"..I guess she's busy.."

Glancing at my cellphone, I saw that Tang Qi Hong wouldn't be able to come out of training for the next week or so. She was learning how to forge spatial storage devices under Elder Hai Mo at the moment. As I was the one who made the request, I couldn't complain. Tang Qi Hong was learning this for my sake, after all.

Well, I wasn't that delusional to the point of flattering myself that Tang Qi Hong was doing it solely for my sake. I was sure she realized that the forging techniques for spatial storage devices were integral for a blacksmith and Spirit Engraver, and it was better for her to learn them sooner rather than later. Those things cost a lot.

Speaking of which, I had better keep my pieces of Void Whale safely. If the other students knew that I had them, they might try to rob me. I trusted most of my classmates enough to not stab me in the back, like Tong Xue for example, but that didn't mean I was na?ve enough to believe in the so-called good nature that was innate in all human beings.

I had been burned more than once. I didn't want to get backstabbed again.

"Hmm, there won't be much blacksmithing or Spirit Engraving classes this week..I might as well go back to Wu Ling Academy today."

The tournament was mere weeks away. Two weeks, if I remembered correctly. I had best focus on preparing for combat over blacksmithing. My current goal was to get into the Blood Blades, after all, not to forge a top-grade Spirit Armament. Tang Qi Hong, Zi Xiao Ji and Liang Shao Yang can handle all those. I was happy with fighting.

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My goal was to attain enough strength to protect everyone. If I couldn't win a stupid tournament, how would I expect myself to defeat all sorts of formidable enemies who threatened my friends and families? All it took was one mistake..one defeat, and I might lose those precious to me forever.

That was why I was determined to be the strongest. And in order to achieve that goal, I had to begin with training myself to win the tournament. Or at least train myself so that I could gain as much combat experience as possible – in other words, strengthen myself to the point where I wouldn't get eliminated early.

That would be embarrassing.

All the combat training facilities are in Wu Ling Academy. I think I'll rent a room in the dorm there and stay in school for the next few weeks..other than the weekends, of course.

Spending time with my family was still important, after all. It would be meaningless to claim that I wanted to protect my family when I spent all my time training and ended up neglecting my relationship with them. Nonetheless, attaining the strength I needed to protect them was still my number one priority, and hence I had to start training in an optimal environment as soon as possible.

Making that decision, I hoped onto the Phoenix Express the following morning (the day after I returned to Tushan) and got ready for school. While I idled on my seat, Tong Xue showed up a few minutes later with Lian Rou.

"Oh! Fei Wu! You're here!"

"It's been a while. Where have you been?"

I waved back and watched as Tong Xue and Lian Rou took the seats in front of me. The latter, in particular, turned to look at me curiously. Evidently she had noticed my absence over the past few weeks. I was touched.

Knowing Tong Xue, though, he probably already knew where I went. The guy had his fingers in all sorts of intelligence communiques, fishing for information.

"Been fishing, haven't you?" he laughed. The irony was totally lost on him, I bet.

"Whaling, actually," I corrected him with some relish. It was satisfying to prove him wrong, even if it was just a minor mistake. Okay, I was childish. But I was still technically correct. "Whales are not fish, you know."

"Ugh..I know." Tong Xue held up both hands in resignation. Lian Rou looked from him to me, still puzzled.

"Whaling? You were hunting a whale?"

"Yeah, I was trying to reenact the story of Moby Dick."

Both Tong Xue and Lian Rou stared at me blankly. Evidently they hadn't heard of Moby Dick before, or that story didn't exist in the world (then why was the ship named Mo Bi Di Ke then?).

I sighed. "Never mind. I was hunting a Void Whale. I needed to get some cash for a project I'm working on."

The Void Whale parts, as I said, were now safely secured and stored next to the Ice Soul Python armored scales. Both types of Spirit Mateirals were locked up tight and barred from the view of anybody, and as much as I trusted Tong Xue and Lian Rou, I didn't tell them that I actually took a few Void Whale parts for myself.

You never knew who was listening in on our conversation, after all.

"Oh..what sort of project are you working on?" Lian Rou's eyes were shining. She was, more than me and Tong Xue, a blacksmith and Spirit Engraver. Naturally she would be interested in forging projects.

"A personal weapon. I'm still not sure of the details yet, but I'll figure it out soon. Probably some sort of sword.."

"Right, you practice swordsmanship." Tong Xue nodded. "What was it? Heavenly Dragon Meteor Swordsmanship?"

Since the Chinese for Dragon and Draconic was the same, I wasn't going to quibble with him on that. Nonetheless, I glared at him. "How do you know about that?"

