“First, we’ll have a spar with an opponent at your level. I want to see what you’re capable of. Dai Hen Tai, come here” - the instructor called over a disciple at the seventh level of Qi Condensation. - “This is Tang Ji Tao. He’ll be your opponent in the practice match. You’re only allowed to use Outer Court techniques.”
“Yes, Master” - the young man replied with a bow. He was about a year older than me, yet much more delicate in build. He looked me over with a gaze full of superiority, but was met with an even more disdainful glare on my part.
“How would you rate his abilities?” - I asked. - “Where does he stand on the scale between ‘genius’ and ‘trash’?”
“Hm... why does that matter to you?”
“I want to asses my own level.”
“Let’s just say his abilities are above average.”
The young man clearly wasn’t pleased with such a ‘low’ assessment, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I’m ready” - I said with a nod.
“Begin!” - the instructor shouted, stepping aside.
I didn’t waste any time and immediately launched a technique at my opponent that dealt a decent amount of crushing damage. I infused it with only the bare minimum of Qi, enough that if it hit, it wouldn’t kill him but would break a few ribs. However, Dai Hen Tai reacted quickly, creating a small Qi shield just big enough to block my attack. I then used something resembling wide blades of air that were meant to cut him in half, but he dodged them, blocked part of the attack with another shield, and simultaneously hurled a type of “air spear” at me.
I managed to dodge, but I decided to test the strength of my own shields by placing one in the path of his technique. The test showed that the shield easily withstood the blow; to break it, he has to put about twenty times more energy into his attack. However, I had only minimally infused energy into my shield.
After that, we began exchanging ranged techniques. I preferred to dodge, while my opponent put up shields. He could form a shield over any part of his body without using his hands. I took note of this move and started doing the same. Gradually, the intensity of our battle rose. I sped up, and Dai Hen Tai tried his best to keep pace. Before long, I got tired of simply jumping back and forth, so I decided to close in for hand-to-hand combat.
That’s when I was surprised to see how instantly he could manifest a shield to absorb my punch. It felt like punching a concrete wall, no pain, but the shock of colliding with a barrier that didn’t budge a millimeter was unpleasant.
I was constantly keeping track of all his attacks, so he never once managed to land a hit on me. But he occasionally failed to block mine, which angered him and made him accelerate even more, pouring more force into each attack. After about five minutes, I already had a sense of his limits. He was skillfully stringing together combos, trying to trap me or overwhelm me with a barrage of attacks, but it was clear these were rote sequences he’d practiced on autopilot. Once I figured out the best counter-strategy, I stuck to it.
When the fight became entirely predictable and monotonous, I suddenly accelerated and dashed in close range. He was caught off guard and failed to put up a shield in time. My speeding fist sank into his chest. Though I tried to hold back, it was enough to send Dai Hen Tai flying, coughing up a fountain of blood. He crashed to the ground on his back, paralyzed by pain and unable to move. The ribs near his heart were caved inward, though fortunately, they hadn’t reached that vital organ.
I immediately rushed over to my opponent, dropped to my knees, and scanned his injuries. Dai Hen Tai tried to get up, but I placed a hand on his chest.
“Don’t move. Looks like I went a bit too far.”
Using my Inner Qi, I threaded Qi strands into the wounded disciple’s body and used them to “bend” his ribs back into their normal position. After that, all that remained was to knit them back together, which was fairly easy.
Cho Ju Ro approached, carefully watching what I was doing. I took out an alchemical furnace from my spatial ring, and right there on the spot, I began crafting a Minor Healing Pill. A couple of minutes later, I finished and handed it to Dai Hen Tai.
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“Here. Take this.”
He glanced at his teacher, waited for a confirming nod, and swallowed the pill. The healing Qi kicked in immediately, mending his bones and repairing the damaged tissue. Even the Qi in his body began flowing more actively. - “All done.” - I got up. - “In a couple hours, there won’t be any trace of injury.”
Dai Hen Tai gingerly prodded his chest and found nothing to complain about. - “It’s the first time I’ve seen an alchemist make a pill right on the battlefield” - Cho Ju Ro said in amazement.
“My supply of herbs is too small, so I prefer to use them only when absolutely necessary” - I explained.
