Too fast, Jasmine thought as she desperately swung her sword upward to meet the overhead blade coming for her face. If not for Elder Mo's fighting spirit imbued in her sword subtly guiding her to have a better form, she wouldn't have been able to react in time.

With a loud clang, her arms went numb as she barely managed to parry the sword to the side. Clumsily, she followed Elder Mo's fighting spirit, letting it tell her what to do next. Shifting her weight onto her back foot, Jasmine twisted her sword a second too late. Even she could tell the angle was too awkward to put up much of a defense.

Jasmine could feel the intense heat radiating from her foe's blade, roaring with crimson flames as it slid up her sword in a shower of sparks and impacted its guard. She lost her grip on the sword hilt as her hands were numb from previous exchanges. "Ah!" She cried out as her sword flew to the side, leaving her wide open.

"You're mine now!" Oliver Redclaw smirked as he spun around and skillfully aimed at her neck.

Jasmine helplessly raised her hands and closed her eyes as the sword made contact, and she was thrown to the ground with immense force. The soft grass of Ashlock's Inner World did little to cushion her fall as the wind was knocked out of her.

"Oliver!" Jasmine heard a girl shout—likely the boy's twin sister. "You can't mistreat Stella's disciple like that! You already won once she lost her sword. There was no need to go so far. She even raised her hands in surrender."

"No... it's okay..." Jasmine wheezed as she pushed her body up and looked at the arguing twins with a strained smile. They were both fourteen years old, meaning they were six years older than her. Despite their cultivation realms being the same at the 2nd stage of the Soul Fire Realm, the gap in experience and sword reach from being taller showed. Despite their claims of disliking fighting and wanting to follow the path of alchemy under Stella, Jasmine hadn't won a single round against either of them.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Jasmine?" Olivia gave her a concerned look.

"Mhm." Jasmine nodded slowly as she rubbed her neck, "Besides, Master asked us to test Sol's shielding ability for the tournament. So it wouldn't be a good test if you didn't go for the kill."

Stella had proposed the idea of using Sol to wrap the tournament contestants in a light Qi shield that would absorb attacks. Since the tournament focused on testing those in the Qi and Soul Fire Realm and Sol was at the peak of the Star Core Realm, his light shield could easily absorb such 'weak' attacks.

This way, people could go all out without the risk of getting disqualified for accidentally killing their opponent. Apparently, Stella had been inspired by the Mystic Realm she visited but didn't specify how.

If not for Sol's light shield, Oliver would have decapitated her. Scary!

"I suppose..." Olivia didn't seem so sure as she glanced at the Ent standing at the side. "Still, Oliver didn't need to go so far."

"Don't blame Oliver. It's my fault for being too weak. Just give me a moment to recover, and we can go again," Jasmine said, sprawling out on the lush grass. She gazed up at the nine moons as she tried to control her breathing. Her whole body ached, and her hands were still numb from trying to resist the impact of Oliver's sword. How did he have so much strength? Had he dabbled in body cultivation?

Speaking of the devil, Oliver came into view with a playful smirk. "I'll be ready to go again anytime," he said as he dropped her sword beside her. "However, I don't think the sword really suits you. Your movements are clunky and off as if you are being guided by someone else rather than listening to your own instincts."

He wasn't wrong. Jasmine really was hopeless with the sword—something Stella had pointed out as well—but she had hoped with her improved cultivation and the guidance of Elder Mo's spirit that, she could close the gap... apparently, she was still utterly lacking in talent with the sword.

"I'm not lying when I say I'm subpar with the sword. So to be losing to me is concerning." Oliver said with a thoughtful expression. Despite his aggression during duels, he was a nice guy at heart.

His twin sister Olivia came over and pushed him aside, "Ignore him, Jasmine. We will spar instead, okay?"

"It's not like you are any easier to beat," Jasmine rolled her eyes. Olivia actually had some skill with the sword compared to Oliver, and it showed by how short their bouts had been.

Olivia grinned at her brother as if to say, 'See? She fears me too!' But Oliver wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Instead, he looked off into the distance with an expression of shock.

