Chương 33: Group Battles (Final) and a Summons to the Hall of Justice

For the next few hours, An sat with his head lowered, trying to calm both his mind and his body. Finally, his arms and legs stopped trembling, and his shattered teeth had long since healed. All this time, being within himself, he noticed that his thoughts had become clearer, his mind lighter and sharper. There was much less of the outside noise that had constantly tried to distract him from his train of thought.

Closing his eyes and entering his inner world, he saw the particle, now semi-transparent, having given most of itself to him, to his Qi. An, still afraid to touch this thing, tried to read the now-visible Qi flows emanating from this aspect of Sharpness. But all he got in return was rejection. These flows, the information hidden within them, simply wouldn't let him read it. After trying several times, each time running into some kind of limitation, he realized that something was missing, something he didn't have.

Only by finding that something would he be able to access that information. Shifting his attention to his inner world, which was filled with his Qi, he understood that the energy around him now had something new in it. Activating his Qi, he drew it toward himself and began to manipulate it. He was greatly surprised. His manipulation speed had increased, the Qi's responsiveness had grown, and deep within this Qi, he could now feel the presence of the Sharpness aspect. And this feeling was very distinct.

This aspect had become part of him, a true part, not auxiliary, not something that could be taken away from him. He finally perceived that his Qi had acquired an aspect, had come closer to something higher, unattainable. Just as he was about to dispel the Qi around him, he suddenly noticed several other small changes. His regeneration had improved as his Qi became purer, and his vitality had greatly increased due to better integration of Wood Qi with his body.

And on top of all that, for the same reasons, his lifespan had increased to 290 years.

"I'm not sure it was worth it... Right now, I'm still not sure..." With a broken smile on his face, on one hand, he was glad for the unexpected changes in his body, but on the other, these same changes frightened him to death. Leaving his inner world and opening his eyes, he immediately felt many sideways glances on him.

"Had your fill of screaming?! Idiot!"

"Shameless, yelling like that! You're ruining the show for us! That's not what we paid for!"

"Exactly!"

"And what's with you playing with illusions here? Huh?! Think you're something special? There are children here, and he's screaming! And creating illusions! Disgraceful!" From all sides, curses rained down on him. Many thought An was using an illusion technique, seeing him, before their very eyes, turn from young to old and back again. An apologized once, and even that apology was hollow, purely performative.

Ignoring the remaining dissatisfied looks, he began touching his body, not missing anything, trying to assess his condition. An understood that even his skin had become much harder. Lowering his hands to his chest, he felt how slowly his heart was beating, each beat creating a strong vibration, which was what increased the speed of his blood. Slowly examining himself and getting his mind in order, he began to realize that the new changes, no matter how frightening, weren't causing him any psychological discomfort.

As if everything was exactly as it should be, like his eyes, the way he saw this world, where every object, every living creature was surrounded by semi-transparent flows. Even the panic that almost consumed him left no traces behind. Lowering his hands further, to his stomach, An felt that inside was just meat and emptiness. Even pressing his hands there, he could feel that there was nothing physical there now.

"Right..." He suddenly stuck his hands down his pants. In the front, everything was as before, everything in place. In the back, nothing, as if there had never been anything there.

"I'm just like Ken now... halfway... in the back... Heh." An laughed at himself, even though a slight pain was audible in his laughter.' But how am I going to... wait.' Then it dawned on him. From the moment he activated his dantian, he had never once needed to relieve himself. All these six months, An hadn't slept and hadn't once needed to answer the call of nature. After thinking for a long time, he decided to chalk it all up to his high vitality, without delving too deep into the subject.

He nodded, cheered himself up, convincing himself that everything was fine. He felt that he was on the right path. This whole process that had happened to him, now that his mind had fully recovered, he could hear from the depths of his body and consciousness that this path was correct, that this was the beginning of his own path. Exhaling, he took out several dozen Kavana fruits and began greedily eating them, trying to recover as quickly as possible.

Considering everything that had happened, he had visually lost several dozen kilograms. …. On the Arena. The central area by the lakeshore, the intersection of the Winter and Forest biomes.

"Duan Tomus. What do you think of my Young Master Tunk's proposal?" Turning his head back, Duan Tomus saw only four people behind him, with one of them wounded. In front of him stood a massive giant with a child's face.

