Koren was called to his arena almost immediately after the sixth round began. One could tell that all the weak disciples had already been weeded out, leaving only the best. Everyone fighting was either at the top of Energy Storage or already at Condensation, and their skills were impeccable.
The girl Koren battled pushed him even further than Aurora had. If Aurora had to fight her, she'd lose. But Koren was Koren and was still only fighting someone at the Energy Storage stage. Many of the Energy Storage cultivators were fighting against Condensation fighters, but Koren or this woman had likely been deemed a good seedling. Or perhaps both of them had.
The fight lasted several minutes, but Koren constantly held the upper hand. And then he seemed to get bored. His sword flashed, and the girl screamed! She fell to her knees, her weapon landing next to her. She could barely even hold her wails inside as she clutched at her twisted hand.
With one strike, Koren hit her on her dominant hand, breaking it! Even with healing from the sect, it would be a few weeks before she could use the hand perfectly again. But ultimately, this didn't break any rules. The hand would be fixed to a usable degree in a day or two. Only if the hand was severed or crushed completely would Koren be punished.
As the woman cried in pain, Koren stepped up to her, placing his sword by her neck.
"Give up?" Koren said. The girl looked up at Koren, tearing up from the sheer pain of having her fingers broken. A single nod was all that Koren got in reply, but it was enough. Koren nodded back at her and started walking away.
"Man, he can be quite brutal," Rose commented as the four girls watched the fight.
"He's always nice to us, at least when he isn't doing something mischievous, but I suppose he still is a warrior by heart. He has spent his whole life training to kill," Aurora said.
When Koren returned to the group, he was instantly chastised for his merciless behavior.
The next round began only about ten minutes after Koren was done fighting. Now, less than 250 disciples remained. Every match until now had been easy for Koren, but just how far would he be able to go? Aurora, Sila, Rila, and Rose were all curious to see how good Koren was. In some ways, Koren's glory was their glory. They lived together, ate together, showered together, and had sex every day. If you asked Rose, she'd even say that they were all a loving couple.
The fight began. Surprisingly, it was much the same as the prior battle. Koren traded blows with his opponent for a good minute or two before utterly obliterating them in a few moves! But there was one difference. A difference that drew a lot of attention to this fight. Koren's opponent wasn't a simple Energy Storage cultivator. They had reached the Condensation stage.
It was only the early levels, but despite this, Koren ended the fight before even three minutes had passed! It had ended much like his fight with Aurora had.
Three absolute moves, within the span of a second, Koren had hit them in the legs, chest, and face! There was enough power in his blows to knock even someone a stage above him unconscious.
The entire crowd went absolutely insane! It wasn't unheard of for an Energy Storage cultivator to beat someone at the Condensation stage, but it was rare, and it was exciting! Koren received unending cheers as he returned to his entourage, a smug smile on his face.
The girls didn't even get the chance to gush about their man, as he was immediately surrounded by everyone around them.
Ten minutes passed once more until the round was finished. Then, an extra round was held, where several people were chosen to fight to determine the top hundred rankings. Koren was not selected for these fights, giving him a spot in the top hundred by default.
Finally, there were exactly one hundred disciples left in the tournament. The elite among the elite, the absolute best in a group of ten thousand! The one percent.
Aurora and her housemates could only look on as everyone, and their grandmothers spoke with Koren. They really wanted to ask him a few questions too, but before the chance came, the next round started. Things were very hurried, with very short breaks between fights.
But there were only three rounds left for the day, plus one half-round of sorts to select the top sixteen. Koren's fight commenced. At this point, there were only Condensation stage disciples left, so logically speaking, Koren should have a difficult time in front of him. Yet logic was nowhere present.
Koren fought his opponent for three minutes once more before finishing him off. Granted, it took ten moves this time, but his opponent was crushed in the end! There could be no question who was stronger between the two. At this point, there was no one who didn't know about Koren. He had come out of nowhere and become the dark horse of the tournament.
