8 Getting serious.

What's a talent?

[Operator, he is referring to your Innate Power. Several bloodlines within this world grant potent, occasionally all-consuming powers and abilities. They tend to be signs of a royal or noble family. Suggestion: Agree with him.]

I blinked for a minute. Uh, thank you Eris. After a moment I looked Bao in the eye, and nodded. He seemed to get excited by that, and immediately he was in my face.

"Train with me! Right now!" He was... well, quite insistent, even as my body glowed, and returned to its original form. I hadn't even intended to, but apparently I had exhausted my internal energy. Chen Bao noticed that, and then noticed my nudity. I could swear I saw a hint of jealousy, but I ignored it to quickly put on my pants.

"Can you... I dunno, explain any of your reaction a second ago? I'm way too weak to match you in training. Why are you suddenly so insistent?" I finished getting dressed, and sat myself down on my bed after I flipped it back upright. I watched the scrawny kid for a few minutes, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flyer. He tossed it to me, and I read the contents. Some outer disciples were holding a ranking tournament in about two weeks. Winner gets a Low-Mystic grade weapon, and two thousand gil. Hm... Hell, sounds like a pretty good reward. And then, Chen Bao spoke again.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the highest cultivation stage entering the tourney. But the issue is Xiao Han. He's part of the Xiao family, and he's got their talent. It'll basically guarantee he whoops my ass. I want to fight someone with a talent, so I can practice against an opponent who can just suddenly get stronger. To compensate you, you'll get half the prize money."

That made sense, I think. If this Xiao Han was able to trigger some explosive power at will, then Chen Bao would definitely want some practice. Plus, some pocket money wouldn't hurt. I could finally view what the Cultivation Tower was all about. Thinking for a minute, I smiled and nodded at Chen Bao.

"Alright, I'll do it. But you should help me practice my martial techniques too. I figure, the more challenge I give you, the better you'll progress."

Chen Bao agreed, and we set off for the training grounds.

...

Half an hour passed, and I was finally recharged enough to fight it out with Chen Bao. He was a pretty patient guy, and was talking me through some tips and secrets he picked up through his cultivation. One of them was actually really interesting, too. Apparently, someone of the Foundation Establishment Realm can examine you, causing you to manifest your Spiritual Root outside of your body. It's a representation of your potential and your growth, where your cultivation comes from, reveals your elemental affinities, and is often used to decide upon making someone an elder within sects. He also mentioned that it's a service offered at the Cultivation Tower, and that I should get it done as soon as possible for my own sake.

Now, we were stepping onto the sparring stage. I had stripped down to just my pants, gaining not a small amount of stares from the nearby disciples who were also training. When they saw Chen Bao step into the same ring, a surprising number of them gathered around. Apparently he had some fans.

"I'm going to start by testing out some techniques, and then we can ramp up from there. You cool with that?" I asked, and Chen Bao nodded and got serious. He dropped into a stance, one arm extended and his body turned to the side. I could feel the energy radiating from him. Earthly Energy. Neat, first one I've met who doesn't use Mortal Energy.

I decided to begin, and I started to circulate my Earthly Energy as well. With a thought, I stepped, and I was not directly in front of Chen Bao's hand. In an instant, I had crossed forty feet. Yet he didn't even look fazed, like he never lost sight of me. In the same moment I stopped, I poured Mortal Energy into the pad of my foot, and the top. I kicked upward, feeling my leg carry insane force as it screamed toward Chen Bao's chin. And yet, he simply leaned back an inch, dodging it perfectly. Then he struck me, hard. A simple chop to my extended leg, and the force threw it back to the floor faster than I had raised it.

It stung, and I backed off for a moment to look closer at my opponent. His Earthly Energy was thick, like a tree, rooting him to the ground. From what limited things I could sense, I felt his Earthly Energy extending into the stage like roots, and exuding from him like armor. I needed a new strategy. I was holding out on using any Heavenly Energy. Didn't wanna reveal my trump card just yet. I went through my memories, and came to a good conclusion.

