Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 31 The Tournament: Round Two

Jie decimated the other entrants in the tournament, knocking them out one by one until only she and four others remained.

The crowd's excited muttering had fallen into a stunned silence as they'd watched this low ranked youth decimate everything in her path like a force of nature. Her fights with those above her cultivation level could only be described as one-sided to the extreme. They'd accuse her of bullying if it weren't for the fact that the ones she was bullying were above her cultivation.

The elder in charge of the proceedings cleared his throat. "We have our five winners!" he said, his voice booming across the arena. A few in the crowd rose and started clapping. Then a few more and finally, even a few of the most bitter families were applauding.

Strength was to be respected after all.

"You five will move on to the next round. You may return to your training. Make sure to be back here in two days' time," boomed the elder.

The youths bowed and Jie copied them but only to be polite and then, having been dismissed, she rushed out of the arena. She even went so far as to use lightning step to carry her back faster.

The other children might be proud of moving on to the next round. Or even of winning the tournament. But, Jie's goals lay so far beyond that she couldn't afford even a moment of slacking off.

She returned to Elder Shi's training room in moments.

Elder Shi was already there and seemed to be waiting for her.

"I thought you might return. You need to learn that there's more to life than cultivating," Elder Shi said.

Jie gave a polite bow. "I'm sure there is. Can we resume my training now?" she asked.

Elder Shi sighed and shook her head. "You make me feel like I'm being lazy, and I'm one of the strongest elders here," she said.

Jie remained unmoving.

"Fine! You greedy brat! You could at least tell me why you care so much about cultivating. I know that look in your eye. Who is it you seek revenge upon?" Elder Shi said.

"I don't seek revenge," Jie said.

Elder Shi shook her head. "If you say so. Just remember that if you cultivate too much, you can burn yourself out. Sometimes your mind needs a rest. A break from the routine. Something to keep you from going mad on your quest," she said.

"Succeeding will keep me from going mad," Jie said.

Elder Shi smirked. "Have it your way. I got you some more pills," she said. She tossed one to Jie who snatched it out of the air and placed it on her tongue.

The pill melted and The Essence of the Heavens and The Earth flowed to her much swifter than before.

Jie dropped into the lotus position and began cultivating, greedily sucking in all the Essence she could and refining it to perfection. Yet, no matter how hard she cultivated, it always felt like just another drop compared to the endless ocean she required.

After cultivating with the pill Elder Shi had given her, Jie sparred with the youths Elder Shi brought in. Despite Elder Shi saying that Jie should take a break every so often, it seemed she already had everything prepared in the expectation that Jie wouldn't waver.

Jie took it as a compliment, whether it was intended as one or not.

Jie continued to train and grow in power as relentlessly as always and it wasn't long before the two days were up and she was standing outside the arena once again.

Once more, the elder with rippling muscles awaited the group of youths outside the arena they were sent to. Jie had since learned that the massive man was called Elder Bai.