Cha Ming's first round of classes ended after a week. The teacher kindly reminded them that they should attend the monthly arena battle; if they performed well there, they could earn contribution points. This was one of the school's ways of rewarding the talented of each generation. Of course, talent could only be evaluated based on success within a specific cultivation level. Cha Ming had already cultivated to the peak of the second level of qi condensation, and as such he would be matched up against other people of the second level.

Perhaps one-fifth of the new students had reached the second level of qi condensation. The effort required to get to this level was quite pitiful compared to subsequent levels, so there would not be any remaining students from the previous year to compete with. Grade-four talents would have already moved into the third level of qi condensation.

Normally the monthly arena battle would involve five elimination rounds. Those who lasted three rounds would obtain 100 contribution points, those who lasted four rounds would obtain 500 contribution points, and those who lasted five rounds would get 1,000 contribution points. The amount would scale up for higher-level students.

Since this was the first round since the start of the New Year, the freshman students could earn 100 spirit stones in addition to the 1,000 contribution points if they passed five rounds of elimination. Grade-three talents could obtain ten spirit stones per month as an allowance to support their cultivation, so this amount was not a measly sum. The reward was put into place to get first-year students to face their fears and gain a bit of combat experience. After they had passed through this first round, they would be much less afraid of fighting and would continue to participate.

How could Cha Ming miss out on a great money-making opportunity? He effectively had the mentality of a forty-five-year-old between his previous and current life. He was not too worried about outwitting a bunch of teenagers.

--

The morning of the tournament, Cha Ming and Xin Er made their way to the arena. The atmosphere was festive due to the number of excited new students. These first-year students were quite haughty due to having been admitted to Green Leaf Academy; being able to cultivate put many of them above their previous friends and family members, and as such they had grown quite arrogant. The tournaments had been designed in part to teach a good portion of these students humility.

Hong Xin, being quite shy, did not want to participate in this round of arena battles without her brother present, and she decided to stay in the audience and cheer for Cha Ming.

At least I don't have to worry about Xin Er getting bullied in the arena battles, he thought. If she got hurt, he would never hear the end of it. Therefore, he didn't try to convince her and quietly stood in line to complete his registration. He was handed the number twelve. There were only a hundred or so students at the second level of qi condensation. In a few months, there would be over five times this number of competitors, so this specific competition was unique. All first-grade students and most second-grade students who were participating were in the same category: the first level of qi condensation. The competition in this group was fiercest. Unless these students gained incredible good fortune, they would never step into foundation establishment.

Once everyone had completed their registration, an energetic middle-aged man wearing elder robes stepped up.

"Silence!" he shouted. "You may all call me Elder Huang. I will be presiding over this arena competition and will have final say in deciding every match. As many junior students are participating today, many of the older students will be adjudicating individual matches. Their word is final, and they are all being rewarded with contribution points. You can rest assured that these adjudicating positions are highly sought after, so they would not dare to be dishonest while performing their duties as referees during this competition.

"Before we begin, please accompany me in bowing to our teachers and elders."

Elder Huang turned around, clasped his hands together, and bowed toward the east. The students followed suit. As it was still early morning, the sun was shining brightly in their direction, and it was difficult to make out the faces of the different teachers and elders. Elder Huang turned around and continued.

"This round of the monthly arena battles is very special. As per our yearly tradition for the past few centuries, this month's arena battles are used to spotlight outstanding talents. Talent is a very difficult thing to define. Many people compare talent in terms of cultivation speed; our school also gives preferential treatment to third-grade through fifth-grade cultivation talents. While this is a very technically accurate way to evaluate talent, is this truly the most effective way?

"To put it in other terms, is cultivation talent the only way to evaluate talent? The answer is no, of course! This world is one that reveres the strong. As such, many different types of strength are important. One of the most important types of strength is combat strength. If two people are at the first level of qi condensation, clearly the one who is victorious over hundreds in the same class can be considered talented, even if his innate cultivation talent cannot be compared to others.

"Another way to classify talent is in terms of mentality, or mental toughness. Those who persevere can reach the heavens, while those who do not will never amount to anything! I will give you an example. I myself am thirty-six years old this year. What level do you all think my innate cultivation talent is?"

