quickly that something was amiss.


    Leynarin took a step back and observed Ophelia. Despite reaching the sixth stage of Qi Awakening realm she didn''t even enter his eyes, for he had eyes only for his rival. That was the case until just now. Despite not using any of his techniques he was confident in his punching strength, at least there should have been a retaliation, auditory or visual discomfort in his opponent. But so far, nothing.


    ''''Are you done?'''' Ophelia asked with a raised brow. Her physical resistance right now had been increased to an impressive degree. There was probably very few who could scratch her on the tournament without using any sort of martial technique or art.


    ''''Cocky, just like your brother!'''' Leynarin roared and rushed towards Ophelia. A glint of light emanated from his hands as they went through a change. Leynarin''s fingers were elongated and each finger held a sharp nail on them. This was known for many to be a rather rudimentary transmutation based martial art known as [Beast Claw Art]. This particular one was known as ''''Longbear Paw Style'''' which imitated lengthy swiping arms of one of the more common monsters in the continent of Kehssa.


    Leynarin once again attacked with wild swings with his arms. Ophelia used her left arm to block the incoming blow and was hit off balance. Leynarin''s sharp claws made a sound similar to a fork which scraped against a plate. To Leynarin''s surprise, there was no blood dripping from Ophelia who repositioned herself and again employed a defensive stance.


    ''That blow was around twice as strong as his previous hit. I guess the Longbear Paw Style at least doubled the physical damage he had been dealing previously.''Ophelia thought and brought up her status. What she saw was that her Health was indeed lowered.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 2714.9 / 2800


    Stamina: 2368.85 / 2550


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ''I see so around 80 points of damage.''Ophelia thought, making a mental note that she was also losing around five stamina each second she was on combat just by defending. But thankfully she rapidly replenished her stamina, even while fighting.


    Ophelia didn''t have time to keep track on numbers because Leynarin was already rushing towards her. She proceeded to engage Leynarin, trading big shots with him. He could feel Ophelia''s hard punches that felt like blows from a sledgehammer.


    What worried him the most was the fact that Ophelia still didn''t show that she was too worried. ''Is she completely impervious to regular physical attacks? What kind of defensive art has she been cultivating and where did she get it from?''Leynarin''s mind swirled. He would fight with full power from now on.


    ''''Bestial Instinct! Beast''s Feet!'''' Leynarin exclaimed and his appearance changed a bit again. His black, middle length hair became longer and more jagged, and his eyes looked much sharper. His toes and feet came under similar change his hands and fingers had experienced earlier. Leynarin crouched and sat down on ''''four feet''''.


    ''''Let''s see if you may remain as carefree with me like this!'''' Leynarin growled as he springs into action, now moving on four feet just like a beast would. His speed was greatly enhanced. Ophelia had seen all of Leynarin''s techniques in the Martial Pavillion, but she didn''t exactly know what the effects of cultivating them entailed.


    But now she knew, Leynarin was way quicker than he was before. In fact he could no longer trade punches with him, instead, Leynarin would rush past her and claw towards her in quick dashes. She wasn''t fast enough to avoid him either.


    ''''Illusionary Finger!'''' Ophelia first launched one, then followed with a second illusion in a quick succession. Leynarin managed to dodge both of Ophelia''s attempt however and pelted her with more strikes. Ophelia tried to perform dodges and also tried a flexible approach to not fight against the strikes that hit her, but to let Leynarin''s blows shift her position.


    At first, the match appeared to asurprisingly one sided and in favor of Leynarin. But after a total of five minutes of fighting Leynarin began to slow down. Ophelia''s natural regeneration, her newfound physical resistance, and increased health-pool started to take a toll on Leynarin''s stamina.


    Ophelia''s hands had also begun to emit copious amounts of steam, making Leynarin hesitate and attack less often. Leynarin had to take a risk of being absorbed by a cloud of scalding steam each time he attacked, but he had no choice but to keep on the offense. He could not release his enhancement techniques as Ophelia would use her superior speed to catch him otherwise.


    Leynarin could only grit his teeth and hope that he had enough steam.


    ---


    ''''Bronze Body Art truly is obscene,'''' Hui-Lu chuckled as she shook her head. ''''With limited resources and just a basic knowledge of low-class martial arts and techniques, there are not many who should be able to win against her.''''


