A brief check of the instructive diagrams was enough to inform Kade that this technique was truly miraculous compared to the usual fare that could be found in the outer sect library.
Furthermore, it was an actual staff technique! At least he had a genuine way to utilise his Resonant Echo Staff rather than just twirling it around clumsily as he had been thus far.
The intensely focused meditation had worked up quite a sweat and when he caught a whiff of himself his nose scrunched up in disgust; he would need another bath.
Whilst relaxing in the steaming waters of his bathtub, Kade studied the first movement of the
While it was far beyond anything he’d ever seen before in his limited time cultivating, he found that he was surprisingly able to understand the required actions at least to a limited level.
With the entirety of tomorrow available to him to practise before the tournament round would begin, perhaps Kade could make some headway in mastering the technique, giving him an extra tool to rely on in battle.
Once he’d scrubbed himself clean and towelled off, Kade returned the 【Flowing River Art】 to his bedside table and went to sleep; there was no use in attempting to train in the middle of the night.
The first golden rays of sunlight were already peeking through the shuttered windows when he awoke, feeling invigorated and ready to start working on his new staff technique immediately.
First, he would have to make his way to the Administration Hall along with the rest of the outer sect disciples to check the results of the examinations thus far, which would be released as a ranked list that morning.
The Elders of the sect believed that allowing the disciples to know where they stood in relation to their peers right before the tournament would fuel their motivation to train and battle ferociously in order to secure promotion to the inner sect.
Based on the outcomes of the previous rounds of inner sect examinations in past years, Kade would need to be ranked among the top six hundred disciples to have a chance of securing promotion, though he would still need to perform exceptionally in the tournament.
A large crowd of disciples was already gathered around the noticeboard and chattering excitedly about the results which had been posted.
He saw no sign of anyone he knew, though knowing Catarina and Aurora they probably wouldn’t even bother checking the results, already confident in being ranked among the pinnacle of their peers.
On the faces of the many disciples was a myriad of expressions, some elated at having performed well enough to not need to advance through too many rounds of the tournament, others just satisfied with their passing grades and plenty of disappointed and even furious faces were dotted around - those who’d failed outright or would need to pull impossible tournament results out of the bag.
Pinned to the noticeboard were four scrolls. Three detailing the individual rankings of the three assessments conducted thus far, the written test, the alchemy test and the crafting test, while the largest of the scrolls was an overall ranking of every single disciple.
Kade already had an idea of how he’d performed in the practical assessments, though he did briefly check how he compared to the rest of the outer sect since his cultivation had massively improved.
He nodded in approval at his own achievements. His rank in the alchemy test was average, 853rd out of the nearly 3,000 disciples in the outer sect, while he’d performed far beyond his own expectations in the crafting test, just sneaking into the top hundred at 98th place.
As long as his grade in the written test was passable he’d be in with a great chance of promoting to the inner sect this time around and finally making some headway on achieving his long held ambition of climbing to the true pinnacle of martial might.
An expression of pure shock appeared on his face when he began to scan the results of the written test, because among the top ten students was a name he’d not expected to see even if he lived three lifetimes - Aaron Goldmuir.
Had inheriting the Demon God’s legacy made that brutish oaf more intelligent? While the bully had always been a little stronger than his peers, allowing him to push them around, smarts were definitely not his strong suit.
Regardless, it was the first mention of the boy that Kade had seen since returning to Mystic Solar Valley. In a strange way he was pleased.
The complete lack of sightings since he’d experienced the memories of the boy declaring revenge on Kade had been gnawing away in the back of his mind, but now he knew for sure where the stage of their final battle would be.
Scanning further down the list, Kade sought his own name. Unsurprisingly, Catarina had ranked 2nd in the written test and Aurora 6th, putting them heads and shoulders above the majority of the outer sect.
“Huh, that’s truly surprising. Perhaps achieving a higher stage of martial refinement not only polished my physical body but also sharpened my mind, 148th is not a bad result. In previous years I would always be in the bottom thousand disciples,” he muttered to himself.
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With solid overall rankings, Kade managed to find his name on the large scroll fairly easily. He was in 183rd place out of all the disciples after the first three quarters of the examinations.
This was well beyond his expected rank and meant that he wouldn’t even need to achieve domination in the tournament to have a chance at securing promotion, though he wouldn’t let that stop him from putting his all in.
After all his sights were not set on being average anymore, so impressing one of the Senior Elders and making it as a core disciple were not far fetched goals.
He whistled happily as he made his way to the sparring grounds to attempt to reach the initiate level of mastery over the first movement of the
Martial techniques were split into five levels of mastery, to represent the grasp and expertise a practitioner had over them; Initiate, Novice, Intermediate, Peak, Perfection.
