ã€ŠAn Indomitable&#x27;s Odysseyã€‹


 Chapter 1

    It was a bright morning. The birds chirped, on rooftops and ledges of homes and skyscrapers, while the occasional honking of cars could be heard in the distance. The wind was calm and the occasional cloud rode in the skies.

    In a park, on top of a bench lay a child who seemed to be around 11 or 12 years old. He had black eyes, black hair and was fair skinned. Today was the last of school for the boy and instead of returning home he lay on the bench looking up at the sky.

    The park had been his favorite place since he first stepped on it as a 3 year old. Even during his schooldays he came here with his friends to play games and pass the  day happily, but today might be the final day he would be able to be here again. It was the selection year for James, possibly one of the most important phases in his life.

    Children were admitted to primary school at the age of 5, after which they go through 6 years of schooling. They are taught to read and write and are given basic knowledge about the world through subjects such as history and geography.

    After finishing primary school at the age of 11 comes the most important year for a child. This year is known as the ¡®selection year¡¯ for the child. From the age of 11 to 12, the child''s future then is decided.

    In this year, children are given training and are taught methods to cultivate their body. If a child is able to reach the 2nd stage of the Form realm he is given the choice of walking the path of a martial cultivator. If he fails to reach the 2nd stage of the Form realm, he is given only the option to continue to further their studies.

    Society had advanced to a level where even if a person wasn''t able to walk the path of a martial cultivator he can still have multitudes of achievements in his life in various fields such as commerce and science.

    The exam for martial cultivation occurred in the month of November. So only 7 months were given to practice cultivation to the children as schools ended mid April.

    The entire world followed this rule as it was believed that starting cultivation early in a child''s life before the age of 10 wasn''t beneficial. This was due to the maturity the child possessed would not be enough to comprehend the ways of martial cultivation and apart from that, even the child''s body will not meet the requirement as it will not have properly developed.

    So children were instead made to go through primary school until the age of 11 where both their minds and bodies were developed to the required degree in which one could start cultivating. After, it all depended on child''s own hard work and talent. Normally reaching the 2nd stage of Form realm isn''t considered to be tough. With constant training and intake of proper nutrients, a person''s body can manage to reach the required threshold.

    However, if the child cannot reach the 2nd stage in 7 months it only meant that either the child lacked the required talent or he lacked the drive to work hard and cultivate. In such cases it has always been seen that there was no use in spending resources on the child, as after a certain threshold he would stop advancing further in his martial path. Hence, after a consensus between the world leaders such a rule had been made 10000 years ago and time had shown that the decision was a wise one.

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    As dusk arrived James got off the bench and headed home. Today marked his last day of school, and tomorrow marked his first day as a cultivator. He had long decided to be a martial cultivator and reach its very summit.

    As James returned home he went up to his room and dropped his bag on his desk. He removed his school uniform which was covered with pen marks containing goodbye messages written by his friends, a custom they all practised on the school''s final day. Looking at the uniform a smile crept up on James¡¯ face as he gently placed it in his wardrobe instead of bringing it with him to give it to his mother for a wash.

    Suddenly the door opened and a beautiful woman, who seemed to be in her early thirties entered.

    "James dear" called his mother as she smiled and looked at him. "How was school?"

    "It was fine" replied James with a helpless smile.

    "Don''t think about it too much. You can always meet your friends again later. Come downstairs let me treat you with the apple pie I just made. " said his mother as she ruffled his hair lovingly.

    " OK!" James replied cheerily as he rushed downstairs towards the dining table. His mother''s hand-made apple pie was his favourite food so how could he deny it?

    James''s mother, Marriane Walter, is part homemaker and part soft skills trainer. She didn''t have the aptitude for cultivation so she continued to further her studies and became a soft skills trainer. Her students mainly comprised either upper class children or people aiming to become managers. His father Edward Walter is a retired army officer who now works as an instructor in a training institute that is owned by him.

    Most people fail to become martial cultivators but they can continue their training in self defence and keeping their body fit. These training institutes were set up for this reason. The income of the family was good and they lived a comfortable lifestyle.

    As James ate his pie only one thing went on in his mind.

    "It all starts tomorrow huh" mumbles James.

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    Notes: I have decided to rewrite the story ''To Become A God''. The name of the story has been changed and so has the plot. The second and third chapters will up be in a while today. This is no April fool''s joke btw. The reason I stopped updating the novel before when it was titled ''to become a god''  because I had some calls of interviews of business schools. 1 was a really good one so I had started preparing for them. In the end I couldn''t make it in the final list of the good one and decided to have another go next year. Recently I started writing as I was bored and decided to continue. All previous chapters have been deleted. I am starting a fresh and I hope that like a Phoenix my novel soars from the ashes^^

 Chapter-2

    There was a chill in the air and water drops could be seen on the leaves. The sun was rising and the birds had started chirping. In this period of dawn when most where sleeping a father and a son were wide awake sitting on grass in the lawn of a house.

    James had his eyes closed and was deep in meditation. His father had started this training for him since he was ten years old. Every morning before leaving for school at 7 James used to wake up at 5 o clock and used to sit in the lawn on the wet grass barefoot and bare chested and close his and meditate.

    He used to meditate for 30 minutes, jog for 20 and exercise for 20 after which at 6:10 he used to go back to have a bath and get ready for school. The purpose of the meditation was for James to have a keen sense to his surroundings and to develop a calm mind which would benefit him in his cultivation road while the light physical training was to keep him fit.

    Today was no special day as James continued his training but it was special as the method had changed. While arriving to his usual spot James''s father had instructed him to not start physical training after his meditation.

    As time flew by, James opened his eyes and awaited further instructions from his father.

    Edward looked at his son and said,

    "Today officially marks the start of your martial journey son. Let me test your knowledge first. So tell me how many cultivation realms are there? And what are they? "

    " There are 5 known realms father. The first being the Form Realm. It comprises of 4 stages:-

    1) Bone strengthening stage

    2) Muscle strengthening stage

    3) Sense strengthening stage

    4) Meridian opening stage

    Only after opening the meridians can one absorb energy or qi that is available around us to strengthen ourselves. When enough qi is accumulated inside our body a core will form near our heart on its right.

    Just like the heart pumps blood to the various parts of our body, the Core will similarly accept the qi and distribute it to the various parts of our body further strengthening it. The core also acts as a storage for us to draw qi when we need it in battle. " said James.

    " Good!  Good!  Carry on" urged his father.

    " The moment we form our core we enter the Azure realm. The name is so because the Core we form has an Azure color to it. "

    " After the Azure realm come the Emerald realm where our core changes to the color of an Emerald.

    The last realm being the Carmine realm. In this stage our core turns deep scarlet to the color of Carmine. Each of these realms apart from the Form realm has an early, middle and peak stage"

    "So far so good, but you have only highlighted 4 realms my son. What about the 5th?" asked Edward.

    " The 5th realm is the realm of Sages! It is when our Carmine core dissolves in our body merging completely. We are no longer bound to the core as our body reaches the epitome of martial cultivation! It is said that a Sage is born only once every 500 years! " said James. His eyes glittering with deep passion.

    " That is right my son but to reach that will take monumental effort! Your old man couldn''t achieve Carmine so you can imagine how difficult reaching the Sage realm is! In the past 29000 years since man discovered and developed methods of cultivation not more than 46 Sages have appeared in our history amongst which only 27 are alive! "

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    " How did so many Sages die? " asked James.

    " War my son always takes lives. In the past a huge war was fought between 2 empires. Each commanding a dozen Sages under them. The war devastated our civilization just because of a few mens greed."

    " After the death of a few sages in the war, a peace treaty came into being as the war had brought in great calamity and it was decided that Sages can never be used for wars due to their devastating abilities. Apart from these some died due to unknown reasons while some disappeared all together" said his father.

    James listened to his father with awe imagining how battles between Sages was like.

    After a short pause Edward looked at his son and said, "As an Emerald realm early stage cultivator under my training you don''t have to worry about reaching the second stage of Form realm. However, that also doesn''t mean you can slack off. The training will be harsh and brutal."

    "Son the requirement for martial cultivation path is the 2nd stage of Form realm which is the muscle strengthening stage but you and me both know that the top martial schools accept only 3rd stage of Form realm."

    "With a 2nd stage you won''t qualify to take their entrance test itself! I myself was unable to achieve the 3rd stage when I was your age and so had went to a normal martial school. As a father I only wish for the best for my son!"

    " The meditation and physical training you have went through the past year was done to ensure that when you start cultivating you will be able to break through with lesser troubles! Try to reach the 3rd stage in these 7 months and maybe then you will really stand a chance to reach the summit of martial cultivation that you so desire to achieve! "

    James looked at his father with a determined expression. He knew about this. The kingdom''s top institute Sky Blaze Martial Academy had the minimum requirement of 3rd stage of Form realm to be eligible to give the test. Only 1 in a 100 cultivators generally achieve the 3rd stage in the given time period. It can be said that each student attending the martial school was a genius in his own right.

    James clenched his fist and bowed down to the ground and said," I will do my best father! "

    " Good my son! It doesn''t matter if you achieve the 3rd stage or not, the most important thing is to always do your best under all circumstances! So that even in failure you may never regret about the fact that you didn''t try hard enough!"

    " Remember son a martial cultivator can only advance when his mind is crystal clear and not filled with regrets! Otherwise it will pull him down and he won''t be able to advance further."

    "With that said let''s begin! "

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    Notes: well here''s the second chapter for today. Another will be uploaded soon.

 Chapter-3

    The sun shone brightly. It was a hot morning and the humid weather only worsening it. Under the sun''s glare a child was doing push ups. Sweat was pouring from every part of his body but his eyes were filled with determination.

    James''s entire food schedule was changed more so upgraded to high nutrient and calcium content food. The only way to strengthen bones was to increase the calcium and vitamin D intake in the body. Apart from this to maintain flexibility certain exercises was also required.

    With the advancement of technology there were several pills in the market that could be obtained to speed up the process of strengthening bones, but we''re available at exorbitant prices.

    The Walters could afford it but James''s father had said to him that relying on pills to reach just the 1st stage would impede his progress later on as he will always have an urge to take more pills in the future instead of working hard by himself.

    The 1st and 2nd stage of Form realms that is the bone strengthening and muscle strengthening stages can only be achieved by working the body continuously through months of hard work. They also have to be worked on simultaneously as well.

    Proper exercises and nutrient intake causes the bones and muscles to strengthen overtime. The bones after reaching a threshold gives of a Crack sound indicating the change in their hardness. It is then that the cultivator has achieved the 1st stage of Form realm.

    Consequently in about a short time of a few days to a few weeks the muscles also strengthen enough that a person is able to lift a 100kgs. At this stage the child enters the 2nd stage of Form realm.

    Usually it takes about 6 months to reach till the second stage. However James''s goal was to enter the 3rd stage in 7 months and he could not slack off even for a second.

    His routine included 7 hours of constant training under the sun with an hour break in between. His meditation time had been increased by 30min to 6 o clock after which he started his physical training which went till 2pm.

    After having his lunch he used to visit his father''s training institute where he was given training on fighting. He returned home with his father after having dinner by 10 he hit the bed. His father always said ''a good rest is required otherwise the body won''t perform 100%'' .

    Like this 4 months went by. After finishing his lunch James headed to the training Institute with his father. They usually walked to the Institute as it wasn''t very far from his home. He was feeling strange today as if there was a lot of energy inside him. When they reached the Institute James went to a training zone instead of first warming up and practicing with his father as he felt a jolt of energy running inside his body.

    These zones comprised of a small square shaped rooms which housed robots of different strengths for training purposes. Everyday James used to challenge the robot with the strength of the 1st stage of Form realm.

    James stepped inside and pressed the start button. The training bot activated and came to the challenge. Like usual the match started and they both lunged at each other trying to win the match. Usually James used to either get beaten or chased around as the difference in strength was great.

    But today James felt different and as they came in contact with each other James threw a punch at the robot and surprisingly it staggered back. It was the first time his punch had made it get pushed back as usually there used to be no effect.

    Seeing this James''s confidence rose and he faced the robot head on. James was still in the receiving end but he was fairing way better than his previous tries. After a few minutes he stood standing covered with bruises on his body and grinning at the training bot.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Never has he taken so many beatings from him as he used to try escape instead but today he felt energy brimming inside of him.

    As the robot came at him with a punch aiming for his chest, James clenched his fist and instead matched the punch with his own. He felt a sudden jolt of energy and as their punches met a *crack* sound was heard in the room. The robot and the child stood facing each other their fists remained in contact and neither seemed to be hurt.

    "Stop" said James and the robot went back shutting itself off. James looked at his fist with a huge grin and calmly went outside. Due to constant meditation and training he had matured and had more control over himself. Even with his body being riddled with bruises he was calm and he was smiling.

    He walked up to his father who was training a middle aged man and smilingly said, "Dad I did it. I reached the 1st stage of Form realm."

    That day the father son duo took an early leave and went back to the house to give the mother a surprise. James received an apple pie which he hasn''t seen in 4 months as a reward and got the entire day off as rest.

    The next day James continued to push himself further while continuing his training. He was now more determined than ever to break through the 3rd stage of Form realm before the 7 month time period was up.

    After eleven days he was able to pick up a 100kg barbell!  He had broken through the 2nd stage of Form realm as well! With the speed he was going by there was no one amongst his class mates at his level yet. Apart from him only 1 other child had reached the 1st stage that too just the previous day from his school.

    James had two months and  1 week in his hands to breakthrough to the next stage. But the next one was not so simple like the others.

    The 3rd stage of Form realm the strengthening of senses stage was a stage that could not be obtained through just pure brute physical training. It was stage that could be achieved only when one''s instinct evolved! It was truly a stage that differentiated a genius from a normal martial cultivator in these 7 months of training period.

    Only through constant engaging in fights and through proper talent can someone achieve a qualitative leap in his instinct. It required rigorous use of the 5 senses of the body which could only be achieved through battle and survival experience.

    Normally it takes about 4-5 months while a genius would take around 2-3 months to reach this stage.

    While having dinner that night James was treated to another apple pie by his mother.

    "Eat as much as you like son as you won''t be seeing good food for awhile. " said his father.

    James looked at his father questioningly to which Edward continued and said,

    " James for the next part we will be visiting the Bursberg Forest this time" said his father.

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    Notes- the third and final chapter for today. I''ll be sleeping now and will post 3 more tomorrow. The next chapter will release in about 11 hours from now. Those who had read my novel with the previous name please do comment on how you like this new version. English being not my first language,  If there are any mistakes in the chapter please do point it out I will correct them asap.  Thank you for reading:) please do comment and voice your opinions. Meet you tomorrow

 Chapter - 4

    Since the world comprised of martial cultivators with unimaginable powers there were certain rules set by the society to keep them in check as well.

    Nobody was allowed to jump on roof tops to travel around the city. If they wanted to move around the city then they would have to use the roads and transports like cars. Even the use of spirit beasts as rides inside the city was forbidden!

    This was to avoid any unforseen accidents as normal people would be afraid to walk on streets where a twin tailed tiger or 3 headed cobra were also moving.

    Bursberg city had a radius of around a hundred kilometers. It was a smaller city compared to capital cities of kingdoms which could even encompasses a radius of a thousand kilometers .

    The world was huge but technology had also advanced quite a bit. For travelling teleportation gates which had a range of ten thousand kilometers! Often to travel across kingdoms and continents multiple teleportation gates would be used.

    Only major cities and capital cities had such portals. For smaller cities huge flying airships are used for locomotion. All kingdoms were mapped and connected and could be traversed by anyone.

    Marriane had drove both father and son to the city gates the next morning. Edward had already called for a two month break from his work. Since he was the owner of the training Institute he was able to leave for a short while.

    "Take care of James properly, Edward! Don''t let him off your sights. " glared Marriane as she looked towards her husband. As a mother she would never want her son to venture out into the forest but she knew the path her son had decided in life will be filled with dangers of more horrible natures.

    " Don''t worry sweetheart I won''t let anything happen to our James! Besides the forest doesn''t have any high ranking spirit beasts inside. The forest was cleared of them long time ago. " assured Edward as he knew his wife was very troubled with his decision but it was a decision that had to be taken.

    " Time to go James "

    James hugged his mother tightly and went off with his father into the forest. As the duo travelled deep inside the forest Edward laid instructions for James to follow.

    " James you can never take off the watch on your wrist. It will give me your location and also the current condition of your body. It will also act as a communication device between us. You will train here for exactly two months and I won''t be with you in this time period. "

    " Me being with you will defeat the purpose. I will be hidden in a certain location far away from you. I have also provided you with a medicine bag in case you fall prey to any serious wounds or poison. I have also provided a knife and a bow as weapons as well. "

    " There aren''t any beasts at Azure level or even the 4th stage of Form realm but there are some at the 3rd stage. So be careful when you travel. You certainly are no match for a 3rd stage Form realm spirit beast. With the power of their advanced instincts alone they can kill you. So be careful."

    "You have chosen to walk the path of a martial cultivator and such dangers are only the start of your journey. Good luck son I hope you are able to make your breakthrough in time. Remember no matter what always do your best! " said his father.

    " I got it dad I will try my best! "

    " From this point onward we separate. Now go! " said his father as he suddenly disappeared from sight.

    Seeing this James looked ahead at the forest and charged in.

    It was dusk time. A three horned deer was drinking water from a pond when suddenly an arrow went straight through its head and it died on the spot. A youth walked out from the bushes and picked up the deer corpse moving back into the forest. As the sky grew darker the youth made a small fire and started cooking the deer meat.

    It had been a month since James had entered the forest. From the moment he entered he has been hunting any spirit beast he could see. Till now he has fought with quite a few 2nd stage beasts but none were worth the challenge.

    At the start he struggled but as he adapted to the environment he dominated the battles thereafter. He only had  a month left now to achieve the 3rd stage but he had a feeling he was nowhere ready to achieve it.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    He sighed helplessly and chewed on the meat. He dearly missed his mother''s cooked meals due to eating raw meat everyday but he did not have a choice.

    As he ate he suddenly heard the moving of bushes nearby. James went on full alert and quickly got up bringing out a knife in front of him.

    Seeing the prey was on alert the beast made a low grunting sound and came out of the bushes.

    What James saw horrified him as there in front of him stood a 3rd stage spirit beast the one horned bear. It was a beast way out of his league in terms of both strength agility and instinct.

    James clutched his knife tightly and looked for an opening to escape. The bear moved suddenly pouncing at James. James barely managed to avoid it but a claw appeared suddenly slashing through his chest.

    Fresh blood splattered all over his clothes as James lay on the ground shouting in pain. The bear turned and walked slowly towards him. As James saw the bear approach he felt his hand turn cold. Fear gripped him and he started losing consciousness.

    Just then he remembered something, he remembered that he hadn''t given it his all yet, that he cannot die like this. He remembered that he cannot fear a meer 3rd stage form realm beast if he wants to reach the summit of martial cultivation!

    His eyes opened wide and looked at the bear and the surroundings thinking of what to do. He could see the bear looking at him like he was a dead prey, he could hear the crickets sing, he could even hear the sound of water flowing nearby.

    Suddenly he was able to process way more information and think a lot more quickly and clearly than he normally can. He had a feeling of rising power inside him but he knew he was not a match for the bear right now with his grave injury.

    As the bear reached him James quickly moved to the right side as he remembered there was a waterfall near and if his hearing is correct then the sound of the water flowing came from there as well!

    The bear was startled with the sudden movement as it didn''t expect it''s prey to be able to perform such movement under such an injury. It roared ferociously and gave chase. James''s speed was slow due to his injury, but he persevered ahead.

    He could see the river in front when suddenly a claw came at his back from the bear. This time though the claw appeared to be slower than before and James narrowly dodged it and before the bear could attack again he jumped ahead and rolled on the ground dropping into the river.

    The bear could not give chase and awaited on the banks as it could see  a waterfall was ahead.

    However contrary to its expectations, James went with the flow of the water and came crashing down the waterfall. As he fell his body grew tired and he closed his eyes.

    When he opened his eyes he could see a bright sun in the sky. Looking around he saw he was lying on the grass on the banks of the river. The waterfall was ahead from where he fell. A small rainbow could be seen near the waterfall.

    He tried to get up but squirmed in pain as he remembered the gash on his chest caused by the bear. He quickly took out the healing medicine and gently rubbed the ointment on his injury. He had to take rest and get some energy as the wound would take about 2-3 days to heal with constant applying of the ointment.

    As he lay a person watched him not far away hidden in the bushes. Edward had been watching his son through this entire ordeal. He was ready to attack the bear when it was approaching James as he lay on the ground after being slashed but his son''s sudden escape startled even him. While falling off the waterfall he caught his son''s unconscious body and placed it on the banks.

    "You did well son but time is running out. I cannot interfere much as your dream requires greater sacrifices and even more dangerous encounters. " said Edward as he disappeared again from the spot where he left his son.

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    Notes- Here''s the first chapter for today. Another will be uploaded in a short while. I hope you like it. Do comment if you find any mistakes. Enjoy!

 Chapter - 5

    A week had passed since the incident. The wound had been healed completely and James was able to hunt properly again. There was a thin line running across his chest now, depicting the scar left behind the bear.

    "I will hunt you before I leave this forest" said James as he looked at the scar with resolute eyes.

    Since the incident James hadn''t been able to work his mind into the same state as while facing the bear again. It was like it had never happened. He didn''t know how to proceed now and he only had three weeks left.

    As he continued forward he suddenly stopped. The forest seemed quiet, not even birds chirping could be heard. This only meant one thing that this small area was controlled by a spirit beast! Feeling the imminent danger he was in James quickly took action.

    He calmed his heart and forced his senses to feel the environment. He was paying attention to every little detail around him when suddenly he captured the sound of leaves rustling nearby. As he looked closely he saw a huge snake like creature coiling around trees and approaching towards him.

    The creature looked like an anaconda. It was about 50 metres long. It slithered soundlessly as it moved. James looked at the creature and derived it''s identity. It was a Violet striped Anaconda!

    Usually they are Azure realm spirit beats and highly poisonous but this one is just about 50 metres which means it was only a 3rd stage Form realm beast. However it was still an opponent James could not take on presently. Their weak point was the spot between its eyes on the head.

    As the beast approached James decided to fight it as he knew that he was not fast enough to escape and even the water won''t be able to save him from the Anaconda.

    The snake stopped as it reached him. It was just 10 metres away. It was coiling around a tree and it''s amber eyes looked down at James and it''s tongue flickered as if looking at a meal.

    Time stood still as both the child and the beast looked at each other. Both wanting each other''s death, both waiting for the other to make a move. James was standing still looking at the anaconda and trying to predict its movement. His body tensed as he readied himself to move as quick as possible.

    Seeing the prey not making a move the anaconda sprang into action as it moved with immense burst of speed lunging itself on James. It''s mouth opened wide as it tried to engulf him in one go.

    It is said that when a person sees danger approaching his body forces itself in a fight or flight mode. James felt a gush of adrenaline and reacted by jumping sideways narrowly escaping the attack. He again felt immense power reverberate inside his body as all his senses worked above optimal state. It was the similar feeling he had while escaping from the bear.

    As he escaped the charge, he quickly took out his dagger and threw at the head of the creature with all his might. The dagger landed on the weak spot wounding the beast. The anaconda glared hatefully at James as it lunged towards him again. James jumped off in the air avoiding the attack but the creatures movement had a sudden change as it shot off in the air towards him and bit on top of his shoulder and neck.

    "Aaaaaa!! " James wailed loudly as the anaconda bit off the flesh on his body. He felt weak and powerless as he realized the poison had entered his bloodstream. He felt down weakly on the ground but manage to get himself up.

    The anaconda stared at James it''s head swaying as if doing a victory stance and charged head on at the weak prey. As the anaconda approached James did not retract his gaze away and looked at the creature with determination. Suddenly the energy that was surging inside his body engulfed him and he felt boundless strength inside him.

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    Not far away Edward was about to charge at the anaconda but when he looked at his son''s eyes, he stopped himself. A smile crept up his face as he looked towards the ongoing battle.

    It all occurred in a flash. James did a sudden flip at a speed he had never moved before when the anaconda was just a hair''s breadth away. Matching the speed and trajectory of the beast he aimed and landed on the head where his dagger lay embedded.

    With a flash he took it out and dug the dagger deep inside the wounded spot with all his might. The anaconda struggled at the sudden pain, it''s pupils constricted and it''s mouth opened wide but it was unable to do anything as it fell and lay dead on the ground.

    Within a flash the spirit beast became a prey from a predator. Not long after James also fell off the creatures head and lay unconscious on the ground due to exhaustion and the wound caused by the creature earlier.

    As he opened his eyes he saw the sky was dark with multitudes of stars shining and a fire burning in front of him. His father beside him as he cooked a meal. James found himself bandaged well and saw the dead creature beside him.

    "You did well son. You turned a calamity into an opportunity and broke through the 3rd stage of Form realm. Congratulations" smiled his father as he looked at him.

    James quickly checked himself and felt suddenly that he was more powerful than before. He was able to hear ants moving underneath the soil and was able to spot a rabbit 100 meters away from him in the bushes. He realised his senses were now more enhanced and responsive than before.

    He tried to get up but felt a sudden pain in the right shoulder.

    "Don''t get up right now, you need rest. The poison had affected you but I was able to quell it before it did more harm. You''ve been unconscious for over a day now and it''ll take a few more to get you back in shape."

    " I also cannot take you back home in this condition even if our objective here is complete as your mother might kill me seeing you in this condition. " grinned his father.

    James smiled at his father and looked up at the sky.

    " I also can''t return just yet. Now that I have the power I still have an unfinished business. " mumbled James as he looked at the stars, his eyes filled with determination.

    A few days had passed since. The sky was dark and a boy could be seen battling a bear.

    James was dodging each strike of the One horned bear. It was the very same creature he had battled before.

    He clutched his knife and charged at the bear. A low growl was heard and with a huge thud the bear fell down to its death. James had finally killed this 3rd stage spirit beast.

    " All done now son? "

    " Yes dad time to return" smiled James as he looked up, his father standing on top a tree branch.

    Only a week was left for the 2 month forest training to be over but since they had achieved the goal they had set out for, the father-son duo decided to return back home.

    " I am coming Ma" said James as he looked towards the direction of the city.

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    Notes- here''s the fifth chapter for today. Another will be uploaded today but after 10-12 hours or so. I hope you guys like it. Comment and voice your opinion and if you find any mistakes, do inform me! Enjoy

 Chapter - 6

    A youth and a middle aged man entered through the Bursberg city entrance.

    "Come one James, let''s visit the barber first. Wouldn''t want your mother to see you again looking like an animal now " grinned Edward.

    " k dad" sighed James.

    The foot paths were filled with people, some with their loved ones, some out for work. It was 11 in the morning and a bright sun shone in the sky. They reached a barber shop and went in.

    Technology had advanced to the point where one did not need a barber to get his haircut or a cook to make food. These kinds of work could easily be done by robots but people still preferred to do it by themselves. Even customers preferred to get a haircut from a person or eat in a restaurant with chefs.

    It was just a matter of personal preference and the same was seen in every kingdom. People liked to continue doing what they loved to do which is why robots never replaced humans completely. They were used for cleaning purposes in household tasks.

    James got a normal short style haircut while his father got himself a fade style haircut.

    " Hmm I think I might impress your mother with my looks right now. What about you James, got any girl waiting back home? " said Edward as he looked at himself in the mirror.

    James looked at his father awkwardly and sighed. He was just 11 and hasn''t yet matured enough on gender consciousness. They left the shop and returned back home. As they stood in front of the gate James went up and pressed the door bell.

    As Marriane reached the door and saw who were outside through the camera, she quickly opened the door and hugged her child as tight as she could.

    Seeing his mother''s reaction James teared up a bit and controlled himself. He hugged his mother back and said, "I''m home now Ma"

    The Walters celebrated with a special dinner for themselves. Their son had successfully completed his training and achieved the qualification to enter the number 1 martial school in the kingdom.

    2 weeks were still left for the test. It was decided that the family would stay for a little over a week and then leave for Ferinhal the capital of of the kingdom of Astia where Sky Blaze martial school was located.

    The next day James spent it resting. He was told by his parents to get used to the city again as living in the jungle had affected his daily habits and routines. As night approached, James went downstairs to meet his mother when suddenly he saw the house was dark.

    No lights were on. He halted his steps and looked around his surroundings carefully. A sense of foreboding crept up in his mind. Shaking his head off to stop himself from thinking such thoughts he slowly reached the hall. As he stepped in the lights turned on!

    James was shocked as he saw various decorations around the hall and his parents standing near the dining table. In front was a cake where ''Happy Birthday'' was written.

    "I had to use some tricks to make mine and your mother''s presence not be felt since you are at the 3rd stage now haha" laughed his father. James''s earlier movements were seen by then which made them a bit amused.

    "Happy Birthday Honey! " said his mother as she clapped smilingly.

    " Dad, Ma thank you!!!! " James welled up in tears at the sudden surprise. At first he had foreboding thoughts which made him scared but looking at the surprise he felt the love of his parents and their care. Today was Nov 11 even he had forgot that it was his birthday.

    The Walters had another feast that night. James was greedily eating his pie and cake when his father said,

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    " Son on the road of cultivation there will be times when years will pass by in advancing and adventuring and birthdays will lose its meaning. Since you will be starting your journey now we wanted to celebrate your 12th birthday so that this memory remains with you for the rest of your life."

    " I hope you always know that no matter what your parents love you dearly and will always support in your journey. "

    Edward presented a red stone to his son which attached to a thread.

    " It''s a Radite jewel. It can save your life one time by shielding you from any attack from an early stage Carmine expert or below. Always wear it and keep it hidden inside your clothes. Never show this to anyone!"

    James knew about the stone. It was a rare Power stone with a defensive capability. The price of specially a Radite defensive jewel was very high, something only the very rich could afford.

    "I found it once during my days as a cultivator. There was a huge struggle for this red stone. In the end it landed in my hands. Your mother used to make me wear it in my army days. Thankfully I was never pushed to the point where I had to use it. It''s the most precious thing our family has but it''s nothing compared to your safety. "

    " T-Thanks dad" stammered James.

    "When you form your core and enter the Azure realm, you will start learning techniques which utilise qi and the martial school you will be going to will naturally have the best techniques available. But your old man wishes to pass you this technique."

    " It''s a modified version I created of an army technique I learned while being a member of the Emerald Force. It''s name is Wind Enforcer, it''s an agility type skill that also strengthens your next attack. I''ve written it myself and the insights presented will help you learn it without much problem. As for mastering, well that will depend on your own hard work. "

    James did not know what to say anymore. He was grateful to God to have given him such loving parents. He was even more determined to train hard and live up to his parents expectations.

    Time flew by quickly and soon it was time for the Walters to visit the capital city. In the past few days James had continued his physical training.