    ''''Only those who wish to truly walk the brightest path of martial arts embraces the Budo.'''' Gareth laughed. ''''Leynarin is truly strong, if Ophelia was never taught the Bronze Body Art I wonder how the fight would have turned out...''''


    ''''So that is why you taught it to her,'''' Hui-Lu commented snappily.


    ''''She earned it on her own.'''' Gareth smiled. ''''Without amazing willpower and determination to succeed she would never have learned it so quickly...ah...'''' Gareth knew he had slipped up.


    ''''Quickly? What do you mean?'''' Miun butted herself into the conversation.


    ''''I-I mean she has only been practicing it for around a month, yeah.'''' Gareth recovered.


    ''''Hmm...'''' Hui-Lu''s eyes narrowed. It was true that her previous skin tone had a quality of bronze in it, but Hui-Lu wasn''t sure when the girl on the fighting stage truly began to train in Budo. Maybe it was nothing and she truly started it at the same time as her Qido training. Even if she began to train it one month back wasn''t the speed she was improving a bit too fast? She couldn''t be the only one thinking this.


    ---


    Meanwhile, the fighting was quickly reaching its climax. Leynarin had begun to lose his speed thanks to lowered stamina and the fact that Ophelia started to more actively confront him. Sizzling sounds of Ophelia''s hands reached his ears as he was barely dodging her blows, occasionally letting a palm or two connect.


    ''''Just fall already!'''' Leynarin growled, clearly annoyed by his opponents persistence. Was there truly such a huge gap between just one stage? If only he had trained harder on his cultivation rather than spend time on learning multiple techniques that were useless against Ophelia.


    ''''Flaying Steam Palm!'''' A cloud of superheated steam erupted from her left palm and tried to envelop Leynarin who rapidly backpedaled, only to suffer minor burns.


    ''Good, just stay further back and let me rest.'' Ophelia thought and checked her current status. Her health had dropped under a thousand points along with her stamina, but she still had over four thousand points of Qi remaining. Enough for four minutes, or less if she wished to actually use the projectile. Her clothes were also heavily scratched, and there were bruises all over her body as well.


    ''Shit...they are the same...'' Leynarin cursed inwardly. ''Monsters, both of them.''


    Leynarin planted his feet to the ground firmly and concentrated the remaining shreds of his Qi into his legs. At the same time, his Longbear Paw Art receded and his hands returned to normal. The fight would end with a leg maneuver, one way or another.


    Ophelia understood her opponents train of thought and gathered more Qi into her arms. ''''Come on then!''''


    And as if he took Ophelia''s yell as an order Leynarin exploded forward. Ophelia shot out a steaming hot cloud, which Leynarin managed to dodge by changing directions and circling around. In fact, he had to do it three times as Ophelia launched two more sets of steam clouds on his way. It took some effort from Leynarin but he managed to close the gap between them and was now only five meters away.


    ''''Illusionary Finger!'''' Ophelia launched one more desperate attack which Leynarin dodged thanks to his greater speed and instincts granted to him by his Martial Arts. ''You are mine!'' Leynarin gloated inwardly jumping towards Ophelia. Even if Ophelia was a stage higher than him there was no way for her to have that much more Qi to spend. She should be running out.


    ''''Rolling Hammer!'''' Leynarin roared and somersaulted, bringing forth his right leg, coated fully in Qi. Rotation and speed gained from forwarding momentum along with a somersault in mid-air increased the attacks devastating capabilities.


    However, Leynarin has made a miscalculation. Thanks to his Beast''s Feet martial technique he indeed enjoyed increased mobility when running and dodging, with his feet planted on the ground. As he was somersaulting forward he saw Ophelia move, it was a simple sidestep. There was nothing fancy or great about it.


    Leynarin''s Rolling Hammer firmly struck down, hitting one of the stone plates reinforcing the stage, cracking it to dozensof pieces. Ophelia who now stood barely a meter away from Leynarin felt a miniature shockwave as rubble and dust were send flying from the attack.


    After the dust settled Leynarin could be seen standing in the middle of the broken stone, motionless. His hair, eyes, and feet had all returned to normal. He was completely gassed and could no longer fight, there was only one thing he could do and it was to give up with his head held high. But he couldn''t bring himself to call it quits. He wanted to face against Roman, how come he would fall here.


