Azreal, taking in a deep breath, feels a fog lift from his eyes. 'I am ready, I can do this. I can fight. I should be able to at least do something to her, now that I know the Stormblade Surge technique.' Azreal's eyes tighten before scanning the duelling platform. 'Where is he?' Confusion is the only thought present in his mind as he turns to ask the Elder a question, but he chokes on his own spit. 'Who butchered Jin Feng?! His arm is on the floor!' Azreal readies his sword before his mind catches up to his eyes.
The Elder holding Jin Feng in his arms moves his hand in Azreal's direction. "The fight is over, boy. I have no idea why you were so distraught earlier; you clearly have skills far above the average disciples. Now, move off the duelling platform and wait for your next fight," the Elder says, his tone commanding.
The Elder of the Heavenly Spirit Pavilion retrieves a red pill, similar to the one Darian had consumed earlier. However, this red pill has light golden markings cascading down each side. "Quickly, Jin Feng, consume this, and I'll get one of the medical team to fetch your arm. We should be able to reattach it," the Elder says, while making a hand signal to the central pavilion. Jin Feng does not hesitate and swallows the pill as instructed. After a few moments, the blood dripping from him comes to a stop, and Jin Feng closes his eyes.
Azreal and the disciples flinch when they see another figure suddenly appear on the duelling platform. Another Elder, denoted by his gorgeous trimmed robes and symbols of his accomplishments, appears before grabbing Jin Feng's arm and taking his body from the Elder overseeing the duel. As quickly as the medical Elder appeared, he vanished along with Jin Feng.
The Elder, the only one remaining on the duelling platform, walks towards Azreal. The memories of the battle flood into his mind.
'Was that really me? Did I just mercilessly cut a fellow disciple's arm off?' The heavy weight of guilt forces tears to form at the corner of his now beautifully crystal blue eyes. Biting his lip, hard enough to draw blood, Azreal continues to stare at the ground. He cannot focus on the notification blinking on the edge of his vision as the guilt is all-consuming.
"Now, what could have made you so down?" A beautiful and serene voice echoes through his mind, causing Azreal to subconsciously look in the direction of his new Master. Elder Juhee's slight smile is the only feature Azreal can make out before seeing her lips move, and the voice resounds in his mind again.
"This is the simplest part of being a cultivator, Azreal. You will kill others; a cultivator's life will be at risk every time they fight if you are not strong enough. Your life is simply out of your hands and in the palm of a cultivator like myself," says Elder Juhee, through a mental link, leaving Azreal unsure how her voice is inside his own mind.
"I, the same as Elder Koh, have no idea what I just witnessed. However, I will still guide you, as your new Master. I think you will need to decide if you have the courage to become a proper cultivator," says Elder Juhee, severing her link once her words swirl in his mind. 'Azreal, will their lives really be worth more than yours? If some strange feeling had not controlled my body, I am sure that I would have been hurt terribly, maybe even killed,' Azreal's inner monologue once again begins to tear him from reality.
The disciples, aside from Azreal, who had watched the fight, are nervous they would have to fight such a monster. Each of the female disciples' hearts begins to race when they see Azreal's pained expression, feeling a sense of attraction to a man they viewed as a nobody until just a few moments ago.
"Boy, do not feel guilty for your actions. This is a duel with real weapons. Such events occur hundreds of times a day in this Sect, let alone the First Heavens. Pull yourself out of whatever self-imposed prison you deemed fit for yourself and concentrate. Your next fight will be soon," says Elder Koh, before returning to his wooden judge spot.
"Number four! Disciples, get up here quickly! We have a long way to go," says Elder Koh. Two of the disciples swiftly jump to the top of the duelling pavilion. A far less exciting duel takes place, which lasts for five minutes before a thin yet deadly man wielding dual daggers kills his opponent before kicking their body off the duelling pavilion and walking to the opposite side of the duelling platform from where Azreal is currently standing.
"Next!" Elder Koh's voice sounds, another duel commencing. This pattern continues for another thirty minutes before it is Azreal's turn to fight again. 'Focus, Azreal! Concentrate and win this duel as quickly as possible. The more I have to fight, the higher chance they will capitalise on my mistakes,' Azreal inwardly encouraged himself.
Azreal's opponent, wielding a similar style of sword, stands with medium-length brown hair tied into a knot, her expression calm and undeniably intimidating. 'She is far stronger than Jin Feng was.'
'Calm Stream? She must have a water affinity. The strength she gives off is countless times higher than Jin Feng, and she is only one level higher. One wrong move here, and I will lose this duel,' Azreal thinks while he prepares his sword.
"Duel Start!" Elder Koh's voice once again booms through the disciples, signalling the start of the duel. Mei Ling, taking a stance Azreal has never seen before, moves her sword with utmost tranquillity. The air becomes slightly heavier on the duelling platform as small droplets of water begin to form.
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"This could be tricky," Azreal mutters under his breath as he begins to move directly at Mei Ling, avoiding the puddles of water slowly forming on the duelling platform's ground. 'Will my Lightning Qi interact with her Water Qi?' Azreal pushes the thought out of his mind before striking at Mei Ling.
Clang!
Azreal's sword is deflected by Mei Ling's flowing movements, and like a deadly ocean current, Azreal feels a sharp sense of pain. Mei Ling, contorting her body, allows her to make a strike towards Azreal's arm a second after deflecting his strike.
Azreal, in response, moves his right arm and attempts to push Mei Ling, hoping her contorted body would lower her sense of balance. Mei Ling's smile spreads further across her face before further contorting her body and barely dodging the pushing attempt. Darting in close to Azreal, Mei Ling swings her sword at Azreal's face.