    He also went out with his school friends. A small reunion event was planned by the group where they discussed their progress. He learnt that in his batch of 200 only he had been able to reach the 3rd stage of Form realm while about 34 where able to reach the 2nd stage in time.

    It should be known that only a few children are able to possess cultivation talent and James being the sole 3rd stage cultivator goes to show the difficulty it poses in progressing ahead. Some children even choose to study further instead of pursuing martial cultivation.

    On the departure date the family got ready and headed for the airport. Reaching the capital through an aeroplane took about a day. 2 days were left for the examination.

    As the family reached the airport, James got off the car and looked towards the building in front.

    "Ferinhal city here I come"

    --------------------

    Notes- Final chapter for today. Next chapter will be released tomorrow. For now gonna catch some sleep in an hour or 2. The next chapter will be up in approx 12 hours I guess. If you find any mistakes please comment and inform me and if you have any suggestions, opinions or anything plz do comment^^

 Chapter - 7

    It was 5 in the morning, but Ferinhal City Airport was as busy as ever. Being a capital city, it had the highest number of arrivals and departure flights per day in the entire kingdom. From morning till night the crowd never diminished.

    Apart from travel between cities inside kingdom, a huge percentage were flights connecting to other kingdoms as well. Even though teleportation portals had been set up, they were only available in capital cities and were very expensive. Due to this the airline business was a very stable and successful business.

    All cities in the kingdoms were connected by highways but the distances between them were so long that it was impractical to take the road to travel to another city, unless one had a lot of time. Besides many roads were near forests containing various spirit beasts and hence, were also not the safest option.

    Ferinhal city was located in the heart of the kingdom of Astia. It was the largest city spanning an area of around a 1000km in radius. The city was filled with skyscrapers, and various official buildings were also located here. The royal family also lived in this city.

    The city was divided in 4 sectors. The 1st sector was known as the Kings Domain. Here the kings castle and various official buildings belonging to individuals of the Imperial court were situated.

    The 2nd sector known as the Martial sector only had 1 martial school which was also the kingdom''s number one martial school- Sky Blaze Martial Academy. It occupied a huge area and the entire sector was often called the Sky Blaze sector as it belonged to the school itself. One can imagine the importance of such a martial academy in the kingdom which alone occupied an entire sect to its name.

    The third sector was the Commerce sector. Here various work offices relating to various businesses such as FMCG, IT etc were situated.

    The fourth sector was the residential sector. It was also the largest sector in the city as it housed all the citizens of the city. Apart from just residences various clubs for entertainment, theme parks, hotels etc were also situated in this area.

    The Walters left for the residential sector in a taxi. Tomorrow was the day of the examination. The application process was simple and could be done online from home itself. All one had to do was appear at the gates tomorrow before the examination started.

    The Walters reached a hotel and checked in for the day. They had booked only one room not because of financial constraints as they could easily afford another but because the parents wanted to be with their son.

    Marriane had requested her husband to let James sleep with them in the night. She knew that after today her baby won''t be a baby anymore and she wouldn''t be able to spoil him in the same way as before.

    James sat on the bed, in front of him lay various brochures about the academy. He had flipped through them gathering as much information as he could and had even checked online for information about the various facilities it offered and the examination process.

    The information he was able to gather was that the school encompassed an area of a radius of a 100km! It was as big as Bursberg city! The Academy even possessed it''s own teleportation portal albeit of a lower range of a 1000km.

    The academy had various facilities such as training rooms, Battle Arena, Grand Library and their dorms had a high class look to it as well. The place from the pictures he saw looked nothing less than a heaven for martial cultivators!

    The academy also boasted of 13 students who went on to become Sage realm experts later in their lives! The headmaster himself was a sage realm expert. The academy''s name and reputation was well earned by it and it had deep roots in the cultivation world as it was over 20 thousand years old!

    If selected the student will go through a 5 year training in the academy after which he will have to graduate. The academy has a track record of 100% in producing Emerald stage students. Some geniuses even attain mid Emerald stage in these 5 years in the academy!

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    On the topic of the entrance exam he gathered that each year the examination process could be different. The exam was held in a virtual space and nobody could tell what the exam would be. Looking at the available information made James pretty excited and made him yearn even more to join the Academy.

    Of course the fee to attend this academy was also very high even though it being highly subsidised by the royal family, but through exceptional performance in the test, one could also obtain scholarships.

    "James dear come let''s go for dinner" called his mother.

    "Coming Ma" replied James. All this time in researching he didn''t realise the time spent until now. He quickly closed the tabs online and kept the brochures in a proper stack and left for dinner with his parents.

    They ate in the hotel''s restaurant itself.

    "James my son I want you to remember that apart from cultivating do have some fun, make some friends or even a girlfriend! " said his father which caused an awkward expression by James.

    " Don''t tease him! My poor baby must be tensed right now. "

    " I am fine Ma" replied James giving a smile.

    " it was just a joke nothing else, nothing else. But James remember one thing in your life. No matter who you become or what you do we will always be there to support you. In your journey you will meet various kinds of people some good, some bad, but in the end it''s whether you are good or bad is what matters. "

    " And always be humble, never be arrogant! Arrogance can often rub others in the wrong way creating unnecessary enemies specially in the cultivation world where many are ego centric people."

    " You must also always remember to cherish your relationships whether friends, family or a lover. Never leave them no matter how high you reach in your life because they are the ones who have been a part of your journey and have helped you in your rise. " said his father with a serious tone.

    " Yes father I will remember your words and abide by them " said James with veneration in his eyes.

    Edward had good talent and had served in the army. Even though living in rough conditions and facing life and death situations everyday he had always kept a kind appearance. He had always been helpful and everybody who knew him only had praises.

    He has been a very loving father and husband. He sadly could not continue his martial journey due to an injury he received while protecting the kingdom''s borders against foreign forces. James had just been born that time and his injury stopped his cultivation advances.

    He chose to leave the army and return back home as he did not want a son to live without a father or to widow a young wife. It took almost 8 years for his injury to heal but by then he had lost the fervor which he possessed before due to spending days with his family in bliss.

    James knew about his father, he had once asked about it around last year and had been shocked upon hearing his father''s story. It was due to his father''s nature that James also picked up on his values and beliefs.

    The family rested for the night with James lying in close embrace with his mother. Marriane cried as her son slept. She ruffled his hair and looked at his face again and again. On the other side Edward lay his hand on his wife''s shoulder comforting her.

    As the night faded away, dawn crept in and a new day began. A day which would change James''s life forever.

    ----------------

    Notes- here''s the chapter for today. Another will be uploaded today but I can''t promise when. If you find any errors please do comment and inform. I see some reviews of novels which have just started like 2-3 chapters. I don''t know if that is done to promote it by alt accounts or something else but I''d request the readers to read and comment below the chapters to state their views and review the novel after like 15-20 chapters have gone by I guess. Enjoy:)

 Chapter - 8

    It was 8 in the morning. The Walters were on their way to the martial sector. The reporting time for the test was 9am and being late even by a second resulted in disqualification.

    As they reached the sector the taxi stopped and an automated voice informed them that public transport was not allowed to enter the sector and that they would have to continue further ahead by themselves.

    The taxi was self automated by an AI program like most vehicles in the city. All cities had the similar setups to prevent accidents. But if a civilian wanted to drive he had the right to, but most preferred to sit in the back seat instead. The Walters reached the gate of the sector and saw a few guards in front guarding it.

    Around them people from various backgrounds could be seen. Families could be seen coming out of expensive looking cars, while some came in taxis like them. James saw mixed expressions amongst the other competitors. Some had haughty expressions, some seemed too confident while there were some who had a nervous look on their faces.

    The guard at the gate looked at them and asked the purpose of their visit. After showing the application form of the academy and proper identities the Walters were let inside.

    There was a pathway ahead of them. They walked for about a min when they saw another gate in front of them. That gate was huge about 20 meters in length and 15 meters in breath. There were two guards standing outside. Children could be seen entering through the gates but their parents were not.

    The Walters approached the guard who said that from this point onwards only the child was allowed in. After entering the academy grounds the child had to go straight ahead where he will see a gathering. He must wait there for further instructions.

    After showing the papers and id James was allowed to enter the gates. He hugged his parents who wished him luck and entered the academy grounds.

    In front of him lay a cemented pathway which led to a massive building in front. There were gardens on either side of the pathway. The academy area was covered by huge walls of around 25 meters. It was also said that a powerful defensive formation was also active around it to bar any intruders from entering.

    James could see some buildings on the extreme right and left side of his view which seemed to be far behind the building in front of him which made him think that this building must be where the reception would be.

    As he reached the the building he saw children around his age entering the gates who were most likely also there because of the entrance exam. James entered the inside and in front of him was a huge open space.

    There was a reception in front while there were seating arrangements on either side of this wide hall. There was another door opposite to the one he entered from near the reception. There was no ceiling to this floor, the top was bare and one could see above till the height of the building. He could see many rooms on the different floors above. Some people were actually looking down towards him and the other exam takers from the railings.

    He went up to the receptionist who was a beautiful young lady. She looked at him and with a smile asked for his papers. James submitted his form along with an id. She requested him to take a seat and wait till the exam starts.

    10 minutes were still left for the exam to start. James sat down on a chair and waited patiently. He did not mingle with the other competitors fearing that they might say something that might make him nervous or lose concentration. He simple closed his eyes and meditated. Soon 10 minutes were up.

    A middle aged man and a young woman came inside the hall. The man looked at the guards and spoke in a commanding voice,

    "Close the gates. Not a single person is allowed to enter inside now. "

    He looked at the students and with a smile he continued,

    " Welcome to Sky Blaze Martial Academy young ones. I am your examiner. There are about 241 of you present here wishing to enter the academy. But only a 100 of you will be selected. The rest unfortunately will be rejected. Your selection will depend on your performance in the exam. For now, follow me towards the examination room. "

    The children followed the man to the second floor of the building. On this floor there weren''t many rooms. They entered a room where the door had ''Examination Room'' printed. Inside they saw a huge open space. They were many seats in the room and all had a headset beside them.

    "All of you have to take a seat and put on the headset. As you can see its a virtual reality headset. You will be transported to a virtual space where your exam will be conducted."

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    " There will be 2 challenges you will need to face and based on your performance in completing those challenges you will be ranked. The top 100 students will pass the test while the others will be rejected. The time limit is 15 minutes."

    James had read that around 200 years ago with the advent of true virtual reality where it was possible to send a person in a virtual space with his mind, had led to a huge change in the workings of the society.

    However a lot of its applications where restricted and put under scrutiny to ensure that people knew what was reality and did not lose their mind in the virtual space.

    Around 160 years ago the examinations for martial schools were started to be taken in these virtual worlds instead as it offered the same environment for the examination as previously used in reality.

    James sat on one of the seats in 5th row from the front as the ones ahead got occupied very quick. The students waited for the signal of the examiner.

    "Before you start any questions? " asked the examiner.

    " Sir how are we graded in terms of performance? " asked a girl.

    " For that let me tell you a bit about this year''s exam. You will all be transported to a corridor where after you cross it, you shall enter a room. There a 3rd stage beast will be in waiting. You need to kill it and the exam shall end. You will have a total of 15 minutes to complete the test. "

    " Failure in completing any of the two tasks results in disqualification. As for the how you will be graded, that will depend on factors such as the time taken, your skill with the chosen weapon, movement etc. I cannot divulge all the parameters but these are the basic ones. " said the examiner.

    " OK with that said let''s begin. Everybody put on your headsets. I wish you luck"

    James put on the headset. It wasn''t even a proper headset. It was just a sort of band which was placed on the forehead. He closed his eyes and with a click it activated.

    James opened his eyes and found himself in a long corridor which seemed about a 100 metres long. He could see the exit ahead. He took a long breath and took a step. In the silent virtual space only his footsteps could be heard. He walked 3 steps when suddenly he felt something.

    The ground where he just placed his foot felt a bit hollow than what he felt previously. The hollowness generally won''t be felt as it was very minute feeling. However as he was a 3rd stage Form realm cultivator, with his heightened senses he was able to capture the feeling. He was sure that the step ahead was a trap as the ground would be hollow in front.

    This sudden realisation made him careful as he now understood that this corridor was a dangerous place filled with traps and that each step had to be taken carefully otherwise he would be disqualified.

    He took a step towards the side and felt the ground. It felt as hard as before when he started walking. He walked slowly and again checked the floor. The corridor was only 100 meters long, but to James it suddenly felt like a huge distance.

    Time was running out and he couldn''t waste it by being slow. He knew he was being graded according to time. With a look of determination he concentrated hard and tried to move faster.

    He didn''t want to lose here and disappoint his parents. He wanted to be in the best Academy in the kingdom. With these thoughts he marched ahead trying to move as fast as he could. After about 2 minutes he reached the exit.

    As he reached the exit he saw a large room in front of him. It looked more like a stone room. It was empty with nothing inside it. Suddenly a message arrived in front of him asking him to select a weapon. James clicked the weapon tab and an array of weapons could be seen on the screen in front of him.

    He didn''t have experience with any weapon apart from a knife sadly. His father said that he was too young for a weapon like a sword or a gun and that a knife in the beginning was suitable enough.

    He chose the knife and the message disappeared. Another message popped up saying "Starting Spirit Beast Simulation"

    A 3rd stage spirit beast appeared in front of him. It looked at him viciously as if wanting to tear him apart. On the contrary though, James just smiled at the beast and readied his knife.

    "This is going to be so easy"

    ----------------------

    Notes- to my readers,  I hope you like the chapter. The next chapter will be up in a awhile as I think I''ll be able to complete it soon. If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions do comment and inform me:)

 Chapter - 9

    A violet striped anaconda glared at James, it''s tongue flickered as it looked towards its opponent.

    James stood there unflinching, smilingly looking at the snake, the knife in his hand ready to struck down the target.

    "Start! " an automated voice was heard inside the room. As soon as it ended the snake charged at James it''s mouth wide open bearing it''s fangs at James.

    James stood there and waited. He swinged the knife in his hand just as the snake appeared and did a flip the same way he did back in the forest.

    A small flip in the air barely dodging the strike, landing quickly on the snakes head. With a lightning quick speed before the snake could change its trajectory he dig the knife inside the snakes head right between its two eyes. A 1 hit quick and clean kill.

    "Test Completed! "

    " Aborting virtual space. You will be returned back to reality in 3....2....1.."

    James opened his eyes. He was back in the exam room. He took off his headset and got up. In front of him he saw rows of students sitting, many of them had their eyes closed.

    But apart from him there were a good amount of students who had also awoken. Some had happy expressions on their face while some were perplexed. The examiner gestured to sit down and not move.

    After about another 10 minutes the exam ended. Everybody looked at the examiner in anticipation. Most had already completed it well before time and have been waiting for the results.

    "The examination has ended. Now I would like all the participants who failed to complete the test to step out and leave the room. You know who you are, staying here won''t get you anything as you will be caught in the second round of elimination. "

    There was a good number of children who stood up and left. James was surprised to see this as he thought that the test wasn''t very difficult. He estimated that over 70 were disqualified.

    " Now the remaining of you. Congratulations for completing the test! However, your selection will depend on the ranking achieved by you. As mentioned earlier, only the top 100 will be accepted while the rest will be rejected. "

    Everybody had a solemn and serious expression. Some were even praying.

    " Well it''s time for the results" said the examiner.

    Suddenly a huge screen appeared behind where the examiner stood. On it the results appeared. Only 100 names were there placed in a 10 by 10 matrix where the ranks were noted in ascending order in columns.

    James looked at the list his heart beating fast. He did not have to search much as he found his name on the first column itself right below it read

    ''10. James Walter''

    He was surprised that he was ranked so high. He had thought that he would ranked somewhere in between. He smiled looking at his name thinking how happy his parents would be when they get to know about his rank.

    " All participants whose names are not on the list are requested to leave immediately. " came the stern voice of the examiner.

    Some students weren''t happy with their ranks while some whose name didn''t appear complained. There was even a rowdy kid who started shouting upon the system for ranking demanding explanation. Contrary to expectations the examiner stayed quiet without replying and instead a huge pressure fell on the room.

    An aura the color of an emerald enveloped the examiner. James was stumped as he realized the examiner in front of him was an Emerald stage cultivator! His aura seemed more darker than his father''s which made him believe that the examiner was a mid or a peak Emerald stage fighter!

    All the noise died down in an instant.

    "Leave" said the examiner.

    In a moment the room was filled with only a hundred participants who had qualified. The situation of those who were not selected was understandable. Everybody wants the best for themselves and they were just children.

    However all was not lost for them as only the selection for Sky Blaze happened on 25th November while the 2nd ranked and the 3rd ranked martial schools selection took place on 28th and 30th in their respective cities. Lastly the general selection by the martial schools of the kingdom happened on 1st December. Some also visit other kingdoms to take part in their top martial school selections. So they still had many options left.

    The aura around the examiner faded away and he spoke in a calm voice,

    "First of all I would like to congratulate all of you for passing the exam! From this point onwards you all are the students of Sky Blaze Martial Academy! "

    Bright smiles could be seen on the children''s faces. After all they were just 12 and some were still 11 and being a student of the number 1 martial academy in the kingdom was not a small achievement.

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    " Now there is something that all of you must understand. Being admitted here guarantees you nothing unless you put in hard work. You can''t relax as you will fall behind your peers easily."

    "In the Sky Blaze Martial Academy those who stay in the top rankings are the ones who dominate the resources given out by the academy! If you do not work hard in time you will fall far behind in your own age group and maybe your junior''s age groups as well! "

    " As an example to this rule you all know that the academy gives scholarships to exceptional performers! Amongst the 100 of you 3 students will be offered 100% scholarships while 2 students will be offered 70% scholarships! This includes every expense from tuition to lodging. "

    " These 5 students have been able to differentiate themselves from the rest proving themselves worthy to be given extra privileges by the academy. "

    " The three students are the ones who attained first position in the corridor trial, first position in the spirit beast trial and first position in the overall score attained by everybody. While the other 2 are ones who have shown exceptional skills in their corridor and spirit beast trials"

    Anticipation could be seen on the faces of the children. They all wished to be recognised and rewarded. After a short pause the examiner spoke again,

    " Here are the results. First position in the corridor trials - Markus Jerad. Congratulations! He passed the corridor in 10.8 seconds! Boy get up and show yourself to everyone."

    A lanky looking kid with auburn hair stood up. He smiled as he looked around and said hello.

    James was astonished hearing the result as 10 seconds meant he practically ran through that corridor! He couldn''t understand how someone could avoid all the traps while running .

    " First position in the spirit beast trial- Jane Dorsa. Congratulations! She killed the Violet striped Anaconda in a mere 1.4 seconds! "

    A girl with a tomboyish hair cut stood up. She had short black hair and her eyes seemed sharp and focused.

    Another gasp was heard in the crowd. 1.4 seconds meant she killed the anaconda with probably a single strike at an amazing speed.

    " First position overall goes to Kayla Mendes! She scored a 98 out of 100 overall. Looks like this year''s girls are very tough! "

    A beautiful blonde girl with an icy expression around herself stood up.

    " Congratulations to all three of you! The academy recognises youth of extreme talent and rewards them in accordance! "

    " Now coming to the 2 who showed exceptional performance in handling the trials"

    "The first is Gus Light! For his performance in the corridor trial. What was exceptional about him was he actually found and triggered all the traps in the corridor, not only that, he escaped each one of them as well! "

    A thin boy who looked pretty laid back stood up. He looked very normal aside from his laid back attitude.

    " And finally James Walter! For his performance in the spirit beast trial! He was actually smiling while facing the anaconda and killed the beast with a small jump and clean hit on its weak spot with a knife with minimum effort. Congratulations boy! "

    James was shocked upon hearing his name. He was unable to think of anything but he quickly got up showing himself to the other participants. The other 4 also gave him a look.

    " Both of you may not have achieved the top spot but your performances have impressed the academy and so we reward you as well! " said the examiner smilingly.

    " The 100 of you are the best of the best of this year''s martial talent around the kingdom! Some are of different kingdoms but the academy only recognises talent and does not discriminate on the place of origin"

    "Your journey has just started but you cannot slack off. Take the examples of these 5 youths and try to show your worth in future competitions! It''s a cutthroat world we live in where the strong rules over the weak! "

    Fierce determination could be seen in the eyes of the students. Each one of them determined to succeed

    ------------------

    Notes- here''s the third chapter for today. I hope you all like it. The next release will be tomorrow as I have to sleep now. Please comment if you find any mistakes or have some suggestions. It''s a xianxia story and the early chapters might be a bit slow as I have to build the world along with the story as well. So keeping that in mind I hope if anybody who wishes to review, to review after a few more chapters at least and update it as the story progresses as reviews will affect how this work is perceived by others a lot. Enjoy!

 Chapter - 10

    Outside the gates, the parents stood waiting anxiously. Edward and Marriane held hands waiting in anticipation. Seeing the sad and bitter face of the children who came out before their hearts clenched. Some were even in tears.

    Many parents had started leaving with their child as they did not have any reason to stay. Seeing James didn''t appear in these groups assured both of them that their son might have succeeded.

    Inside the exam hall

    "OK now all of you may leave. Your online accounts on the academy''s website which you used to register for the test have already been updated."

    " You will find a payment option there and another document to fill. You do not need to come here again before the session starts in January. You have a month free to yourself. "

    " However, the training starts from 1st December itself! You have 5 days to complete all formalities after which on 1st December you will receive a package from the academy mailed to your homes."

    "The package will contain a set of academy uniform, a communication watch, and most important of all a Halberd Opening pill. The academy expects each one of you to breakthrough to the 4th stage of Form realm during this month of December."

    " With the Halberd opening pill all 47 of your meridian points will be opened with its help. Information on how to use will be sent along the package. With that said, I hope to meet you in the academy grounds from January. Goodbye"

    The door opened and the examiner gestured the students to leave without waiting for their reactions. James stood up and left with the other students. Some of them had started mixing amongst themselves as well.

    As James walked outside, someone tapped on his right shoulder. As he turned to see who it was he saw no one behind.

    "Hey bro where are you looking at, I''m here"

    As James turned left and gawked at the figure. It was Gus! The laid back guy who won the corridor trial performance prize.

    Gus grinned mischievously at James and said,

    "I really liked the way you killed that little snake as per the examiner''s description that is. Personally I had some trouble dealing with it. "

    " T-Thank you" replied James timidly. He never thought someone would play a prank on him here of all places.

    " So I see many people here getting all close to each other and was wondering if you would like to be my friend. I mean I don''t want to stay alone for 5 years here and me and you won similar prizes, so it''s like a connection you know" said Gus as he fiddled with his fingers.

    "Sure! " replied James. He hadn''t talked to anybody and having a bit of an introvert personality didn''t help as well. Besides Gus seemed pretty fine as a friend to him as well.

    " Great! " replied Gus with a wide smile.

    " So I am from Targus City what about you? "

    " Ah Targus? That''s pretty far. I am from Bursberg City. "

    " Yeah well it''s yours is pretty far for me as well. Let''s go outside quick, I cannot wait to tell my old man about the results." said Gus as he started sprinting towards the gates.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    James followed suit and reached the gates where his parents stood outside.

    As soon as they saw their son smiling and sprinting towards them, all the doubts in their minds disappeared.

    "Dad, Ma I got selected! And I even ranked 10th amongst the participants! "

    " Haha I knew my son could do it! I was comforting your mother all this while telling her you would get through! " said Edward as he smiled looking at his son.

    Marriane hugged James tight and kissed his forehead." Congratulations! You made me very proud today! "

    " Thanks Ma. But the best news is still left! " grinned James.

    " And what''s that? " asked his mother with a questioning look

    " There was a stage in the exam where I had to kill a 3rd stage spirit beast. I got a prize for exceptional performance in that stage. They gave me 70% scholarship! That loan you and dad were thinking of taking won''t be required anymore! "

    " That''s amazing son! " said his father in astonishment.

    " Wait. When did you hear about the loan? "asked his mother suddenly.

    " Ah I was awake for a while listening to both of you talk yesterday night " said James as he ruffled his hair in embarrassment.

    " You naughty child! " replied his mother as she pulled his cheeks.

    As they walked towards the outer gate of the martial sector, James recounted his experience inside to his parents.

    " Yo James! " came a voice suddenly.

    James saw Gus and a middle aged man with him which he guessed must be his father. His father had a rough look on his face even though he wore a kind expression.

    " Ma, Dad this is my friend Gus about whom I just told you about. "

    " Ah! You must be Gus Light. James was telling me about you. Quite talented child you are yourself. Congratulations! And thanks for being James''s friend. He can be a bit reserved sometimes" said his mother with a smile as she looked at Gus.

    "Your son is pretty talented as well from what Gus has told me about! I think they would be great friends together. " said Gus''s father.

    After further introductions James got to know that Gus'' father worked in the Targus Mines. He was the head of operations in one of the departments. Targus city had the kingdoms largest mine beside it known as the Targus mines. It was one of the big important cities of the kingdom.

    Apparently Gus''s mother didn''t survive long after giving birth to Gus and his father had taken care of him since then.

    They promised each other to meet again on the 1st day of the academy and departed.

    The next day the Walters took a flight back home. His parents had already completed the formalities and had paid the fees. James was eagerly waiting for the package from his academy to arrive.

    ----------------

    Notes- here''s the chapter for today. I hope you all like it. If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions do comment. Enjoy!

 Chapter - 11

    Finally the day arrived. It was 1st December and today was the day the academy would send James his package.

    Today was also the general martial talent assessment and most of his school mates had gone to attend it. Those who unlocked their 2nd stage will have the opportunity to follow the martial cultivation path.

    There was a difference between the Sky Blaze school and the general martial schools. From its record of 100% Emerald stage experts to the skills and techniques provided by it everything was superior compared to a normal martial academy.

    By the time his friends start attending their academies and break through the 3rd realm in 5-6 months, James would have moved on to the Azure realm in that same time span giving him a huge lead compared to his friends.

    James was having his lunch with his parents. He had just returned from his morning training.

    ''Tingtong'' the door bell rang.

    In huge anticipation and excitement James ran towards the door and opened it without checking the surveillance footage.

    In front of him was a robot. It was about 4 feet tall and had a cylindrical shape. It''s hands on the contrary were thin and it held a red brown package.

    A mini truck was parked outside, surprisingly there was no driver''s cabin inside. It was a self automated truck running on AI. This was the current popular mail delivery system. All the goods sent through mail would be transported through airplanes and then they would be put in such mini trucks.

    A robot would also be inside the truck which will come out and make the delivery.

    Seeing the robot James exclaimed excitedly.

    "Ma, dad it''s here! It''s here! "

    Edward came out towards the door and showed his watch to the robot.

    "Link with communication watch established. Identity confirmed. Mr. Walter a package has been sent to your family from the Sky Blaze Martial Academy. Please sign here to complete the transaction" came an automated voice from the robot.

    After the receiving the signature the robot left leaving a package in James hands.

    James went excitedly towards the dining table showing his package to his mother. He sat down and started opening it. In it lay 2 uniform sets, a communication watch and the Halberd Spheroid.

    The uniform was light blue in color like the color of the sky and had ''Sky Blaze Martial Academy written at the back'' with red streaks around it. The logo on top of the name resembled a Phoenix covered in flames flying the skies. James liked the logo as it gave of an imposing, prideful and dominating feeling.

    The communication watch was an upgraded one compared to the version provided by his father during his training in the jungle.

    Apart from simply telling the time it was a navigator, an identity proof, a payment option, a record keeper of events which the owner would like to keep a record of, and a communication tool. It was everything a cultivator needs for handling his non cultivation related matters.

    Lastly the Halberd Opening pill. The most amazing thing in the entire package. A silver spheroid shaped item. It was named after its creator Halberd Masefield.

    Created over 4000 years ago by the sage realm expert and genius inventor Halberd, it had the power to open all meridians while reaching the 4th stage of Form realm. Before this invention, cultivators had to rely on their own to open their meridian channels. They used special techniques and laboured hard to open their meridian channels and had a high number of them opened to avoid limited future growth potential.

    The pill was also the reason why the number of sages in the last 4000 years had increased at an increasing rate comparatively to previous years due to them having all of their meridians opened.

    Meridians were like the veins and arteries in the body. There were 47 of them inside the human body and absorb the qi flowing around us. Before the body starts cultivating they are dormant and have to be opened through tempering the body continuously and using special techniques.

    More the number of meridian channels opened, faster the cultivation growth. Hence, reaching the 4th stage of Form realm was a major step in a person''s martial cultivation journey.

    The Halberd Opening pill was a unique item. It had to be swallowed after reaching the 3rd stage of Form realm. The pill enters the body and dissolves slowly inside the stomach. It takes 25 days for it to dissolve and by the time it dissolves completely all the meridians inside the body are opened.

    Very few geniuses attain the 3rd stage of Form realm and have time to open their meridians with the help of the pill before the exams take place. Even in these rare occasions, these young cultivators wait it out till they are admitted and instead practice their skills before the exam.

    The highly ridiculous price and the low benefit of unlocking it earlier by a month or so deters the family and the child to buy the pill. Hence, mostly all such candidates remain at the 3rd stage before the exam.

    The pill''s formula and workings are mysterious and it''s production is controlled by the Halberd Trading House. No kingdom had the recipe of this pill and it was entirely monopolized by the Halberd Trading House.

    The trading house was a private business owned by the Sage Halberd himself. The business was even even larger than some conglomerates. It had its branches in various cities and also bought and sold various items.

    It was a dominant power in the world. It''s owner Halberd is also known as the richest person in the entire world, his wealth was said to be greater than even some small kingdoms!

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Normally a Halberd Opening pill was extremely expensive, but the organization provided these pills to all martial schools at a reduced price. Furthermore the Imperial rulers in each kingdom subsidise these pills to promote the growth of martial cultivators further reducing the price.

    In the end the pills cost comes to a reasonable level for the young martial cultivators. Now this price was only offered to the 11-12 year olds who have been selected in martial schools. The ordinary citizen had to buy it at the original price.

    There were some instruction books inside the package as well. James quickly read through them and first tried his new comm watch.

    The watch was sleek and just contained a strap and a dial, nothing fancy in looks. It had a simple and sober appearance. The dial was moderate in size but wasn''t fat in breadth. It was very light and as soon as he put it on, the watch lit up and a red light shot out over James. After a second a mechanical voice was heard,

    "Owner James Walter registered".

    James looked at his watch, it was just showing the time and nothing else. A button was there in the middle in the outer ring of the dial, which when pressed would bring up various features and functions on the screen.

    He went over and picked up the Halberd Opening pill next.

    "You won''t be able to eat anything in the next 25 days son. The pill needs to stay inside your stomach and dissolve slowly."

    " If you eat anything, it might affect the effect of the pill inside your stomach and some of your meridians might not open which might lead you to require another pill in the future. " said Edward.

