Incidentally, each stage was further divided according to how far the martial artist was at the next stage. There were five inner subdivisions - beginning, early, middle, late, peak.

Being a middle third stage, it meant that it was halfway to the fourth stage. It wasn't someone who had just been promoted and hadn't yet consolidated his foundation, but he had long been in that stage and knew how to use his power.

Yet such a martial artist had been unable to react in the slightest in front of another martial artist with an entire stage's difference. During this month, Hei had in fact pa.s.sed from the beginning second stage to the middle second stage.

From a physical point of view, there was also a disparity in strength. After all, in the spirit apprentice rank, differences such as height, weight and other physical characteristics still had a certain degree of influence in the course of a battle. Martial artists of that level could therefore be considered simply as ordinary people with extraordinary strength. Only when they started learning the elemental laws and advanced to the second rank, could they be considered as supernatural beings in the eyes of ordinary people.

Therefore, it appeared absolutely incredible that a boy apparently 15 years old with an athletic physique but of normal build, could raise a beast like that from the ground using only brute force. Even though it was done with spirit power, his opponent also had his active.

Another bewildering thing was the state in which Hei had left the enemy - in fact ZhenKang was unconscious with a face whose features couldn't be seen due to his injuries. He had been struck by such ferocity yet when ZhenKang fainted, Hei stopped attacking him as the fight was over. Rather than saying he was forgiving, he could be said to be pragmatic, not wanting to waste further energy on an already defeated enemy.

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As in the preliminary phase, Hei put his shoes back on and, picking up his spear, returned to the waiting room while some inner members climbed into the ring to examine ZhenKang's state. Even though he wasn't dead and the injuries weren't as severe as they appeared on the outside, it was uncertain whether he could wake up and recover for the next matches.

Meanwhile, the audience had recovered and the outer members burst out again in cries of euphoria. It was strange as an observation, yet the sight of blood in such clashes always arouses the public's euphoria. The inner members had even uglier faces. They knew inside of them that, if it hadn't been for the advantage of their stages, if they had been fighting in the ring against Hei, they would surely have lost. How could they fight against someone who would change his attack patterns so suddenly depending on their answers?

When Hei returned to the waiting room, the other two partic.i.p.ants couldn't help but be surprised. As a matter of correctness, they were prevented from seeing other matches, but even if they didn't know his abilities, they didn't think he would return without wounds. Furthermore, his opponent hadn't yet returned and that meant only one thing - ZhenKang had been put K.O. and he was unconscious.

As outer sect's members for many years, they generally knew ZhenKang's capabilities and how strong he was. Although they were sure they could beat him, he wasn't at the level where they could do this without suffering injuries. And yet this younger and weaker boy had done this.

The two had a lot of questions, but had to wait because it was their turn. When the guard approached them to order them to hurry, they exchanged a quick glance and one of them said to the guard.

"I give up, I grant the victory."

When Hei heard this, he looked up at the person who had spoken. He was a young man of 21 years old with short black hair and a metal spear at his side. It was very long, certainly longer than Hei's and was completely metal.

"Partic.i.p.ant Huo, did I hear right? Will you let partic.i.p.ant Xue win? "

"Yes, exactly. Since I won't partic.i.p.ate in this battle, you can proceed to the next one directly."

At those words the guard gave a quick glance towards Hei undecided whether to proceed or not. The public was waiting, so it was advisable to pa.s.s to the next match, yet Hei, the winner of the first match had consumed a bit of his energy while the other partic.i.p.ant was still unconscious.

Sensing their plan, Hei decided to play the game anyway. In the end, even if he opposed it, it was still true that he had to face them and, although he wouldn't have time to cultivate and recover his spirit power, he considered it as a challenge with himself. In the wilderness, you could never know when an enemy would attack and under what conditions you would be during the attack.

Learning to fight more opponents without stopping was something that was necessary for a martial artist. Hei had also worked out to increase his spirit power's duration. Although he had consumed part of it in the previous fight, Snake Fist wasn't a move that consumed so much energy, even in the storm variant.

"All right, it doesn't matter. I will fight him and the other immediately afterwards. That's what you want, isn't it?" Hei exclaimed in a calm voice. Although their behavior could be considered cowardly, in Hei's eyes it was a smart move.

