"Sorry about that, Instructor Su Yan. I wanted to avoid taking his life, but…"
"No, it's fine. It's perfectly allowed by the rules. If anything, Pang Hei Shan should accept the consequences for refusing to surrender. You have offered him plenty of opportunities to give up, but he was stubborn enough to refuse. And he even endangered the spectators with his reckless moves."
Su Yan shook his head. Then he raised a hand.
"The match is over. I declare the victor: Shu Cong!"
There was a cheer from the audience. Si Nan was clapping politely while Mu Zi Xing was cheering enthusiastically. She was accompanied by the Blue and Red factions, the members of both groups celebrating raucously.
The only exception is the Shadow Gang. Pang Hei Shan's lackeys were glaring at me, their eyes full of hatred and desire for vengeance. I turned to them and beckoned them forward.
"If you want revenge, you're welcome to challenge me anytime. I'll accept them."
They swore among themselves before turning to leave in a huff. I shook my head and left the stage. Hopping off the arena, I joined Si Nan and Mu Zi Xing.
"You're now bumped up to fourth place in the Seven Stars list," Si San informed me coolly. He glanced at his smartphone before returning his gaze to me. "In other words, you're recognized as the fourth strongest student in Seven Stars University right now."
"Even though you're only at Earth realm!" Mu Zi Xing exclaimed. "This is incredible!"
At this rate, I should be able to breakthrough to Heaven realm soon, but I decided not to tell them that. It just felt…like I was showing off. And I hated showing off.
"Also, you should have received seven thousand credits for defeating the fourth place student."
Si Nan prompted me to check my account in my smartphone. It was true, I had earned seventy times of what I had spent for the challenge. That was incredible profit. As I found out, defeating the first ranked student would net me ten thousand credits. Second place would earn nine thousand, third place eight thousand, and so on and so forth. Tenth place would get one thousand credits. Below that, beating any student eleventh place and below would get a steady five hundred credits no matter what rank your opponent was.
No wonder the top ranked students wouldn't care how low your rank was. It still benefited them as long as they won. Of course, if they lost, then…they lost everything.
My attention was also drawn to my new rank. Si Nan was correct. I was now ranked fourth in what they called the Seven Stars list. The ranking list specific to Seven Stars University. It filled my heart with elation and pride, but I did my best to conceal those emotions.
"Pang Hei Shan was a formidable foe, though." I was being sincere when I said that. My body still felt sore from the earlier exchange. My insides were throbbing, a result of forcibly enduring his strikes from earlier. The difference in cultivation realms could not be so easily disregarded. Yeah, perhaps it did not guarantee a victory, but there was no denying that a higher cultivation realm brought tremendous advantages with it.
"Yes! With such a powerhouse, the future of our Blue faction is so bright!"
"What are you talking about?! Obviously Shu Cong belongs to our Red faction!"
And so we had Zhang Ping and Liu Yu Feng squabbling with each other again, despite the solidarity they showed against the Shadow Gang earlier.
"I'm not joining either of your factions," I told them. Both Zhang Ping and Liu Yu Feng blanched.
"Eh?!"
"Why not?!"
"Obviously, because I'm forming my own faction. The Black faction." Why black? Simply because it was my favorite color. I gestured toward Si Nan and Mu Zi Xing. "My friends are welcome to join if they want to."
"I'm in," Si Nan said immediately.
"Me too! Me too!" Mu Zi Xing bobbed her head up and down excitedly.
"Ugh…a new faction."
"Led by the fourth ranked student too…it will definitely become a powerful faction."
"Won't be as powerful as our Blue faction, though."
"Yeah, you'll eventually be absorbed by our Red faction once our boss emerges from isolation training!"
"I look forward to it." I wasn't lying. I wondered what sort of people the bosses of the Blue and Red factions were. They seemed pretty strong – they had to be, if they were ranked second and third. I felt a desire to challenge them, to test my limits and see how far I could go. "If they can defeat me, then I'll join whoever. But if I defeat them…"
Both Zhang Ping and Liu Yu Feng burst out laughing.
"No disrespect meant, bro, but I don't think you'll be able to beat our boss."
"You might be strong and talented, but our boss is still on a completely different level."
"I see." I nodded thoughtfully. I had just barely beaten Pang Hei Shan and came out pretty wounded. The guy was a lot more powerful than me, but he had underestimated me. That caused his downfall. If he hadn't gotten careless and lost his arm…and then later his leg, I wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily.
However, I was amazed that Cheng Long was right. Pang Hei Shan couldn't catch me at all when I used my footwork techniques. I had best worked on mastering all five of them. Right now, I could only use three – Jin, Tui, and Duo. I had to find a way to learn Liu, and then Ying…
Not only that. I had to grow a lot stronger before I could challenge the second and third places. And after them, I aimed to challenge the first ranked Qin Lie. But one thing at a time. If I couldn't even defeat third place, what use was it to dream about challenging the first ranked student?
