"It goddam huurrts!" Tez yelled as blood spurted out of his hand, missing his last two fingers. "I better get healed up after this, man! This test is too much. They should've stuck to the simple bloody duels with wooden weapons!"
The snowy landscape was defiled by splatters of blood. Of Tez's, and of his enemies. He watched as the body of a Stage 4 cultivator dissipated into blue motes. Supposedly returning to the sect outside.
Would they feel the pain of death? Would some get trauma from the severity of their wounds, facing excruciating pain as their limbs were cut and organs were cleaved?
Somehow, Tez had a feeling the people of this world were far stronger than that. The pain of death. There's no pain in death. Only silence, neither hot nor cold. A deafening silence, yet it was more terrifying than the loudest sounds humanity could ever muster.
But he'd never get used to the pain. This world had far too many ways to torture you. In fact, he'd hoped the System would give him a pain negation skill. That would be quite useful indeed.
Perhaps pain was necessary to cultivation. Tez thought to a famous saying he'd heard from many people in his travels. One that was common no matter the land, culture, or region. An old saying from some ancient cultivator, no doubt.
To face adversity with favourability, honing its pain to forge your own path. Perhaps there's an intrinsic rule of the world that relates to this saying. Or maybe it's just all bullshit. Can't even tell with half the stuff I hear.
He trudged along the snow, having torn a piece of his clothing to wrap around his injured hand. "I still need to deal with 40 more… This is getting ridiculous. I barely dealt with two Stage 4's."
Walking away from the icy field which harboured most of the combatants, Tez wracked his brain for a way to deal with this. Gaining ten Spiritual Meridians was far too much to pass up. It would save him months, if not years, of time.
It would be his first chance at getting rid of his trashy Bronze Grade Talisoul.
Tez looked at his rank once more.
Rank 150. 250 points.
"You're kidding me! I actually dropped ranks! Those two barely had any points!" Tez held a hand to his sheathe, putting away his irritation to observe his surroundings once again. With the runic mark he had on hand, he still didn't find an opportunity to make the best use of it. There were barely any beasts in this region at all. "It must be because everyone is busy killing each other in that icy field, so they're all racking up insane points. This is some dogshit luck, I swear."
He continued to walk away, stumbling at times, away from the battlefield.
I can use the charm that reduces my presence in the middle of the battlefield, which'll give me more chances to do one shot ambushes. But it'll be impossible to complete that god forsaken quest. Think, Tez, think!
The further away he got from the heart of the battlefield, the more he could observe the environment. That's when he noticed that the mountain range was circling around that icy field with all the battles going on.
"Huh. This would make a good base with natural defences everywhere. But no one's climbing those mountains because it makes you an easy target."
Tez narrowed his eyes to observe the snow-capped mountains a bit more. It reminded him of a sport he tried once, long ago. Can't believe I actually tried skiing on mountains like these once. Almost thought I was gonna die when that-
Tez raised his eyebrows high, as if a light blub lit in his head.
Holding out the scroll that would gift him with a hidden presence. It wouldn't be as effective as a supposed invisibility potion or the like, but at a casual glance, no one could sense him.
It was the vital piece he needed to pull off this crazy trick.
He turned right around, once more returning to the battlefield. This time, he'd be taking the high ground.
***
Tez continued to climb around the slopes with chattering teeth. He didn't even need to wrap his wounds, just the sheer cold was enough to freeze his blood. Using a balanced adjustment of his Qi Aura, Tez weakened the icy winds digging into his body, still retaining warmth. Well, enough so that he wouldn't get frostbite.
Even the best climbers would struggle to do such a feat so fast. Yet at only Stage 3 in Qidense Realm, I was able to beat the best experts of mountain climbers with just having Qi. Forget about Path Foundation. What would my strength be like at Rank 3; Core Genesis, or even higher?
These wondrous thoughts kept the misery of the situation at bay. Climbing 500 metres high, Tez just had to look for any sloped cornice of the snowy mountain. And if memory served him right, enacting his plan would be quite easy.
His presence was almost invisible under the current situation, only Tez could get away with such a risky manoeuvre. Without that charm that hid his presence, he would've long been pelted by a dozen arrows.
With each careful step, Tez focused on distributing his weight so that he wouldn't accidentally collapse a pile of snow. A few steps before the cornice, the sounds of his sword unsheathing were muted by the intense gales around him.
All he had to do was one clean slash.