If Duan Tomus remembered correctly, when he had been on the square on his first day in the Sect, before the big Gates that determined spiritual root ranks, he had seen this giant in the group surrounding that arrogant, conceited Tunk Perry, who was completely full of himself just because of his first-rank roots. Throwing a glance over the giant's shoulder, he saw five people standing by the edge of the forest.

In the center of the group, Tunk Perry wasn't even paying attention to him or his group, giving the impression that he was doing Duan's group a favor, placing himself above them. Even though they both understood that they all needed this alliance, or they would be disqualified, not because of the set time intervals, since the last elimination stage had already passed, but because of conflicts between groups.

If they encountered a group that outnumbered them by even two people, they could kiss their participation in the Tournament goodbye. But their arrogance, their egos, wouldn't allow them to bend to each other. Both Tomus and Perry were unwilling to concede, to be the first to extend a hand. Duan Tomus was just about to spit on the ground and tell them to get lost when, from the forest, a strong whistle was heard." HAA!" The giant, catching a dagger with both palms, was thrown back several dozen meters.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there." W-waaaa!" He sat down on the ground and suddenly began to cry, examining his bloody palms." Oh no! Little one, don't cry! Let Senior Sister blow on your boo-boo!" Immediately from the forest, following the first dagger, two more flew out. Duan Tomus stepped forward, shielding the crying giant, and activated his Qi, creating a blast wave that successfully knocked the daggers aside.

Tunk Perry and his group, wasting no time, immediately set aside all their differences and closed ranks with Duan's group. Standing shoulder to shoulder, Perry and Tomus exchanged glances without a word and threw their gazes into the forest, from where the daggers had come." Hehe! Brother Devi! We finally found someone! I was starting to think we wouldn't meet anyone else... Ah! Brother, let's take them all..." From the forest emerged a huge crowd, more than twenty people.

In the center of the group was Devi Ali, and next to him, hopping along, tossing daggers in the air, was Yan Eli." Ha! You're right, little sister Yan. How could I refuse such an opportunity when it walks right into my hands!" Devi Ali stepped forward and activated his Qi to its fullest. Pressure fell like a stone from the sky onto Duan and Tunk's group. With their cultivation level at the fifth layer, it was laughable to go against even one cultivator at the seventh layer.

Their bodies were constricted, as if trapped in a vice. Their faces went pale, all of them without exception, and sweat began appearing on their foreheads. With just the pressure of his late-stage cultivation, Devi Ali shattered the fighting spirit of everyone present.

"I love it when they stand there and tremble! Hahaha!" Raising his hand above his head, a big axe appeared in it. Walking slowly forward, the smile on Ali's face grew larger and larger, anticipating what he was about to do with his new toys. DONG! DONG! DONG! The sounds of the bell rang out everywhere. This time, the ringing passed through the arena's barrier, reaching all the participants. Ali stopped, his face red as he fought against himself and his desire to rush forward.

He, like everyone around, understood that this bell signified the end of the Group Stage. …. On the Arena. The central area by the lakeshore, near the Winter region.

"Senior Sister Ru, Lia Kult! Where are you? Oh… there you are, finally found you!" Mo Fan ran up to two disheveled girls, with torn clothes and covered in some strange slime." Ah! D-don't look!" Lia Kult blushed and used her hands to hide her partially exposed chest.

"T-turn around, pervert!" Ru Meng, leaning on Lia Kult's shoulder, also tried to cover her body, though not very successfully. Behind them lay a huge dead slime, its spirit core cracked, still inside the body, right between dozens of small eyes.

"Meng... Sister Meng! Your clothes!" Lia Kult noticed too late, the slime covering their bodies was beginning to dissolve what little clothing remained on them. Hugging each other, trying to hide as much of their exposed shame as possible, Lia Kult almost howled.

"Here, take these. And I'm not looking, don't worry!" Coming to their rescue, Mo Fan, with one hand covering his eyes, threw them his spare clothes. Grabbing the clothes, they quickly began to dress, constantly glancing at Mo Fan, making sure he didn't suddenly peek.