I might have defeated Pang Hei Shan, but I still felt a sense of unease. It was a close-run match, and I couldn't count on my opponents underestimating me all the time. There was a difference between fighting a newcomer who had only just appeared and accepting a challenge from the fourth-ranked student. They wouldn't be as complacent as the arrogant Pang Hei Shan…or at least I had to assume that they wouldn't be.
"Anyway, thanks for the support. I had best return to my room and rest today." I couldn't help but groan as I moved. Damn it, my body hurt. A lot.
"Yeah, you had better heal up." Si Nan helped me by pulling my arm over his shoulder and supporting me as we made our way back toward the dormitory.
*
I spent the next few days training as best as I could after I healed up. Even though I could find nothing on Heaven and Earth Formula, that didn't mean I could slack off on training. Also, I had to train my magic carp with the Divine Dragon Sect's advanced summoning techniques that I received from Master. And the footwork techniques too.
But that wasn't all. After my daily physical training regimen, I looked for instructors for help.
"Instructor Su Yan, how do I improve my techniques?"
Aside from the usual curriculum that allowed us to learn theory – like history or literature – the professors and instructors in the university didn't teach us any martial arts. I was confused at first, but Su Yan explained why the system worked as it did.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something. Martial arts academies and cultivation universities are different from martial arts sects. We are not here to teach you new techniques and martial arts – that's the responsibility of your sect. What we do is help you develop your already existing techniques and skills. To train you further and help you improve. Your foundation should have been established during your preliminary training in your parent sect. The universities offer resources for you to build upon that foundation and further develop your current set of abilities. We also offer a safe place to practice and train, as well as a competitive environment where you can learn from students from other sects. But we do not teach new martial arts or techniques. We offer you the chance to experiment and do further research so that you can create your own, to far surpass what you would have otherwise learned if you solely remained in your own sect forever."
"Oh, okay."
And that was about it. So today, I had approached Su Yan to learn how to further develop the techniques I already knew.
"We might want to work on your summoning skills." Su Yan turned to look out of the window of his office, his expression pensive. "Like I said, we offer you an environment to train in, a place where you can safely practice to your heart's contents. In some ways, our universities have better training environments than most sects, which is why they are so willing to send their disciples to enroll in here."
I nodded understandingly.
"And that brings me back to your particular case." Su Yan took out his tablet and swiped through the screen. "I've checked your skills and your spirit beast. A magic carp, right? It seems like you've successfully aught him Devouring the Heavens."
"Thanks to my master in Divine Dragon Sect," I replied. Su Yan nodded.
"Yes. I know Master Cheng Long. He is a revered expert among the cultivator world." He then paused. "I know a bit of the Divine Dragon Sect's techniques, though not as much as the professors at the Imperial Valley University."
"Uh, well…that…something happened…"
"Oh, I know. Your duel against Na Lan Yan Ran has been very well documented." Su Yan chuckled. "You being rejected is Imperial Valley University's loss…though I must say that they are regretting it to the bone now. You've been making quite a few waves right now."
He then looked out of the window, his grin growing wider.
"Speaking of waves…you can further train your magic carp here in Seven Stars University. We have just the perfect environment for you."
"Huh? What kind of environment?"
"You see that river?" Su Yan pointed out the window and indicated a river right next to the university. I nodded, and he continued. "There's a waterfall at the edge. That's the ideal place to train your magic carp. It's saturated with a lot of mystical qi, which will nourish your spirit beast. Also consider training alongside your magic carp there – it will also help your cultivation."
"Understood."
"The point of your training is to strengthen your magic carp to the point where he can climb the waterfall. Strong enough to go against those powerful currents and swim his way to the top of that mountain."
"Is that…possible?" I couldn't help but gawk at Su Yan. He turned back to me and nodded, pushing up his round-rimmed glasses.
"Of course. That's the whole point of cultivating, isn't it? To go against heaven and achieve the impossible. If you succeed, your magic carp will evolve into an unparalleled existence."
"That sounds good." I wasn't confident that it would happen, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to try. Nothing would happen if I gave up, but if I gave it a shot, I might have a chance of success, no matter how miniscule it was.
"Yes. Fittingly enough, there's a temple at the top of the waterfall, known as dragon's gate. The goal of your training is to make sure your magic carp can pass through the dragon's gate at the top after climbing the waterfall."
He then folded his arms and stared at me, his expression somber.
"Can you do it?"
Meeting his stern gaze, I swallowed and took a deep breath. Doing my best to quash the lack of confidence and nervousness I felt swelling inside my chest, I nodded determinedly.
"I don't know…but I will definitely do my best."