Defeat

It was that fast. Tang whipped his thorned whip but Han was a slippery bastard. The daggers whistled behind him and all attacked at the same time. Tang raised a palm and formed a wall of ice, the daggers that were charging at full speed got stuck on impact.

Tang overstepped to the side as he whipped at Han.

"I got you now!" Tang screamed as the thorned whip neared Han's face.

Han eyed the whip and snickered as Ice enveloped his hand. He caught the whip and yanked Tang onto the floor. Tang hastened to stand up as soon as possible because every man who had fallen on the ground against Han had met a gruesome fate.

He was right to assume that, as an ice dagger pierce onto the arena where he landed. Any second late and he would have been impaled. Tang quickly backed away and panted. The sight of Han's young physique before him started to look like a nightmare.

"You..." Tang mumbled, "You force my hand."

He raised his palm mildly, and a chilling breeze swirled throughout the ice arena. Han felt a tingle on his spine and instantly jumped off the icy floor. Ice spikes emerged rapidly, where he just stood.

Tang was using his energy completely now, his energy would rapidly decrease, but as a level 3 martial warrior he still had more than enough to face Han. Han was in the air landing towards a spike that suddenly erected.

"Die!" Tang screamed,

He seemed to have forgotten that Han was a cultivator as well. A giant ice hammer materialized in Han's hands and he struck down on the pointy spikes.

"He's quite the talented freak." The Patriarch muttered as he eyed Han's ice hammer.

Evade and smash, this was the cycle that kept on repeating as Tang was relentless with his attacks. Ice spikes came from every direction. Han smashed three separate shards and used his gigantic hammer as a shield to block the last one coming from behind him.

Han sensed a rapidly approaching danger so he turned as he swung his hammer wide, it met the face of Tang who was had just overstepped beside him. It was a home run, as they say. Due to his speed, he slammed onto the massive ice hammer as if he had crashed onto a brick wall. His body went limp and fell to the floor.

Han didn't need to say anything anymore, he simply stood stall and looked at the cultivators as if waiting for another opponent.

The cultivators were still making a ruckus but none of them dared to go up anymore. Han nodded in satisfaction. Just in time for the last opponent. One of the freaks that reached level 4.

A freak in talent or rather experience that is.

This boy seemed only a year or two older than Han's body and yet he was a level four martial warrior. The danger that Han could feel from this freak was no joke at all. What kind of cultivator could this man have been before he entered this child's body?

"I didn't come here to prove your point kid." The young man said, "I came here because you caught my interest."

Han kept his nerves taut and didn't even bother to reply as he hastily retreated, but he was suddenly held in place by ice. His feet were encased in them, and Han readied his ice hammer if ever this man would attack.

"In my thousands of years of cultivation, no one has ever dared to ignore me! Lao Nan Nu of the Pill King Sect!"

Han paused, then he started sweating like a fountain. This was the fucker that chased him through the five continents, Lian Nu's grandfather. Back in their world, this man was a martial immortal, Han couldn't anything but run.

Now, it would be an equal fight. If it was any other level 4 martial warrior Han would even say that he had an advantage but if it was against this freak? No.

Lao Nu was the Patriarch for a reason, and that is his capability in cultivation is twice as much as his pill refining abilities. Not only is he a monster in cultivation but he was thousands of years older than Han as well.

It was Han who was lacking combat experience when faced against such a man.

"It would be a shame for any of you to die." The Patriarch muttered,

"Indeed," Lao Nu said, " But what I'm asking for is not a battle to the death, but a 'friendly' spar between fellow disciples. I do not care whatever he is trying to prove, I simply want to relieve my fist from this itch."

For Han, no was the obvious answer to this spar. Why would Han get beaten up for nothing? He could simply go down the arena, please the Patriarch some other way, then if the Patriarch started to cherish him as a disciple Han could shamelessly ask for favors. And those favors are to get his bag, Lian Nu, and Amelia.

But how long would that take?

The Patriarch seemed like a stern man who does nothing but scowl and glare, the time it would take for such a man to be pleased wasn't going to be short. By that time, he could have already lost the things he came for, to begin with.

