Just as Orion was getting dressed and leaving his hideout, Nu’s voice rang out. in his mind. “My lord, the arrangements are complete. My associate in the royal army has agreed to meet you today at noon. He told me that he would wait for you in the royal palace’s main training grounds. You will easily be able to recognize him, he’s a war spirit of about 2.1 meters tall with a level 4.7 cultivation. His name is Jeysh.”
“Thank you.” Orion cut off the mental exchange. He had roughly a half hour to reach the royal palace training grounds. He turned invisible and flew off towards the capital’s center. The royal palace was a massive structure that made Earth’s grandest structures look like a two year old’s art project and housed around 30 million people. Even servants in the royal palace had much more space for themselves that residents of the capital, who were packed in like sardines. The palace had dozens of gardens, three training grounds, a bathhouse, an arena and many other extravagant features. The palace was made mostly of a local stone called Libidium, which was quite common, but looked incredible. It was pearly white and never weathered, which made it perfect for a long-term construction, and its color perfectly suited the regal air. Its architecture was, of course, absolutely outstanding, with high towers, beautiful arches and perfectly sculpted designs and details.
Although the great structure could be seen from anywhere in the capital, Orion had never actually gotten a close look and was taken aback by its beauty. When he reached the air above the palace, he paused for a minute to admire the masterful craftsmanship and thriving atmosphere. Orion quickly located the biggest training grounds, assuming that those would be the main training grounds, and shot towards them. However, when he was about 4 km away, he slammed into and bounced off an invisible wall. He tried to enter the palace through the air again and ran into the same barrier. He tried shooting a telekinetic wave at it, but it was instantly dispelled after coming in contact with the invisible wall. Since it was clear he could not get in through anywhere except the main gate, he supposed he had no choice but to do just that. The castle had 4 main gates, one at the north, south, east and west. He landed a couple of km away from the north gates, just out of the guard’s vision and resumed visibility. He assumed that the palace would have some enchantment that would dispel invisibility, at least at his level, and didn’t want to risk walking through the gates and suddenly turning visible, alarming the guards. He also removed his mask and drew back his hood to appear peaceful and transparent. He calmly walked towards the gates and stopped a few meters away from them when the guards lowered their spears at him.
“What business have you here?”
“I’m here to see Jeysh. Lord Rin arranged the meeting.”
“What is the purpose of this meeting?”
“I am trying out to join the royal guard.”
“Very well. Proceed.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Orion walked through the gates and started making his way towards the training grounds. If he walked, Orion would arrive at around 12:10, and he didn’t want to make a bad first impression on Jeysh, since high ranking military were very punctual and proper. However, a full sprint in the middle of the palace grounds may attract unwanted attention. For the first time, he attempted cultivation-enhanced walking. He reached the training grounds at around 11:50 and located the towering giant named Jeysh. He jogged his way over to the the man, who was currently coaching a match between a couple level 2s. As Orion neared him, the behemoth spun around and shot a kick at Orion. Although surprised, he ducked and moved out of the way. The giant broke out in a grin and stuck out his hand.
“Very impressive. Nu didn’t lie about you.” This man was nothing like Orion expected. Instead of being cold and disciplined, he was clearly impulsive and wild. Orion gripped his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“Thank you, sir.”
“So, here’s the deal. There are 6 guard troops in this castle, each managed by a troop commander. I, myself, am one such troop commander. A spot recently opened up in my troop, and thanks to dear old Nu, you now have a chance at it. We will spar, and your performance will decide your chance at the spot. If you can take five moves, I’ll let you join the crowd of competitors. If you can take 20 moves, I’ll move you directly to the shortlist. If you can take 100, the spot is yours. Though, I should let you know, even within the palace, my battle power is outmatched by less than 15 people, and my cultivation stands 4 steps above yours, and I don’t intend on holding back. If you wanna back out now, no hard feelings.”
“I accept your challenge, but I have one question. What happens if I win?”
The behemoth laughed uproariously. “Good, very good. Follow me.” The giant turned around and walked over to a free sparring zone. When Jeysh turned back around, the friendly smile and calm countenance had vanished without a trace, making it clear that this was no joke, and he really did intend to go all out. “Stepping out of the arena is a loss, losing consciousness is a loss, surrender is a loss, and death is a loss. Good luck.” He made his way over to the other end of the arena and nodded, signaling the fight’s beginning. He immediately shot at Orion, who simply stood there with his hands crossed behind his back. It had been a while since he had faced an opponent of equal cultivation, so he was excited to test his battle power. He unleashed all of his aspects, his physiques and his cultivation, and simply activated ‘Telekinesis’. Infused with the might of his entire battle power and cultivation, the skill froze the colossus mid-jump. Orion calmly walked over and pushed all of his cultivation into his fist. Although that weakened his telekinetic hold, it was still strong enough to keep Jeysh trapped. Orion calmly pulled back his fist and punched the commander in the jaw with all this might, creating a huge shockwave and a sonic boom that sent sand flying all over the arena, making a crater under the two fighters. The punched had instantly knocked the mighty ogre unconscious, so Orion released his telekinesis. A crowd of about 40 people had gathered to watch this match, as a level 4 showdown was by no means an everyday event, and every single individual present felt their jaws drop open as they saw a 16 year old defeat a top 0.1% fighter in one move. Orion stood in his spot like a mighty statue, waiting for Jeysh to awaken. He came to after about a minute, only to be greeted by Orion’s impassive face and the opened-mouthed crowd, which still had not moved. Although tremendous pain besieged his head, he got up and smiled broadly.
“Congratulations on joining the royal guard, effective immediately.”