With a sword held against his neck, Relic remained silent as Elaine smiled and said, “You’ve really fooled everyone. If the other’s were to face you under similar conditions, I don’t think there would be many who could win over you.” She lowered her sword and stared at him straight. “You definitely won; I have no complaints”

Below her neck, the head of the spear pointed up as it leaned against her body. Following the rest of the spear, it had been broken in half with the upper half held up by his foot.

Relic opened his mouth but instead of words, black mist escaped out. He immediately collapsed to the floor before retching out dark black liquid mixed with red.

"A-Are you okay?!" Elaine asked in shock and concern.

He nodded: "Y-yea... just... need to... catch my breath." He was panting heavily. His clothes became heavily drenched, and his skin looked like it was drained of blood.

As he continued to catch his breath, she quickly performed an eye technique and could see the internal workings of his body. It wasn't so much that she could see beneath his clothes and skin, but that she could see the presence of everything internally and what she saw turned her view upside down. Outside, it looked like he was simply catching his breath but internally, it looked like everything was on fire. His blood was erratic, organs inflamed, his very veins seemed to be on the verge of exploding!

Petrified in thinking he could die the very next moment; she quickly took out a white patterned pill and offered it to him.

"Quickly, eat this!" she said in a hurry.

Relic glanced at the pill with blood shot eyes but was not in a hurry to say anything, it was quite painful to do so. He could tell with a glance that the pill was a high-grade healing pill which could benefit him greatly. However, to anyone in a similar situation, it was already highly inappropriate for him to take it. Their battle had meant to be a spar and it was his choice to overexert himself. His overexertion was not new and one which he had tackled many times before.

He shook his head and just as he was about to speak the pill was forcefully shoved into his mouth. Her hands moved fast and forced him to chew before she caressed his throat so that he swallowed. He didn't even know how to process everything before the crushed bits fell into his stomach.

An immediate cooling sensation permeated from his stomach towards the rest of his body.

Elaine watched carefully as the effects of the pill took hold. His turbulent blood began to calm and as the healing properties of the pill spread, it was taken in by every cell in his body which engulfed it greedily. She was slightly taken aback.

Relic is still considered a mortal and mortals usually have a harder time absorbing the spiritual properties of the world. He should only be capable of absorbing a fraction of the healing properties of the Three-Fold Miraculous Pill, but his body is taking in everything.

She dwelled in her thoughts for only a moment before continuing to observe the changes in his body.

His body was fast healing and his blood vessels which had seemed to be on the seams of bursting quickly returned to their original size. However, something seemed different and upon a closer look, she was stunned.

His blood vessels shouldn't look like this, it looked like it was supposed to burst from before but now it looks completely new and in pristine condition.

She scanned the rest of his body and only got more questions than answers.

His organs are much stronger, his muscles more defined, even his blood seems more vigorous. Even if regular mortals trained for years, the changes to their body should not be this extreme. It almost looks like the way our bodies improve after going through the 9 stages of the Qi Condensation realm. Is this because of the technique he had used before our fight?

The more she thought about it the clearer it became.

It must be because of that technique. The black mist and liquid he expelled are the impurities in his body and that technique draws out the impurities from the deepest recess of his body. His body was already quite decent before but after utilizing the technique, his abilities increased incrementally by the moment. With every moment that passes, more impurities are drawn and the moment he releases his breath all of it comes out all at once. Every time he heals, he becomes a little bit stronger. If this is really the case that means he can continually train and improve his internal body!

There was a reason she was a genius, and it wasn't merely because of her talent in cultivation. Though perhaps a bit naïve due to her lack of real-world experiences, she was actually quite intelligent in her reasoning. She could already understand that the technique he used was something of incredible value and one that was likely not known to the sect.

The Qi Condensation realm was the realm in which their spirit vessels aided in expelling the impurities in their bodies. Once the impurities were gone, their bodies grew physically stronger and allowed them to have an easier time refining cultivation resource. Once one was in the foundation realm, the body is no longer as flexible as before and expelling the impurities from the deeper parts of the body became increasingly difficult. There were many cultivators who would do anything to be able to remove further impurities from their bodies as the less impurities the better their absorption rate of spirit qi.

