The second day of the Outer Disciple Tournament arrived like a thunderclap—literally, because one of the contestants accidentally triggered lightning and electrocuted himself during morning warm-ups.
He triggered a visible electrical discharge that occurs when there's a significant imbalance of electrical charges between a cloud and the ground, which activated the lightning. Not that he knew what hw was doing anyway.
Elias, seated in the same inconspicuous corner of the viewing arena with his divine sense cloaked, barely looked up. "Someone finally activated a mid-tier lightning art," he muttered. "And they were fried chicken."
He leaned back against the wall, folded his arms, and began scanning the final brackets.
Today was different, not the babies from yesterday swinging glowing sticks or throwing glowing balls at each other.
Today was the real competition—the upper ranks. The ones who trained harder, ate better pills, and believed wholeheartedly in the power of yelling their moves mid-attack.
"I'm expecting at least three named techniques per fight," Elias muttered to himself.
The crowd roared as the announcer floated above the arena on a spiritual sword, robes fluttering.
It was an outer sect elder. Elder Xioa Fan. He roared.
"First Match: Bai Renshu versus Wu Ke "
Two figures leapt onto the stone platform.
Bai Renshu was tall, graceful, and wore sky-blue robes etched with lightning runes. He conjured small arcs of static between his knuckles as he grinned with the cocky calm of someone who once blew up a cliff for training.
Wu Ke was shorter, broader, shirtless, and wielded twin crescent blades that shimmered faintly with lunar Qi. He didn't smile. He simply rotated his wrists and dropped into a stance that screamed "professional forehead-splitter."
The fight began instantly.
Bai Renshu moved first—a bolt of condensed lightning surged from his palm in a wide arc.
Elias tracked the energy: 14,000 volts compressed into a half-meter arc, spiral-form discharge pattern. "He's arcing laterally. Interesting. Trying to blind, not injure."
Wu Ke didn't even blink. He leapt straight through the bolt, blades spinning into a figure-eight guard. Sparks danced across his shoulders, but his Qi barrier absorbed the hit.
"Absorption-type Moon Qi," Elias noted. "Reflective properties if charged fully."
Wu Ke slashed low. Renshu dodged, jumped, released another arc—but this time directed it into the ground.
The lightning traveled through the stone platform and exploded upward beneath Wu Ke.
"Ohhh," the crowd gasped.
Wu Ke deflected the burst mid-air and rebounded off it like a springboard, flipping overhead. He came down with both blades aimed for Bai's collarbone.
Renshu grinned. His palm surged with light—and released a compressed thunderball at point-blank range.
The impact shook the arena.
Both fighters flew backward, tumbling across the platform.
Wu Ke coughed blood. Renshu's sleeve was on fire.
It was a draw
Elias nodded slowly. "Risky. Crude. Incomplete trajectory planning. But not bad."
He saved the replay in his mind's martial simulator. Already, he was restructuring the technique to compress the thunderball into a contained spiral burst for directional shockwaves.
"Add wall jump option," he muttered, "and flame retardant shoulder pads."
—
Match Two: Duan Mei vs. Hao Tien
This time, it was poison versus armor.
Duan Mei stepped forward in flowing green robes, her hair braided with venomous needles. She waved a jade fan, from which powdered spores drifted lazily into the air. The crowd held their breath—even the front row wore masks.
Hao Tien stomped onto the platform like a walking furnace. Full-body Qi-forged armor rippled with heat. His fists were bigger than most children.
Elias perked up. "That armor's not just defensive. It's channeling thermal energy. Steam-based momentum redirection?"
The fight began.
Duan Mei moved in curves. Her spores floated like dancers. Every step she took shifted wind currents, repositioning the cloud.
Tien charged.
A bad idea.
The moment he inhaled, his Qi shuddered. His movements slowed. She flicked her fan once, and the spore cloud wrapped around his faceplate like silk.
Tien roared, and the plates of his armor expanded, releasing a scalding burst of steam in all directions. The spores ignited, and the cloud burst into green flame.
Elias blinked. "Did… did she just turn poison into fireworks?"
Duan Mei didn't stop. She waved her fan again—this time harder—and the wind coalesced into razor-edged vines made of spiritual wind blades. They wrapped around Hao Tien's arms and dragged him down to one knee.
But Hao Tien wasn't done.
His armor plates shifted—slammed into place—and steam blasted from his feet. He launched himself like a cannonball, punching through the wind vines and tackling Duan Mei mid-air.
They tumbled. Dust exploded across the platform.
When it cleared, Hao Tien stood, bleeding from his neck. Duan Mei was unconscious in a tangled heap of vines and fan fragments.
"Victory," the announcer declared, "to Hao Tien!"
The crowd roared.
Elias leaned back, eyes thoughtful. "Interesting balance of elemental counters. Fire and poison shouldn't have synergy—unless the poison is flammable. Wind shaping needs more structure. Vine control is too soft…"
He trailed off, already editing a new variant: "Wind Coil Lattice + Toxin Vibration Trap." Very useful for immobilizing high-speed enemies. He saved it to a folder labeled "Stuff to abuse later."
—
Match Five: Li Zian vs. Rong Xu
Two sword cultivators. Both fast. Both deadly.
Li Zian had a blade so thin it looked invisible at speed. Rong Xu used a broadsword half his height, carved with beast runes.
They didn't speak. Just bowed.
Then they vanished.
To the untrained eye, they were flashes of movement. Sparks. Screams of steel.
To Elias? A joyride.
He followed every footstep, every spiritual pulse.
"Zian's blade has edge harmonics. He's tuning it mid-swing with wind Qi."
"Xu's broadsword is a stabilizer—absorbing impact through beast runes. Defensive and offensive hybrid."
The duel lasted two minutes.
Both landed strikes.
Both fell back.
And both smiled.
It was the first time Elias saw something real. Not flashy. Not loud. Just refined discipline.
"I'll keep that one," he said. "You two almost looked competent."
—
At sunset, the final matches ended.
The top 20 were announced.
Renshu. Hao Tien. Li Zian. Rong Xu. Wu Ke. Duan Mei—even though she was knocked out, her points were high enough.
The crowd cheered.
Elias walked off, deadpan.
"They'll be Inner Sect disciples soon. Good for them," he muttered. "Now…"
His gaze flicked to the horizon.
"…time to fix their awful techniques."
"but that will have to wait, I got an appointment with Fu Yu. He didn't do well. Time for some consolation."