Cenn ran as fast as he could to his cabin. His robe was stained with blood, so he had to get a new one from the chest.

Today was only the third day of the decade, so he wouldn't be able to bathe in hot water until after tomorrow.

Cenn smelled his body odor.

[Eww, what a smell. Can't go to the main house in this condition.]

Running home Cenn grabbed a set of clean underwear and a fresh robe.

Without wasting a second he headed for the nearest well.

Once at the well Cenn began to remove his armor. On the one hand he was proud to have a full set of leather armor, not every participant of the tournament could boast of such equipment. On the other hand, after wearing it all day he hated it. His entire body was covered in abrasions and bruises from the rough skin digging into his flesh.

When he complained about it to Hog, he called him a sissy and a crybaby. But Cenn was well aware that the set had been made for him to use when he grew up, and was not quite the right size for a sixteen year old.

Removing his armor and clothing, Cenn wet his robe with water and began to wipe his body with it, hoping to wash away the stink of sweat.

[Damn it, it's so cold.]

The water in the well was icy cold, giving Cenn an extra reason to finish his water treatment as soon as possible.

A few minutes later he was already fresh and dressed in clean clothes, Using his spear as an armor rack, Cenn went back home to throw off his dirty clothes and gear, then ran into the kitchen where he grabbed the first thing he liked. None of the kitchen staff dared even look in his direction after yesterday's incident.

...

"Hey boy. I won't be able to play with you today. But I have a treat." Cenn petted the dog and gave him a piece of meat he had picked up from the kitchen, then immediately entered the graveyard.

Upon reaching his mother's grave he bowed.

"Hello, Mother. I don't have much time at all. But I've come to tell you that I have a chance to make things right. If I win the tournament, I will become a disciple of the Iron Fist Sect. Then no one in the family will be able to question me, and I will fulfill your last wish."

Saying that, Cenn turned his gaze from his mother's tombstone to the family columbarium.

"I will win, whatever it takes."

After spending a couple more minutes in complete silence, Cenn said his goodbyes and hurried back to his house to retrieve his gear. The time allotted to him by Hog was almost up, and he needed to hurry.

...

Cenn ran with all speed to the entrance of the main house. It was the only stone structure on the estate, and it was the one that greeted the guests, just past the main gate. The first floor was reserved for the family's clerks, who conducted the family business. On the second floor there was a large hall for the reception of guests and family celebrations. The third floor had several rooms, including the office of the head of the family.

"So where have you been, you little asshole?"

Hog was already standing at the entrance of the house, and greeted Cenn with a select swear word,

"Sorry Uncle, I had to change my clothes and wash the dirt off me. That's why I was delayed."

"Don't be so gentle. Sweat and blood are the best jewelry for a warrior. When I was in the army, I could go months without washing. And I gotta tell you, women are crazy for the smell of a real man, believe me." The fat man grinned smugly.

"I don't doubt it Uncle Hog, but since I'll be sleeping in the main house tonight, I thought I'd clean up," Cenn replied embarrassed.

"Oh, you think too much. Come on let's go, Aydor's been inside for a while now."

With those words, Hog went inside.

Cenn followed him, bypassing corridors and stairs until they reached the third floor. Once at the top, Hog walked down the candlelit corridor and stopped in front of a wall, sliding one of its sections aside to reveal a secret passage. Much to Cenn's surprise.

"Well, what are you standing up for. Get in quick." The fat man urged him on.

Once inside, Cenn saw a small windowless room. Along the walls were racks of boxes and chests. And in the middle was an empty space where two futons lay, one of which Aydor was already sitting on.

The fat man entered next and closed the secret door behind him.

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Pointing Cenn to the vacant futon he said.

"Sit down. I have something to tell you."

After waiting for Cenn to sit on the futon and fold his gear, Hog walked over to one of the boxes lying on the racks and pulled out a small cloth pouch.

"I was going to give you this after the tournament, but under the current circumstances, I don't see the point in waiting."

Hog tossed the small pouch lying in his palm several times.

"Last decade our colonus1 found some bright dandelion flowers on their property and gave them to us."

Opening the pouch he carefully pulled out a dried bud of bright yellow color. It looked like a regular dandelion, but it was slightly larger and some of its petals had shiny white speckles on them.

"I remember last year Grandpa bought some blossoms and made me drink tea from them. What a nasty thing to drink. And the best part is that you have to empty the qi vessel over and over again," Aydor said, his face darkening. "This teal just enhances the effect of the qi gathering technique. How will it help us in battle," Aydor asked Hog disappointedly.

"You're right, it won't help you in battle. But the decoction of this flower is quite effective in increasing your qi reserve. And if you manage to increase your overall qi reserve, your strength will increase a bit. Sorry boys, all the resources we bought last year have been used up, and we can only buy new ones when we sell the new crop," Hog said in an apologetic tone.

"To unleash the flower effect, you need to restore all the qi and immediately use it up completely. Use whatever sigils you want, pour energy into your body, I don't care. As long as you don't have a single drop of spiritual energy left in you. But be careful not to break anything here," he finished his speech.

