Chapter 41 - Victory

Once he heard what his punishment would be, Hei nodded his head that he had understood. Although he was curious about the sect's manuals, his priority was first to learn the spider and snake style moves. Besides, three months would quickly pass as he would be busy in training.

Noting that he had accepted the punishment, the regulation division guards lowered their weapons pointed at Hei and left the ring. Fortunately, everything worked out for the best, and they hadn't had to intervene.

Since they were part of the regulation division, the guards were usually unrelated to conflicts between inner disciples. So they didn't see Hei as a threat to their future. But they was him instead as a potential asset for their sect.

The situation was resolved, and the second opponent had been taken away to be medicated. So, all that remained was to continue with the next fight.

Considering that Hei’s first two opponents had been brought into a state of unconsciousness, this match would also be the last one, unless one of them would recover in time. But, due to the previous matches, the audience wondered if Hei's third opponent would be put K.O. and unable to continue.

The guards, therefore, went to call the third participant, the man from the cockscomb who showed up shortly after leaving the corridor that bound the ring to the waiting room.

When he appeared, his face was visibly twisted by nervousness and doubt. If Hei's first victory without damage could be understood in some way, the scene in front of him was incomprehensible - Hei was, in fact, without wounds, and from his appearance, he didn't seem to be short of spirit power.

It was inconceivable for the man with the cockscomb - the second match should have been exhausting for Hei. Even if he had won, he would have done so by a narrow margin, consuming almost all his spirit power.

However, despite giving the impression of being well and ready for combat, there was no doubt that Hei had consumed much of his spirit power. As a second stage, his ability to manage spirit power consumption was already above average.

‘I have little spirit power left. If I had to fight like before, I would end up losing. I have to finish it here with one move.’ Hei thought as he worked out his battle plan.

One of the reasons he had consumed a lot of spirit power was because, in the previous matches, he wanted to use his opponents as targets for his techniques to hone his skills. Now instead, rather than training using the enemy, he would end the fight as soon as possible.

Once he made his decision, Hei went to the ground and placed the spear near his boots. Making sure the tip of the spear was resting on his boots, he climbed back into the ring. This detail had also been performed in previous matches but had gone unnoticed until now. The sect leader looked at that detail curiously but kept her thoughts to herself.

When even his last opponent got into the ring, Hei positioned himself.

‘Spider Lance’

If he had to end it in one move, the only way was to use his most powerful technique. Even if Spider Lance was a move to kill the enemy, he believed that if he hit an enemy at full strength, avoiding a vital point, he could prevent killing him on impact.

Hei then began to bend the left elbow back as far as possible, keeping the forearm parallel to the ground. To give more power, he also bent the left shoulder backward, accompanying the movement of the arm.

Snake Fist and Spider Lance were both piercing attack moves, but the difference consisted in the method of execution and the damage produced.

Snake Fist consisted of bending the forearm on itself and then stretching it forward. This contraction, combined with a further contraction with the wrists, would give speed and power to the Snake Fist. Instead, joining the fingers served to direct the attack to a precise point and make it difficult to predict where it would go to strike.

Spider Lance, on the other hand, was a straightforward move to guess, since it took some time to load the momentum. But this didn’t mean that it was easy to block or dodge. Bringing his elbow and shoulder back and keeping his arm parallel to the ground, Hei would then snap his arm forward once near the enemy, while his fingers were aligned to resemble a spear’s head.

The principle behind Snake Lance was similar to that of a spring - the higher the force used to contract the spring, the greater the energy released would be. And with the same principle, more spirit power was used to contract the muscles, the higher the penetration force of the blow would be.

This move would become even stronger when he learned beast claws that would make Hei's nails capable of tearing his opponent’s flesh.

Seeing Hei getting ready, the man called Xue also did the same while shortly after that, the start signal was given. With a quick dash, Hei charged against his opponent, who tried to hit him with a sword cut to prevent him from approaching.

Hei, who was using the two-legged mode, used his toes to stop and make a small jump backward and then head forward again, moving slightly to the side.

Xue, noting that his blow was unsuccessful, stepped back as he placed his sword horizontally in front of his chest to block Hei's attack.

However, his speed wasn’t at the same level as Hei's, and in spite of himself, he discovered that Hei was aiming to his chest but to lower point.

His sword ended up defending the wrong area, and he was unable to parry the Spider Lance, which snapped towards his abdomen.

Suddenly, a shocking pain pervaded his body from that point. It looked as if a huge spear had impaled him, and his innards were writhing inside him.

Immediately after the impact, he began coughing blood from the mouth mixed with saliva and fell to his knees on the ground while breathing with difficulty until he lost consciousness.

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The impact was too strong to resist. His spirit power defense did no good and was cut like butter in front of a knife.

Fortunately for him, Hei had aimed at the center of the abdomen just above the navel. If he had hit his heart or another delicate organ, he would have killed him without a doubt.

And so, in the audience’s astonishment who expected a difficult battle for Hei, the third match of this final phase ended.

The winner was Hei.

Even though they came specifically for him, most people didn't believe he could win. Even those who had speculated that he could actually do it, after his performance at the preliminary phase, were appalled.

Knocking down three third stage opponents, one after another, so quickly was truly stunning for someone in the second stage, considering he came from the outer sect.

From his strange fighting techniques and his talent, people realized that Hei's background shouldn’t be insignificant, and they couldn't help but wonder how such a person ended up in the outer sect.

Meanwhile, Hei, who seemed to be okay, was breathing quietly to resume his breath. Although he hadn’t suffered any injuries, he had been almost completely drained of his strength. If his opponent had resisted the blow, he would have been the one on the ground now.

