"1st-Step Qi Condensation..." The Headmaster of the Great Serpent Cultivation School muttered, narrowing his eyes at the beggar fighting against the strongest senior brother.
He broke through in such a short time? Axton thought, a smile forming on his lips. It could be that Yoma was hiding his true cultivation, or perhaps he really had broken through quickly. Either way, this was good. Everyone had their secrets, and Axton respected that.
"Your Personal Disciple is not bad," Elder Yuan commented. "But he's only at the 1st-Step Qi Condensation stage, and he'll need more than that if he wants to defeat my disciple."
"As a Soul Creation cultivator, you should know better that cultivation isn't always the deciding factor in a battle," Axton said, glancing at the elder before turning back to the fight.
"Haha, but Heru has the skill, the experience, and the technique to back up his cultivation," Elder Yuan said proudly, his eyes radiating confidence. "Your disciple knows how to fight and has a decent grasp of the Way of the Sword, but his abilities don't match Heru's."
"We'll see about that," Headmaster Axton replied.
As the two fought, Axton couldn't help but feel confused as he watched his Personal Disciple.
Yoma was only blocking or dodging Heru's attacks, and when he did try to retaliate, Heru easily blocked it.
His Personal Disciple had a unique technique, merging Fire Blast and Wind Blast to create his own attack—a feat most cultivators couldn't achieve, a testament to Yoma's great talent. However, the attack lacked power. It was pure Unrefined Qi, making it impossible for Yoma to cause any real damage.
A Qi Condensation cultivator not using Refined Qi… what's his plan? Axton narrowed his eyes, trying to understand Yoma's mind.
A black snake swept past Apollo's head, tearing up the ground behind him. It raced toward the building, but the air solidified, blocking the snake sword.
Apollo slashed with his tree branch, a wind slash materializing and speeding toward his opponent!
But Heru's body flickered before reappearing beside him!
Anticipating this, Apollo activated True Hardening and his Simple Movement Technique, aiming a punch at his opponent's head. However, Heru's reaction speed was faster—his sword returned to its original form, blocking the incoming fist!
With a loud bang, Heru's body flew backward, crashing into the barrier with a heavy thud.
Apollo seized the moment, raising his free hand to unleash the Fire Wind Blast. The attack caught Heru off guard!
Dust clouds billowed into the sky.
The Beggar narrowed his eyes, feeling a sudden sense of unease. Sure enough, the dust cloud dispersed, revealing a blue serpent surging toward him. Apollo's eyes widened in shock.
He hurriedly slashed at it with his tree branch, coated in the Simple Wind Sword Technique, but the snake remained undamaged.
Apollo's body was thrown across the ground, carving a long ravine. He nearly crashed into the barrier but managed to stop himself with a stomp of his foot.
Straightening up, he stared ahead. Heru's weapon had turned blue, the black snake now a great serpent, its shimmering blue scales reflecting the sunlight.
"You really pissed me off!" Heru snarled, his eyes red with anger. The snake weapon coiled around him, hissing menacingly. "Enough playing! I'm going to use my full strength!"
Apollo tensed. He realized he couldn't win. He couldn't even cut through Heru's technique like he had with previous opponents. This was frustrating. He didn't want to surrender, didn't want to give up his position as Personal Disciple. But it was becoming clear that he was outmatched.
As he saw his opponent already swinging his weapon, Apollo let out a sigh. In terms of cultivation, experience, strength, and techniques, Heru had the advantage, and there was no way he could surpass them in this fight. His only hope was to make his Simple Sword Technique work, just like before.
He started gathering the Qi from the surroundings, the Simple Wind Sword Technique covering his "weapon." Then, that familiar feeling returned—his dantian was shaking.
Out of curiosity, in the span of a moment, he looked inside his dantian. There, the small ball of Qi he had carefully compressed was shaking intensely. It behaved as if it wanted to release something, beckoning to him.
Feeling an instinctive pull, Apollo decided to use it.
As the snake sword was about to reach him, he followed his instinct, drawing on the ball of Qi inside him instead of the surrounding Qi.
Apollo slashed with his tree branch, and what happened next caused both his and his opponent's eyes to widen.
The tree branch, which he had snapped from a nearby tree, cut the great serpent in half. He felt only a slight resistance before his "weapon" sliced the technique cleanly in two.
Heru pulled back his weapon, the sword turning black as the snake disappeared into particles of light.
The sword was undamaged, but the technique, materialized using Heru's Refined Qi, had been completely dispersed.
Heru stared at Apollo, his face flushing red with anger. "That was luck! I'll kill you!"
Yup, here we go, his Young Master Syndrome is acting up, Apollo thought, a smile playing on his lips. He glanced at the tree branch for a moment before focusing on Heru, who was transforming his weapon into a great serpent once more. Apollo had finally realized the new strength he possessed after reaching the 1st-Step Qi Condensation Stage.
