A whip of flame flew towards me ready to entangle me and burn me to a crisp. It was clear the prideful clan daughter before me was not playing anymore. Sadly for her she was not dealing with some weakling member of the sect she could just lord over.

I was born to the once mighty Esset family. We had fallen on hard times, when my grandfather was unjustly punished by the accursed Istar clan. We had lost everything, when they had executed my grandfather. Those who wished to earn a favor from the Istar clan hunted my father down. My mother was forced on the street homeless and forbidden from seeking work. We had to beg on the streets of Sen’tarak. All those high and mighty kicked me and laughed at the poor defenseless beggar. I swore all those little young lords and ladies would be punished for their arrogance by my hand.

Yet all of my misfortune made me a stronger man, wise to the ways of the world no member of a noble clan could be, and so I simply stepped back and let the fire whip pass me.

My opponent looked on in frustration as her attack fizzled, but she was not done. The whip crackled and coiled back towards me in defiance of the natural order, while my opponent strained under the effect of such a simple technique.

I raised my fist and struck the incoming whip. The might of my ‘Stone Fists,’ shattered the feeble flame, as my stone encrusted hands touched the flames and I followed this success with my attack technique. I focused on the Earth Qi flowing through my Meridians and let the technique take shape and as the energy flowed through my meridians a shard emerged from one of my earth encrusted hands. I let the Earth Spike go and flung it towards the whelp of the Silverhand clan.

She had to jump sideways to dodge my projectile, as it pierced the ground. It was to be expected. In her pride she had focused purely on the offensive fire Qi, neglecting her defenses. It made her unable to take even the slightest hit. It was shameful endurance for somebody who had already broken through into the Earthly Body Realm and was on the brink of Breaking into the realm of Flowing Soul, yet it was to be expected from such a pampered clan daughter.

She always had her fill of strengthening pills and potions far beyond anything a mere disciple like me could get access to. The spoiled clan princess had access to more than any disciple in the outer sect, for the Silverhand clan was rich indeed and could provide their daughter with an abundance of resources. She could enjoy free access to these cultivation resources, strengthening her meager talent, while me and my fellow disciples were forced to cultivate on scraps. It sickened me.

I spread my Qi to the ground and summoned more stone spikes to strike her down and end her prideful reign, but she acted faster than I could form my weapons. She grabbed the spike and raised it from the ground.

She hurled the projectile towards my face.

I had to defend myself. She was still my equal in cultivation and she attained the Fire demon type Earthly body. Her brute strength was far above what I could ignore. I raised my stone encrusted hands in a cross and felt the shudder as she returned my spike to me with enough force to shatter the stone I was protecting myself with leaving the area in front of me full of dust. It was clear my technique was still incomplete and my ‘Stone fists’ were still too brittle. Yet I was not an ordinary mortal anymore and I had Earthly Body stage attainment of my own, so I suffered no damage.

I was ready to go on offensive once the dust had cleared, but I saw Mei Silverhand raising another of her Fire whips to strike me down.

I had to defend myself and so I swiftly reformed my Stone fists. She would have no answer for the speed of my techniques. Thanks to my little secret, they exceeded those of my peers in the outer sect. I smiled as I readied myself. She would ensnare my hand and then I would unleash an Earthly Spike forcing her to let go of her whip or be hit.

The flame channel flew towards me and dispersed the dust cloud in front of me. It ensnared my hand, but I felt nothing through the thick barrier of stone. I smiled but felt a searing heat hitting my ankles. I looked down and saw a second flaming whip wrapping my legs. The heat was searing, but worse was that I lost my balance as the whip tugged at my legs. I fell down.

The deceptive snake from the Silverhand Clan had created a second whip and guided it along the ground to strike me. I had not seen it thanks to the duct cloud and was now lying on the earth defenseless to her fists. It took little to figure out she was running towards me ready to pummel me down, while I was defenseless.

I could not lose here. My friends from the outer sect needed me and I still had a trump card to play.

I focused and marshaled all my reserves of Qi. This would nearly wipe me out, but I had to get back on my feet before she could win this duel. I unleashed my most powerful combat technique and the Earth before me heaved as the Earthen avalanche took hold. The ground before me shook and heaved as it cracked and broke. I knew the effect would just spread for a few meters at my skill level. It was not very destructive, but it would rob the balance of anyone foolish enough to stand on the heaving ground and give me more uneven ground to use my techniques.

It was the basic technique of the Fiery Peak sect, but normally only those who broke into the Flowing Soul stage could achieve this effect. Yet here I was the son of a beggar proving my worth.

My technique had the desired effect. Mei Silverhand was forced to fall back, giving me time to stand up and to assess the surrounding crowd.

I had clearly impressed many of my fellow disciples with my display of skill, even the few inner sect disciples looked appreciative at my newly revealed skill. I smiled. Soon I would join their ranks and earn their respect.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

My fellow cultivators, who had befriended me despite my lowly origin cheered me as I was fighting the oppressive presence, which had haunted our stay in the sect.

“Do not fear Delan. Soon I will avenge the harm she has done to you,” I said to my closest friend, the man who shared my lowly origin and became my brother in arms. It was for him that I was fighting this duel.

