Jie decimated the other entrants in the tournament, knocking them out one by one until only she and four others remained.

The crowd's excited muttering had fallen into a stunned silence as they'd watched this low ranked youth decimate everything in her path like a force of nature. Her fights with those above her cultivation level could only be described as one-sided to the extreme. They'd accuse her of bullying if it weren't for the fact that the ones she was bullying were above her cultivation.

The elder in charge of the proceedings cleared his throat. "We have our five winners!" he said, his voice booming across the arena. A few in the crowd rose and started clapping. Then a few more and finally, even a few of the most bitter families were applauding.

Strength was to be respected after all.

"You five will move on to the next round. You may return to your training. Make sure to be back here in two days' time," boomed the elder.

The youths bowed and Jie copied them but only to be polite and then, having been dismissed, she rushed out of the arena. She even went so far as to use lightning step to carry her back faster.

The other children might be proud of moving on to the next round. Or even of winning the tournament. But, Jie's goals lay so far beyond that she couldn't afford even a moment of slacking off.

She returned to Elder Shi's training room in moments.

Elder Shi was already there and seemed to be waiting for her.

"I thought you might return. You need to learn that there's more to life than cultivating," Elder Shi said.

Jie gave a polite bow. "I'm sure there is. Can we resume my training now?" she asked.

Elder Shi sighed and shook her head. "You make me feel like I'm being lazy, and I'm one of the strongest elders here," she said.

Jie remained unmoving.

"Fine! You greedy brat! You could at least tell me why you care so much about cultivating. I know that look in your eye. Who is it you seek revenge upon?" Elder Shi said.

"I don't seek revenge," Jie said.

Elder Shi shook her head. "If you say so. Just remember that if you cultivate too much, you can burn yourself out. Sometimes your mind needs a rest. A break from the routine. Something to keep you from going mad on your quest," she said.

"Succeeding will keep me from going mad," Jie said.

Elder Shi smirked. "Have it your way. I got you some more pills," she said. She tossed one to Jie who snatched it out of the air and placed it on her tongue.

The pill melted and The Essence of the Heavens and The Earth flowed to her much swifter than before.

Jie dropped into the lotus position and began cultivating, greedily sucking in all the Essence she could and refining it to perfection. Yet, no matter how hard she cultivated, it always felt like just another drop compared to the endless ocean she required.

After cultivating with the pill Elder Shi had given her, Jie sparred with the youths Elder Shi brought in. Despite Elder Shi saying that Jie should take a break every so often, it seemed she already had everything prepared in the expectation that Jie wouldn't waver.

Jie took it as a compliment, whether it was intended as one or not.

Stolen novel; please report.

Jie continued to train and grow in power as relentlessly as always and it wasn't long before the two days were up and she was standing outside the arena once again.

Once more, the elder with rippling muscles awaited the group of youths outside the arena they were sent to. Jie had since learned that the massive man was called Elder Bai.

Not long after arriving at the entrance to the arena, a goat-legged missile intercepted Jie.

"Hey! You made it through!" Pan Tian said as she embraced Jie in a giant hug.

Jie's eyes widened and she froze from the sudden show of affection.

"Leave her alone, sis. Can't you see the poor girl looks like a frightened cloud rabbit?" said a boy the same age as Pan Tian. Much like Pan Tian, he was a satyr with hooved feet and goat-like legs.

"You're just jealous because she likes me more," Pan Tian said.

"To be fair," said the boy, "she doesn't even know me. I think you just insulted yourself with that one."

Pan Tian glared at him but released Jie from the hug even so.

"This is my brother Pan Zhanshi," Pan Tian said.

"Twin brother," Pan Zhanshi added.

"Hey! Will you let me introduce you at least? You rude person!" Pan Tian said.

Pan Zhanshi shrugged. "Do it right and I won't have to help," he said with a smile on his lips.

"You'll have to forgive him. He inherited all the rudeness," Pan Tian said.

"And all the talent," Pan Zhanshi said.

"What talent? We're the same rank!" Pan Tian said.

"Yeah, but I didn't get beaten by someone below my rank now did I?" Pan Zhanshi said.

"So why don't you spar with her and see how you do then?" Pan Tian asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Because I also inherited all the brains," Pan Zhanshi said.

"I see you two get along well," Jie said.

Pan Tian looked away and Pan Zhanshi grinned.

As the last of the students arrived, the focus of everyone's attention turned to Elder Bai.

"Congratulations on making it to round two. I hope you're not feeling too proud of yourselves though because this is where things start heating up a bit more. The weakest have been weeded out. Now it's time for you to prove your strength against others in single combat!" Elder Bai said, his booming voice blasting over them like a hurricane.

"The rules of this round are different. You will each face a total of five opponents in one on one fights. After each fight, you'll have a brief period to rest and cultivate. I recommend you use it to restore your qi as much as possible. There is no set rule on how many victories you must attain, but you can rest assured that only one in five of you will proceed to the third round. I'd advise you all to do your very best to make sure you aren't the ones eliminated," Elder Bai said.

He then turned on his heel and pushed open the massive arena doors as though they weighed nothing.

The inside of the arena was much the same as before, but now had a tent with wood symbols embroidered on it on the edge of the arena floor. With rows of raised stages and benches occupying the center of the arena floor.

The stands of the arena were even more packed than the first round had been, with new groups of people adding to those Jie recognized from the first round. Some looked entirely human, but many others did not. There were people with cat ears, people with shells and scaly skin like turtles that walked upon two legs, and many others.

She even noticed a collection of purple-skinned individuals with pointed ears that sat near the headmaster's viewing box.

I guess the Chen family is pretty important here... Jie thought.

Jie's eyes then went to a large group of satyr-looking people much like Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi that sat on the other side of the headmaster's viewing box.

But so is the Pan family? Jie wondered.

Pan Tian and her brother fell in beside Jie as they walked into the arena. "That's our family," Pan Tian said with a hint of pride in her voice as she followed Jie's gaze, "they often come to watch us."

"It must be nice," Jie said. She tried to force a smile to her lips, but inside she found her heart aching once again. She wished her parents and Ming could be in the stands. That they would watch and feel proud of her. To cheer for her victories or hug her if she lost...

The thought made her feel weak and ashamed of herself and her cheeks heated with embarrassment.

"It's okay I suppose... it's rather of a lot of pressure though. If we lose then we lose face for our entire family," Pan Tian said.

"You're pretty strong, so I'm sure you'll do well," Jie said.

Pan Tian chuckled. "Not as strong as you, Monster," she said.

Jie smiled.

They all filed into the arena and sat on benches to the sides of the different raised platforms dotted around the massive sandy area. Each of the stages consisted of spotless, lily-white tiles.

Jie doubted they'd stay that way.

Pan Tian and her brother sat beside Jie.