Classes are all on pause today because of the tournament. Thankfully there isn’t much delay as it’s scheduled to start at 10:00am.

No fighting will occur until 12:00pm though. Instead its just some time waste ceremony where they thank a bunch of important people for coming, give redundant speeches, and introduce all the contestants.

Apparently that’s how it always goes with these academy tournaments.

I wander around the courtyard, checking the trees for Baro, as though I’m searching for a cat. That baldy is way too good at hiding.

The mocking kids makes it much more annoying. I quickly run out of patience and decide it’s best to just check in and make my way to my dorm.

Haven’t been there a while. I barely stay at this academy. This academy had long lost my respect, so I don’t attend classes anymore. Besides, my home is way nicer. There’s better food and it’s much quieter too.

There is no way I can cultivate as peacefully in this academy.

The only reason I’m even heading to my dorm is because I can wait there in peace. With the tournament taking place practically every student is jn the main courtyard.

Those dorms are bound to be empty. My intent is to avoid unnecessary conflict and attention until the tournament starts. It’s the perfect spot to lay low at.

As I approach the ticket booth lady, I’m taken aback.

I wasn’t paying much attention yesterday, but now that I see her up close… the ticket booth lady is actually really cute. Red-hair, freckles, and wearing a cool teal summer dress. She’s likely in her early 20s.

“What’s your name, little one,” she says with a sweet smile.

“It’s Ash. Now tell me yours, beautiful.” I say out loud. She looks at me with a mix of shock and confusion, as if she wasn’t sure she heard me right. I was just as shocked, I’m not even sure if I heard myself right.

Baro told me I been acting a lot more confident since passing the ritual, I thought it was just in his head till now.

“It’s Joane, and I’m a qi master at Sec university,” She said with an expressionless face. She really wiped that shocked look off quickly.

Sec university is the number one post-secondary education facility in the kingdom. A place of great prestige that routinely gives way to incredible masters.

That’s what the alley folk told me at least. As far as first impressions go, not good.

A qi master? Really? Yikes. I’m half her height and probably less than half her age too. At this rate I’m going to go from confident to arrogant savant.

I told her to make sure to watch my fights today as I left. It’s best I don’t overstay my welcome or force conversations in a situation like that.

There are other students behind me and she has a job to do, no need to make myself into a distraction.

Whether she chooses to watch or not I really don’t care. Honestly I’m starting to enjoy the shenanigans I can get away with as a six year old.

Still the bullying is absurd. The entire time I heard mocking voices in the background. Well it’s as Sect Master always says:

Don’t concern yourself with the opinions of trash.

Though I’m not sure if it’s healthy to think of my fellow students as trash. They’re just going with the flow I guess, maybe they’ll wisen up and recycle their trashy attitudes into something worthwhile.

I need to focus. In my mind there is only one person worth thinking about in this tournament. I can see his shiny bald head and flaming fists so clearly.

No doubt he’ll have a whole new arsenal of techniques this time around. I need to prepare myself for a fight with Baro.

No offence to my pupil.

Though her cultivation is fantastic, all her techniques were taught by me. I can’t imagin her beating me with what she learned a week ago, when I have years of experience plus more advanced techniques to rely on.

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As I make my way through the school’s drab and bland halls, I can’t help but frown. This school is named after the kingdom, and there’s no glory or prestige to it at all.

It makes me sick.

All the kids are outside at the moment, hyping each other up for the tournament. It’s good because there aren’t many kids around mocking me for no reason.

However there is a familiar looking fat old lady staring at me. I can’t figure out why she looks familiar, or why I feel inclined to dislike her.

It can’t be because she’s fat, to each their own afterall.

I try to mind my own business, but she’s waddling towards me. I try to walk faster to avoid the whole interaction entirely but suddenly she appears in front of me.

Holy crap that was a qi step technique. This woman is a practitioner.

“What do you want?” I say, before realizing how rude that was. I could have worded that way more politely.

“How dare you!” She says, slapping me across the face.

There wasn’t any qi behind it so I didn’t feel a thing… even still. How dare I? Bitch how dare you. Who does this pink haired beluga whale think she is?

“You’ve only attended two classes since the semester has started. You’ve fallen so far behind that a simple qi step is enough to make you shocked.”

What? Is she a teacher or something?

“All your other classmates have gone on to become true qi practitioners, a few able to do this very technique I was teaching yesterday. Meanwhile lazy trash like you just do nothing and expect everything. It’s pathetic.”

Oh no way, this is the bitch that teaches my class how to use qi. The same one who couldn’t stop a single students from attempting to lynch me.

I can’t help but wonder whether she even bothered to punish the other students for doing what they did.

“How dare you sign up for the tournament. Skipping class while those hard-working Sar brothers get ahead, you dishonour them with your entitlement. You antagonize all the other students in the academy, and think you’re better than them without doing anything. Lazy trash like you needs to be disciplined,” she says, pulling a ruler out of her back pocket.

No way she’s about to beat me... me the kid who’s literally getting picked on by everyone, who can’t even show his face without getting ridiculed.