"He really beat her?" Oliver muttered under his breath. "What a little monster."

"He did?" Olivia matched her brother's expression.

Tilting her head to the side, Jasmine saw a lone silver-haired child standing defiantly before a red-haired girl who had collapsed to one knee. Sol's shield enveloped them in a faint light, but the red-haired girl's shield was flickering.

Jasmine knew both of them. The 'little monster' was Ryker Silverspire, and the girl was Amber Redclaw. Ryker was a few years younger than Jasmine, yet somehow, after his most recent Mystic Realm visit, he was in the same realm of power as her Master. A coil of shimmering silver calmly orbited Ryker as the boy put his hands behind his back.

"Please surrender, big sister Amber," Ryker said. "This fighting between us is pointless."

Amber looked genuinely distressed at having been beaten.

"No. I can still fight—"

The coil of silver orbiting Ryker lashed out like a snake, silencing Amber by smacking her in the face and shattering Sol's shield.

"Ryker wins!" Sebastian announced as Amber fell on her butt.

There was a moment of stifling silence followed by an eruption of angry shouts from the group of Redclaws, who had come to watch the fight. Sebastian moved with the gait of a butler to stand before his Young Master and protect him from the furious crowd.

"I understand you are all upset, but ganging up on a child to this degree is rather unbecoming of a noble family in service to the immortal. Let's cease this nonsense before it gets us all kicked out of here, okay?" Sebastian said calmly. He flexed his Star Core cultivation to add weight to his warning, and the Redclaws took a hesitant step back.

Because of the intense storm outside, everyone had sought refuge in the Inner World to cultivate. To keep them away from Stella's home, Ashlock had created groves of trees that focused certain types of Qi into areas.

The metal Qi and fire Qi groves were right next to one another. From afar, both groves looked identical—just a group of demonic trees. However, when one got closer, there was a noticeable difference in the types of flowers growing and releasing Qi.

Jasmine had seen the fire flowers before on White Stone Peak, but the metallic flowers in the metal Qi grove were unbelievable. A flower made from silver or gold felt like something only Ashlock could do, but apparently, they had been sourced from the pocket realm. Ryker had given her a brief tour of the grove, and Jasmine had been awed at how the Inner World's light shimmered and bounced between the shiny flowers.

After the tour and wanting to get some practice before the tournament, Jasmine had ventured into the Redclaw's grove in search of a suitable sparring partner, as Ryker was too strong. That is where she found Oliver and Olivia.

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The Redclaws weren't supposed to participate in the tournament, as its purpose was to find new talents to welcome into the sect. The same was true for Star Cores; there was no point in testing them as Star Core Realm cultivators were incredibly rare, and if there were any, they would likely be welcomed in after a background check.

However, after seeing Jasmine training for the upcoming tournament with the twins, the hotheaded Redclaws got bored of cultivating and wanted to join in on the fun. Add in the safety provided by Sol's shield, and things got absurd really fast.

After fighting amongst themselves, a few left to check out the neighboring metal Qi grove. There, they challenged Ryker one by one to duels, and after a whole group of Soul Fire Realm Redclaws ganged up and lost to him, they managed to convince Amber to avenge them.

Yet, despite Amber being two stages in the Star Core Realm above Ryker, it had gone surprisingly poorly. Ryker had won once again.

Jasmine watched from afar and couldn't believe her wanting to get a little practice in before the tournament had resulted in the scene before her. I wonder what is going to happen now? The Redclaws don't seem like the type to back down after a loss, but Sebastian is too strong for them to defy without getting their own Elders involved.

Amber got up from the ground. Under everyone's gaze, she patted herself down and rolled her shoulders. With a sigh, she picked up her sword and stowed it away in a flash of silver light before walking toward Ryker.

Sebastian moved to stop her.

"Don't stop big sister Amber, Sebastian." Ryker stepped around his butler and grinned at Amber as he held out his hand. "It was a good fight."

Amber shook the offered hand and nodded, "You're very impressive for someone so young."