I have to make the cut horizontal and as clean as possible. I have no skills with the sword yet, so all I can do is a simple slash.
Tez brought his sword up to his torso and used the vestiges of his strength to embolden his arms. He forgot to breathe from how hard he concentrated. Putting his entire body into a single motion, he swung.
The slope was cut right off.
It was like he just tapped a domino gently. With hundreds of other dominoes ahead, he caused them all to fall with the least effort possible.
The slopes beneath him shook, and the weight of the snow was shifted. It collapsed, causing a terrible avalanche to build up over time.
And his body finally remembered to start breathing again. His sword now sheathed, Tez held both fists up while clenched, hoping for the best.
"I swear if this doesn't count, I'm gonna lose it," he said, though without any hint of disappointment. All he could feel from elation at the brilliance of his plan.
Amidst the rumbling of the mountain, Tez took care to stabilise himself. He would be an absolute clown if he ended up falling as well. All the fighters right now had become scrambling ants running around at the impeding avalanche.
It was pathetic. They all looked down on him, or treated him like trash.
Now he was the one above them all, with just a single move causing them unsurmountable headaches.
A grin plastered itself on Tez's face.
He didn't deny enjoying the feeling.
Heh, this is what you call a real war strategy. You think of yourselves as high and mighty cultivators, but a single mountain is enough to collapse you.
The avalanche gradually slowed down as it covered half the icy field, massacring and demolishing all in its way. In fact, he even noticed some ants still tripping each other over, using them as bait to live a little longer.
His excitement was interrupted by a swathe of holographic screens.
Ding!
New Achievement Unlocked: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 Kill Streak!
New Achievement Unlocked: Mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
New Achievement Unlocked: Multi Achievement Stacker!
Rewards: Hunter's Eye: Improved senses in nature, with a greater insight of using the environment. Basic Understanding.
Refined Atom of Apotheosis: Boost thought processing speed by 20%.
Empty Flicker: Movement Technique (High Rank 1 Grade). Calm one's mind, sheath one's body, stride forth like a tempest. Requires high mastery of Qi manipulation.
Heartened Silence: Able to weaken sounds of your own body, breathing, and heartbeat. Basic Understanding.
New Title Gained! First Step of Justice. Gain stat boost per cultivator in the same realm killed by 1%, capping at 100% stat boost. Lasts for 1 minute, reset with each kill. The stronger the opponent, the faster the stacks are gained.
500 Shop Insignias Gained!
Tez was frozen like a sculpture. With only air breathing through his mouth, saliva drooled out, and he swallowed. This was far more enticing than any meal he'd ever had.
He allowed the sensation to rush in with each skill, technique, passive and title gained.
It was pure exhilaration.
Tez held his right hand up, clenching tightly into a fist. His golden eyes filled with draconic avarice now focused on the terrain beneath.
"Just 10 more to go. Let's test out these new gains."
***
Everyone watched as a single name shot right to the top. The name of the supposed weakest fighter in the examinations.
A name that bounced between the hundreds, always near the tail end of the ranking. He'd actually climbed a decent amount before the announcement in the middle of the test, where accumulative points of your enemy would be taken.
Now, it was in the top ten.
While some of the spectators discussed on this new dark horse of the examinations, the gamblers naturally took advantage of this as well. It was time to open up new bets.
"Kiddo, you know what this means, right?" Kraus said while spinning his straw hat on his finger.
Liu Wei, cousin to Shuren, could only sigh. Who could've expected this Tez newcomer to do so well? To think he got away with such a ridiculous strategy.
"There's no need for you to say anything. If I can't even afford to pay you my dues, I'd only look like a beggar," Liu Wei proclaimed while juggling a pouch of taels in his hand. "Masquerading as a mere farmer, you clearly knew of that boy's potential long before." With those words, Liu Wei threw the pouch over to Kraus.
He had intended to initially overshoot and have Kraus walk over to pick it up. But it was obvious this farmer would easily catch it. Heh, in a sense, he's the same as me. I already know of cousin Shuren's strength. Someone like him could've easily skipped all of this and joined as a Delegatory Inner Disciple. To think in order to balance things, he didn't even try to use the sword.
The spectators betted on a new contender. To see how far the weakest would make it in the contest. Though no one would believe he'd become the winner, it was all about the battle of attrition.
"Let's go! I'm betting all in for Tez to make it till the last ten fighters!"
"You're crazy. You're going to go broke if you bet on some Stage 2 runt."
