Matching the peerless part I

After Robert's invitation to compete, many of the candidates felt threatened; however, there was one who did not back down.

"Can I try?"

On the left side of the platform, the voice of a 10-year-old boy rang out loud and clear among those present.

"Who is he?"

"Wait, isn't that Hyu?"

"Who is Hyu? Is he strong?"

"Strong? Not at all, he's actually the weakest in our dojo."

"What? How can someone like him have the guts to challenge someone as prodigious as Robert?"

The boy's companions, now recognized as Hyu, noticed him and began murmuring behind his back.

Many derogatory comments spread across the platform, and within seconds, everyone had concluded that Hyu was the weakest among them. Despite this, Hyu approached the test area and bowed respectfully to his instructor. He seemed to be waiting for her orders.

Chapter 4 part I: Matching the peerless

"State your name, and you may begin."

"My name is Hyu, Hyu Park. It's an honor to be instructed by you, Miss Kaina."

After introducing himself, Hyu adjusted his breathing. It was different from that of the first three participants, more unique. This was noted by Izuru, who began silently observing Hyu.

Hyu gathered the surrounding Qi and directed it to his right fist. Sensing the distinctive smell of Qi, Kaina glanced at the young candidate. She was impressed that someone so young could control Qi, though it had its flaws. Usually, one spends decades learning to use Qi in the way Hyu was doing.

With all the energy accumulated in his right arm, Hyu took one last breath and threw a powerful punch.

"Ha…!"

"Huh? What are you doing, Hyu? Why are you stopping?"

Kaina was confused. The punch's power, speed, and angle were perfect; without a doubt, he could have scored more than 50 points and passed the test with ease. Yet he stopped. He changed his stance and asked his instructor.

"Excuse me, ma'am, may I strike with my left arm?"

"What? Are you left-handed?"

"Uh, no, it's just that I have more strength in my left arm."

"What?"

Kaina seemed disappointed; she had expected a more coherent response. But before she could say anything, Hyu insisted.

"Please, ma'am! My stronger hand is the left! I promise I won't disappoint you!"

Hyu bowed once again before his instructor, who was already annoyed. But if little Hyu wasn't lying, the sect would lose a valuable martial artist, and she couldn't forgive herself for that.

"Fine, fine, you can use your left. But if you keep delaying the test, I'll personally make sure you never become a martial artist. Is that clear?"

Kaina's aura began to expand around the area, scaring Hyu and the other nearby candidates. Even Izuru swallowed nervously.

"Yes, ma'am, I won't fail you!"

Hyu gave one last bow before getting into position. The Qi in his left arm was much less than what he had gathered in his right; however, his posture, strength, speed, and technique were enough to decide the outcome.

31 points.

"What?! Did he really score more than 30?"

"But how? He's the weakest in our dojo."

"Does that mean it's not as hard as it seems?"

"Think about it, Hyu scored 31, Kelly 30, the guy with black hair 70, Robert 132, and the teacher 175. Kelly sacrificed strength for speed, and everyone else balanced their skills. Maybe the real average is 70 points or less; anything beyond that is exceptional."

Hyu's companions reached this conclusion while watching Hyu, now on his knees, celebrating his victory.

"We might even score more than 70!"

Upon hearing that, Hyu tried to hide a mischievous smile. A smile that was noticed by Izuru, who was still watching Hyu as he headed to the rest area along with the other three.

"I'll wait a little longer, something tells me the real test is about to start."

Meanwhile, with the elders...

"Hmm, what did you think of that boy?"

An elder in a gray robe asked his peers, though it seemed more like a challenge to them.

"I'd say that punch was much stronger than it seemed. In fact, at the speed it was going and the contraction of his muscles, I'd say that punch shouldn't have even lifted 10 points."

An elderly woman with gray hair spoke while watching the young Hyu with curiosity.

"It's the opposite of the first punch he threw; the strength and speed of that punch were incredible for someone his age."

"Whatever the case, he did it. I believe there are special talents scattered across the world. Perhaps he is one of them."

An elder with a doctor's coat and a well-groomed beard spoke to his brothers, seemingly the youngest among those present.

"Does anyone else want to volunteer..."

"I want to go! Please, let me!"

"Wait! I raised my hand first!"

"You're crazy, it's up to Instructor Kaina to choose!"

The excitement was palpable. Whoever this Hyu was, he certainly knew how to liven up the atmosphere. At this point, almost all the participants had heard the rumors about Hyu, so they concluded that the first test was the easiest of all.

"Fools," Izuru muttered to himself before walking away from the crowd.

In the rest area, Hyu sat on a nearby bench, where he had a good view of what was happening in the test area.