"Thank you." Ryker grinned at the praise. His positivity was almost blinding... or was it his silver hair and eyes? Jasmine wasn't sure, but she hoped that she would have a similar attitude when she was as strong as Ryker.

Amber bid Ryker farewell and rejoined the group of Redclaws. She had to join Sebastian in flexing her Star Core's pressure to get the rowdy group to finally give it a rest and return to their grove.

"Everyone in my family is a hotheaded fool," Olivia said as she sat on the grass beside Jasmine.

"Why are they fools?" Jasmine asked. From her perspective, it was Ryker who made no sense here. How was someone his age so powerful?

"Because metal affinity is a terrible matchup for us," Oliver chimed in. "Fire Qi is all about widespread destruction, which is perfect in large-scale wars. Meanwhile, metal affinity is about single-target killing. It's like comparing the effectiveness of a wildfire and a sword in a duel."

Olivia hummed in agreement, "It's important to play to your strengths as a cultivator. For example, if Ryker had gone up against an earth cultivator, his metal attacks would have been much less effective. But against less tangible affinities like fire or water? He has the upper hand, for sure. That liquid metal of his can simply ignore our fire and go right through it," Olivia turned and grinned at Jasmine, "This is actually something Stella taught us."

Jasmine nodded, "She taught me this too."

Stella had drilled the idea that no cultivator was all-powerful into her head many times. It's why keeping the appearance of always being in control was so important. Until you show weakness, the enemy will be more careful, as they can never know your true strength and capabilities from a glance.

"You have a good Master," Olivia said, "Despite having never done alchemy before, she overshadowed us almost immediately. Even Elder Margret was impressed."

Oliver agreed with his sister, "Yeah. It must be nice knowing you have a Master who is open to learning new things. Many Masters are locked in their old ways and can be stubborn and dismissive of fields outside their expertise."

"Mhm." Jasmine smiled a little. She liked it when others praised her Master.

"Is someone speaking about me?" Stella manifested before them in a burst of white flames, and her restrained pressure bore down on them.

"Ah!" Oliver, who had remained standing, fell backward in shock at Stella's sudden appearance out of thin air. Jasmine couldn't blame him as her heart had also almost jumped out of her chest.

"Whew, you scared us, Grand Elder Stella," Olivia said while resting a hand on her likely pounding heart. Luckily, she had been sitting down, so she didn't suffer the same embarrassment as her brother.

"Sorry," Stella said, but Jasmine could tell through their link that she wasn't sorry at all.

"How did you even do that?" Oliver asked.

"Do what?" Stella asked with a playful smirk.

"Appear like some ghost. Didn't you have to make a portal first?" Olivia paused. "Hold on, your soul flames are white now, too. Did something happen?"

"Yeah, I comprehended a higher-tier affinity—aether Qi," Stella said nonchalantly as she summoned some white flames to her fingers. They seemed to reach through reality to somewhere else. "See? No need for portals anymore. I can seamlessly move between here and the aether plane."

"You upgraded your affinity? I've never heard of something so ridiculous before," Oliver seemed at a loss for words, "Like... how is that even possible? I didn't know affinities could even be upgraded."

Stella shrugged, "Wasn't too hard. I just had to slaughter dozens of weaklings in a tournament, make a deal with a Monarch Realm, fix an origin stone, and then comprehend multiple new daos."

"Uh huh," Oliver crossed his arms, "Not that hard? I didn't even understand half of what you just said."

"I'm sure you could do it too," Stella patted him on the shoulder like an antagonistic big sister. Jasmine had long gotten used to Stella's antics and was many years younger, so she didn't feel inferior or intimidated by her Master's capabilities. But these twins were only a few years younger than Stella, yet the difference between them was vast.

Actually, Stella is far above almost everyone in the sect. Forget the twins feeling inferior. I bet the Redclaw Grand Elder would spit blood if he heard what Stella was saying.

"You jest, Grand Elder Stella," Oliver said politely, but his face betrayed his true thoughts. "How can I possibly compare to the Princess of the sect?"

