Chapter 21

For one of only two occasions per year, a crowd numbering in the thousands was gathered inside the Blossoming Rose sect. Seated on chairs and standing in long rows, surrounding a grand arena, the biannual tournament of disciples had begun!

In the center of the grand arena, in the middle of the many battlefields, stood one woman, her beauty and fashion making her status as an elder evident.

"Welcome to the mid-year tournament between Blossoming Roses! The rules and prizes are the same as always. Severely harming or crippling your opponent will result in heavy punishment, and purposely killing ends with execution. Fight until one party surrenders or is knocked down for ten seconds.

"The top prize is one top-grade vein expansion pill. Second place gets a high-grade pill, third and fourth place gets a mid-grade pill, and the fifth to tenth places each get a low-grade pill. The top one hundred disciples will also get one thousand contribution points. The highest-ranked female disciple will spend a night of passion with the sect master. And, of course, any disciple whose performance is deemed good enough gets promoted. The fights will commence immediately," the elder declared.

The explanation of the rules was more for the benefit of the spectators since the disciples had already been thoroughly briefed on how the tournament worked.

After the announcer was finished, Aurora heard a buzzing from her phone. It promptly stated her name and instructed her to go to arena 353. Since ten thousand disciples had to fight, there was a need for an efficient system for getting the disciples to the arenas and a large number of arenas. A vast expanse of land had been dedicated for the 250 arenas, and the sect used an automated messaging system to get the disciples ready to fight.

"Seems I'm first. I'll be in arena 353. Gotta go," Aurora said to her friends and family. Since the tournament was open to outsiders to watch, Dawn and her family had come.

"Good luck!" Rose said, eager to see her beloved's triumph, even if the 'love' she felt was slightly shallow.

Aurora made her way to the arena and jumped up. Her opponent wasn't there yet, so Aurora took the time to do a few casual stretches, not that she needed them. Soon, another young woman arrived. She wore the same gym outfit as Aurora, and her phone told her that the opponent was also at the eighth level.

Every tournament participant wore the basic gym outfit of the sect, as they all looked identical, and rank in the sect had no say here.

Aurora had never met this woman before, but her expression gave a nice enough impression. Aurora walked to the center of the arena, and the two bowed.

"Let's have a fun fight, disciple sister. I'm afraid only one of us will be able to be in the top five thousand, but let's not let that bother us," the young woman said as she went into a fighting stance, holding a long spear with both hands.

"Of course. Someone has to go first, so let's try to make a good impression for the judges." Aurora took a step back and unsheathed her blunt sword. A ding sounded, signaling the start of one of the first 250 battles.

Aurora's eyes blazed with determination as she whirled her blade in a single smooth motion. Like a snake striking out of the darkness, she unleashed a wave of raw energy, bearing down on her opponent. With each spin and thrust, it grew larger and larger, gaining power. The female warrior leaped back to evade the deadly attack, but it followed her relentlessly. With a battle cry, she bounded forward and unleashed a devastating barrage of four strikes in quick succession, barely giving her opponent time to dodge each one as she drew closer and closer. Aurora's technique showcased incredible power, but the woman could predict where it would strike each time.

"You're done!" With a guttural cry, she spun and thrust her spear toward Aurora's abdomen. But her attack was met with a cold smirk as Aurora jutted her body to the side, dodging the blow with elegance. She flew over the spear with a mighty leap and retaliated with a surging kick. Her foe was sent flying back, and in a flurry of fiercely concentrated energy, Aurora's feet danced across the ground in a stunning display of martial arts. Kicks and punches flew like lightning bolts, and Aurora's legs became spears as a jaw-dropping combination of strikes echoed in the room. Aurora's leg swept out in one final swoop, and her enemy crashed to the ground.

"Oomph!" The woman felt the air explode out of her lungs. Three seconds passed before she got up on her knees and then stood up again. In truth, Aurora had gone easy on her, as she'd pulled her kicks just now. She didn't want this fight to be over in half a minute.

"You're a fighter specialist, aren't you?" The woman asked.

"That is my area of expertise, yes."

"Seems like I'll have to go all out, then."