The prospects of such a technique were exciting even for her but she soon remembered that rarely were there ever such a thing as a free lunch. Everything had its own cost and with this technique there was certainly one that made her shiver.

Although he can extract impurities from his body, the damage it does to his body is equally intense. Everything was on the verge of collapsing and if he made one mistake...

The more she thought about it the more she suddenly realized how dangerous this technique was. It wasn't as simple as merely practicing this technique and bearing through the pain to improve. The reality was that every time he used this technique, it was the same as crossing a tightrope to the finish line, making sure you never look down at the bottomless pit.

If he wasn't careful, he could've easily ruptured a vein or an organ which would've meant instant death. There was a limit of what he could do every time he practiced, always making sure not to be too overzealous. After every session, his internal body would be a little stronger and he had to adjust how much he could handle.

Having seen everything with her eye technique, she knew the pain he goes through was excruciating and could make even the most hardened of the disciples in the sect weep.

For his body to have reached such a state, he must have trained in this technique for years. He has to make sure never to lose focus for even a second even when he is engulfed in pain otherwise, he would die. Would I be able to bear it the same as he had done?

She gave it some serious thought, not realizing that by now she had been lost in thought for several moments.

"U-Uhm, you don't have to keep holding me. I-I'm okay now." Relic's voice awoke her from her thoughts and as realization dawned on her, she realized his head was being held between her hands. With reddened cheeks, he gazed back at her awkwardly. Only now could she feel the warmth of his face on her hands and given their situation, a deeper shade of red blanketed her face.

She immediately let go of him and stuttered: "S-S-Sorry!"

Their faces were beet red, and the following silence only made the tension worse.

Finally, Relic cleared his throat and forced out a chuckle: "Erm, I don't think I have enough to pay you back for that pill. Even with everything I own, I won't be able to cover even a fraction of the value. Could we perhaps work out a deal for me to pay you back slowly?"

"You don't have to repay me anything! I think I owe you an apology," she quickly said. "I was concerned before with what I saw but I realize now that I may have jumped to conclusions. It was my fault."

She extended down a hand to which Relic took without pause. He was hoisted up and it was there, she began to barrage him with questions.

"By the way, what sort of technique was that? Have you already achieved a state of being one with your weapon? How often do you train? What kind of training do you do?" Her eyes beamed just a bit brighter the more questions she had. It could be accurately said that she didn't really have friends within the sect and after their fight, there was an undeniable connection and respect between them. Her normally reserved self was completely different to the person now which was eager to learn more.

Though a little taken a back, Relic began to explain her questions with equal enthusiasm. While there were limitations with what he could share regarding that technique, he would share what he could.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

As they talked, Pascal watched from the side with a large smile on her face.

They have quite good chemistry. She seems to already be quite taken with him.

After Relic had finished his technique and expelled his impurities, Pascal had been ready to help her disciple in easing his pain. It wasn't something she always did as he was more than capable of handling it and he would even reject her help sometimes to better feel where he was in terms of his training. Only after enduring the pain for a bit would he then take a lesser healing pill to heal his body.

However, she had never thought Elaine would in fact jump to action to help Relic and even gave him a high-grade healing pill. It was there, all sorts of thoughts emerged towards the two’s budding relationship

“He could actually charm such a girl.”

She was already formulating a plan. The only thing stopping him from finding his first love was her own sister who had an obvious bias against Relic.

"Don't worry disciple, Master will help you!" Pascal was resolute to make it happen.

She turned to Iris and said: "Sister, look how well our disciples are getting along. Perhaps it's time to-"

Before she could say another word, Iris already held out her hand and with a stoic expression, shot out an amplified qi blast.

Pascal could only reach out her hand, but it was already too late.

…

"You have taught me a great deal today, much more than I knew of myself. I now know that to truly learn, one can't always bury oneself in their studies and that practical practice must be employed as well. I used to pride myself of learning things quickly, but true battle rarely goes as plan. Each one of our battles were different from the last and I could never anticipate how it would end. There are so many factors that you can never prepare and only through practice can you learn to anticipate them. That's why, I hope going forward, you will consider me as a friend and continue to spar with me." she said in a firm tone and placed her hand in front. Her eyes beamed with excitement for the future and perhaps, at him who she saw as her first real friend.

