Tournament [1]

John, who had the weakest cultivation, knew he would get stuck up with whoever was the most undesirable and, by hazard, he found the grey man was in the same situation as him. The awkward situation between the duo persisted, and he broke the ice one and for all.

"Hey, pathway, ready to kick ass?"

"...What did you call me?!"

"Nevermind that, what's your name then?"

"Didn't you listen to the counselor? I'm Fumir Mountain."

"There were over five hundred people... It would be way too long to listen to each, so I just took my time to circle my Qi. So, what are your abilities?"

To this question, Fumir glanced right and left, avoiding to look towards John which started to feel a certain premonition. John's tried to deny the idea that was slowly crawling in his mind, but he still needed to see if he was right. Fumir, signing, prepared himself to tell the truth which everybody in the group who listened to his small bickering with the counselor knew when he suddenly froze to John's thrusting his fist to close to his nose which blew away his hairs and his mind.

"Did you even fight once in your life?" *Sigh*

Still dazed, he needed a few moments to plan an accurate response.

"N-... No.., my family focus on our mind as our bloodline, we are renown for our work in alchemy, array's formation and talisman. It's just that my kind rapidly develop their body in their youth so the counselor me in this section against the best of my effort to change his mind as he thought it was a waste of my potential."

"I agree with him, but, please, tell me you know techniques that could be useful, right?"

"Of course, I'm particularly good with telekinesis."

This relieved John's worries as he already thought how Fumir could fling someone's hand or limb at a crucial moment for him to strike. Getting excited as he imagined the famous psychics able to fling forest with their mind or produce tornadoes at their own will, he took his stance while looking at his partner.

"Show me your power."

Fumir took a deep breath and intensively looked at John who felt a small breeze.

"Don't worry about me, just do it."

"I just did it?"

"... do it again."

John's idea started to crawl again as he saw Fumir fully concentrate with his hand pointed towards his body. Fumir's forehead slowly dampened under his intense focus. John felt a medium breeze.

"... are you kidding me?!"

"IT isn't my fault."

"Then who's at fault?!"

"Who told you to be 100 times bigger than a plant!?"

John couldn't handle it anymore and started to search for a hidden partner he may have missed in the surrounding group, but the only thing he saw was people snickering at his expense. Finding no way out of his predicament, he focused on the task, discover any value to the grey blob next to him. He turned around himself for a few moments before leaning towards Fumir's ear.

"Alright, are you confident with controlling spit or sand?"

"I'm more confident with sand as we sometimes use it to associate certain materials together, for the spit, it needs to be outside the body as I can't penetrate the insides because the person's Qi won't allow any intrusion.

"Here's what you going to do. First, whenever I spit or throw some sands I'll get soon, attack our opponents' eyes or other sensible regions of the same kind. You could also pinpoint all your power to ... nevermind that. Your second task is just to escape whoever comes after you or just defend with your body natural defense."

"I'll do my possible."

"By the way, don't you have talismans or other objects on you?"

"I didn't any since I just planned to join my family after the selection and help the business, you know? My family tested my abilities three years before the selection and my talent wasn't that high to get in here... I had a natural breakthrough when I built a blood talisman so I guess my talent upgraded just enough."

"Oh, a natural breakthrough, you are sure are lucky."

Bending over, John discreetly took some dirt and sand to store it in his pocket, to his dismay, so his partner could somewhat help him. Seeing the other participants confident in themselves, he circulated his Qi around his body and stimulated his body to be prepared for the incoming fights. The talks suddenly stopped as the atmosphere changed and the group turned towards the instructor who just finished to write an array on the group and was accumulating some Qi in between his hands.

"HA!'

He slapped the ground which elevated itself on his will. When the structure was completed, he could see a flat ground, which he imagined would be their arena. Stairs allowed access to the platform on the four sides of the square and four pillars stood on the corners. The glyphs on the pillar resemble those on the runic sword he found a few years ago. Departing from these pillars was a transparent membrane that seems to englobe the fighting area. Oddly enough, on the top of each pillar was a muscular nude woman with wings spawning in her back and a skull instead of the head. The art was weird but John didn't totally find it out of taste.

"First rule, don't cripple or kill your opponent, that should be obvious but still, it's pretty sad that I need to specify it. Second rule, if your opponent forfeit or isn't able to continue to fight, you can't attack him unless you want to meet my fist."

