Yuan was the first to arrive near the group of six mbers. Standing before him was Zhaolei, who had already noticed Yuan rushing toward him with sword in hand.
Clicking his tongue in irritation, Zhaolei braced himself, but before Yuan could reach him, Wangjun stepped in front, determined to intercept him and protect Zhaolei.
"Brother Luanyuan, I'll be your sparring partner from now on. Let's have a good fight," Wangjun said with a small smile.
Yuan returned the smile and shifted toward the right side, clearly looking for a space to fight without distractions. Noticing this, Wangjun followed, and soon the two of them stood alone, apart from the group.
They stopped about three ters apart, staring into each other's eyes in silence. The tension hung thick in the air, until a loud shout rang out, "Lini, out!"
With that, Wangjun charged at Yuan, and Yuan dashed toward him in return. Their swords clashed with swift, clean movents. Yuan parried every strike with ease.
After several quick exchanges, another shout echoed across the field, "Yuxin, out!"
Even though one of his teammates had been eliminated, Yuan didn't react. His focus remained locked on Wangjun. The tide of the fight began to shift, Wangjun's strikes grew heavier, and Yuan slowly started to struggle. Sweat trickled down his forehead, but he hadn't taken a single hit.
"Should I end it? Is this enough?" Yuan asked himself, a trace of frustration in his thoughts. He saw countless openings in Wangjun's technique but resisted exploiting them, he wanted to show the others that winning this match wasn't easy.
That changed when a high slash ca toward his neck. Yuan easily blocked it, but as their swords connected, he smiled.
"Got you," he said quietly.
Wangjun froze, startled by Yuan's words. In that instant, he realized the massive opening he had created. Yuan's sword slid smoothly down along Wangjun's sword, swiftly redirecting toward his neck.
Then ca the shout, "Wangjun, out!"
"I couldn't even react," Wangjun said in disbelief, standing still in shock. It had all happened too fast.
Before he could truly comprehend what he had done wrong, Yuan had already run off, walking toward Liwei, who was fighting against Tianyu and ilan.
The two of them were struggling, Despite their advantage in numbers, they were struggling.
Yuan observed the match for a mont. From it, he saw that Haoran was fighting Zhaolei and Lini alone, but it looked like he might win. The two opponents were out of breath and sweating heavily. As for Yuxin, she was already out.
Only four or five minutes had passed, but it was already clear, they were winning. Though Liwei's dodging was fast, Tianyu and ilan had slowly drained his stamina until he could barely breathe, both of their swords now resting at his neck.
"Liwei, out."
With that, Tianyu and ilan looked at each other and sighed. Then they saw Yuan looking at them with a smile. Their expressions soured, but they avoided his gaze and turned toward Haoran.
He, too, was nearing the end of his fight, but after the teacher's shout, Zhaolei and Lini lowered their weapons.
"We give up!" they said at the sa ti. They already knew they had lost, two against four, and they weren't the strongest fighters. Haoran lowered his wooden sword with a disappointed look, clicking his tongue.
"Cowards," he said disdainfully, then looked around. After spotting Yuan, Tianyu, and ilan watching him, he clicked his tongue again and walked silently toward them.
Tianyu and ilan followed. Once they had gathered, they walked to where Yuxin stood, smiling brightly and waving.
"We won!" she cried out proudly.
"Hehe," Tianyu and Haoran chuckled at her silly excitent. Yuan, seeing them chuckle, let out a small laugh too. Embarrassed, Yuxin's cheeks turned red as she lowered her head, which only made Tianyu and Haoran laugh even harder.
Their laughter ended abruptly as a loud clap ca from the teacher.
"Okay, now we have three groups left, Group Three, Group Four, and Group Five," the teacher said flatly. He opened a pouch of wine and took a sip.
"Haah," he exhaled. "Since it's an uneven number, we'll draw lots to decide which team advances straight to the finals, but that'll happen tomorrow. For now, Groups Three, Four, and Five, rest. Tomorrow, we do both the semi finals and the finals. That's all. Now leave."
Without another word, the teacher turned and walked into the forest, wine in hand.
"What should we do now?" Yuxin asked.
Yuan smiled gently. "Nothing. We'll rest at our house. Tomorrow is important. The Young Talent Tournant brings honor to our families. You must be at your peak."
"That's true," Tianyu nodded. Haoran, after a pause, nodded too. ilan agreed with a simple nod.
"Okay then, let's go," Yuan said.
As they walked along the stone path back to their house, they spoke about the three fights that had taken place. Looking up at the sky, Yuan realized, it was still morning. Not even lunchti.
After returning, they said goodbye and each went to their room. Yuan sat on his bed, thinking over the day.
His thoughts drifted toward Haoran and Haodao. As he thought of Haodao, a small smile touched his lips.
"That's possible," he murmured.
He closed his eyes and began the Royal Dragon Breathing Discipline.
Since he'd started cultivating the technique, his body had improved greatly, but it still had its limits, while it enhanced stamina and internal organ function, it granted no direct strength.
That strength ca from Yuan's own thod. Every ti he awakened a new sense, he guided spiritual essence to it, allowing small amounts to be absorbed by his body. Over ti, this made his muscles strong and dense.
Now, he had the strength of two grown mortal adults, but that wasn't impressive. An early Blood Purification cultivator had five tis that strength instantly.
The earlier one reached that stage, the stronger they beca as their bodies continued to grow.
At his peak, Yuan had the strength of a wild boar. With spiritual blood, he could multiply it tenfold. Ten boars' worth of power, that had been his limit.
As for ridian Awakened cultivators, Yuan could only guess. asured in boar strength, perhaps fifteen to twenty, but that didn't matter. Demonic beasts were far stronger. At that level, strength comparisons to boars beca aningless.
"Haa…" Yuan sighed. Rembering the past brought no peace. So mories were blurry; others, painfully vivid.
He thought of Elder Viktor and the betrayal. Back then, he'd escaped the Illusion Forest and survived Basilisk's sche… or so he'd thought.
"Why did I swallow the poison?" Yuan asked himself aloud.
He rembered believing that bonding with Emilia would let him enter the sect in peace. The poison caused pain but no real harm, so he thought, but now, it all seed foolish.
"At the ti, I thought the Basilisk's mories were wrong. That maybe the world wasn't so cruel. But Viktor's betrayal hardened . It taught many things, but it was all planned by Truth. A script… just for to perform."
He grew quiet.
"What if I had killed Viktor and Emilia instead? I could've escaped. I could've hunted down rogue cultivators for resources, like I did later, but instead, I swallowed the poison without hesitation. That's the truly terrifying part."
The more he thought about it, the clearer it beca.
"You think you're free under the blue sky… but in the next mont, you're already in the palm of a god, pulled like a puppet, without even knowing it. What can you do against a god? You can't resist him. You can't outthink him. He controls the very air you breathe, the ground beneath your feet. You can't even die by your own hand, Not when he still needs you alive. You're too weak to escape. Too blind to know you're even trapped and that's the cruelest part, before you can even dream of rebellion, you have to realize… you were never free to begin with. In the end, there's nothing you can do against a god who commands both Truth and Illusion. All you can do is survive, clinging to whatever hope the heavens allow."
Yuan opened his eyes. He stood and walked to the window. The sky above was vast, clear, beautiful.
"But even then… it was not freedom. Even with rcy from the heavens, it is still control. This is the fate of the powerless, the fate of those who cannot choose their own life… or their death."
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For being always at the actuell chapter follow on or royal road!
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