It's been two days since the infection had started, and Han had already seen signs of the infection changing, evolving. Aside from that cultivators have emerged, and now they could be infected. Their strong and energy filled bodies being infected didn't mean anything good at all.

If the zombies get any more dangerous then could the military hold them off? Will Han get to see Hanne's family alive, or would they already be moving piles of undead flesh?

He had to take the risk and show the Patriarch his full worth right here, right now. Beating a level 4 martial warrior in combat was surely something that would make an impression.

All of these thoughts ran through his head in a mere moment and it led to him making one decision, "If it's a 'friendly' spar then I have no reason to disagree."

Lao Nu proceeded to look at the Patriarch for confirmation, the patriarch nodded in reply which made Lao Nu smile thinly.

"Lao Nu," he introduced himself with a bow,

"Hanne Hunt." Han bowed slighty.

By the time they had finished their introductions they dived straight into combat. Han overstepped and appeared behind Lao, however, Lao merely sidestepped to dodge.

In Lao's hands formed two ice swords and he used both to slash at Han. Han knew there wasn't anything friendly happening in this match so he had expected such deadly tactics.

Han backed away rapidly, however, Lao was relentless in his pursuit. Han couldn't even catch a breath as Lao would always try to cut him down no matter where he backed away.

Han formed multiple marbles in his hands and released them on the floor. The small marbles effectively held Lao at bay as he almost tripped. With Lao not being aggressive it was time for Han to push back.

Han materialized a spear in his hand, and multiple ice daggers in the air. Han pointed his spear at Lao and the daggers came raining down. Unlike Tang, Lao chose a different method to deal with Han's petty tricks.

Ice started crawling up Lao's body, ice armor.

Han wasn't just going to watch him gear up so Han charged and pierced the spear onto Lao. But it was useless. Lao yanked Han's spear forward and attempted to punch Han's advancing body in the face.

His fist only met cold ice as Han formed a complete ice armor in mere seconds. Yet the force still blew Han away like a piece of paper lost in the wind.

Han rolled on the floor and instantly got up on his feet, now wearing his full armor of ice.

Both of them charged at each other, Lao still had two long swords within his arms so Han had to grow blades in the arms of his ice armor. Strike after strike, dodge after dodge. They were facing at close-quarters and no one wanted to back down.

As they fought close-quarters, Han had summoned multiple ice spikes into the air behind Lao, Han willed the spikes to plunge onto Lao and yet Lao rolled away as if he had eyes behind his back.

The spikes were now directly towards Han, but he didn't move yet as he felt a cold breeze behind his back rapidly approaching. Lao had done the same thing as him, and now a storm of ice spikes was flying at him from both the back and the front.

Swiftly he moved to evade and yet he couldn't. His feet were frozen to the ground. There was no time to think, Han, fattened his armor up into a thick bulk as multiple ice spikes rammed his armored body. They couldn't penetrate Han's armor. Han stayed within his ice cocoon and enlarged it to prepare for another wave of ice spikes.

However, after a slight pause, there was no follow-up attack. Instead, it was a scorching feeling within his stomach region that greeted him.

"Did you think us cultivators only have one type of energy type" Han heard Lao snicker,

The heat penetrated his ice cocoon, followed by many spikes of varying sizes. They stabbed onto his skin on several parts of his body. The heat melted up Han's ice cocoon and Han trembled to his knees with ice spikes sticking out all over his chest.

Lao was standing over him with flame in one hand and ice on the other. It was the last thing Han saw as his body was half burnt and half-frozen.

The Patriarch watched as Han lost consciousness.

This kid was truly a person that would be able to topple the heavens if taught right. He had fought a reincarnated old geezer and put up a fight. Such a talent shouldn't be wasted.

"Enough!" he yelled, "Take this kid to my quarters."

He looked at Lao who was crossing his arms as he nodded, "You did well in sparing him."

"Indeed sir Patriarch, as a man who became Patriarch myself, I know the value of talent," Lao said which elicited a chuckle from the Patriarch.