24 Wave Stance

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"Vibrating Air Punch!"

"Drifting Sword Strike!"

"Void Fist!"

"Titan's Rage!"

…

Rain of techniques greeted the fierce beasts as the East Unit closed in. They were scared no doubts about it, but there was no path of retreat anyway. At the end of the day, most of the people cultivate to extend their lives and battling beasts these many, is very dangerous. Nevertheless, they already betted their future on tonight until tomorrow's battle.

And it was not like they were fighting alone anyways, they are backed-up by several disciples from the four sect, and those people are fiercer than these fierce beasts, they just don't interfere that much since it was still the early wave. They are bidding their time since they know that this is only the beginning.

Approximately one or two kilometers away from the huge commotion, Sieg can be found with his eyes closed, he was only using his instincts to sense movements and deal with them according to what would take the least effort but also highly effective. There were about 5 or 6 six beast ganging up on hi, but he didn't mind. In fact, he was wishing to have a bit more, maybe about 8 to 10 beasts is his wish, not so much to ask right?

'Absolutely yes, It IS fucking much to be totally honest? Do you want to die that badly?' This might be the reaction of anyone who could hear his thoughts right now. Some of the people here in this battlefield can't even handle three beast and would retreat in sight, Sieg on the other hand want to handle 10? And he was thinking if that's not TOO much?!

But then again there was a reason why he wanted to do so really. He was very close, so close to knowing the trick on using the second stance for Gentle River Art. He was disrupting, parrying, and deflecting the attacks of these beasts for half an hour now without pause. His concentration is too sharp that it can even pierce metal right now, he was patiently waiting for that slight 'spark' to happen and kept doing what he does for a couple of hours more.

***

'A Ripple is a reaction and a Wave is a response. Ripple stance has more into it than what I originally thought. Since a ripple is reaction then Ripple Stance honed my reaction skills, the fact that I need to circulate Ki according to the pattern in the blade art shows a direct representation of the word 'Reaction'. And since I knew the fact that Ripple Stance means this way, then Wave Stance could also be viewed this way.'

'A Wave is a response, if there was a small rock the was dropped into the water it will form a reaction in a form of a ripple. But if it was a huge rock, it will cause a wave which is considered as a 'Response'. A small rock is not a threat to a river, but a huge rock is. The key to using the Wave Stance is…'

A poisonous tongue of a toad was closing in on him at a frightening speed, Sieg already sensed this but he did not made any real attempts to escape, he calmly stood there, seeming waiting for the attack to connect. The toad, being a fierce beast, had developed a higher intelligence than a dire beasts, sensed something was off but ignored it since it was infuriated. This human was playing with them for far too long and it thought that it was about for him to die.

As the tongue connected, Sieg's hand moved and spun the blade like a fan in front of him. The toad blanked out for a second and then emitted a painful screech, Sieg's aura then erupted and pulsed for about 5 meters around him, all the beasts that was about to attack him encountered a backlash and staggered in disbelief. They were looking at Sieg's foot where pieces of the toad's tongue was still bleeding and squirming like a fish out of the waters…

'Knowing to give an attack a proper 'Response'.' Sieg felt like a huge door appeared before him and was letting him marvel at it's glory.

'If someone attacked you there's a few 'Responses', one is defending, two is attacking back, and three is retreating. Wave stance is all about this so called 'Responses', what I did just now is a counterattack therefore it is considered as a response, if I evaded the attack, that's also a response. So this is how the author made this, so fascinating…" Sieg was awed upon reaching an understanding towards the technique. Finally, the Gentle River Blade Art is at Major Completion as well. And since it was barely dawn when finished, he still had a lot of time to finish the mission for the recruitment.

So far he had only killed ten beasts, this was unintentional since he only wanted to train his Blade Art, he didn't even remember how did this beasts die, maybe it was because he was too focused to care. And now that he already achieved his aim, it is time to finish this.

The aura around him completely changed, it was no longer a meek and innocent aura, it was replaced by a thick and suffocating killing intent which was felt by every beast that was ganging up on him. He then unsheathed his blade, he did not activated the 'Auxiliary Trait' yet but the beasts already shook briefly. It was unclear to them but it seems like the human in front of them is wearing a sheep's clothing. They hesitated briefly before resuming their attacks but what happened next was nightmare for them.

Calling it 'one-sided- is actually an understatement, they didn't even had the chance to notice or even scream before they died, all that they can remember is their upper bodies left their lower ones. They only saw him assumed a stance and they died. Sieg didn't cared for their thoughts and quickly moved on to the next group of beast. He was not holding his cultivation back anymore, his speed was on full throttle and his senses were even sharper during this moment.