"You can turn around now." Hearing this, Mo Fan turned and saw Lia Kult and Ru Meng standing, still pressed against each other, their faces still red from the awkwardness of the whole situation. They couldn't even look him in the eyes, all because of what had happened before the beast was defeated. When they, in an indecent state, had almost lost, he had come to the rescue just in time. Thanks to Mo Fan, they were still among the participants, clothless, but still in the game.

"Mo Fan! What happened?!"" Ah! Wh-what's going on here? S-senior Brother Mo... why are they wearing your clothes? Wh-what are you doing?" Running out of the forest and seeing two girls with red cheeks and downcast faces standing in her senior brother Mo's clothes, Miu Muye's face twisted and fell. Going pale, but not losing her composure, she stood between him and those two girls, placing her hands on her hips. …. On the Arena. The lakeshore.

"Senior Sister Lin! That was the last one! We can finally sail to the center of the lake!" A disciple exclaimed, wiping his sword on his clothes. Around them lay dozens of small creatures, only waist-high, with white fur like a polar bear and looking very much like monkeys.

"I understand, Junior Brother Ova. Everyone, follow me!" Lin Xue, with one step, jumped onto one of the boats and without waiting for the others, waved her hand, and the boat headed toward the center of the lake, propelled by her Qi. Behind her, Ova John, never letting go of his sword, sat in another boat, with the other disciples from his group.

"Heh, Brother Ova... The way you're always clutching your sword suddenly reminds me of Brother Zen and his words before the start of the tournament." One of the disciples in the boat glanced at the sword and remembering how this brother constantly fought with that other fat one, he couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire. Hearing the implication, Ova John frowned, and almost swung at that disciple.

"That Zen Do! Just let me run into him in the Paired Battles! He's finished! And you too! If you keep running your mouth…" That disciple looked into John's eyes, and saw raw madness; he immediately regretted saying anything at all. Raising his hands, showing he surrendered, he sat down like the others. Ahead, on the boat that had separated from the others by hundreds of meters by now.

"Mo Fan... I hope you're alright... I'm in your debt this time, but it won't be for long…" Standing at the bow of the boat, she turned her head back, looking into the depths of the forest on the shore. Biting her lower lip slightly, she turned back, looking at the horizon, and her eyes turned cold and detached once again. DONG! DONG! DONG!" Oh... no... The time is up!" Before she could finish speaking, Lin Xue and her entire group began teleporting off the Arena.

Throwing one last look at the heart of the vast lake, she only regretted that she hadn't had enough time. …. On the stands. The last row. Sitting in the corner, An wasn't even paying attention to what was happening on the Arena. All this time, he had been ' playing' with his new Qi, with his newly acquired aspect of Sharpness. Now, his Qi could, with just a thought, become sharp as a blade, changing its structure, specifically the arrangement of its particles.

While experimenting and getting comfortable, he managed to test his Qi on the stands themselves and on his own hands. What surprised him a little was that when the energy came into contact with his own body, only if An wished it would his Qi be able to harm him. Nothing really had changed in that regard. But when he used his Qi on the wooden bench, upon contact, the wood simply split into tiny particles.

His energy made a cut, but instead of actually cutting the wood, like a knife through butter, in his case, his energy tore apart and destroyed the wood in front of it, and in the end, it looked like a cut. The thing was, when he directed his Qi at the wood, he wasn't directing a single particle of energy, but hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. And each of these particles possessed the Sharpness aspect.

So in the end, as the energy passed over the wood, it created as many microscopic cuts as there were particles used. And to the naked eye, it looked like just a cut. DONG! DONG! DONG! Hearing the ringing, An finally remembered where he was. He raised his head and looked at the projections, just in time to see all the participants teleporting back." Oh..." His plaque suddenly began to vibrate. Without looking away from the thousands of flashes on the projections, he took the plaque out and checked it with Qi.'

Outer Disciple An, affiliated with Hope Peak. You are required to appear at the Hall of Justice of Hope Peak to provide testimony regarding an active case of spirit plant theft from the storage of the Alchemy Hall of Hope Peak. You are required to appear immediately upon receiving this notification. If you do not appear within one hour, you will be declared wanted, and the nearest Hall of Justice officer will be authorized to use any means necessary to bring you to the Hall of Justice.'