    Ophelia pointed her finger towards motionless Leynarin and gathered her remaining Qi. She still held enough for another Illusionary Finger. But it seems like it wasn''t needed. Her opponent had lost his fighting spirit and energy to do battle. Ophelia was about to say something to him, only to be a step slower.


    ''''Leynarin has spent all of his energy, and he can no longer do battle!'''' Gareth ruled, stopping the match. He didn''t want to risk another situation like with Essrin. ''''I declare Ophelia as the winner.''''


    Leynarin turned away from Gareth and Ophelia and slowly walked off the stage. He couldn''t bring himself to say any words to Ophelia. He knew it was over and she had completely defeated him, who had two years more experience under his belt.


    ''He is calmer than I thought, I was waiting for the lines such as ''''Wait until next time!'''' or ''''This ain''t over!'''' and even ''''Just you wait, I will get my revenge!'''' But to say nothing at all. He knows he can say nothing that has any weight and chose to be quiet, impressive.'' Ophelia though, and went to join her friends.


    ---


    ''''That was great!'''' Both Dina and Maria yelled as Ophelia came back. ''''You truly showed that arrogant prick what happens when you underestimate our group!'''' Dina continued. ''''You may keep the Wyrm Blood...for now...''''


    ''''Yes, yes.'''' Ophelia faintly smiled at Dina and took a seat. Thankfully the finale would be held tomorrow so she had enough time to recuperate from her fights.


    ''''Don''t mind me asking, but where is Hina?'''' Ophelia asked while looking around, not seeing the ''''Serene Princess''.


    ''''Miss, Hina said she needed time to get ready and didn''t want to see Roman for a while so she is probably meditating somewhere else,'''' Aino answered. ''''Oh, and congratulations for your victory!'''' Aino continued as her hands came together for a clap.


    ''''Makes sense I guess...and thank you.'''' Ophelia nodded.


    ---


    ''''What a great finish,'''' Miun happily smiled, satisfied with the display of both fighters. ''''Next up is Hina and Roman, is it alright that Reyes is not here to observe it?''''


    ''''Miun, it is fine. Reyes knows where his daughter''s limits are and don''t expect her to win against Roman.'''' Hui-Lu reasoned. ''''Especially since there is a two-year gap between them.''''


    ''''But Ophelia just beat Leynarin. Maybe Hina has a chance after all?''''


    ''''It ain''t that simple,'''' Gareth intervened. ''''Despite Roman not showing as much promise as his three eldest brothers, he is still the fourth most talented of them all. He may also be a late blooming type, After turning fifteen he has spent almost half a year training outside of the city. Taking full advantage of the rules our family has set.''''


    ''''So he has more practical experience, what is the strongest Furious Beast on Golden-ridge Mountain Range?'''' Miun asked, probing Roman''s potential.


    ''''A Level 4, Three-Eyed Tiger,'''' Hui-Lu answered. ''''But if Roman would have ever met it face to face we would not see him standing here among us.''''


    ''''That strong, and so close to a major city like this one a well!'''' Miun gasped. For regular people, a Three-Eyed Tiger was a terrifying existence.


    ''''Three-Eyed Tiger is a king of this roost, so he keeps the other Furious Beasts at bay. Because of this, he is a useful fellow to have around,'''' Gareth explained. ''''But anyway, Roman probably fought against Level 2 Furious Beasts at maximum. He most likely never went far enough to even see the other terrifying creatures that lurk in the mountains.''''


    ''''He is still very brave to spend time in the mountains when he is so young.'''' Miun praised.


    ''''Let''s see how much good it has done for him, Hina is going to be the toughest challenge that Roman has faced so far,'''' Gareth said and focused on the referee, who should be done with the preparations.


    <hr>


    While the older folk were holding a conversation Roman had made his way to the stage and stood there like a stone. Waiting for Hina to make her way to the stage. The referee hadn''t called upon either combatant but both of them were itching for it. Hina for a challenge and Roman just wished to get it over with.


    Arriving Hina wore unusually stern expression, denting her image as a serene warrior who didn''t let anything bother her. She knew that Roman would be strong, she knew he would not hold back on her just because he was a girl, or because she was friends with his sister. Hina knew she was at a severe disadvantage.


    She knew next to nothing about Roman''s fighting style, she didn''t know about his trump cards. But she knew that he knew Illusionary Finger and Windless Fist, and he also knew both of Hina''s techniques, even her trump card.


