by Yuri Ajin
“A bet?”
“Yes. Let’s see… We can bet on the resources that we’ll receive in a few days. Whoever wins gets the loser’s cut. Sound fair?”
Lei Wang frowned. He seemed unsure at first but then, remembering Kai’s level, he nodded.
“All right,” he said and then smiled as if he had already won. “Say goodbye to your resources!”
***
Exactly what I needed. Kai looked around. They were in the northern part of the city, where the training grounds were located. But how did they find out?
A crowd of people had gathered around them. Many inner-circle students had come to the Temple to pick up their resources. And while they waited for the big day, they looked for a way to kill time. So it wasn’t a surprise that Kai and Lei Wang’s little duel had attracted a lot of attention.
“I’m so popular,” Lei Wang said with a haughty smile. Kai didn’t have the heart to tell him that nobody here actually cared about him. People just wanted to see the show. After all, it wasn’t every day that someone bet their annual amount of resources. “Alright… This is a good spot. Let’s start with agility and speed. Whoever lasts longer, wins,” he smiled and pointed at a wide, square platform surrounded by many black pillars. Next to it was a short column, on the surface of which were carved numbers from one to ten. There were several similar columns scattered about the place so that people could start competing at the same time.
“All right.” Kai nodded. “Then I choose the next training grounds.”
Lei Wang said nothing, just continued walking. The two of them climbed onto the platforms, after which the System sent a message to activate them. Both of them confirmed that they were ready to begin the duel.
In the next instant, energy poured into the columns. The pillars located around the platforms erupted with energy and split into black cubes the size of a man’s fist. They hovered in the air around the duelists. On both columns, the number one flashed.
Standing calmly in the center of the square platform, Kai looked around. He didn’t yet know how this worked, but he hoped that he’d figure it out quickly. Out of nowhere, he saw the image of something flying toward him. A second later, one of the floating cubes aimed for his head at high speed. Fortunately, he managed to dodge.
“I see...” he muttered and focused on the floating objects.
In less than a couple of seconds, two more cubes rushed toward him from different sides. He dodged both of them with ease. They kept coming but Kai continued to dodge them.
After a minute and a half, the number two lit up on the column. At the same moment, five cubes rushed after Kai at once. This time, however, he had to make an effort to dodge and avoid being hit. The difficulty had definitely increased.
Casting a quick glance at Lei Wang, Kai noted that he had been managing without any problems so far.
A couple of minutes later, the difficulty increased again, and Kai had to use his Speed Step in order to continue dodging. As for Lei Wang, as far as Kai could see, he hadn’t yet applied any acceleration techniques.
The fourth level of difficulty was the turning point. At least a dozen cubes were constantly circling around them. Their speed increased again. Kai had to concentrate more on using the Five Weightless Steps and activating the energy vision to predict where the cubes would go.
Ever since he had reached the Sensory Organs Endurance level, his eyes had been able to see objects in motion much better, which greatly improved his reaction time as well. He could also control his body and ki better, making it possible to move in a way he couldn’t before. Energy vision had also changed, merging with his normal vision. He could simultaneously see everything in both spectrums, which now allowed him to notice a certain pattern in the energy flows and the movement of the cubes. All that remained was to unravel it, after which it’d become even easier to dodge the attacks.
Lei Wang had finally been forced to use a technique. Rare flashes of electricity appeared around his feet as his speed increased. Kai could no longer afford to be distracted by his opponent, but the onlookers noticed the change.
“Isn’t that the technique of the Thunder Serpent bloodline? But how...? Ah! It’s the Six Storm Flashes.”
“Yes, that’s the one. It seems to be of Gold-rank. It can only be used by Lei family members due to their blood. I think that they don’t even need to know all the Forces of the Lightning Path for this.”
“But their technique is divided into six stages, and the higher the stage is, the greater the speed. I think he’s using the first stage.”