Tong Xue grinned. "I know everything."

"Except that whaling is different from fishing, it seems."

"Oh, come on! That's such a negilible difference!"

"Is it?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you try fishing and whaling, then tell me how they are almost the same."

"Um, can you elaborate more n your personal weapon? So a sword, huh? Why don't you just get one from the sect?"

Lian Rou broke in before we could squabble further. I shook my head.

"No, I want to customize my personal weapon with some weird functions. I'm experimenting with several ideas in my mind, but I'm still not sure which one I want. A weapon that can combine offense and defense, for example."

That was why I wanted the Ice Soul Python armored scales in the first place. Known as one of the sturdiest magical beasts, the Ice Soul Python's armored scales made a good ingredient for defensive equipment and armaments.

"Heh..sounds interesting. Make sure to show me when you're done!"

Lian Rou was nodding excitedly, her eyes shining. I wasn't sure why she was so enthusiastic about something an amateur was experimenting with, but I wasn't one to dampen others' spirits. So I merely smiled and nodded.

"Sure."

"But there's only a couple of weeks left before the tournament," Tong Xue remarked just when the Phoenix Express lurched into acceleration, throwing us back against our seats. The bus began to take off and soared into the air, surging forward at incredible speed. "You won't be able to forge the weapon in time."

"The weapon is not for the tournament," I informed him. Tong Xue's eyes widened.

"Eh?! It isn't?"

I understood his concern somewhat. Usually the students in our academy would be working hard to procure high-quality weapons, or even mystical treasure weapons. The better the weapon, the larger the advantage the wielder had in a fight. Of course, skill came into play too, but if it was a match between two evenly skilled opponents, the one with the better weapon would have an edge, and thus a higher chance of winning.

Unfortunately, right now I couldn't afford to buy a high-quality weapon. I had spent all my money on martial arts manual. And while I normally would have earned a lot of money from the mission where I hunted a Void Whale, most of my rewards were in the form of the Void Whale parts I pilfered from our catch. Not to mention, I planned on using the rest of the cash for living expenses and other spirit materials for my intended weapon.

Furthermore, it would be a waste to buy an expensive Spirit Weapon, only to discard it or sell it off (at a lower price because it would be second-hand by then) once I had finished forging my personal Spirit Weapon.

"I'm thinking more long term. This Spirit Weapon is one for the future, something I can use for the next few years and not just for a single tournament."

"Ah..that's very farsighted." Lian Rou nodded in approval. Tong Xue frowned, but he didn't object. Perhaps he saw the wisdom of my decision, but he still had several doubts about it.

"Then what are you going to do about the tournament?"

"I'll participate in it.."

"No, I mean, what are you going to use?"

"Oh, you mean these?"

I drew my swords from my bag. Even though they were somewhat banged up after the Void Whale mission, I had fixed them up and repaired them as best as I could. As a blacksmith and Spirit Engraver of the Nine-tailed Fox Sect, we had to learn the basics of weapon repairs and maintenance. So I put them into practice after I returned to Tushan City.

Tong Xue made a face. "You're using such cheap, poor quality swords?"

"Hey, they helped me out a lot against the Void Whale, you know?" I frowned at Tong Xue's casual dismissal of what I deemed were my comrades. "And against the other students, I'll most likely use non-weapon skills."

"Like your kicking techniques?"

"Well, obviously I have far more experience with my kicking techniques than I do with sword techniques." Pushing up my glasses, I affirmed. "Plus I'm not exactly bloodthirsty enough to use swords on the other students."

"Don't be na?ve," Tong Xue reprimanded me. "Your opponents will be doing their best to kill you, you know. Haven't you signed the indemnity form? You know the opponents won't be made to take responsibility even in the event of your death. We're allowed to kill each other."

"Not unless we surrender first," I reminded him. "Killing an opponent who has surrendered will be deemed as cold-blooded murder and is punishable by death."

"Of course, but do you think your opponents will necessarily wait for you to surrender?" Tong Xue rolled his eyes. "They'll come at you with the intention to kill right from the start. Some of them are capable of killing others in just one strike."

"You're right," I conceded with a nod. "I'll adjust my tactics according to the opponent. Obviously, if the opponent is strong and full of killing intent, I'll do my best with my swords. But.." I glanced at them before putting them back in my bag. "..that doesn't mean my chances of surviving will be higher. As I said, I lack experience with the sword."

That was why I took the mission. One of my primary objectives was to get used to wielding swords and actually putting the sword techniques I had learned from Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship into practice.