    The referee felt that both of the fighters were ready. ''''Although we are slightly ahead of schedule it does seem that neither of you needs more preparation time. Second semifinal match between Roman Drakern and Hina Drakern...begin!''''


    And as if she was a rocket she sped towards Roman. Who just not opened his eyes and had a slight smile on his face. Hina deployed Windless Fist immediately and began to rapidly strikeat Roman. Roman dodged, blocked and send very few punches at Hina, who in turn dodged his attacks.


    ''''This tournament format is really unfortunate for you, it doesn''t seem like you have completely recovered.'''' Roman mused as he kept dodging. The fight itself became uneventful very quickly, with Roman being passive and letting Hina attack him.


    ---


    ''''This difference is quite sad, our poor baby.'''' Dina sniffed, overblowing her feigned sadness.


    ''''Hina doesn''t seem to have any chance at beating him,'''' Maria stated, looking worried for Hina.


    ''''Miss, what do you think?'''' Aino chimed in.


    ''''It might be harsh, but I think this is a waste of time.'''' Ophelia slammed. ''''Roman is not only way older, he also has much more talent than others in this competition. Results should be obvious.''''


    ''''My, how defensive about your brother~~~'''' Dina smirked.


    ''''Just stating the facts. Just look at that!'''' Ophelia pointed.


    ---


    Hina''s aggression had finally been pacified as Roman''s fist drowned into Hina''s stomach. This blow lifted Hina up from the ground and she flew backward, flipping in the air once. Now Hina was shrimping, holding her stomach and trying to stand up straight.


    It took just one punch to almost completely neuter her fighting strength. Hina''s face twisted as she tried her best not to barf infront of the audience. Lazuria''s attack hardly did anything in comparison. Hina''s mind was racing, Roman''s punch was also silent, but it had nothing else weird about it. His punching technique wasn''t better either. Hina made sure that she had mastered Windless Fist.


    ''He is just this powerful naturally, but how!?'' Hina thought and raised her head to look at Roman who stood on the place where he had punched her. Leisurely looking at Hina, it seems Roman didn''t see her as much of a danger as he had seen Kara.


    ''''Any time now,'''' Roman spoke. Goading Hina to continue. This was a good time for both of them to grow if Hina felt like trying to push her own limits.


    ''I think I understand Leynarin a little now...'' Hina thought and finally stood up and weaved Qi into her hands. She would use her strongest attacks and pray.


    ''''Winding Fist!'''' Hina''s voice was carried by the wind as a small, green, horizontal tornado erupted from her hand.


    ''''Illusionary Finger.'''' Roman''s mastered flying finger technique collided with the Winding Fist creating a cracking impact and a boom.


    Hina took the opportunity to run closer to launch her next strike. ''''Winding Fist!''''


    ''''JinQi: Firm Mountain.'''' Roman chanted and took Hina''s hit straight on, only to appear completely unscathed.


    ''''Eh?'''' Hina''s face couldn''t hide her surprise. Winding Fist was classified as an Uncommon technique, sure it wasn''t anything special in the grand scheme of rarity hierarchy but it was still a high graded one. How could someone of their level just take a direct hit?


    ''''You are surprised?'''' Roman asked, smiling faintly the whole time.


    ''''No, not really.'''' Hina denied quickly. There was an explanation why her attack didn''t work. She really was a bad match up with Roman.


    ---


    ''''Ophelia, you should have given Hina a heads up at least.'''' Maria pouted.


    ''''What, what?'''' Dina asked and switched her gaze between Ophelia and Maria.


    ''''Hina and I are still opponents during this competition, so I saw no reason to go out of my way to make things too easy for her. Besides everyone here has read and knows about Qi. While the elders do not go out of their way to babysit us and teach us by the hand, they do encourage us to study by ourselves.'''' Ophelia answered.


    ''''Still, you could have mentioned that Roman has an affinity for metal elemental Qi. It is the worst match up for a nature based Qi that Hina specializes in.'''' Maria mumbled, while Ophelia just shook her head.


    ''''It is clearly Hina''s fault. Anyone can learn about basic elemental affinities at a library. Also, it is not like Roman needs to have an affinity to metal. Anyone can learn any elemental if you put enough effort into it.'''' Ophelia explained.


    ''''Oh, so that''s what this is about.'''' Dina calmed down.