    James knew of this. Once the pill was taken, the cultivator was forbidden to eat anything for the next 25 days.

    The pill would apart from opening the meridians was capable of keeping the user well satiated and would not feel hunger or thirst. The user could meditate and train his body without any problems during these days.

    As the meridians slowly opened, with the help of continuous training the body will be able to temper itself at a faster pace and more qi could be stored inside.

    Hence, every user was advised in the instruction manual to increase their training load after taking the pill.

    "I''ll be taking it now" said James to his parents. They nodded and James popped in the pill. As he swallowed it inside he felt a slight burning sensation in his mouth. The pill reached the stomach and started dissolving. James felt a burning sensation inside his stomach, but for a cultivator this was bearable.

    He sat and meditated for a while and then left to complete his evening training regime. James decided to continue the day normally and to increase the training load from the next day. He instead spent the rest of the time after his training on medication, trying to notice the changes in his body.

    By late night James could feel sudden surge in his body. He could feel external energy entering his body from a few places slowly. He felt there were pores in his skin that opened allowing the energy inside.

    As James absorbed the qi he felt happy as now he soon would be able to train in techniques and arts after forming his core. As he was excited it was difficult for him to fall asleep. The next day James spent almost his entire day training.

    He ran twice as much, exercised, picked up weights and trained his fighting ability. His father started training him in boxing as he believed that a person should know how to fight without weapons as well.

    With each passing day James felt more and more energy getting stored inside of him at a faster pace. Soon 25 days were gone in the blink of an eye.

    James sat in the lawn of his house bare chested, breathing deeply. Even in the cold of December he was  unfazed as he meditated. He felt energy flowing inside him from 47 different areas of his body.

    He had finally broken through the 4th stage of Form realm unlocking all his meridian channels. He opened his eyes and with a smile looked towards his father who sat opposite him meditating.

    "I''ve done it dad. All the meridians points are open. I can feel energy flowing inside me. " said James.

    Edward opened his eyes and looked at his son. He was proud of his son''s rate of progress. He remembered that when he was James age, he was just in the 2nd stage of Form realm while his son had reached the 4th today.

    " Come let''s go. Your mother has prepared a feast for you. You haven''t eaten in 25 days now and you sure wouldn''t want to miss today''s apple pie. " said Edward.

    James''s eyes lit up brilliantly at that. He now felt hunger and was craving for his apple pie. He quickly got up and ran inside the house.

    New years approached and so did James departure to the academy to start his new journey as a martial cultivator.

    -------------------

    Notes- Here''s the second chapter for today. This is also the final chapter for today. I have caught up with my writing. The next chapter I am still writing and will be released tomorrow. However, from now on I will be trying to release minimum 1 chapter a day. I had a few chapters stacked when I started posting so was able to edit and post 3 a day but I haven''t felt much motivated since nor do I get any response (T. T)  so I haven''t been writing much at all. Hence, I caught up today. If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions please do comment. Enjoy

 Chapter - 12

    A cool wind blew in Ferinhal city. Even though it was early morning, the sun was hidden by the clouds and the atmosphere was chilly. January was a kind month to Ferinhal bestowing the city and its citizens with a cool month in contrast to the cold in December.

    Shops were still closed and few cars could be seen on the streets. However, there was a huge crowd today in front of the gates of the martial sector.

    Parents could be seen with their children. Some were crying while some had proud looks on their faces. They all had come to drop their children in the academy. Today was the day the new batch of cultivators entered the academy.

    Marriane knelt down and hugged her son as she cried while Edward was rubbing her back consoling her. Their son was going to start a new chapter in his life and a dangerous one at that. James also cried as he hugged his mother tight.

    "Now now dont cry Marriane. Our son is strong and he will be back in the yearly holiday break. Look James is crying as well. We wouldn''t want him to go in with such a face. He might get teased inside for it." consoled Edward.

    Marriane let go of her son and gave a kiss on his forehead.

    "Make your Ma proud, but most of all take proper care of yourself! All I want is for you to achieve your dreams and be a man respected by others." she said as she looked at her son.

    "Mm!" replied James, his eyes still watery.

    "And don''t forget to brush your teeth! I''ve already put in your toothbrush, sunscreen, powder and soap in your backpack! "

    Suddenly all James could do was gawk at his mother. He smiled helplessly and said," Yes Ma" while his father rubbed his forehead.

    " It''s time now son. You wouldn''t want to be late. Remember this James you will encounter many geniuses inside and sometimes you might feel inferior, but that''s how life is. It shouldn''t stop you but instead motivate you to work harder. "

    " Hard work beats talent when talent doesn''t work hard! " said Edward as he patted his son''s shoulder.

    After a few more minutes James went inside the gate clutching a small suitcase with him. There were some children who were empty handed as well but they all had a ring in their fingers.

    Spatial rings was used by people to store their goods to take it with them comfortably. However these rings had very limited space and were quite expensive, hence, they weren''t seen much in public.

    James reached the academy gates where after confirming his identity with the comm watch he was let in. As he walked towards the huge building in front, which was were his examination took place in, he felt a tap on his right shoulder.

    James smiled and looked to his left but he saw no one.

    "Where are you looking bro I am here. " came a cheerful voice.

    Gus stood behind him on his right, with an amused expression at having fooled James again.

    James looked at him with wide eyes and sighed.

    " I saw you outside the gates all teary with you parents. Missing your mommy already? " grinned Gus.

    " I saw you too hugging and crying with your dad. " replied James as he grinned back.

    Gus became flustered and quickly said," I never you could tease as well! Haha looks like we will have lots of fun together! "

    They both talked a bit and reached the reception inside the building. Many students could be seen today, all wearing their light blue uniforms.

    After a while a middle aged man with a staff in his hand entered and approached them. He had black hair with slight grey streaks in it and had a stern look on his face. He looked towards the crowd of students and spoke,

    "I hope everyone has gathered here. It''s almost time for your Orientation. I''ll be taking you to the auditorium so I request everyone to follow me. " saying this he turned around and walked towards the other side. A similarly huge glass door was located on the other side of the building opposite to the entry door beside the reception.

    As they all got out James was astonished as he looked ahead. In front of him lay a breathtaking view.

    Huge structures could be seen as far as the eye could see.

    Each building had a huge gap between them and the area was covered in lush grasses and trees with stony pathways around connecting each area.

    "This is just a small view of the academy. The academy is way larger than what you see in front of yourself. Come we don''t have much time right now. You will all have plenty of time to move around the academy grounds later. "

    Suddenly a hover disc appeared and landed in front of them. It was a huge disc with a radius of 50 meters. The middle aged man got on the gestured for everyone to get on as well.

    James and Gus stepped on the disc looking around each other. The disc was purple in color and had no covering around it. It was completely open!

    These hover discs were the primary mode of transport in the academy. In fact, many academies around the world used it as the primary mode of transport withing the academy grounds.

    These hover discs come in various sizes as well. Generally students are given a hover disc of 1 meter for their personal use for travel inside the academy grounds. These discs can fly up to 50 meters above the ground and travel at a max speed of 100miles per hour.

    They work on magnetic repulsion technology where it is able to maintain flight by acting against the magnetic property of the planet.

    Hover discs are very expensive as well. The one the group was standing on was a premium class hover disc which could fly up to a height of 500 meters above ground and at a speed of 400 miles per hour!

    When everyone had stepped on, the man gave a slight tap with his staff and suddenly the hover disc shook and rose up in the air. James was awed by the view below. He could see the academy campus and was astonished as he saw that even now he could not see the entire campus.

    Suddenly with jolt the hover disc moved at a breathtaking speed towards the northeast and by the time they realised what had happened, they had already reached near a building.

    The disc came to a halt and descended. In front of them was a semi circle shaped building. It was blue in color and had a square cut in front which was also the entrance point. The doors were large enough to allow at least 10 people to walk in together. Above the doors ''Auditorium''  was written in huge letter pieces.

    Large trees and plants were planted around the entire perimeter of the area for beautification.

    The group left the hover disc and entered the auditorium. Inside was a huge stage and seating was done on the ground in front of the stage and on galleries built on either side of the stage. The auditorium could probably hold over 10000 people but such a capacity was rarely reached in even a 10 year span.

    The group sat in front while the middle aged teacher handled the discipline. Soon footsteps were heard and everybody looked towards the stage in anticipation.

    A man who looked to be in his early fifties appeared from behind the stage and walked in front. He stood there and looked at the crowd in front with a sharp but calm gaze.

    James felt as if this elder was looking straight through him and analysing him. After a few seconds the elderly looking man cleared his throat and spoke in a loud and clear voice,

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Good morning to one and all present here. I welcome you all to Sky Blaze Martial Academy! "

    " My name is Felix Storm and I am the headmaster of this Academy. The academy came into being over 20 thousand years ago and has a deep heritage and legacy which has been maintained by the generations of cultivators who have graduated from this Academy."

    " Similarly you as the future generation will have to keep the tradition going by shouldering the responsibility with your deeds and actions in the inside and outside world."

    "I must congratulate you all for having made it here but this, is just the starting point of your journey. The path of martial cultivation is not only extremely difficult, but also a ruthless one! "

    " Lowering your guard for even a second can cost you in battle, similarly if you don''t work hard here you will not gain anything by being a student in this Academy. "

    " Here the rule of the jungle is followed where the strong rules over the weak and only the strong and deserving ones will be the one who will monopolize on the benefits this Academy has to offer. "

    " Steel your heart and your mind as these 5 years are one of the most crucial point in your life. With that said I wish you all the very best! "

    The audience listened with rapt attention to each word spoken by the headmaster.

    " For today you will be given your dorm rooms after your orientation. Your classes will begin from tomorrow. As of now the comm watch in each of your wrists have been updated with the academy map."

    " Within a few days you will get acquainted with the academy grounds and each one of you will receive a hover disc for travelling within the academy. "

    " The person who brought you here today is Prof. Darel Kroft who will also be your teacher teaching you, about qi manipulation when all of you have stepped in to the Azure realm "

    " I see that everyone here has broken through the 4th stage of Form realm. It will now take about another month for you to form your core and step in to the Azure realm."

    " So for the first month here you will be taught on various subjects, basic knowledge that you will need such as history, various pills and their effects, spirit beasts etc.

    " I think I have covered everything. Further rules and regulations have been sent to your rooms along with your hover discs. I won''t take any more time now."

    " Remember that each one of you here is a genius in their own right and hence you are nothing special! Only through hard work will you be able to differentiate from your peers. Now it''s time for you to leave. Prof Kroft will escort you to your dorms. "

    The headmaster suddenly disappeared from the stage and before anybody could react the professor who stood beside a wall behind, called the students to follow him.

    The hover disc descended down near a group of buildings. The students looked ahead and could see 2 storey buildings packed in a sort of residential complex structure.

    There were about 20 buildings 10 on the right and 10 on the left. A large pathway ran in between them. There were no security guards present but the entire area had CCTV cameras installed.

    As they got off the disc the professor spoke in a loud voice,

    "The buildings you see on the left are for the boys while the ones on the right are for the girls. Each building has 5 rooms on each floor. Each one of you will get 1 room for yourselves."

    " There are no preemptive selection, you may choose whichever you want as they all are the same. As you advance you will be shifted to newer areas with even better rooms. It all depends on your performance! "

    " None of your seniors live in these dorms. They have already shifted to better ones as these are the most basic rooms. So work hard and you may also leave this place as well. "

    " When you settle down go through the information provided in your comm watches and a package will arrive at your doorstep in the afternoon which will contain your hover discs. "

    " With that said I hope to meet you all in my class tomorrow. Your first class will be with me, details are already provided in your planner. "

    The professor got on the disc and soared up disappearing into the sky.

    The students quickly decided to choose their rooms. James and Gus chose rooms near each other and settled down. They took rooms in the second building on the ground floor.

    The room had a bed, a table, a stool and a small bathroom. The professor was right when he said these are basic rooms thought James. He winded down and settled in.

    After a while a knock was heard on the door. James went up and opened it and saw a robot stood outside which looked similar to the delivery bots. It had a package beside it.

    "Please show your watch for identity check"

    James brought his comm watch towards the robot and a red light flicked on it.

    "Identity confirmed. Student James Walter, year 1."

    "Here is your package which contains your hover disc and a spatial ring."

    James was surprised as he knew about the hover disc but didn''t know he will get a spatial ring as well. He received his package and closed the door.

    The disc was red in color and was a meter in radius. It was the standard travel disc given to students to traverse the academy grounds quickly.

    He looked at the spatial ring next. It looked simple and ordinary with a silver shank and black centre stone. It had a space of only 2 square meters inside. James understood that the ring was meant for him to carry his disc with him and maybe a cloth or 2 on top of it.

    A knock was heard and as James opened the door he saw Gus standing outside.

    "Cmon man how long will you stay inside! Let''s test out our disc''s. I can''t wait to test this baby out. I''d say we should visit the cafeteria and get something to eat while were on it"

    " Sounds good. Ok give me a sec. " said James.

    He put on his ring and took out his disc. They went outside and saw a couple of students as well. After a few tries James finally got the hang of using the disc properly which he found to be surprisingly quite easy.

    " This is so easy bro! I can even do a flip on it. Let''s race to the cafeteria! I already feel like I''ll die from hunger. " said Gus. He was fidgeting with his disc trying various flips as he rode it.

    " Loser pays" replied James as he grinned towards Gus to which Gus gave a smirk and nodded back.

    The sun was setting down. The skies had a orange tint to it and two boys raced through the skies. A new life begins, a life of adventure, joy and sorrow.

    -----------------------

    Notes- Here''s the chapter for today. I never knew world building can take so much time, which is why I decided to write longer chapters to fit in more stuff. The next chapter will be released tomorrow as I haven''t even started writing it yet. In fact I just finished this one. The novel has crossed over 1k views so yay!!! :) but no responses yet :(. If you find any mistakes or have nay suggestions please do comment and tell me. Enjoy!

 Chapter - 13

    It has been 3 weeks since school started. James and Gus were eating in the cafeteria. Their class just got over and were having their lunch.

    The food in the cafeteria was was available without any charges as a charge had already been made in their Academy fees. This also relived James as he lost the race on the first day against Gus.

    Their classes consisted of topics such as on the history of the cultivation world. In this class they learned about various famous experts, sages and the unique techniques they used. They also learned about the various elements which can be controlled by channeling qi etc.

    Another class of theirs was on various types of spirits beasts, their grades, their weak points and the various parts of their body which had tremendous value.

    And lastly they had a class on the various pills and their effects that were available on the market. The academy thought that teaching such information was important as a cultivator should have basic knowledge of the world around him.

    Apart from theory classes they were given combat classes where the students could pick up and start practicing with a weapon.

    James chose a sword while Gus chose a spear. Some in his batch  chose guns while some even chose gauntlets. Every weapon had its advantages and disadvantages.

    Guns didn''t work on bullets instead required the injection of qi. The guns used by cultivators had qi infused in them which was then shot at high speed towards a target.

    Their combat instructor Mr. Dave had a nickname for the ruthless training methods used by him. He was often called Dave the Dangerous by the seniors.

    He made separate training programs for each student according to their physique and weapon choice.

    He also hosted daily fights between the students. Since it was his first time with a sword James often lost in the start specially to Jane Dorsa who was known as the number 1 fighter in their batch.

    She dominated every fight with her sword skills. But within a few days he started to win most of his fights as well.

    Contrary to his thinking the laid back Gus was actually very powerful when it came to fighting. His learning in the ways of the spear was very quick and combined with his nimble footwork he was able to beat most opponents but had to bow his head in front of Jane.

    These days James usually spent his time honing his body more and some time in practicing with the sword. To him perfecting the body was more important than mastery in weapons.

    But this didn''t mean that he left out his sword practice. He was diligent while practicing the sword but was more focused in training his body.

    Due to constant training to improve himself, he did not mingle with others and only roamed around with Gus. The same was also true for many in his batch.

    The batch had 100 geniuses and represented the cream of this year''s generation in the entire kingdom. Naturally they were all focused wanting to reach the top.

    "Hey bro tomorrow the ranking tournament starts! It''ll be fun watching the seniors beating each other to a pulp. I hear many are either peak Azure or early Emerald realm fighters! " said Gus as he ate his food.

    " Yep can''t wait! There are some really ferocious seniors in the 4th and 5th years. Specially senior Mark!" replied James excitedly.

    The academy had a tournament each year during the 4th week of January. The tournament lasted for 4 days and students could challenge each other irrespective of their years. The ''rookie batch'' was also made to watch this tournament.

    It was the week when most will break through to the Azure realm and this tournament was a tool the academy used to raise the determination of these new students and to show them how harsh fights could be between cultivators.

    At night James sat down meditating. His body full of sweat, he had been doing handstand push-ups. Due to constant training he had a lean figure void of fat. The past few days he felt that he was about to enter Azure realm and he had increased his practice.

    Due to the Halberd opening pill''s effect, the body absorbed qi at a very fast rate as all the meridian channels were opened. It was easy to form the Core within 2 months and by constant training it could be achieved in only a single month itself.

    As the body goes through constant tempering it hungrily absorbs more energy thereby reducing the time to break through.

    After a while James opened his eyes and rested. He looked up the ceiling excitedly imagining how tomorrow''s fights would be. Sleeping for him today would not be easy.

    The sun shone brightly in the sky and a cool wind blew. The tournament was held in the coliseum in the academy.

    The academy was divided in to 4 parts. On the south side was the main entrance, reception and few other management buildings. Apparently the teachers had their loving quarters in this side.

    On the east side was the auditorium and the coliseum.

    The north had all the training grounds and facilities while the west side had the dorms and the Grand library.

    The centre had only one building, Sky Blaze Tower. The building had a circular frame spiraling towards the Sky.

    It served many purposes. The tower was where the headmaster''s office was situated. Apart from the headmaster''s office, the tower was also where the students received missions from.

    The students had to complete missions to survive in the academy. Cultivators need a variety of pills. medicines, techniques and weapons. Such items had a huge cost and to fund these expenses the students could complete missions or win tournaments and events for prizes.

    Missions could be obtained from the missions board located in the 1st floor of the tower. The remuneration was generally in bank notes which could be exchanged for various pills, techniques and weapons.

    These items could be directly bought by surfing the academy store from the comm watch, but if someone wanted to check before buying, he could visit the upper floors where the shops were situated.

    The coliseum today was packed with students and spectators from outside. It was one of the most famous competitions in the entire kingdom as the candidates were the top geniuses present in the country. Various eminent personalities and even members of the royal family were sitting in vip booths spectating the matches.

    The first 2 days considered of preliminary rounds where the candidates battled each other out in elimination rounds till there where only 8 participants left after which the preliminaries were conducted on the third day followed by the semi finals.

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    The finals took place on the 4th and last day of the tournament.

    All students from 2nd to 5th year participated in the hopes of increasing their ranks for more benefits. The matches were issued at random and were mostly amongst the respective year batches as it wasn''t fair to match a 2nd or 3rd year student against a 5th year student.

    There were bands such as for ranks 1-100 consisted of matches mostly between 5th year students and so on and so forth. Hence, mostly 5th year students were seen from the preliminaries the next day.

    But the academy awarded prizes to students for reaching certain ranks for example if a second year reached rank 300 then it could be said that he was the strongest 2nd year in the academy and he gained special rewards.

    If the same rank was achieved by a 3rd year he would gain nothing as it meant he was the weakest 3rd year student.

    After reaching the end of the band that is ranks 100, 200, 300, the student apart from earning special rewards also had the right to issue challenges to his seniors until he was defeated to aim to cross and enter into higher bands for greater rewards.

    Every student received a small monthly stipend for his cultivation expenses but it was not up to their requirements. The only way to increase the stipend was to increase their ranking and the rankings could only be increased once every year in this ranking tournament.

    James sat with Gus watching the stage ahead. The coliseum was round structure with a huge centre stage and galleries around it. It was known as the heart of the academy as legends were made on this very stage every year.

    The stage had 4 rings where matches were on going simultaneously. James was watching the 4th ring which was the nearest to his view.

    It was a fight between 2 5th years, one at early stage Emerald real while the other at peak Azure realm.

    The match seemed clearly one sided as the difference between an Emerald realm and a peak Azure was absurdly huge.

    "Just give up Jake there is no way you are winning against me today" said the Emerald realm expert.

    "Give up? Hah! Come let''s not waste time in chit chat" said the other.

    Both cultivators charged at each other. A deep Azure and a light Emerald color emitted from their bodies as they striked at each other.

    The Azure realm expert Jake wore gauntlets while the the emerald realm expert Wade fought bare handed.

    They moved at high speeds clashing with each other again and again, but with each clash it could be seen that Jake was barely able to keep up.

    "Both of them are using movement techniques and that Jake guy is also using a skill to strengthen his gauntlet blows. Even then the senior Wade is able to keep up without any troubles bare handed. "

    " It''s amazing! The difference between  Azure and Emerald is huge! " exclaimed Gus.

    James had to agree to this. He nodded and watched the match closely trying to study how they are using their techniques while fighting.

    The match didn''t last long. It was nearing it''s end. Jake stood on the ring huffing, many bruises could be seen on his face and hands while Wade stood on the opposite looking at him solemnly. In contrast to Jake, Wade didn''t seem to have as much as a scratch on him. Clearly Wade was able to dodge and block all of Jake''s attacks while it wasn''t the same for Jake.

    "You fought well Jake  but it ends now! I won''t drag it any longer. To show you my respect I will use my Earth element to end the match. "

    Cultivators apart from strengthening their bodies could also gain insights into the Ways of the World. To gain insights one needed high perception and luck. The Ways of the World was a collective term which contained the laws by which the world runs it''s course.

    Elements, weapons, life, death etc all these forces came under the ''Ways of the World''. A cultivator can gain insights in any of these laws and use it to his advantage by manipulating it to his will with the use of qi.

    Wade''s arms turned deep brown to the color of earth. As he stepped forward with a single push he bridged the gap between him and Jake. A crack appeared in the ring where he had previously stood. It showed the amount of power Wade was about to use against his opponent.

    Jake stood there, his breathing tensed and the qi inside his body rose. He prepared to face the attack with all his power. His arms in a criss cross position in front of his power readying to block the attack.

    As Wade struck Jake with his fist, it hit his arms and a huge sound was heard. Surprisingly it wasn''t the sound of cracking bones but the sound of the ground underneath breaking apart.

    The dust cleared up and Wade stood there, his fist still connected with Jake''s arms. Jake hadn''t moved back a step at all and the ground underneath them had cracked and broken.

    A green sheen could be seen on Jake''s body. It enveloped Jake''s entire being similarly to Wade''s Emerald aura.

    The audience gasped at the sight. A breakthrough in battle! Jake had stepped into the emerald realm while facing Wade''s attack! James was shocked at the sight and admired Jake''s fearlessness.

    If it wasn''t for Jake''s unwilling attitude he might have escaped and given up and would not have broken through today!

    Wade watched wide eyed and a smile crept up his face.

    "So this is why you were so hell bent on facing all of my attacks. You were nearing your break through. Though it was quite a risk as my attack would have broken your arms in the very least but it seems it paid off well for you. Congratulations! "

    Jake smiled looking towards Wade.

    " I must thank you for this opportunity! I admit my defeat. I got what I wanted from this tournament already and I must meditate and stabilize the energy inside me that is running rampantly. "

    The audience clapped at the display. Both fighters were commendable. They were just around 17 years old and had already reached Emerald realm. James watched in awe at the fearlessness and the ferociousness displayed by the fighters.

    The path of cultivation was not easy and was a path filled with bloodshed. Only with an unwilling attitude can one strive ahead. This fight today was deeply etched into James''s mind.

    ---------------------

    Notes- here is today''s chapter! I just finished writing this and will be starting the next today so I will be releasing the next one tomorrow. As said in a previous note, I will try releasing a minimum of 1 chapter a day and the chapters won''t be short as well.

 Chapter - 14

    It was the third day of the tournament. The gallery was packed to the brim to witness the fights between 8 of the strongest fighters in the academy.

    The preliminaries began. James and Gus stood on the stands, they had lined up early for the front view as they wanted to watch the fights from up close.

    There was only 1 ring in the stadium today. A protective formation was laid out on the perimeters of the stage to prevent harm to the spectators due to fights.

    4 fights were going to take place but James was most excited in the first 2 fights. The 1st fight was between 2 fifth years, one of whom was known as the strongest fighter in the entire academy and the 2nd fight had a fourth year against a fifth year.

    The headmaster gave the signal to begin the event and the fighters came up on stage.

    "The one on the left is Senior Edward and the one on the right Senior Warren and they''re both Emerald realm fighters! This match is going to be amazing! " exclaimed Gus.

    " Senior Edward is known as the number 1 genius in the academy. He is said to be the strongest in the entire academy while Senior Warren is ranked 3rd. " said someone in the crowd.

    " Begin! " said the referee and the two cultivators charged at each other''s throats.

    A green aura emitted from both of them as they fought each other. Both practiced the ways of the sword.

    Their swords met as they fought. James and Gus had trouble following their movements as they used movement techniques battling at a fast speed.

    Warren was barely able to keep up. He clenched his teeth and his aura rose up. Infusing the blade and his surroundings with qi he conjured up several images of himself creating an illusion.

    "It''s senior Warren''s Doppelganger Technique! "said someone from the crowd.

    Even James could not find the real one amongst these illusions. He had read about this technique in the library. The technique used the concepts of bending the light with qi reflecting and creating multiple images of oneself.

    Edward only smirked at the display and flew up raising his sword. Suddenly his aura exploded as a terrifying force engulfed the stadium. His sword gleamed a white light and multiple energy beams appeared beside him.

    "Not bad Warren but your illusions have no effect on me. Let me show how my ''Meteor Falls'' destroys you and your doppelganger! " said Edward in a raised voice.

    James looked at the display in a awe. There were numerous energy beams beside the sword and as the sword directed down towards the stadium the energy beams flew down crashing on the ring.

    Seeing the approaching danger Warren quickly infused qi on his body creating a protective layer.

    ''Boom'' ''Boom'' ''Boom'', the beams hit the ring creating explosions as it smashed on the ground and on the illusions. The entire ring was filled with smoke with Edward levitating in the air looking down like a war god.

    As the dust cleared, all eyes were on the ring. Warren stood with his hand covering his head, his clothes tattered and many bruises could be seen on his body.

    "You sure are merciless Edward" said Warren as he looked up at his opponent.

    "Give up " replied Edward

    " Haha. Not this easily!"

    Warren''s aura suddenly shot up and a bull''s image conjured behind him.

    "It''s a Tor Bull! Senior Warren''s Beast Mark is surprisingly a Peak Azure realm spirit beast! "

    Cultivators can form a beast mark after they have reached mid stage of Azure realm. Using a sealing technique a cultivator can hunt a specific beast and with the technique can seal it''s power claiming it for himself.

    A mark is formed on the right wrist which is known as the beast mark. Using the mark the cultivator will be able to utilize the power of the spirit beast which has been sealed.

    Warren''s body suddenly buffed as his muscles started to grow larger.

    "Not bad Warren, however, that is of no use! "

    A golden energy surrounded Edward and a huge lion conjured behind him.

    " It''s the Golden Lion! An early Emerald stage spirit beast!! No wonder senior Edward didn''t make hunt for a beast mark when he reached mid Azure realm! "

    Cultivators can form 3 beast marks each after reaching the mid stages of Azure, Emerald and Carmine realm. If a cultivator fails to make a mark in any of the realms and advances to the next, he will lose the chance of possessing a beast mark and will only be able to get 2 instead of 3 marks in his life.

    This meant that Edward had trained till the peak stage and had hunted an Emerald realm spirit beast! His title of number 1 in the academy was no joke.

    Warren charged at Edward who just stood there in the air waiting for his opponent.

    The ground from where Warren had stood cracked and broke apart as he leaped in the air.

    "Well let''s see how you take my Tor Fist on first! "

    Red violent qi surged from Warren and charged at Edward as the fist neared him. The attack was infused with the power of the Tor Bull.

    Edward just smiled and caught the fist with his right hand shocking the audience. He didn''t use any techniques nor any special method. He simply caught the fist just like it was any other attack.

    Warren stood stunned in the air, eyes wide looking at Edward.

    "Told you it''s useless. Your bull isn''t the only beast that can strengthen the body. "

    " I faced yours so now face mine"

    With a sinister expression Edward shouted,

    "Roar if the Golden Lion! "

    A huge amount of golden energy collected in front of Edward and shot like a beam towards Warren hitting him directly.

    A huge explosion occurred and as the smoke cleared up a body fell down on the stage.

    Warren''s body lay on the ground, deep gashes could be seen from which blood poured out. If it weren''t for the enhancement from the Tor Bull''s power he might have perished.

    James gulped at the sight. He understood today that fights between cultivators were ruthless.

    Edward was proclaimed as the winner and he advanced to the semi finals while medics took care of Warren. His injuries were deep but it was something that could be fixed in a short period of time. So he didn''t suffer much as his condition seemed to be.

    With the current achievements in the field of Medicine, as long as the person was breathing his body could be repaired from fixing torn limbs to regenerating new ones in just a few days. Hence, Warren''s injuries were not that difficult to heal.

    The next fight was the one James had been eagerly waiting for. It was between the number 1 genius of the 4th years and a fifth year fighter. This 4th year fighter had reached the end of the band and had challenged above his class reaching the quarter finals.

    "Finally it''s senior Mark''s turn. The only 4th year in the top 8!" said James as he looked towards the stage.

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    In the ring now stood two fighters.

    "Mark, Lester are you both ready? " asked the referee.

    Both fighters nodded in response.

    " Begin! "

    Lester took out a gun and shot at Mark and shot at the ground below him. Mark dodged the qi bullet and charged at Lester however he could not approach him as a shield formed around Lester.

    Gunners did not have advantage in close ranged fights so they used various arrays to shield themselves to maintain a gap between them and their preys and to keep them protected.

    The gun apart from firing qi infused energy shots could also be used to fire various arrays towards a target. This was one of the main reasons why Gunners where held in regard and not sidelined as they were very beneficial in group hunts.

    Gunners could easily shoot a protective array on a comrade saving him from an incoming attack or harm the enemy from afar. They could also shoot traps and could be used to send signals.

    Highly experienced Gunners could also shoot homing qi bullets towards a target.

    As mark saw that he was unable to hit Lester, Lester jumped in the air and shot a flame bullet at Mark. The shot hit the target lighting up Mark in flames.

    Mark threw away his shirt and surrounded his body with a layer of protective qi. Mark was known as the number 1 genius in the 4th years because not only was he the strongest but also because he fought without the use of any weapons solely with martial arts.

    He practiced a body cultivation technique and close quarter combat. Against a ranged expert he was clearly at a disadvantage from afar unless he bridged the gap between them and destroyed the Gunner''s array.

    To make matters worse Lester shot a smoke bullet on the ground covering the ring in smoke. He then proceeded firing non stop in the area were Mark stood.

