[ Name: Zhao Yun

   Age: 23

  Rank: Qi Core 2nd Step

  Martial Spirit : Hell Fire Lion ( Qi Core 4th Step )

  Soul Heritage: Non-Existent

   Unique Technique: Hell Fire Brilliant Blaze ( Qi Core 4th Step )

   Thoughts: Proud ]

' So he's quite powerful. Though I am wondering, System....Why is everyone so much older than me ?' Asked Jian, this puzzled him ever since he entered the Sect.

[ Well.....Normally Cultivator start cultivation when they are 18 years old. The problem is that no one is supposed to be able to open their Qi Core before being 18. Because it's only at that age that the Protective Layers around the Qi Core have lost their resistance. Of course an incredible genius could breakthrough, and it's the same for someone coming from a powerful family. Zhao Shu per example is a genius, he already reached the 4th Step even though he is only 18, but he doesn't have enough talent to be able to compare with the super Geniuses out there.]

' Talking about talent, why can't I see the talent of other people ? Oh and why can't I see the Rank of certain things like my Soul Heritage ?' Asked Jian. He was so caught up in his cultivation those recent days that he forgot to ask those questions. 

[  The talent of a person is difficult to gauge. If I were to evolve, I would be able to show it to you, but not now. By the way I evolve randomly, so you can't do anything to help me evolve. Also if you can't see the rank of certain things, it is simply because those things are too powerful for you to understand right now. The Venerable Immortal Body doesn't have the word 'Immortal' in it for nothing. ]

Jian was thoroughly shocked by what the system said. This meant that his Soul Heritage was insanely powerful. If anyone found out about it, he would be killed, that was for sure. Though it also meant that the Red Sky Sword, if it was repaired, would be a horrifying weapon.

" Disciple Jian ! You've been asked to come !" Yelled a voice. Jian looked up and saw that everyone was looking at him. Apparently it was his turn to fight. He climbed on the arena without even looking at his adversary. 

You can imagine his surprise when he saw that it was the second disciple who had been responsible of testing the recruits, Jin Bao. 

' System...' 

[ Name: Jin Bao 

   Age: 30

   Rank: Qi Core 3rd Step

   Martial Spirit: Non-Existent

   Soul Heritage: Non-Existent

   Unique Technique: Non-Existent

   Thoughts: Calm ]

' Is he Jin Wang's relative ? Oh and is Zhao Yun a relative of Zhao Shu....I kinda forgot to ask.' Thought Jian. He could see that Jin Bao shared some similarities with Jin Wang. They had the same nose, and their eyes were of the same color. 

[ Jin Bao is Jin Wang's older Brother. Zhao Yun is a distant cousin of Zhao Shu. Master I know you are now used to ask me informations on people, however do keep in mind that I can't give you too much informations on people if I have never heard it before. All the informations I give you, they come from what I've heard people saying. ]

Jian nodded, as it was something he had already deduced. He then got ready, since the fight was about to start, however just as Huang Lei yelled ' Start ', Jin Bao said something. 

" I heard that my genius of a Younger Brother has set his sight on you. I will see if you truly deserve his attention." The man said simply before he got serious and ready to fight. Jian was stunned for a second but shook his head and ignored what the man said. 

If he could win that fight and five others, he could easily enter the top 10, and that was the only thing that mattered. 

Jin Bao was the first one to attack. The man was a close-combat fighter and used a pretty nasty fighting style. He was using his bones to hurt his adversary, stabbing his knees and elbows into Jian's body multiple times. However Jian was the wrong adversary for him, since he had pain tolerance. 

Since the man was one Step higher than Jian he was a bit stronger. However Jian could fight him on even grounds since he trained his body intensely in the last few days. The two disciples exchanged blows for a minute before both came to a conclusion, they needed to get the upper hand in this fight by striking their adversary's weak point. 

Jian had only trained his upper body, so his legs were his weak point and Jin Bao quickly understood that. However Jian struggled as he didn't know Jin Bao's weak point. 

Fortunately, after he started to bleed a bit, he remembered that in front of him most people had a disadvantage , their stamina !

He only needed to tire Jin Bao a bit, so he could strike back and destroy the man. Since he now had a plan, Jian started to dodge Jin Bao's strikes by moving to the corners of the arena. Each times Jin Bao tried to attack him, he would rush to another corner. 

" Quit dodging you little shit !" Yelled Jin Bao who had lost his patience. All the disciples in the arena frowned at Jian, since this strategy was quite cowardly. However Jin Wang and Zhao Shu both smirked. 

' He is using his superior stamina to get the upper hand. Jin Bao will quickly start to tire himself out and that will be the end of him. Well done, my self-proclaimed rival. Though that won't change the fact that I am gonna destroy you.' Thought Zhao Shu, his eyes gaining a dangerous glint. 