    ''''Since Hina has decided to focus on just one element, she would have a trouble dealing with attack and defenses created from an element that is strong against that exact element.'''' Ophelia summed to her friends.''''Air Element which Hina is focusing on is derived from Wood (Nature) Element which is weak against Metal Element. Everyone knows that.''''


    ''''Yeah, everyone...'''' Dina twirled her hair. She had read about the elemental affinities, but she had only gone through the very basics and had failed to do any extensive study on them.


    Meanwhile, on the stage, Hina''s soundless punches collided with Roman who was enhancing his defenses with metal Qi which nullified Hina''s attacks completely, while Roman hit her with lighter punches. Hina was already slowed and visibly defeated only after a few minutes of fighting.


    The audience was hard pressed to see one of the favorites be pummeled lopsidedly like this. There wasn''t much excitement to the fight anymore. Ophelia could tell that Hina was upset by the way her eyebrows and lips were twitching. But despite being on the cusp of defeat Hina bravely kept attacking Roman head on.


    Maria who found meaningless violence barbaric was squinting her eyes as she watched Hina being slapped around. ''''Roman could finish this fight with a strong move, so why doesn''t he just do it?''''


    ''''Perhaps he is after something?'''' Dina answered with a question.


    Ophelia looked at her friends with unbelieving expression, this was instigated by them after all. ''''You did tell him that Hina is a competitive person who is not as she appears to be. Roman seems keen on verifying that claim.''''


    ''''Ah?'''' Both of the girls gasped. ''''He would go as far as to smack a pretty girl like Hina around just to see what kind of person she is?'''' Maria continued. Ophelia nodded and turned her gaze back to Hina who was looking worse and worse.


    Seeing Hina''s disgruntled expression brought back memories of them training together in secret. ''''You are so stubborn...''''


    Ophelia smiled as a fond memory resurfaced.


    <hr>


    1 Year Ago


    <hr>


    Hina crashed down on her knees, to any outsider this would look like she was kowtowing in front of Ophelia. Hina was bruised, bloody and sweaty all over. But she still tried to stand up.


    ''''You really are stubborn,'''' Ophelia smiled to her friend.


    Ophelia had known Hina from the day she had been reborn to this world and remembers their families being close to each other. In truth, she knew the truth in their relationship. Unlike more distant relationship she had with Maria and Dina, Hina and Ophelia were first cousins.


    However Ophelia''s memory was a little bit hazy and couldn''t remember what Hina''s parents looked like, the same thing had happened to her own parent''s faces. Muddled and clouded away from memory.


    In all of their time together Ophelia had never seen Hina this stubborn, they hardly trained together before. But lately, Hina had been approaching her to become her sparring partner, wishing for full fights where her opponent wouldn''t hold back.


    ''''Hina, why do you train so hard?'''' Ophelia questioned her friend. Hina had always trained, but never to an extent like this. Unlike Ophelia who held a pure-hearted love for martial arts Hina never showcased that kind of gusto.


    Hina staggered as she was slowly getting back up. ''''I have been thinking...''''


    ''''Is this about the Youth Evaluation next year?'''' Ophelia interrupted.


    Hina shook her head. ''''No, well, part of it is I guess. I just desire to know what truly happened to my parents.''''


    ''''Weren''t you told your father died, and that your mother disappeared after she tried to go search or avenge him?'''' Ophelia began. ''''That of course, could be just a lie. Is that what you are thinking?''''


    Hina''s eyes drooped and looked at the muddy grass below her feet. ''''I do not know, I just want to find out what happened. Did Mom get her revenge, or did she just leave me behind? Elders don''t tell me anything so I cannot be sure what they tell me is the truth. It is same for you, is it not?''''


    ''''Yeah,'''' Ophelia sighed. ''''Well, my parents aren''t dead but they are always away and apparently working. To be honest, I hardly remember them anymore. I remember the stories they told me when I was a little, but I do not remember their faces.''''


    ''''Maybe by doing well, becoming stronger, we could get some answers,'''' Hina said and took up a boxing stance. ''''We just have to do well next year.''''


    ''''Yeah,'''' Ophelia smirked. ''''Come on then, keep this pace up so I benefit from this as well.''''


    ---


    After the harsh training was done, both of the girls were immobile and panting for air. Hina had been thoroughly beaten into a pulp while Ophelia had exhausted all of her stamina. Hina just wouldn''t give in before Ophelia would collapse with her.


