Chapter 8

We walk in silence for a bit up a couple of flights of stairs. Passing by the library I had my lesson with Yijun. Further at the top, large sections of land are encircled by a tall wall, with the path further into the winding around. These must be the halls that teach the disciples. The first one we pass has a large set of doors and a sign hanging over the top that reads, [Blade Hall]. The second one reads the [Fist Hall]. The third one reads, [Spear Hall]. The entrance is the same as the others, a large set of wooden doors with a sign hanging overhead. Deng Jian pushes both doors open, relieving the inner courtyard. A path leads further towards a slightly raised platform in front of a large building with a stage. Two paths branch on either side, one leading to another courtyard and the other leading to a set of buildings on the opposite side.

“Welcome, to the [Spear Hall]. This will be your new home for now, so get comfy because we start tomorrow.” With that, he leaves towards the building in the distance. Not sure where to go, I wander around a bit. The sounds of disciples training and instructors teaching class fill in the background. The platform in the distance intrigues me, however, it might be best to stick close to the entrance. As I continue to contemplate what to do, a middle-aged man approaches me.

“Are you the person Elder Deng brought in?”

“Yes, I am. My name i-”

“I don’t need to know, I’m only here to show you where you will be sleeping while you train.” Without asking, he turns and starts walking to the group of buildings.

“Training, what do you mean training?” I have to jog a bit to catch up, he didn’t have that much of a headstart but he walks pretty fast.

“What else would I mean by training? Elder Deng brought you in to be trained by me until you reach the basic level needed.”

“Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I’m a pretty skilled fighter already.” All psychic soldiers are trained in a special combat style designed for psychic combat. It didn’t have any form to it since all psychics fight differently. But that was what made it effective, its flexibility made it possible to take down opponents we could dream of taking down before.

“You may have been trained to kill but you haven’t trained to cultivate. To cultivate, one must train their body as well as their Qi or risk [Qi Deviation] from being unable to handle one or the other.”

“So to cultivate you have to have a healthy body? I already have a healthy body, somewhat.” We walk into one of the tallest buildings here, the inside similar to the second floor of the [Pill Hall]. Rooms line both sides going down with a staircase leading up in the back. These rooms seem to be larger as the doors are separated much further apart. We stop at the fifth door down the hall on the right side. The inside has six beds, three on either side of the room with bedside tables next to the head of each. A trunk also sits at the end with another door leading outside to a small deck area overlooking a pond. It’s times like this that I really see this isn’t the world I once struggled in.

“You do not need just a healthy body, you need a tempered body. Only those trained to contain Qi can cultivate. Remember this, no matter how skilled you thought you were before, you are the least talented here. Put your things away and meet me in the inner courtyard.” He walks out without even giving me his name. I can already feel a headache coming on as I reel from the shock. This is going to be annoying, and it’s not as if I can prove him wrong when I’m not even sure how powerful someone from this world is. The best I can do right now is suck it up and treat this place like boot camp back on Earth. I drop my bag onto the bed closest to me, Doctor Chao was kind enough to lend me something to carry my things. Though I don’t have much, it makes moving easier. I walk back out, retracing my steps to the entrance. I walk cautiously up to the second courtyard, peeking in. This courtyard is just as big as the other, small buildings line either side with a training ground in the back.

I walk in and head towards the back, the small buildings up to it all seem to have varying classes. There seems to be a difference in treatment between members of the hall with how some are more refurbished than others. The closest buildings to me are all old with fading paint and roofing that is in disrepair. While the ones furthest seem to have been painted not too long ago. Each building is only two stories tall, but they are also very wide. I finally reach the end of the path after another good fifteen minutes of walking, because the buildings are wide instead of tall the distance is a lot more than I thought. The training ground is divided into smaller platforms with weapon racks stocked at each one. Various spears and polearms line the racks with stains of blood on the smaller platforms. A group of disciples stand around the furthest platform, watching a fight between a smaller more frail-looking disciple and a larger disciple.