I started to circulate my Mortal Energy through my entire left leg, and felt the muscles scream in pain. It felt close to bursting, and I knew I was almost ready. With the leg muscles bursting with strength, I used my Earthly Energy in the same way I saw Chen Bao doing. I stretched it down through my right leg, into the ground. I felt as if the ground had me stuck like a magnet. And then, I kicked out with my left leg.

"Assault Style, First Form: Cutting the Front."

My left foot left the ground, and I completely relinquished control of the energy inside of it. A blast of air lashed forward, followed close behind by a sharp wave of Mortal Energy. The energy was rampant, brutal, and angry. In the moment before it traveled the twenty feet to strike Chen Bao, I saw a look of shock on his face, and felt him pour even more energy into his defense.

The energies clashed, and it caused an explosion of wind and dust to fly into the spectating crowd. I watched closely, as Chen Bao's thick energy started to become physically visible. Vibrant green, and easily enough to suppress my white Mortal Energy. After a heartbeat more, the two energies were gone, and Chen Bao was glaring at me.

"You wanna tell me what the fuck that was?" I could feel his anger, and a hint of his curiosity, but I just smiled.

"Everyone gets their secrets." He didn't look too happy about that, but he shrugged regardless.

"Whatever. Go ahead and use your talent. Then I want you to use that kick again."

I nodded, and light engulfed my body for an instant, before immediately fading. The crowd gasped and a few were staggered by my sudden change in appearance. And through the entire group, they all seemed to suddenly understand why I was sparring with someone as tough as Chen Bao.

And I took my stance once more. As I channelled my internal energies, the same as before, I felt the grey chitin of my legs starting to change. My left leg surged with Mortal Energy, and the grey chitin broke open, revealing a mass of newly formed muscles. On the back of the calf, hollow bone protrusions formed and poked out from beneath the obscene mass of muscles. Meanwhile, my right leg had changed as well, forming several traction claws upon by foot, and several thick tendrils on the calf that pierced the ground.

"Well, Chen Bao... Here it comes." Once more, as before I kicked out hard. When I released the Mortal Energy, I felt a blast of it erupt from the bone protrusion, throwing the kick immensely faster than I had done before. When the energy was hurled from my foot, it was physically visible, and a pretty magenta tint. However, the feeling it gave off was anything but nice. Venomous was a better word. Several people in the crowd were concerned.

But for Chen Bao, it was precisely what he wanted. A strange power, so he can learn to adapt. He lifted his arms, and a shield of Earthly Energy appeared. It met the thick slash of energy, and the two lights shook and cracked under the impact. But just a moment passed, and I appeared directly in front of the shield.

"Assault Style, Second Form: Gate Crasher."

I lunged forward, lifting my knee as I struck the shield with a second attack. Though I couldn't see past my own energy, I felt my knee make contact, and that strike caused a pulse of Mortal Energy to shake the shield.

Under the combined strikes, the shield broke, and Chen Bao himself rolled out of the way of the still-moving initial strike. It dissipated after only a few more feet, and that was it. I fell to one knee, my energy exhausted from the transformation and attacking three times. Chen Bao seemed impressed, though not too happy.

"Adam, you've got to work on your energy reserves. I don't think you'll be much use in a fight against anybody past Stage 2, even with your ludicrous techniques. You just burn up too quick."

I sighed, and slowly stood up, pulling my robes back on. "Yeah, I get that. I'm just not used to this, much." I didn't like it, but I was probably the weakest person in the whole sect, given that pretty much anybody could beat me by avoiding me for just five minutes.

I started to formulate a plan in my head, though I knew it was going to be a painful, stupid plan. I had remembered some mention of cultivation rooms being available within the Tower, and I knew I was going to need one.

"Sorry, Chen Bao. I don't think I'll be much use to you as a training partner. I'm going to go figure out a way to get stronger." I waived him off, and turned to the exit. And for today, I just wanted to sleep.