This was previously cut material from between Chapter 034 and 035 that showed one of Serph's failed fights. It is not as long as a regular chapter. Consider it as supplementary material that is still canon to the main story.

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"Grandmaster?" Serph said.

"What is it?" said Kongming.

"Why is it that Akiza is strong enough to beat a Lord Stage Spirit Beast while I cannot even defeat Spirit Stage one?" Serph asked.

"Akiza possesses a few unique traits, but most of all, her special skill grants her a lot of strength," said Kongming. "On the other hand, your Spirit is more defensive."

"Does that mean I will never be as strong as her?" Serph asked.

"It means you are better at different things," said Kongming. "You must never equate the strength that someone has to how much power they have. There are those that can use it better and the result is a much stronger attack overall."

"What do you mean by use it better?" asked Serph. "I mean, if one person has more Internal Energy they are stronger."

"There are times when that is not the case," explained Kongming. "If you have 100 Internal Energy and Akiza had 200 Internal Energy, she would naturally have more right?"

"Yes," said Serph.

"But what if I told you that she was consuming all 200 for an attack while you were only using 50 for the same attack," said Kongming.

"How is that possible?" asked Serph.

"It has to do with how well one can focus their energy," said Kongming. "Akiza's style is wild and her flames spread all round, it is not a focused attack. Your shield on the other hand defends a fairly small area, it is focused and consumes much less Internal Energy. Akiza's definitely looks more powerful, but unless she can concentrate it into a small area, it is not very strong, that is why she relies on the same few techniques."

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Serph found a powerful Spirit Grade Black Turtle near a pool of water in the forest. It had a formidable defense. Serph remembered that when he fought the other turtle with Akiza, they had to work together. This time, he was alone, but he remembered the strategy.

Serph spread out several swords on the floor before he engaged it. With his first attack, he charged in "Sonic Leap!" he shouted. His sword pierced the tough hide of the turtle's left leg.

"OOOOOMMMMM," the turtle roared. It focused its attention on Serph.

"Now to get the other leg," he said to himself. Serph carefully watched the movement of the turtle.

The turtle retracted into its shell and spun. "Crap!" shouted Serph as he backed off.

But it was too late. The turtle coming straight for him and there was nothing that he could do. He raised his sword in front of him to block.

BOOM. The turtle crashed against something in front of him, but it was not him. It was Kongming.

"You had a thoughtout plan," said Kongming. "But you were not prepared when it did something you did not expect."

"Yes," said Serph. "I thought that it would act like the turtle that I fought with Akiza, but it was different."

"Just because two things look similar does not mean they are the same," said Kongming. "While it is good to have a lot of knowledge, it is useless if you fail to interpret it properly."

"Yes Master, thank you for the assistance," said Serph.