"You think any Stage 2 could've just made it to top ten? That guy's got insane potential. He's definitely gonna be a rising dragon!"
Tez's popularity was soaring amongst the common men. Watching the performance of a weak cultivator survive for so long using strategies of all kinds made them relate to him in some way.
Rubbing the sweat off his hair, Kraus put his straw hat back on and continued to observe Tez. "So much for being low-key, eh?"
***
One of the combatants coughed out snow as she crawled herself out of the suffocating depths of the avalanche. She yelped as she accidentally stabbed herself with a broken branch.
But when she finally stuck out her whole body out of the snow, she was met with a dominating presence. A man with flowing golden hair, gazing at her like she was a rabbit.
"Sleep."
Shuren inebriated her with a simple slam of his weapon. Easy prey.
That avalanche cleared out all the weakest of the bunch. It's only going to get difficult now. But, this is where we can reap the most points as well.
He walked towards the icy field. Now half of it had been covered by snow, while the other half formed cracks in the reflective ground. Most of the survivors gathered up towards the open icy field uncovered by snow. A clear and wide battlefield, it allowed no opportunities for subterfuge. Everyone was forced to duke it out with pure strength.
Shuren picked up the pace to deal with them.
It was absurd. Somehow, no one noticed the perpetrator climb up the mountain in clear sight to do such an effective strategy. Usually those trying to use mountains as a vantage and cover to shoot long ranged weapons from, were taken out instantly to relieve pressure off the actual fighters clashing with their weapons.
So there was only one way. This person had some reward that either was a teleportation opportunity or reduced their presence to be unnoticeable. On top of that, knew how to effectively start an avalanche. Shuren wouldn't be surprised if that sneaking rat had accidentally killed itself under the weight of the snow.
He himself had no idea how such a phenomenon was started. Shuren had learnt of the phenomenon of an avalanche, but never seen it with his own eyes. He only visited such a snowy region once in his life, after all.
The sounds of weapons clashing and bodies collapsing once more returned. Those who escaped towards the other side of the icy field had already returned to gain their points. All to become an Inner Disciple of the glorious Seven Clouds Sect. Or even just to gain a higher status as an Outer Disciple as well.
The cracks continued to worsen on the icy field, as sounds akin to shattering glass echoed across the valleys. Shuren halted, staring at the ground. "Wait. Something's off."
These cracks traversed from his spot towards the side of the field with the most amount of people.
Shuren dashed towards the snowy region at the border of the field. He hadn't seen a single beast in this region what so ever. If his hunch was right, then…
The cracks continued to shatter and cover the entire icy field. No, it wasn't just a simple field.
Water burst at the seams of the cracks.
Like the cocoon of an eagle was cracking open, an utterly black snout popped in the middle of the commotion.
No one had time to react. Because soon that snout exploded all the surrounding ice, and the body of an enormous crocodile flew out of the frozen lake. Directly in the middle of the remaining fighters.
And though all of them encircled this ravenous beast, it wasn't it that was trapped with them, but rather they who were trapped by it. With its long tail covered in razor bumps, it slammed it into dozens of people.
"Is that a Deviant Beast of this region?" Shuren thought back to the one he had to defeat with the assistance of the swordsman Wu Ming. If all of them were grouped together, it would be possible to do something about it. If they coordinated together.
What was the choice he should make here? Was it best to wait it out, or jump in the chaos to reap even more points?
If I just let it kill everyone, that would mean fewer points for me. Both options have its pros and cons.
Shuren clicked his tongue. He decided to at least get close-
Blood burst from as his eardrums ruptured.
A shrill sound, louder than the avalanche itself, sharper than the roar of any beast, encompassed the whole realm.
Shuren focused his Qi to protect his eardrums and minimise the injury. Even then, the instinct to cover his ears with his hands took over.
What now?! Was what he tried to think, but even those thoughts were drowned out.
The crocodile beast seemed to let out a primal roar in return, but no one could hear it as its jaws were opened wide.
A shadow, faster than any spear of light, shot towards the crocodile and picked it up by its claws. Its flap of wings made Shuren's hair dance wildly in the wind. To that giant flying creature, the crocodile was just a meal.
The true King of the Mountains had made its appearance!
Terror did not feel Shuren's heart. His blue eyes were filled with cold irritation as it stared at the newcomer.
All he saw was a beast daring to covet his points, his path to complete and utter victory!
Is this a damned examination for us disciples or these forsaken Deviant Beasts?!