The next morning, Vaughn woke up early, his heart pounding with anticipation. He dressed quickly, his mind racing with thoughts of the upcoming trials. Today was the day he would prove himself, and he was determined to make a strong impression.
The trainees gathered in the main hall, where Elder Han awaited them. His presence was commanding, and the room fell silent as he began to speak.
"Today, you will enter the Secret Realm," Elder Han announced. "This realm is designed to test your combat abilities and survival skills. You will face various challenges, including powerful beasts and treacherous terrain. Remember, only the strong will advance."
He gestured towards a large, ornate door at the far end of the hall. "Beyond this door lies the entrance to the Secret Realm. You will enter in pairs. Your performance will be monitored, and you will be evaluated on your combat prowess, strategic thinking, and teamwork."
The trainees lined up, excitement and anxiety palpable in the air. Vaughn was paired with Jino, the fiery-haired boy he had befriended earlier.
"Jino, are you ready for this?" Vaughn asked.
"Is that even a question? I was born for this," Jino replied confidently. "So what's the plan?"
"To be honest, I don't have a plan right now. We'll have to see once we're in there," Vaughn admitted.
"Fine by me, but remember, I take the lead. Got it?"
"Sure, whatever you want," Vaughn said sarcastically.
As their turn came, Vaughn and Jino stepped forward, the heavy doors opening to reveal a swirling vortex of energy. They took a deep breath and entered the portal, feeling a rush of power as they were transported to the Secret Realm.
The landscape that greeted them was wild and untamed, with dense forests, jagged mountains, and flowing rivers. The air was thick with spiritual energy, making Vaughn's senses tingle with anticipation.
"Stay alert," Jino whispered, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "We need to work together if we're going to make it through this."
Vaughn nodded, his focus sharpening. They moved cautiously through the forest, their senses heightened.
"Why hasn't anything appeared yet?" Jino wondered aloud.
"How would I know? I'm new here too, remember," Vaughn replied.
"Right, right, right. You're always calm and collected. I kind of forgot that you're a trainee too."
"Could you stop joking around for once?"
"Sorry, but it's just so quiet that I'm getting nervous, you know."
"Jino, with all your talking, it's not going to be quiet anymore. Look ahead."
They encountered their first challenge – a group of ferocious spirit beasts. The beasts, resembling wolves but with glowing eyes and shimmering fur, snarled and charged towards them. Vaughn and Jino sprang into action, their training kicking in instinctively.
Vaughn jumped backward to create distance while Jino charged forward recklessly. Jino unleashed a torrent of fire qi, his hands blazing as he directed the flames towards the beasts. Vaughn, meanwhile, used the footwork technique he had been practicing, moving with speed and precision to evade the beasts' attacks and strike back with calculated blows.
The wolves burned by Jino's fire soon evaporated into qi, turning into low qi stones. Vaughn defeated his fair share of wolves with precise and clean slashes. The battle was intense, but their skills and training paid off. One by one, the spirit beasts fell, their bodies dissipating into low pure qi crystals, which Vaughn and Jino quickly absorbed.
"Good job," Vaughn panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "But we can't let our guard down. There are bound to be more challenges ahead."
As they collected the crystals, they made their way further into the Secret Realm. This time, it wasn't monsters they had to tangle with, but a stone gate with seals that neither Jino nor Vaughn recognized.
"Oh, great. Anything you don't know just involves water," Jino muttered as Vaughn approached the gate.
Vaughn placed his palm on the stone gate, and it slowly dawned with a sky-blue energy, one by one lighting up engravings before stopping short of the last one.
"Hey, Jino, come over here. I think I figured this out."
Jino made his way over, standing in front of the gate with the engraving.
"Okay, so when I placed my palm on the gate before, it absorbed a little bit of my qi, and the engravings started glowing. It didn't reach the top because I don't have enough to meet the standard to open the gate. But if we work together, our combined qi should be enough. Are you with me?"
Jino nodded. "Why not? Let's just give it a try. If you're wrong, we can always find another solution."
They both placed their palms on the stone gate, and as the engravings glowed, a different color—green—started shining on all the engravings all the way to the top. Once the glow reached the top, the stone door started to slowly open, like releasing a latch from a locked chest.