Mei Silverhand had churlishly struck him and threatened him despite the difference in their ranks. It was a crime I could not forgive. Those who stood with me were sacrosanct and all of those who opposed me were trash.

“It is not over yet,” my opponent replied, disrupting my moment of glory.

The clan trash before me recovered and took a combat stance once more. She was not ready to give up after my display of power.

I would oblige, but the question remained. Could I still fight? Her whips burned my legs after all.

It was surprising, but I felt no pain. I quickly checked the wound and what I saw pleased me greatly. There were no heavy burns, just a few light red spots where the whip bit deepest.

I grinned at this.

I did not undergo the methods Fiery Peak sect provided for Earthly body breakthrough. I knew they would lead to a subpar result in the form of Iron Ox body, which combined the strength given by the Fire Qi and Endurance provided by the Earth Qi inefficiently. Instead I sought resources and endured pain to gain the Perfect Tempered Steel Body.

I knew this for a fact thanks to whispers that came to me in a dream.A beautiful small bone chest was whispering to me in my dreams. These dreams began when I found that little chest under a mountain of rubble in the city dump. It showed me power and whispered to me of the greatness I could achieve. At first I was not sure if I was just letting my fantasies infect my dreams, but I had nothing to lose and so I used the technique from my dreams.

The meditation technique the bone chest showed me in a dream not only worked, but it also attracted the attention of a wandering member of the Fiery Peak sect and opened my path to the realm of Immortals.

Now I knew the little bone chest was smarter than the teachers in the sect. In my dreams it showed me techniques, which would make my enemies tremble and ways to gain strength to have my justice. It showed me a path to this type of Earthly Body, something far superior to what could be provided by the Fiery Peak sect. This little bone chest would allow me to transcend my limits. I might even rise to the level of the famed Peerless generation and join the legends of the Empire.

Well, it was time to test my new limits and my opponent would serve as a good test dummy.

She formed another two flame whips and the end of one of them flew towards me. I raised my bare hand and let the whip coil around it. The pain was staggering as the heat bit deep into my flesh, but my skin held under the assault.

She pulled at her whip trying to unbalance me, but I braced myself and pulled the whip towards me. She was much stronger than me, but the flame whip was much weaker than either of us. The Whip broke, and the flames died.

I was unharmed, but had to cover my eyes as the second whip flew towards my face. I raised my hand to protect myself.

I stopped the whip from coiling around my head. I was not ready to test if my eyes would hold under the same strain as the rest of my body. The whip coiled around my hand and kept coiling, hitting my head. I screamed in pain as the whip hit my head and burned my hair.

I would have my revenge for this, but first I had to protect myself.

Mei Silverhand ran towards me, when I vented out my anger. Her fist was ready to strike. My bones creaked under the strain as I blocked her strike with my hand. I felt something snap in the bones of my forearm. I found the limit of my Perfect Tempered Steel Body. The monstrous strength she wielded still could hurt me.

I would not lose a contest of martial arts and I moved beyond the paltry pain to strike back. I knew I could end the duel with just one strike, but she jumped out of the way out of my reach.

She planned to reposition herself outside of my reach and rely on her superior speed. It was a good plan against someone who based their Cultivation purely on the steadfastness of Stone, but despite my techniques I was not one of them. I moved to follow.

She yelped in surprise as I got to her and struck her with all my might. She could not defend herself and I landed a good hit on her ribs. I heard cracking.

The victory was mine, but the prideful brat refused to acknowledge it. She did not surrender and instead moved to strike me back.

I could move away and so her hit only grazed my shoulder. I could still move my arm, but I was sure I would feel the bruise forming for at least a few days.

I moved to grab her, but she slipped from my grasp and rewarded me with a kick to my injured arm which shattered the rest of its bones.

I was hurting, but Mei Silverhand was clearly at her limit. She was holding her broken ribs and was panting, while she was just looking at me with desperation in her eyes. She was not even checking the rest of the battlefield, which gave me an idea. I needed just one decent strike to finish this, and I found a way to deliver it.

I went for the most obvious punch I could think of with my remaining arm.

She jumped away from me. I followed with a series of punches and jabs guiding her towards my target. I had only one hand, but she could not take advantage of that fact because she was just too tired. She was still dodging masterfully, but I had her where I wanted her to have her.

She fell back to dodge my fist and stumbled upon the broken earth my ‘Earthen Avalanche’ left behind. She fell on the sharp rocks. I could see some of them enter her body.

She was defeated, and I was victorious, but I felt little satisfaction.

I beat her and inflicted many injuries upon her, but these injuries would heal, she would recover and she would still be a clan daughter, while I was still just a son of a beggar. The victory felt hollow to me. I had to punish her for her pride. She had to know the anguish of the lowest of the low. Luckily, I knew a technique just for that purpose. The little bone chest delivered, even before I knew I would need its advice to exact justice.

I had her at my mercy and I spoke, ”For your crimes against my friends and thus me I pronounce judgment. I end your journey as a cultivator and condemn you to live and die as a mortal,” she looked at me and finally there was fear of her better in her eyes.

I collected my remaining Qi and drove it into her dantian and meridians, letting it solidify just enough to tear the entire system to pieces as the little bone chest showed me.

The first true victory on my path towards immortality was mine and I would savor it as my enemy screamed on the ground before me.