Aurora could only be stunned as she realized just how strong this man she liked so much was. And his strength just made Aurora like him even more. What could she say? She was into strong men. The same could be said about the twins and Rose as they looked at Koren with glittering eyes.
The man had his faults for sure, but at this point, none of the four young women cared. Aurora had hated him when they first met, and with good reason, but right now, she was happy to call herself Koren's woman.
Fifty opponents remained, and another battle ensued. Koren fought harder this time, trading blows for nearly ten minutes, but yet again, he won. Twenty-five opponents remained. Twenty-four warriors of the Condensation stage and one newcomer at the Energy Storage stage. By all rights, Koren should have lost long ago. Still, here he was, fighting with people half a stage above him. One more round remained.
There were twenty-five disciples, but the top sixteen had to be chosen. Thus eighteen disciples were selected to fight each other, and the strongest seven proceeded to the next round by default.
On one side of the arena stood a woman of Condensation five. On the other, a man in his mid-twenties, a body at Energy Storage nine. The fight started, and both disciples charged at each other!
The woman was half a stage above Koren, yet the man still met her every strike with equal speed and force, a feat which should be nearly impossible! But only nearly.
The two were equally matched, neither gaining the upper hand. They fought for fifteen minutes, draining each other's energy. By now, everyone just waited for Koren to slip up or run out of stamina. But then it happened! Just as it looked like the woman would hit Koren in the neck, Koren fazed out of existence! He moved so rapidly that he reappeared next to the woman, and with speed too fast for her to defend, Koren's sword pierced through her shoulder! She was impaled!
Koren immediately retreated while the woman collapsed to the ground. Koren was startled, and an elder immediately appeared on the arena. With expert skill, the elder applied a salve to the disciple's wound, instantly stopping the bleeding, but the hole was still there.
"Is she alright? I didn't mean to stab her," Koren asked.
"I'm fine. This fight is yours. I give up," the woman said. The elder, another woman seeming young in nature, helped the disciple up.
"Don't worry, it's just a flesh wound. You hit her expertly to avoid any bones," the elder said.
"Yeah, I got an earful earlier for breaking someone's hand, so I tried to just cause pain instead."
"Well, it definitely hurts," the disciple said.
"You disciples tend to forget your weapons are still metal. Even if it's blunt, it can still pierce flesh. Now get going. The tournament is over for today," the elder said.
"I'll keep that in mind next time. Thanks for getting here so quick, elder. I was quite startled. And sorry to you, too. I really didn't mean to stab you," Koren said. He bowed toward both women before departing.
Back with his group, he quickly left the area with the girls and Aurora's family. They returned to the house, where everyone was dumbfounded.
"You made it to the top sixteen. I didn't even expect you to make it to the top hundred! And here I thought I'd beat you one day." Aurora finally broke the silence.
"You're a good fighter, too, Aurora. Both I and all those other disciples have years on you. Hell, some of those disciples are nearing their fifties, and some are probably in their fifties," Koren said.
"I suppose, but you're not even twenty-five yet. And all those other guys are a stage above you. So, just how the hell did you get to be this strong? It defeats logic."
"I guess I had a bit of luck. But training is also part of it. I've trained every day since I was four years old. I have some good techniques, and my comprehension ability is high. There are lots of reasons."
Aurora felt like there had to be more to it, but if there was, Koren didn't want to talk about it. She'd just have to accept his answer.
The group of ten continued their discussions over lunch before the competitions began again. Aurora's family returned home, while Aurora accompanied Rose and the twins to their competitions.
Once more, alchemy was first up. This time, they had to concoct a specific pill they had no practice with. Rose finished with ease, while the twins took longer. When they were finished, Rila ended up eliminated. For the next few competitions, the results for the twins were a mix of passing and failing, but they were still satisfied with the results, even though they failed more than they passed.
When all events of the day were over, Koren took the girls to the hot springs for sex. All four girls were very eager to reward him for his fantastic display and did everything he wanted. Rose even let him fuck her in the ass, something she'd been too scared to try until now.