Van walked serenely over to the empty side of the stage. His manner was calm and dignified. When he stopped, he folded his sleeves up and took a fighting stance.The audience watched his actions in silence. If the tutor picked him to demonstrate, his skills couldn"t be too bad, right?
Tutor Zhang raised an eyebrow.
[Oh? This young man seems quite confident!]
Van raised his palm. His hair gently floated up as cold energy leaked from his body and entered the air.
His gaze sharpened.
"River Splitting the Rocks!"
BAM!
A dark whip of icy qi pierced the air.
Tutor Zhang"s was sueprised. Hm? It seemed like this kid"s talent was better than he expected.
His motions were smooth and unhurried, his attunement with the water element was excellent.
Only his attack power was a little restricted by his lack of experience and practice with Dark Seas Palm. However, the correct way to manipulate the energy was something that could only be learned with experience.
"Not bad, kid. You have clearly grasped the essence of the water element. Your movements were smooth and relaxed – that comes from your natural athleticism and physique. For a 4th level Qi Distillation cultivator, achieving the mid-level is very respectable."
The audience nodded. It was not an astonis.h.i.+ng result, but still pretty good. With this level of talent, he would be poised to become a martial teacher at the Cedar Sect when he reached Pinnacle-level. Martial Teacher was a dream job many disciples wished for!
But not Van!
Van was not satisfied.
Just then, he had been adjusting the flow of qi - trying to match the rhythm and fluidity he had achieved in the meditative state.
In his haste, the rhythm became unstable. This decreased the power of River Splitting the Rocks!
It was not his true strength!
Tutor Zhang saw Van begin to move again and spoke quicky, "Young man, stop! You have already achieved a good result – do not humiliate yourself-"
"River Splitting the Rocks!"
Van pushed the air forwards with his fist. In his mind, countless pathways appeared in his body. They glowed with bright lights as spiritual liquid flowed through his meridians.
An enormous jet of water blasted through the air. A cold chill filled the area.
BAMM!
Multiple floor boards lifted off the platform and were blown into the air. The chilling qi swept through the crowd.
The audience s.h.i.+vered in their seats. Why had it suddenly gotten so cold…?
Tutor Zhang"s mouth dropped open.
[What?]
The old tutor rubbed his eyes. The boy"s movements, his understanding of the essence, the power of the move - why did it seem like the boy suddenly became twice as skilled compared to before?
The difference between attempts were significant – one seemed like they had practiced for a month and the other like they had practiced for six!
[Why did his skill level suddenly increase so much? Just a little more, and he could be considered in the high-level of the Dark Seas Palm…!]
Tutor Zhang stroked his beard thoughtfully.
[Could I have underestimated his potential?]
Meanwhile, Van"s brows were furrowed.
[Not yet! This is still not it!]
[I have not achieved the same fluidity and power that I felt from Tutor Zhang! ]
Van closed his eyes.
In the darkness of his mind, the old tutor"s calm and smooth actions reappeared in as a hologram. The hologram moved about in his mindscape, tracing the pathways taken by the qi in his body.
Whooooshh…
The qi within Van"s body started to heat up in sympathy. It moved as if pulled by the tide. Unknown to him, a cold wind suddenly started to blow through the stage.
Fwwoooomm
Van"s eyes snapped open. His hair whipped back in the cold wind.
"River Splitting the Rocks!"
An unstoppable torrent of dark water exploded outwards. Dozens of wooden floorboards went flying.
The audience gasped.
"S-so cold!" A young girl s.h.i.+vered in her seat.
"My limbs feel numb!" Someone complained.
Tutor Zhang copped a large gulp of frigid air.
[His skill has risen again! How is this possible? If he told me he had been practicing this skill for 12 months I would believe him! However, he did not look this experienced the first time he demonstrated the move. What is going on? ]
"T-this is the high-level of Dark Seas Palm!" Tutor Zhang said loudly.
The audience hushed.
I-Impossible!
This kid was only in the 4th level of Qi Distillation!
The outer disciples gathered looked at each other in shock. Some despaired.
Why is life so unfair?
One disciple in 5th level with an expert-level of Seven Stances of the Sand Scorpion was enough!
Now there is also a 4th level kid in the high-level of Dark Seas Palm!
Tutor Zhang recovered himself. He walked forwards with his cane.
"Young man, you have astonished me. Only in the 4th level, and have achieved a high-level of training in one martial skill already… this is very impressive!"
The old tutor did not skimp on the praise when it was deserved.
[However, this is still not as impressive as reaching the expert-level in the 5th stage of Qi Distillation. After all… the gap between each skill level was as vast as the distance between the earth and the sky.]
Standing to the side, Klaus was surprised – but not shocked. This was about what he expected if Van was able to solo the Blood Crow Gang on his own.
[So, he had trained a skill to the high-level. This explains it…]
Van"s eyes flashed. His muscles tensed.
Tutor Zhang"s eyes widened. The kid was acting once more?
[Will his skill level rise once more…? It can"t be, right…?]
Weng!
A bright light shone from Van"s eyes. Invisible winds caused his robes to flap in the wind.
"T-this is! This young man is experiencing a sudden epiphany! He has reached the State of Enlightenment!" Tutor Zhang was truly astonished this time.
The audience had no idea what this meant, but they felt the old tutor"s shock and awe.