"There are people far better than me—"

"Are you trying to make me so depressed I form heart demons?" Oliver cut her off with a strained smile.

Stella was about to reply but was cut off by a distant voice.

"Big sister!" Ryker came running over with Sebastian in tow. He stopped a few steps away and was practically jumping with excitement. "Can we have a duel?!"

The amusement on Stella's face faded, and Jasmine felt her Master's annoyance through their mental link, though Stella didn't show it on her face. She withdrew her hand from Oliver's shoulder and turned to face the little terror.

"And what is in it for me?"

Ryker seemed taken aback by Stella's retort.

"Uhm," Ryker frowned, "Is there anything you want from me, big sister?"

"Not really. I just want to be left alone by loud people."

"Oh!" Ryker grinned. "Okay, if you win, I will leave you alone... wait—" His smile faded as he seemed to process what he had said.

"Perfect," Stella said and snapped her fingers. White flames swallowed Ryker in an instant, and the boy was gone.

The 'duel' was over just like that.

Stella casually dusted off her hands under everyone's baffled gaze, including Jasmine's. Her Master had always awed her, but this was a new level of power. She actually snapped a Star Core Realm out of existence that easily?

"Mistress Stella, is the Young Master..."

"Mhm?" Stella raised a brow at Sebastian, "What? Spit it out."

Sebastian gulped, "Did you kill him?"

"Of course not," Stella snorted, "Do you think I'm that heartless?"

The following silence from everyone said a thousand words.

Stella looked at everyone and clicked her tongue, "No, I didn't kill him, see—" she snapped her fingers, and a very distressed-looking Ryker reappeared. The boy collapsed to his knees and hugged the ground.

"Oh, thank the heavens!" Ryker rubbed his face on the grass, "The ground has never felt so firm under me. That was horrifying—"

"Shhh," Stella raised a finger to her lips, "Remember my reward? Or I'll send you back there."

Ryker went silent and gestured that his lips were sealed.

"Good." Stella nodded, clearly pleased at the quiet. "Now for why I'm here. How did Sol's shield hold up in your duels?"

Jasmine spoke up, "No problems for us. It would block a few Soul Fire Realm strikes before breaking. Even when Oliver went for a lethal attack against my neck with full force, it held up."

Oliver shot her a death stare, and Olivia chuckled.

"Oh, did he now," Stella merely side-eyed Oliver, and the poor kid froze up.

"I... uh..." Oliver stuttered.

Stella shook her head, "It's a good thing the shield held up. But seriously, how did you let that happen, Jasmine? My disciple shouldn't lose so one-sidedly."

Jasmine regretted her jab at Oliver as she gulped. "Sorry, Master..."

Stella eyed the sword at her feet, "Did you try using a sword again?"

Jasmine hesitantly nodded.

"You have a talent when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, and your body creates a fast-acting paralyzing poison that you can inflict through your nails and teeth, yet you insist on crippling yourself with a sword?" Stella snapped her fingers, and Elder Mo's sword vanished in a flash of white soul flames, "I'll give it back to you after the tournament. But until then, you aren't allowed to wield any swords."

Jasmine bit her lip, "But Master, I don't feel comfortable fighting people like that when they have swords." She expected to get scolded for voicing her opinion on the matter since Stella had given her an ultimatum to use her fists, but to her surprise, Stella knelt down before Jasmine and looked her in the eyes.

"Then let's find a fighting style you are comfortable with," she said.

"But what about the tournament?" Jasmine looked up at the sky. It was already night, and it was set to begin tomorrow morning.

"Don't stress about it," Stella smirked as she stood, "Did you forget who is running the tournament?"

"Master..." Jasmine didn't like the idea of delaying it because of her.

"Don't worry. Tomorrow will be the Qi Realm bracket. The Soul Fire matches don't start for a few days," Stella dismissed her worries. "So do your best until then."

"Okay." Jasmine nodded with determination. She had a few days to develop a fighting style incorporating her talents and advantages to make her Master proud.