As Leo was thinking of overpowering the old man and possibly the then meddling guide, the door of the side hall flung open, and an angry Sarah stormed out.
"Seriously you martial artists are all crazy nutcases!!" She seemed to relax a bit after she saw Leo and quickly approached him. She looked around the hall and saw the bloody hall.
"Didn't you go too far again?" She asked calmly as she observed the injured martial artists that had won their fight.
Leo raised his arms, "Hey! I didn't fight all of them, just the two at the pillar back there!".
"Ah, so just the unconscious one and the one in the fetus position covered in bruises and cuts, lying in the corner" She pinched the bridge of her nose while sighing.
"Y-yeah, at least I didn't bring a sword to a fistfight." He defended himself, making the swordsman look incredulous to their direction.
After only a moment, Shunlei and Laura came unscathed through the door as well. As soon as they returned, the guide stood up again and continued with his tour, explaining some of the depictions on the walls and pillars that were now partially covered in blood.
The seemingly normal martial artists were all defeated by the remaining group. Although some of the exceptional looking martial artists had lost, the slack was picked up by the others. In the end only 3 of the well-trained martial artists remained with two having weapons, the old man, and his companion and of course Leo's group.
"Is this some kind of initiation test?" Sarah whispered to her group. Before anyone of the three could answer another voice answered in their stead.
"You could say that young girl." The old man said as he nibbled on his pipe that he pulled out from somewhere. The others that now remained were listening to the old man's words carefully and by then Leo was already sure that all of them received a similar invitation.
Leo had only recognized one of the fighters, the one that didn't carry a weapon. He also only knew her because she made waves in Japan and wanted to go international soon. He only kept up with news concerning her because she might clash with Shunlei as they were in the same weight class and was often compared to her.
She seemed to have recognized Shunlei as well as she sent several baleful glances towards her since the beginning of their tour. Leo didn't like her attitude, but he knew where she was coming from.
After all, the whole world was already comparing her to Shunlei because of their similar styles and she hasn't made her official international debut yet. Additionally, the closest to a title she came was the unofficial one circling in the community, the second-coming of Shunlei.
Obviously, that wouldn't sit well with her and she had tried her best to excel. To have another fighter's name in their nickname, especially another fighter who was still competing in the same weight class.
It was like the world was trying to tell her that she would only be second to Shunlei, of course Leo would make sure of that. As long as he was alive, he would make sure to push Shunlei beyond her limits and teach her to his full capability.
If she were still surpassed by someone else, they could only curse the unfairness of the world.
"You see, everyone here was invited because we are promising, but they are sure we won't be able to overcome 'it', if we don't even overcome these little tests of theirs."
"A uniform test for different styles of… fighters? Doesn't sound like a good way to test us." The swordsman said as he looked over the group, while his gaze lingered on Sarah, who frowned at the looks she got from the group.
"Hehehe, indeed in your eyes it might be strange for her to be here, but it will make sense soon." The old man said ambiguous while continuing following the guide.
"Why is a fossil like you here anyway?" Laura finally said after it was clear that the old man didn't want to continue. Leo smiled bitterly but didn't say anything. He got to know that Laura didn't withhold anything when she got annoyed.
The old man sent a glare at her, who was returning it carefree.
"The youth nowadays have eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai." He said while shaking his head disappointed at Laura's disrespect.
"Mount Tai? I know that you aren't speaking of yourself. You are participating with us after all, meaning that you haven't overcome 'it' yet, whatever 'it' is."
It seemed like she struck a nerve as the old man turned around with a furious grimace. It seemed like he was about to attack, so Leo and his group tensed as they prepared for the inevitable fight.
"Now, now. Don't fight you will need your energy soon. It wouldn't do good to waste it for ingroup fighting." The guide appeared between the old man and Laura holding up his hands to keep them apart.
The group was unnerved by his sudden appearance. They didn't notice him moving at all, it was like he blinked into existence.
Leo's brows were furrowed as he looked at their guide. Unlike the group he had kept his attention on everyone around and he could confirm that the guide had indeed disappeared for a second. Leo then glanced at the ground, seeing an almost unnoticeable layer of ice.
As he looked back up at their guide, they guide stared at Leo with a growing smile on his face.
"Let us continue with the tour shall we. It won't do any good if we let them wait." He said with a mysterious smile on his face as he let his gaze wander across the group, while lingering on the old man, his companion and Leo's group.
After going down a few stairs, they made their way through a rather dark tunnel that was only lit with a torch every few meters, lighting the surroundings up barely enough to see the ground. After what seemed like half an hour, they finally arrived at the end of the tunnel.
