"PRINCIPAL!!!" An elderly woman's voice screamed outside the office and continuously knocked on the door.
The principal directly recognized the voice and opened up the door. He then greeted her. "Darling, why are you screaming?"
"Don't call me darling, principal! I've tried to contact you for days, what happened to you?"
"Well, sweetheart, it's a long story. What do you need?"
"Sweetheart? …Anyway, the first-grade tournament already started! We had to organize it without your help this time, but you still have to congratulate the winner and give him his reward."
"Right, six days have already passed… When did the tournament start?"
"A few hours ago. It is still in the preliminary round, but it should end soon. You have to at least be present after the preliminary round."
"Principal, what about Zayn? I wanted him to also enter the tournament."
"Don't worry, he should be still able to enter. We will just place him in the last group of the preliminary round."
"All right! Let's go together to the tournament."
"Wait! Teacher Bolt, I wanted to speak with you privately first. Zayn you can already go to the training grounds. We will meet later on. And you, my sweetie, can you also give us a moment alone?"
Zayn just nodded and left the scene, he already visited the training grounds with Vown so he would not need any help at all, finding it. The elderly woman's also left without saying anything. She seemed annoyed by what the principal called her.
"Vown, he really seems extraordinary. First of all, his Zero Heart, it was amazing. Stepping into such a state without any guidance at all, his intelligence is incredible. And comprehending the True Thunder Fist in under an hour, wonderful! His cultivation speed is terrifying, he reached the 3-Star Body Refinement Realm in a week, in a week. What puzzled me, was your reaction to the breakthrough. He reached the 3-Star in six days and you were only slightly surprised! Why's that?!?"
"I saw something far more shocking than this… And seeing that, I thought that it was easily possible for him to reach the 3-Star in a week. Principal, how far do you think will Zayn get in the tournament?"
"You don't have to call me principal, we are alone… Well, the boy's cultivation is lacking, even though his cultivation speed is incredible, he still only reached the 3-Star. In the tournament, there will be many that reached the 4-Star and 5-Star and even a few with the 6-Star. I think the best he can do is to enter the Eighth-finals."
"This is where we disagree. If you would have seen what I saw, then you would know that he will at least reach the semifinals, I think even the finals are possible. You will see it in the tournament."
"Vown, you already found your candidate it seems. When will you leave to the capital?"
"When? Hmm… I think Zayn's talent is enough to work as my candidate, but his knowledge and his cultivation are lacking. I will stay here a bit longer. He needs to be groomed properly and I need to prepare him for the future. When he reaches the top rank of the All-Grade Power Ranking, I think then we'll depart from here."
.
Meanwhile, Zayn arrived on the training grounds. He was immediately attracted by the crowd and their screaming. There were many students and teachers cheering for their fellow students. The crowd was full of both male and female students. All of them surrounded a big arena and were focused on what was happening there.
The arena was big enough to fit 10 people on it and still seem spacious. The people inside were each fighting against another, trying to knock each other out of the arena. Zayn watched the fight and was amazed by the performance.
On earth, he saw many fighting movies and real-life fighting matches, but none of them compared to what he was currently seeing. The speed, power, and agility were on a completely different level. Many fighters on the stage had unique and bizarre movements and fighting styles. While moving at high speed, the school uniform blew around and this only emphasized their fighting movements.
The battle was already in its climax when Zayn started to watch it. There were only three people remaining and one got knocked out recently. The two remaining students were a young boy and a young girl. The girl had two fans as a weapon. She did not attack with the fans directly, she only used it to wave around with it.
For Zayn, this seemed like a useless action and was for him nothing to fight with. The male cultivator fighting against her did not think so. Wherever the girl was waving with her fans, the boy dodged these places. He knew that the girl used qi in order to cut the air and sent it as an attack on him. The slightest cut could lose him the fight. He tried to dodge every attack from the girl and simultaneously get closer to her. He was only fighting with his bare fist, so the girl had a range advantage. He knew the moment he got close enough he could finish her off. Their battle continued for a while, the boy always dodging and trying to close the distance and the girl always attacking and distancing herself from him.
Even though their speed was unbelievable, Zayn could somehow follow it and really track it. Their fight seemed for Zayn like a dance between the two, a fierce deadly dance, with their robes flying around. But eventually, the girl got tired and was distracted for a split second. The boy used this chance and came close enough to attack her. His fist flew towards her belly and landed perfectly on it. The girl was just flying out of the arena and landing heavily on the floor, rolling for a few times before she stopped and just laid there.
The fight was over, and the crowd was in an uproar. They congratulated him on winning the round. The boy seemed in a rush of excitement, but also exhaustion, he immediately left the arena and sat down cross-legged, starting to cultivate.
Zayn was confused. How were there such extreme people here? After having an incredible fight, he just started to cultivate. Zayn thought that the boy was really aiming to win and use every second to get stronger.
The Infinite Star noticed Zayn's confusion and immediately responded. "Kid, cultivation isn't only there to get stronger. It will also help you replenish your lost energy and lose your exhaustion. Most cultivators, would not cultivate at all on the day of their fights, to maximize their recovery, if they cultivated."
Zayn understood this principle. After cultivating for six days straight, he did not feel the slightest bit exhausted. He even felt more energized than before. The effects of cultivation were truly endless.
"Quest added: Win the Tournament"
'Wait what?!? Win the Tournament?' After watching the fight, the Quest popped up and shocked Zayn.
"DAISY! What the hell is up with that Quest?"
"The Daily System is unable to understand what the host means." The Daily System explained that the Quests are always designed to push the host and challenge him, so he can become stronger, which was the reason behind the system's creation, raise powerful cultivators.
"Urgh… What happens if I don't win the tourna-"
"Zayn? I was right. You are here."
Zayn immediately recognized the voice. The only one he can call his friend at the academy, Ryu.
"Ryu! What's up?"
"What's up? I should ask that! You were nowhere to find in the past few days. You weren't in your room either. What were you doing?"
"Well… Hehehehehe. You could say I was straight up cultivating these past few days."
"Cultivating? But you weren't in the-" Ryu was talking while he analyzed Zayn's cultivation. In the middle of his speech, he noticed Zayn's progress and could not believe what he saw.
"3-Star Body Refinement Realm?!?"
"Yeah? Is there a problem with that?"
"A problem?!?" Ryu was always perceived as a genius in the academy. His achievements were far higher than many senior students and he counted as the rising star of the academy. But even he had not achieved the 3-Star Body Refinement Realm in a few days.
"Kid, this Ryu kid, is he your friend?" The Infinite Star commented out of nowhere.
"Yeah, you could say that. Why?" Zayn answered him in his head and was curious as to why the Infinite Star wanted to know that.
"He is just interesting. Nothing more."
'Interesting?' Zayn was puzzled at the Infinite Star's comment. He was wondering if the Infinite Star had any preferences towards young boys and if so, was he even save? But of course, he just jokingly thought about that.
"I really can't understand you Zayn! You are really sometimes a freak. Anyway, are you entering the tournament? I didn't see your name on any group at all."
"I will, and I think I will win it!"