Relic's own feelings matched hers almost perfectly, having found mutual respect of someone who didn't judge him for being a mortal and also purely dedicated to her training.

"It would be my pleasure and honor to spar with you again." As he reached for her hand, Elaine suddenly widened her eyes as they shifted to the side.

It was only for a fraction of a second but seeing her expression change so dramatically, he began to turn his head as well, but he would never see what it was before he lost consciousness. His entire body was blasted from the spot, and he was thrown through the air, his body hurtling down the mountain.

"RELIC!!!" Pascal screamed frantically and shot through the air to catch him. She appeared below him and caught him in her arms. He was already unconscious, his body bloodied but still breathing. Half of his body was burned, some parts charred and the smell coming off was enough to cause anyone to retch.

Her heart churned as she looked at her disciple in dismay. His breathing was shallow and though he wasn't dead, her anger had reached a tipping point.

She placed him down and fed him a six-fold Miraculous Healing Pill. To others this was a waste of the highest order as the pill itself was worth as much as small city. However, for her disciple, she could care less of the cost. His body was also different from others and the effects of the pill was already beginning to take effect. She proceeded to take out a formation plate and spoke a silent incantation. A membrane like substance surrounded Relic and she whispered softly: "Rest now, I will take revenge for you."

She finally turned and in the next moment, she returned to the summit. Her eyes were filled with intense hate as she stared at her sister who returned a look of disdain and arrogance.

Elaine, who was still processing everything, came before her and asked nervously: "Elder, Is he... Is he alright?"

In that moment, she felt the immense rage coming from Pascal who turned and raised her hand towards her. She felt the intense pressure of one in the Origin realm and couldn't move. She closed here eyes, anticipating to face the wrath of the elder but in the next moment, she found herself next to the unconscious Relic. Realizing what had happened, she turned to Relic and knelt down.

His wounds were still healing but even with the six-fold pill, his body was having trouble healing him completely. Without his own qi to supplement the pill, it was truly a waste.

Her head lowered and she could only mutter softly: "Sorry..."

…

Back at the summit, the two sisters glared at each other in silence. There were no more words needed as there was nothing left to say.

Pascal closed her eyes and when she next opened them, ethereal white threads could be seen surrounding the area. The white threads seemed to dangle from the heaven's themselves and gently touched upon everything without making any impact. A mortal could go their entire life without every realizing the existence of these threads.

Yet, for cultivators, these threads represented the beginning of everything.

She raised her arm, and several threads began to move towards her. They wrapped around her arm all the while Iris remained motionless.

The air around her began to fluctuate as Pascal began her incantation: "With the essence of lightning, let my spirit guide, come forth, the Strength of the Lightning Dao!"

Dark clouds suddenly emerged and all around, the sect elites all felt the familiar fluctuations of the one calling upon the power of the Grand Flow. The mountain peak was soon surrounded by the other elders as well as many of the inner court disciples. Even a few outer court disciples could be seen running towards the source of the sudden change and began to whisper.

As the groups of disciples discussed among themselves, a few noticed a man with slick hair wearing a deep blue raiment approaching from behind. They immediately made way for the man where he soon stopped next to another man who was around twice his size in a similarly dressed raiment.

"Elder Shin, I see you are finally out of your closed cultivation," The slicked haired man said.

"Hmph... Who can cultivate when someone calls upon the power of the Remnants this closely?" Elder Shin replied, slightly irritated.

"That's for sure. What are they fighting about anyways?"

"The heck would I know. Those two sisters will fight on just about anything. It's seriously annoying but the good thing is that stuck up b*tch will be beaten to an inch of her life like last time!" Elder Shin laughed, not even whispering his words.

The man sighed: "Elder Shin, while I understand your displeasures with Elder Pascal due to the incident involving your sixth disciple, she is still the daughter of the sect master. I must remind you again to refrain saying such things out in the open as it will only lead you to being reprimanded by the disciplinary hall. "

Elder Shin snorted while the man turned back to the scene in front of him. Even though they stood far from the base of the mountain, they could still see the scene as clear as if they were right next to them.