"To think you caused all that commotion."

Kelly approached Hyu, who was only a few steps away. With a friendly smile, she tried to strike up a conversation with him.

"N-no... Why are they acting like that?"

Hyu seemed nervous. The way he fidgeted with his hands backed up his behavior. Perhaps it wasn't Kelly's proximity, but the stares of Robert and Pyo Wol that made him feel so uneasy.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Scoring 1 point more than me. Why did you do it if you could have competed against Robert with your right hand?"

Hyu smiled, dropped his mask, and answered without hesitation.

"Because I wanted everyone else to think that 30 points is low."

"What a sadistic kid,"

Robert and Pyo Wol said in unison, realizing that Hyu was planning to make the candidates overconfident and rely on brute strength instead of technique.

"Why not play along?"

Pyo Wol suggested.

"Let's see what your intentions are, Hyu Park,"

Robert said, accepting Pyo Wol's proposal.

Back in the test area, a tall, muscular boy was preparing his best punch.

"If Hyu could do it, then we all can."

"Haah!"

He struck the machine with all his strength, and the result came in.

"4 points. You're disqualified. I suppose I don't need to tell you where the exit is," the instructor said in a cold voice.

"Wait! That punch could knock down even my father. How is it possible that it didn't even reach 10 points?!"

"If what you say is true, then your father should eat better. Next!"

Kaina said mockingly while the boy stared in disbelief at his result. Was this the end? Why did this happen? Hyu passed, does that mean everyone who spoke ill of Hyu were liars?

"Damn bastards!"

He shouted angrily at Hyu's companions, who only laughed at him.

"It seems there is someone weaker than Hyu."

This comment only enraged the participant, who decided to attack the candidate. However, he was stopped by one of the sect's disciples.

"You shouldn't be angry about what others say. They didn't hit the machine for you, you did. It's your fault you failed. Now, Yakuza, take him out of the sect,"

Kaina ordered with authority.

The participant could only watch as he was led away from the sect, along with all his hopes of becoming a martial artist.

The next challenger came up, brimming with confidence.

"Say your name before you start."

"Leonard."

"All right, Leonard, you can start with the test."

Kaina didn't have high expectations of him, but what Leonard did left her speechless. Did that boy really... try to copy the punch with which Robert had reached 132 points?

The result was as bad as his copy attempt... 7 points.

Kaina sighed. It was the most pathetic punch attempt she had ever seen.

"Although, with sheer brute force she got a 7. That's closer to a 10 than a 0. Okay, Leonard, you move on to the next test. This year I can't be so strict. We have too few disciples and the threat of a probable war. Even if your score wasn't a 10 as planned, you can become a martial artist"

She thought as he pointed to the rest area to Leonard.

Next!

The mood had dropped, and the eliminations were starting to appear.

"Four points? You're out."

"What a poorly done technique."

"Are you looking to injure yourself? Because you'll get it soon if you keep hitting like that. Out."

After only five eliminated contenders, the atmosphere of safety and confidence had completely disappeared. Thanks to the lack of volunteers, Kaina was forced to choose participants at random, and, to Izuru's misfortune, his turn came earlier than he wanted it to.

"Say your name before you start."

"Izuru, just Izuru..."

Agh, he looks like an emo, though he doesn't dress like one), Kaina thought before replying:

"Alright, you can start."

"He's the one recommended by Rain. He must have something special, but based on the bulk of his muscles, I doubt he's ever worked out before. There's no record of him knowing any martial arts either. What caught your eye about him? What does he have that I don't? Pray tell me, your majesty"

She thought this last part as he looked to the sky for answers.

Meanwhile, in Izuru's mind, "From the time I was just a baby, my parents knew I would be different. At an early age I learned to read, talk, walk and even speak several languages."

"All I know..."

"Hum?"

"It's just that everything I can see, is something I can do."

Kaina froze for a moment. Izuru's breathing became similar to Hyu's, and she could immediately notice the smell of Qi.

This kid can manipulate Qi too? But he's not even six years old...

Although she was impressed by such a feat, what she saw next ended up surprising her.

"It was something like this... and this... then..."

The sound of the machine being hit by something heavy was the only thing heard on that entire platform. Izuru had copied the instructor's punch perfectly, and the result was astounding.

"131 points!"

"He's another genius."

"How amazing."

"He gave Robert competition."

Kaina gulped. That was just a basic punch, performed by a child less than six years old and without any prior training. She had already understood why Rain had chosen him.

"Izuru... you move on to the next test."