The students looked at his fist whose size was pretty much half of their head. Anyone who harbored such intentions immediately banished their ideas from their minds.

"Alright, let's not wait anymore, grey man versus mini-miss over there."

The female dwarf looked over the duo grinning while she patted her war hammer delicately.

"This beauty fought against the strongest metals and beasts alike; Today, I'll introduce it to some twigs."

The young woman laughed as she climbed on the ring while her partner followed her seemingly embarrassed by her low-brow humor. The duo entered the arena by the opposing side while listening to the bets around which of them would stay the longer at the infirmary.

Still angered by the insult which targeted his physique which he worked all these years to polish to it's optimum and the different bets, John couldn't hold it anymore and needed an outlet to his anger.

"So, since when did we accept buffed goblin in this academy? Is it because of the glorified stick the creature holds?"

The crowd burst in cheers and laughed more enthusiastic about the fight as that tirade even cause the instructor to lift his lip a bit. He looked distraught for a moment, lost in his memories.

The angered dwarf didn't wait for him to launch the starting signal as she directly started the action with her dash towards John with her elevated weapon. Meanwhile, her partner readied his sword while following her abrupt attack. John's firmly set his foot on the ground infront of him while he unsheathed his sword. His other free hand, which already contained the rubish material sprung into action as he threw it at the male dwarf. Fumir, despite his nervousness, immediately clouded the area ahead of the dwarf while he directed the small components towards his eyes and nostrils.

This interruption allowed John to clash with his adversary with impunity as he deflected her hammer with a slick of his sword redirecting the force as he lifted his foot firmly set and burst his kick at her hand holding the hammer. She tried to intercept, but she was too slow as her weapon flung on the ground. Not disheartened by that, she swiftly countered his sudden advantage by grabbing leg by one hand and used her armguard on the other arm to deflect the sword. Her close-combat helped her as his sword couldn't reach her. Then, she used her whole force to lift John over her head, intending to slam him into the ground. However, she didn't expect his triple burst kick: in her face, on the of her head and her back head.

John, seeing her knocked out, planned to reduce the impact with his sword, but he saw an incoming blade when he got a glimpse at what was happening behind him. Forced to deflect the attack to the best of his abilities, he let his left shoulder endure the aftermath of gravity. He quickly retreated and took back his stance even though his rival slightly lacerated his left leg. The male dwarf didn't let John took his breath back as he thrust his sword which got hit to the side by the sudden burst of John's arm. John then rotated his right leg filled with Qi towards the dwarf as he applied an unpleasant into his poor screaming muscles. The male dwarf defended himself with his arms, getting pushed back to the unconscious girl which caused him to trip. Seizing this opportunity, John applied his weapon on his opponent's neck before he could recover from his fall.

The defeated lifted his arms in a forfeit as the crowd, surprised by the turn of events, applauded the fighters for the marvelous display. Still, many wondered how John could overcome his opponents when his body's stage was lower than his opponents. Perceiving the occasion to switch into teacher mode, the bear-like man didn't waste it.

"I see that many of you are confused, thereby, let me tell you a legend that everybody probably knows. Albert Thorodore, the man reputed to have built arrays impenetrable for centuries, legend said that he could invoke thunder with as much Qi that you currently possess as his formations were that great. The body's stages resemble the story as when your stage rises, your body can handle more Qi inside of it, but this doesn't mean you automatically become stronger as you all know you need a certain lapse of time to acclimate yourself to that newfound power after a breakthrough. John, however, with his superb foundation, can handle Qi much better than all of you I can guess and not waste any potential. He may have less of it, but the efficiency, substitute his lack of Qi."

While everybody listened to the teachings, the male dwarf surprised John as he took his hand with a strong grip.

"Excuse her for the previous lack of virtue, she loves to fight and was wrongly letdown by fighting the two of you. That'll be a great lesson for her to not judge by their appearance, or in your case, your cultivation. You can call me Honir, the sleeping beauty over there is Helma. Don't hesitate to call us if you ever need training partners. We respect great warriors like-"

Honir stared back at Fumir.

"We respect a great warrior like you."

Honir went back to retrieved Helma as John listened to the instructor as he got attended by a healer. After the explanation, John silently observed his Fumir out of breath and knock out cold after such a small scuffle thought to himself: This will be a long tournament - and short.