“At first, I thought you’d hit him that hard on purpose, but now I see you’re just too strong” - the instructor said, looking at me with interest. - “I think you should face a stronger opponent.”
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing” - I agreed.
Dai Hen Tai grimaced at this remark. He’d always considered himself a great genius, and now his self-image had just been trampled on. Worse still, he couldn’t argue the outcome, his defeat was obvious, even to him.
“Twins, come over here” - the instructor called out.
Nearby, two cultivators at the second level of Foundation Establishment (12) had been sparring. They stopped and approached us — though in truth, they’d been watching us for a while, only pretending to keep up their own fight.
“These are Ten Tak Le and Ten Tak Lu. Which one of them would you like to fight?” - Cho Ju Ro asked with a smile.
“Hmmm… They look so alike” - I hesitated. - “How do you distinguish them apart?”
The brothers smiled. It was a simple, open, good-natured smile — the first time I’d seen such in this world. I could plainly sense their emotions: they’d never had to claw their way to survive, so they’d grown up without harboring bitterness toward the world. It was a sharp contrast to everything I’d seen in the Outer Court and the training camp.
“I can’t choose. Let’s go with both at once.”
“You’re too much confident” - the instructor said, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m just confident. If the conditions stay the same, they don’t have a chance.”
“What conditions?” - one of the twins asked.
“Only using Outer Court techniques” - Cho Ju Ro answered for me.
“Outer Court techniques? I’ve forgotten all of them by now” - the second twin protested.
“Well, this will give you an incentive to remember.”
“Fiiiine…” - the brothers drawled in unison.
“Begin!” - the instructor shouted again, without much warning.
It seemed the twins were used to this habit of his, because they immediately attacked, trying to “pinch” me from both sides. But their decision to engage me in close combat was shortsighted. I literally jumped onto Ten Tak Le’s arm, gave him a light kick to the jaw, then conjured a Qi shield “attached” to the air. Pushing off it with my foot, I suddenly found myself right beside Ten Tak Lu and kicked him in the liver. Although he managed to put up a shield at the point of impact, the force knocked him back several meters.
I’d already seen every technique available to the Outer Court, so I decided to test the brothers’ close-quarters combat skills, seeing as they were so eager for it. They really were decent with their hands and feet, repeatedly trying to leverage their numerical advantage and demonstrating an excellent understanding of each other’s maneuvers. However, none of that helped them land a hit on me, because I was simply faster and, on top of that, I was constantly monitoring a couple of seconds into the future, preemptively shutting down all of their plans.
After a few minutes of rapid exchanges of punches and kicks, I managed to catch Ten Tak Le off guard. He tried to dodge my next attack by jumping into the air, and I took advantage of the fact that once jumped, he couldn’t control his movement. For some reason, local cultivators can only use the Steel Will Shield technique by anchoring it relative to their bodies or nearby objects, whereas for me, there was no such limitation.
While my opponent was midair, his brother was off to the side, flinging futile attacks, I closed in on my target and struck his leg to rotate him into the position I wanted. Sensing imminent pain, Ten Tak Le tried to block with his arm, forming a shield around it. But I created my own shield remotely, right under his hand, effectively immobilizing his arm. With no time to do anything else, he activated some kind of body-strengthening technique, saturating himself with Qi. Seeing this, I decided not to hold back either, aiming an attack strong enough not to break through his defense, but to put serious pressure on it.
My fist slammed into his chest, and he was literally knocked to the ground. After a couple of meters, he hit the earth and lay there, sprawled like a starfish, eyes bulging. I was about to dash toward his brother, but the instructor’s voice rang out:
“Enough!”
I stopped, looked around, and went over to the fallen opponent to check his condition.
“Are you alright?” - I asked, offering him my hand.
Ten Tak Le grabbed it and stood up, but couldn’t answer, still catching his breath. I noticed a deep imprint in the ground where he’d landed. When he’d been flat on his back, his face had been at ground level.
“Your soil here is too soft” - I remarked.
“The soil here is hard as stone” - Cho Ju Ro countered.
“Oh… The only time I’ve been hit that hard before was by our teacher” - Ten Tak Le croaked, rubbing his chest. Then he glanced at the “stencil” he’d left in the ground, freezing in shock as he tried to make sense of it.
“That’s the second time now” - the instructor said thoughtfully, also taking note of how deep the imprint was.