Talent Showcase

Kai was picked up by Evelynn the next morning, making sure to explain how the day would play out on their way to the Pagoda.

The morning was something similar to a meet and greet, where the different disciples and members would have the opportunity to meet and create connections. After this was when the real Talent showcase. In the afternoon, each disciple would be assigned a random opponent of similar level.

Kai and Evelynn soon arrived at the Pagoda, but instead of going to the meet and greet Evelynn brought Kai to her research lab.

"Are we not going to the meet and greet?" Kai asked.

"What's the point? Just a bunch of people pretending to be nice for benefits, it's not my kind of crowd" Evelynn shook her head. She made her way to some of the nearby machines. "Lie on the bed for me, it's been a while since I tested your Spiritual Power."

Kai did as told, curious as to how much it would of increase since he began cultivating. Hooking up the different wires and putting the helmet on, the familiar warm energy entered his mind.

"524" Evelynn mumbled to herself as Kai got up from the bed.

"Is that good?" Kai asked.

"Too good" Evelynn looked towards Kai worriedly. This growth in spiritual power that some people yearned to have, many Soul Masters would spend years to receive the same results Kai had gotten in just a few months. "Come with me, we'll do some more tests."

Evelynn then brought Kai over to test his strength, something he had never done before. Punching a strange contraption once with both his arms he got his results.

"90 pounds on the right, 80 on the left" Evelynn was silent for a moment, deep in thought. She turned to Kai before speaking seriously. "Kai, how often do you cultivate."

"Every night for an hour or so before falling asleep" Kai felt his heart race faster. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong yet" Evelynn reassured him impatiently. "It's just compared to your Spiritual power your body is significantly weaker."

"If this continues, I can guarantee that your body will collapse on itself. Think of it like your body being a sealed container and your spiritual power being water, if you pump it too full, you'll burst."

Kai looked to his master desperately, not knowing what to do. Evelynn walked over, lowering herself to be face to face.

"You need to stop cultivating altogether. Your spiritual power will continue to grow with your body, but at a much slower pace" Eve spoke solemnly. "At least until your body gets strong enough to handle you Spiritual Power."

"But won't I fall behind if I did that?" Kai felt like he was being told to give up. Ever since he'd left the Draken Clan he'd been training hard in hopes of going back and proving himself.

"Its either you stop, or you risk becoming disabled" Evelynn shook her head. "And if you were telling me the truth earlier you don't have to worry too much about falling behind. By cultivating, on average, 10 or so hours a week you were able to improve your soul power from 11 to 13 in three months. Once you're allowed to cultivate again, believe me when I tell you, you'll catch up in no time."

Evelynn comforted Kai, thinking back to yesterday when she checked his cultivation. Kai just clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.

"Don't think of this as a setback, but an opportunity" Evelynn tried to cheer up her disciple. "You're likely to be either a ranged power attack or control system Spirit Master, who tend to be physically weaker than some of their counterparts. By doing this now you'll only be more powerful in the long run."

Kai nodded and smiled wryly in response, he knew he'd have to put in twice the effort now if he wanted to get stronger.

Evelynn began to explain the new type of strength training Kai would go through when suddenly she received a notification. Gazing at it she frowned.

"Ridiculous!" Evelynn shouted out angrily.

"What is it?" Kai asked curiously.

"It's your opponent for this afternoon" She turned to phone to face Kai. On it was a boy a few years older than Kai, he had short and messy black hair with brown eyes and average features. "His name is Romeo Baldoro, he's 11 years old and has 2 spirit rings."

"Do I stand a chance?" Kai swallowed his saliva. Evelynn was silent for a moment before responding.

"Normally, I'd say he'd beat you 10 out of 10 times" Kai lowered his head as Evelynn continued. "But this time you might have a chance."

Kai tilted his head to the side, confused.

"No one in the Pagoda knows the exact details about your first Spirit Ring aside from me and a few of my assistants, while we know most about his."

Kai continued to listen carefully as Eve explained Romeo's spirit. Romeo was a rank 21 power attack soul master with a Bluesteel War Staff tool spirit. His first ring was called Lightning Rod, and all it did was coat the staff in electricity allowing it to shock enemies on hit.

The second spirit ring, however, was still a bit of a mystery. Romeo had only broken through to Spirit Grand Master recently, meaning Kai would have to plan out this fight carefully if he wanted to win.

"We've got two hours before the fight" Evelynn said. "Do as I say and you might just beat him."

…

Just as Eve and Kai were racking their brains on how to win, Romeo was relaxing in the convention hall not thinking too much about his fight later. Just as he was about to grab some more food he was pulled into a nearby room by his master.

"Master what's going-" Romeo froze when he saw who else was in the room. "Mr. Wilson!"

Ryan just sat there; his expression unchanging while Romeo's Master stood silently at his side.

"Are you ready for your fight later?" He asked Romeo, his voice cold.

"Good, sir, he's still just a greenhorn. Even if he is talented, so am I, I'm confident it wont be too hard" Romeo answered honestly. Ryan just snorted, causing Romeo to frown slightly.

"Is there something wrong, Branch Master?" This time Romeo's Master spoke up, somewhat displeased by Ryan's reaction. Ryan just rolled his eyes as a packet of documents appeared in his hands. Handing them over to Romeo's master he spoke.

"This is everything the Pagoda has on Kai" Ryan waited silently as they went through the documents.

Romeo's master uninterestedly went through the documents when suddenly he widened his eyes.

"His reaction speed is off the charts" In his hands was a paper showing Kai's improvement in the ball-dodging drill. Over the past couple months Kai had managed to pass the beginner Spirit Grand master level. Normally only rank 21 and above spirit masters would be able to pass this level, but from the other documents he knew Kai was only rank 13. "Is this real?"