“Ha! I wonder if he can do better. I heard that the real talents...” The speaker winced. “That the real talents among apprentices are able to reach the fourth stage!”
Kai wondered why they all thought so little of Lei Wang.
At the fifteenth minute, number five flashed on the column. And when the number of cubes increased, together with their speed, Kai finally managed to figure out the pattern, which allowed him to react in time.
By now, bolts of lightning were covering Lei Wang’s entire body. Moving to the second stage of his technique, he once again increased his speed.
As Kai continued to dodge, he felt more and more tired. His ki supply was nearing its end, and if he started to restore it right now he could lose his focus and get hit.
The moment of the activation of the sixth level of difficulty turned out to be fatal for him. Lacking time not only to react but to even see the new cubes that had started moving, Kai felt the danger of colliding with them. Fortunately, having filled his muscles with ki in order to accelerate even more, he was able to dodge them. Well, almost all of them. One managed to hit him in the thigh.
Blood sprinkled the platform. A finger-sized piece of meat was ripped from Kai’s leg. Clenching his teeth till his jaw hurt, he didn’t let out a sound and continued to move as if nothing had happened. Having sent only a bit of energy to his leg to stop the bleeding, he stopped paying attention to the wound. He needed all his strength and energy to defeat Lei Wang.
Still, with each passing second, it became more difficult for him to dodge the attacks. More and more wounds appeared on his body. Only when there was practically no energy left in him and his vision became blurry did he realize that this was the end.
Via the tattoo that connected him to the array, Kai gave a mental order for it to shut down. All of the cubes instantly stopped moving, frozen in place. One of them halted only a few inches away from his head. Had he been a moment too slow...
The cubes were in no hurry to return to their initial position — the array was still working. The System provided Kai with two options: to end the training or continue at the same level. He chose the former.
Turning his head to look at Lei Wang, he realized that he had lost this round ― the young Lei was still holding on. His lightning bolts were much more powerful, brighter, and more frequent than before. He had entered the third stage of the Six Storm Flashes Technique.
However, a few moments later, the seventh level of difficulty was activated. The speed of the cubes flying toward Lei Wang increased. After a couple of seconds of struggling, he also stopped the array. Either he got overwhelmed or he didn’t yet know how to activate the fourth stage of his technique.
The array had ten levels in total. Kai was only a few moments short of the seventh one. Not a bad result for someone of his level.
If what people said was true, then almost all apprentices could get to the eighth level. The best of them could reach the ninth. As for the tenth, only those who had reached the final level of the Soul Stage and were about to become Exorcists could reach it.
The cubes returned to the platform and began to reassume the form of pillars around it. Lei Wang, greatly surprising Kai, jumped joyfully.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Did you see that?” Laughing, he pointed his finger at Kai. “I won!”
“You did.” The young man nodded dismissively. “But this is only the first round. Now it’s my turn to choose.
”
I didn’t expect him to be that fast. I don’t know anything about his family’s techniques. I need to go through Dee’s info and read about it. I can’t compete against his speed... So…
“We’ll compete in physical strength next.” Kai pointed in the direction of a huge arena, where other students were already practicing. “The rules are the same — whoever withstands more and longer is the winner.”
The training zone Kai chose was divided into arenas of different sizes where students could regulate the atmospheric field. This field used the Force of Attraction from the Path of Space, woven into the array, and increased the atmospheric pressure and the gravity field within the arena. Just by standing there, one had to try hard to not end up sprawled on the ground. This workout was based on physical exercises aimed at increasing muscle strength.
Before starting, they spent an hour meditating in order to recuperate. Lei Wang even used a Medium Energy Crystal. Kai was able to restore almost all of his ki thanks to his unique ability. In addition, the wound on his leg had healed, which surprised those who were following their duel.
Having rested, they approached the arena and simultaneously activated the array. One of the ten notches immediately lit up. The strength of the field increased by thirty percent. Both of them began to increase the pressure on their own. With each new percentage, the light became brighter. After reaching certain values, new notches lit up.