The Void Whale had not let me down. Hell, most of the sea monsters I met out in the Void Ring had given me ample chance to practice my sword techniques in reality. While human opponents would pose a completely different challenge, I was sure that the combat experience I gained from slaying sea monsters was invaluable.

And I still had yet to mention the priceless lessons and advice I had received from sparring with Qiang Zhe. Even if it was just sparring sessions instead of actual combat, the reflexes I honed during those mock battles were just as important.

Qiang Zhe didn't go easy on me, after all.

I had also trained a little against Da Ge and Zhao Shi, exchanging moves with them, but as expected neither of them had reached the level Qiang Zhe attained with his decades of experience. Nonetheless, I also valued my duels with them. They would be closer to the opponents I would face over the tournament.

"So who do you think will win the tournament?" Lian Rou asked, shifting the subject away from me. Tong Xue grinned as he retrieved his tablet.

"The favorites are, of course, Bai Ning Xue and Zhu Jiao. As you already know, they are both Five Star Constitution cultivators, and Bai Ning Xue has even attained level 9. Zhu Jiao might still be at level 8, but we all know that's only because he hasn't taken the level 9 test yet. He might take it before the tournament, or after.."

"That's right. Those two are currently the strongest martial artists in our cohort." Lian Rou nodded in agreement.

"Yup. Other than those two, we have a couple of dark horses. Du Lang, for example, has been progressing steadily..he's also level 8. Then there's Feng Tian Yong, who has broken through level 9 of the Sacred Phoenix Flame Body Formula."

I cocked my head to the side as I listened. As usual, all these levels and numbers were meaningless to me. The only conclusion I got out of that was that Feng Tian Yong was incredibly strong at the moment.

"Li Chun Long is another one to watch out for. He has hit level 12 of the Solar Celestial Dragon Formula."

Dude, can you speak in proper Chinese and not numbers? History and literature, not math and science, were my strongest subjects. Going off on these levels and numbers were just boggling my mind and meant nothing to me.

Tong Xue rattled off another list of names I had never heard of before and couldn't be bothered to remember.

Fortunately, his conversation was cut short when the bus pulled to a stop. The driver turned his head to glare at Tong Xue.

"Hey! Quit yapping back there. We're at your school!"

"Sorry, and thank you," I told him as I got up and got ready to alight. Tong Xue looked a little sheepish, and he bowed his head slightly.

"Sorry, got carried away there."

"You should learn to talk less," Lian Rou giggled as she followed him out of the bus. I lowered my head apologetically toward the bus driver and then alighted along with them. By now, the bus driver seemed more amused than annoyed.

The roar of engines told me that the bus had taken off behind us, but I ignored it and focused on walking to the classroom. Glancing around, I saw that not much had changed since the last time I had been here.

How nostalgic.

After spending a few weeks out on sea staring at absolutely nothing but water for kilometers on end, it was refreshing to see the school again. I couldn't help but be relieved to be on solid earth after spending so much time on a ship.

Unfortunately, the peace did not last long. The next thing I knew, Tong Xue had jumped on me the moment I returned to my desk. He had his tablet out again, and was checking the list of participants in the tournament.

..actually, wasn't everyone obligated to participate? It didn't matter if we were blacksmiths/Spirit Engravers or fighters..every single student in Wu Ling Academy enrolled here to be a martial artist. It made no sense if we chose to stay out of the competition.

"What about you?" I asked Tong Xue, breaking him off in the middle of his information-sharing. He stared at me blankly.

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you participating in the tournament as well? You're pretty skilled, and even if you aren't as strong as the others, your intelligence and stealthy tactics should more than make up for your lack of strength."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Oh, I'm not saying you're weak," I assured him. "I'm just asking what your chances of winning the tournament are. Surely you'll be making it far into the finals, given that you're aiming to be a Blood Blade in the Nine-tailed Fox Sect?"

"Hmm..well, it's true that I aim to get into the Blood Blades eventually, but.."

Tong Xue frowned as he pondered thoughtfully, his finger on his chin. Then he shook his head bitterly.

"..I don't think I stand a chance of progressing far into the tournament. I'll probably hit the last 16 or so, and that's if I'm lucky."

"Huh? You.."

"There are about four hundred students participating in the tournament. We'll be having preliminary rounds, and only the top sixteen will make it to the finals. We'll be having twenty-four matches to decide who the top sixteen students are, and those with the most points of their groups will making it to the finals."

"Twenty-four matches?!" I blurted out. "You mean twenty-four matches each?"

"That's right." This time, Lian Rou had arrived to join us. Having overheard our conversation, her curiosity was piqued. However, she had information of her own. "There are about sixteen groups with twenty-five students each, and we have to fight the other twenty-four students to earn points."