    ''''Hey Ophelia...'''' Hina suddenly spoke.


    ''''Hn, what is it?'''' Ophelia answered, turning her head to look at Hina who was lying down next to her.


    ''''After you are strong and old enough what do you plan to do? Do you plan to become a Cultivator?'''' Hina asked.


    ''''Well, yeah.'''' Ophelia quickly answered. ''''My dream is to become a great martial artist and to be strong. I just love the art of fighting itself and I do not really have any grand ambition or a motivation behind it. I just want to live and to reach the maximum of my potential. Speaking of dreams, it is your turn now.''''


    ''''A dream, huh?'''' Hina turned her eyes from Ophelia and looked up to the sky. ''''Well, obviously the truth about my parents is one of them. But I would also love to see the world, be in all sorts of places, maybe even the Outer Continent.''''


    ''''Wanderlust, huh?'''' Ophelia smiled. ''''Stubborn, seeking her parents and wandering the world in search of her place and purpose in it. Haha, just like a protagonist in a novel.''''


    ''''What are you mumbling about?'''' Hina asked. ''''Do you find my dream to be shallow?''''


    ''''No-no, I was just thinking out loud.'''' Ophelia laughed, thankful that Hina didn''t hear her. ''''Your dream is just fine and is no more or less shallow than mine.''''


    Ophelia laughed bumped her arm to Hina''s shoulder. ''''There is no point in worrying what happens in the future, we both just have to do our best and never surrender.''''


    ''''Ow, stop bumping to me! I think I cracked something there!'''' Hina yelped, only causing Ophelia to laugh more.


    <hr>


    Present


    <hr>


    ''She really has become strong, still aiming for her dream and not surrendering in front of Roman.'' Ophelia smiled.


    ''''OOOOOH!'''' A sudden eruption of noise shook Ophelia back from her reminiscing. Ophelia''s gaze refocused to the stage and she saw Hina standing there with an image of grandeur. Visibly she still looked hurt, but as she had been knocked down multiple times it was unreasonable to expect her to look like a clean porcelain.


    But what was notable that the pressure she was emitting was larger than it was before. Ophelia''s eyes widened to round orbs when she understood what was happening on the stage. Maria and Dina were also surprised by the phenomenon that was taking place.


    ''''Hahaha, breaking through to a next stage in the middle of combat!'''' Ophelia laughed. ''''You truly are a protagonist.''''


    ---


    ''''She broke through!'''' Miun clasped her hands on the VIP stage. She has never seen someone breaking through in the middle of a fight.


    ''''This!'''' Gareth''s eyes widened. Last time he had seen someone do this was years ago, Ignis'' third son had broken through in the grand finals when he became the champion of Youth Evaluation.


    Hui-Lu''s eyes also widened as she saw Hina break through her limit and step into the sixth stage. ''''Young Hina truly is a rare talent as well! Ms. Ophelia, Ms. Hina and Mr. Roman, this generation of young seeds is truly worthy of being hailed as a generation of geniuses.''''


    ---


    Roman who was facing Hina was all smiles. She truly was a stubborn girl who only looked on forwards, he was glad that his little sister made a friend with a good person like Hina. ''''Good! Now that you have improved, you will have much more energy to spare!''''


    Hina was feeling a rush of energy fill her body, newly gained strength and stamina filled her. She was ready to fight a few more rounds with Roman and sprung to action with her newfound strength.


    Roman''s defense could not longer block all the damage from Hina''s blows, so he began to dodge her. But Hina''s speed was now up to par with Roman''s and the fighting became more hectic.


    ---


    ''''She really did break through in the middle of the battle!'''' Maria exclaimed. ''''She is going so far from us...''''


    ''''Just like me,'''' Ophelia smirked.


    ''''You are a battle and a training maniac! So I can at least accept you.'''' Maria pouted.


    Dina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Hina had an unfair amount of talent, and it really pierced and poked at Dina''s sensitive spots. ''''Damn it...''''


    ---


    Gradually, Hina was managing to push Roman back with her quickened attacks. ''''You really adapt quickly considering your body was a lot slower until a minute ago.''''


    ''''Thanks to you,'''' Hina uncharacteristically smirked. Her newly found strength felt exhilarating. Right now she felt like he had a chance of winning as she continued her assault. Mixing both of her signature techniques Hina managed to land more than a few good hits against Roman.