50%... 75%... 100%... 120%... 250%... 500%... 1,000%... 3,500%...
At ten thousand percent, Lei Wang stopped. His own hundred and seventy pounds now seemed like eight tons. Slightly bending his knees so that his legs wouldn’t break, he froze in this position, scared to move and fall. His skin turned red and lightning bolts ran through his body. He was using the third stage of the Six Storm Flashes, which not only increased one’s speed but also stimulated the muscles, increasing strength.
Of the ten notches in Lei Wang’s corner, seven were lit up. Few people could achieve this even at a similar level of strength. Turning his gaze full of superiority and confidence to the right, his jaw almost dropped. There were eight lights burning in Kai’s corner! And judging by how intensely the last one was burning, the pressure field must’ve reached at least fifteen thousand percent. Any object in that place weighed a hundred and fifty times its normal weight.
However, the thing that had shocked him was the fact that Kai looked as if he had gone for a walk, as if he didn’t even feel the tremendous pressure weighing on his shoulders.
But what Lei Wang was yet to learn was that looks could be very deceiving.
Although Kai possessed immense physical strength thanks to his bloodline, that wasn’t enough. He needed to keep refilling his body with ki in order to increase his stats. Fortunately, his regeneration was developed enough to be able to handle this.
Even so, just standing was difficult for him. He only pretended to be relaxed in order to throw off his opponent. However, judging by the look on Lei Wang’s face, he wasn’t going to give up. What he did was keep pouring more energy into his technique and slowly increasing the pressure.
At twelve thousand percent, the spectators nearby heard a distinct crunch. Lei Wang’s leg bent at an unnatural angle and he began to collapse. However, biting his lip until it bled, by some miracle, he managed to remain standing while enduring enormous pain. Wanting to win so much, even in spite of the fracture, he kept fighting. Focusing his determined gaze on Kai, he trembled and soon realized that he couldn’t take it anymore. The array was immediately disconnected and he collapsed to the ground.
Kai stood still for a few seconds, after which he also turned off the pressure field. The victory was his. But what happened next came as a complete surprise to him.
“I… I… I haven’t lost yet!” Lei Wang mumbled, wiping away tears that had suddenly gathered in his eyes. “We... we have one more round left! Let’s go to the Endless Battle Array.”
What’s wrong with this guy?! Kai couldn’t help but stare at his opponent in amazement. His leg is broken and he still wants to continue... Is he crying because of shame or pain? Gods, what will the people think?
As he thought that, he heard the crowd chuckling and giggling.
“All right.” He nodded, turning to the last arena.
The Endless Battle Array looked like a stage with a pedestal with an unusual sphere resting atop it. There was also a huge scoreboard standing a little to the side. Deciding to let Lei Wang tend to his wounds, Kai went to assume his position and prepare.
The final round began forty minutes later when the slightly limping Lei Wang finally assumed his position.
“What do we have to do?” Kai asked.
“Place your hand on the sphere, activate the array, and fight. The more enemies you kill, the more points you get. If you die, you lose. I’m gonna go first,” he said, putting his hand on the pedestal. In the next moment, his eyes dimmed and the sphere glowed. The score appeared on the huge board. It said “Lei Wang: 0 points.” A moment later, it changed to one point.
Kai decided to look this up in Dee’s information book. Fortunately, there were a few lines about the Endless Battle Array. As it turned out, the sphere, which was an artifact of sorts, transferred the cultivator’s mind into some kind of a virtual space, where they had to fight off waves of opponents controlled by the array. To earn points, one needed to kill them. If the cultivator was killed, their consciousness immediately returned to their body, after which the training session ended.