' Jin Bao, Jin Bao.....It's quite obvious that Jian has a lot more stamina than you. He can also tolerate pain much more than most disciples. You can't beat him like that. Though Jian is quite stupid if he thinks those wounds he got are not gonna affect him. He is too reckless.' Thought Jin Wang, and he wasn't the only one who thought of this. 

[ Master. You can't afford to get wounded like this. You suffered too much from the strikes of Jin Bao. Those wounds do not hurt, nothing hurts you, however your body is still affected by those wounds. If you don't want to end up losing your consciousness in the middle of a fight, you better get hurt less. ]

' You're right. Thanks for the advice System.' Thought Jian. He continued his little trick for a few minutes until Jin Bao started to pant heavily. Jian smirked when he saw this and approached Jin Bao while the man finally understood what was happening.

' I have been too arrogant. This kid can definitely beat me if I don't have any energy left. I can only try to attack him with all I have left once he reach me.' Thought Jin Bao, his leg tensing as he prepared a kick. 

Just as Jian reached him, he tried to kick the boy right in the stomach. However Jian grabbed his leg and used it to bring him closer. He then continously punched his face, before using the leg he still had in hand to lift Jin Bao and throw him out of the arena. 

" I declare Jian as the winner of this fight !" Yelled Huang Lei, smiling at Jian. 

Jian himself was grinning like an idiot, since he had just won his first fight. He then went back to the stone steps and sat down. He ate some medicinal plants and watched the next fights while trying to recover. 

In the end he fought six more times and won each fights, quite easily at that since he could use the same strategy on everyone. He was now sure to be in the top 10, however he wanted to reach the top 3. And for that he had to win another fight. 

He was quite surprised that Zhao Shu only got paired with weak disciples, which meant that the man never had to bring out his true power. You could imagine what was his surprise when he heard who was fighting next. 

" The next fight will be Zhao Shu versus Zhang Tao" Said Huang Lei. While Zhang Tao wasn't some super genius, he was still the only other Outer Disciple who had reached 4th step like Zhao Shu.

Jian watched the fight with fervor, given that Zhao Shu was his rival. And he understood the difference between him and the man. Zhao Shu and Zhang Tao just weren't on the same level as the other disciples, and everyone understood this in this fight. 

Cultivators who hadn't reached the 4th Step of Qi Core, still were considered normal humans. Normal people could easily kill them if they went against them with number. However the 4th Step was the first bottleneck a Qi Core Cultivator would encounter. Breaking through this step was insanely hard, because to do so one had to refine Qi with extreme precision. You could break through the other Steps by refining Qi in any way you wanted, however to break through this step your Qi core needed to be filled with Qi refined as much as a Qi Core Cultivator could. The other Bottleneck was the 9th Step, but that was quite normal, as it was the same with most Realms. 

Zhao Shu and Zhang Tao weren't so fast that no one was able to see them moving, they weren't strong enough to break boulders. However they were still impressive. During ten minutes, they both attacked with all they had. Zhao Shu using his superior speed to attack Zhang Tao from all sides, while the man in question used his superior strengh to throw Zhao Shu around. 

Zhao Shu was still more resistant in the end. Zhang Tao was bleeding while the Genius only had a few scratches.  

" Hm, it seems like you are still too strong for me Zhao Shu. I am still proud I was able to last this long against you. " Said Zhang Tao, clearly indicating he wanted to abandon. Zhao Shu frowned but said nothing and went back to his seat. 

" I declare Zhao Shu as the winner of this fight." 

Unfortunately for him, he was called before he could even sit. 

" The next fight will be Zhao Shu versus Jian !" Announced Huang Lei.

" WOOOO!" 

The disciples cheered as they were finally going to see the two most interesting outer disciples fight.  Jian looked up and saw that even the inner disciples looked excited. His eyes widened when he saw Li Kuo waving at him. Jian waved back, as he was too far to see that Li Kuo had bags under his eyes and had bruises on his face. 

Both Zhao Shu and Jian climbed on the arena and the whole area became dead silent. Even Wei fang and Lu'er were looking at the scene with serious eyes. 

This was a fight between two rivals, the biggest fight of today. 

Jian and Zhao Shu glared at each other, the tension between the two rising to incredible levels. If one was powerful enough, they would be able see an unholy energy envelop Jian while some purple flames appeared at Zhao Shu's feet. 

' System...'

[ Name: Zhao Shu

  Age: 18

   Rank: Qi Core 4th Step 

  Martial Spirit: Purple Hell Butterfly ( Qi Core 6th Step)

  Soul Heritage: Non-Existent

  Unique Technique: Zhao Warriors' Ten Pillars ( Realm: Unknown ) ]

* Gulp *

" Start ! "