"It's open. Wanna see what's ahead?" Jino asked.
"Well, we did all that work to open it. The only thing we can do is proceed. But we should watch for any traps, so stay cautious."
As they proceeded into the gap in the stone door, they were met with a cavern. Torches lit their arrival, almost like a sensor.
"That's interesting. There must be some kind of artifact or sensory detection activating these torches. I can't wait to get into artifact creation. I've got some ideas I want to implement," Vaughn said excitedly.
Jino retorted, "Yeah, that does not interest me at all, but it is cool. I kind of want to focus on creation. I need a lot of qi for this technique my father taught me."
They proceeded further into the cavern. Soon, they reached the end, which led to an open space adorned with flowers and herbs. A large tree stood in the middle, with sunlight beaming from above too high to tell how big the drop would be if they fell from a higher plane.
"This place is huge. I wonder if there's a test in here. I don't see anything so far," Vaughn remarked.
"Well, as I said before, stay cautious. There was no trap in the cavern path, but we don't know if there are traps here. Don't touch anything."
Jino, being his usual self, was already touching the herbs without a care in the world.
Vaughn sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What did I tell you about being cautious? I should've brought Fay instead."
"Don't compare me to her. She was completely useless. All she could do is probably heal you. But when you have me, you get fists of fire."
"Yeah, I'd take healing over fire any day. Listen, you're a loose cannon. You should learn to calm down sometimes, maybe think before you move."
"Whatever, old man. You don't even act right sometimes. Don't have a lot of fun. Only live once, you know."
"That's why I'm telling you to be careful. Anything can go wrong. That's what this whole test is for. If a plan doesn't work out, we work around it. Just think about it."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. But I'm keeping the herb."
"Hold on now, I didn't say we can't keep them. So half of those herbs are coming with me."
Finally, after they collected all the herbs they could find, they approached a clearing where a massive, ancient tree stood. Its branches were thick with glowing fruits, each one pulsating with potent qi. As they approached, a powerful presence emerged from above, falling from the tree with a thud, covering its form in dust.
The boys readied their battle stances. As the dust settled, the form of the creature revealed a giant ape towering over them. The ape beat its chest and roared.
Before the boys could engage, the ape lunged forward, slamming its arm with downward force. Vaughn ran towards the lunge, and the ape, already in the air, lost its target. Jino, however, was hit hard and sent flying towards the entrance they had entered.
The ape, seeing Vaughn closer to the tree, roared ferociously, shaking the ground beneath its feet. Vaughn, determined to face this beast alone, readied himself for the challenge.
The ape, after a moment's pause, ran towards Vaughn at full speed, leaving a dust cloud in its wake. Vaughn steadied himself, drawing his sword from its sheath. He took a strange stance, ready to leap at a moment's notice.
Vaughn muttered to himself, "Azra Art: Burst Stepping." In an instant, his movement increased. He was moving faster than he had when fighting the wolves, almost as if his speed had doubled or even tripled.
The ape, losing its target, stopped in its tracks, trying to catch a glimpse of Vaughn. Vaughn reappeared in front of the beast, his sword swift as he slashed at the creature, leaving only a gash. The creature's skin was so thick that even his sword and speed could not leave a deep wound.
Vaughn withdrew from the range of the ape using his movement technique. "This may take longer than I thought. I was hoping to slow it down a little bit, but it hardly took any damage from that attack," Vaughn muttered to himself.
A thought occurred to Vaughn. "What if I think of it as a normal ape, like a game boss? Its most mobile parts are its legs. If I can strike them continuously, it'll stay in one spot. Yeah, that'll do it. Then I'll strike with the most powerful technique I have. Though my dad told me to keep it secret, I might have to use it now. This beast is definitely in the foundation stage of cultivation. With me on the verge of entering the foundation stage, it's going to be tough."
Determined to seek victory, Vaughn steadied himself, adopting a new, calm posture. His arms were loose, and his sword pointed straight to the ground as if he was just standing there, waiting for the right moment.