Kai sat down to meditate. Having realized that Lei Wang wouldn’t leave him alone, he had figured out how to use him. Ever since he had reached the Mind Stage, he had become able to evaluate the strength of other people. And judging by everything he had seen so far, Lei Wang was weaker than him. It was only thanks to his family technique that Lei Wang had managed to defeat him in the first round.
Kai was about to plunge deeper into meditation when he overheard people whispering.
“That Lei weirdo lost to some guy who’s a whole stage weaker than him. Embarrassing...”
“Yeah... I can’t believe it, he even burst into tears! What’s wrong with him?”
“I heard that when his mother was pregnant, she was attacked by Lowland assassins during one of her travels. She survived, but the child was born prematurely. They say that there were a lot of complications and that Lei Wang was born mentally ill. He’s a fool.”
“He’s trash. He just uses his last name to brag! I wish I was born into the Lei family instead of that useless fool. He’s nuts, but he’s still privileged. He gets both techniques and resources, how’s that fair?”
“Exactly! It makes me so mad... Why didn’t his parents abandon him? How old is he? He still behaves like a child. It’s pathetic…”
“They didn’t want to abandon him. But it seems like he’s exiled. See those three red dots on his forehead? That means that he’s a disgrace and can no longer enter the Upper Nest.”
“He’s a lucky bastard anyway. Even exiled, he has access to techniques that are almost impossible for inner-circle students to get! He’s such a waste of valuable resources!”
Kai frowned and looked at his opponent. Although this explained a lot, it still didn’t feel right to have people belittle him like this.
Having received a mortal wound and scored fifty-two points, Lei Wang left the Endless Battle Array. Kai didn’t know if it was a lot or a little, but he was going to beat this score anyway.
Having risen to his feet, he was surprised to see Lei Wang smiling broadly. There were no tears in his eyes even though he had lost. Casting a glance at the three dots on Lei Wang’s forehead, Kai activated the array.
The scenery changed abruptly and Kai found himself in the middle of a seemingly endless field. But then he realized that he wasn’t alone. Rune’Tan, no less shocked, was standing nearby.
“What does this mean?”
The redhead burst into laughter. “I didn’t know that this could happen.”
“What do you mean?”
Rune’Tan sat down on the grass and smiled.
“You see, this so-called Endless Battle Array works thanks to Soul Forces. They are necessary because this space,” he gestured at the field surrounding them, “is part of the soul world! Usually, only those at the Exorcist Stage can try to discover the inner world of the soul. But here’s an exception to the rule — you.”
Rune’Tan’s explanation made Kai remember what he had read about the Endless Battle Array. If Dee’s information was to be trusted, it was available only to students — that is, to those who hadn’t yet achieved true mastery, which made sense since if a cultivator found their way into the world of their soul they had absolute power over it.
“So, where are the enemies?” Kai looked around. The alleged enemies he was supposed to kill never showed up.
“Well, you have complete control over your soul world, so the array cannot invade it so easily. If you want, you can let it in yourself. Do you feel something foreign stirring within you?”
Kai frowned. The array’s attempts to get into his inner world felt like a slight tingling sensation on his palms. By concentrating on them, he eventually allowed the alien energy to enter.
Three figures at the Sensory Organs Endurance level immediately formed in front of him. Without hesitation, they rushed forward. A moment later, their heads burst like water balloons.
Unlike with other students, whose subconsciousness made their stats, knowledge of Forces, energy levels, and much more inside the array identical to their real-life counterparts, Kai became like a God in his soul world. There was no one who could stop him in here.
Three more figures appeared, one of which was at the Spinal Cord Endurance level. Kai got rid of them before they could even move.
“Well, I guess I’ll wait a bit. I think I figured out how this works.” He smiled, intending to win this round.
***
Meanwhile, in the real world, Lei Wang and several dozen other students watched the scoreboard. Usually, as soon as someone activated the array, they’d get their first batch of points in a matter of seconds. The first wave of enemies was rather weak after all. However, a minute had passed since Kai’s training session had begun and his score hadn’t changed.
