The Wheel Of Samsara

A shiny ball grazed past his temple, ruffling his hair and giving him a chill. Still, he couldn"t get distracted for even a fraction of a second.

There were a myriad of metallic b.a.l.l.s the size of a fist shooting through the room from all directions. Amon was moving between them, trying his best to dodge the ones that came in his direction as he tried to reach the other side.

His feet were glowing with Qi as he used the Movement Technique to nimbly move through the dark room. Still, his body was already full of bruises.

Amon"s steps were light and agile as he twisted his body and moved around. He was covered in sweat and his face was flushed. There was absolutely no light in this room, so Amon could only rely in his divine sense to perceive the metallic b.a.l.l.s.

The b.a.l.l.s didn"t kill, but they hurt a lot. Every time Amon missed a dodge, he was. .h.i.t with the force of a kick, which would make him move from his original position if his stance was not firm and that would lead to more injuries.

To properly pa.s.s this test, Amon had to spread his divine sense and try to keep track of all the metallic b.a.l.l.s flying through the room. This way he would not be hit from a blind spot and he could slowly try to find a pattern to take advantage of.

Lya said that this was an incredibly useful exercise. Amon would be able to properly use his divine sense to focus on multiple things at the same time, learn to observe his surroundings better, get more used to Movement Techniques even in strange s.p.a.ces like the rooms in the Warrior Hall and learn about the flow of battle.

Amon would have to grasp a proper rhythm of advancing, dodging and retreating to reach the other side of the room. It was almost like a dance. As Lya explained, all combats had their particular rhythm depending on who were the opponents. Amon would have to learn how to "dance" if he wanted to take full control of the situation in a combat.

Adding to all that, Amon was using the Soulrousing Technique to generate more Nebula and boost his soul"s growth. He had to admit that this was an incredible training in paper, but he had been failing miserably.

"It is better this way. The array doesn"t stop when you are hit, so you are forced to get yourself out of a tight spot instead of taking a break." Lya was very satisfied with how this training room worked.

Like the Sparring Room, the Myriad Projectile Room had a series of adjustments that the user could make, like the speed of the b.a.l.l.s, the strength of their impact, the quant.i.ty of b.a.l.l.s and the complexity of the flying pattern they used.

Amon would be forced to find a way to properly use his divine sense, otherwise he would be hit. If he was. .h.i.t, he would feel pain and get anxious, and he would generate Nebula, boosted by the Soulrousing Technique. This would allow his soul to grow faster and his divine sense to get stronger. This meant that even if he failed, he would still benefit. It was only a matter of time for him to grasp what he needed.

Amon would wake up as the sun rose and spend the whole day training, only taking a break for lunch. In the morning, he would train his dodges and the use of his divine sense in the Myriad Projectile Room, and, in the afternoon, he would fight in the Sparring Room.

He spent the first five days failing miserably. In the sixth day, he failed the Myriad Projectile Room, but managed to defeat the puppet using a spear in the Sparring Room after a dragged out match in his last fight of the day.

He spent a good part of that night excitedly talking to Lya about how the fight had gone down and how he properly applied what she taught him. Lya only nodded with a smile.

On the seventh day, Amon finally beat the Myriad Projectile Room and walked confidently into the Sparring Room after lunch. To his surprise, the puppet now held a saber and his physical ability was the same as Amon"s.

Its attacks patterns, movements and speed were completely different from before. Adding to that, the saber was a completely different weapon than the spear. It had a lower range, but it shone in close-quarters with wide sweeping attacks and ferocious blows.

Needless to say, Amon lost miserably. He held no chance at all and the most he managed to hold on was forty seconds. He could only send a resentful glance to the ring in his finger, but he knew this was a warning from Lya. "Don"t get c.o.c.ky." He could hear her saying it, even if she didn"t speak.

On the eight day, the Myriad Projectile Room was many times harder than before. Amon could only give a wry smile as he stepped in. As he had expected, he left the room a few hours later feeling sore and with his body completely covered in bruises.

On the eleventh day, Amon failed to pa.s.s the Myriad Projectile Room, but managed to defeat the saber puppet. That night he went to sleep without saying a word to Lya about his victory.

On the twelfth day, Amon managed to overcome the Myriad Projectile Room for the second time. After lunch, what he faced was a sword-wielding puppet.

"This one is set to have the strength of an average cultivator in the middle-stages of Boy Tempering." Lya warned him, making Amon turn pale. This meant the puppet was stronger than him.