The ball of Qi inside his dantian was compressed energy that he had absorbed from the outside, growing stronger and more powerful once stored.
Realizing this and the potential of the ball of Qi, Apollo gained confidence.
Using his Simple Movement Technique and pairing it with another technique he had learned from the Advancement Examination, he appeared in front of the great serpent attached to Heru's sword.
The serpent opened its mouth wide, threatening to bite his head off. However, Apollo casually slashed with his tree branch, a strong wind cutting his opponent's technique in half!
"No!" Heru shouted, seeing his technique unravel. He hurriedly tried to recreate it, but the beggar was already in front of him. Gritting his teeth, Heru dodged to the side, his body turning into liquid.
But Yoma suddenly moved faster than before!
"Got you," Apollo said, using the Qi inside him to speed up his movements. He swung his stick, and Heru instinctively raised his black sword to block the attack. A loud grating sound echoed, followed by Heru's body being sent flying into the air, crashing against the barrier!
Silence hung in the air, and Apollo could hear nothing but the sound of his own breathing.
Raising his tree branch and staring directly at it, Apollo couldn't help but smile. It hadn't broken—not even a scratch on it since he first picked it up. Even though it had taken several hits, its appearance hadn't changed. The leaf hanging from the end swayed gently in the wind.
At the same time, the beggar finally assessed his body, his limits, and the potential of that ball of Qi.
His ears perked up at the sound of grunting. Turning to the source, he saw Heru standing, shaking his head.
The two locked eyes, but this time, Heru's gaze was filled with fear.
"Hahaha, what now? Have you finally realized the difference between our strength?" Apollo asked, gently placing the tree branch on his shoulder. He immediately regretted it—the stick, without any sharp edges, cut into his flesh. He felt the blood seeping out, but he had to maintain his act. Enduring the pain from his foolish mistake, he stared mockingly at his opponent.
"You know, I've been messing around with you, but you were blinded by your ego, so I decided to shatter it. How does that taste?"
Heru gritted his teeth. "You… you cheated!" he shouted, growing more convinced the more he thought about it. There was no way a nobody could defeat him—the strongest Senior Brother! He still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve!
"Cheated?" Apollo chuckled. "Now that you're down, you're accusing me of cheating? Where's your shame? Stuck up your butt?!"
Heru was left speechless before exploding in anger. "Watch your f*cking mouth!" Despite his chest bleeding and pain coursing through him, his fury drowned out his injuries.
"You cheated!" Heru turned to the shocked referee, who hadn't said a word. "Hey! Disqualify him!"
Eli was jolted out of his stupor. He was experiencing a mix of emotions, but there was only one word that could describe it—phenomenal!
The fight had been so amazing it left his body frozen. One moment, Heru had the advantage, overwhelming the Personal Disciple. And just when Eli thought Yoma was definitely going to lose, the Personal Disciple had turned the tide in an instant—exploding with strength and speed!
The tree branch in his hand had acted like the sharpest object in the world, breaking through Senior Brother Heru's technique and even slicing his sword in half!
The fight had lasted only a few minutes, but the emotions it stirred in the referee could last for centuries!
Shaking his head to calm himself, Eli looked toward the balcony in the distance, where the Headmaster and Elder Yuan were watching.
He didn't immediately declare the winner, waiting for confirmation. But it seemed he didn't need to say a word, as the elder vanished from his spot and reappeared on the ground, where Heru's broken sword lay.
Elder Yuan made the sword float around him before walking toward his disciple.
"Master!" Heru shouted, dropping to one knee. "Please bring justice to your disciple! I was cheated!"
Apollo raised an eyebrow when he heard this but didn't say a word, simply observing what the old man would do.
Elder Yuan glanced at the Personal Disciple for a moment, then turned to Heru. "You are defeated. We should go." There was no emotion in his voice or on his face. But when Heru heard his tone, his body shivered.
"A-alright," Heru nodded, picking up his broken sword from the ground in front of him.
Elder Yuan turned to the Headmaster, who had materialized beside the Personal Disciple. "This is not the end. Heru was defeated, but that doesn't mean the others will be."
"I know," Headmaster Axton nodded.
Meanwhile, Apollo stared at Heru with a mocking smile. Raising a hand, he closed his fist, leaving only his middle finger up at the middle-aged man.
Heru, who was already staring at Yoma with anger and humiliation, couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion.
"Let's go," Elder Yuan said, and the master and disciple left the scene, their mounts arriving to fetch them.
"Bye-bye!" Apollo waved.
"Your shoulder is bleeding," Headmaster Axton pointed out.