    However, much to his horror a punch came suddenly and smashed the shield to bits with a kick took his stomach sending him back flying. He had underestimated his opponents skill.

    Mark being a close ranged fighter had trained himself to fight in situations where he had to rely on his senses alone. Fighting in the presence of smoke was no challenge to him instead gave him an opportunity as the Gunner was blinded by his own smoke and couldn''t dodge mark in time.

    The Gunner got up and a deep blue aura covered him. A Flame Salamander conjured behind him. It was a peak realm Azure beast which was Lester''s beast mark. He pointed his gun infusing it huge amounts of red qi.

    "Not bad for a junior I must say. But can your defense hold up against my Flame Dynamite? You won''t be able to dodge as it is a homing shot. " smirked Lester as he looked at Mark.

    The gun grew bright red and with a huge bang a large energy bullet shot towards Mark striking him. A huge explosive sound was heard as flames covered the ring and a smoke went up in the air.

    The audience looked towards the stage in anticipation.

    But contrary to Lester''s beliefs when the smoke cleared, he saw Mark standing there with a black armor covering his entire being. An image of huge tortoise conjured behind him.

    "Senior Mark has a Rock Tortoise Beast Mark! " shouted someone from the crowd.

    Rock Tortoise were peak Azure realm beasts whose speciality lay in its defense. The mark gained from it gave the cultivator a protective armor around his body. It''s armor could protect the user against any Azure realm beasts attack and even some early stage Emerald realm beast attacks.

    Lester was flabbergasted at the sight. A gunner had a huge disadvantage which was the lack of qi. In a fight spanning for a long time a gunner would eventually lose due to running out of qi as every shot required infusing qi inside the gun. He had also run out qi and had didn''t have much remaining.

    He knew he wouldn''t win and so he raised his hand.

    "I never expected you had such a strong defense. Really worthy to be called the number 1 4th year genius. I concede"

    With that the match ended with Mark announced as the winner. James had learned a lot from the 2 matches he saw today.

    He now knew that he could not be lenient when he fought as his enemy would never go easy on him and that it didn''t matter what power one had but it mattered how the person used it.

    Senior Mark''s beast mark though gave him a very strong armor but it was just that. Apart from the armor it gave no other benefit to the user which was also the reason why it wasn''t very popular amongst cultivators.

    However, by honing his martial arts and with the help of his armor senior Mark became a powerhouse beating even 5th years and reaching the semi finals.

    James understood that it was the way in which power was used made it formidable and not the power itself. This sudden realization sparked something inside of James.

    He got up immediately and headed out of the stadium. Gus seeing this was puzzled and called out to him,

    "Hey aren''t you going to watch the other 2 matches? Even the semis are left after this! "

    " I am sorry Gus but I feel something surging within me. I need to go back" James looked back, determination flashed in his eyes.

    Gus understood him as he saw his eyes. He smiled and said,

    " Looks like my friend will be breaking through the Azure realm before me. You sure are lucky to have gained an insight here just by watching the battle. Goodluck! "

    James nodded and quickly left the crowd arriving outside the coliseum. He took out his hover disc from his ring and went off towards his dorm.

    Inside the room, James sat meditating. He felt a huge fluctuation of energy inside him. While meditating he felt that the qi inside him was collecting, solidifying and molding itself in the centre of his body.

    He meditated and guided the qi from various parts of his body towards his centre. After an unknown period of time the energy inside him started running rampantly in the centre as it molded and solidified and with huge bang a core in the shape of a crystal condensed inside.

    A light aura the color of Azure covered James''s entire being as he sat on the floor. His body was covered in sweat but his face had a calm expression. He opened his eyes and a smile crept up his face as he looked around himself.

    He had finally broken through to the Azure realm laying the foundation of his martial cultivation.

    ------------------------

    Notes- Here is today''s chapter. The next chapter will be posted tomorrow as usual. I just finished writing it actually. So if you find any mistakes or have any suggestions do comment and tell. I must say though that writing sure is hard specially xianxia type novels where I need to stretch my tiny imagination to conjure up names and stuff :( welp it''s my first try as a novelist so I hope I keep improving to provide you a quality read:)

 Chapter - 15

    James was still sitting on the floor, observing the changes in himself.

    He could feel that he was much stronger and much faster than before as he felt that his entire body had made a qualitative leap with the break through.

    He put his right hand forward and opened his palm. With a bit of concentration an Azure glow enveloped the palm and an unstable amount of qi was released outward.

    "It seems that I can use qi but I cannot manipulate it well yet" muttered James.

    He got up and after a bath and a quick change of clothes he decided to go out. As he opened the door he saw the skies were  turning dark.

    Just then the door beside his room opened and Gus came out.

    "You finally came out! I''ve been waiting since yesterday for you. Forget the semis you even missed the finals! "

    " And what a match that was! Senior Edward and senior Blake battled it out hard! Both with their Beast marks and elemental powers!  The whole ring was destroyed at the final clash! " said Gus, his eyes glittering as he recalled the events.

    " You sure as hell took your time. If only you had awakened a few hours earlier you would have seen the finals. "

    " But congratulations on breaking through man! Can''t say that I am not jealous but I am more glad about it! "

    " Thanks bro! I think you might be breaking through soon as well."

    "Haha yeah I will, I actually have been feeling quite pumped up inside after the finals and so will be meditating tonight. "

    " Apart from you I think only 3 others have broken through yet. The 2 girls Dorsa, Mendes and a guy named Luke. I heard he is from the royal family and even ranked 2nd overall in the entrance exam. "

    " I see. They sure are strong"

    "Don''t worry we''ll catch up" said Gus with his arms behind his head looking up.

    "Let''s get some dinner! I want to eat well before I start meditating, seeing the time you took I don''t want to stay hungry when I break through. " grinned Gus and they left for the cafeteria in their hover discs.

    After having their dinner they went back to their rooms. Gus was going to try to break through so he quickly went in to meditate while James left for the training facility. He wanted to measure the increase in his strength and speed.

    The training facility had many halls with various equipment for different purposes. The facility was open 24 hours a day but only some rooms and some specific equipments were allowed to be used by students at any given time without a need for permission.

    James went inside the gym walking towards a barbell. The gym was open to all and didn''t  require any permission. He picked up a 250 kg barbell and surprisingly lifted it with not much difficulty.

    He went further by picking up 300 kgs this time. He again succeeded but felt he had to apply quite a bit of force. He didn''t stop and went ahead adjusting the weight to 350 kg. This time it required all of his strength just to lift it a bit above his head before dropping it.

    Before breaking through he could pick up a 150 kg barbell but currently his strength had more than doubled. Next he decided to test his speed.

    He chose the 100 meter track outside in the field and set his watch to determine the speed. With a jolt he moved and as he reached the finishing point the watch displayed a speed of 20m/s! His previous speed was only about 10.2 m/s in comparison!

    James was happy with the result. The gap between a 4th stage Form realm and an Azure realm cultivator was certainly quite huge.

    He returned back to his room and from his ring he took out a book. It was the technique that his father had gifted him on his birthday, ''Wind Enforcer''. Now that he was an Azure realm cultivator he could practice this technique.

    He sat down with the book reading through the basic workings and the insights provided by his father. After  an hour he was able to gather that the technique utilized using qi as a force against the wind to increase the speed of the body.

    The technique had 3 stages the first was the beginner stage which was achieved when the cultivator was able to increase his body''s movement by releasing qi from his limbs as a force against the wind thereby accelerating himself further. The force generated was known as qi force.

    The technique also strengthened the next attack if the cultivator moved towards a target as with greater speed the momentum gained could be used as extra force thereby increasing the power of the next attack.

    The second stage known as the mid stage was achieved when the cultivator was able control the rate of qi flowing out from his body thereby controlling the qi force generated with which the cultivator will be able to efficiently increase or decrease his speed as he moved.

    The third stage which was the peak stage was achieved when the qi force generated was in sync with the air particles. Since the air did not have a form, it''s atoms weren''t densely packed and instead free flowing.

    Only when the cultivator could come in contact with each such particle and use qi force against it, will he be able to efficiently move like the flowing wind.

    With what James could surmise, he understood that this movement technique was a powerful one and that he would not need to focus on any other for a long time.

    It was no wonder that the kingdoms special force the Emerald Corps to which his father belonged were given this technique.

    He first needed to learn to properly manipulate his qi in the direction he desired for which he needed to understand the concept of qi better.

    He spent the night meditating, absorbing and observing the qi inside his body. There were no classes for another 4 days as the academy expected the junior batch to break through to the Azure realm by the end of January as it had seen every year.

    James spent the next 4 days locked up in his room trying to get insights in to qi manipulation. He could now conjure qi above his palm stably by guiding it''s direction instead of letting it run rampant.

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    He had tried to accelerate himself but he was still unable to properly release qi from his limbs much less force the wind.

    Soon the days passed and the classes began again. James left for class after meeting up with Gus who had a huge smile on his face as he had achieved his break through.

    But they were both surprised when they attended class as they saw that everyone had broken through to the Azure realm in this period of time. They were all worthy of being called the top 100 geniuses in the kingdom.

    Their classes now consisted of Qi manipulation and combat training where they learnt and practiced fighting with their weapons.

    The academy gave specific classes to students after attaining specific cultivation points. For example if a cultivator reached the mid stages then the academy would add another class for him where he would be taught the sealing technique to form his Beast Mark.

    The academy gave full freedom to its students in the way of cultivation. Students could cultivate using personal skills and techniques and could pick up missions to gain experience.

    Classes were kept less to give more time to the student for his personal training.

    James attended all his classes as he needed to learn both qi manipulation and the ways of the sword. He temporarily gave up on concentration on his physical body and instead focused on learning the Wind Enforcer and the sword techniques.

    In the qi manipulation class Prof. Kroft often emphasized directing qi by using the will. He used to say,

    "To manipulate the qi inside your body and make it come in contact with outside elements to influence them, you need to concentrate first on the flow of the qi inside. You need to concentrate and ''will'' your qi to move in the direction you want. "

    " Your will is absolute to you and so the qi will obey it moving towards the desired direction. "

    He then made the students close their eyes and concentrate on their qi urging them to manipulate it outside their body.

    " The various techniques you will learn are nothing but the interaction of qi with the outside elements and they key is proper manipulation! " he used to say.

    Through Prof. Kroft''s teachings James was able to learn how to direct his qi. The energy reacted to James command as he willed it. With constant practice in 2 months time he had a firm grasp of it and was able to enter the beginner stage of Wind Enforcer.

    He was finally able to release qi from his limbs and use it as a force against the wind to speed himself up to 26 m/s from his now normal 21 m/s speed.

    Apart from this James also learnt how to fight with a sword through instructor Dave''s teachings. With constant sparring with his classmates and constant practicing under Dave''s schedule he was able to increase his proficiency with the sword and advanced to learning sword techniques.

    He was able to infuse the sword with a bit of his qi increasing its attack.

    Apart from him Gus had advanced a lot as well. He was very proficient with the spear and used it more like a staff by jumping and defending with it like a monkey. However his attacks were no joke, James had seen him defeating others with his spear thrust in the class matches.

    Gus practiced his own movement technique one that was related to the land.

    The academy gave each student a chance to choose a cultivation technique from the Grand Library upon reaching the Azure realm.

    James already has a movement technique so he decided to choose a sword technique to go with his training. He choose the "Gale Slash".

    It required the cultivator to send a sword slash with a qi wave which would launch like an outburst of rampant energy harming the target.

    Gus chose the "Shattering Earth" spear technique which required infusing qi towards the spearhead to launch a devastating attack.

    Another month had passed away. James and Gus sat in the cafeteria eating and discussing various events in the academy.

    "Hey man next week we will have the Virtual Test. I hear the prizes each year are pretty great but only 1 or 2 people each year are able to clear it. "

    " I heard about it too. They will transport us to some place in the virtual world and give us a task to complete. " said James.

    " Will be fun! I''ve been getting bored with all the training. Let''s team up! I''m pretty sure we both can handle anything together. "

    " Mmh! " nodded James with his mouth full with food.

    ------------------------

    Notes- Here is today''s chapter. It has become a habit now as I always finish the chapter by this time in the morning and post it. So I''ve am gonna start a new event to spice things up from the next chapter. Plus this chapter gave me a LOT of headache when it came to techniques, names and their workings.

    I even wanted to introduce a body cultivation technique for our Mc but thing is when I read that stuff in other xianxia CN novels I see that the Mc there converts the qi into devil qi or elephant qi or whatever somehow with no dam explanation automatically. Now as a cn xianxia reader I have come to accept this fact that enjoy the ride and keep the brains out. But when I was about to write about it here I just couldn''t write that the Mc illogically with no dam explanation transforms his qi into something and strengthens the body. It just didn''t feel right. Any suggestions?

    And yay for 3k+ viewers! But no responses yet... :( please comment and help!

    Also a huge shout out to the person who rated my novel yesterday. Got 4.5 I am happy you like it so much. I will try my best to keep improving the quality of this fic. Now that we are 15 chapters in,  I know that some people would want to review now, you may but I would like it of you update your review after a few chapters as this will be a long novel and the first batch of reviews will affect it''s readership tremendously in a good or bad way as the case maybe.

 Chapter - 16

    James spent the next week practicing his techniques. His speed had not risen but he was now able to better control his movements while using the Wind Enforcer.

    He also found some accomplishment in the sword department. He was able to launch a small qi wave as he performed the Gale Slash.

    After a bit of training James decided to go out for a walk in the grounds outside the training facility.

    The sky was dark, James walked barefooted on the grass looking up at the sky.

    "I didn''t expect you were here as well" came a voice.

    Hearing it James smiled and said,

    "I won''t turn back to look at an empty space again. Just come in front"

    Gus walked towards James smiling cheekily.

    "Tomorrow is the test. Finally I can''t wait for it." said Gus as he put his arms behind his back and stretched backwards.

    James nodded as he looked up again. The entire batch had been anxiously waiting for the test. It was their first event in the academy.

    "Hey let''s have a quick spar! I want to try out my spear technique" said Gus.

    James was taken aback by the sudden idea but nodded as he too wanted to try out his sword technique.

    They went inside a small room inside the training facility and grabbed a VR headset each. They didn''t want to hurt each other just before the test and decided to fight in the virtual space instead.

    James closed his eyes and found himself in a white space. He then made a connection with Gus and after establishing a link Gus''s form appeared in front of him.

    They selected combat mode and a ring which was 20 meters in both length and breadth with a cemented ground and had a bell attached to it formed around both of them.

    They got ready with their weapons in hand looking at each other intensely. As the bell rang both of them charged at each other.

    James thrust his sword at Gus which was easily deflected by his spear with Gus charging at his right shoulder and ribs.

    James did a quick movement by turning his body to the right barely avoiding Gus''s strike and trusted his sword at his stomach. He decided to bank on the opportunity and performed his Gale Slash.

    Seeing the incoming attack Gus quickly fell back but a qi wave arrived at his chest. However just as it was about to come in contact with him it disappeared. Seeing this Gus smirked saying,

    "That is some mighty sword move you got. Barely lasts a meter haha"

    James''s face turned red in embarrassment. Seeing him lose focus, Gus launched his Shattering Earth attack by infusing qi into his spear tip.

    James quickly regained his focus and made a timely dodge by jumping over. The spear hit the ground and a small crack appeared with a stone the size of pebble flying out.

    "Earth Shattering truly. " remarked James as he grinned, pleased with his revenge.

    " Haha that was just me holding my power back nothing else, nothing else" replied Gus as rubbed his neck, his cheeks beet red.

    They continued to spar for awhile after which they returned back to the dorms to rest.

    The next day, in a large room situated inside the training facility, the first years were gathered up.

    The room was quite large and didn''t have any furniture, only mats covering the entire floor.

    A large machinery was attached to the ceiling and 4 square boxes each at a corner of the room with the front two not at the corners but a bit behind the position where the headmaster stood.

    The students were sitting in neat rows waiting for the headmaster in front of them to speak.

    The headmaster looked towards them and spoke in a clear voice,

    " I welcome you all here. It''s been three months since I last saw each of you. It makes me happy knowing that you all have kept working diligently on your cultivation. "

    " I am sure everyone of you know why I have called you all here. Today is the first competition that we will be conducting for you the first years specifically. "

    " Since the say you have been admitted we have said that only the worthy ones will be able to dominate the resources of the academy, and today will be just another example of that"

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Around you an array has been constructed by placing 4 connectors around you and a large machinery on top attached to the ceiling. This the device that will transport everyone of you to a virtual world."

    These devices were made to transport a large group of people in a virtual world together. It didn''t require any VR headset. The 4 connectors limited the area which the main machine would affect.

    The main machine would send out waves which would intercept the responses of the nervous system and interact with the brain similarly to the way the headsets worked and trick it by giving it responses similar to the responses received from the nervous system.

    This in turn induces the brain to believe that it is in an another world which the machine presents it.

    The benefit of using this machinery instead of the headsets was the lower cost and power efficiency as it could affect about 250 people simultaneously rather than buying 250 headsets for them which would turn out to be quite expensive.

    "This year we have decided that your task in the Virtual Test will be to unearth the treasure hidden in the Sunken Ship. "

    " If you fail, you will be transported out of the virtual world. The test will go on for 2 real time hours which means you will have 4 hours inside the world. "

    " If you succeed, the academy will reward you with a One Horned Beetle Pellet. I am sure you must have heard of its value specially to Azure realm cultivators like you during your classes in the first month. "

    Shock filled the faces of the audience as they heard the reward. They had indeed learned about it, the One Horned Beetle was a peak Azure realm beast which was not a beast found in their kingdom.

    The beast was not special in any way but the speciality lay in its body. It''s body was known to be incomparably tough compared to the other Azure realm beasts and a pellet made of its bones and flesh was highly valuable to an Azure realm cultivator.

    The pellet was tough to make and with the beast being a peak Azure realm one, it was quite expensive. The price was even higher in their kingdom as the beast did not originate from the kingdom. The pellets were imported from kingdoms in the north.

    To an Emerald realm cultivator it did not hold any value but to an early stage Azure realm cultivator, it was a highly sought after treasure. After consuming the pellet, the body will experience a qualitative leap in toughness.

    From the bones to the muscles, the strength of the body will rise and a huge influx of qi from the pellet will help the cultivator to break through to the mid Azure realm faster.

    Normally it took about a year to advance to the mid stage of Azure realm. However, with the pellets benefits it could be achieved in about 8 months through constant training.

    The eyes of the youngsters were shining like bright stars as they looked at the headmaster hoping to win the competition.

    " I must tell you that every year on an average only about 2 are able to pass this test and there have been years where each and every student has failed. So do not underestimate this challenge. "

    " I won''t divulge any details of this test apart from your main objective. But I will inform you of this that you all will be teleported to this world randomly so none of you will be together. "

    " Any plans made of teaming up prior to arriving here will most likely not bear any fruit as there is no guarantee of where each one of you will be ported too. That''s about it nothing more " smirked the headmaster as he continued saying,

    "After all a little bit of suspense is always nice. "

    -----------------------

    Notes- A bonus chapter for today! :D I was very happy to receive my first comment lol and even got a great first review which pumped me to write this. The next chapter will be updated tomorrow like usual but I might release it a bit late as I will be going out to watch ''The Jungle Book''  tomorrow. Can''t wait to watch the real hero in undies^^ I just wrote the chapter so if you find any mistakes please do comment and if you have any suggestions please do comment and let me know^^ Enjoy!

 Chapter - 17

    James opened his eyes and found himself in a standing on a marshy piece of land.

    He was standing on reeds, barefoot on the wet land. There was heavy fog around him limiting his visibility.

    He could see trees around him with vines covering them while the land was covered in grasses and reeds.

    He couldn''t see any of his class mates with which he deduced that either this area was huge having enough place to have random ports of 100 people or maybe he was unlucky to have no one near him.

    A pop up came in front of him suddenly

    "Please choose a weapon. "

    " At least we get a weapon to use" said James as he picked the sword after which the pop up disappeared.

    He stood there and thought for a while. The headmaster had said to unearth the treasure from the Sunken Ship which if he went by direct meaning, meant that he must find the treasure located inside a ship.

    A Sunken ship meant that there must be a water body nearby which also explained why this area was a wet land.

    This meant that he must first find the water body. With his goal set in mind he started looking around him.

    The jungle had various noises and from his past training experience back in Bursberg''s jungle this meant that this jungle wasn''t inhabited by him and his class mates alone.

    And if he went by the headmaster''s warning that this test is extremely difficult then the beasts here are powerful ones probably in the Azure realm.

    James concentrated on the sounds and after a while found what he was looking for. Towards his North East came the sound of moving water.

    James guessed that even if there wasn''t a lake or a pond there, there must be at least a stream which leads to a water body.

    He decided to move slowly towards the source of the sound, watching any and every movement he could see around him. The fog made it difficult for him as his senses were limited by it.

    Gus believed that it was not his day today. He had arrived in a marshy land and after a few minutes of looking around he was able to find a classmate.

    His name was Hank, he was tall for his age and had a sturdy look on his face. Gus had a good impression of him when they both talked to each other.

    Seeing the current situation of lurking danger, heavy for and unknown territory, both of them decided to team up.

    They had similarly deduced that they need to find a water body to find a sunken ship like James.

    As luck would have it they couldn''t hear the sound of flowing water nearby so they decided to look around together.

    They moved towards South and while walking, Hank who was just a step behind him suddenly disappeared. A few muffled sounds made Gus turn to look back.

    To his horror, he saw a Violet striped Anaconda wrapping itself around Hank, constricting his body to kill him.

    A sound of cracking bones could be heard. The anaconda was able to crush his bones without much difficulty which made Gus think that it was an Azure realm beast and not the 3rd stage of Form realm version he fought in the entrance exam.

    Sweat broke out from his forehead as he watched Hank in pain while the anaconda viciously stared at its prey.

    A full fledged Violet striped Anaconda was over a 100 meters long and was either a mid stage or peak stage Azure realm beast.

    In virtual reality, pain was a relative factor that could be adjusted. However, for cultivators, pain was set to its equivalent value in the real world.

    A cultivator would feel pain just like in real life from getting hurt until he died, at which he would be sent out of the virtual world.

    This meant that Hank had to suffer the pain until he died by either from the pain of getting his bones crushed and lack of breathing or getting himself eaten by the anaconda. Both options that didn''t sound very pleasing.

    He didn''t have to wait long as the anaconda opened its mouth wide and engulfed Hank''s head, slowly going down engulfing his shoulders.

    Gus snapped back from his trance and quickly made a run towards the South hoping to not encounter such a beast.

    He ran till he felt that he was far away from the anaconda and stopped to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Seeing the danger present in this forest he decided to lay low and move cautiously, finding a way out of this jungle.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    James reached towards the source of the sound. He saw a small stream flowing towards North. He guessed that a water body must be surely present and followed the stream.

    As he walked slowly surveying around himself he saw a clearing a few meters to his left. He could hear the grunts of a wild animal which alerted him and after carefully looking through the fog, he finally met a classmate or rather a body of his classmate.

    A striped tiger stood there chewing on the flesh of the body. The tiger seemed to be 1.5 meters in height while it''s body could not be made out due to the fog.

    It had black stripes covering it''s entire body with blood on its mouth. It suddenly turned and faced James, its Azure eyes pierced through the fog as it looked at the new prey.

    It was a Silver Tiger, a peak stage Azure realm beast. James cursed his luck as the tiger glared at him with its Azure eyes. Seeing a prey with a weaker cultivation irked its interest.

    It walked slowly towards James, looking at him and observing his movements.

    James was at a big disadvantage not only in cultivation levels but in camouflage as well. The tiger''s movements would be tough to follow as due to it being silver it could camouflage itself in the dense fog.

    The tiger stopped and stared at James intently. It was just about 10 meters away from him. It''s mouth open bearing it''s teeth covered in blood.

    James knew he couldn''t win. He looked at his surroundings and saw a small cliff not far behind the tiger. He knew he was weaker and could not contend against the beast for long.

    The tiger was probably fast enough to kill him before he could stall for time or even think about it.

    He decided to make it to the cliff somehow as it was the only way he could survive this ordeal, otherwise he would fail the test.

    The tiger suddenly charged making its move. He reached James in the span of a second but James was ready for him.

    James kicked the dirty marshy water towards the tiger as it charged towards him. The water hit the target as it landed on the tiger''s face on its eyes affecting it''s vision.

    The Tiger gave a roar because of the hindrance and slashed at the spot James had stood but he had already moved away.

    As the water made contact with the tiger''s face James had knelt down and made a run for the cliff. He infused his limbs with qi increasing his acceleration with the Wind Enforcer.

    Failing to catch it''s target, the tiger glared as it looked at the fleeing figure of its prey and dashed at full speed towards it.

    James had nearly reached the edge of the cliff, about to make the jump when he felt a sharp pain coming from his left arm.

    The tiger being a peak Azure realm predator had caught up to James and had bitten on his left hand tearing it off.

    The sudden enormous pain caused James to lose all focus. He looked back at the tiger, it''s mouth carrying his left hand. His mind blanched with fear and went into a turmoil.

    He no longer thought about the test, no longer thought about the prize, all he felt was enormous pain and regret of failing the test.

    In that split second he lost control of his body as his mind was in a state of chaos and his legs slipped off the edge causing him to fall off the cliff.

    His eyes closed as he fell, feeling pain from his numbed body while the tiger roared in fury at losing its prey.

    ----------------------

    Notes- Here is today''s chapter! The chapter came early instead of late as my movie plan got shifted giving me time to finish it.  A real cliffhanger though xD I hope you all like it. Writing this novel sure made me  research on stuff I never thought I''d do. Again if you guys find any mistakes or have any suggestions please do comment and inform me:) I will try my best to release another chapter today however, no promises.  Enjoy!

    <hr />

    The next chapter won''t take long actually^^ I''ll be posting it in a few hours! I have written a bit of it and will be able to complete it in a few hours.

 Chapter - 18

    James woke up to find himself laying on a hard surface. He couldn''t see much around him as the water was covered in mist.

    He was lying on a rock, there was a cliff behind him and a water body ahead.

    He came to the conclusion that he fell into the water which then washed him over this rock as if he had fallen on the rock, he would have woken up inside the hall.

    He looked at this current situation trying to get his bearings. He lost a hand, still had his sword beside his waist and it seemed that he had found the water body.

    What he didn''t know was how much time had passed as he didn''t know how much time he had laid unconscious. But he felt that he didn''t have much left.

    James got up and looked towards the water. With a firm resolve he decided that he wouldn''t waste this second chance that he fate has bestowed him with.

    He wrapped his torn shirt around his left shoulder tightly to stop further bleeding. He felt a bit weak from the loss of blood but as a cultivator he was able to handle himself.

    After a short moment, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and dived into the water. As he opened his eyes he saw that the water level was deep and there rocks all around him covered in moss and aquatic plant life.

    He couldn''t see an end in any direction apart from behind him where the cliff stood. Due to the mist above, he couldn''t see the size, but looking from below he guessed that this must be an ocean.

    What was peculiar was that there weren''t many aquatic animal life in here. He could see some small school of fish here and there near water sprites or swimming past him but that was about it.

    He continued to swim and found himself to be more and more covered in darkness as the depth of the water grew and the fog above didn''t let light penetrate.

    It was difficult for him swimming with just one hand and against the current. The dark ocean gave off an eerie and mysterious feeling. James readied himself as he didn''t know what dangers lay here.

    After every few moments he went up to breathe some air before continuing his exploration. As he swam he suddenly heard a loud and deep sound of a creature.

    (like the sound of the whale in finding nemo)

    James clutched his sword as he advanced. Not far away he saw a huge ship in the bottom at the ocean bed. The ship was one of those he had read about in his history classes back in school.

    It looked to be made of wood while it''s framework seemed to be consisted of bones of spirit beasts. A mast rose from the main deck with tattered sails attached to it.

    On the forward end of the ship, which had a deep hole inside, a word could be seen which had its letters missing which read as ''Kin  r''  probably the name of the ship thought James.

    The ship most likely sailed through wind force and speed arrays instead of the engine run ones, which made James think that the ship was probably over 10000 years old.

    But the most important detail was that a horrifying existence wrapped itself around the ship. Its huge tentacles covered the ship from the mast to the hull. The suckers on each tentacle seemed to have a diameter of a meter itself.

    The creature''s skin was reddish brown, a huge head lay on the quarter deck. It''s red eyes gleamed in the dark ocean. It was the sea devil, the Kraken!

    It was a mid Emerald realm beast, an existence which was impossible to overcome by James or anybody amongst his class for that matter.

    James suddenly had a strange feeling and looked around him. He found that he was not alone and there were many of from his class floating around the ship, looking towards it.

    A figure approached him which James recognized was his friend Gus.

    "You made it! I''ve been waiting for you. You sure take your time though, I neatly thought you got eaten by a Violet striped Anaconda! " said Gus.

    " Violet striped Anaconda? Where did you find that? "

    " Ah don''t ask, I don''t want to remember it again. Hey what happened to your left hand " asked Gus as he suddenly realised his friend''s condition.

    They used qi as a transmission wave to convey their thoughts. It was taught to them in one of their qi manipulation classes where they learnt how to converse secretly or under water.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.James and Gus discussed their experiences to learn whatever they could from each other. Gus turned out to be lucky as after the anaconda incident. He was able to reach the shore without facing any further trouble.

    There were about 37 of them here counting James. A group of four had tried to sneak inside the ship but the kraken had caught them and crushed them ruthlessly.

    After seeing that sight, the others had decided to wait it out for a concrete plan instead. James met up with the others to discuss how to approach the situation.

    For now the group had decided to team up and face the kraken. There was no point in watching as the time would be soon over and none of them will be able to pass the test.

    However facing the Kraken as a group might result in at least some people getting through it and inside the ship. They decided to head for the ship together by spreading out and entering from different directions.

    They knew that even if they all combined their strength they wouldn''t win, however, this way some had the chance to get inside as the kraken wouldn''t be able to handle everyone at the same time.

    That lucky person or group could be anyone, but it was better than them all failing it. The group nodded at the idea and they went to the surface to breathe some air readying themselves to face the kraken.

    The group approached the ship and with a confirmation from everyone they dashed towards it. As they neared it, the kraken launched his tentacles at them at an astonishing speed.

    In the water the Kraken could move at his maximum speed while their''s were limited. Adding to this was that they were early Azure realm cultivators against a mid Emerald realm beast.

    It''s speed was frightening as it grabbed them. Some had their bodies pierced in between as the tentacle moved at a breath taking speed through them towards the next target.

    There were even some who had stayed and not launched like the others, trying to find an opening in the massacre.

    Many died around James as he and Gus swam through towards the ship. They were able to dodge a tentacle as it stabbed a person beside them instead.