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I think back to something Yijun had said to me before, ‘In this world, the strong devour the weak. Though it might not be right, it is the law of this world.’. This at least reminds me of my home on Earth. Just like here, the only people who survived on Earth were the stronger ones. There seems to be a rule like that everywhere. I find myself becoming immersed in the fight as well, the skinny disciple is barely hanging on while the bigger disciple is sending a flurry of stricks. They’re both using practice spears, but every time the bigger disciple swings a small gust of air blows across my face. That kid has a lot of power in those arms. It’s also pretty impressive that skinny disciple has been able to hang on as long as he has. That’s when I notice something peculiar, the skinny disciple's movements almost look like water. Before I can get any more wrapped up in the fight, the man from earlier strides up to me.

“It seems you can at least follow instructions. Follow me.”

“Excuse me, sir, but I still don’t know your name.”

“For now you do not need to know my name, instead you will simply refer to me as ‘Instructor’.”

“Yes, Instructor. But why did you want to meet out here?”

“It is to see what level you are currently at. Though we know you have never cultivated, depending on how tempered your body currently is, we could accelerate your training sooner than expected.”

“How will you measure my level? By having me fight someone?” A wicked grin splits the Instructors face. I can’t believe they want me to fight someone, especially when they are probably a child. Without explaining anything, he shouts across the training ground.

“Hao Yi, you’re assistance is required! Stop playing around and come here for an entrance exam!” The group of disciples ground as they disperse, the skinny disciple walks up to us. I almost don’t think he’s serious until the Hao Yi steps onto the platform. With no real choice, I step up on the opposite side. Now that I get a good look, I can’t really tell if Hao Yi is a girl or a boy. A small delicate face with silky hair that reaches just above the waist. Though their hair is tied in a ponytail, the bangs are long. They clutch the staff in their hands tightly, they look no taller than five foot five. I hadn’t thought much about it but I am six feet tall, so I must look like a giant to most people here since the tallest I’ve seen seems to be around five foot ten.

“H-Hello, I h-hope to learn m-much.” Hao Yi takes a deep bow like they're meeting some official or something. I can’t help but wonder why they have me fighting against a child. They can’t be older than their teens.

“How old are you?”

“W-What?” Hao Yi gives me a confused look.

“I said, how old are you?” I might have come across as a little too aggressive the second time as Hao Yi shrinks a bit.

“I-I’m eighteen thi-is year.” That doesn’t make me feel any less shitty about fighting them.

“Enough introductions! I will preside over this duel to test the limits of this servant. Are both sides prepared?” Servant? When did I become a servant? They didn’t mean that I would become an actual servant when I started working for Deng Jian right? Hao Yi gives a weak nod, I reluctantly nod my confirmation as well. “Ready! Begin!”

In a flash, Hao Yi strikes out with their staff. It happens so fast that I have a hard time catching it. Taking a step back would only give them an advantage, so I rush forward, keeping close to the staff. Taking the chance, I go to wrap my arm around the staff to grab it. Only Hao Yi pivots on their back foot, the staff whipping out of reach. In the next second, it comes raging back around towards my face. As I go to duck under the staff, a knee shoots out and strikes me square in the nose. I’m not even sure how that happened based on how Hao Yi was standing. I can feel the blood starting to drip down my face, they really got me good. I wipe the blood from my nose stepping back into stance. I wrap my body in psychic energy, my body coiling like a spring.

I rocket from where I was standing in one leap, getting a jump on Hao Yi. Startled, they jump back a bit losing some footing in the process. With that chance, I yank the staff Hao Yi is holding with [Telekinesis]. To my surprise, they hold on tight as the staff pulls back sharply towards me. I meant to disarm them, but their grip strength is a lot more than I expected from a teenager. So I can end this in hopefully one blow, I encased my fist in [Telekinesis], creating a firm barrier. I let my punch fly towards Hao Yi, just before my first can connect, I’m tossed off balance. Like something threw me but there’s no way that’s possible. I hit the ground with a hard thud.

“The winner of the duel is Hao Yi!”