The two students stand at odds in the training yard. Their fellow students form a circle around them, and Master Cloud watches from the sky with his hands held behind his back. One side of the circle is occupied by a tall brunette boy wielding a spear. The other side of the circle is occupied by a dark haired girl wielding a staff.

"Begin!" Master Cloud shouts from the sky.

The boy dashes across the packed dirt ground with his spear held tightly in one hand; His eyes watch the girl's movements as she takes a semi-defensive stance.

The girl's knuckles turn white with her grip as she holds her staff at the ready; She stares down the bow as he moves to close the gap.

"Your usual tactics aren't going to work today, Fang Chen!" The boy shouts.

Fang's eyes narrow as she swings her staff upwards, and the spear's tip collides with the wood. Splinters form on the sturdy wooden staff much to Fang's surprise, and she kicks upwards to try and knock his spear away.

The boy leaps back, and his spear is tossed up into the air for a moment; He catches it before it falls, and with the new grip he is able to stab at her several times without pause.

"You've gotten better-!" Fang taunts.

His spear is quick, but Fang's staff is quicker. She smacks away his weapon each time he pushes it in for the attack; The sound of metal on wood fills the training yard as the onlookers hold their breath in anticipation.

Dust begins to kick up as the boy moves his feet like lightning; Up and down they dance in a duet of battle whilst occasionally taunting the other with a quick comment on their performance. Eventually the two of them push each other back, and stand staring at one another with a mere six meters between them.

The boy and Fang are both breathing heavily whilst sweat drips down their bodies.

Several onlookers are whispering as they point out how Fang Chen's staff is covered in cuts and cracks; They're predicting she'll lose this battle as her weapon's durability fails her. The boy with the spear hears them, and his confidence gradually returns.

"It's time we end this little game, Fang!" He shouts.

Feng Chen readies her staff with a look of determination on her face; The boy leaps up and comes down at her with his spear held at length, yet when he's within reach he lets go and changes his grip in an instant. The move proves deadly, and Feng coughs up blood as the spear stabs straight through her stomach.

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Elder Cloud directs two muscular man wearing the academy uniform to break up the fight. One man then gives Feng Chen a rather aromatic herb, and places her on a stretcher. The two of them carry her off to the infirmary while the crowd erupts into cheers and cries of dismay.

"Yuze Wang is the victor! He will be promoted to the jade tier!" Elder Cloud announces.

Qian stares with wide eyes at Yuze. The stark contrast between Yuze's demeanor on the battle field and in the dormitory is startling, and a little unsettling for Qian.

~

"Wood tier! Will any of you be challenging the stone tier?" Elder Cloud asks loudly.

Qian's fists are clenched at his sides as he steps forward along with almost half of the wood tier students. Elder Cloud's eyes rest on Qian's rage filled expression as the old man considers what sort of hazing might have ignited such a fire in Qian's heart.

"You, Qian Li." Elder Cloud points to Qian.

Qian steps forward from the group of wood tier volunteers, and several other wood tier students groan in frustration.

"You'll be fighting Guanting Lau." Elder Cloud beckons to a stone tier boy.

Guanting is a rather stocky boy with a shaved head. The two of them are pushed into the center of the training yard as a ring of onlookers is formed for the umpteenth time that day. This time Qian stands at odds with Guanting, and the two of them glare fiercely at one another.

"Poor street rats like you should stay in the gutter." Guanting taunts.

Qian doesn't reply, and instead simply pulls his dirty bronze sword off his back. Guanting punches his fists into one another, and roars like a wild animal. Elder Cloud doesn't interfere with their interaction, and starts the fight.

"Begin!" Elder Cloud shouts.

The crowd is making bets on how long Qian will last under Guanting's granite fist technique, while a small majority are hoping for the underdog to pull through and whoop Guanting soundly. Of course those hoping Qian wins aren't actually expecting it to happen.

Guanting stomps forward like an elephant as his bare feet slap the packed dirt ground. He smiles wildly as he swings one fist, and instead of dodging Qian simply lifts his blade upwards. The motion is accompanied by a hiss, and then a searing heat wave blasts the crowd. Everyone is shocked, and Guanting's forehead is stained with sweat as he stumbles backwards.

"W-What was that?!" Guanting stammers.

"That was me blocking your attack." Qian says slowly.

Guanting looks at his fist, and his eyes widen as he sees black burns covering his knuckles. He would've lost his hand if not for his granite fist technique, yet Qian isn't even winded after using such a powerful move on him.

"And this, is me attacking you!" Qian yells suddenly.

The flash of orange light is bright enough that most of the crowd has to look away, yet Elder Cloud maintains his gaze on the battle. Qian's strange sword flashes like lightning only to leave a huge burning cut across Guanting's body. Thankfully the stone tier boy's body enhancement is enough to protect his life, but his body is marred by a huge burn scar.

The burly uniformed men hurry onto the scene, and Guanting is hauled away on a stretcher with several herbal remedies being applied as they go. The crowd is in shock, and many of them call Qian a monster for lacking sportsmanship in such a lethal strike.

Elder Cloud looks at Qian with slight confusion. Qian himself probably didn't notice, but Elder Cloud can tell Qian's skin has grown fairer, and his hair lengthened by more than a centimeter. The changes are subtle, yet they grow significant in tandem.

Elder Cloud pushes these thoughts aside, and announces the victor.

"Qian Li is the victor! He will be promoted to stone tier!" Elder Cloud shouts.