    As they were about to reach the ship, the thin end of a tentacle appeared and grabbed Gus''s right leg squeezing it breaking his bones. He was unable to break free of the hold as the suckers attached to it tightly.

    Seeing the precarious situation, Gus motioned for James to leave quickly. But James couldn''t leave his only friend in such a situation, his conscience refused such an action.

    James quickly made a decision and took out his sword swinging it at Guy''s right leg cutting it apart from his body. Since Gus would fail the test if he was left in this state, James decided to take this risk.

    Gus''s body separated from the tentacle. James sheathed his sword back and caught his shirt with his right hand pulling it towards him.

    There was an opening in the hull just about a few meters away from where they stood. James wrapped his arm around Gus, who had a flabbergasted expression on his face, and applied qi force from his legs.

    He thought that since water was just a form where particles were closer to each other than air, and were not tightly packed, so his Wind Enforcer should work.

    James let out a huge qi force and with a boost in his speed he

    covered the few meters reaching the opening in a second.

    Inside James quickly ventured further as he did not know if the kraken would break apart the ship to attack him.

    It was a race against time. He didn''t have much of his breath left and Gus, who just got his leg amputated was in even more predicament.

    He needed to search the treasure and fast to get out of this world, otherwise they will fail and all this sacrifice would go wasted. He refused to give up and quickly started searching the ship.

    ------------------------

    Notes - Here''s another chapter for today! The next will be posted tomorrow as I haven''t even started writing it yet. The next chapter will also end this mini test arc. I will try my best to improve my story and writing as it further progresses and I hope you like the current progress of the story.

    Any mistakes found or any suggestions please do comment and tell. Enjoy!

 Chapter - 19

    James searched the hold of the ship but could not find any chest.

    Suddenly a girl came in from another opening. She was Kayla, the beautiful blonde girl who came 1st in overall score in the entrance exam.

    It seemed that she was a lucky one to have avoided the Kraken and reached inside.

    She looked over to them, seeing their condition. James suddenly thought that she might attack and readied himself, but she simply gave a small nod and started searching the hold as well.

    After a minute or so James stopped as he found that there was nothing which could be termed as treasure inside. He didn''t have much time left, he needed to be quick or else they would die out of lack of breath.

    There was one other place he hadn''t searched yet, which was the captain''s cabin. It is usually located below the Quarter deck in such ships.

    The problem was that he could not use the hatch or what was left of it to go outside as he might be caught by the Kraken. Ruling going from the main deck out he decided another to try another method.

    He reached the left bulkhead which was already broken in various places and gestured to Kayla to help him create substantial space to pass through.

    Kayla after failing to find anything decided to go through with James''s plan. She used her sword to cut through the broken, rotten wooden wall making substantial area for them to pass through.

    He got inside the small chamber and James motioned for her to cut through the partition above. He sent her a message to cut slowly making the least amount of noise as above that upper chamber laid the Kraken himself.

    A space was made and the three passed inside through the partition where the captain''s chamber and hopefully their treasure was situated.

    Entering inside the chamber, they saw the ceiling had subsided down a bit with holes in various places. This was probably due to the Kraken''s head resting just above them.

    They searched the cabin trying their best to avoid creating any noise. James looked around himself. There was a skeleton wearing what seemed like a captain''s uniform.

    The room had a table, a chair, a bed, a broken mirror and some items which did not seem to be of value.

    Searching the chamber made them tensed as they again could not find anything. James forced himself to think hard as their situation was quite desperate now. Gus almost seemed to be fainting.

    He thought about what he knew and what he had been told. The task was to unearth the treasure from the Sunken Ship. This treasure wasn''t necessarily an artifact or gold thought James.

    He thought about this ship and what he had seen till now. Then he suddenly thought about the ship''s name. After pondering for a few seconds, it suddenly dawned on him.

    He quickly searched the captain''s robe and found a sealed letter. A smile broke on his face as he opened the seal.

    Over ten thousand years ago there was a kingdom named Kintara. It was about to face a joint attack from the neighboring kingdoms which desired it''s ports and it''s land.

    The king of Kintara knew they wouldn''t survive this attack and sent a ship to the kingdom of Taskan with a letter asking for help.

    Taskan was their close ally and they expected that with its help they would avoid this calamity. However, they never received any help and the kingdom was burned down to ashes.

    James had read about it in his history class in the 1st month in the Institute.

    It was later found out that the ship never reached the shores of Taskan and disappeared midway somewhere in the ocean.

    The letter was the treasure, the hope of an entire kingdom. Kayla looked at James admiring the sealed letter awkwardly but did not say anything. James suddenly motioned to her to come near them.

    He didn''t know what would happen when he open the letter and didn''t want Kayla who had also reached to this point on her own strength to lose out.

    As he opened the letter, a bright light flashed blinding them. James opened his eyes and found himself sitting inside the hall. The headmaster smiled as he looked at him.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    James understood that they had completed the test and a smile broke out on his face. Beside him Gus was also awake.

    "What you did inside was crazy! You cut my leg there without even flinching or stopping to think about it! " said Gus as he sent a message through qi transmission.

    " Haha well we completed it didn''t we? Besides it was better than having a tentacle pierce through you know. " replied James.

    " Thanks bro. I really don''t know what to say. Thanks a lot! Without you this test was impossible for me"

    "Don''t mention it. We decided we would team up didn''t we now? "

    " Haha yeah! "

    He turned to look towards Kayla who was also awake. She gave a slight smile and sent a " Thank You" through qi transmission. James smiled and thanked her back for her help inside.

    After a minute or so, the people still inside also woke up. The headmaster cleared his throat gathering everyone''s attention.

    After a short pause he spoke,

    "Looks like this year we have 3 winners. Amongst you 3 have succeeded to find the treasure inside the ship. A better record than last year''s 1 winner. "

    " I would like the winners to come up here as I call their names to receive their reward. "

    " James Walter, Gus Light and Kayla Mendes. These 3 have braved the trails and completed it successfully. They will each receive a pellet of the One Horned Beetle as a prize. "

    The headmaster handed a red box to each of them as they came up to collect their reward. As he handed it to them one by one, a person came in front taking their photos.

    It was instructor Dave. He grinned as took their photos as they received the box, clearly very pleased with the result.

    James, Gus and Kayla went back to their places. The headmaster looked towards the others and said,

    " Some of you might blame your luck and call them to have been luckier than you to have avoided the Kraken or survived the forest. "

    " But remember this, on the road of cultivation, you will find that there will be many who will be more ''fortunate'' than you. You cannot blame your luck every time, only your inability to cope up with the situation. "

    " Not everyone gets lucky. It just may seem so from the outside, but that doesn''t mean it''s the truth. I would like to mention James Walter here. "

    " Boy you impressed me with the way you faced the situation and even with your decisive thinking when your friend was in trouble. "

    " However do not let this get over your head. As a cultivator always be humble with your achievements. "

    " I thank the head master. I shall try and abide by your teachings. " said James as he got up and bowed towards the old man.

    The head master nodded and spoke again,

    " That will be all for today. I hope you all gained something from this experience. Do not be disheartened as there will be many more such events giving each of you a chance to prove your worth. "

    " With that said the Virtual Test comes to an end. You may all go back to your dorms. Your classes will resume from tomorrow as usual. " said the head master.

    The students got up to leave. Outside James and Gus took to their hover discs and went back to their dorms. With the pellet in their hands, they didn''t want any mishap from occurring.

    Inside a room, James sat on the floor with a mat laid below. He opened the box, a small black round  pellet lay there. He picked it up and without any wait swallowed it down.

    ---------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter! The next one I can''t promise if I''ll be able to upload another today, haven''t started writing it yet. If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions please do comment and tell. Novels crossed 5k and now at 6.5k total views yay!!! :)

    Enjoy!!

 Chapter - 20

    The pellet entered his body and a burning sensation filled his stomach. James felt like he was on fire as beads of sweat poured down from every inch of his body.

    His skin turned red from head to toe. His uniform became wet sticking to his skin as he sweated profusely.

    The pellet dissolved into a black liquid which entered his bloodstream. He felt as if a layer of liquid spread across each and every part of his body inside and a huge amount of dense qi moved towards his core.

    As the hours ticked by, the liquid mixed in completely with the blood and got absorbed by his body strengthening his bones, muscles and organs giving them a qualitative leap.

    He could feel an increase in his strength and felt that his body was now even more resilient than before. Inside his core he felt the surging qi increasing his capacity as more and more qi collected.

    The headmaster was right when he said that breaking through to the mid stages of the Azure realm would now be easier thought James, as he felt that he saved about 4 months of time that he would have had to spend in absorbing qi.

    After a few hours James opened his eyes and checked his body. His uniform was drenched in sweat while his muscles looked even more firm. He took a quick shower and with a change of clothes he felt quite refreshed.

    He was eager to test his improvements and decided to head to the training facility. It was dark outside, his watch showed 2 am as he got out of his room.

    Seeing Gus''s door shut, James thought he was still meditating or had gone off to sleep. He jumped on his hover disc and flew towards the facility.

    The wind was slow and crickets could be heard singing. James looked up and saw the few stars in the sky. The moon a half crescent gave off a beautiful silver glow. James took a deep breath feeling the calm atmosphere of the night.

    He reached the facility and went inside the gym. The lights were turned on which made James curious about the identity of the person inside.

    He opened the door and saw a blonde girl with pale skin in a singlet and shorts testing her strength on the Strength machine. Her hair was tied neatly in a ponytail. James recognized her as she turned back, it was Kayla.

    "I am guessing you are here to test your improvements as well" said James as he gave her smile.

    She nodded and after she was done, she moved away giving him the spot and started to leave the room. Before she left she turned around and said,

    "Thank you again for your help back there. Without you finding the letter, I might have failed the test. "

    " Ah it''s ok! Thanks for your help as well. I couldn''t have cleared the partitions inside with carrying my friend with me. " replied James. Kayla left the room and James walked up to the machine.

    As the cultivator progresses and raises his strength he can measure it on strength machines where the cultivator needed to throw a punch at it with all his power. The machine would calculate and give a result.

    These machines were invented as cultivators had humongous amounts of strength at later stages which could not be measured by picking up a barbell as there was a limit to the amounts of weights that could be attached.

    After being capable of lifting 400 kgs, cultivators used the strength machine instead. The barbells were used just as a training method to raise strength during early stages such as the Form realm.

    James readied himself and threw a punch with all his power.

    ''443 kg'' appeared on the screen.

    James was surprised by the increase in his strength. A few days ago he was barely able to pick up a 380 kg barbell and now he was hitting near 450 kgs!

    An idea appeared in his mind and he stepped back towards the opposite wall. He infused qi in his fist and applied Wind Enforcer and ran towards the machine throwing a punch at it.

    ''650 kg'' read the machine.

    James was taken aback as he never thought that by infusing qi in his fists and applying qi force to his punch resulted in over 200kgs of extra force. The Wind Enforcer at higher ranks will incease the strength of his attacks greatly thought James.

    Next morning James met up with Gus. Gus had slept last night on his mat wearing his sweaty uniform as he felt tired after extracting the energy from the pellet. He too had a good increase in his overall strength.

    They decided to visit the Sky Blaze Tower and check the missions list. Each year after the Virtual Test, the academy would open the option to the first year students to accept and complete missions.

    Advancing and making breakthroughs in their cultivation, a cultivator required not only hard work and diligence but a huge amount of resources as well.

    Weapons and techniques came at a price. The higher their quality the higher their price. Apart from this various pills to aid in advancing were needed and medicines to heal injuries. A cultivator would not be able to embark on dangerous journeys without proper supplies.

    Through constant training a cultivator could advance but his pace would be too slow and he might not be able to break away barriers such as advancing to another realm. Hence, in a way a cultivator was required to be wealthy as well.

    James and Gus reached the Tower and went straight to the second floor to accept missions. The floor looked quite similar to the first with a polished yellowish brown marble flooring and a wide open area.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    There was just one difference which was that the floor had no furnishings apart from a counter and a chair unlike the first floor which had a reception and seating for guests.

    The second floor was accessible only to students where they could come and accept missions and earn rewards. The reward for a mission could either be money or some item of equivalent value.

    There were many students here who came to accept missions. Most seemed to be their seniors, however, a good number from their class had also turned up to check the missions.

    They walked up to the counter which had a middle aged woman sitting behind it. She was attending to the students providing them with a list of missions and recording their completions.

    When their turn came she asked for their comm watches. After determining their rank and year she gave them a list of missions available which appeared on a holographic screen in front of them.

    The missions listed would either be given out by the academy or provided from outside. Many factions requested the aid of the academy in certain matters such as powerful beast hunts, finding a certain rare herb or capturing a certain prisoner.

    The academy filtered through these requests and provided a set of these missions to the students for them to complete. Missions once accepted by a party could not be handed out to others until the concerned party failed.

    Missions were graded in ranks according to their difficulty which ranged from rank S to rank D. Rank D missions were open to every student. It mainly consisted of gathering missions or academy related work that required their help.

    To advance to take higher difficulty missions for greater rewards, the students would have to complete a certain criteria which consisted of completing a set number of missions of the current rank.

    The student''s mission history would be recorded automatically in their comm watches and ranks would be provided accordingly.

    Currently James and Gus were only eligible to take up D rank missions. They looked at the list and saw that most of them were from the academy itself consisting of either hunting a specific monster for a required material or gathering a number of a certain plant.

    After looking through the available missions for a while they decided to pick a hunting quest and a gathering quest. The hunting mission required them to hunt an early Azure realm beast named the Feral Wolf, while the gathering mission required them to collect 10 four petal lilies.

    They decided to team up and complete the missions, distributing the reward amongst themselves equally. The reward for the missions were 10 gold coins for the Wolf and 1 gold for the lilies. It was a satisfactory amount considering it was their first missions.

    A standard was maintained when it came to currency globally. The currency system considered of 3 denominations which were gold, silver and copper coins. 1 gold coin equalled a 100 silver coins and 1 silver coin equalled a 100 copper coins.

    Mostly people used bank accounts to settle their debts or receive payments. They did not deal much in hard currency. The comm watches could be used a mode of payment. It was connected to the users account and could be used to pay for goods and services.

    The lady recorded the missions in her database and it got simultaneously updated in their comm watches. They left the tower and headed for the teleportation gate.

    The academy had a small teleportation gate which was used to teleport students to the Astia Mountains. A base of the academy was there outside the mountains where the student would be teleported to. From there the student could go or come back as he or she desired.

    Most of the area of the kingdom was covered in forests and mountains and the Astia Mountains was the largest amongst these.

    It spanned over a huge area of thousands of kilometers covered in mountains and trees. Most of the missions given by the academy required the student to visit this area to complete it.

    The use of this teleportation gate was free and could be used anytime. It was located in the North western side of the academy towards the end.

    James and Gus reached the facility and saw a huge circular structure in front of them. It was a hollow structure considering of only a circular metallic ring. A few students could be seen near it.

    The hollow space in between glowed in white light and a gatekeeper stood beside it. They walked up to the gatekeeper and through their watches, the gatekeeper recorded their identities. The academy kept a record on the identity of the students leaving and entering from the gate.

    James walked towards the light stepping inside and a new area appeared around him.

    -------------------------

    Notes- I was able to right another chapter before hitting the bed so I decided to post it. This is the second chapter for today which adds the total chapter count to 20. So 20 chapters in 10 days not bad i think:) the next chapter will be posted tomorrow and from tomorrow with the same schedule of a minimum of 1 chapter per day. If I have more time and am able to think and write another one I''ll post an extra but no promises.

    I just completed this chapter so if you find any mistakes or have any suggestion please comment and let me know. I hope you all like the story progress.  Enjoy! :)

 Chapter - 21

    James and Gus appeared in an open space, a two storied structure stood in front of them. They could see people around here near the gates, probably going back.

    This area was the base of the academy which was open only for academy personnel and students. The building in front had shops providing various items of need such as medicine, food and various equipments.

    The ground floor housed the shops and a meeting area, where students could rest and meet up with others, while the second floor had rooms for various purposes. Most of the rooms where provided for the staff while 2 rooms were kept to house the injured or sick.

    A wired fence ran across the perimeter of the entire base and a defensive barrier was put around it to protect it from sudden attacks.

    James and Gus went inside the building and looked at the store selling medicine. The store had a sign which read " Medicine Supplies" and an old man sat behind the counter. Various types of medicines could be seen on the counter.

    Looking at the various medicines available, James decided to buy the Healing Ointment. It was a small round brown bottle which had a white ointment inside. It could heal cuts and bruises in a short period of time and could be used to stop bleeding as well.

    It was a basic healing medicine, which was commonly bought by cultivators and was priced at 50 silvers.

    They both a few gold coins in their accounts given to them by their parents to spend. It was a sort of emergency money given to them if such a situation  arises.

    They got a bottle of ointment each and decided to head out for the forest. The forest was located 10 kilometers away from the base and after a short walk, they reached the perimeter of the forest.

    They opened the forest map on their comm watches. A small holographic screen popped up in front of them, showing the map of the forest.

    On each of their maps 2 dots, one red and one blue could be seen glowing which showed their location. They had linked each other''s watches up, to keep a track of their position in case one of them gets separated at some point.

    The Astia Mountains were divided in layers according to the dangers found in various regions. The entire area was a forested land covered with spirit beasts. The main or the core area located in the middle, where the mountain range ran, was the most dangerous area in the forest.

    It was said that terrifying ancients beasts inhabited this place. After this layer came many layers containing beasts usually of a specific realm, with the perimeter of the forest being the last and the weakest layer.

    The perimeter of the forest was known as the 1st layer. Not many beasts roamed this area and the layer spanned for only a kilometer. It was also the shortest layer.

    James and Gus were required to visit the 2nd layer which contained 4th stage Form realm beats and early Azure realm beasts. Usually the Azure realm beasts found in this layer were a more powerful version of their 4th realm counterparts.

    They were known as Horde leaders, the Feral Wolf that they had to kill was also a horde leader. It was mainly a 4th stage Form realm beast, however, a few of them often evolved to the Azure realm stage becoming the leader of their pack.

    They took to the trees to traverse across as they jumped from one branch to the other. The sky was bright and the air was humid. Sweat dripped down their bodies as they traveled.

    The ground was covered in dense shrubs while branches and vines covered the surroundings. The entire forest was like a maze and without a map, it was difficult to find a way around it.

    As they moved through the perimeter, they could see various types of beasts going on with their daily routine. The deers were drinking water from a small pond, the squirrels ran on branches while the sparrows chirped. They were all beasts but were not spirit beasts.

    The difference between a beast and a spirit beast was that spirit beasts could cultivate their bodies and absorb qi from their surroundings. They were also a more intelligent specie.

    The higher the cultivation, the higher the intelligence of the spirit beast. It was said that sage realm spirit beasts were even more intelligent than humans.

    They reached the second layer of the forest and checked their map. They needed to search for a feral wolf pack and the 4 petal lilies, both of which were said to be found in this layer.

    The map on their comm watch had a separate legend for each layer, which showed the type of plants and spirit beasts that could be found on the specific layer.

    This data was accumulated through countless expeditions taken up by cultivators before them. The comm watches could collect data and register it in a central database. This was done only when the owner allowed it.

    A sighting of a specific plant or beast not seen in an area could be recorded by the watch and the information could be used in later expeditions. It could also display the rarity of the sightings of a specific plant or beast in the area.

    The Feral Wolf was termed as a common occurrence in this layer but the four petal lilies were in the uncommon category. The lilies could be found near ponds and lakes while the four petal lilies floated on the water surface.

    They looked around themselves from a tree top giving them a vantage point of the area. After a few seconds, James spotted a pond nearby towards their east and decided to head there to look for the lilies.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    They reached the pond and hid themselves in a bush not far away, scanning the area carefully. The second layer of the forest consisted of early Azure realm beasts and they didn''t want to attract one carelessly.

    After looking around they found that a Fallow deer was drinking water from the pond. Fallow deers were Early Azure realm beasts however they were quite weak. Their main attack power relied on hitting the enemy with their antlers.

    James remembered seeing a mission on the mission list which required them to kill a fallow deer. They hadn''t taken it up as it didn''t seem much of a challenge to them. They had decided to team up and face a stronger beast instead.

    Seeing the deer now made James regret his decision, as it was an easy reward that they had missed. He suddenly thought of something and called up the academy through his comm watch.

    A female voice was heard from the other end.

    "Hello student James, how may I assist you? "

    " Can you please connect me to the missions department?" asked James.

    "As you wish. Your call will now be forwarded to the missions department. "

    After a brief moment another voice was heard on the opposite end.

    " This is the missions department. How may I assist you? "

    "Hello, I would like to ask whether the mission to kill a Fallow Deer was still available."

    After a short pause the voice spoke again,

    "Yes, the mission is still available."

    "Can it be added to my mission list, as I would like to accept the mission. "

    " Your records show that you are currently in the Astia forest undertaking 2 other missions with a student named Gus."

    "In this case I can confirm your request. Do you want me to confirm it? "

    " Yes, please. "

    " Request confirmed. Your comm watch has been updated. On completing you will be given 6 gold as a reward. Will that be all?"

    "Yes. Thanks a lot! " said James happily. He had read the school''s rule book and had seen there that missions could be accepted on request only if the student is away from the academy by calling the mission''s department.

    Gus understood what James had planned from the conversation. He smiled and nodded back at the idea. The deer would serve as a good initial practice for them.

    They decided to distract the fallow deer and kill it with a sneak attack.

    Gus went out of his cover and stood behind the antler. The fallow deer suddenly sensing a presence, stopped drinking and looked behind itself.

    It felt the human''s aura and found that the human was at the same cultivation realm as itself. It grew alert and watched the human''s movement.

    Gus waved his hand at the fallow deer and with a quick movement, he took out his spear and threw it at the antler aiming for its head.

    The fallow deer dodged the spear with ease and looked at the human in front. It was enraged upon being attacked and decided to fight the human.

    Azure aura enveloped the deer and it charged at Gus at a fast speed aiming to strike him down with its antlers.

    Seeing the deer approaching, Gus applied his movement technique and with burst of speed, he dodged the attack barely missing the strike.

    The fallow deer turned it''s head to face Gus again, it''s eyes staring at him with rage. As it readied itself to charge again, a sword came down on its neck, severing the head from its body.

    James had kept himself hidden the entire time, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. As soon as the deer came near to strike Gus, he readied himself to strike.

    When the deer turned to face Gus again, he quickly jumped over the deer from behind using his Wind Enforcer and killed it with a clean strike at its neck.

    They had successfully hunted their first spirit beast together, also completing their first mission. Their watches registered the kill and they opened the corpse to collect the meat.

    The corpse would bring the attention of other monsters, which is why James quickly searched the pond, while Gus collected the meat.

    He found the four petal lily floating above, it was white in color and gave off a peaceful feeling. He quickly collected the four petal lilies and they dashed back to their vantage point.

    "Hahaha, looks like we got 2 quests completed! " said Gus cheerfully.

    " Yep! Only the Feral Wolf is left. It seems to be difficult to find, even though it''s a common occurrence here." said James.

    "They will surely come out in the night. Let''s wait till then. "

    " Yeah, we need to be careful now of scavengers roaming around this area. Let''s hide and wait. " said James.

    ------------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter. Just made it in time, otherwise a new day would have begun resulting in me losing to post it by today breaking my a chap a day schedule. Sorry for being so late though, I had some work and couldn''t write it earlier. Next chapter will be posted tomorrow. If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions please do comment and tell. Enjoy! :)

    <hr />

    Tomorrow''s chap will be posted a bit late but not this late. I have to make a presentation tomorrow which is also the reason for today''s delay. Thank you^^

 Chapter - 22

    Riley Mitch was the son of an aristocrat. His father served under the king of Astia as the mayor of Linette City, one of the smaller cities in the kingdom.

    As an aristocrat''s son, he had always received what he wanted. Being a ''Young Master'' had spoiled him quite a bit and he proved his talents amongst his peers by clearing the entrance test of the Sky Blaze Martial Academy.

    On the entrance exam day, he was jealous of the 4 people who were awarded scholarships. The scholarship in itself didn''t matter to him who came from a prestigious family, but the recognition did.

    But he decided not to think about it much and continued with his training. He had also made friends amongst the other children of noble background.

    As it is said that birds of the same flock fly together, the nobles amongst the first years had formed a small group. They followed Luke who belonged to the royal family.

    Luke was the son of the king''s younger brother and so enjoyed a high status in the family. He carried the royal family''s bloodline and was also a genius in cultivation like his brothers and sisters.

    He also knew some of the seniors in the academy and had good sources. Riley looked up to Luke and as instructed by his father, boot-licked him.

    During the Virtual Test, he had made plans to tag along with his friends and pass the test. But, as luck would have it, he was ported to an area without anyone near him and soon became the food of a Silver Tiger.

    He had failed the test and was greatly depressed by his failure. When the results came in and he saw James was in the spotlight again, even getting a special mention by the headmaster, anger burned inside him.

    Jealousy turned into envy bringing hatred inside his heart. He knew James and his friend Gus, had a common background and this factor made him confident enough to pursue an attempt to harm both of them.

    He thought that the academy wouldn''t care if two students with commoner backgrounds get hurt and even if he gets caught, he was confident that with his father''s influence, he wouldn''t suffer much.

    He saw them accepting missions and decided to accept one as well with his two friends - Blake and John. They too were jealous of James and with a bit of persuasion, they agreed to go with him.

    They had each taken a quest and had left for the forest as well. Inside the forest they went straight to the second layer and had began their search for the two.

    After a while, Blake caught the sounds of a battle occurring nearby and they followed the source quietly. Upon reaching, they saw a dead Fallow dear on the ground and lilies in James''s hand.

    "Dammit we were too late. Looks like these guys got lucky and found their targets quickly. " said Blake.

    " It seems so. A fallow deer and those four petal leaves means two quests. Looks like they are already done with their missions and should be returning back now. " said John.

    Riley however, felt that something was wrong. After some though he said,

    " Hmm, this shouldn''t be possible. I don''t think that James will take the mission to kill a fallow deer. If he did it, then he is not worthy in my eyes anymore. "

    " The Fallow Deer is simply too weak for those two. Since they have teamed up, it must be a more difficult mission. "

    " If my guess is correct, then they came here for the lilies and the deer was not their mission. They must have just wanted to fight it"

    The other two could not help but nod as well as it seemed to be the most plausible explanation.

    Seeing James and Gus return to a tree top instead of heading back, confirmed their thoughts. They went back and hid themselves. They knew the targets were near now and could be found easily.

    James lay on a branch with his hands behind his head, looking up at the stars in the sky. The sky had turned dark and their prey should appear sometime in the night.

    Gus was lying down as well on another branch close to James. Thoughts ran in their minds as they looked at the dark sky above.

    "Bro, what do you want to become in future? " said Gus.

    " Hm? Me? I want to become the strongest person in the world" said James.

    " Why? "

    " I''ve never thought about the why. It''s just that my father desired to be the strongest at one point as well. He used to tell me stories of strong men who fought powerful beasts and overcame difficult trials."

    " I used to get very excited and wished to be one of the greatest, having my own tales of me facing and overcoming powerful enemies. "

    " I never believed in this dream of mine until I passed the academies entrance exam. It gave me hope that even I could be of the the top geniuses in the country and maybe the strongest someday. "

    " Now, I really want to try and reach the peak of power that can be achievable through the martial way. "

    " Wow, I am sure you will be someday bro"

    "Haha, what about you? " asked James.

    " Me? Well I don''t have such a big goal like you. You see I don''t remember my mother as she died a few months after giving me birth. My old man took care of me since then. "

    " All I wish now is to be strong and give my old man a peaceful life on retirement. I want to be strong enough so that he may never have to work again."

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    " I see him work in the mines and I know how tough it is. Due to previous wars, there are even some land mines hidden by spells and such in there which could blow up anytime when stepped on. "

    " Luckily as a manager he doesn''t have the more riskier job, but it''s not the work I want him to continue doing. "

    " Once I am strong enough and become some expert, I will have many ways to earn lots of money. He will never have to work again. " said Gus.

    " I am sure you will bro. " said James as he smiled and patted his back.

    " Hey I think we got really lucky with these lilies. Found them on our first try itself. " said James as he smelled the white flower.

    " Haha yeah we did. Pass me one too. " said Gus.

    About a hundred meters away, 3 students could be seen hiding in a bush.

    " What are they doing, sitting on a branch and waiting, while these dam flies don''t stop with their biting. " said John.

    " Shh! I''m pretty sure they won''t stay the night inside the forest unless they have an objective. They should make their move soon. " said Riley.

    " Aouuuuuuu" a wolf''s howl was suddenly heard after a few minutes.

    " It''s time" said James as he got up and dusted his back.

    " Yep! I''ve been tired lying down here for so long. Plus these dam flies are always buzzing around looking for a chance to bite. " said Gus.

    They jumped off the branch and left for the source of the sound.

    " Looks like they are making their move. Come let''s go! " said Riley.

    The three left following the trail of James and Gus.

    " I think they took the Feral Wolf mission." said, Riley.

    "How can you be so sure about it? " asked Blake.

    " They moved when they heard the wolf''s howl. Hey John, you took the same mission as well right? " asked Riley.

    " Yeah. Why? " asked John.

    " Hahaha. Looks like today even fate is on our side. Let''s wait and steal their kill and injure then during the process, while they are fighting. That''ll show them to keep their heads low. " said Riley as he gave off a menacing smile.

    The other two grinned at the idea and they swiftly followed behind.

    In a small clearing, a pack of feral wolves could be seen. They were tearing and swallowing the flesh of a dead beast they had hunted. These wolves were nocturnal in nature but did roam to hunt in the day as well.

    Amongst them was an unusually large wolf, larger than the others in the pack by at least a head. It''s grey fur shined under the moonlight while blood dripped off its mouth giving a fearsome look.

    It was the early stage Azure realm Feral Wolf, which was also the leader of the pack. The Feral Wolf was a strong Azure realm beast unlike the Fallow Deer.

    They were one of the toughest early stage Azure realm beasts to hunt as they moved in packs. The pack comprised of feral wolves at the 4th stage of form realm.

    James and Gus were on top of tree, looking down at the pack, thinking of a way to fight them.

    " The wolf''s pack has 5 others apart from itself. "

    " It''ll be extremely difficult to face them head on, with such numbers. " said James.

    Indeed the difficulty in hunting the Feral Wolf lied in the problem of numbers. With simultaneous attacks from such a number of wolves, it''ll be very difficult to hunt them.

    As James and Gus planned their move, Riley and his two friends laid in waiting for a chance.

    It was going to be a long night for each one of them.

    -----------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter! :) I received some feedback from some of the readers and their common request was for more characters, characters that were tending to the evil side. The reason being James winning the test earning accomplishment and jealousy amongst his peers. I thought of introducing such char in about after a few more chapters,but it made me realize that maybe the story was going all too goody goody. So I sat down and planned for a bit and wrote this chapter.