Elder Huang looked around at the silent audience. Every once in a while, a student would throw out a guess, anywhere between third grade and fifth grade. After several attempts, Elder Huang continued.

"My innate cultivation talent is only first grade! My normal cultivation speed would dictate that it should take me fifty-six years to reach the peak of qi condensation. Not only that, my chances of reaching foundation establishment and becoming an elder were a hundred times less than those with third-grade talents. Oh, how life is unfair!

"However, Heaven never bars all paths. In my first month of cultivation, I worked very hard, yet I did not manage to reach the second level of qi condensation. I did manual labor to earn enough contribution points to purchase a single mortal-grade-one movement technique and a single mortal-grade-three combat technique. I increased my physical strength through body cultivation by training eight hours each day, and at night I cultivated instead of sleeping. This was all while providing for my three younger siblings so they could have three meals a day.

"Finally, this very day twenty years ago, I participated in my very first monthly arena battle, where this very event was held for all first-year students. I was very motivated to win the reward—not only would I gain cultivation resources, but I would not have to worry about providing for my siblings for months.

"Back then, there were over fifteen hundred other students registered in the tournament. I persevered through the first-round battle royale, which eliminated all but sixteen of us. Only one out of every one hundred passed the first round! Through sheer determination, I continued on and won second place. Alas, I didn't get the 100 spirit stone reward. I continued to work myself to the bone, and year after year I pushed myself to do everything I could to earn spirit stones, contribution points, and medicinal pills to boost my cultivation.

"Finally, on the very last day of my fifth year, I attempted to break through foundation establishment. Can you guess what happened? I failed! I graduated with a ninth level of qi condensation, and I was employed by the sect as a protector for the younger generation. For fifteen years, I struggled and failed to achieve foundation establishment many tens of times. A few months ago, I finally managed to achieve foundation establishment and became an elder of the academy. It was the happiest moment of my life! In the past five decades, I was the first grade-one talent to accomplish this feat! I had realized early on after winning second place in this very tournament that above all, I would need hard work and determination; my efforts have all paid off.

"As such, I wish to remind you all—this is not just a day to evaluate cultivation talent. It is the day to separate both the talented and the hardworking from the lazy and inferior. It is a day to test yourself and your resolve. You're not talented? Fine! Work harder! You don't measure up? Work harder! Remember that the toughest and wittiest among you will win those one hundred spirit stones, and that those winners truly deserve this fortune. Let that motivate you to work harder and reach new heights."

After finishing, Elder Huang looked around, proudly beaming at the new students.

What a motivating speech, thought Cha Ming. Normally I don't get impressed by these kinds of speeches, but he even has me a little bit riled up. This was a testament to Elder Huang's charisma.

Following this grand speech, Elder Huang explained the rules of the arena battles. For the majority of the students present, the arena battles would be split among the various levels of qi condensation. At the lower levels, the number of participants could number around 500–2,000, far too many to adjudicate. As such, each tier would participate in a battle royale until sixteen students remained. There would be another four elimination rounds, after which a final winner would emerge, and the students would obtain their respective prizes.

While the students could injure each other, killing and crippling each other was strictly forbidden. In either case, the guilty student would be expelled on the spot. In between each round, each student was allowed a full hour of rest while the other participants from other tiers held their respective battles. Talismans and magical items within certain limitations were allowed beyond the fourth level of qi condensation. These items were considered a part of each participant's respective strength and would take away some advantages from wealthier families for lower-level students. At this point, children of the noble families would start to gain a distinctive advantage over others, as their wealth could finally be demonstrated.

Defeat could take place in a variety of ways. The first way was if a participant lost consciousness. In this case, they would be escorted off the stage by an adjudicator. Falling off the stage would also eliminate a participant. There were two stages, one large and one small, with the larger stage being utilized for elimination battles.

Finally, a student could give up. By giving up and sitting down, a student would be eliminated, and participants were prohibited from attacking. In one-on-one battles, simply saying "I admit defeat" was also sufficient.

--

The first round for the first level of qi condensation began a half hour after the elder finished explaining the rules. The group battle continued for about an hour, after which sixteen bloodied students made their way off the stage to recuperate. Off to the side, many older wood- and water-element students and teachers acted as medics and gave emergency treatment to injured students.