Each level attained would allow one to exert more power with the technique and show more complexity in the movements.
Taking a wooden staff from the training rack, Kade had a final read of the instructive diagrams for the first movement, Gentle Stream Carving Boulders.
The name was a clue as to how the technique functioned, using a slow build up of strikes to wear down an opponent before one could utilise a finishing blow.
It synergised perfectly with his Resonant Echo Staff as repeatedly striking the same areas would amplify the power of his hits as battles progressed.
He was tempted to use the Technique Refinement Bookmark on the new martial art, but it was already unclear if he could even reach Initiate mastery with just one day of practice, so that was out of the picture for now.
It took him eight gruelling hours of swinging the staff nonstop and contorting his body into various holds and positions that made him ache in places he didn’t even know he had muscles, but Kade finally achieved Initiate mastery over the first movement, just in time for a bath and sleep.
~ ~ ~
Walking through the mountains of the inner sect had been marvellous, compared to the lacklustre spiritual conditions of the outer sect.
Starstorm Peak, where the inner sect’s Praising Dawn Arena was located, was where the final round of the examinations, the tournament, would be taking place.
For many disciples it was the first time they were being granted entry to the inner sect and for most it would also be the last as they failed to qualify for advancement.
Just fifty of the three thousand disciples would receive promotion, showing just how fierce the competition was, but only the best of the best would be able to survive in the cutthroat environment of the inner sect.
The clamouring noise of the enormous crowds assaulted him as he entered, nearly every single member of Mystic Solar Valley was gathered here today for this momentous occasion that doubled as a festival of sorts, giving disciples and elders alike a much needed chance for relaxation.
He made it inside the Praising Dawn Arena with just ten minutes to spare before the Sect Master would speak, taking his place among the throng of disciples gathered around the central arena stage.
This time the speech was brief, but each word carried meaning and inspired him to do his utmost so that one day he might be able to stand beside the sect master as a peer.
Among all the cultivators in the Resplendent Harmony Empire, their Sect Master numbered in the top ten, being one of the few practitioners to have achieved the elusive and mysterious Flooding Soul Realm that lay beyond even the Spiritual Assimilation Realm.
Kade couldn’t even fathom the difficulty of treading such a path. He was currently in the sixth of ten stages of the Martial Refinement Realm, where cultivators prepared their body to receive the baptism of qi and the powers that came with it.
If he was able to survive the tribulation after the tenth stage, he would be marked as one of a chosen few who ascended to the Spiritual Assimilation Realm.
Through some miracle if a cultivator managed to reach the tenth stage of Spiritual Assimilation, they would undergo another tribulation, far deadlier, and perhaps reach the Flooding Soul Realm.
True cultivators like the Sect Master could shatter mountain ranges and overturn seas when they battled. The thought was terrifying, yet it inspired Kade to reach beyond the limits set by his mediocre background and talent.
“Gathered members of Mystic Solar Valley, I humbly greet you as your Sect Master. The past decades have been filled with prosperity and growth for us and it warms my heart to know that we are a united family against all those who would wish us harm. Today we are here to witness the results of the fruitful training of the younger generations of our sect and to see which of those saplings deserve to be further nurtured and become the pillars of this sect. Do your utmost to achieve greatness, your hard work and dedication will not fail you,” he declared, and from his mouth those words lit a fire of ambition inside Kade.
Seeding for the tournament had been done overnight by the team of elders running the examinations and Kade would need to check his first opponent.
There were no second chances, the tournament was a knockout system from the get go and a loss would spell failure.
Inside the Praising Dawn Arena were hundreds of smaller arenas, so there would be plenty of battles occurring simultaneously throughout the day.
The main events wouldn’t happen until tomorrow when the number of disciples had been whittled down and the battles truly started to become exciting.
Kade’s first opponent was unfamiliar to him, a boy called Fowler Poe but it mattered little who he faced, there was no room for failure and he now had a goal of complete victory over all his fellow disciples.
It might be a lofty ambition, but he truly believed he had the tools to achieve such a thing and all out battle was the one place his talents shined.
The tedious events of the past few days had really taken a toll on his mind. Combat was calling to him and he was ready to answer.
Warm rays of sunlight bathed him as he made his way to the seventy sixth arena where his first battle would take place and the roaring cheers of the crowd washed away his nerves.
He hopped onto the stone stage, his opponent already waiting. They offered a shallow bow to each other as a sign of respect and readied their weapons.
The Junior Elder acting as referee made a signal and Kade didn’t hesitate, darting forwards while his staff carved an arc through the air towards his still frozen opponent.