[Argh! Quit… moving around so much!] Gerald shouted as he tried, and failed, to block a Golden Qi arrow flying straight at him. The arrow struck his chest and broke into a small sea of sparks while delivering a solid punch that nearly pushed him over.
“What would be the point? If you are too weak to fight me just say so.” Shao Lin laughed as he pranced backward around the arena while rapidly shooting arrows at him.
[Never!] Gerald roared as his feet struck the ground and he was propelled forward at great speed. His jump was lightning fast and he went straight for Shao Lin at the top of his jump. The archer had nowhere to go.
Gerald grinned and his glaive filled with wild Qi as he brought his blade above his head for an ultimate strike.
“Oh no, what will I do?! I have nowhere to go!” Shao Lin shouted in mock fear as he grinned wide and pulled back his bow. Then the sole of his foot flashed gold and he did a mid-air jump, completely avoiding Gerald’s strike at the last second.
He went sailing up and to the side as Gerald wildly swung below him.
“Too slow.” Shao Lin said and released the string. The golden arrow shot out, and an instant later exploded on Gerald’s back, hammering him into the ground.
[Uff!] Gerald groaned as the air was forced out of his lungs upon contact with the ground. The floor of the arena flashed geometric patterns around him and remained completely untouched.
He slowly stood back up and patted the dust off his clothes. He already fought with his new Brother for at least half an hour, yet nobody came even close to taking the other down.
[What’s the point of this?!] He shouted. [I can’t touch you, and you can’t hurt me… Is this it? A stalemate?] While the golden arrows stung a bit, they were nowhere near strong enough to really hurt him, much less kill him. He felt no threat from the fight, only annoyance.
“Oh?” Shao Lin grinned. “You thought this was my full power?” His grin widened as his Aura changed and a dangerous feeling filled the air. “I don’t know why you would think that… Let me show you the real power of a Golden Core!”
[What-?!]
There was a flash of light as an arrow a hundred times stronger exploded on Gerald’s chest with the sound of thunder and he was blasted back until his body met the opposite wall of the arena.
“You still alive?” Shao Lin called as dust covered his opponent. He soon heard coughing, confirming his guess.
Gerald stood back up, his chest blasted open, his clothes torn, and his flesh scorched black.
“Damn, you are a tough one, aren’t you?”
[You have no idea.] Gerald growled as his chest glowed for a few moments, and the burnt pieces cracked, revealing pristine skin underneath.
“Oh, wow… That’s some ability! I’m guessing you aren’t willing to give up yet?” Shao Lin asked as he pulled back the string and another golden arrow formed, that one just as strong as the last.
[I was just getting started.]
“Good!” Shao Lin nodded… and released the string.
Another explosion was heard and Gerald was hammered to the wall once more.
“Still going?”
[I’ll never surren-!]
Shao Lin released another arrow.
“You sure?”
[Screw yo-!]
Shao Lin released another arrow.
[Stop destroying my clothes!]
“What? I can’t hear you!”
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[Son of a-!]
Shao Lin released another arrow.
----------------------------------------
Heavy steps echoed through the arena as a burning man jumped around, avoiding golden arrows trying to skewer him. Elemental Avatar imbued Gerald with immense power and ability while the gravitational cloaking of his weight was released.
He charged like an angry rhino at his opponent all while avoiding his attacks like the most skilled ballerina. Running on two feet, on all fours, or just on his hands, it made no difference to him as long as he was closing in on his opponent.
Shards of ice grew all around as he shot simple Fireballs at Shao Lin, forcing him back. They came to the edge of the arena, wall to the back, wild Gerald to the front, and wind and ice to the sides, blocking him in.
It took a long time to reach this point, way too long for Gerald’s liking, but now his opponent was trapped! He burned through his remaining Qi reserves like mad and even took a fistful of Spirit Shards to boost his power.
The wild hurricane carrying golden blades and enchanted ice locked the two in close proximity, forcing them to fight hand-to-hand.
[Finally, I got you now!] Gerald roared and gravity shifted, hurling him with glaive in hand, his body empowered by magic, and ready to end it all.
The last remnants of his power were poured into this final attack with the intent of slicing Shao Lin in half.
He avoided the last arrow fired at point blank and brought down the glaive with a shout.
