The Heart of a Swordsman

Jingsung Ha was a man who had made Will feel inferior in the understanding of water. His ability to just simply wrestle away control of the rain from Will bothered him.

'Domain type skills are frightening.' Mulled Will as he sat down to rest.

'But he isn't the only one who can use AOE skills.' Will smiled as he remembered the combination of skills he had used.

He was especially proud of his execution of The Breath of Solitude. Will had long ago acknowledged that the Solitary Sword Sovereign Manual was still the greatest high-tier knowledge he had been given. Hence it would without a doubt be his most important weapon.

He was a swordsman by heart and always would be. Water, Intent, Yin, Soul Force, Truth, The Breath, these were all secondary.

'I'm a swordsman before anything else. A Solitary Sword Sovereign. One day I will be worthy of that title. The sword is a method for one to temper the heart. A great swordsman has a heart that is polished like a mirror and as still as water, whatever may come he will not fear or tremble.'

Will had little to no knowledge of the thoughts of the creator of the manual. But he felt that the technique was made for him. The Dao of Solitude was the easiest dao for him to connect with.

Will had always been a person who loved being by himself. He was an extroverted introvert. He disliked crowds and liked being by himself. But he was also ambitious and arrogant. Believing that only those who had power had the right to speak. And he wanted to have the loudest voice.

'It's lonely at the top. And my throne is at the peak. That's the most solitary position. But also where I want to be.'

Will was no saint. He was far from being a hero. His only intention in being strong was to protect his world, family and friends. He couldn't care less about anything else.

He wouldn't hesitate to wipe out another planet if it meant saving Earth. Because only Earth was his home. He didn't give a squat about anything else besides his family, home and the martial way.

As mulled over his ambitions and future, the surroundings started to change, with very space around him breaking up into motes of lights that floated up like dandelions of light.

Next thing he knew, Will was in a room that had a simple bed, table and wardrobe by the side. There was a screen that showed Hercules' sombre face, with the typical pumping of steel as he worked on his overdeveloped biceps.

'Is there some sort of Dao of Buffness?'

"Heroes, if you are in a simply decorated room then you have made it to the third stage of the exams. You are one of the chosen 32 for the competition that is about to occur.

The room you are in is isolated to give you maximum privacy. Only people above my Father's authority have access to your room, so we have no clue what you are doing inside after we teleported you there. This is to allow you to have ample time to prepare because this is the last privacy you will have for some time.

The battles will occur in a typical system arena shaped like a coliseum. Many beings from multiple parts of the universe have paid the system quite a few points to view this battle. I have allowed all the users of this Olympus Scenario Dungeon access to this for a thousand points, in other words, you have no idea who will be watching.

If you impress, perhaps some powerful beings from powerful backgrounds might take notice of you. So put in your best efforts.

There is a timer at the corner of the screen. Only ten hours are left. What went to the simulation room was not your real body. Hence your bodies should be fresh, but some of you have metaphysical abilities and need time to regain your strength.

On the table in the room, 3 medical pills shall appear. The red one is for the body, the green one for the soul and the blue one for the mind. Choose which you will consume. After each battle, you will return to this room and recuperate. You can choose when to consume these pills. It's completely at your discretion. They are high-level restoration pills that are incredibly rare, even in Higher Worlds, so take them with caution. Take only what you can bear. They are designed to disintegrate once taken out of your room so they can only be consumed now or after the following battles in the arena.

This time, your real bodies are fighting, so if you die there, you will die for real. The top 3 will receive rewards in terms of positions of power in the quest we shall embark on. I already have chosen a candidate for leader of the users from among you, but I'm yet to see that person's full potential. I won't say who it is, but that person is among the 32 of you.

If that person is defeated, whoever is victorious shall take the lead spot. Being the centrepiece of the expedition has many merits. For example, how much of the loot we gain from the quest will be decided by your ranking in our party. If you are the leader of the users, the majority will naturally shift to you. Us deities have no interest in most of the drops and only have interest in the final treasure. Only the leader will have a chance to partake in the final reward.

So grab the minotaur by the horns and take this opportunity to grow stronger!"

Hercules' figure disappeared and in its place, was a view that stunned Will. He had expected the tournament to have a classic and ancient vibe, but nothing of that sort was there.