    Thank you for your feedback. It means a lot to me! I would encourage more feedback from you the readers in comments or through private messages. This will help me get some ideas that might be useful and you the readers a good chapter to read.

    I also got a feedback from a reader that some creatures don''t have certain abilities in real life like the anaconda I mentioned before they don''t have poison. It made me realize that such a query could be in the minds of many readers.

    To address this I''d like to say that it''s a fantasy setting. A xianxia based story, there will be beasts with abilities that you don''t see them having in real life. There can also be cross breed ones as well. As these beasts are from a different world with the power to use qi to perform certain abilities.

    That will be all. I post all my chapters as soon as I''m done writing them. So if you find any mistakes or have suggestions please do comment and inform me. Enjoy!

    <hr />

    And thanks u all the novel has now over 10k total views! Almost 11k!:)

 Chapter - 23

    " Let''s do this. "  said James.

    They had planned their move. It was similar to the tactic used on the deer.

    They got off the branch and came near the pack quietly and started their plan. Gus applied his movement technique and reached the pack swiftly.

    The wolves noticed a disturbance from their left. But before they could react, a spear landed deep inside one of them, killing it in a flash.

    The enraged pack looked at Gus, their red eyes giving off a murderous glow. As they charged at him, a shadow appeared behind them and with a swift sword strike, it slit the wolf''s neck, killing it.

    James took the advantage of the current confusion amongst the pack as they saw another target suddenly and charged at another wolf.

    They had decided to kill off the 4th form realm stage wolves first before dealing with the Azure realm leader.

    The wolf was unable to contend against James as it neither was fast nor strong enough. There was a huge gap between the Azure realm and form realm.

    James easily dodged it''s attack and with a quick slash through its mouth to its stomach, it fell to its demise. The enraged leader charged at James, while the other two remaining wolves charged at Gus.

    From afar Riley and his friends watched the battle, getting ready to strike.

    The leader closed the gap between them as he leaped towards James bearing it''s canines. James narrowly dodged the attack by rolling over to his left.

    Once the leader gets a hold on him, James knew he would be in deep trouble. It turned to face him, it''s red eyes gleaming in the night and charged again.

    James stood with his sword ready, waiting for the attack. As the wolf reached and jumped at him, he rolled in front slashing upwards with his word.

    A huge gash appeared at the wolf''s chest and blood flowed out. It staggered at it stood up again. The injury had made it weak but it still glared at the enemy refusing to give in.

    On the other side, Gus had killed both the wolves. They weren''t a match for him and had been dealt swiftly. He looked towards his friend observing the fight. He had confidence in James and didn''t want to interrupt.

    The boy and the Wolf looked at each other, both wanting to end the other. James charged at the Wolf, infusing qi into his sword. As he reached it he used Wind Enforcer, increasing his speed dramatically and performed a Gale Slash.

    The wolf was taken aback by the sudden increase in speed and failed to dodge the strike in time. It landed on its left eyes, slashing through the top of its head to its back.

    Blood splattered everywhere and the Wolf howled in pain. The injury was severe, it''s legs gave away and it fell on the ground.

    It was bleeding profusely but it was still alive. James went up to finish the task. As soon as he reached the wolf, there was a sudden movement behind him and a gauntlet struck at him.

    Alarmed by the movement, he looked back and a gauntlet smashed him on the face. His body twisted in the air as he fell down. He mind went into confusion as he could not understand who would want to harm him.

    Looking up he saw a smug face in the academy''s uniform. It was Riley looking at him coldly. He walked towards the wolf ending it''s life. The comm watch on Riley''s hand registering the kill.

    "Hahaha. Looks like we completed the mission. " said Riley.

    Hearing him James looked back to see Gus being held by two others who were also wearing the academy''s uniform.

    " Why are you doing this? " asked James as he  looked up to face Riley while getting back up.

    Riley''s body flashed and appeared beside him, kicking him in the stomach and punching his face.

    " Because I hate you. " Riley as he grabbed his hair and looked at him.

    " What did I ever do to you? "

    " What did you do? You think you are some genius? Always showing off and trying to be in the spotlight."

    " You are nothing but a commoner with no background. You people should know your place. " said Riley as he threw James off on the ground.

    " You will pay for today. " said Gus who was held by the other two.

    " Oh and who will make me pay? You? " said Riley as he looked back with a sneer.

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    He went and stood in front of Gus and with his gauntlets punched him continuously.

    " You bunch of trashes, who do you think you are huh? " said Riley as his punches became harder.

    James looked back in horror as Gus''s face was now swollen with wounds. He was barely conscious and was in a bad state. James felt anger rising inside him. For the first time he felt hatred and a desire for revenge, a desire to kill someone.

    But he needed to save Gus and himself from this predicament. They wouldn''t last if they fight as they were outnumbered and injured.

    James clenched his fist and concentrated moving the qi inside his body towards his limbs. He focused and used Wind Enforcer. With a huge burst of speed of dashed and reached Riley and his friends.

    Riley was alarmed by the sudden movement and as he turned to look back a fist came, smashing his face. He flew towards Blake on the left, landing on him.

    James pulled Gus out of the hold of John who had a shocked expression on his face and made a run for the base. He needed to get away from this jungle and enter the base quick as they wouldn''t be able to hurt them there.

    With his Wind Enforcer he traversed forest quickly. He had Gus on his right shoulder and used the watch''s navigation module on his left hand to find his way out.

    Back there Riley got up, his face twisted in anger. James had not only escaped but had also punched him the same way he had before. He spat out blood and a tooth could be seen on the ground.

    "They must be trying to get to the base. We won''t be able to harm them there with all the staff and seniors present. "

    " Let''s go!  We must stop them from reaching the base. I will teach that James a good lesson that he will never forget. " said Riley.

    The three quickly left for the base as well.

    James reached outside the forest and quickly ran towards the base. Even though he was carrying Gus he did not slow him down. He had a strength of near 450 kgs and Gus would weigh a maximum of just 40-45 kgs.

    He did not stop for even once and kept using Wind Enforcer, which resulted in his qi depleting rapidly. After a short while he made it back to the base.

    The three of them were not able to keep up and could not reach the base before James. But it was not a complete loss as they had gotten their mission completed. The Feral Wolf kill was registered to their group.

    James had gone inside the building and asked a staff to provide Gus with a room.

    There were 2 large rooms with many beds inside the base for the sick or injured, maintained by the academy. On the second floor, inside one of the large rooms on a bed, Gus lay sleeping.

    James had applied the healing ointment on Gus and the wounds and marks had started to fade away. He looked at his friend and swore revenge on Riley and his friends.

    By the next day their wounds had healed and they left for the academy through the teleportation gate. Both of them wanted revenge, but sadly the academy won''t meddle in such instances.

    The mission''s office had rejected their plea when they narrated what had happened.

    " I must tell you that I really can''t help you. You should know that you are not the first bunch to have such problems. " said the lady.

    Competition for resources was fierce and such instances were common in the academy. The academy turned a blind eye to this.

    Their belief was that a person should be strong enough to protect what is precious to him. Complaining to an office was of no use.

    They went back to their dorms, the only way to exact revenge now was a direct challenge. After some thought, James decided to challenge Riley to a duel, while Gus decided to challenge John as the mission reward was taken by him.

    ---------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter. Just finished writing. Sorry for such a late release today as I had a headache for almost the entire day and the whole jerk reviewer stuff ate a lot of my time as well. If u find any mistakes please do comment and tell. Enjoy!

 Chapter - 24

    Challenges could be issued by students to others amongst them. It could also be issued to seniors as well.

    The academy encouraged such challenges, and they took place in the rings located in the training facility.

    A student could challenge another at any point of time and if the other agreed, then the match would take place. A wager could also be made between the parties.

    The wager could range from items won in events held in the academy, money, pills, weapons and even rankings!

    The rankings were earned in tournament and determined the monthly stipend given to a student for his or her personal expense. It could also be used as a wager.

    The audience could also bet on the fight as well. James decided to challenge Riley to a fight, during lunch in the cafeteria. In front of a crowd, it would be difficult for Riley to turn the challenge down.

    To a cultivators respect and honor mattered greatly. Using this he was sure to get Riley out in the open. Gus had also decided the same for John.

    The wolf mission was supposed to earn them 10 gold and they wished to put a similar amount as wager to earn it back.

    Mission records sadly could not be wagered and so they could not get the record on their names through wager. So they decided to try earn the gold back instead.

    During lunch, James and Gus stood in the cafeteria scanning it to find their targets. They found the three sitting in the back on the right side along with a few other students.

    James clenched his fist and walked towards the table. Seeing him approach, Riley smiled. He wanted to to make it tough for James in the academy and wanted revenge for that punch.

    He decided to use this moment and embarrass James. He started talking to his friends in a loud voice,

    " Guys yesterday me, Blake and John, we beat the crap out of that James and Gus while we were in the forest"

    " Haha! I punched those dogs so hard that they''ll never forget! "

    " Haha those two think they are some genius when all they have is just luck, nothing else! " said one amongst them.

    Some students inside the cafeteria turned to look at the commotion. James knew that Riley was doing this on purpose. He was angry, but he was sharp. This situation was better as now, challenging Riley would be easier.

    He motioned Gus and decided to play along by faking an angry expression. He came near them and said,

    " Being happy by performing a sneak attack. You think you are so tough huh? Why don''t we find it out in the arena? I challenge you Riley! "

    " And I challenge you John! " said Gus.

    " What proof do you have that we did a sneak attack? Just plain excuses. Hah, you think you are worthy enough to challenge me? " said Riley.

    " We will find that out soon." said James.

    " And why should I bother with you commoners? " replied Riley as he looked at them mockingly.

    James smiled and said,

    " If you are so sure of your strength then why don''t we make a wager? Let''s bet 10 gold. I am sure that for a noble it won''t be a problem right? " He had taken the bait and outplayed Riley in his own game.

    Riley was taken aback. He never thought that they would want to wager. Everybody in the cafeteria had heard them. Backing off now wont look good.

    Hearing the wager figure, he realised that James was after the mission reward for the wolf kill. Ten gold wasn''t a huge figure, but since he has just started out his cultivation journey, every earning was important.

    The academy didn''t allow the family to send over three gold with their child, another reason why students fought for resources and funds.

    Riley couldn''t back out. To him reputation and pride mattered the most. It was the reason he gloated about yesterday''s events.

    He wanted to raise his standing amongst his group, embarrass James and to make his worth known to Luke.

    Luke had heard about everything before. He knew what had happened. But he didn''t mind this as he wanted to see the strength of James and Gus. Riley and John were good pawns in measuring their abilities.

    Being a part of the royal family, he had various connection and so he could also get help from his seniors in the academy.

    He knew that everyone around him wanted his attention and favor, and he also knew how to take advantage of this fact. He looked towards Riley and nodded.

    " We will accept your challenge. " said Riley after some hesitation and continued by saying,

    " It''ll be a good opportunity to show you your place. "

    " Heh. We will see about that. Each match will have a wager of five gold. " said James.

    They agreed to it and the group left for the facility. John felt like he got dragged in all of this, but was helpless considering the situation.

    In the facility inside a room, the group of nobles stood on one end of the ring while James and Gus stood on the other. There were some students who came to watch as well.

    The first match was decided to be between Gus and John while the second would be between Riley and James.

    They called for a referee amongst the academy staff. The academy provided a representative to act as a referee to judge fairly in such challenges.

    Each side put their wagers in and the contestants took their positions.

    James and Gus had received a total of seven gold for completing the fallow deer and four petal Lilly gathering mission.

    They had two gold and fifty silvers each from before which totalled their wealth to twelve gold. They were able to afford the wager.

    Gus took his position and looked at John fiercely. He wanted to rip his body apart as revenge.

    John wasn''t a very cunning person like Luke or prideful like Riley. He was more of an introvert and a timid personality. Looking at Gus''s stare he gulped, his shaking hands showed his lack of confidence.

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    " Begin! " said the referee and with that Gus charged at John with his spear. John who used a gun, jumped sideways to maintain a distance and fired a qi bullet at Gus.

    But Gus did not stop. He closed in the gap, the qi bullet hit him on the chest leaving a mark, his body was much stronger after the effects of the pellet. He didn''t slow down. He was angry and wanted to tear apart John no matter what.

    Seeing Gus taking on the qi bullet directly and closing in, John became flustered and couldn''t react in time.

    Gus charged and struck him with his spear on his stomach. John fell on the ground, holding his stomach. Blood could be seen on his hands. Gus looked at him angrily albeit a bit satisfied.

    John was terrified, he knew he couldn''t beat Gus who was way powerful and ruthless than he had thought he would be.

    " I give up! " said John.

    " Winner Gus Light! " said the referee.

    Riley clenched his teeth angrily. They had not only lost the wager but also lost face. John was completely dominated by Gus to the point that he admitted defeat so quickly.

    Gus was a bit unsatisfied by the victory as he got off the stage. James was feeling the same as well. He decided to take a risk and said,

    " Riley why don''t we increase our bets to fifteen gold for our match? "

    Riley was taken aback by this sudden increase in wager. Fifteen gold was a lot, specially at this stage. His total wealth didn''t add up to fifteen gold.

    " What happened? Weren''t you sure about your victory? Or are you scared? Or maybe you are poor than this commoner" taunted James.

    Gus was amused by James''s taunts. He now felt better. Adding the wager their wealth was now seventeen gold and he had trust in James''s capability.

    Riley''s face turned red with anger.

    " Who said I don''t have the money? Fifteen gold is just change for me. I accept " he said as he glared at James. He got the rest of the gold from Blake who looked couldn''t do anything but agree to it.

    James smirked and went up on inside the ring. Taking his position he readied himself. Riley took out his gauntlets and gave James a menacing look. In contrast James did not take out his sword.

    " You won''t draw your weapon? " asked the referee.

    " I don''t need it. " replied James as he looked at Riley with a sharp gaze.

    " Hahaha this kid thinks too much of himself. I''ll teach you a lesson today, which you will never forget. " replied Riley.

    " Begin! " said the referee.

    James infused qi in his fists and charged at Riley throwing a punch while Riley met it with his gauntlets.

    Bang. Bang. Bang.

    They struck at each other head on continuously and moved back. Surprisingly James was able to keep up even without using his weapon.

    His body''s toughness and strength had increased from before making it possible to contend against Riley bare fist by strengthening it with qi.

    This made Riley even more angry. He couldn''t accept the fact that James could fight him without his weapon. It would bring great shame if he lost this match.

    He decided to use his '' Stone Force'' technique. It strengthened the gauntlets by using qi increasing its attack power.

    " Not bad but let''s see how you hold up against my Stone Force Technique" said Riley. The gauntlets had light glow to them suddenly.

    James decided to use his maximum strength. He applied Wind Enforcer, increasing his speed and force. He infused qi into his fist and struck at his opponent.

    Riley used his '' Stone Force'' technique empowering his gauntlets and struck at James. He was confident in winning the trade and breaking his bones.

    Bang! Came a loud sound.

    But neither were pushed back. James again held up against Riley even though the latter used his strongest attack. He was able to contend against him with the extra boost of force he received from Wind Enforcer.

    He quickly moved and threw an undercut punch at his opponent''s chin.

    Riley who was taken aback by James''s strength. He couldn''t defend in time and fell to the ground. James did not give him time to react, he picked him up and threw him to the ring''s side.

    He placed Riley on a corner of the ring and punched his face hard.

    " You said who will make you pay right? "

    " Well I will! " said James and threw a barrage of punches at his face and body.

    " Look how this commoner child messes your entire ''noble''  face. " said James.

    Riley was getting beaten up the same way he had beaten Gus. He didn''t have the strength to even forfeit the match. His face was swollen and his body ached with pain. He couldn''t fight back and only take the hits.

    " Stop! " said the referee as held James back.

    " That will be enough. The winner of this match is James Walter!" announced the referee.

    The entire room was silent. The nobles group was stunned by James power and ruthlessness. He had beaten Riley without using his weapon stating a fact that he wasn''t to be messed with.

    " Do not show me your face again. " said James as he walked back down. Gus smiled giving him a thumbs up.

    ----------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter! Just completed writing it. If you find any mistakes please do comment and tell! I would like to inform you all that from 20th April I have my exams coming up. So I will be studying from today and won''t be able to upload chapters on a daily basis.

    I can''t guarantee a chapter a day from tomorrow till the next week''s Saturday which is the 23rd of April when my exam ends. Starting from 24th the schedule will resume again:) I am really sorry and I hope you all understand. Thank you and enjoy!

 Chapter - 25

    ''Ting'' came a sound from James''s watch. His account balance increased by 15 gold. James and Gus walked back to their dorms.

    Back inside the room Blake picked up Riley and headed for the infirmary in the facility. Luke watched the entire episode unfold and was in deep thinking.

    Luke Astia was the son of the king''s younger brother. There was a lot of struggle amongst his siblings for the throne. Luke was born in a family with powerful warriors where each of his sibling was a genius in its own right.

    Luke had his own aims as well. He was ambitious and a control freak. He desired people to follow him, admire him. Anomalies like James were a threat to him and he must confront this situation.

    The children from noble families in his year followed him, but he wanted more control. He wanted his influence over others as well. Being a royal he had many under his command from a young age.

    For him ruling over others was like a second nature. If he wanted to rule over others, he needed either to win their favors or subdue them.

    Through this feud with Riley he saw that both James and Gus were stronger than the others. James especially who didn''t even use his weapon in the fight. Such cultivators would walk a long road. Having them beside would be of great use.

    To have them under his influence through favors would be tough because they won''t be harboring good intentions towards them after this feud.

    Neither are their side happy with the result. The nobles had to face humiliation today by them. Simply courting James and Gus over now wouldn''t be fruitful.

    So the only way remained was to subdue them and to subdue them he needed to do it with power. He needed to show them who was the strongest, and later through some rewards gain their favor.

    He couldn''t act now. He needed to wait, wait for time to do the healing in the relationship. The ranking competition which would take place in 8 months would be the perfect stage to prove it.

    Currently he believed that James was an equal match to him, but he was confident in leaving him behind in 8 months.

    Belonging to the royal family had its benefits, one of which was the power of bloodline. Bloodline power existed only in families where one of their ancestor was a Sage realm expert.

    During the transformation to Sage realm, the core vanishes by melting inside fusing with the body and so does the beast mark.

    They fuse with the body giving it extraordinary capabilities, forging a completely new body. Their powers could be passed on to their children. Such special powers are known as Bloodline powers.

    These could further be inherited by the next generation as well. There were various types of Bloodline powers. Possessing one, was a huge fortune for a cultivator.

    The kingdom was Astia was founded long, long ago by a Sage named Victor Astia. He was the first king and under his rule the kingdom flourished.  He had died long ago, but the power of his bloodline still flowed in his descendants.

    Luke with his Bloodline power and through sources amongst the senior batches was confident in gaining resources and help to increase his strength by the time the tournament approaches.

    He aimed to be the number one amongst his batch. His aim was to have influence amongst some of the most powerful upcoming generation of cultivators, one of the reasons he joined this academy.

    He decided to leave the two of them alone and persuade Riley to drop the matter.

    James and Gus were now sitting inside a room, discussing the day''s events.

    " That felt really, really satisfying! The way you beat that Riley into a pulp was amazing! " said Gus.

    " Haha, I have to say, I felt really better while punching his face. We even made twice the amount from these bets! "

    " Makes me happy that the three idiots came after us. From having ten gold from the mission we now have twenty instead. " said James.

    " Let''s split it up. We earned a total of twenty seven gold from the mission and bets, which splits to thirteen gold and fifty silvers for both of us. "

    " Don''t keep the fifteen you won in your bet man, that''s your own not mine "

    " No way I won''t allow it. We are partners bro. " said James.

    " Ah k... Then let''s do one thing! Let''s visit the city today. "

    " City? "

    " Yeah. I''m tired of this continuous training and we haven''t seen the city yet. Instead we are stuck in this cage. "

    " Let''s go outside today! We can spend a few coins. Like two to three gold won''t hurt. Won''t buy us much, but it''ll be a good change of pace. "

    " Hmm...... okay! " replied James as he nodded.

    It really was a bit tiring, practicing cultivation all day. They left for the academy gates. Students were allowed to go outside, they just had to leave a record.

    After exiting the martial sector gates, they looked around them. It was like they stepped into a different world altogether.

    People, many many people around them, walking alongside footpaths. The academy area was as big as James''s hometown and there weren''t many students.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Seeing around them, they felt like they were in a different world altogether. Honking cars, advertisements on digital boards, smell of food from somewhere.

    They couldn''t use their hover boards in the city so they took a taxi to the residential sector where all the leisure activities were located. On their journey they looked outside the window to see the skyscrapers and the various people going about their daily lives.

    James was fascinated. He knew the road he chose, he won''t be seeing such sights often. It was a lonely journey filled with hardships, requiring him to be away from all comforts of life.

    Back in Bursberg City, he never paid much attention to his surroundings, but, today he feels appreciation for life.

    After they reached their destination, Gus took him to a gaming arcade. Gus had played in this arcade when he came for his entrance exam.

    It was a popular arcade in the area stocking everything from video games to pin ball machines. After buying some tickets, they spent the rest of the day enjoying themselves.

    They went to a cheap fast food restaurant to have their dinner, simply to enjoy some bad fast food they haven''t been able to eat in a while. Wherever they went people looked at them as they wore their academy uniform.

    Being a student of Sky Blaze Academy had its own prestige. People would recognize it instantly, some would gasp, some would wave at them.

    Gus would occasionally look at some women dressed up in shorts or revealing outfits, which would embarrass James who would suddenly maintain a distance from him.

    It was quite amusing seeing a huge grin plastered on Gus''s face as he stared around.

    They returned soon afterwards and went back to their dorms. James didn''t feel like cultivating in the night. He lay on the terrace looking at the stars.

    There weren''t many that could be seen, city skies were like that. The loneliness of the stars crept in his mind. He felt homesick today, but decided against calling back home.

    He didn''t want to show weakness to his desires. He knew he walked on a lonely path. Apart from Gus, he didn''t have anybody here, but, he could not have as well.

    He must endure, he must focus, he must steel his heart from such feelings. He must burn like a bright star in the lonely night if he wanted to achieve his dream.

    His dream of being at the top, reaching the peak of power.

    The night soon faded and a new day began. James spent the next few months in training. He took on missions, sometimes alone, sometimes with Gus.

    Riley and his gang never bothered him again which surprised James but he was contended.

    He wanted to make his breakthrough to the mid stages before the tournament. His aim was to reach the end of the band in rankings for more rewards.

    With this mind, he constantly practiced his movement technique and sword arts. He took solo hunt missions to gain experience and his mission data ended up with a good record.

    For him, rank D missions had become a cakewalk. Early stage Azure realm beast no longer posed a threat to him. He was even able to take on some mid stage Azure beasts.

    Recently he felt a surge in his power and felt that he would breakthrough soon. The tournament was also arriving. He decided to pick a mission and left for the mission hall.

    Inside the hall the lady behind the counter and gave him a smile as she him walking in.

    " You have been very earnest in your performance. The academy has decided to award you by upgrading your rank."

    " You now have the option of selecting rank C missions. If you want, you may check the list of missions and choose one. "

    James was surprised hearing this. The opportunity felt right on time and he decided to take a look at the list of missions.

    From rank C, the hunt missions mainly comprised of mid stage and peak stage Azure realm beasts. After looking at the list he decided to take a risk.

    Looking at the lady he said,

    " I''d like to accept the mission to hunt the peak stage Azure beast The Fanged Bear. "

    ------------------------

    Notes - I was able to write a chapter today, just finished it. My exams starts from Wednesday till Saturday. So I really won''t be able to guarantee to be able to write and release a chapter in this period of time. Apart from studying, I am currently also working on the cover art for the novel with the help of a reader who has agreed to draw the cover. Also I am looking into editing, though there aren''t many grammatical mistakes in the chapters maybe a comma here or there or a word missed that''s all but just to fix any, another reader is helping me with it. We r working on earlier chapters which will be updated after a while with the fixes.

    As I''ve mentioned before my schedule of 1 chap per day will be back up from Sunday which is the 24th. I hope you all understand :) Thank you and Enjoy!

 Chapter - 26

    James was currently traversing the forest to reach his target.

    After taking the mission, Gus had contacted him. Hearing that he had taken a peak stage Azure realm beast contract, Gus was furious, but James remained adamant in his decision.

    The only reason why James took this mission in the first place was because he needed a breakthrough and only through such a life death challenge would he be able to advance.

    It was either a make it or break it challenge for James. He left for the teleportation gate soon after getting ready. Upon reaching the base he bought a few necessary pills and ointments.

    This time he spent not only on medicines but also on other hunting gear. Through completion of missions he had gained a good amount of money. The mission was tough and he wanted to be well prepared for it.

    While buying he saw a person entering the base, it was a girl from his batch. She had a tomboy look and her right hand and sword were covered in blood. Her body seemed to have slight bruises but her eyes were still fierce.

    She was Jane Dorsa, the number one fighter in their year. Nobody had been able to best her yet in combat, her sword skills were simply too amazing.

    Looking at her James could only nod in admiration. He wished to beat her someday, but till yet the chance hadn''t shown up.

    Jane looked around and upon seeing James, she looked at him once and moved towards the portal. She must have come here back from completing a mission thought James.

    It was common to meet students of the academy inside the forest or inside the base as they all came here to do their missions.

    As he saw her go back, he looked towards the forest.

    '' Let''s do this'' thought James and he left the base.

    The weather hadn''t really changed inside. The forest had that heat plus humid air flowing through it, James was again sweating as he traversed across.

    It was an evergreen type of forest where there was constant rainfall in some parts, apart from the hot and humid weather.

    This time he had to enter the third layer of the forest. It was his first time carrying out a mission in the third layer.

    He had previously wandered into the the third layer to see around. But what he saw was that he was too weak to travel around yet. The third layer was filled with beasts of the mid and peak of Azure realm.

    The beast he chose to hunt, ''The Fanged Bear'' was a peak stage Azure realm beast however, it was one of the weakest peak stage Azure realm beast as well.

    Normally he wouldn''t dare to challenge a peak stage spirit beast as he himself was in the early stage. Even if he could match the creature in strength or speed through some amazing techniques, he would still run out of qi and lose the fight.

    The peak stage beasts of any realm had more qi than any beasts below it. He chose to fight with the Fanged bear as it was a peak stage but a weaker one at that.

    Apart from this the Fanged bear was weaker in terms of speed compared to other beasts of the same stage, however, it had more strength compared to many beasts of the same stage.

    But it''s speed made it lose out to many beasts.

    James was confident that he would be match the peak stage spirit beast in speed. During the past months he had been trying to reach the mid stages of Wind Enforcer by controlling his rate of speed while in motion.

    He has had some success with it and has been able to have a bit of control over his speed boost from the technique, however, he was still lacking that extra bit to master the mid stages of the Wind Enforcer.

    His sword techniques had been coming off well as he had been able to produce a qi wave while striking out with his sword. For now he was trying to conjure more qi waves and more deadlier qi waves.

    But this required the use of a lot of qi, which needed for him to breakthrough to further stages.

    He passed small ponds, tall trees, and many beasts that he avoided. He didn''t want to gather their attention as he did not have the strength to go out fighting many Azure realm beasts together.

    Finally after an hour of travel he reached the third layer of the forest. The third layer started from the fifteenth kilometer from the perimeter of the forest and went till the fifty fifth kilometer.

    The layer had many beasts outside of James''s capability, so he needed to be careful. He now had to search for the beast. He looked at the info available from his watch.

    A hologram appeared in front of him showing areas where the beast has been sighted before. James took a look and headed to the one near him.

    The fanned bear liked honey and fish and so was normally sighted in areas with a bee hive or a pond. After a little while he came across a pond but it was empty. There were no beasts around it and the area was quiet.

    It suddenly struck James that there must be a powerful beast inside the pond that rules over this small area.

    Generally spirit beasts divide areas amongst themselves. The strong ones divide hunting grounds, keeping a small area for themselves to prey.

    If a beast enters the area of another, then it is taken as a challenge and the owner of the area fights to keep it''s land.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    They also stayed within their area and the size of the area commanded by them would depend on the strength possessed by them. The size of the area was a symbol of the residing spirit beast''s might.

    James stayed away from the pond as he had an ominous feeling from it.

    Suddenly he saw two eyes amber eyes looking towards him from the pond. There was a small movement as the creature approached stealthily.

    James always had an acute perception. His constant training in the forests made him instantly take notice of the sudden movement. He quickly moved away and jumped over a tree.

    Seeing the prey move, the creature quickly moved towards the shore. But as James climbed above the tree, it stopped and didn''t come out of the water.

    Years of hunting had made it wise enough that it knew that it had lost its chance. The creature didn''t wish to show itself as it may warn other preys and so went back inside.

    Through the shallow water near the shore, James was able to catch a glimpse of the creature as he looked down when it had charged.

    James was horrified at the sight of the creature. It was a Steel Crocodile. A horrifying peak stage Azure realm existence. It was one of the strongest spirit beast within the Azure realm.

    The beast was said to be a terrifying existence in water and it was advised to fight it on land instead. It''s body was exceptionally hard, making it difficult to hurt it. It''s jaws were powerful enough to rip most spirit beasts apart.

    James was lucky to have noticed it''s movements, otherwise he wouldn''t have survived the encounter.

    He looked at his watch and headed for another region. Even while traversing on trees he needed to keep a careful lookout as many beasts such as snake type beasts would curl around a branch waiting silently to charge at a prey.

    Apart from the snake type spirit beasts there were many avian type spirit beasts as well. Beasts like the Golden Eagle just with its claws, could tear James apart.

    James reached a small area within the forest. There on a tree he saw a bee hive and just below it lay the Fanged Bear.

    Blue fur covered it body and a hard spiked armor like shell adorned his back. It''s brown claws looked menacing as it licked honey.

    ( looks like arzuros from monster hunter)

    Having found his target James observed his surroundings. Seeing no other danger present, he took out a gun and aimed at the Fanged Bear.

    The gun did not have any special characteristic. It was a normal gun used by low level cultivators which could fire both qi bullets and material bullets.

    The academy gave one weapon only, others had to be bought. The gun had cost James quite a bit as his income was still quite low. It was a normal gun.

    However the bullet inside was special. It was an expensive investment and he had to get it right as there was only one bullet inside.

    The bullet was called Poison Shot. As its name suggests, the bullet was coated with a poison. Once it strikes a target, the poison will seep inside affecting the beast''s movement.

    On the Fanged bear James estimated that it wouldn''t do much apart from a chance of slowing it down and weakening it a bit. But every advantage helped as the beast far outstripped James in power.

    Such material bullets didn''t work on spirit beasts of the Emerald realm. However, they still had their use on Azure realm beasts, although with limited effects.

