The morning had now arrived signifying the third and final day of a preliminary tournament which can be said to have yielded more than thought possible. Currently, only twenty five-persons were remaining within the forest. That being said most in the top ten had already cemented their position but for the last spot which was highly compet.i.tive. Perhaps any other time this would be what was on everyone"s lips. Yet there was news that spread like wildfire throughout.
Even the elders could not contain it as with it being truly tantalizing. It showcased Taf and May"s true ruthlessness as rumors state members of squad s.h.i.+noda were beating half to death.
As startling as this might have been what truly took the headlines was the mysterious death of Darwin. Apparently he too was involved in a conflict with the couple and was hunted down like a dog to one of the many safe-havens.
It had reached a stage whereby elders had to intervene in order to save his life from the two. Still, after the couple had left he then mysteriously died from what even the elders could not figure out. Some say the couple had something to do with his death, while others simply guess it was just one of those freak occurrences.
Following the stories, most disciples who saw the two choose to flee instantly. They however became puzzled as two never once pursued. The truth of the matter was that having already secured their position and ending their conflict with Darwin the happenings inside the forest were of little interest.
Currently, they only had one remaining quest which was to help Niesha regain her position within the top ten. Though the tournament wasn"t of much importance to them this has been something she had been dreaming about for years. For Niesha, her whole future hung in the balance based on her accomplishment.
She was determined to leave her mark on the tournament no matter how minuscule it might be. Yet she knew this would never appease the Origi Clan. At the time they had given the naive Niesha this mission knowing fully well she would fail miserably at completing it.
From the very start, they knew Jason, s.h.i.+noda, and Barthelemu were impossible for her to surpa.s.s before her twentieth birthday. Sure she could argue that they had tricked her but it could be said her ego was mostly to be blamed.
Many had told her to think about the terms before agreeing however having broken all records in the clan, in her eyes it would simply be the same when arriving at the Dark Abylis Sect.
"Don"t you worry about a thing. With me and this fellow around, everything will work out just fine." May smiled as she saw a slightly bandaged Niesha seemingly lost in her thoughts. It didn"t take long for her to decipher what it was all about.
"I"m fine May. It"s just this tournament has not gone exactly how I intended. This was supposed to be my moment but I am still quite lacking. Now it seems the dream of finding a master in the Axus Country isn"t possible."
With regret in her words, Niesha made her thoughts known out loud. Walking beside the two was Taf who tried his utmost to stay out of the conversation.
"If that is your dream we"ll find a way to make it a reality. I am sure there are other means to join a sect within the Axus Country. Perhaps there is an annual recruiting exercise or maybe as one of it"s subordinate the Dark Abylis has special privileges." May suggested.
Taf on the other didn"t concur with May"s statement,
"Why are you beating around the bush, simply buy your way in. Come on it"s that easy. Perhaps not the most ideal, but the motive is to get yourself through the gate, right? That"s what I would do."
Hearing his words May took some time to think it through and yes this was the surest means to make headway. Yet there were many variables at play,
"True this could be a means to an end, however, she doesn"t have those connections and neither do we. Additionally, I doubt the number of stones needed would be possible for Niesha at the moment."
Seeing how nonchalantly the two spoke of briding her way into a sect, Niesha didn"t know if she should be shocked at herself for being surprised or the two"s, by all means, necessary att.i.tude.
"I don"t want to get in through some unscrupulous means." Niesha then staunchly refused. Her vision has always been to catch the eyes of a sect through her talent and hard work.
The feeling of guilt would be too overwhelming if the number of stones in her pouch was the only means by which she could go through life.
Taf could only give a blank stare as he replied,
"Listen I know you have a conscience and I applaud you for that. Yet it seems you are quite misguided on how this world works. There is a reason this would be the ideal way forward and I didn"t want to say it outright at the start.
Quite frankly there is by no means a winner from this tournament would catch the eyes of any recruiter or a great master. Simply put the level of strength of the disciples is unsatisfactory."
As Niesha looked to May though she didn"t say it out loud a pitiful shake of the head showed that she concurred with Taf"s a.s.sessment.
"Well, it is easy for you two to say such things. Yet you can"t judge others based on your own strengths, isn"t that just unfair?"
With their advantage especially Taf. How could he impartially a.s.sess anyone? Who could possibly match up to his standards?
"Niesha I know Taf words might seem harsh and yes I do agree we aren"t the best judges based on our "advantages", yet he is correct in what has been said. You see the thing is we are not basing our a.s.sessment in comparison to our strength but demon beast we have faced in the past."
"Demon beasts?!" Niesha was a bit taken aback. When did these two have time to contend with demon beasts. Then she remembered that both May and Taf had spent nearly a year inside that forbidden land.
It makes sense that they had test themselves against one or two demon beasts. What she didn"t know was this was a drastic underestimation of the events. Yet demon beasts are known to have a superior advantage over cultivators. They are able to store more qi and a majority are able to jump levels in battles.
If this was what the two based their argument upon it was indeed unfair. Fewer humans have these capabilities than demon beasts. She was blessed with this gift but it was only useful if the one was quite inferior in their level.
?Basically, with her strength of a full circle qi realm, it wouldn"t be impossible to challenge a half-step, Lord. However, for her not to be instantly crushed there was a need for this individual to be regarded as weak by half-step lord standards.
This was how she knew to defeat any of the top three was a steep hill to climb as all were by no means inferior.?
"I see you still think me harsh. I recently had a conversation with the grand elder who has traveled the world. At the time I was curious as to the strength of the Axus Country.
She made it quite clear that the most basic genius within the Axus Country aims to be of equal footing to demon beasts one rank above their qi level," Taf stated.
When hearing Taf words Niesha"s heart sank. These standards were quite stringent and even she barely made the criteria.
Unedited Version
To be continued...
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