The ape, seeing the gash, became even more enraged. It didn't care about Vaughn anymore but wanted to crush him. It leapt into the air once again, going for the same move as before.
Seeing this, Vaughn smiled as if he had read his opponent perfectly. He activated his art again, Burst Stepping. In an instant, he was on the other side of the ape, which had leapt.
Now seeing its back legs, Vaughn took his original stance again, ready to leap at a moment's notice. When the ape hit the ground, Vaughn took off in an instant, moving and slashing at the ape's legs, leaving gashes.
The elders, observing through a viewing artifact, were surprised.
Elder Han was the first to respond, "That kid has a lot of guts. He's survived longer than I thought he would."
Elder Be-ara added, "That's not the problem here. It's not just about him surviving but how he's slowly closing the gap. This was never meant to happen; they were supposed to run, not fight."
"True, but it's happening. If they win, will we still allow them to become core disciples?" Elder Han asked Be-ara.
"That's the problem. If we let one or two gain that authority, they might let it go to their heads. So, we're going to consider them as high-grade disciples. They'll get the privileges, but they won't be core disciples yet. They won't interact with core disciples until they've proven themselves more," Elder Han explained calmly.
"That makes sense. We can still give them the privileges. Until the tournament next year, when they're strong enough, we can give them the opportunity to become core disciples. I like it. Let's do that," Elder Be-ara agreed.
"That's only happening if they beat this thing. If they don't, then we'll leave them as outer disciples as planned," Elder Han stated.
"Agreed."
After finalizing their plans, they returned to watching Vaughn face the foundation-level beast.
Both Vaughn and the ape seemed exhausted, panting heavily. They gazed at each other, preparing their next moves.
As they started to move, a giant fireball of qi appeared behind the ape, scorching its back. The ape let out a grunt, turning to see where it came from, only to see Jino standing up once again.
"You must have thought I was down and out. You seem surprised, but I'm not surprised, coming from an overgrown beast. My name is Jino of House Tao. Remember this name because I'll be the cause of your defeat," Jino yelled.
While the ape was distracted, Vaughn took this chance to strike the beast with his father's basic piercing technique, combining it with Burst Stepping, launching him like a cannon. A loud humming sound was made as Vaughn struck the beast.
With a final, powerful strike, they defeated the guardian beast, its form dissolving into a burst of qi, leaving behind a pair of gauntlets and a green crystal on the ground.
Breathing heavily, Vaughn and Jino approached the ancient tree. The fruits, now within their reach, seemed to glow even brighter.
"These fruits are our reward," Jino said, plucking one and handing it to Vaughn. "They're filled with pure qi. This will help us in our cultivation."
Vaughn accepted the fruit, feeling a surge of energy as he bit into it. The qi flowed through him, revitalizing his body and mind. The fruit allowed him to make a breakthrough into the foundation stage.
When he opened his eyes, Jino was looking at him in surprise. "Hey, did you just make a breakthrough? Your aura seems different."
In a calm manner, Vaughn responded, "Yeah, I guess I did. My core has been created, which should make using qi easier as I distribute it around my body."
"Well, enough chit-chat. Let's get out of here," Jino said joyfully.
As they were transported back to the main hall, Vaughn glanced at Jino. "We did it," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "We proved ourselves."
Jino grinned back; his eyes gleaming with pride. "And this is just the start. We've got a lot more to achieve."
Back in the main hall, Elder Han and Elder Be-ara awaited their return. The room buzzed with anticipation as the trainees shared their experiences. Vaughn noticed Kai standing at the back, his expression unreadable.
Elder Han stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the trainees. "You have all faced the challenges of the Secret Realm with courage and skill," he said. "Those who have proven themselves will be given the opportunity to advance to the rank of core disciple."
The trainees held their breath as Elder Han began to call out names. When Vaughn heard his name, a wave of relief and pride washed over him. He had made it. He was one step closer to achieving his dreams.
As the ceremony concluded, Vaughn felt a renewed sense of determination. The path ahead would be difficult, but he was ready. With his friends by his side and the teachings of the Azure Sky Sect to guide him, he knew that he could overcome any obstacle.
This was just the beginning, and Vaughn was prepared to face whatever the future held.