Ryan just nodded as he turned his attention back to Romeo.

"Romeo, I was hoping you'd be able to do something for me" Ryan reached into his pocket before pulling out a small spirit guidance device in the form of a bracelet. "Of course, I wont let you do this without a reward."

Romeo widened his eyes before looking towards his master, who swiftly nodded. While spirit guidance devices had become more common, they were still extremely expensive. This was a golden opportunity.

"What do you want me to do?" Romeo asked excitedly. Ryan finally smiled for the first time during this conversation.

"I just need you to give him this" Ryan took a small syringe, the size of a pinky finger, with a clear liquid inside.

…

Kai was psyching himself up in the waiting room. He looked at the screen on the wall, on it were two kids not much older than him, fighting it out. Suddenly one of the two sent out a well-timed palm, striking the opponent off the stage and ending the fight.

Kai took a deep breath as he picked up his whip, it was finally his turn to fight. He took a quick look in the mirror. He was wearing a form fitting, long sleeved black shirt with black cargo pants. He stared into his purple eyes, they were filled with a mix of nervousness and excitement.

He stepped out of the waiting room and made his way to the fighting area. It was just a simple platform, to its side there was a single seat. In it was a young man around the same age as his master with blonde hair and blue eyes. He sat arrogantly, yawning as though bored with having to watch the fights. Standing behind him was the Branch Master along with Evelynn and another man.

Kai noticed how Ryan looked somewhat nervous about something as he saw Romeo emerge. Ryan seemed to say something to the man in the seat causing Kai to quickly activate his spirit ears while getting into position.

"Sir Conrad, are you sure you want to continue watching the fights?" Ryan asked. The man looked over, somewhat displeased, as he spoke.

"I'm one of the Pagoda's Grand Spiriters, Ryan. It's part of my duty to do things like this" The man said, causing Kai to widen his eyes. "Especially since one of these kids might make a good subordinate one day."

The man paused for a moment, frowning.

"Though I have to say I've been quite disappointed so far, not one has been as good as I was back then" Conrad chuckled lightly for a moment after speaking. He turned to look back to the platform, both Romeo and Kai were in place and ready to fight. "Who're they?"

Ryan quickly introduced the two kids on the platform, giving Conrad their names and Spirit Ranks as well as basic information on their Martial Spirits. However, instead of being disinterested like Ryan had hoped. Conrad only showed more interest due to the large gap in their ranks.

Ryan could only curse inwardly as he stepped forward and observed the two boys, making sure they were both ready. After a few moments he signaled for the fight to begin.

Romeo immediately rushed forward, staff in hand as a yellow ring appeared behind his back. His staff began to crackle with blue electricity, coating its surface. Kai also activated his first spirit ring, causing the surroundings to go completely silent.

Romeo continued to charge over, unfazed or uncaring for the sudden silence. Seeing this Kai lashed his whip out, aiming for Romeo's eyes.

Romeo simply tilted his head to the side, avoiding the whip. Suddenly a loud explosion sounded out in the arena, startling both Ryan and Romeo's master. Conrad simply smiled as he watched and leaned forward in great interest.

Romeo stumbled to the side, his vision was blurry and ears ringing. It felt as though someone had pounded him against the head with a brick. Going from absolute silence to a loud explosion had shocked him more than he had expected.

Kai quickly ran over as he lashed out again, the whip wrapping around one of Romeo's legs. Pulling sharply, Romeo lost his balance and to the ground on his back. Kai quickly unsheathed his dagger as he stabbed down, hoping to end the fight as quickly as possible.

Romeo, however, recovered his vision just in time to roll to the side, barely dodging the strike. Kai just stabbed again, this time causing Romeo to bring his staff up to defend himself. Right as the dagger made contact with the staff, the electricity coiled up and through Kai's arm.

Kai jumped back, dropping his dagger. His left arm was now tingling and numb, putting him at a serious disadvantage. By now Romeo had already regained his footing.

Kai whipped out again, once more aiming for Romeo's face. Romeo raised his staff to block this time, not daring to dodge. Seeing this Kai quickly created a sound behind Romeo, mimicking Ryan's voice calling out to him.

Romeo slowed for a split second, allowing the whip to strike against his forehead and draw blood. Romeo yelled out in pain as a second yellow ring appeared behind him.

Kai was getting ready to use the whip again when Romeo suddenly stabbed the staff forward. The staff suddenly split in half, electricity crackling between the two halves as it flew towards Kai. Caught by surprise Kai was sent back flying, letting go of the whip in the process.

Kai landed on the ground painfully. Looking down at his chest he saw that the staff had burnt through his shirt and scorched his skin slightly. He didn't have much time to check his wound as Romeo was soon swinging down at him, the staff connected once more.

Kai quickly rolled to the side, using his spirit ears to keep track of Romeo's movements. Romeo paused for a moment after swinging, needing to wipe the blood out of his eyes and giving Kai a chance to get back to his feet.

Romeo made the first move, rushing forward and stabbing towards Kai's chest. Kai bent his body to the side, deftly dodging the strike. Kai sent a quick counterattack, aiming for Romeo's shoulder. Romeo twisted his body, causing Kai's fist to only graze his clothes.

The two began exchanging some blows at close distance, Kai barely able to keep up by using the perception he gained from his spirit ears. However, as the fight went on, he wasn't able to dodge every strike, causing his body to slowly become slower and numb from the electricity.

Romeo suddenly sent out a punch, catching Kai off guard and hitting him square in the chest. Kai stumbled back a couple steps, a strange pinching pain coming from his chest. Looking down he noticed a syringe had been stabbed into him, its contents emptied inside of him.