Azreal's quick reaction times save him; he feels a sharp cut appear along his cheek. Deciding it is time to get some distance between each other, Azreal punches Mei Ling in the stomach, causing her to let out a wheeze of air. Azreal’s fast yet untrained steps instinctively know how to retreat.
The two now circle each other, eyes locked in a battle of wills. Azreal attempts to channel lightning into his sword, hoping to surprise Mei Ling. But she anticipates his move, darting in close to disrupt his focus with a swift kick to his knee. "Argh!" Azreal shouts in pain, his technique flickering as his channelling Qi is disrupted.
Azreal, catching sight of Mei Ling's incoming sword strike targeted at his arm, instinctively recoils, a sigh of relief escaping his lips as he evades the attack. 'This cannot continue. I will lose quickly if I don’t change my plan, but what can I even do?' The two return to circling each other, Azreal’s despair clear to all watching. Mei Ling, her face beaming with confidence, thinks, 'I knew he was all tricks. I saw how bloody he was coming back from the trail. There is no way someone who struggled that much is any good.'
"Ah… that could work," Azreal says. Mei Ling, not wishing to waste the opportunity of capitalising on Azreal’s despair, charges towards him, sword poised to strike him down.
'I need to speed myself up, rather than just my weapon,' Azreal thinks, his eyes turning to a cold deep blue, halting Mei Ling’s advance. 'Where does this feeling come from? He is going to crush a bug like me…' Mei Ling's thoughts scream at her to flee or surrender. However, she remains paralyzed by the newfound feeling of fear sneaking into her soul.
Focusing his Qi away from his sword and into his body, an immense pain, similar to his first attempt at cultivation, spreads through his body. Each of his joints cracks, his skin feeling as if it is about to boil. A moment passes, and stunned silence fills the area again. A tremendous power and gust of wind coated with lightning spreads across the duelling platform, reaching even the disciples watching.
<+ 10 Dexterity, + 20 Spirit, +10 Intelligence +550 Qi>
Azreal, overflowing with a new sense of power, seizing the moment as he catches Mei Ling's expression of shock, roars, "Lightning Infusion!" The lightning, previously crackling around his sword, cascades down to his legs, amplifying his speed exponentially. Azreal surges forward, closing the distance to Mei Ling in a blur.
"W-wait!" Mei Ling's last words before Azreal's sword makes contact with her stomach, as his sword connects she is launched off the platform, tumbling across the floor, kicking up dust before coming to a stop. 'Thankfully I botched the strike. I think I hit her with the flat side of my blade,' a stiff smile appears on Azreal's face, thankful he didn’t accidentally kill her.
Azreal begins to move towards Mei Ling, who begins to groan in pain as a small patch of vomit pools near her face. With far less speed than earlier, Azreal runs to the edge of the duelling pavilion and jumps down, landing a few feet from Mei Ling's location, before stopping. The Elder who tended to Jin Feng reached her location before Azreal even stepped off the platform.
"Mei Ling, I’m truly sorry for striking you so hard you flew off the platform. I still do not understand my own strength. I am very new to this…" said Azreal, with his guilt from his fight with Jin Feng flaring in his heart.
The Elders, currently assessing Mei Ling’s condition, turn to Azreal. "Did you say this? New to what exactly?" says Elder Koh, his eyes appraising Azreal’s entire body. "I am new to cultivation, and I have never wielded a sword properly before. I’ve killed a grey wolf and a venomous spider during the Entrance Examination, but aside from that, I have never done anything like this…" Azreal says, guilt and embarrassment melding together in his mind, causing sweat to form and roll down his back.
Both Elders' eyes narrow. 'That can’t be right. Some of these disciples come from cultivation families. I know Mei Ling’s parents are powerful cultivators, yet she was defeated with a single move from a child with no experience? That is simply impossible!' Elder Koh’s internal dialogue wars with logic.
"Are you lying to us, boy? That’s a very dangerous move as a new disciple," says Elder Koh as the second Elder lifts Mei Ling and takes her towards the central Pavilion. Once the medical team Elder carrying Mei Ling is far enough from Elder Koh and Azreal, an increase in pressure can be felt by all disciples present.
"N-No! I would never! I really have no experience. I am sorry if you think I have lied to you!" says Azreal, struggling to stand under the immense pressure radiating from Elder Koh’s body, as the Elder takes steady steps towards him.
Just as the pressure becomes too much for Azreal to handle, his knees begin to buckle. His Master's voice resounds around duelling pavilion twenty. "Elder Koh! If you do not pull back your Aura from my personal disciple immediately, Azreal will not be the one struggling to stand!" Her tone is commanding, awakening Elder Koh from his actions, whose aura disperses.
A look of sorrow comes across Elder Koh’s face. "Boy… No, Azreal, I am the one who should be apologising. I have seen your movements, albeit fast, faster than you should be. There is no training, and there is no evidence of experience in your strikes." Elder Koh turns in the direction of Elder Juhee before taking a deep bow. "My apologies. I had no intention to disrespect you, your disciple, or the Unbound Pavilion." His sincere words reach Elder Juhee, who raises her hand and waves him off.
"Azreal, I truly regret my actions. I felt a sense of envy after hearing your words. I used to be a bit of a hot head in my youth, not an excuse, I should behave better towards our newest disciples. Let us return to the duels, if you are okay?" says Elder Koh as he moves to stand next to Azreal. Azreal feels something is not right. 'Is Elder Juhee really that powerful, one word from her changed his attitude completely. Is that how the world treats you when you hold so much power?’
Azreal, noticing Elder Koh is still waiting for his response, nods his head and moves to stand beside duelling pavilion twenty. This causes the disciples present to look at each other with fear in their eyes. If they win their next duels, they may be the one who has to fight a powerhouse who has no idea how to hold himself back.