Much to Cha Ming's surprise, the second level of qi condensation was skipped, as well as the third, which contained only twelve students. The fourth through seventh-level preliminaries were then completed. This wasn't to say that there were no eighth- and ninth-level students present, it's just that they were too few. Their rewards for winning were larger, and so students still participated in the monthly battles.

Finally, students at the second level of qi condensation were called to the stage. While they were not the most talented and as such were not the main event, talent was best combined with hard work. In terms of rewards, students at the third level were considered to have two wins, and the final winner could obtain the five victories necessary for their reward of 1,000 spirit stones. This level was currently beyond Cha Ming's reach, so he put it out of his mind.

Cha Ming proceeded to the stage along with the other hundred or so students. He had chosen to be near the corner. While he would be in a vulnerable position compared to the students closer to the center, he would not be surrounded on all sides.

"Begin!" shouted Elder Huang from the side of the stage. A few older students were ready on the side, waiting to retrieve students who resigned.

As soon as the match started, a good ten figures darted off toward their nearest opponents. These were the impatient ones—they figured that eliminating opponents early would bloody the waters and cause the wounded to be targeted by others, all the while intimidating other nearby students. While not a bad strategy, it put them at a disadvantage in terms of stamina compared to the others on the stage. Cha Ming continued to observe everyone.

Finally, someone close to him decided to feel him out with a hard iron fist. His fist was clearly reinforced with metal element energy, and Cha Ming realized that facing it head on would likely propel him off the stage. He immediately responded with his movement technique, Ghost Steps. It was an ideal counter to brute-force techniques like this. Maximum result for minimum effort. The student's momentum was redirected, and the punch continued off the stage.

Looking around, Cha Ming noticed that another eight or so students had also either accidentally leapt off the stage or had been pushed off by strong techniques. He began to walk around cautiously while thinking and looking for a target. After a few breaths, he noticed that one of the students near him was being attacked constantly by low-level flares, all the while bringing up earthen walls, one after another.

Cha Ming waited for the ideal moment and formed some quick hand seals—vines instantly grew out of the surrounding stone and grabbed the steadily defending student's feet. The quick entanglement paused his defense, and the attacking student was able to quickly knock him off the stage. He gave a nod to the attacking student, who shot him a grin—this was an elimination game, right? Why not wash, rinse, and repeat? Together they used the same tactic and eliminated another four students, after which the surrounding students became more vigilant.

After fifteen minutes of intense fighting, they were now down to twenty students; four more students would need to be eliminated before the next round. Cha Ming knew he couldn't use the same tactic anymore—he was out of wood qi, and he needed to keep as much of his other qi in reserve as possible in case he was attacked. Looking around, he noticed that one of the participants was closer to the center of the stage. He was far from intact, but his wounds kept quickly regenerating. An armor of bark also covered him, making it difficult for the surrounding students to justify wasting stamina on attacking him.

He walked toward this student slowly—no need to rush, these kinds of skills would quickly drain stamina. When he was roughly three feet away, he noticed a metal spike heading swiftly toward his shoulder—while this spike wouldn't kill him, it could severely injure someone. He once again used his Ghost Steps and his body wrapped around the metal spike, redirecting it slightly toward the nearby regenerating student. The spike seemed to ignore his wooden armor, piercing his leg. Cha Ming swiftly unleashed five consecutive slashes with his Finger Slash technique, once again penetrating the youth's defenses, after which he quickly shouted, "I give up!" A shadow flashed in front of him, and the student was whisked away to a nearby medic.

In the time it took for him to deal with that student, another three were eliminated, after which Elder Huang called the battle to a halt. The remaining students had passed the first round and would get one hour to rest. The first-level students would now fight their individual second-round matches, followed by the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth stages respectively. The third-level students would finish the second round off with four group battles; each group of three would fight until one student was eliminated from each group.

Looking up at the audience, Cha Ming spotted Hong Xin near the top stands, waving a banner that read "Handsome Cha Ming, go go go!" Beads of sweat began to form on his brow, and Cha Ming thought about how his name sounded an awful lot like the word "charming" in English.

After calming down, he sat down to meditate and recover his depleted qi pools. He'd gotten a chance to practice two out of his five elements, and while he would have liked to practice the others, he decided to hold back the other three until he had to reveal them. It never hurt to keep a few aces up your sleeve.