It was too bright to see outside but it did a good job lighting up the ground and the tunnels walls, making Leo realize that the material used for the tunnel was different to before. The stones looked more like something used by the Aztec.
As soon as the group stepped out of the tunnel they were greeted by a dense jungle. The temperature and the humidity seemed to have risen by a lot and the air seemed to be cleaner as well.
As he looked around, he heard two of the group grunting. The guy with the sword and the girl from Japan looked a lot paler than they were just a minute ago. They looked rather sick, and it didn't make much sense since going for a walk for half an hour is hardly a challenge for athletes of their level.
"It seems like you don't have much potential. A little advice from little ol' me, give up now. At best, you will only waste your time here, but it will be more likely that you will lose your life if you continue coming with us." The old man said with a smirk on his face. It seemed like he enjoyed seeing their plight.
The guy with the sword only sneered at his words only to answer him with disdain in his voice, "You think I have lived my life to become one of the greatest swordsmen only to run away with my tail between my legs because of a little discomfort?!"
Leo wasn't sure if he was directing those words to the old man or to himself. The Japanese girl glared at Shunlei for a moment as if to see if she was uncomfortable as well. Seeing no such sign, she opted to glaring at the old man but said nothing.
Her intentions to continue were clear and their determination only seemed to have amused the old man, while the guide smiled slightly as well.
"Now, now don't discourage the new generation. They might come out on top contrary to some veterans." The guide said while retaining the slight smile on his face. His words seemed to have upset the old man since it was obvious that remark was directed at him.
"It has been a while since participants lost their life in our tests. With technology being as advanced as it is, we would rather not attract any attention from the common man because of some sudden deaths. Of course, we don't guarantee that you will walk out of here alive, especially those that already struggle at the entrance. Alas it was nice having a chat with you, I will be taking my leave."
The guide said as he abruptly turned back towards the tunnel. "I was only meant to guide you through the temple and since my task is done, I can only wish you luck at trying to cross the jungle. I will hopefully see you on the other side." He said giving them a final smile over his shoulder before disappearing into the dark tunnel.
"Hmph. That old monster is getting lazy nowadays." The old man said as he and his companion made their ways forward directly into the shrubbery. The swordsman and his friends with the two knives, who Leo had designated as the rogue, were first hesitating before following the old man.
The others of the group started following the two as well. Leo looked at the entrance of the tunnel barely seeing it from the sides, only there was no indication of a tunnel and it didn't go underneath the ground.
There was no wall either. It was just like the entrance was placed in the middle of nowhere. If Leo didn't know better, he would have called it an illusion or painting of sorts, not a real traversable tunnel.
"What do you mean with old monster?" The rogue asked making Leo turn his attention forward again. The rogue worriedly looked around with his knives in hand. 'Not a wrong approach while being in an unknow territory, which was highly likely being deadly.' Leo thought.
"He is a lot older than he looks. When I was your age, he had been a guide already. Although, he was more enthusiastic than nowadays." The old man explained carefree.
"This whole thing doesn't feel like a competition" Sarah whispered to her group, but it was obvious that old man had very acute ears.
"It isn't a competition, young girl. In fact, it is better if more passed the test." They continued to walk but despite his words the old man wasn't willing to divulge more information.
'Weird I would have thought that we would be bashing our heads in as soon as the guide left, but now here we are having a little chat with each other. Isn't this a test of sorts? Where is the challenge?' Leo thought.
The Japanese girl and the two, armed martial artists, were tense as they looked around warily, expecting to be attacked any second now. Leo's group and the old man and his companion on the other hand were more relaxed, knowing that being too tense would only expend a lot of energy, especially if their tenseness remained for a longer period.
Leo's group could relax while remaining alert enough to recognize any danger to them as fast as possible. Similar to the gazing meditation, being externally focused. It tires one's eyes, but any fatigue can be recovered by resting their senses for a few seconds. As for the old man and his companion, they might just know that there was no danger at all, it was hard to discern for Leo.
The swordsman and the girl were starting to sweat heavily, and their breath was getting more ragged. It looked like the deeper they went into the forest, the sicker they got.
No one said anything at the half hour mark, but some things were already clear like the fact that the swordsman had reached his limit, while the Japanese girl was approaching her limits soon as well.
It was obvious that they needed a break, but it was also clear that the old man wasn't willing to wait for the two. It would be too dangerous to separate from the only one, who seemed to have some foreknowledge. The rogue furrowed his brows as he looked at his exhausted friend.