Day before the battle
Time passed quickly as if it were simply a flip of a page. The days leading up to the battle royale was peaceful to say the least. There was no more incidents that had occurred like the first day. This was partly due to Wang Mei being extra careful and had a better grasp of her overall powers. It was the day before the assessment and all the students were training hard making sure that they were in their best condition.
Xin Fan meditated under within his domain calmly clearing his mind of all doubts. He had heard from Xin Kong that this was a good option of training. His body had reached the limit of his cultivation stage and could not be improved without the help of his body refining technique. There really was no way to increase the rate at which he cultivates at and therefore the only option was to train his mind. According to Xin Kong, self doubt is extremely harmful to the human with disastrous consequences if left unchecked. In order for cultivation to proceed smoothly, one had to get rid of the inner demons.
"Very good. Once you remove your inner demons, your cultivation of the dao will not be hindered."
Cultivation was something that existed in Xin Kong's original world. However, the system it used was considerably different to the one that Xin Fan uses. For one, in Xin Kong's original world, there was no spirit items. Instead, cultivators would walk the path of the dao and harness the forces of nature. The equivalent in this world, would be the elemental affinity system. The only difference was that the Dao had endless possibilities and there really is no limit. Xin Kong had once attempted to teach Xin Fan the ways of the Dao only to find out that it was not recognized by the system. That is not to say it did not exist. It simply meant that most of the techniques were not recognized as official techniques, for now.
Xin Kong stood on top of the flying sword that he had generated for himself and looked down at Xin Fan who was meditating under a generated waterfall. Xin Fan had his eyes closed slowly entering an increasingly empty state. The longer he can hold this state, the better he would fare in battle. Especially in a battle against other people, the worst thing to do is to be caught up in the other's pace and be lead by the nose to defeat. Although he was strong, he was in no way the strongest and he knew it himself. In terms of potential, he wouldn't say he had the highest either. In pure physical strength, Xin Fan doubted that he could match up to Chilong. Chilong was in the same cultivation realm and they both practically trained their body to their cultivational limit, however it just stands to show that Chilong's limit was higher than Xin Fan. In terms of capacity of use techniques, Tianfei has an edge over him being able to shoot onslaughts of projectiles without denting her huge pool of Qi. However, he in no way felt that he was inferior. While others had talent, he had the Ultimate Rice System to compensate. His stash of rice and recipes gave him practically a dozen trump cards he could pull out.
"Xin Fan...don't close your eyes. Open them but stay in that state. Don't let your mind waver."
Xin Fan slowly opened his eyes. He had a familiar sensation to when he was synchronized with Xin Kong. Although it was in no way the same level to back then, at it was an improvement nonetheless and there was no repercussions to use it.
-
Somewhere else within the domain, Chilong was training with Chitian. There was an agreement to create a physical barrier so that the other party would not know what the other was doing. This was to ensure fairness when they face each other in the assessment. Chilong used his bare hands to grasp at the horn of the wolf that pounced on him. This was added on top of the already harsh onslaught of Chitian's attacks. Chitian casually sent out simple punches each with a force that Chilong could not handle. This resulted in his body becoming destroyed multiple times before recovery to peak state.
Chilong ducked down to avoid the horn coming his way. As he did, a leg appeared in his path and his blood splattered across the air before he was forced to recover.
"Such a simple kick. How could you get kicked?"
Chitian didn't even need to use techniques to fight. Chitian stared down at the boy who was recovering at a rapid pace.
"I could do better when I was your age."
He leaped down from a platform and lifted his palm and slammed down. Chilong's harsh training never seems to stop.
-
Tianfei sat down under a tree looking through a large textbook. It was a book that taught her formations that she could use in battle. Although it was an unorthodox strategy, there was merit to it as long as she was fast enough to set it up. With the time that had been granted by the system, she is able to memorize the textbook off by heart. The truth of the matter is, she simply could not catch up to either of the two in close combat. Throwing out as much fireballs as she could simply did not cut it. With the abilities of the two, her projectiles were practically not a threat as they could dodge it easily. Tianfei arranged some sticks and stones on the ground and injected her qi into it. For a moment, it seemed as if the space had started to distort within. Tianfei smiled at her creation and moved on to creating another formation.
-
The moons faded into the skies as the suns slowly rose. The weather was not the best with many thunderous clouds heading to the city.
'How ominous.'
Many of the first year students lined up to enter a great formation that had been constructed in the courtyard. Wang Mei looked at the large crowd of 5-6 year olds and slightly felt faint. 150 people to watch over was no easy feat. In her heart, she prayed any higher power to make sure this assessment did not go wrong.
'Get a grip of yourself Wang Mei!'
Wang Mei bit her inner lip to focus herself as she addressed the children. This part in her opinion was the hardest part of all. She needed to cover everything.
"Okay...today is the day of assessment. You can only bring whatever you are carrying on you right now. Per school rules, no metallic weapons allowed. This is your last chance to borrow a wooden alternative."
Xin Fan gripped the shabbily made wooden scythe in his hand. He had some understanding on how to wield a wooden sword due to Xin Kong however he was most comfortable with a scythe.
"The assessment ends with the last one standing are we clear! The teleportation is randomized so teaming up is ill advised. Of course you can but... And with that said, let the assessment begin."
Wang Mei tapped the teleportation formation with her finger and injected her qi. The formation flashed for a second before one by one the students started to glow. After a brief moment, they had been transported away. The Dragon Root Battle Royale has officially begun.