With difficulty, Hei walked to where the elders were sitting. Then, he stopped at the edge of the ring to bow his head, with his fists clenched together.

That was a gesture of respect used by inner disciples when they met the elders. Even the outer disciples used this gesture, but since it was almost impossible for them to see the elders, there were rare occasions when they had to use this greeting.

But if in the eyes of both inner and outer members, Hei's greeting seemed like an ordinary greeting, as he would be officially admitted into the inner sect, the elders and the sect leader read something else.

Unlike the other sect members, there was no fear or reverence in his eyes but neutrality. He was paying tribute to them only out of respect for the customs. It wasn't as if he wanted to please or stand out to appeal to them.

Thinking to themselves, the elders understood with sufficient time and adequate resources, Hei could become stronger, more than anyone else, including them.

The sect leader looked at Hei intensely for a few seconds before getting up. Since the other finalists were still unconscious and unable to continue, there was no reason to continue with the tournament. Besides, the public had seen a stunning performance considering they were matches between outer disciples and would certainly not have a complaint.

"Since the other participants are not in a condition to fight, the tournament will end here. The winner is Hei, who will be given the right to reside in the inner sect and participate in its activities, taking advantage of all the benefits it entails."

The sect leader paused for a moment to let the audience applaud Hei and then resumed.

"Having won all of his matches, he will be given the first place and the related prizes. The first-place prize is a manual of choice and the possibility of being able to choose an elder or me as a personal master. "

On hearing the rewards, the members of the inner sect couldn’t help but be amazed. The choice of any manual free of charge was already something incredible, but being able to become a personal disciple? It was unheard of as a reward for outer members.

It should be known that each elder had one or two personal disciples, and these would receive all their attention and resources. Such individuals were people of exceptional talent and would always occupy an important position in the sect.

Since they were raised personally by the elders, they were also those who ended up occupying the highest positions in the inner members ranking for the younger generation.

At this moment, there were even five of those exceptional individuals in the younger generation, something very rare even in the long sect’s history. And Hei was being given a chance to become the sixth one.

Even the outer members who had decided not to participate couldn’t help but get their hands in their hair. Even though they had seen Hei's abilities firsthand, they couldn’t help but wish to go back and give it a try.

As the noise generated by the awards’ announcement abated, the sect leader continued her speech.

"Since you have been forbidden to enter the library, you will receive your prize three months later at the end of your punishment. Are you okay with this?"

At that point, everyone's eyes fell on Hei. All the disciples, whether they were of the outer or inner sect, thought within themselves that, in his place, they would have tried in some way to make the sect leader change her mind. Three months was a massive amount of time for a martial artist in the early stages.

"All right, I have no problems in this regard. However, could I change one of the prizes?” Hei calmly asked as he looked into the sect leader’s eyes.

"Changing one of the prizes? Let's hear, what would you like to change? Don't you want the manual?" Asked the sect leader.

Indeed, if taking the manual meant waiting three months, you might as well choose something else useful and accumulate contribution points in the three months of punishment to buy it out of your own pocket. Unless it was one of the secret manuals given to the top 5, this was the most logical course of action.

"No, the manual interests me. It is the matter about becoming a personal disciple. Can I change that prize with something else? "

When they listened to those words, those present couldn’t help but doubt their ears. Had they heard correctly? To give up becoming a personal disciple of one of the seven elders or even of the sect leader? Becoming a personal disciple meant having the future insured, becoming a dragon among men.

It was the ultimate goal of many inner members who repeatedly tried to attract the elders’ attention. Now instead, a newly arrived stranger was refused the thing they were training for years.

But if the disbelief of inner and outer disciples was apparent, even the elders themselves couldn’t help but be amazed at his words.

The second elder himself had imposed that prize to have one more chance to break the bond between the sect leader and Hei. He planned to propose an agreement to Hei by offering him the privileges that only personal disciples had and didn’t think he would refuse this offer.

The first elder was also not reluctant to this proposal. Although he considered necessary to acquire the secret behind the spirit veins’ restoration, he momentarily decided to trust the sect leader and the boy's abilities. If the boy had the potential, he didn't mind taking him as a personal disciple.

After today's performance, the other elders who had initially shown no interest in Hei had also begun to think of ways to convince him to become their disciple. After all, looking for a worthy successor was one of the vital goals for sect elders.

But despite their expectations, everyone's plans were shattered by Hei's disconcerting way of reasoning that could be defined as decidedly out of the ordinary.

"Do you want to give up becoming a personal disciple? Do you realize what this means?" The sect leader asked. Among those present, she was the only one who expected such a thing. She had accepted the second elder’s request because she knew Hei would refuse it. However, she had to ask this question due to the circumstances of the situation.

"Yes, I am perfectly aware of it. I have no intention of becoming a personal disciple, nor yours sect leader, nor of any of the elders. This is why I ask if it is possible to change the prize," Hei said firmly.

In his eyes, becoming a personal disciple was nothing more than a hindrance to his path.

His mother was the best teacher he could ask to have. But above all, he wanted to keep his independence. In that way, he could enjoy the tranquility of being with his family, away from outer eyes.

"All right. However, the possibility of becoming a personal disciple is something extremely precious in the sect. It is the first time that someone refuses this invitation, but if that's what you want, I will accept your decision. In any case, given that you deservedly earned the first place, it seems to me at least a duty to reward you with something else of equal value. So, I ask you. What do you want?"

At that point, Hei looked at his mother hidden in Lian's hair and smiled,

"What I want are spirit beasts."