"Naturally, the only way to earn points is to win. Or draw. A win is three points, a draw is one point and a defeat is worth zero points. The student with the most points in his group will make it to the finals." Tong Xue sighed.

"Neither Tong Xue nor I am confident of being among the top sixteen," Lian Rou finished. She smiled sheepishly. "Given my strength, I'll be lucky to be in the top half. I'm more inclined toward blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving, after all."

"I'm probably in the top hundred," Tong Xue declared confidently, then his face fell a little. "But I'm definitely not in the top sixteen. Maybe top fifty at best? But there's no way I can win almost all of my twenty-four matches to take top spot in my group."

"Have the groups been decided yet?" I asked. Both Tong Xue and Lian Rou shook their heads.

"The groups will only be decided right before the day of the tournament," Tong Xue informed me. "This is to prevent sabotage and rigging. And match-fixing."

"They're really being careful about this," I observed. Lian Rou giggled.

"Of course! Wu Ling Academy frowns upon cheating. They'll deliver heavy punishments to anyone who tries to sabotage or bribe their opponents. We have quite the prestigious reputation to maintain, especially as the role model for orthodox martial artists."

Somehow I doubted that we were really a role model for orthodox martial artists, and a lot of the so-called orthodox martial artists I had met were either pretty unscrupulous or bloodthirty or glory-hunters, so I was cynical about such claims.

"That said, it's still best to gather information on your potential opponents. Knowledge is power and all that, after all." Tong Xue skimmed through his tablet. "It's best to make sure you know what kind of fighter your opponent is when he or she is revealed, so that you can quickly come up with countermeasures on the spot."

I stared at him dryly. "You're not going to be able to memorize all of the other three hundred and ninety-nine or so students' details."

"No, I'm not. But I don't have to. I just need to remember those who will be formidable opponents, especially those with troublesome techniques." Tong Xue then frowned. "Even if they seem weak, they might have some sort of technique that compensate for their lack of strength and will cause us a lot of problems in battle. In certain ways, it's easier to fight the physically stronger students because their strategies tend to be more direct and straightforward, to the point that their moves become predictable. So you can already prepare for those."

"So people like you," I remarked. Lian Rou burst out laughing at that.

"Fei Wu has got you good!"

"I won't deny it." Tong Xue tilted his head as he leaned closer to study the particulars of students in his tablet. "But..even so, my tricks aren't going to help me against the likes of Bai Ning Xue or Zhu Jiao or Feng Tian Yong, who will just overpower me with brute force."

"What about Fei Wu?"

"Hmm? Oh, Wu, you're..well, a dark horse, I suppose?" At Lian Rou's question, Tong Xue scratched his head. "There isn't much information on you and your techniques. You've spent too little time fighting over the last two years."

That was because I spent the majority of that period assimilating and purifying the qi that I had absorbed from over a hundred demonic martial artists.

"So not many people are giving you any chance. Furthermore, you kind of messed up your level 6 test and barely passed it, so people think you aren't that strong. The favorites are mostly level 8 and the single level 9 we have currently."

In other words, Bai Ning Xue was the overwhelming favorite, with Zhu Jiao coming a close second.

"But who knows, you might surprise everybody." Tong Xue was nodding, more humorous than serious. "That's why I say, knowledge is power. Look at all the information I gather, they'll definitely be useful to you."

"..I mean, thanks, but as I said, I'm not going to be able to memorize all four hundred other students.."

"Nah, just look at the stronger ones." Tong Xue waved my statement away. I raised an eyebrow at that.

"If I can't even defeat normal opponents, what makes you think I'll be able to defeat the stronger students?"

"That's a good point, but still, it's better to know than not to." Tong Xue was being very stubborn about it for some reason. "We'll be able to commentate better."

"Huh? You want to be a commentator?"

"Hmm..maybe? That sounds fun."

"Okay.." I decided to humor him. "Let's see what you got."

"Now you're talking!" Tong Xue grinned. Spinning his tablet over so that he could show me and Lian Rou, he gestured at the screen. "Now the first person to take note of is Li Chun Long. As I said, he has mastered level 12 of his Solar Celestial Dragon Formula.."

While I knew this was going to be the main tournament arc, and that it would be useful to know some of the potential opponents I would be facing, this was just ridiculous. Did they have to supplement every tournament with a detailed dossier of each opponent I would be facing? Not that I even knew who my next opponent was. Yet, here Tong Xue was rambling on and on about the various strong contenders' sects, their power levels, their skills, their techniques, their specialities, their weapons, their rivals, their friends, their fathers, their mothers, their dogs, their shoe size, the last meals they ate, and a ten-page essay about the day they took their first step into the jianghu.