Hearing that their plan had been seen through, the two laughed and didn't try to hide it.

"Exactly, even if with ZhenKang unconscious it is guaranteed that all three will pa.s.s, there is still the question of rewards given. Even if we don't know exactly what it is, it's certainly good stuff. Therefore, we decided to split the first and second place. I'm sorry for you kid, but you won't see the victory. On the contrary, there is to see if you will be able to face your father, Xue." said the second man.

The man called Xue had shaved hair on the side while in the center his hair had been combed like a red c.o.c.ks...o...b.. Rather than a natural red, it seemed to be the result of coloring with vegetable pigments.

Hearing his proclamation, Hei gave him a quick look but didn't answer. He took his spear and returned to the ring without another word. Behind him, the man with the long spear followed a little later p.i.s.sed at being ignored.

When the audience saw Hei climb the ring again, it created a slight confusion. In fact, they expected to see the other fight before they could witness Hei's fight again. They were soon informed that one of the two second match's partic.i.p.ants had forfeited and that person would face Hei in the third round.

You didn't have to be a genius to understand the plan behind that forfait Undoubtedly, this move put Hei at a greater disadvantage than he already was.

While Hei took off his shoes, this time he surprised the audience by picking up his spear and positioned himself for the fight. Upon seeing his weapon taken, the public immediately became interested. Although the hand to hand fighting performance was first-cla.s.s, a martial artist's true power was brought out using a weapon. They were curious to see if Hei could surprise them as he had done in the fight before.

As in the first match, the two contenders activated their spirit power from the beginning and began to fight.

As stated earlier, partic.i.p.ant Huo also was using a spear which was twice as big as Hei's that reached the height of his head instead. This meant a greater range and the possibility of attacking from a distance in total safety. Since it was made of metal, it was also inconceivable to think of breaking the shaft with bare hands with a single blow, unless there was a big difference in cultivation.

The reason Hei chose to use the spear this time was to test himself. Considering that his opponent also used the spear, he was curious to see the other spear users' techniques. Besides, all he knew was the basics of the spear learned from the manual. He didn't know any particular moves, but he was helped by the fact that since he was a child he had one with him and was therefore very familiar with this type of weapon.

From the beginning, Huo tried to pierce Hei with powerful lunges. With his active spirit power, the power he gave to the spear was crazy for ordinary people's eyes. Hei soon found himself in a pa.s.sive situation in which he was forced to dodge and deflect the blows using his spear. However he had to be careful because the shaft of his spar was made of wood and therefore less resistant than one made of metal.

But after this situation continued for a while, Hei at some point distanced himself out of the reach of his opponent's weapon. His gaze became very serious, Actually, it contained a trace of wild rage in his eyes.

With a dash, he rushed forward with his spear in his hand while the incredulous Huo prepared himself to impale Hei like a pig on a spit. But when the long spear was about to land on his body, Hei maneuvered his spear toward the head of the weapon coming up with all his might.

The sudden blow sent the long spar up and Huo immediately had to reposition himself. Unfortunately, when he lowered his spear, Hei was already a few steps away from him. Without other alternatives, Huo moved his spear horizontally trying to hit Hei with the metal shaft. Even if he wouldn't inflict cutting wounds, such a move could still cause contusive damage.

However Hei quickly dived to the ground shortly before the impact and dodged the blow. Then he filled the little distance left and bombarded his enemy with spear lunges.

Spirit power offered a kind of protective layer and normal weapons wouldn't easily pierce that layer in a short time. However, a continuous succession of blows could break through this defense, especially for the first stages of spirit apprentice rank.

With the succession of ferocious impacts, Huo found it difficult to reposition itself. Whenever he tried to do so, he would be struck in the hand in which he held the spear or his knees. Eventually, his defense was broken because the consumption of spirit power became too excessive and Hei didn't miss the opportunity.

With a quick jolt, he quickly stabbed his opponent's thigh, who groaned and lost the grip on his weapon. Seeing that he had given up his grip on the weapon, Hei instead of quitting continued to lash out even more, using his spear's flat end. Even if there weren't sharp blows, blunt damage was still very painful.

And once again he brought his opponent into a state of unconsciousness. But if the feeling generated in the first match had been of coldness and ability, in the second fight the only thing that people could perceive was ferocity and anger - like a crazed beast that was tearing at its enemy.