"Still, for Elder Pascal to utilize the power of the Remnants, the issue this time must be tremendous." It didn't take long for his gaze to settle on two disciples settle by the side of the mountain. He saw Relic who was unconscious and heavily injured as well as Elaine silently tending to him. He could already draw a close conclusion of what had happened.

"I see."

More and more people arrived to witness the battle about to happen.

The threads themselves were connected to the source of all things, the Grand Flow, and through her incantation, Pascal was imbued with the essence of lightning which flowed throughout her body, the very air around her electrified. Her eyes flashed open and with a thunderous crack, she disappeared from her spot before reappearing beside Iris in an instant. She swung her sword with destructive might.

BOOM!

A massive shock wave reverberated from the summit and knocked the ill prepared on their butt. The wave could be felt throughout the sect but despite the power of the strike, her blade struggled to push forward, blocked by Iris' blade. The attack had managed to knock Iris back all the way to the edge of the summit but no more.

"Is that really the best you can do even with the help of the of the Remnants?"

Pascal backed away and grit her teeth. She immediately levitated her sword and shouted: "Split!"

The blade splintered into twelve identical copies of each other.

"Essence endowment!" Each sword infused with the essence of lightning which began to circle in front of her.

Eleven swords shot into the clouds and the sound of thunder echoed out. The air was electrified and for a moment, everything was still before a large crackle scored across the sky.

A bolt of lightning struck down which Iris quickly dodged. The area which was struck was scorched and red to the point of melting. In its place was one of the split swords.

The clouds continue to cackle with the thunderous sounds as more lightning rained down, each one stronger than the last.

Iris could no longer play around and actively deflected the empowered lightning swords. Being a user of the lightning essence as well, she was able to deflect them away with relative strength but did not seem to care where they ended up as they ended flying off the mountain. Several of the elders were forced to spring into action and shield the disciples below from the stray lightning blades.

The seventh lightning blade descended and this time, Iris was having noticeably more difficult time deflecting it. Using this chance, Pascal appeared and flashed her blade at that exact moment.

"Essence endowment." Iris' blade shrouded with the essence of lightning and quickly deflected the lightning strike before meeting Pascal's attack.

Pascal fell back and the eighth lightning blade descended.

She struck down, breaking apart the summit into large boulders and launching them in an explosive fury. The essence of lightning was the most explosive and destructive of the essences and it was here, many disciples could see it in full view.

Iris struck hard against the lightning bolt before slashing across horizontally. Instantly, every boulder aimed at her exploded at the same time, crumbling into dust. Iris could be seen panting somewhat heavily having successfully blocked the attack but there was still a smile to both mock and gesture to her sister of the vast differences between them.

Pascal clenched her teeth until blood dripped down from her mouth. It was there, the air began to undulate, and the spectators down below could feel the power of her cultivation base reach them.

"She's using her life essence, her cultivation will suffer greatly in the future," the man beside elder Shin muttered to himself.

Her cultivation base shot up sharply.

Iris knitted her brow as she felt the danger of the situation.

Pascal slowly raised her hand, and for a moment, there was silence. She proceeded to gesture her hand down.

The clouds loudly cackled three times, followed by three flashes of lightning.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ninth lightning bolt struck down, followed by the tenth and then the eleventh in quick succession. At the same moment, Pascal crossed the summit and launched a dazzling sword strike. Even at the Grand Creation realm, Iris wouldn’t come out of this unscathed if nothing was done.

Iris breathed deeply as she watched the whole thing unfold in front of her. She lifted her hand where white ethereal threads were wrapped around her arm.

She spoke in an aggressive tone: With the essence of lightning, birthed from creation, come forth, the power of the Lightning Dao!"

As she finished her words, the entire sky seemed to light up for a split second, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The blinding light was followed by a large explosion. When their eyes adjusted, they saw elder Pascal sprawled on the crowd, a fourth of the mountain had disappeared. The three lightning swords were no where to be seen, disintegrated by the power invoked by Iris.

Pascal coughed up blood, heavily injured as Iris laughed, “Did you really think you had a chance of beating me?”