Izuru did not respond. He was staring at the result with a serious and annoyed look on his face: he couldn't beat Robert.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue before leaving for the rest area.

The test went on for the next two hours, with no one standing out in a good way.

The last challenger's turn came. The boy looked thin, wasn't very tall and also couldn't control Qi, as it should be in a boy his age.

"Say your name before you start."

"Rin Ikari."

"Ikari? Like Sae Ikari?"

"Right, Sae is my older brother."

"It's great to have someone else from the Ikari family. I have high expectations of you,"

He said before yielding to her towards the machine.

Rin looked neutral. After watching the little competition between the prodigies, she just wanted them to shine a little before dulling their glow.

A sigh was released before she prepared herself for the test.

He adjusted his breathing. Kaina could see it immediately: it was the same way Sae Ikari, the current strongest disciple of the entire sect, breathed.

It was said that even his techniques and skills allowed him to hold a 20-minute battle with Master Liu, and right now she had her younger brother in front of her, breathing the same way Sae did.

His posture was less refined, his muscles were less trained and no trace of Qi could be perceived inside him. It was very different from Sae.

Rin prepared her strike and fired with precision towards the machine.

The result was clear.

"170 points. No surprise from you, very well done. You move on to the next test."

Izuru was annoyed. Not only had he been bested by Robert, but now an even more impressive prodigy had appeared. Needless to say, the elders were more than happy to have a new member of the Ikari family in their sect.

Out of a total of 3,000 applicants, only 35 had been approved.

"Very well, applicants. We will soon begin the second test, but first I would like to make an announcement. All those who passed the first test are now officially part of the cult. The remaining three tests will be used to create a dossier for you. This file will record your performance in each test, which will allow the masters to choose their disciples. On the other hand, you will also be given a file with the information of all the available masters, so you will be able to choose your master, if you reach an agreement with one, of course."

This news made the applicants happy and worried. Now they only had to try to perform well in the following tests to attract the attention of a teacher.

"That said, let's move on to the next test."

Kaina snapped her fingers again like the first time, and this time a new object the size of an adult person appeared, with several holes around it.

"With the help of this machine we will test your reaction speed. Again, I will give you a sample."

Kaina gave a simple glance to one of her disciples and he immediately grasped the order. After pressing a button, rocks the size of fists shot out at high speed, but Kaina dodged them with the greatest of ease with just a set of her feet.

Fifteen minutes later, the demonstration was over because the machine ran out of rocks to throw. Immediately, Kaina's disciple began to refill the machine again.

"Well, I guess that helped them understand how the machine works. Keep in mind that if you can't take it anymore, you can give up. The result will be evaluated at the end of the test or when you give up."

Kaina shook out her clothes, full of dust raised during the demonstration.

"Then who will be the first?"

Robert, Pyo Wol, Izuru and Hyu were clear: they were going to compete. Their looks showed their eagerness to bury their opponents under their achievements.

"I'll go first," they said in unison before looking at each other again.

"Oh... we have a little competition over here,"

Said Kaina with a smile, seeing five of the top performers together and ready to compete. Even Kelly wanted to participate, though she wasn't as competitive as the rest.

"All right, Robert, you'll be first."

With a confident smile, Robert positioned himself closer than recommended. He started the test, and immediately cursed his arrogance. The rocks were coming out at great speed, and though he looked for the perfect moment to back up, he simply could not. If he did, he risked being hit by one of the rocks and the test would be over.

After dodging 120 rocks, Robert gave up. He was tired and his legs were shaking, but he avoided showing weakness to the other participants.

"Hyu Park, you're next."

Hyu was not far behind. He positioned himself right where Robert had done it, started breathing and again, Kaina could notice the trace of Qi in him.

"I'm ready."

Immediately, the machine was activated. Hyu's senses were at maximum. He was moving almost as fast as Kaina, but his low stamina caused him to lose his rhythm and on rock 98 he was hit, thus stopping the test.

"Tsk, that's what I get for not taking things seriously before I joined the cult."

He stepped off the platform somewhat frustrated. He felt he could do better, but still lost to Robert.

"Kelly."

"Say no more."

Before anyone knew it, Kelly was in front of the machine. A confident smile graced her face as she stared at the holes in the machine.

"This will be easy."

The machine was activated, and Kelly seemed to take the test as child's play. Although she stopped right at the 119 rocks, she didn't want to overshadow her little brother after all.

"Easy," she said before stepping off the platform.

"Pyo Wol."

"No way, it's time to give it a try."

With his hands in his pockets and yawning, he gave the order to turn on the machine, although he seemed to be taking it easy and gave up after reaching 109 points.

