By now, the previous two opponents had woken up and watched with incredulous gazes the next two fights of Jin. Especially the petite girl. However, instead of anger or rage, she was curious and excited. She felt like she finally found a worthy rival to spar with. As such, when it was time for the fifth opponent to move onto the stage, she jumped back on top of it.
Everyone was surprised.
Even Jin.
To the point where he turned around towards the elder while pointing towards the girl. The elder sighed and said: " There are no rules stopping a disciple from fighting more than one round " which excited the crowd.
A rematch!
Nothing felt more satisfying than this kind of development. Jin wasn't feeling it though. His interest wasn't piqued. He had trashed her once already and it was unlikely that she had broken through in such little time. This was no more than bullying now… And he did not take pleasure in such things.
What’s more, he wanted to experience more diverse battles!
Still, her being here and the elder’s words meant he would have to fight her again. Exactly as she was before. He could only sigh as he turned his sight on the overactive girl facing him. She seemed not only excited but impatient to fight. As the battle began, she rushed once more straight to him. However, this time, she didn't come for a full-on punching move but choose to use quick jabs instead. The power inside them was less and they weren't much faster either but there was less recoil and more room to act. More than anything, that lower strength it had was still a strength beyond what a non-cultivator could output or defend against.
Blocking this kind of jab, for a random mortal, was a death sentence.
It was still packed with some power. Not something nobodies could defend against. And yet, while feeling much more pressure, Jin was calmly deviating her jabs away from him by accurately dodging by a few centimeters or slapping away her wrists with precision. She felt as if she was trying to punch the wind itself as it was that hard to connect a single fist.
Jin, on the other hand, was rather happy. It turned out this little one was better than he thought. Not only was she capable of readapting her strategy, she wasn't bad at it either. She had a very heavy advantage in power output and even though she tuned it down, it was still far too much for him to take on. Using such a strategy that brought up her advantage was smart. He nodded internally at the battle sense of the kid.
But that's just this much.
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It wasn't some transcending arts nor was it some overpowered might. It was just a change in tactics. Nothing less, nothing more. To him, it mattered not. She had more power, true, a lot more. But so what? She didn't use it well enough. Of course, she didn't consider the experience gap between both fighters.
She didn't know that. She could not know.
She thought she was close to pummeling this jerk. She considered herself bright for switching tactics. However, it didn't stay that way for very long. Jin's arm extended forward around her as he dodged the last punch. She was in the movement of retracting her arm and so, unable to cope with the movement.
She was stronger but remained a little girl which meant that Jin was bigger in stature. His arms extended and then he slapped them hard on both sides of her head, at her ears. She passed out right way. He had used a discombobulating tactic. It was to hit hard on her internal ear so as to create a discomfort to her brain. A forceful brain shutdown. This was a kind of art that worked on anyone but was especially effective on those of weaker stature.
Since they were still kids, this was a very potent move. And it shows. With the little girl foaming on the ground, unconscious. He proceeded to pick her up and jumped down with her in his arms.
It was not too high and he landed easily without much recoil. He proceeded to drop the girl in the arms of the elder close-by.
Said elder went to pick the little girl to heal her then asked Jin: "You have come down. Do you not wish to continue?" to which Jin answered: " This is my limit"
The elder nodded.
It was expected.
The kid proved himself worthy of entering the inner sect through his battle instinct solely. And while he was probably capable of beating all the examiners, he couldn't do so continuously.
There was something called 'stamina' after all.
And while he only used a single or a few moves each time, they must have put incredible strain on his body and mind. He had to cope with five disciples one after another while being a mortal...It was impressive enough.
The elder patted him on the shoulder while smiling brightly. And he said "Congratulations on joining our inner sect, little brother" to which Jin bowed slightly and thanked the man. Then, he went to stand with the other guy who had managed to pass the test. The guy looked at him and scoffed.
Jin ignored it.
There were no reasons to entertain a random kid like that.
They weren't destined to walk on the same path anyways. Jin's sights were at the top and this kid would never reach there. That much was obvious to him. And so, he had no interest in him. Maybe he himself wouldn't reach there but he would at least not entertain those he deemed unworthy of even entertaining the thought of it.
Instead, he decided to focus on the next challenges and it ended up being a good way to pass the boredom of the wait. Many more kids had their hopes alighted from his success so many more were beaten up harshly with some dying. The fact that the little girl was out helped in lessening the number of deaths though. She had not been physically damaged but internally shaken. She did not need medicine, only some time.
And soon enough, there were no longer any challengers.
The sect’s people stopped the examination and sent the kids who didn't pass the examination away from the entrance. Tens of thousands of kids were sent back to their homes after failure. A kid wave walked dejectedly away from their dreams...
...And some were led beyond the gates of those very dreams in their stead.