Shao Lin just looked at it as the blade closed in on his shoulder in slow motion. Then he blinked, and the glaive stopped with a loud boom.
A small golden circle stood between him and the weapon as Gerald’s veins bulged from the effort.
“Ah, so close…” Shao Lin smiled and extended his hand. A small sphere of golden light formed a few centimeters from his palm and touched Gerald’s exposed chest.
There was a flash of light and a loud boom, and Gerald’s body smashed into the wall on the other side of the arena, hundreds of meters away.
All the magic he created immediately collapsed and Shao Li took a leisurely stroll toward him.
“Shall we go again?” He asked with a smile as he looked at his Junior Brother laying on the ground, panting.
[Fuck no!] Gerald gasped. [How the hell are you so strong?! I couldn’t do anything!]
“Haha, you aren’t bad yourself. I thought you ran out of energy at least a dozen times, but then you just kept going… That was impressive.”
[Eh… I really thought I got you that time… Those other guys were so much easier to beat.]
“What other guys?”
[Some punks from the BS sect I met out in the wild a few weeks ago...]
“BS Sect?” Shao Lin lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
[Oh, I meant to say, Brilliant Sword. Those guys were also in the Golden Core, and one of them was at the Second Layer too, just like you. I thought they were weak then, but compared to you, they truly were nothing. Even some beasts I previously fought can’t compare.] Gerald grumbled and took the remainder of his rags to cover himself.
[You owe me a new pair of clothes by the way.]
“Ahaha!” Shao Lin laughed loudly and helped Gerald back to his feet. “Brother Gerald, you can’t compare us to those weaklings of the Brilliant Sword Sect. They are a bunch of crazies way too obsessed with swinging their swords around.”
[Funny. They said something similar about us too.] Gerald grinned.
“Forget about them! And don’t mind the Golden Core beasts either. The first ones to come are always the weakest. That’s what Elder Li said at least. But yeah, I dare to say am among the best fighters of my generation, so don’t feel so down. You did great for a… Nascent Soul V, I believe? You forced me to use quite a lot of my power.”
Gerald smiled grimly. [Didn’t push you to your maximum, huh?]
“Not even close!” Shao Lin grinned. “I can shoot my arrows ten times faster with double the power. I just didn’t do it because I didn’t want to kill you.”
[That much?] Gerald’s eyes opened wide, and then he frowned. [Guess I’m not as strong as I thought I was...]
“Oh, not at all!” Shao Lin shook his head. “You are super strong! Best fighter I have ever seen, for sure. If it was me five years ago, you could probably beat me.”
The compliment felt nice, but Gerald didn’t take it to heart. It didn’t matter if he was good, he had to be the best! [How old are you anyway?]
“I’m 58, why?”
[Just curious.] They were almost 40 years apart. It made sense Gerald was weaker. But with his abilities, hopefully, that wouldn’t be so for long. He already felt a tiny bit stronger than he was a day ago. The remaining Essence was already merging with his flesh more efficiently. Perhaps a month or two of training like this and he would have a chance of beating Shao Lin.
“Yeah, no. Not a chance. Don’t even think about it.”
[Did I say that out loud?]
“No, but your actions are quite clear and I can guess what you are thinking. No, more strength won’t help you take me down. Our skills are too far apart. You are lucky we only fought in the arena, because if we were outside, you would never have a chance to come even close to me.”
[Seriously?]
“Yep. You are slow, clumsy, and waste way too much energy in your attacks. I can see you leaning toward the Path of rage and power, and because of your weird healing ability, you rarely bother dodging attacks, making it easy to control you. But don’t worry, by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be the champion of the younger generation, with the second-best decades behind.”
[And how do you suggest we do that?]
“Two choices: You study hard and learn all the tricks and skills required over a few years, or two, I beat the shit out of you for a few months until you figure it out on your own.”
Gerald thought about what he said and agreed. He could learn if he put in some effort and trained hard, but that didn’t sit well with him. He didn’t need even a second to decide which path he would take. [I’m not afraid of a little bit of pain.]
“That’s the spirit!” Shao Li slapped him on the shoulder. “Now, let’s get you a new pair of clothes and something to eat. I’m starving!”