"It will be good for you. You will not be the strongest cultivator in the Promotion Compet.i.tion." Lya"s voice was serious as she spoke to him. "You will need to rely on your skill and wits to close the gap between you."

"I do recommend for you to look closely at what he does." Lya said. "This is the first sword wielder you will fight, a.n.a.lyzing how he moves, how he strikes and the decisions he makes will also be training."

Amon nodded with a serious expression as he faced the puppet, trying to obtain as much information as possible on how to approach this fight. This was a habit he was starting to develop as a way to train his observation skills and his decision-making.

The puppet"s sword as the same length as Amon"s but the puppet was taller. This meant he had a greater range.

The puppet was holding his sword with his right hand. This meant that his most powerful blows would be aiming at Amon"s left side. Amon would have to double his attention on his left side.

The puppet positioned himself in what Amon recognized as the third stance of the Fundamentals of the Sword. This meant that he would be using the moves of that manual.

"No." Amon thought. This could be nothing but a feint. The saber puppet had done something similar. He had attacked with sweeping attacks for the most part, so Amon got used to dodging or blocking them.

In one particular strike, Amon saw the attack coming and promptly blocked. To his surprise, the puppet changed his stance mid-strike into a stab, sliding through Amon"s guard and hitting his chest.

Amon would be expecting strikes from the Fundamentals of the Sword, but he would not believe the puppet would use just them.

He took a deep breath as he himself a.s.sumed the first stance.

"Start!" He shouted, looking closely at the shiny sword in the puppet"s hand. Shadows started to swallow the white walls and the floor, immersing the room in a boundless darkness.

As the puppet had no expression, Amon had no way to tell where he was aiming. He could only try to focus on the puppet"s body as a whole, a.n.a.lyzing his movements and trying to deduce where and how he would strike.

Amon didn"t know this, but it was a good habit. Seasoned warriors could feint with nothing but their eyes, making one believe they would strike at where they were looking and attacking on the opening the opponent created when they tried to react to the feint.

The puppet held the sword with both hands, raising it horizontally next to his head and having his body in an angle, with his left foot in front. It was a cla.s.sic stance to a diagonal sweep downward, aiming for Amon"s left shoulder.

Amon looked at him closely. The left foot was in a forty-five degree angle. Making a sweep like the one his stance hinted at would be wrong, as the puppet"s body positioning would actually make such a strike slow and weak. It could even make the puppet lose his balance.

For such a strike, the puppet"s left foot would have to be pointing straight at Amon. The puppet would spin anti-clockwise using the left foot as a support as he took a step forward with his right foot. It was the only way to maximize the range and power of such an attack. Having his left foot in an angle would make the attack slow and would give Amon an opening.

"A feint." Amon concluded. The way the puppet was positioned was strange.

"It is the opposite!" Amon realized as he hurriedly raised his sword to block an attack aimed at his right side.

He was spot on. The puppet spun using his left foot, but it his spin was clock-wise. The puppet almost did a complete spin as his sword cut the air. The puppet"s sword came at Amon in an upward diagonal slash aiming at his right leg.

"Clang!"

The swords collided and Amon felt a numbing pain in his right hand. He was pale as he stared at the puppet"s eerily illuminate face. That puppet was incredibly strong.

The swords started trembling and emitting clinging sounds as the puppet forced the strike in. Amon could only gaze in terror as that blank face slowly approached him and Amon"s sword was pushed back bit by bit.

Amon hurriedly stepped back to escape this entanglement, but the puppet accompanied him with a step forward, their sword still touching each other.

"d.a.m.n!" Amon shouted in frustration. He swung his sword outwards, trying to break the puppet"s stance. As he did so, the puppet took a step back. Amon"s sword whistled through the air as he violently swung at nothing, being completely exposed.

The puppet took a step forward and stabbed at Amon"s chest.

"Pak!"

Amon was completely defenseless. He could only look in resignation as the blunt sword hit his ribcage, sending him tumbling back as he lost the fight.

The room lit up as the shadows dissolved and the puppet returned to his starting position before turning immobile.

Amon"s breath was rough

"To be honest, you surpa.s.sed my expectations." Lya"s voiced echoed in his mind. "I was surprised at how you saw through his feint. It was an incredible move on your part."

"Of course, after that you danced in that puppet"s palms." She said with a sigh. "There is still much work to do."