    James pointed the gun and aimed at the bear specifically on its red eye. The bullet would not be able to pierce inside the bear''s body as it was known for its strong defense.

    The only area where he might have a chance was the red eyes of the beast. If he successfully injures ones of it''s eye, he would also have an advantage during the fight.

    He controlled his breath and aimed steadily at the bear. Clearing his mind and solely focusing on those red eyes, he felt that there was suddenly nothing around him.

    The world around him blurred and all sounds were ignored. His breath calmed, all he could see where the deep red color of the eyes.

    His index finger moved and the bullet left the gun with a bang travelling towards its target.

    ---------------------------

    Notes - Hey all :) I had an exam today got another on Saturday. But since it is on Saturday, I was able to write a chapter today! Also I would like to say that the novel is getting a cover art soon! I might be able to update it with the art today. I''ll be making an announcement through a chapter when it happens.

    Just completed the chapter so if you find any mistakes please do comment and tell! The next chapter will be probably posted on Sunday. I do t think I''ll be able to write any before Saturday itself. I hope u all understand. From Sunday the novel will again be back on with its schedule of a min a chap a day. Thanks and Enjoy!

    -------------------------------

    I posted the chapter again as previously when I had posted it the rrl update had many bugs which made the chapter unreadable due to strange formatting and various coding lines in it. Plus comments came in 2x instead of once getting repeated for no reason. So I have posted it again this time all looks well

 Cover art up and Chapter Edits

    Hi all! :)

    It''s not a chapter m sorry :(  don''t have time to write till sat but with this post id like to give a huge shout out to 2 readers who have and are helping me tremendously.

    The cover art has been uploaded today! And it was done by

    MadelynBlack

    She is an amazing amazing person who has done cover arts for other fics on this website before. So if anybody is looking to get one for their novel they can message this user :)

    Also currently a user named

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. TehGingerKlaus

    Has been helping me edit previous chapters. For now I have uploaded the first two chaps I think a while back when they got edited. Any small comma here and there or any mistakes are being looked at. Editing takes time and as more chapters will be edited they will be updated.

    I would like to again thank these two wonderful people who have and are helping me in a huge huge huge way!

    Give a comment on what u think about the new cover art :)

    Thank You!

 Chapter - 27

    Blood dripped on the yellow honey and a faint cry of the beast could be heard. It turned around searching for the pursuer.

    It had been enjoying it''s meal, oblivious to its surroundings, but now it was in great pain as the bullet was lodged in its left eye socket. James put the gun away in his ring and took out his sword.

    He jumped down on the grassy terrain, coming out of his hiding. It was time to face the beast.

    The Fanged Bear looked at the attacker with hate. It had lost his left eye and felt a sudden weakness inside it''s body. It knew that it was probably from the object that had struck it.

    It circulated qi inside to every part of the body trying to remove the effect of the foreign object that entered inside it''s head.

    The bear could see the opponent was in the early stages of the Azure realm, which meant that the enemy purposely tried to weaken it to hunt.

    It stomped the ground in anger as it couldn''t bear to be looked down by someone lower to itself. It looked back at the enemy channeling it''s qi in its claws. The brown claws shined menacingly in the light.

    The Fanged Bear was known for its high defense on its back and for it''s offense with its claws. It was slow for a peak stage Azure beast but it''s attacks were not. It could swipe at a frightening speed with its claws at the target.

    James prepared himself to attack. He could see the bear didn''t attack in an instant upon seeing him. This meant that the poison was working on its body.

    However, the poison could only weaken the bear by a bit, to be waiting meant it was trying to clear free of the poison''s effect. Showing its claws was just to scare James from attacking to gain time and heal itself.

    He needed to charge quick as he still had an advantage, otherwise it will be tough combating it later on. The beast even without an eye was still a peak stage Azure realm monster.

    He applied Wind Enforcer and charged at the bear. With a quick dash he closed and swung his sword at the target.

    Seeing that the enemy was not intimidated by its claws charging at it instead, it became furious and let out a roar. As the blade neared, the bear countered it with its claws.

    The blade and the claw met in a stalemate. James quickly shifted his direction and turned right swinging his sword at the legs of the beast. He infused qi and performed a Gale Slash.

    The qi wave cut the blur fur striking at the flesh. A wound appeared on the left leg and blood splattered around. The beast roared in anger and charged at James.

    James quickly stepped back trying to create a gap but the bear caught up. Even though it was slow and injured, it was still a peak stage beast which had a considerable amount of speed in front of an early stage Azure cultivator.

    It struck it''s claw with a lightning speed at James chest. He brought his sword in front and barely countered it, however, he was pushed back due to the force of the attack.

    He steadied himself as he fell back, the bear charged again with its claws. James tried to counter again but he suddenly felt his hand go numb. Even though he was able to counter the previous attack, but the sheer strength behind the claw numbed his hand.

    James could do nothing as the claw teared apart his chest and stomach. Five long lines appeared on his body filled with blood. Thankfully the attack didn''t pierce deep or it would have been highly fatal for him.

    This could be thanked to the effects of the One Horned Beetle Pellet that strengthened his body, increasing its toughness.

    James was pushed back again but he applied qi force and struck the air in front of him to push him back further from the bear. He needed a gap or the bear might end him.

    Seeing it had successfully struck it''s prey, the bear was elated and became more bloodthirsty. It wanted to tear apart the human who dared to hunt it.

    James couldn''t heal himself with an ointment. He would be dead if he tried. He could only depend on his self regeneration ability. He channeled the qi towards the cuts trying to close them to prevent blood loss.

    He moved again on the left. It was the blind spot of the beast as it lost its left eye. He couldn''t attack on the target''s back as it had a hard armor like defense.

    The only area which could hurt it was it''s front, but it''s fighting capability was above his own. Engaging in a melee showdown would result in his death as he lacked the force, the strength to match the creature.

    He tried to control his speed with qi force and darted in just a step away, stopped himself and performed a Gale slash at the enemy. A qi wave struck the bear''s stomach and before it could react, James backed away again.

    The bear felt severely limited as the enemy now struck him indirectly from its blind spot. It could only suffer as the enemy quickly created a distance instead of charging head on. It had to lure the enemy.

    He was nearing the mid stage of Wind Enforcer as he had been able to control his speed to a certain extent.

    Like this James was able to strike the Fanged Bear landing another two hits on it. But he knew he couldn''t continue like this. Eventually his qi will run out and the bear will end him.

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    He needed to kill it. The effect of the poison wasn''t much, but with the attacks on its legs and stomach, the bear had lost a considerable amount of its momentum.

    Suddenly the bear fell on the ground and tried to pick itself back up. This was a sign for James, a sign that the moment he wanted was here.

    The bear wasn''t able to move itself properly, he needed an opportunity and an opportunity had presented itself to him!

    Seeing it struggle, James tightened his grip on the sword and with a dash he struck at the bear which was struggling to get back up. As he neared in he struck towards the left wounded eye of the bear.

    But to his surprise the bear suddenly moved.

    Like a bolt of lightening, the bear which seemed weak, grabbed the sword with its claw and ferociously bit at James lodging it''s teeth at the enemy.

    James was shocked, he tried to dodge but the sword was firmly held by the bear. It tried to bit his face but he was able to move in the nick of time. However, the teeth lodged on top of his left shoulder instead and it shook his body throwing him.

    Blood splattered on the ground as James fell. He landed hard on the ground, his left shoulder had a small opening showing a missing part of his flesh which the bear had bitten it off as it threw him.

    He realized that the fanged bear had tricked him into believing that it had weakened considerably to lure him to come near. He had fallen for its trap and had now become the prey instead. With one move the target had turned the tables.

    He tried to get up but felt his body weaken. He felt as if he had no strength left in his limbs as he struggled to stand again. The injuries had weakened him affecting his battle ability.

    Fate had played a cruel joke on him. It was now him who was struggling like the bear previously, only that his condition was real.

    Realizing the success of its deception, the bear neared to its prey. Seeing the human struggle in a similar way, it laughed inside thinking how he had outsmarted the enemy.

    It neared the prey slowly, taking its time as it wanted the human to feel despair and suffer for a bit.

    James grabbed his sword again as he managed to stand. It was now a battle for survival. He would either live through this final showdown or become it''s next meal.

    As the bear neared, James tried to summon his entire strength. He vigorously channeled qi to his limbs and around his body to strengthen them. He needed a surprise attack, a decisive final attack that would end this or he would end.

    The thumping of the ground rang in his ears as the beast neared. It came slowly towards him, to mock him, to scare him, to make him suffer. James looked up to see the creature, his heartbeat increasing with every step taken by the beast.

    He felt small. He felt weak. He did not like this. He did not want this. The aim to be the strongest now felt like a fleeting dream to him.

    '' Remember to always try your best'' his father used to say. He did not know why he suddenly thought about this, but it gave him strength. He smiled and muttered to himself,

    " I''ve not tried hard enough. Not yet. "

    He closed his eyes and focused, focused on himself, focused on his qi. He believed in himself, in his strength. He believed he could do it.

    He looked towards the beast with determination and walked towards it. He staggered slowly towards it with his sword in his hand.

    Seeing the human weakly staggering towards it, the Fanged Bear stopped and looked at it mockingly.

    Watching the human in pain gave it pleasure. As the human neared it, it readied itself to finish the enemy in a single blow. The claws emitted an Azure blue light around it.

    But suddenly the human disappeared.

    As James reached the Fanged Bear, he generated qi force around him. He needed to regulate his speed. He needed a sudden burst of momentum of immense speed. He had to try, or it would be his last.

    He activated Wind Enforcer and suddenly with a movement as swift as wind he reached on top of the bear, standing on its head. A foot on the head, another on its back he stood on top of the creature and swung his sword lodging it deep inside it''s left eye.

    He broke through achieving the mid stage of Wind Enforcer making him disappear in a flash when he closed in on the target.

    The sword in his hand emitted an Azure light around it as it pierced through the left socket going deep inside reaching the neck. .

    The beast fell for its own trap.

    The Fanged Bear fell on the ground lifelessly, on top of it a human stood with his sword embedded inside it''s head. Fate had truly played a cruel game.

    ------------------------

    Note - My exams got over yesterday and as promised here is today''s chapter! Like I''ve said from today onwards I''ll be again doing a minimum of 1 chap per day:) I just completed the chap, if you find any mistakes please do comment and tell!

    Enjoy!

 Chapter - 28

    James laid beside the body of the beast, his watch made a ''Ting''  sound registering the kill. He moved with difficulty and took out his healing ointment. He had to treat his wounds quickly.

    If he hadn''t tried back then, even if the bear hadn''t attacked and watched him, he would still have died due to excessive blood loss.

    He applied the ointment as much as he could to his shoulder and chest, finishing the small bottle. It started to take effect in an instant slowly healing his wounds.

    James felt pain in every part of his body, he needed a good rest. Looking at the corpse of the Fanged Bear, he took out his sword from the socket and started opening the inside of the beast from below.

    After a short while he reached the beast''s heart and found a small core beside. It had an uneven round shape with an Azure colour to it. He took it out and laid on the ground observing the core.

    It was a Beast Core. Every spirit beast has a core inside them similar to a human and as they advance to the next realm the color of the core also changes matching their realm.

    Beast Cores had a lot of value for a cultivator. It could be sold off or consumed as desired. It could be preserved as well for future use. The prices of such Beast Cores depended on its quality and the realm.

    It also depended on the stage of the beast as a peak stage spirit beast would have a more valuable energy rich core compared to an early stage beast.

    Generally Azure realm beast cores weren''t that expensive as they weren''t that difficult to hunt. Prices of Beast Cores start shooting up from mid stage Emerald realm cores which were hard to get.

    The general population of cultivators were in the Azure realm while many were in the Emerald realm. However, Carmine realm experts were hard to come by in any part of the world.

    There were many but their numbers were still not enough as the road of cultivation was difficult to tread on and continue. It required passion and diligence which many lacked or lost during this long journey.

    The core in James''s hand was of a peak stage spirit beast. It had a good value in the market but it was even more valuable to James currently. The tournament was starting soon and this core will be beneficial to him in his breakthrough to the mid stage of Azure realm.

    He planned on consuming it instead of selling. Consuming it effectively required a certain qi flow method to gain the maximum amount of energy possible.

    They weren''t taught this method nor did they have proper knowledge about these cores during the first few months in the academy. This caused both James and Gus to lose out on the benefits of the beast cores from the early stage Azure realm beasts they had hunted earlier.

    Later on in their '' Qi and it''s uses''  classes they were taught how qi could be used to bring changes in their body, like stopping blood flow, absorbing cores efficiently etc.

    Looking at the core now, James wanted to consume it quickly. He couldn''t wait to breakthrough and was pretty excited. But, his condition was not great.

    Suddenly he heard the flapping of wings above. His pupils constricted when he looked up to see the creature.

    It was a mid stage Azure realm spirit beast, the Scrounge Vulture. A beast known for its strength in its claws and beak.

    It was a common scavenger found in these parts, however, it was not something James wanted to see currently. For him, this encounter is equivalent to death itself as he didn''t have the strength to battle and the beast was a stage above his own.

    The vulture looked towards James and the corpse of the Fanged Bear beside. It could tell that a fight had occurred and the human won, but seeing it''s present condition, the vulture was confident in gaining two meals today.

    With a sharp cry it flew down with its claws aiming for James. James tried to sprint but he was too slow. He lacked qi inside his body and his legs lacked the energy to move quickly.

    The vulture came down and as it was about to strike, a loud ''Bang'' was heard and blood splattered all over James.

    The vulture''s head blew up and it fell lifelessly leaving a dazed James looking at its body. The bushes rustled nearby and a person came out wearing the academy uniform.

    "Not bad, a Scrounge Vulture. The core will get me some money at least " said the person.

    James looked over to see a guy who looked slightly older to him. He looked well built, with short black hair and sharp features. Seeing the academy uniform, James concluded that it must be a senior.

    In the youth''s hand was a gun which meant he was a gunner. But, his gun looked different from the standard one given by the academy. It was black in colour with a unique design on its barrel.

    " Oh it''s a customized gun, you won''t find it on sale generally. It''s quite expensive but quite capable as well " said the youth who noticed James''s gaze on it.

    " Ah I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to look. Thank you for saving me senior, may I know your name?" replied James embarrassingly.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    " Haha don''t worry about it. My name is Ritz Hall. " said the youth.

    James was surprised on hearing the name. Ritz Hall was a famous 3rd year student in the academy who was known for his exceptional Gunner skills.

    He is said to be the best Gunner in his batch and a genius cultivator at the peak stage of Azure realm. Even then to have killed the mid stage Azure beast, Scrounge Vulture in one shot, what power does this senior possesses, wondered James.

    " Looking at your expression, it seems you have heard about me. " smiled Ritz

    " Senior is very well known in the academy. " said James.

    " Forget about me what''s your name? You haven''t introduced yourself yet. "

    " Ah sorry! My name is James Walter. A first year student. "

    " A first year huh. To think you defeated a peak stage beast with an early stage cultivation base. It seems it won''t be the first time I will be hearing your name. " said Ritz as he looked over James with keen eyes.

    " I was just lucky that''s all. " replied James.

    " I saw your fight, well the ending of it actually. I was moving around this area when I heard the sound of a battle. "

    " What you did was exceptionally brave and stupid. It seems you made a breakthrough in your movement technique at the end, you might have not survived if you hadn''t. "

    " I hope you learn to challenge opponents you are fit to. Fighting way above your bracket isn''t the smartest idea to live. "

    " I didn''t know it would turn out to be this difficult even though it''s one of the weakest peak stage beast."

    " My greed for a breakthrough nearly cost me my life. I will keep your advice in mind senior. " replied James.

    He knew what he attempted today was not something he should have done. If he didn''t have his breakthrough he would have died miserably.

    " Well don''t stay put in one place for long after hunting. You see this forest is filled with scavengers like that vulture over there. The scent of blood travels far attracting many such creatures. "

    " Even if a scavenger doesn''t arrive another strong beast will. Since the Fanged Bear is dead, the area which it controlled is now vacant without an owner. "

    " There will be beasts who will aim to extend their reach by claiming this area as theirs. So be careful as there are many dangers nearby. "

    " I thank the senior again for his help. I wouldn''t have survived if the vulture had attacked. " said James while giving a short bow.

    " Don''t worry about it. We are from the fellow students after all. Don''t call me senior just call me Ritz. "

    " Thank you brother Ritz. "

    " Well let''s get out of here quickly. Who knows what beast might come out. You look pretty battered up. Absorb the core back at the base or in the academy. Don''t stay here. "

    " I''ll help you to get back to the base. " said Ritz. He went over and took out the beast core from the body of the vulture. He then helped James up by supporting him from his right and they left for the base.

    Back at the base James thanked Ritz again and went to the sick room to rest while Ritz left for the forest. The next day, he felt rejuvenated although his left shoulder still hadn''t properly recovered.

    He decided to consume the beast core before heading back to the academy. Taking it out of his ring, he looked at it, it still had an Azure luster around it.

    He placed it in both of his palms and sat in a lotus position. With a deep breath, he concentrated his qi and let it out towards the core interacting with it. As the qi connected with the core, a massive amount of qi flew from it towards James.

    He controlled the output of the qi from the core and absorbed it, channeling it to his core. The core absorbed the qi and distributed it around his body, strengthening it.

    After absorbing it completely, the beast core on his palm lost its Azure luster and even a lot of its form. It now looked like an ordinary piece of rock.

    James sat and meditated. He was at a crucial stage currently. The qi inside his core surged as it tried to push around violently. It molded the core, slowly evolving it.

    After a brief moment with a bang, the energy inside him surged rapidly. He felt a qualitative leap in his physique, from his bones to his muscles, to his skin. Inside him the core now had a deeper Azure aura around it.

    James smiled contentedly at the change. He had successfully broken through to the mid stage of Azure realm. Now, he couldn''t wait for the tournament to begin.

    -------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. The next chap will be posted tomorrow. I will be starting the tournament arc now. I hope I write it well lol.

    Just finished this one so if you find any mistakes please inform with a comment. Enjoy :)

 Chapter - 29

    James walked up to the counter. He was currently inside the missions department in the Sky Blaze Tower.

    The lady behind, gave a warm smile as she registered the right cord of completion.

    " Well done. I never expected you to complete this one. Here is your reward. "

    ''Ting'' his watch made a sound and James looked at the display showing his account balance. He was just remunerated 120 gold for completing the mission.

    James thanked the woman and went back to his dorm.

    Back at the dorm, James and Gus were seated inside discussing amongst themselves.

    " I still can''t believe that you were able to kill that Fanged Bear! " exclaimed Gus as James proudly showed him his mission record.

    " Told you I''d complete it" replied James.

    " What''s more I broke through to the mid stage Azure realm as well"

    " What! you too? "

    " What do you mean by me too? There are others who broke through as well in our batch? "

    " Yeah. That guy from the royal family Luke did and so did Kayla, Jane and this other guy named Tom. " said Gus.

    " Wow Jane, Tom and Luke broke through through as well? They didn''t even have the pellet like us. " said James. He was astonished upon hearing this. He expected Gus and Kayla apart from him making a breakthrough since they won the pellet boosting their capability giving them a headstart.

    " Well you know how monstrous Jane is. All she does is missions and practice. Luke I heard got help from seniors, plus he has the royal bloodline making it easier for him."

    " The really oddity here is Tom. I heard he ranked 8th in the entrance exam and he never really stood out as well. "

    " Hmm, looks like reaching the end of the band in the tournament will be tough. " said James.

    " Yep! By the way even I think I will be able to make a breakthrough soon. We still have about over a month for the tournament. " said Gus.

    " Ah that''s cool! Haha, can''t wait to see your ''Earth Shattering'' technique again. "

    " Hey man! Your Gale Slash was pretty weak too you know! " said Gus embarrassingly. He was reminded of the battle they had earlier in VR.

    " Oh you will be surprised if you see it now though" grinned James.

    " Our first year sure passed by quickly."

    " Yeah, I still can''t believe we will be second year students in four days "

    The year was ending after three days. James thought that it flew by pretty quickly. Just last month his birthday went by and he turned 13. He had learned and advanced a lot in this year.

    From the first January itself they will be promoted to the second year, while a new batch takes their place.

    They will have to leave their dorms and will be given a new area. This time though, they will be living amongst the seniors.

    The most basic rooms didn''t have any charge, however, the betters rooms were charged on a monthly basis.

    Everybody aimed to live in better rooms as they were said to have better amenities and denser qi inside. This made it the ideal location for closed door cultivation for them.

    The new dorms were not located very far from their current ones. They will be shifted after another three days, just a day before the new year.

    They were both excited and nervous as they will be living with the seniors soon.

    Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

    An assembly was conducted in the academy auditorium which was attended by each and every student of the academy. It was the yearly assembly where the final years said their goodbyes while the others were shifted up a class.

    The students were all seated in their uniforms looking towards the stage while the headmaster was distributing prizes and awards to the final year students for their various achievements in the academy.

    James could see many notable seniors of whom he had heard about and seen amongst the winners like senior Edward and senior Warren.

    After the award ceremony, the headmaster gave a long speech about the road of cultivation and it''s many challenges. He motivated the students and gave a final goodbye to the leaving batch.

    The assembly ended and the students returned back to their dorms. Back at the dorms, the first years had to pack up as they now had to live amongst their seniors. They were now second year students now.

    The students were all lined up and sent towards their new dorm area on a similarly large hover board that they had used earlier when they entered the academy.

    When they reached the new area, they were left gobsmacked by what they saw. The area was huge to the point that it looked like the size of a small town.

    There were many kinds of structures that filled this area. From above James could see many single storeyed residential buildings which he guessed were the normal dorms without a monthly rental.

    Apart from these there were also some large buildings, the size of a mansion encompassing a huge area. This James thought were the rental ones. Students could be seen roaming around in the area as well. Many of them were observing the approaching hover board.

    As they descended down, the teacher who escorted them, looked towards them and spoke,

    " From now onwards this will be your dorm area. You are all forbidden to visit your previous dorm area. The new batch of students who will be replacing you as first years will be stationed there. "

    " The one storeyed buildings you see here are the ones without a monthly rental fee. Each of you may choose one amongst them as your new home. Unlike previously you will be given the entire building and not just a single room"

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    " If you would like to live in a more comfortable space with higher concentration of qi, you may choose one of the larger buildings. "

    " However, each one of them has a specific monthly rental fee which you need to pay upfront. "

    " You will be removed on failure to meet the payment. Each house has a different amount of rent set according to the extra benefits offered. "

    " That will be all. You may now choose your homes. "

    The teacher departed leaving the students with their luggage. They all started moving around, selecting their new homes.

    James and Gus stood there looking around. There were many seniors who came towards their group to chat and give their suggestions.

    They decided to split up and gather some information on the various homes available. As James moved around the area looking at the various homes and checking the rental prices, a voice called out to him.

    " It seems we meet again James"

    James was surprised to see senior Ritz who was standing towards his right. He had a very favorable view of senior Ritz as he had helped him immensely back in the forest. He smiled and said,

    " I am lucky to meet you again brother Ritz! I would like to thank you again for your help earlier. "

    " Ah don''t mention it. We are fellow students after all. It seems you broke through to the mid stage of Azure realm. Quite impressive! I look forward to your performance in the annual tournament"

    " Than you brother Ritz. I hope I don''t disappoint you."

    " So you are out here searching information about the various rental homes I presume. "

    " Yes brother Ritz. Do you have an advice for me regarding this matter? "

    " Hmm, well my advice would be to choose a non rental residence. "

    " Why''s that? " asked James. He was surprised hearing this answer. He wanted to live in a rental home to increase his cultivation speed.

    " You have already broken through to the mid stage recently and until the tournament starts, the only gain you can have is more proficiency in your techniques."

    " I suggest you to save up your money and aim for a high ranking in the tournament. With the tournament prizes and monthly ranking stipend, you can aim to live in a better home. "

    " Simply put, a rental home won''t benefit you much currently. " said Ritz.

    James thought carefully at the words of his senior. It was indeed true that a rental home would not benefit James much at all currently. Instead he can save his money and spend it later onwards for better options.

    " I have to thank you again for your help brother. " replied James.

    " Haha, don''t mention it. "

    He agreed with his senior''s viewpoint as it seemed more logical.

    The minimum rent of a home was 100 gold coins a month. James''s total wealth currently amounted to just 290 gold coins which he earned through undertaking missions. It was not enough to pay for even three months of rent.

    With the tournament reward and monthly stipend he would be in a much better position and might be able to afford an even higher rental home.

    He bid senior Ritz farewell and went to look for Gus to discuss the matter. After discussing it with him, Gus also agreed with senior Ritz viewpoint. He was confident that he could achieve his breakthrough in a month with or without the help of a rental home.

    They made their decision and selected two non rental residences which were located near to each other.

    Entering inside James saw that the house contained a bedroom, a bathroom and a small room with a denser concentration of qi inside compared to the outside which he figured was the cultivation room.

    For a non rental residence it was miles ahead than his previous dorm room which just a bed and a small bathroom. James was quite satisfied with it. He wondered how the rental ones would be compared to his current home.

    Night approached and the skies turned dark. James was meditating inside the cultivation room. He was immersed in absorbing the higher concentration of qi inside when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

    He exited the room and opened the door to find two guys outside in academy uniform. He was sure he had never seen them before which meant they were his seniors.

    One of them smiled warmly and said,

    " Hello junior brother. We are glad to have you juniors amongst us and even the year is ending and so we seniors have decided to host a party in your welcoming. "

    " We are here to extend the invite to you. The party will begin in an hour. The venue for the event is the East Mansion. We hope you attend it. "

    " I will keep the invitation in mind. " replied James. He found it strange after hearing the sudden invite. The seniors gave a smile and left towards another house. He looked around and saw groups of seniors going around talking to the others as well.

    James could see from the looks of it that this was a party where they didn''t have a choice to refuse.

    -----------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter! I am really sorry that I didn''t post 1 yesterday. I just couldn''t write one yesterday, my mind just refused to. I am really sorry about it. I just completed this one, if u find any mistakes please do comment and tell. Thanks and enjoy! :)

 Chapter - 30

    The East Mansion was a well known and highly desired residence by students. It had one of the best cultivation rooms and a huge rent to go along with it.

    James met up with Gus after the seniors left them. They began discussing about the upcoming party.

    " I heard a rumor that every year this so called welcoming party is hosted by seniors. "

    " Apparently if we don''t show up, we might get marked by the seniors." said Gus.

    " Hmm, where did you hear it from? "

    " When you were out on your mission, I had spoke with some others from our batch. There are 2-3 of them who have a family relative in a senior class. "

    " My sources are 100% accurate. " replied Gus.

    " I see. Any other info? "

    " Yep. The most important thing about this event is that we get to meet up and know many seniors. "

    " However, the downside being some of us might be ragged if we caught the interest of one of the seniors in a bad way. We have to lay low " said Gus in a serious manner.

    James nodded in understanding. The academy never bothered with student problems until it was an escalating matter. They encouraged rivalries instead.

    This is why the 1st years were given a different area to live. The academy saved them in this way for a year and let them out in the jungle the next year.

    Students being thirteen in age should be able to cope up in changing environments and situations. If they can''t, then cultivation is not a future prospect for them.

    James had to make sure to lay low and not catch a senior''s attention. But, it was difficult for him as he was one of the few who had broken through to the mid stage Azure realm, a fact that was bound to catch the attention of other seniors.

    He didn''t want to be on the bad side of a senior so he had to go. Not going would mean disrespecting the seniors and not accepting their kind gesture.

    " Looks like we don''t have a choice. Let''s leave after a few minutes. It''s almost time for the party anyways. We might as well try and enjoy it as a new year celebration. " replied James.

    Gus nodded and they left to get ready. James wore a t shirt and jeans. He didn''t have any flashy clothes, neither did he expect that he would be attending parties in the academy.

    He looked at himself in the mirror. His body had changed quite a lot. He had grown taller and had quite a lean figure. Veins could be seen on his arms and his face now lacked baby fat. Due to constant training, he had gained a muscular frame

    He went outside and met up with Gus who was also in t shirt and jeans. They left for the East Mansion quickly as they didn''t want to be late. Bring late meant having the spotlight on them which they didn''t desire.

    On their way, they could see the beauty of the place. The entire area had a brick lane passing through it with grass covering the grounds beside. There were lamp posts after every few meters.

    James admired the beauty of their new dorm area. It looked quite peaceful and welcoming compared to the city environment that he usually gets to see. The academy was in itself a sight to admire.

    Soon they saw a large two storeyed house with a huge garden around it. It encompassed a large area and people could be seen walking in through the main gates. Music could be heard from outside as they neared the gates.

    James could see many seniors in fashionable clothing. The guys mainly wore shirt and jeans while the girls were in dresses. He felt a bit nervous ad they entered through the gate.

    Even though it was a two storeyed building, it had a huge length compared to the normal residences. The building had a modern look to it. James could spot a small pool on the second floor situated in the balcony from outside.

    Looks like it was a very lavish residence thought James. Students weren''t allowed to bring money from homes. They were required to earn by completing missions and through academy events.

    To have been able to afford such a residence, the present owner of this mansion was guaranteed to be an amazing student.

    They walked along the brick lane and entered the mansion. As James entered inside he could see a thin layer of smoke around the room. In front of him was a large area with sofas and chairs lined up around small tables.

    A larger table was located in the centre and there was a kitchen and a bathroom on the far end at the back.

    On his right was a spiral staircase leading to the upper floor where he thought must be the bedroom of the owner and the cultivation room.

    All around him he could see many people going around holding drinks and having snacks as they chatted amongst themselves. Many looked towards them as they discussed as well.

    The tables had a pot like structure upon it with a pipe coming out of it. He could see many seniors sitting around and smoking through it in turns.

    " That''s a shisha " said Gus as he noticed James''s gaze.

    " A what? " said James.

    " I''ve seen it before. Many miners take it after their shift. The pot is the base with cold water and flavor mixed in with a charcoal piece on top. "

    " You can smoke through the pipe, but my father says it''s not very healthy " replied Gus.

    " I see"

    " Let''s not stand here near the gates though. We are attracting attention towards ourselves. Let''s go someplace else inside. " said Gus.

    James nodded and they went to a corner.

    The room had wooden flooring and exquisite patterns on the walls. It had a club like atmosphere with EDMs playing loudly.

    James had never been to such a party. He was a bit fascinated as he looked around. He could see many from his batch, some socializing with seniors and even sitting around the small tables smoking shisha.

    There were also some who looked like they were being ganged up on by a crowd of seniors talking and laughing at them.

    James wished he didn''t end up like the latter. He could see that the small noble group mixing in pretty well with the seniors especially Luke who seemed to have gelled in.

    " Hey look at those two. The way they are trying to keep themselves low here, I''m sure they belong to the new second years"

    A group of seniors looked towards them. They were on the table nearest to them. Suddenly one of them who was smoking the pipe spoke,

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    " Hey you two! Come over here, we won''t bite. "

    " Hahaha" the group laughed at them.

