Ch. 19 Challenge

Ren and Meng got ready and headed to the arena hand in hand.

"What do you think is going on at the arena?" asked Meng

"Maybe they give out missions or assign us jobs. I hope we don't have to take any classes.. I hate studying"

Meng giggled "I enjoyed learning from Sister Mei. She taught me with love and care"

"Sister Mei forced me every day… please don't remind me of that torture" he said pleadingly

As they arrived at the arena many heads turned towards the two. The boy's eyes were glued to Meng. The girl's eyes looked at Ren as they were looking at their favorite toy. Although there was no maliciousness, it still bugged Ren. He was not used to 'this' type of attention.

They sat near the back and put their attention towards the elders who were standing on stage.

A booming voice from a tall elder sounded out "Yesterday two new disciples joined the sect, Ren Ji and Meng Ji. Ren has broken the entrance record for the reaction test and Meng was not far behind him. They will certainly be pillars of our sect in the future. According to Gold disciple rules, one must challenge another Gold disciple and defeat them to be accepted." he looked towards Ren and Meng then asked "So what will it be you two? Do you want to choose your opponent or would you like me to choose for you?"

Ren's blood started churning, he had wanted to face strong opponents for a while now. He activated Void eyes and scanned the crowd looking for someone at the peak of Earth stage.

'Bingo found you'

Ren stood up and looked to Meng at his side "This won't take long, wait for me here"

"Un"

He slowly walked to the stage, when he stood atop it he pointed at the man he had found.

[Ma Zheng: 20 years old, Late Earth stage, Half a sword seed]

Ma Zheng pointed to himself then looked around. Everyone's eyes were looking at him with an odd expression.

He then called out "Me?"

Ren nodded

Ma Zheng broke out into laughter "You're serious? I won't go easy on you." his face darkened

"Never asked, bring your full strength so you don't get humiliated." Ren said seriously

An elder on the side who knew Ren was still late Mortal stage spoke out to the elder leading this meeting "Uh, is this alright? There is an entire stage between them. He will be killed if nobody steps in."

"Don't interfere. Fate will decide if he lives or dies." the elder said sternly

-----

Both were opposite each other with 5m between them.

Ma Zheng nodded

Ren said "Ready"

"BEGIN" the elder shouted.

Ma Zheng took a step but crossed the 5m gap instantly, he slashed horizontally trying to end it in one move.

Ren met the slash with his sword. He wanted to test if he could take the hit.

BOOM

Swords crossed and gusts of wind blew in all directions. Ren stood unmoving while Ma Zheng bounced backwards 3 steps as his footing wasn't prepared to meet with a solid defense. He was surprised and momentarily wary of Ren.

"My turn" Ren said with a grin

He strode forward quickly but seemed as if he was casually moving towards Ma Zheng. His sword feigned a horizontal movement but changed to a downwards slash that met the tip of Ma Zheng's sword.

SCREEEECH

Ren's sword cut through Ma Zheng's sword from the tip to the hilt, he then flicked his hand and sheathed his sword then turned around and walked down the steps back into the crowd.

The elders were dumbstruck? Did he just give up?

Clink… Clink

Two halves of a sword split evenly down the middle fell and rattled against the stone floor of the arena, Ma Zheng only had a hilt in his hand, no blade.

The lead elder announced "Ma Zheng has been… disarmed. Victor Ren Ji. As per rules of the top 50 Gold disciples Ren will replace Ma Zheng's spot at #8."

Ren arrived back at his seat and asked Meng through transmission "what level of strength would you like to go against?"

"Mid Earth stage" she transmissioned back.

Ren pointed to a girl in the audience then said "she should be a good opponent"

Meng got up and walked to the stage in a graceful manner. As she stood atop she pointed at the girl Ren told her to fight against.

The girl nodded without asking any questions and moved up to the stage.

When they stood atop the stage both nodded then the elder shouted "BEGIN"

Meng made the first move and closed the distance quickly, she started with a series of light swings. She wanted to deceive her opponent into thinking those were her normal strikes.

Her opponent easily defended the attacks and stepped to the side to start her own attack. A heavy slash was aimed at Meng's neck.

Meng deflected it with the flat side of her sword then took 5 steps back.

The girl she was fighting grinned as if she had Meng in checkmate. She bolted towards Meng with a speed twice as fast as she was moving before, taking a massive swing towards Meng.

Meng retaliated with attacks instead of defending but this time putting her actual strength into them. The first stopped her opponent's attack, the second disarmed her and the third stopped just short of her neck.

Meng sheathed her sword and gave a bow then turned around.

"W-wait" the girl said.

"Mmm?" Meng turned her head to look at the girl questioningly

"I'm Ling Rou, thanks for battling with me!" Ling Rou bowed with a smile then retrieved her sword.

Meng smiled "No, thank you for fighting with me! I'm Meng Ji, you can call me Sister Meng" they then both returned to their seats.

"Ling Rou has been defeated. Victor Meng Ji. Meng will replace Ling Rou's spot at #15." The elder said then continued "Today we not only called you all here for the new disciples but also because of a warning. We have received news that the Yin Soul sect leader will be exiting seclusion soon. He most likely had some gains. You all have 3 months of freedom until the sect will be sealed for an unknown amount of time. Your safety is our first priority. With that said this meeting will end."

Meng's eyes burned when she heard that. Ren comforted her by holding her hand and rubbing her back. "It will be ok Meng'er, we will get strong and destroy him ourselves. Trust me."

Teary eyes she nodded. They then set off back to their house.