Damien felt his blood coursing through his veins as his adrenaline kept his heart rate rising. His mind was sound but his body was ready for war.

Everyone else returned to the observatory area. Cal and Yuki were watching with concerned eyes. The Elder noticed their dismay while yawning.

“Do you two brats think I’m useless? Besides, have some faith in your buddy. You might just be surprised.”

The Elder focused back onto the field. He was ready to intervene if anything were to go awry. However he had a weird feeling he wouldn’t need to move a finger. The moment Damien put a sword in his hand, he felt something change in him. In his eyes, Damien changed from a child to a swordsman.

During the first battle he analyzed Damien’s every move and was certain he was on the edge of breaking through completely. He just needed that one step, but that is always the most arduous stage. Anyone can put in the effort to train and reach the pinnacle of the Earth Realm with the sword. However, to go further requires more than just mindless training. One must understand the sword on a spiritual level. The Dao is everywhere within everything and even a simple sword can harness the Dao. The Elder had felt that Damien should’ve already broken through, but something was holding him back.

“Whatever it is, he will need to figure it out now. Nothing is a better teacher than being on the edge in battle.”

Damien’s body was tensed to the maximum. Every single one of his muscles were taut and ready to release its energy. He was like a bow that was drawn back. He was waiting for any slight movement as he closed the space. Damien sensed the movement of the Sword Doll and felt the flow of the sword. He wanted to first understand what he was up against so he went on the defensive. He went to block the frontal attack, but it never came. Damien realized instantly something was wrong. The Sword Doll’s attack came from the side with no wind movement. It cut across with no sound, leaving Damien in a panic. He rolled away on the floor in a desperate attempt to dodge. The doll barely nicked Damien’s arm as he rolled.

Damien stood back up and put more distance between them. The cut he received began to bleed and seep through his uniform, painting its sleeves red. He needed time to understand what happened. He clearly saw and felt the sword coming from head on, but instead it came from the side. Not only that but it also seemed to have melded with the air itself. If he was not prepared he would’ve been sliced without him realizing.

Cold sweat ran down his back. He decided to focus using his sight instead. Damien wanted to rely on his enhanced senses like he did the first time. He took a deep breath and readied his sword once more. The Sword Doll silently rushed straight at Damien. Its speed was too fast for him to track completely, even with time seeming to be slowed for him. He was still able to understand the doll was coming directly to him. The doll came into striking range and disappeared right in front of his eyes. He looked around the field with trepidation, but saw nothing in sight.

Damien felt a chill in his spine as he realized he did not check the space above him. The doll came spiraling down with the sword tip leading. The air around the tip of the sword became a small vortex. All Damien could do was put up his sword to block its piercing blow. He blocked it with the flat of his blade as sparks flew around him. It was like the doll wanted to excavate through Damien’s sword and pierce him.

Damien felt a tremendous force pushing down on him as he was being pushed down lower to floor. His sword began to crack under the extreme stress it was enduring. Damien knew he needed to push off the attack or it would destroy his sword leaving him unable to continue. Although he had a frail frame, Damien always held an inherent strength inside his body. No matter how much he trained he never gained muscle mass, but his strength continued to grow.

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Damien inhaled a mouthful of air and used all his strength for once. His veins bulged all over his body while some burst. His increase in strength was too fast for his body to adjust to, but it allowed him to stave off the attack. He pushed the doll back, saving his sword and himself. Blood was now seeping into his uniform all around his body.

Even though he barely made it past that last attack, Damien couldn’t help but smile. At that moment he was genuinely excited. This was his first true battle and it made him feel alive. It was the thrill that he lacked from the previous bout. That’s why he was not satisfied, even though he won. He wanted to continue to test his limits so he could see how far he could go. His demeanor finally changed from being apprehensive to grounded.

Damien stood poised with his blood drenched uniform. Contrasted with his white hair he seemed like a blood devil ready to devour his enemy.