    " Yes, yes come join us! Won''t you introduce yourselves to us seniors? " another chipped in.

    Looks like they won''t get out of this smoothly thought James. He gave a smile as he looked towards the group and spoke in an amiable way

    " Hello seniors. My name is James and this is my friend Gus. " said James. He wouldn''t show weakness, he wasn''t the type to be bullied easily.

    " I see. Wait I''ve heard this name before. Are you James Walter and Gus Light? " asked one of them.

    " Yes we are. May I know how you came to know about us? " replied Gus.

    " Ah! Looks like we have two stars amongst us from the new batch. Brothers these two won the Virtual Test I''ve heard and one of them that James has reached the mid stage of the Azure realm! "

    " Oh it seems brother is right. These two are certainly geniuses then! " came another voice. The person who just spoke had a thin figure with a glass in his hand. He had a strange glint in his eyes as he looked towards them which alerted James.

    ''Not good'' thought James.

    " Why don''t you join us? We are just a year senior to you. No need to be afraid." continued the guy as he put his drink down. He got up and approached them stretching a hand out towards James.

    "Hi my name is Sean Fraser. "

    James shook his hands and he welcomed them towards the table. After being seated Sean offered him the pipe.

    " Hey have a puff"

    " No thanks senior. I don''t smoke. " replied James.

    " You won''t accept a kind gesture of friendship from out brother Sean " said someone in the group.

    Hearing this Sean''s expression changed a bit, but he appeared calm on the outside and spoke,

    " It''s fine brothers. Looks like our juniors here haven''t grown hair down there yet. "

    " Hahaha. You are right brother!" the group roared in laughter at the insidious remark.

    " Would you like to check it for yourself? " said Gus suddenly with anger. He couldn''t such a remark.

    James quickly held his shoulder and spoke

    " I am sorry, it hasn''t been a good day for him. "

    " Tchh these kids think too highly of themselves. What do you say brothers" said Sean.

    " Looks like they haven''t been educated well in their first year. " said another.

    James started sweating. He knew the seniors have found an opportunity now and won''t leave them easily.

    " Look what we have here! Looks like you guys have already started picking on these poor juniors " came a voice suddenly.

    " Ah senior Kyle! We were just having some fun that''s all. Thank you for hosting such a wonderful party! " said Sean his expression suddenly changer to one of earnest. He never expected senior Kyle to appear. If Kyle wanted to save James he couldn''t do anything.

    ''So this is the senior who owns this mansion'' thought James. Kyle Hammersworth was one of the best students in the academy. A final year student who has been living in the East Mansion for about a year now.

    He was from a very prestigious family and was highly respected amongst the students. He had a muscular build which even his shirt couldn''t hide. He had a large frame and a square face.

    " How boring! As soon as I came you all turned into a bunch of kitties, and here I thought I''d get to see some action" said Kyle.

    " Since brother has said so, how couldn''t we? Let''s give these two a good welcoming " said Sean as he smiled and looked at his group. The others nodded and raised their glasses. Sean was happy as it seemed the senior had no intention of interfering.

    Things did not look good for both of them. Looks like this senior never planned to help us thought James.

    " Ah brother James I''ve been looking for you! So it seems you were with brother Sean" came another voice.

    James looked around and saw that it was senior Ritz! He felt relieved on seeing him.

    " Oh you know them Ritz? " asked Kyle as he looked at Ritz curiously.

    " Haha, yes. Pretty fantastic juniors they are. I hope there are no problems? " asked Ritz. He had watched the entire scene and thought senior Kyle might interfere and save them but it didn''t look so.

    Ritz was pretty popular in his batch and he himself had a considerable influence especially now when he was a fourth year.

    " Nothing much senior. We were just planning to ''educate'' these juniors. That''s all. " replied Sean. Since senior Kyle didn''t have a problem so he didn''t have any fear of Ritz.

    " Hmm, I think we should keep this fair. Brother Ritz himself has vouched for James so why not have a fight? "

    " Sean is in the mid stage of Azure realm and so is James. They can have a sparring season. " said Kyle.

    " I wouldn''t mind that as well. As senior Kyle suggests" said Sean.

    Seeing Ritz supporting James he decided to lend him a hand and avoid embarrassing the two second years. A sparring season was the most he could do as he did not intend to openly support James whom he didn''t know at all.

    " Ah but James just broke through recently while Sean has been in the mid stage for over six months now. " said Ritz. He was trying his best to help James.

    " Sean is average compared to the others in third years " said Ritz as he transmitted it through qi privately to James for only him to hear.

    " Even if you are at the same stage, he has more experience than you. It is still disadvantageous. "

    " I understand brother Ritz" replied James.

    After giving a moment of thought James looked at Sean and said,

    " I accept the fight. However, I would like to fight brother Sean in the Annual Tournament instead. "

    -------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter. Just completed it, if you find any mistakes please do comment and tell. So from next chapter the tournament starts. Next chap will be up tomorrow. Also this is the 30th chap! I''ve posted 30 chaps in 28 days pretty consistent I think ^^ I hope I can maintain it and write on a regular basis. The novel has also hit over 22k total views now! Thank you my readers.

    Thanks and enjoy! :)

 Chapter - 31

    " You would like to challenge him during the annual tournament you say?" asked Kyle clearly surprised by James''s answer.

    " If senior Sean agrees to it then yes" replied James with a firm look on his face.

    " Hahaha, did you guys hear that? This little shit wants to challenge me in the annual competition! " said Sean with a mocking expression loudly. His voice captured the attention of almost everyone present at the party.

    Luke eyes James as he sipped in his drink. Watching James getting in trouble gave him a sort of pleasure which he couldn''t describe why. The other nobles under him eyed James as well.

    " My dear junior, I hope you know that to issue a challenge to a senior in the competition, you first need to reach top 4 in your band" said Sean.

    " I do know this and I am confident in reaching it. "

    " My my we have on one cocky little kid amongst us. Forget reaching the end of the band, you really think you can beat me just because we both are the same cultivation stages? " taunted Sean.

    " I don''t know, but I am not hesitant to find out. I wonder if senior is though"

    " I see, looks like the junior HAS grown hair down there! As your senior I accept the challenge."

    " But how do I know that you will challenge me? What guarantee is there that you might back out in the end? "

    " I won''t back it you have my word. "

    " Word means jack kid. Let''s make a bet then! What do you say senior Kyle? "

    " Hmm well since it has come to this then I think a bet will be the best way to guarantee the match " replied Kyle.

    " So what does senior wants as a stake then? " asked James nervously.

    " Hmm, I don''t expect you to have anything worth much on you so we will use money. I hope this junior is not a beggar? " replied Sean as he continued to mock James.

    " Senior does not have to worry about it. Will a bet of 250 gold be sufficient? "

    Everybody around was taken aback listening to the amount. It wad a huge amount considering the student has been in the academy only for a year.

    To be able to bet so high and so easily, this junior seemed quite confident in his strength through the others.

    " Hmm not bad! Let''s do this then. If you fail to challenge due to any reason, you will pay me 250 gold and if you challenge me and lose, you lose your money. However, IF by a miracle you win I''ll pay you 250." said Sean. He never expected for James to have this amount of wealth in a year alone.

    " I am fine with it. I agree" replied James as he nodded his head in agreement.

    " Wait! The junior is at a disadvantage here! I think considering how confident Sean is and the gap between them, Sean should give at least two times the reward. " chimed in Ritz.

    He wanted Sean to back out of the challenge, if that was not possible then make it difficult for him.

    '' Dam this Ritz '' thought Sean. If he backed out now he would be the laughing stock of his class. He didn''t wasn''t to show any weakness.

    " Not a problem! " said Sean confidently.

    " Well then now that it''s settled, let''s get back to partying people! The year is gonna end soon! " said Kyle as he shouted enthusiastically, passing drinks and taking pictures with the others.

    The party vibe was back on as people enjoyed themselves. Sean had shown a confident expression but deep inside he was held hatred for Ritz and James.

    A simple prank to teach rough up juniors turned into a tournament challenge with high stakes not only monetary but in terms of respect as well. He looked at James with a sinister expression and said,

    " I''ll let you go scot-free today. But I''ll beat you till your teeth drops in the annual tournament. "

    James paid no heed to his words. There was nothing to fear now and so he started enjoying the party instead.

    " Are you confident in handling Sean, James? " asked Ritz through a qi transmission.

    " I don''t know, but I must challenge myself and my capabilities to improve. " said James.

    " Haha you have a very good attitude towards cultivation. I am sure you will go places. Come lets have a drink! "

    They sipped in two Virgin mojitos and met and chatted with others. The clock struck 12 signaling the beginning of a new year and the crowd partied till dawn.

    James and Gus had already left earlier to catch some sleep. They had already said their goodbyes thanking the seniors and left for their rooms.

    As James hit the bed, all that he could think was about the challenge. He wanted to win, beating a senior a year ahead of him.

    He set an alarm and closed his eyes drifting off to sleep. He needed the rest as he won''t have himself get one till the tournament day.

    There was a little over a month to prepare. James had decided to now synchronize his two techniques, Wind Enforcer and Gale Slash. He didn''t have the time for a third and didn''t want to spend his money trying to learn a low level technique.

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    Classes had began again and a new batch of 1st years came in. James got a new set of classes which were basically advanced versions of his previous class.

    He had informed instructor Dave about his achievements in his techniques and had told him about the challenge as well. With a revised training program from the instructor James trained with sincerity and diligence.

    He spent most of his time practicing his battle skills and trying to synergize his techniques.

    Days turned into months and finally the tournament day approached. Gus was the only other person during this time to have broken through to the mid stage Azure realm while James had improved quite a bit as well.

    They both left for the coliseum which was decorated with red flags around its exterior. Many people lined up outside the entry gates while the students came in through a back door to report in on time.

    The Annual Tournament of the Sky Blaze Martial Academy was considered a big affair not only in the academy but in the kingdom as well.

    The academy allowed the public to enter the academy grounds and watch the tournament. Tickets were sold at sky high prices and then sold again at even more ludicrous prices in black by the public.

    Each year they were sold out in seconds on the online portal. There was tight security placed around and inside the academy. The teachers took in roles to monitor areas as well. People lined up outside the gates and after entry were collected and sent to the coliseum on large hover discs.

    Food stalls adorned the grounds outside the coliseum and shouts could be heard inside. An invisible barrier was placed on the perimeter of the stage to avoid any contact between the audience and the participant.

    The event was attended by the royal family and various distinguished guests belonging to powerful factions in the kingdom. Many envoys of other kingdoms came to view it as well.

    The matches were even broadcasted to show the prowess of the cultivators of the academy to the entire kingdom. People could watch it on TV or through VR headsets getting an even better view and feel of the event.

    Betting was also conducted within the coliseum grounds by the academy itself. The viewers and even students could bet on matches by placing it through their comm watches during the competition.

    Today the galleries were full and all the students were lined up on the stage looking above at a raised platform located in the galleries.

    It was a large platform with a golden throne in the middle and two silver thrones by its side. The king was seated on the golden throne while his wife was seated on his right. The headmaster of the academy was seated to his left on the other silver throne.

    Beside the platform on each side was a special box known as the vip box which was packed with various important guests and envoys.

    The king Emmanuel the Fifth was a Carmine level expert who was widely revered by the citizens. As he stood up the entire coliseum went silent. With a loud and clear voice reaching out to every corner he said,

    " I am honored to be present here amongst all of you, my citizens, distinguished guests and most of important of all these students who are the hope of this kingdom! "

    " I hope today you grace us with a show that will shock not only us but the empires around us. Show them your talent! Show them your might! Give them a sight that they remember for their entire lives! "

    " I declare the Annual Tournament open! "

    The crowd broke into a round of applause and cheers filling the coliseum in an uproar. The king took his seat, discussing with the headmaster.

    A student walked up the stairs near the raised platform where a cauldron was placed. He lit the cauldron and another round of applause resounded in the coliseum.

    " Man I bet the king says the same thing every year in the opening ceremony. Even then it got me fired up!  " whispered Gus who stood beside James and the others on stage.

    " Haha, as far as I''ve watched it''s mostly the same, but hearing it now makes my blood boil in excitement!  " said James. He looked up at the bright flames and muttered, " And so it begins ".

    -------------------------

    Notes - Here is today''s chapter! I am really very sorry I didn''t post 1 on yesterday but it seems I really can''t write daily. On some days I just don''t happen to click with it and am unable to write. I hope the readers forgive me. This is the reason why I won''t from now promise a daily release as I don''t like giving false promises. However, the novel will still receive constant releases so you all don''t have to worry:) I will update it as much as I can and try to write a chap daily. I will most likely post a chapter tomorrow!

    Just completed this one. If you find any mistakes do comment and tell:) thanks and enjoy!

 Chapter - 32

    The annual tournament was conducted over a period of four days.

    On these four days the first two were the qualifier rounds for the preliminaries. On the third day the quarter finals and semi finals were conducted, while the finals were conducted on the fourth day.

    Each student was given a number in the start and the number represented their identities in the tournament. The matches were set through random selection of numbers.

    However, the matches were only set amongst students of same batches on the first day. Each batch was known as a band. The first 100 students which were comprised of the fifth years were known as the 1st Band while the band comprising of second years were known as the 4th Band.

    There were no ranks given to students after the 4th rank. All 96 other students were unranked and positioned in a band.

    In the first day, the students went through numerous matches to decide the rankings and on the second day, they could issue a challenge to each other above their class to improve their ranking.

    Challenges issued during the tournament cannot be rejected by the other party. Only the top 4 students, the ones who reached the semi final of their respective bands and above were eligible to issue a challenge.

    ( I am changing it to 4 instead of 3 as mentioned in the last chapter. I have made the change there as well)

    If a student won from his senior, then the student will be placed in the respective senior''s band while that senior will be placed in the junior''s band. The reward gained by the student will include his ranking reward in his own band and the reward received in the particular band he entered.

    Students and spectators could also place bets during the matches. The tournament was a huge opportunity for every student to increase his or her wealth.

    Matches having popular candidates specially a match of a previous high ranked versus low ranker were not that ludicrous opportunity to earn through betting. The payout was very small as everybody knew who would win and so the bets were always one sided.

    There were only a few rare cases where there was a surprise in the final outcome. The matches amongst the average rankers and those between the unranked second years were the real gambling attraction.

    Since the final outcome could be anything as nothing was known about them, the payout was usually good in such matches.

    To keep the competition intense, the academy had a very cruel rewarding system. Only the top 4 rankers were given higher amount of rewards such as items and techniques. The rest 96 received only one type of reward, a fixed stipend.

    The higher the band reached the higher reward received by the students.

    The tournament began with the anchor calling out names of the participants. James had received the number 425. There were multiple small rings on the huge platform where contestants fought. A referee presided over each ring calling out the respective participants and looking over the match.

    " Number 425 vs number 467!" called out the referee.

    James stepped inside the ring hearing his name. It was the first time he would be fighting inside the coliseum and many eyes would be on him. He was nervous but confident in himself.

    " Don''t worry bro! Nobody watches us second years! The audience will only watch the fourth and fifth years so chill out! " came a voice suddenly.

    James was surprised as he looked behind him to see Gus in the crowd. He was a bit embarrassed hearing the remark and smiled helplessly. It was true, when they were in first year they themselves only watched the fourth and fifth years fight.

    Matches between second years especially in the initial elimination round would not catch the audience''s interest.

    Even the gamblers would watch the initial elimination fights to get a clear understanding of the fighters capability before betting on the student in further rounds.

    He looked in front eyeing his opponent. His opponent was a beginner stage Azure realm cultivator to which James breathed a sigh of relief. He had spent all his money on this fight as a bet.

    These bets were called blind bets where the opponent wasn''t known. The payout depended on how much was betted against him compared to for him. These bets continued till the semi finals of each band. The academy deducted a 5% fee for coordinating such bets.

    He didn''t take out his weapon and decided not to use his movement technique. He was confident of taking the opponent down through his physical capability alone.

    Back in Bursberg city, Edward and Marriane were glued to their television holding each other''s hand, watching their son on stage.

    " Start! " shouted the referee and James charged in dashing towards the opponent.

    Seeing his sudden direct charge the opponent was flabbergasted and didn''t respond in time. The gap between them was only about three meters.

    James closed the gap in a single step and threw a punch at the opponent''s abdomen. The guy flinched in pain and then was overturned as James quickly threw him down from behind.

    The opponent had heard about James and knew already he wouldn''t win. He was quite depressed in getting matched up against James. Upon seeing him charge he couldn''t think straight and fell to his doom.

    " Winner 425 James Walter! " announced the referee. He could see that the opponent wouldn''t be able to put up a fight and decided to continue with the other matches instead.

    ''Ting'' his watch made a sound showing his account balance which wasn''t changed in the slightest.

    " Tchh it seems that nobody betted against me" said James.

    James walked down meeting up with Gus.

    " That was too easy " said James with an unhappy expression.

    " Haha I know man same thing happened with me. Looks like they know about our cultivation stage and are too nervous and scared to put up a fight. " replied Gus.

    The matches continued and none of them were quite intense. Fifty students got eliminated in the first round and the second round began soon after.

    This time James was up against a gauntlet user. The opponent charged at him using his skill but, James simply infused qi in his hands and matched it with a fist. He was able to just brute force his way through the match ultimately winning it.

    His account again showed an unchanged balance which depresses James.

    Due to the difference in cultivation stages and his physical toughness he outstripped his peers vastly in power. He wouldn''t be able to find his match until he fights against the other mid stage Azure realm geniuses of his batch.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    James watched the others fight as he strolled around. He saw Gus had another easy match. Gus used his spear and had broken the sword of his opponent during the exchange. He grinned as he came down.

    On another ring he saw Jane inside. When he went to watch the fight he saw the opponent raise his hand saying, "I concede" straight away.

    He found out that her previous opponent had did the same as well. Thinking about it, it wasn''t unusual as she was considered the number one fighter in the batch.

    After the second round only twenty five students were left. Seven more who the judges determined had performed well even though they lost were given a not her chance making the total to thirty two students.

    In each band after the second round of elimination certain amount of students who had performed well even after losing were moved to third round to make the number of participants to thirty two. In this way they were able to conduct the tournament with any anomaly.

    The third round began, it was also the round from where the fights would start getting more intense as the weeds were removed only the best fighters of each band remaining.

    For James it was still a cakewalk. He marched through unobstructed as no one was able to contend against him. From top thirty two he soon entered top sixteen. Till now he hadn''t earned anything on betting on himself.

    Even Gus had no such luck. In the senior matches the same was seen as the people avoided betting on the strong ones. Apart from the candidates identity the public also knew their cultivation realms through the information provided. Hence, they chose wisely when they put their bets.

    Soon he was called up again on stage. His opponent was Brian Kranser who belonged to the nobles group. James didn''t care much about it and charged in directly. When he neared to him Bryan suddenly said,

    " You and I both know you are stronger than me. However, I advise you to give up this match and let me move ahead, otherwise it wouldn''t be good for you" said Bryan with a haughty expression.

    " Oh, and what might you do to me if I may ask? "

    " Hmph! You commoners don''t know your place. You won''t be able to spend your days peacefully in the academy! "

    " So you are threatening me? "

    " Take it however you want. "

    " I see. Well here is my reply. "

    James took out his sword and walked towards Bryan with a solemn expression. His blade gleamed in the sunlight.

    " You! Don''t more a step forward! " said Bryan as he took out his sword.

    But James did not stop and neared in instead. Seeing his sharp gaze the sword in Bryan''s hand began to shake. Realizing how scared he was, Bryan clenched his teeth and swung his sword down at James.

    James made a simple movement to his left dodging the blow and swung his sword at his opponent. Bryan was surprised as he felt no pain but as he looked down he saw his pants were torn in between revealing his red patterned underwear.

    " My my, I never thought you had such tastes " said James as he smirked at him.

    Bryan quickly covered it with his hands and stared hatefully at James. The crowd laughed and jeered at him.

    " After this I don''t think you will have a smooth time in the academy. " said James.

    There were no such rules about it and hence, the referee could only stare at James.

    Near a ring a group was gathered with Luke in the middle.

    " That James he is having it too easy. Due to his mid stage Azure realm cultivation no one is able to put up a fight. " said someone.

    " Last fight our brother Bryan lost to him miserably and was humiliated! We can''t let this keep going on! We must do something! " said another.

    The incident caused the small group of nobles a lot of unrest. They were clearly unhappy with the proceedings.

    " Don''t worry about it. I''ll handle him. He is not the only person in the mid stage. I want you all to bet on me during the fight. " said Luke.

    " Haha yes! Brother Luke can surely beat that commoner brat! "

    " Yep in brother Luke we trust! "

    " I''ll make James pay for what he did. " said Luke with a strange glint in his eyes.

    Incidents such as this was a blessing thought Luke. It helped him to maintain his control over them. To him they were nothing more than a bunch of pawns that were at his disposal.

    The crowds cheered loudly as the senior batch matches got intense. James went to look at the other rings. He wanted to watch the matches of senior Ritz and Mark and Sean whom he was aiming to challenge tomorrow.

    He found that Sean had lost last round. His opponent was a peak stage Azure realm fighter and Sean wasn''t able to keep up.

    ''Senior Ritz was right he isn''t anything special'' thought James.

    Sadly James couldn''t gather much information from what he heard as the opponent overpowered Sean quite badly. ''Still he was able to reach top thirty two'' thought James. He wouldn''t underestimate his opponent.

    He moved around watching other rings. He heard about senior Mark''s fight as he missed it and watched some more seniors as well.

    He saw Ritz fighting on one stage. Fourth year matches were highly viewed and loud shouts could be heard. A green aura enveloped Ritz as he shot at his opponent.

    '' Senior Ritz reached Emerald realm!! He must have recently broken through. He will surely challenge the fifth years tomorrow'' thought James.

    Once in a while there are always one or two students who break through to the Emerald realm when they reach the fourth year and so are able to put up a fight against the fifth years.

    The fight didn''t last for long as the bullets were too fast to dodge finishing off the opponent quickly.

    The crowd burst in excitement at the show. James was thrilled by the cheers. It felt like the whole coliseum reverberated, this was a feeling he desired as well.

    He returned back as the preliminaries started.

    Soon after the referee shouted,

    " Number 425 James Walter vs Number 439 Luke Astia"

    ------------------------

    Note - Here is today''s chapter. Couldn''t write one yesterday. I have an exam on Thursday hence, I''ll be studying and won''t be able to write. After this exam I''ll have my degree ^^ so I''ll write a chap on Friday. If you find any mistake please tell in comments. Thanks and enjoy! :)

 Chapter - 33

    Surprise could be seen on James''s face as he walked up to the ring. He never expected to be matched against Luke this early.

    Both of them stepped inside the ring, walking towards the centre. The referee looked towards them and said,

    " None of you are allowed to use means that kill or cripple your opponent. Keep your power and intention in check. The judges and I won''t hesitate to interfere if such a need arises."

    " However, for accidents you will not be incarcerated. Speak if you understand "

    " Yes we understand. " replied both of them in unison.

    Standard procedure before any match started, nothing much. James looked towards Luke who smiled as he looked at him. He could feel that this match won''t be easy.

    They released their weapons and stood in their respective stances facing each other, waiting for the signal. Both used swords, the blades shined in the sunlight.

    Many amongst the audience were viewing their ring. How could they not want to view a match with a child of the royal family participating in it. Even the king glanced at their ring.

    " It seems my nephew is fighting his quarterfinals " said Emmanuel.

    " Hmm, he is a strong lad. But, his opponent is no less. I didn''t expect both of them to be matched so early. Shame, I thought both of them would reach the top 4 at least. Now, only walks away with that chance. "

    The king thought for a moment after hearing the headmaster and spoke,

    " I was expecting Luke to win this one easily as well, I still do expect him to win. But since you say his opponent is someone worthy my old friend, then I shall watch this fight. "

    " Begin! " said the referee and they charged at each other.

    James wanted to test Luke''s capability first so he didn''t use qi as clashed with him. Their swords met and they stood evenly holding ground. This surprised James as it meant Luke also had a stronger physician self compared to others.

    The only reason for this that he could come up with was the bloodline power bestowed on Luke. Their swords clashed again and again rapidly, none of them using qi, trying to figure out each other''s capabilities.

    Seeing the stalemate James infused qi in his blade struck at Luke. Seeing this Luke returned it with his own strike infused with qi.

    " Not bad, but not good enough " said Luke as they met.

    " Oh yeah? Well you have seen nothing " replied James.

    " Be my guest then!" replied Luke. His blade suddenly had a red aura covering it. As James looked carefully he saw that it wasn''t just any aura, it was fire elemental aura covering that covered the blade.

    " You must have heard that I possessed bloodline power or the royal family. Well apart from a stronger physique it grants me greater control over the laws of fire. " said Luke.

    His entire body gave of a fiery aura and he charged at James.

    '' Not good'' thought James as he saw Luke charging. He used Wind Enforcer, dodging the blow as he turned his body to his right, jumping back and let out a qi wave at his opponent.

    Luke was surprised at James''s sudden speed and couldn''t avoid the Gale Slash. However, as it struck him on his chest, it only created a small cut. James was surprised and steadied himself, he needed to win this one no matter what, otherwise he would fail to challenge Sean the next day.

    Losing the bet like that was no-no for him. Luke charged again, but James met him head on, infusing qi in his sword. The swords struck again and again as they moved at fast speeds at each other.

    The audience watched with rapt attention assessing the capabilities of the two juniors showing formidable potential.

    " That must be the king''s nephew, Luke. No wonder he''s so strong for his age " said someone from the crowd.

    " No doubt about that. The other kid seems pretty good as well. " said another.

    " Hmm, Luke''s accomplishment aren''t bad at all compared to his brothers at his age. The other child though is pretty strong to match with him even though he holds a bloodline power. " said Emmanuel as he scrutinized them.

    " You are indeed correct your majesty. James is one of the finest amongst the second years. He even the Virtual Test a few months back" replied the headmaster.

    " Oh! That test. I remember that one. Ah those days as a student..... we had a desert location in my year, I was stung by the Sand Scorpion to death. " said the king as he faced up closing his eyes thinking about his days in the academy.

    The royal family had always sent their children to Sky Blaze Martial Academy. From the first king who established the academy to the present all have been a part of it.

    In the ring James was having a tough time combating Luke. His opponent''s body and the aura around him had been increasing continuously from the time he had released it.

    He was also getting more and more difficult to fight against as they continued to clash. He had a foreboding that something bad was about to him.

    Luke''s body was riddled with scratches from the Gale Slash released by James whenever they struck. His armor was damaged and his body had a few cuts, but he stood tall and charged in continuously not seeing to be bothered by it.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    He actually smiled at his opponent instead. Fights weren''t only fought physically but mentally as well. Showing an unperturbed expression to get the opponent riled up was what Luke had wanted.

    Seeing Luke smile James was disturbed mentally as he felt that his attacks weren''t doing much to the opponent. He knew Luke was just playing the mental game, but it still affected him a bit.

    He had researched about him before the tournament. Luke was a shrewd guy was what James concluded.

    James was also not in a good condition. There were burn marks on his body as he clashed with Luke. Luke''s movement technique and his flame skill was also quite formidable.

    He was low on qi currently and he expected the same for his opponent. The match was about to reach its conclusion.

    He had been holding back on his movement technique and had only used it to show that it he was still in the early stage of Wind Enforcer. He planned it as a hidden Trump card to surprise his opponent later. In his earlier matches he had never been at a point where he had to use it, but it seems that it won''t be the same in this match.

    He expected Luke to release a final strike soon as he saw the raging fiery aura covering him.

    " Haha brother Luke crush that commoner! Show him his place! " said a member of the small noble group.

    " James beat down his ass! " shouted Gus in response. He gritted his teeth as he watched the fight.

    " Not bad James, however it is time for us to finish this. You must have notice the change in the aura covering my body. It is a special bloodline ability which is known as Dragon''s Fury! "

    " My ancestor was a Sage realm cultivator who possessed a mutated power of a dragon. The power you see is a bloodline ability inherited by me. "

    " After activating it, it stores power and this power is obtained by battling. As we battle, a violent qi is formed in my body that transfers around strengthening me. "

    " After reaching a certain stage, I can will it to power my blade and release a powerful strike. You are a good cultivator James, I suggest you give up. "

    " Forfeit the match and join me. I don''t want you to be injured by my next attack. If you join my group then I will make sure to smoothen your martial path."

    " I''m not interested. Just get on with it. " replied James as he looked at him with a clam expression.

    " Fine then let me show you the difference between us. This will open your eyes and makes you realize how small you are."

    " I hope you haven''t bet your entire stack of gold on this match because that would be a shame. "

    Luke pointed his sword towards the sky. The fiery aura around his body suddenly started moving towards his blade. The sword now looked like a powerful glowing artifact as it shone brightly.

    The audience watched in anticipation with bated breath. James''s parents held hands nervously as they watched the proceedings.

    James looked towards his opponent, to him his opponent seemed nothing more than the arrogant Fanged Bear, too high in his mind to think and act clearly. But this only benefitted him more.

    He activated Wind Enforcer and charged at his opponent.

    "Come! Come to your own demise! Rage of Astia!!!! " shouted Luke as he charged and swung his sword at James. Violent qi erupted from it as it reached him. James neared his opponent and accelerated suddenly with a huge burst of speed.

    The ring seemed as if it was covered in flames as the strike landed. A sound of the cemented floor cracking was heard and the ring was filled it with smoke.

    The audience were glued to the ring waiting for the smoke to clear out. The king looked carefully towards the ring, a smile could be seen on his face as he turned and looked at the headmaster who smiled back.

    As the smoke cleared, Luke could be seen standing pointing the sword at an empty space. In front of him, a crack line ran through the ring with wisps of flames around it.

    Around his neck lay a sword in James''s hand. His hand behind Luke holding the sword, the blade on the left side of his opponents neck as he stood beside Luke.

    " Its over. " said James looking at him with a sharp expression. Shock filled Luke''s and the audience''s face as they watched the scene unfold.

    " You were right old friend that kid is indeed special. To have mastered our Emerald Force''s Wind Enforcer to the mid stage already and to have hidden it to surprise the opponent and us all like this, Remarkable! " exclaimed Emmanuel.

    The headmaster nodded in satisfaction as looked towards the ring.

    " Winner James Walter! " said the referee. His voice breaking the silence making everybody to come out of their stupor.

    --------------------------

    Notes - Hey all m back^^ sorry I am 3 days late :( after my exams I just didn''t feel like writing and couldn''t write (T T) m sorry. Here is the chapter, just finished it so if u see any mistakes do comment and tell. Btw the novel crossed 800 average views and over 100 followers yay! :) thank you all for your constant support to the novel. Enjoy!