Klaus clenched his fists. How…!? How was this brat so lucky, time and time again!?
Tutor Zhang began speaking to himself, "The State of Enlightenment… a mysterious state that is activated whenever a cultivator experiences a moment of sudden and great realization."
"When it is activated, their thoughts are clearer, problems easier to solve and their ability to sense the essence of the world is amplified. Difficult bottlenecks are solved. However, it is very hard to activate."
"Even the most intelligent of cultivators may not be able to achieve the State of Enlightenment more than a few times in their lifetime!"
"And yet this young outer disciple has managed it! I simply cannot fathom it. I simply cannot…"
Hearing the old tutor"s mutterings, the audiences" gaze towards Van went through a great transformation. They were full of awe and amazement – as if they were watching the birth of a great genius!
Van suddenly roared. The light in his eyes pulsed brighter.
Within his mind, his actions finally merged with the hologram of the old tutor!
BBBAAANNNGGGG!!!
An enormous water dragon shot out of his palm and lashed out.
Over a quarter of the stage was decimated!
Klaus was forced to take a quick step back.
Tutor Zhang felt the cold press on him.
[!]
[This kid"s affinity for the dark and water elements is better than the Bayer kid"s affinity for wind and sand!]
The audience groaned in discomfort. Near the stage, the weaker 3rd and 4th level disciples felt as if they had become living statues. Even the 5th level disciples felt a uncomfortable chill.
Tutor Zhang waved a hand and the cold immediately dispelled.
Van"s eyes returned to their normal brown. He slumped onto the ground, breathing heavily.
Tutor Zhang"s gaze was curious.
[In that last moment…why did the boy"s movements feel so familiar? The fluidity and rhythm of the power he was channelling…]
The old man suddenly realized something.
[He was emulating me! He had a moment of epiphany after seeing my demonstration of "Swift Striking Palms"!]
Tutor Zhang felt his appreciation of the boy grow once more.
[He saw the way I moved the power within my body and was able to copy it perfectly, allowing his Dark Seas Palm to reach another level. A true genius of the martial way!]
[And he is only in the 4th level of Qi Distillation!]
Tutor Zhang was extremely moved. He turned to the crowd.
"This young man has just achieved an incredible feat. During the State of Enlightenment, his skill rose another level. He has reached the expert-level for Dark Seas Palm!"
The outer disciples sucked in a cold breath. They looked at the two young disciples on the stage.
Both were monsters that had achieved expert-level in a skill before the 7th level of Qi Distillation!
"The twin dragons of the Outer Sect!" Someone called out fervently, full of admiration for the two heroes.
"The twin dragons! I like it!"
"The outer disciples have two new geniuses!"
A chant began in the audience.
"Twin dragons!"
"Twin dragons!"
Van"s head was woozy, but he still heard the chanting. He stood up and faced the crowd.
[Twin Dragons…?]
He turned and saw Klaus staring right back at him.
The displeasure in their eyes mirrored each other"s.
[Twin dragons?]
[There should only be one!]
Tutor Zhang saw the two good seeds glaring at each other and felt unhappy. To him, both were very good!
One dragon had achieved a high cultivation level quickly, while the other was slightly better in the martial way.
Both were geniuses!
"Okay young men calm down. You are both treasured outer disciples of the sect. As disciples of the same sect, you two must learn to be harmonious and forgiving."
"From now on, the Cedar Sect has recognized you. As long as you cultivate diligently, the position of inner disciple will be yours!"
Van heard Tutor Zhang"s last words and couldn"t stamp down on the happiness in his heart at hearing these words.
To become inner disciple within the year seemed to be within his grasp!
Klaus was also moved.
Tutor Zhang saw their reactions and smiled. He ruffled both of them on the head as if they were little kids.
"You have both impressed me very much. I look forward to seeing you guys soar into the skies in the future."
Soon after that, the public forum was dismissed.
When all the disciples had left, Tutor Zhang wiped his brow and pondered as he stared at the afternoon sun.
[Their cultivation is a bit low for our purposes…]
After a long deliberation, the old man shook his head.
[I will let Sect Master Musheng make the final judgement!]
____
[The previous evening.]
When Nathaniel returned to his room, he dismissed his subordinates and prepared the Blue Mist Ivy flowers for consumption.
Over the next four hours, his complexion regained some pinkness and the black spidery marks on his arms disappeared.
[I"ve removed 90% of the contamination. The last 10% should be solved by Angel Gra.s.s if I eat it daily for about a week.]
Nathaniel grinned. His eyes looked less crazy than before, but there was still a strange gleam in them. He went to the mirror in his room and looked at himself.
[So that kid"s name is Van, huh? Making me degrade myself and beg my cousin like a disgusting sycophant…]
Nathaniel growled. He picked up another jade vase and threw it at the wall.
CRAs.h.!.+
It exploded into a cloud of fragmented pieces.
"That f.u.c.king loser better prepare his f.u.c.king a.s.s for the reaming I"m about to deal him!"
_______
[Present moment. Van"s room.]
Hah!
Van thrust his fists forwards once again. Sweat dripped off his brow.
He was currently training his Fists of Devouring Flame - and he could feel that he was about to have break-through!
Looking at the angle of the sun, he didn"t have much time before the Lantern Festival began. And that meant the Mystery Object Sale!