"I guess I won't be the last,"

he said, looking at Hyu with a smirk.

"Izuru, it's your turn."

Izuru had never discovered that competitive side of him before. He supposed that the fact that he had always been the most prodigious in the place had something to do with it, but just now, as he stared at the machine, he understood: he really hated the feeling of being second.

A cocky smile appeared on his face. His eyes could easily follow those rocks, but his body didn't react as fast. He wasn't that athletic, so he gave up just before overtaking Robert.

However, one of the rocks the machine threw was kicked hard. The sound of the rock hitting one of the platform walls caught everyone's attention, who turned to look at the person responsible.

"Just set your eyes on me, I'll show you how the future King does it."

Rin Ikari spoke. From him came that great pressure. Kaina felt it; even though he was not as great as his brother was, he was undoubtedly the most impressive contender of all those present.

Rin not only placed himself closer than any other participant, but it didn't matter from what angle the stones came from: he dodged them all. And so it went on for 15 minutes, until the machine ran out of stones and the test was over.

"What will come out of this competition of prodigies?"

An hour later, the top 10 looked like this:

Top 1: Rin Ikari, test completed.

Top 2: Robert/Izuru, gave up at 120 points.

Top 3: Kelly, gave up at 119 points.

Top 4: Pyo Wol, gave up 109 points.

Top 5: Hyu Park, lost with 98 points.

Top 6: Eren Hendrickson, surrendered with 93 points.

Top 7: Etsu Kazumi, lost with 90 points.

Top 8: Hoshisure Namioka, surrendered with 84 points.

Top 9: Itagaki Manabu, lost with 73 points.

Top 10: Akito Asahi, lost with 69 points.

"Okay, we can move on to the next test."

Kaina snapped her fingers again, and a capsule the size of a thumb appeared. She took it in her hands, injected Qi into it, and then threw it away. Out of that small capsule came a large-sized room.

"So this is what the realm can do with higher technology? -Izuru whispered in amazement."

"Don't you think it's a little late to be surprised?" -asked Robert, surprised.

"Hey, in my world there are people capable of summoning things, but there is no technology capable of doing this, so that's why I'm surprised."

"How interesting."

"For the next test, your ability to memorize things will be determined. Inside this room there are at least 50 randomly arranged buttons. All you have to do is touch them in the correct order. As usual, I will give you a demonstration."

Kaina took a quick look at the order of the buttons and gave the order to one of her disciples to press one. After pressing it, all the buttons began to mix at high speed. After 15 seconds, they stopped and the demonstration began.

With elegance and speed, Kaina arranged the buttons in the correct order in just 3 minutes. After finishing the demonstration, she pressed the last button and the buttons shuffled again, leaving the room ready for the first participant.

Again, the group of prodigies battled to see who would be the first to go, and this time it was Izuru's turn to set the first record.

"You have 10 seconds to memorize the new button order. After that, they will be shuffled for 15 seconds, and when the test is over, I want you to press any button to get a new order," Kaina instructed little Izuru, who just stared at each button."

"10 seconds is too long, just give me 5, and I will complete the test even before you."

Kaina smiled, wanting to see Rain's little toy swallow her words. So she pressed a random button, and again all the buttons blended together.

Izuru's eyes had never failed her, and this time would be no different. Izuru started running around the room and began to place all the buttons in order, one by one. He remembered the order of each one. The fact that they were all different colors didn't affect him at all, and in just 2 minutes and 58 seconds, he had placed 50/50 buttons in the correct order.

"What fun," Kaina smiled as she saw that she had kept her promise. Although, if Kaina had started running, she would have finished the test in 15 seconds.

Robert confidently raised his hand, approached his instructor and asked for only 5 seconds.

With time ticking down, Robert looked at the new order of buttons and assigned them each a number from 1 to 50. As they began to mix it up, Robert only had to look for them by their assigned numbers. He started running even faster than Izuru, and in 2 minutes and 29 seconds, he had finished the test.

He turned to look at Izuru with a smirk, a smirk that was reciprocated in kind by Izuru. Then he knew, something was wrong.

And then he saw his score: 38 points.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue in annoyance, and turned to look at Izuru, who was waving '2 to 1' at him.

Izuru smiled in satisfaction. He had a record almost impossible for any contender to beat. The problem was that Rin was not just any contender.

This one stepped forward, looked seriously at Izuru and said:

"I don't know why Rain chose you, but he was definitely wrong."

Before Izuru could do or say anything, Kelly stepped in and said in a serious voice:

"If number 1 is not my brother's, it will be mine."

The competition between the prodigies was just beginning. The last test was the one that would decide everything.

End of chapter.