The two young women stared each other down, smiling, despite how one-sided things had just been. The woman took a deep breath, then charged again. Aurora responded with more waves of chaotic sword energy, always keeping her opponent on her feet.

Aurora stood in place while the young woman slowly edged closer to her. She wanted to be more agile, but Aurora's overpowering attacks forced the woman to take things slow. When she finally got close enough, she struck again, aiming for Aurora's legs this time.

From the last bout, she'd understood that Aurora's weapon of choice was her legs. With her legs unable to block against the spear, Aurora was forced on the move and had to step back to dodge, but she was quick to counter. She finally started using her sword in close quarters. Aurora swung her blade, aiming at the spear, while the spear-woman avoided as best she could while still attempting to stay on the offensive.

With the spear's length, Aurora had no way of attacking the woman without somehow closing the distance. The two danced in a clash of sword and spear, neither being able to get the upper hand. The spear-woman could not get through Aurora's defense and cause any damage, as the sword constantly swept the spear away. In contrast, Aurora couldn't get close enough, as the spear-wielder would always jump back when Aurora tried to attack. If Aurora wanted to keep holding back, her only option was to hope for an opening, which was no real strategy.

"I'm going on the offensive now! Brace yourself!" In the blink of an eye, she dropped her hand to the ground and, with lightning speed, used a wide arc kick to send her foe flying. While it was fast and expertly executed, it was very telegraphed.

The woman stepped back and prepared to attack Aurora's opening. But then she was sent flying and was thrown down hard, her neck snapping to the side as she collided with the floor. She bounced off like a rag doll and skidded to a halt near the edge of the arena, crashing against the low wall. Her head shook violently as if she had just been woken from a trance and spat out some blood.

The woman crawled to her knees and wiped her mouth. Her dazed gaze sharpened with rage when she saw the blood on her hand. She planted both hands down and rose again, rearing for a counterattack.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I kicked you in the face. Sorry about the blood, though."

"But I could have sworn I dodged," the woman mumbled.

"You still want to fight?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah. Can't give up in the first round."

Aurora smiled and went back into a fighting stance. The woman readied herself, too, pointing her spear at Aurora's head. What happened next was a dance. Every part of Aurora's body was a weapon, and it showed as she turned in every direction, one hand wielding the sword while her legs kicked as if they didn't need the ground beneath them.

For every movement Aurora made, her opponent suffered a hit, utterly helpless against the onslaught of nine invisible blades and one metal. It was clear that Aurora was no longer playing around.

Ten more seconds passed before she was back on the ground. This time, she just turned around and lay there for the entire ten seconds and then ten more.

Aurora helped her fellow disciple up and gave her a brief hug.

"You're a good fighter Boralis. Really showed me the difference between a fighting specialist. But really, to be one of the bottom five thousand… I never thought I'd do this bad," the woman said.

"You weren't bad. I figured you were an alchemist or crafter or something, so considering, you did quite well. I've focused solely on fighting for most of my cultivating life."

"That's somewhat comforting. But I wouldn't even participate in this tournament if it wasn't mandatory for all disciples. My hope of becoming a core disciple lies solely in the enchanting competition. Anyway, we need to get going. You better become an inner disciple."

The woman left with a wave, and Aurora went the other way. When she returned to her group, she was met with cheers. Rose and the twins hugged her, with the first one kissing her, which Aurora gladly accepted. Rose was a bit weird, but she was a fantastic kisser.

Aurora's aunt and uncle approached her, accompanied by Dawn. The two other cousins stayed a bit behind. They were both boys, so they were rather shy around Aurora, thanks to her considerable beauty and relative lack of clothing.

"That was incredible! You really were like a rose down there, beautiful but full of thorns. It almost looked like a dance. A deadly dance!" The aunt cheered. Aurora's uncle nodded and gave her a firm pat on the shoulder.

"I'm almost happy Aurelia got pregnant before marrying that Geric guy. Now you will bring great honor to our Boralis name," Aurora's uncle, Aurel, said.

"Me, too. Aurora Boralis is a great name. Aurora Elvor just doesn't sound as good."

"Indeed. Maybe you should keep your name when you marry, yes?" The uncle said, drawing a chuckle from everyone present.

"At the very least, I'll keep it as a middle name."