Just as the public thought Hei was planning to kill the enemy and the guards from the regulation division were preparing to intervene, Hei stopped hitting and yelled at his unconscious opponent.

"IF YOU INTEND TO USE A SPEAR, THEN LEARN HOW TO USE IT CORRECTLY!" Hei yelled at the top of his lungs.

The reason for his anger was that his enemy, except for using lunges, wasn't practical in the weapon's attack patterns and he certainly wasn't able to use such a large spear. Hei himself had given up having a bigger lance to have more maneuverability, not to mention that he wasn't sure if he could do it in the first place.

For Hei, the spear was a n.o.ble weapon, much more than any other weapon. This is because this weapon recalled his mother's legs. His mother had in fact told him to consider the spear as a spider's leg while explaining how to use the first time.

He had dedicated himself to master it, even going to review the basics with the manual received from the sect leader. He wanted to be able to use it to its full potential.

Seeing another spear user, he was excited about the idea but was soon disappointed by his opponent's inability. Not properly studying the properties of the weapon, it meant an affront to the spear's splendor and therefore to the spiders' splendor. Thus, he became angry and ended up letting off steam on his opponent.

Faced with this demonstration of anger, the audience was again speechless. Was he really the same guy who had fought so cool head and calculating in the first match?

Since Hei had no intentions to continue to attack the enemy, the inner guards went on the ring and took Huo away while aiming their weapons at Hei. This demonstration of violence wasn't suitable in a confrontation against members of the same sect.

Seeing that the situation was about to degenerate, the sect leader signaled to the regulation division to stop while she was going to have the other partic.i.p.ant's body examined.

Although unconscious, the only serious injury was the cut in the leg. Hei, even he was full of anger, had in fact used the blunt part of the spear and hit various parts to avoid excessive damage in a single point. Thus, despite the numerous injuries, it couldn't be said that he was aiming to take away his opponent's life. The leg wound was something that happened while the opponent was still conscious and during the fight. Therefore not something punishable.

As the sect leader and the various elders were deciding how to react, Hei looked towards Lian's head where his mother was. Even from this distance, he could see a note of reproach from her. Dejected, he lowered his head disconsolately as he waited for the sect leader and the elders to decide.

He knew he had exaggerated but he didn't regret it. For him, spiders and snakes represented the maximum of beauty and n.o.bility. And the same was true about the things that were connected to them.

Eventually, the elders stopped discussing and the sect leader turned to Hei in a serious tone.

"Since your behavior can certainly be judged as excessive, you will have to be punished. However it is also true that you haven't put your opponent's life in danger, so the punishment won't be serious. For three months you will be prohibited from accessing the sect's library."

At hearing this punishment, the inner members shuddered - every month it was possible to visit the library for half an hour and study for free the manuals contained inside. It wasn't possible to copy them but learning them by heart wasn't forbidden. Obviously, it was difficult to memorize one in mind in just half an hour and because of this, if they wanted to stay longer, they had to pay with their contribution points. For the top 50 inner members it was also possible to borrow the manual, even though it would cost many contribution points.

This free half hour was therefore of vital importance. Having half an hour free meant being able to search for a suitable manual without paying contribution points to stay there. There were even those who used months of free entry to gradually memorize a manual before actually exercising on it. After all, the costs to learn manuals were exorbitant and the contribution points given as rewards for their work could certainly not be called generous.

So, being banned from entering meant having a big delay in cultivation. Other than light, this was an extremely heavy punishment. Even the other elders were displaced and judged the reaction of the sect leader who proposed this punishment to be excessive. However, in the outer members' eyes, the sect leader had acquired a new level of respect.

Since a special tournament was organized just for him, Hei could already be considered a member of the inner sect. Episodes of bullying by the inner disciples against those of the outer sect weren't rare. Then, seeing the sect leader punish the same person she had recruited was comforting and worthy of respect.

Obviously, that was a move calculated by the sect leader with cunning. During these months, she had learned to know a little about Hei and therefore she knew that he had no interest in the sect's manuals, at least not for those of low stages. From the strange moves he had used, the sect leader knew that Hei had some manuals with him, probably left by his father.

Punis.h.i.+ng Hei in that way wouldn't greatly damaged him and at the same time it would consolidate her position in the outer sect.