One beast after another fell, and just like the rest they didn't knew how they died. The number on Sieg's badge was quickly rising up, he was basically unstoppable, that is unless he was unfortunate enough to encounter a Demonic Beast. Of course he knew this so he made sure that he was avoiding that scary aura from far back, making sure that he won't even be remotely noticed.

After 30 minutes of constant running and slicing beasts in half, he already filled the counter and decided to silently retreat back towards the city. He was a bit uneasy, he can't understand why though but he trusted his senses. He had no one rely on during this moment except from himself alone, and he didn't need to go beyond the given amount since there was no need to, and there is always advantages for keeping a low profile.

As he went back to the city, he saw the aftermaths of the battle, the air is pungent due to the mixture of blood and flesh practically scattered everywhere, some of those are limbs from people who were injured, others are dead bodies of cultivators and the rest were from the beast. Sieg found this smell very irritating but he endured it and silently stepped inside the city using the 'Walk of Innocence'.

The city was in a bit of disarray, cries from children and widowed housewives lingered, grunts from people who got hurt from the incident, and countless of worried faces can be seen everywhere. One doesn't have to be smart in order to tell that the city is under attack from a very large beast horde. Of course, there's also people who are trying to return the peaceful atmosphere around the city, the medics are also doing their very best to assure that the injured are treated with utmost care.

Sieg fell silent, it would be a huge lie if he said that he wasn't affected by this cause he is. Even though there are a lot of powerful people inside this city, those beasts are just too many. The City Lord and the Four Sect Directors aren't allowed to step outside since they are expecting for the worst, and their presence is absolutely necessary inside the city to hold it's grounds.

'This is one the reasons why people wanted to become powerful.' He thought. The world is really too harsh for the weak, harsh to the point that their very existence is threatened. He can't help think of what would be his reactions if he was placed on those people's shoes. He felt a twinge of pain inside his body, he was still a kid after all. Though he had acquaintance, the only friend that he had is Fey.

'Where is she even buried? I didn't even know what clan she belongs too.' Upon remembering her, Sieg can't help but be hurt, he wondered if she can see him right now, he wondered if she's happy out there. He wanted to say that she doesn't have to worry anymore, that he's doing fine and he was fulfilling her last request.

'Can you see me? I'm fighting for my place in this world already. Rest easy, I got this.' Sieg erased his negative emotions and went towards the place where he was supposed to surrender his badge to confirm that he passed.

He entered the gathering area for the East Unit, there he saw many people resting, some of them were badly injured while some are fine. There were even people that successfully completed the task but nearly crippled, they were supposed to be happy upon passing the test but they can't help but be worried about their future. Sieg felt a bit of a pity but nevertheless, he went to the person who's in charge and surrendered his badge.

"You've worked hard, congratulations on passing and here is your rewards, you can now also enter any sect that you want as a service disciple. Oh by the way, you can choose to participate in the next part of the test. If you happen to reach at least 25th place, then you can enter as a Outer Disciple for any sect that you choose. Reach top 10 and you'll be admitted as an Inner Disciple plus there are even some additional rewards for those who reach top 5, how is it? Interested?"

Sieg's eyes constricted right away, he was suppressing the surprise, shock and excitement from his face as he heard this.

'I can enter as an Inner Disciple right away? This is awesome!' He was joyful, he wasn't expecting this type of situation to happen at all. He could understood if the City Lord and the Four Sect Directors focused on rejuvenating the city first but it seems like they had other plans.

"What do I need to do." Sieg asked the woman who informed him about the second part of the tests.

"Just sign your name here, you will know if the second part of the recruitment will begin since we will use those thingies that makes a lot'ta sound." The woman winked at him but Sieg never noticed this, he finished signing the papers and handed it over to her. He expressed his thanks and walks back towards Old Pete's Inn.

He noticed that the Inn was empty, the doors are locked and no one is answering when he called, Sieg frowned and looked around to see that Old Pete left a letter sealed with an Inscription. He picked it up and sent a thread of spiritual energy to activate the letter.

"Sieg, we're very sorry but it seems that we need to go back. Your Big Brother and I needed to fully prepare now, so we will be going to the Nameless Peak Holy Land. I fully suggest that you pick a sect from this country since this is also the place where the headquarters are located. Of course it is totally your decision to make at the end of the day, this old man is only giving suggestions okay? Oh, you can also use the Inn for as long as you like, the key would be behind the bush of the second garden. Don't forget to learn your lessons, I hope that next time we meet, you will be stronger okay? Be careful on your journey."

Sieg felt a bit sad, it seems like he would be alone for quite sometime. Nevertheless, he didn't let this sadness affect him, he entered the Inn and fully rested.