Hearing this, Cenn became excited. If he could increase his qi vessel, he would be able to use 3 sigils per battle. He suppressed the urge to share this news with his family.

[Forgive me, Aydor.]

Throwing a glance at the young man sitting next to him, Cenn felt ashamed. But he didn't want to reveal his trump card to a possible opponent. By all means, he had to win this tournament even if he had to fight Aydor.

"The flower effect lasts for three hours. That's enough time for you to drink a portion tonight and tomorrow morning. We have just four buds. I'll get cups and hot water now." With these words Hog left the room.

"I was hoping he'd give us something useful, but qi gathering medicine is total crap." Aydor slammed his fist on the floor in anger.

But Cenn was already immersed in meditation and didn't hear him.

His mind was focused on the dantian, it was as if he had moved inside and saw the two seals already in motion, gathering spiritual energy from the world around him. He focused his thoughts on his qi vessel and soon a transparent ball barely filled with silver qi appeared in front of his eyes.

[Three of Eleven. It's already been four months since my qi reserve reached 11. I'm sure I'd reach 12 in a couple decades, but if this flower can really help...]

Punch.

"Ouch."

Feeling a blow to his head, Cenn opened his eyes and saw the fat man holding out a cup to him.

"You could have just called out to me, Uncle Hog. Why hit me right away?"

"Actions are more effective than words, kiddo. Drink up and start cultivating."

Aydor had already drank his portion of the potion and immersed himself in meditation. So Cenn decided to waste no time and took the cup from the fat man's hands and drank the contents in a volley.

The hot concoction burned his throat, but the worst part was the disgusting bitter taste that made his tongue curdle.

"Ewww, this is the most bitter shit I've ever tasted in my life. What an abomination..."

"Hehehe, it's not much worse than army stew, believe me. I'll be back in three hours."

Hog left and Cenn fell back into deep meditation.

As the seals in his dantian moved, he felt the spiritual energy rush into his body. A few moments later, the transparent mana ball appeared before him, rapidly filling up with liquid silver.

[This speed is truly astonishing. I think I will only need 20 minutes to fully recover.]

When the mana reservoir was fully filled, Cenn opened his eyes, Aydor was still immersed in meditation. Cenn did not hesitate to use the Shield Sigil spell twice, using up eight units of qi. He spent the remaining three by pouring energy into his fists. Unfortunately, using this technique in battle was pointless. Directly controlling qi required a lot of time and full concentration on the process, which was impossible under the enemy's attacks.

After emptying the qi vessel, Cenn felt a painful tugging emptiness in his abdomen. It was as if a piece of flesh had been ripped out of him and the life force was slowly leaving him. The inevitable result awaiting anyone who expends all the qi in their body. This was partly why so many people quit cultivating. After all, as they aged, the pain of emptying the qi vessel became more intense.

The only way to deal with this pain was to replenish the qi.

…

When the effects of the bright dandelion tincture wore off, Cenn was sitting comfortably on his futon, chatting with Aydor about the tournament and what had happened at the Temple.

Just as suddenly the secret door opened and Velin entered the room.

"So, how's your progress?" he asked.

"I did as Uncle Hog said, but the result is nil. Dad, don't we have something better? Something that would be useful in battle?" replied Aydor.

"Unfortunately that's all I can offer you. And how are things going with you, Cenn?"

"The same. No results so far." Replied Cenn.

"That's okay, you can try again tomorrow. But now it's time for you to go to bed. You'll have to get up early in the morning to get everything done," said Velin.

"Dad, what about the lot? Have they told us who we'll have to fight tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I almost forgot. We're lucky you won't have to fight each other. But I'll give you the details tomorrow. Go to sleep."

Velin extinguished the two candles lighting the room, then walked out and closed the door behind him.

"Damn some of us are going to have to fight Krinnel tomorrow. I saw him fight today. His technique is so-so, but his strength and speed are amazing." Aydor started the conversation.

"You don't need much technique for a saber. As for his strength, he's almost eighteen, it seems that of all those in the tournament, only Erem is older than him. That's why he seems stronger."

"Damn who made up these stupid rules. He's three years older than me, so that means he's been training three years longer too. How is that fair?" Aydor resented.

"Erem was three years older than you too, but you beat him," Cenn pointed out.

"Erem almost kicked my ass. If he hadn't been so arrogant, I would have definitely lost. But Krinnel acted calm and measured today, I don't think I'll be able to catch him in a mistake."

"Don't worry, maybe you'll get lucky and your opponent will be Ravina. Though she won't be easy to deal with either," Cenn tried to cheer Aydor up.

"Yes, you're right. Good night."

"Good night."

Cenn closed his eyes, but his head was filled with thoughts of tomorrow's fight. Whoever his opponent was, it wouldn't be easy to win. But what worried him the most was Hog's words about killing. Would he be willing to kill to win? He couldn't even answer that question to himself.