Qi pulses through that ruler. She smirks, probably because of the sheer look of horror on my face right now.

My opinion on this woman who’s name I forgot comes rushing back in.

Barely a qi expert, and is extremely out if shape… yet is the qi teacher at a martial arts academy.

Her presence doesn’t command respect, and her power is so lacking that most her students will far surpass her in a few years.

It’s no mystery why a teacher like her lost control over all her students. Now she’s blaming me for that incident, like I was the one disrupting her class.

She wants me to withdraw?

She isn’t even trying to think about my situation here.

A bunch of people tried to lynch me, and she’s about to beat me for not going to class with those very people.

This woman is a delusional lunatic. I’m grateful to have had sect masters wisdom from my previous life instead of relying on her.

I start up my garbage breathing, preparing myself to take out some trash.

“And you’re still using that god awful incorrect breathing technique. I’ve had it with you!” she says smacking me across the face with that ruler.

She looks on in shock as the ruler break.

“Took the words right out of my mouth” I said as I jump up and grab her by the face.

She can’t even make a sound under the pressure of my toxi-grip.

My poison clear sight locks onto the nearest trashcan, with my other hand I use the toxi-grip to telekinetically hurl me and the teacher towards it.

She screams, unaware of whats going on. There aren’t any students around either.

A trash teacher is unfit to even teach about trash.

And you are so much worse.

The lid of the trashcan pops as I bring us within range.

“Return where you belong. Junk style, garbage dunk”

I slam her head first into the garbage can, using qi to stretch it over her thick figure.

She screams from within the trash can, though it's such a tight fit that the sound simply can not get out.

It was so fast she no doubt failed to realize what even happened.

Though the volume of the trash can has been forcefully increased beyond it’s capabilities, junk-fu is able to preserve its structural integrity.

Afterall, making the most of an available trash storage apparatus is the essence of Junk Fu.

Still, I’m not one to catch a body over some insignificant insults. I poke a hole where her nose would be. This is her punishment for being a terrible person and teacher.

I take out some disinfectant I made from some fermented alcohol and a tiny spray bottle I got from the auction. It’s always a good habit to keep yourself sanitized after handling trash.

With that I make my way back to my dormitory to peacefully cultivate before the start of this tournament.

I sort of fell asleep, to the point where I definitely missed the introduction ceremony. A glorified spectacle where they introduce all the participants one by one and do some commentary and honestly I don’t think I missed anything of value there.

Hopefully missing the ceremony doesn’t mean I get disqualified from the tournament. That would be very unfortunate.

I have a silent chuckle as I run by my waste of space of a teacher, who’s still stuck in the trashcan. I’m sure she’ll be fine. A body like hers has plenty of latent energy to call on when unable to eat.

I make my way back to the courtyard, where all the students and faculty along with many families are gathered around a fairly massive ring set up on an empty grass patch.

On my way I see Baro also sprinting with the exact same feverish wide-eyed look in his face that I must have right now.

Stupid baldy must have slept in too.

“You too, huh,” he says, beside me. He runs slightly faster, one of his mind games. I refuse to be the last one there.

“Your lazy attitude rubbed off on me too much,” I say back, sprinting further ahead.

“Normally if we miss the opening ceremony we’re disqualified… but I’m sure elder brother will pull a string or 2 to keep that from happening,” he says, bumping into me as he runs even faster.

At some point we both silently acknowledged that this will be a race without qi, and I refuse to lose.

“I get the feeling any favors from him won’t be so simple,” I say, shoulder checking him and edging ahead by a smidge. I give him a sly smirk, one that clearly says I am better than you.

“Brother always makes sure to take his pound of flesh,” Baro says, before checking me back. Damn near knocked me off balance. Felt like a frigging train swerved into me. Just what the hell has Charrock been feeding him?

As we run side by side I go to give him a headbutt, and his two cue ball brain cells somehow thought to do the same. As our heads crash against eachother, my eyes practically go white with rage.

The tension so thick it was as if electric sparks were buzzing between us. No doubt Baro had the same rage-induced expression on his face.

“You got a problem?” We say to each other, at the same time.

A voice in the distant calls out, one that neither of us hear in time.

“And without further ado, let the tournament begin!”

By the time the voice registered it was far too late. I was so distracted by his solar reflecting head that I picked up far too much speed.

There was simply no way for either of us to stop our sprint in time. We didn’t even notice the people jumping out of our way until it was too late.

We crash headfirst into the ring, managing to flip up over it and dead in the centre. Though that didn’t become clear until a moment of retrospect.

In the heat of the moment the only thing I could think about was how I definitely beat him by a hair.

“I won!” I declare triumphantly.

“In your dreams” Baro retorts, stepping into my space.

“You dare deny reality?” I say practically growling in his face.

“What you wanna go? I will fuck you up right now!” Baro says, spitting back. My head practically goes blank as some primal rage goes over.

“When I’m done with you I’m going to tattoo 0/3 onto that stupid bald head. Forget the tournament. I’m going to kick your ass RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!”