    Before long, Hina''s powers were beginning to vane again and it became apparent who was still superior. After over a hundred exchanges of fists, the fight was finally reaching its end.


    ''How is the difference between us this huge?'' Hina began to think. ''Despite his Qi giving him the good protection, he should be showing some fatigue. But why is it that I cannot see the end of his strength?''


    After punching away for a while longer, Hina had, had enough. She casually took a more relaxed stance and bowed to her adversary. ''''Thank you for the...''''lesson.'''' Referee, I surrender.''''


    It came as a surprise to many that Hina would surrender suddenly like this. Her friend knew she was very stubborn, so she must have gone through some revelation to call the fight quits.


    The referee asked Hina if she was certain that she wished to retire, but Hina only walked off the stage, giving him all the confirmation he needed. ''''Hina Drakern forfeits the match! The winner is Roman Drakern!''''


    ---


    As Hina joined up with her friends Maria began bickering with her. It was mostly about Hina giving up with such a manner, at least she could have been respectful towards the referee. But she also congratulated her on advancing to the sixth stage of Qi Awakening.


    Dina''s reaction was much quieter and subdued than Maria''s. Although Dina also congratulated Hina, her voice was rather strained.


    Ophelia and Hina also locked eyes. Ophelia could immediately tell that Hina had a lot she wanted to tell her, but kept quiet. Was she angry at her because she kept Roman''s strongest ability secret? Or maybe it was about something else?


    While Hina was getting congratulated by her friends, Gareth congratulated Roman on his achievement of becoming a finalist. Tomorrow he would need to fight his baby sister for the championship.


    Tomorrow would be the day the world Youth Evaluation would be finished. Spectators from various branch families and the dropped out competitors began to disperse as the last bout of the day was over. Dina and Maria went their own ways, giving Ophelia a room to pause and think about tomorrow. While Hina stayed behind to speak with her.


    Ophelia gave Hina a firm look. ''''So you actually surrendered, how bad was it?''''


    Hina sat down next to her and sighed. ''''Bad, even if I knew about his tricks and was a stage six from the very beginning, I do not think I could have beaten him.'''' Hina sighed, she could not win the tournament, but she knew that she had impressed with her mid fight improvement.


    ''''I see,'''' Ophelia huffed. She knew that Roman was strong, but she had never seen his strength personally. Ophelia knew that Roman was talented and was at the sixth stage of Qi Awakening. She also suspected that Roman had multiple techniques that he hadn''t even shown yet.


    As Ophelia and Hina kept a conversation going, Roman also finished his talk with Gareth and Hui-Lu. Hui-Lu was already speaking like Roman was part of the Golden-ridge Dragon Martial House, telling him that he would go far.


    Just as Roman was leaving, he spotted Ophelia and Hina still lingering around and decided to exchange few words with his little sister. ''''Little sis'', I hope you bring everything you got tomorrow. No holding back.''''


    Ophelia looked up to meet Roman''s eyes. ''''You too, don''t intend to let you walk towards victory easily.''''


    ''''If you are worried I could forfeit...'''' Roman smiled and extended his hand to ruffle Ophelia''s hair, who in turn swatted it away.


    Ophelia knew that Roman was just teasing her and didn''t bother to play around with him. ''''Just come at me with your full strength, I want to see our differences.''''


    ''''Of course,'''' Roman sighed. ''''Aino, please make sure my sister goes to bed early and doesn''t train. She needs to rest for tomorrow.''''


    ''''Of course, Mr. Roman.'''' Aino bowed, while Ophelia protested that she had no need for a babysitter.


    After a while, Hina and Ophelia decided to part ways. Hina knew that Ophelia would have to relax and tune herself up for tomorrows big fight. Ophelia then returned to her own residence along with her maid.


    As they arrived Ophelia immediately turned to Aino. ''''I am going to tell you this now, I am not going to be doing any training other than meditation. So you do not need to worry about that. Prepare a...bath for me. However, do not drain the previous water that still has more medical uses. Instead, fill a spare tub.''''


    ''''As you wish, I will prepare dinner when you are done bathing,'''' Aino answered dutifully and set out to do her assignments. While Ophelia began to meditate at her garden. She would honor her promise to Aino and Roman and would maximize her condition for tomorrow and not strain her body by training.


    Tomorrow would be the first time she ever faced her brother in a serious battle.