I mean, was all this bullshit information really necessary? Who cared of Yu Wen Tian was rivals with Xiao Wu Chen? And why would I care of Gao Xue's father was the patriarch of the Gao clan, and that she was motivated to win to bring glory to her sect? Or that Deng Da Shen was jealous of Tou Ren Jia for stealing his childhood friend and saw this as his chance to get back at him? At this point, most of the information was more gossip than useful Intel.

Besides, there was no point remembering any of it.

All that matters is that the protagonist (Zhu Jiao) wins. And all these poor bastards cease to matter anymore. Okay, that joke didn't come across well, but as a reminder, protagonist is pronounced the same way in Mandarin as Zhu Jiao.

I sighed. I could already predict what was going to happen in this tournament. Zhu Jiao would overcome all odds and reach the finals, where everyone declares him to be the best and praise him endlessly to high heaven every time he wins, until he meets Bai Ning Xue in the finals. Then he's suddenly the scum of the earth who doesn't know his place again.

There, he would challenge Bai Ning Xue and make a bet – if he wins, she will marry him or be his girlfriend. Bai Ning Xue would coldly look down on him condescendingly – though inside, her heart will flutter at how bold her childhood friend is – and says he stands no chance. They have an epic fight, Zhu Jiao wins, Bai Ning Xue is moved to tears at how strong he has become, and she happily agrees to be his girlfriend.

Then everyone praises Zhu Jiao to no end once again, revering him as some godly protagonist who overcomes all odds and surprised everyone, despite him supposedly being a Five Star Constitution cultivator (which they conveniently forgot because of that one time he lost his talent). Bai Ning Xue's parents would appear and accept him as their future son-in-law, or they wouldn't, which would lead to more family drama that Zhu Jiao would overcome through sheer strength and face-slapping, and he still gets to marry Bai Ning Xue after all that bullshit.

Happy end. Plus it was so cliché it made me want to puke. There was no longer any need to tell this story. Everyone could see what would happen a mile away.

"Fei Wu? Are you listening? Hello?"

"Yeah, I am."

I was suddenly aware that Tong Xue was calling me. I must have blanked out after his endless droning. Good. At least the existences beyond the fourth wall didn't have to read all the nonsense about the various characters whose names they probably wouldn't even remember. Taking a deep breath, I rubbed the back of my neck.

"So you're talking about Du Lang now, right?"

"That's right! As you know, Du Lang views Zhu Jiao as his rival, and is out to get him. I think he's in love with Bai Ning Xue, and so he resents Zhu Jiao for capturing no small amount of her attention. He'll definitely use the tournament as an opportunity to defeat him!"

Yeah..like I said, stupid gossip. Who cares about that, seriously? I couldn't be bothered if Du Lang was in love with Bai Ning Xue or even Zhu Jiao himself. The only outcome was that Zhu Jiao would defeat Du Lang and humiliate him in front of Bai Ning Xue, thus causing his grudge to grow. Or not. Even if that happened, it was entirely none of my fucking business.

"Oh, Student Fei Wu, you're back."

Teacher Jiao Shi spotted me the moment he stepped into the classroom. I nodded and rose from my desk, relieved at not having to listen to more of Tong Xue's gossip. On the other hand, Lian Rou looked disappointed. Apparently she really enjoyed listening to all these rumors about other people's love lives.

"I should have informed you last night. The mission was successful."

"Oh, now that you've mentioned it, I did receive an email regarding that." Teacher Jiao nodded thoughtfully as he glanced at his tablet. "Well, congratulations. But you've missed quite a bit of class. Will you be able to catch up?"

"I'll be staying in the academy for the next few days," I told him. "I intend to use the training facilities, and borrow a bunch of training equipment from school. For strength training. I'll also need to book a room in the dormitories."

"Good. Make sure you approach the office for that. I'll send you your assignments, and if you have any questions or problems you don't understand, feel free to approach me."

"Understood. Thank you."

Wu Ling Academy was still an educational institution, after all. Of course I had to get my homework done. Fortunately, theory was my forte, so I wasn't worried. Tong Xue might be great at gathering information, but I could quickly glance through a text, discard the irrelevant information and focus on the main points.

That was how I had survived up till now. Certainly, there were advantages to Tong Xue's style, but I knew my limitations. My memory wasn't that good, and I couldn't rely on memorizing everything. That was why I focused on the main points.

And for the tournament, the main point was the actual matches themselves.