He took the time he had to restrategize his approach. His mind was clear of all worries and distractions. He decided he would not focus on his entire surrounding to follow his opponent. Instead of wasting all his focus on a large area, he brought it down to a 3 meter radius around him.

All of his surroundings began to vanish from his sight. Anything that was outside his 3 meter radius was nothing more than a blur. He could not see the Sword Doll in the distance but he was no longer afraid.

Unconsciously Damien released a domain filled with his aura. The domain reached the radius he was focused on, utilizing all of his mental capabilities. The domain detected any movement or disturbance that passed through into its range. It inherited Damien’s natural ability causing the temperature to rise inside of it at an extreme rate. Heat waves appeared inside causing everything to be distorted and difficult to discern anything. Damien was not affected by the intense heat and did not notice his blood evaporate off of his uniform. All of his wounds underneath seared shut. His injuries quickly healed with no scar left behind on his skin. He felt like he had powered up to his current maximum potential.

The Sword Doll in the distance was unperturbed by the new development. It did not care about anything besides attacking until it had won or been defeated. It walked its way back to the fight with multiple runes glowing brightly. The doll began to accelerate its pace with each step it took. Along the way the Sword Doll seemingly split into two. They both separated, choosing to do a pincer attack.

Meanwhile Damien had no clue that the Sword Doll was initiating an attack. He just patiently waited for anything so he could react accordingly. Suddenly, Damien’s instincts kicked into overdrive as he felt an ominous chill. The two Sword Doll blazed past his barrier ambushing him from the front and rear. Each of their swords also split in two, aiming at four different parts of his body. Damien was not dismayed over the illusions the two dolls cast. He focused on analyzing every move to find the real attack.

Nothing escaped his vision as his eyes gleamed brightly underneath his glasses. The intensity of the heat inside caused the fake doll to shimmer slightly around its body. Damien instantly dismissed the frontal strike and was able to see the real attack coming towards his spine. He ignored everything else as he twisted around swinging his sword to meet his opponent’s attack. This time he did not go easy with his swing and used all his strength from the start. They clashed violently causing more cracks to spread through Damien’s sword. The bind ended with the Sword Doll being sent flying back, tumbling across the smooth floor.

The Sword Doll’s twin dissolved into the wind as it phased through Damien’s body. Damien did not chase after the doll, but instead adopted his same strategy. He looked at his sword and knew he could not take any more direct clashes.

‘I need to deflect its attacks from now on. I can’t afford to fight head on anymore due to my mistake.’

Damien decided he would pass the exam by surviving the allotted time. He could not guarantee his swords survival if he went on the offensive. The Sword Doll decided to discard using its energy for techniques in lieu of using it all for speed. The doll seemingly merged its body with the wind, boosting itself into the domain.

The doll's speed noticeably slowed as the heat got rid of most of the air inside the domain. The doll couldn’t utilize its understanding of the wind as much, leaving it at a disadvantage. Damien found it easier to redirect the doll’s attacks each time it came pouncing. Slowly he was getting into a groove of defending. His understanding of his defensive stance became clearer as time went on. He tried new unique ways to parry blows and soften attacks.

Damien was gradually solidifying the understanding of the Dao he unconsciously gained during the fight. It became most apparent when he had no choice but to defend. The strict circumstances squeezed out all of his experience and compressed it into its own concept.

Damien enjoyed the feeling of becoming stronger and even more of a true battle. The time slowly kept ticking down until the 10 minutes were finally over. The Sword Doll came to halt, losing all of its luster emanating from its runes. Damien defended his way out of the exam. Others would think it was a coward's way out, but it was the way Damien had learned how to fight. It allowed him to rise the ranks into the Sky Realm which very few could ever do.

Damien was panting with his upper half bent over to his legs. His sword finally gave out and disassembled itself onto the floor. He caught his breath and looked up to see the Elder once again clapping his way out followed by his two friends.