„Let the fight begin!"
As soon as these words came out of the disciples mouth, the puppet instantly moved towards Alexandra with its maximum speed.
But luckily Alexandra had gained a lot of fighting experience in the last year by fighting beasts. She was not in the least bit surprised and instantly reacted to the puppets movement.
She used her own movement technique at the major accomplishment stage to move towards the puppet as well.
As the two met in the middle of the stage, you could feel the puppet gathering its energy towards its fist. It used one of the most basic fist techniques, the Energy Fist, which basically everybody with the least bit in comprehension could train.
But even though the technique was simple it packed a lot of power which meant that Alexandra had to use her own technique as well.
Instead of punching out with her fist as well, she used her leg to block the punch of the puppet.
She used a combat technique that contained both kicking and movement skills which meant that they worked together flawlessly.
The technique used the wind element to gain more speed and power in her kicks and movement. Due to the technique she could seamlessly switch between attacking and dodging.
The puppet that mostly worked on instincts was not able to land a real hit on her. Alexandra on the other hand sometimes dodged the punches completely and was then able to freely get a kick onto the puppet.
Since her combat style focused mostly on agility she didn't have the necessary power to finish the fight quickly, which is why it took a whole 15 minutes before she finished.
Due to Alexandra's immense combat experience she wasn't even hit a single time and also didn't show signs of struggling too much.
When the disciple asked her if she wanted to try and become an inner disciple, she declined though, since she knew that she didn't have the necessary power to break the next puppet's defenses.
Even though she probably wouldn't have a problem to fight to a draw, she knew that wouldn't be enough.
„Concratulations for passing so easily." Kael said after she left the stage.
„It was nothing, the puppet didn't really have a fighting style and acted completely on instincts."
Kael, realizing that what she said was right, nodded. After Alexandra finished, they all went back to their accommodation and waited another 12 hours for Alex' turn.
Before Alex went onto the stage he asked the disciple for a sword. No one was allowed to use their own weapon since the sect didn't want any unfair advantages.
If a disciple from a rich family used a spirit grade sword for example he would easily be able to break the puppets defenses even if his combat strength was lower.
As Alex faced the first puppet, he gripped his sword without any fear. When the disciple called for the fight to start, you could see flames starting to burn around his feet as he rushed towards the puppet in a straight line.
Even though Alex' speed was somewhat slower than Alexandra's you could see that he also mastered his movement technique to the Great Accomplishment stage.
The difference in speed came only because he used the fire element which was more damage-oriented compared to the wind element.
Shortly before Alex met the puppet in the middle of the stage, he drew his sword and instantly made the blade light up in flames.
You could feel a large amount of energy inside of the sword as Alex sidestepped the punch of the puppet.
His sword drew a bright red arc through the air as he slashed horizontally at the stomach area of the puppet.
As the blade connected with the wood, the puppet was instantly split in two and the fight ended.
Kael could tell that Alex had mastered his sword technique at least to the Mastery stage. It seemed like he had a special talent for the sword.
As the fight ended Alex instantly signaled for the disciple, who was still somewhat baffled by how quick the fight ended, that he wanted to challenge the next puppet.
For Cultivators like Alex who only had B-Grade Body Refinement talent it was generally hard to challenge opponents above their realm. To do that you would usually need at least A grade body Refinement talent since you would then be able to reach the Silver Refinement stage that laid a solid foundation.
So, to fight above his realm he needed to master his techniques and have a great amount of combat experience.
Luckily all of these things were true for Alex so he indeed had some hope to win the next fight.
As he faced the next puppet a strong conviction could be seen in Alex' face and he clenched the hilt of his sword with all his strength.
At the beginning of the fight Alex and the puppet once again instantly moved towards each other. The difference was that the puppet was much faster this time and they met after Alex barely passed 2/5 of the stage. This meant that the puppet was about 50% faster than him.
As the puppet threw a punch with the help of the Energy Fist technique again, Alex realized that he was too slow to dodge this time. His only choice was to confront the fist head-on.
As his sword lit up with flames once again the sword and fist met in the air.
Alex was thrown back for almost 20 meters before he was able to stop. The puppet on the other hand had to retreat for only 5 meters.
It was clear that even with Alex technique at a higher mastery level he was still weaker.
As the two combatants clashed again and again, you could see that Alex arms were beginning to shake and his power was waning.
When the sword and fist were about to clash in the air once again, Alex suddenly pulled down his sword and hit the puppet in the side of its stomach. But due to the increased defenses it was only able to go a third of the way through the wood.
As Alex struggled to pull his sword out of his opponent. The puppet once again punched towards him. This time it hit his stomach without him being able to put up any defenses.
Alex was sent flying through the air for 50 meters before crashing on the floor. He pulled himself up with the help of his sword which he was luckily able to pull out with the help of the impact.
But it seemed like the hit dealed some damage to his organs as he coughed out a lot of blood.
„Just give up Alex, you can still become an inner disciple later on. Giving up now doesn't mean losing!" Alexandra screamed with worry noticeable in her voice.
„NO, I WILL NEVER GIVE UP AGAIN. I will never go back to how I was in the past."
Alex spoke with a deep conviction inside of him. At this moment the flames on his sword suddenly began to change. They turned brighter and hotter. The temperature increased to a point where even Kael, who stood 100m away, could feel them.
The color of the flames also began to change. They turned light blue and almost seemed like they came to life.
Kael, Alexandra and the disciple that was responsible for this stage were surprised. It seemed like Alex reached the Limit-Break mastery of his technique.
Limit break means that you have mastered the technique over its limit by changing some aspect about it to make it your own. In Alex' case that was by creating those blue flames.
At this moment even the flames of his movement technique seemed to burn hotter and brighter, to the point that even the floor of the stage almost began to melt.
With a concentrated and convinced look in his eyes, Alex rushed towards the puppet with a speed that equaled that of his opponent. At this moment there was no thought in his mind except for the need to beat his opponent.
As the puppet saw Alex drawing closer again, it rushed towards him as well and drew back its fist. Alex, anticipating where the puppet would punch out to, moved towards the right in the last moment.
By spinning around 360 degree to dodge the punch, he gathered momentum and aimed towards the exact point where he had already hit the puppet earlier.
As his sword went into the exact wound he inflicted earlier, it smoothly made its way through the entire body of his opponent, effectively splitting it in two. This performance showed how skilled Alex was with the sword.
Afterwards Alex collapsed on the stage since he spent all his energy in his last strike.
Alexandra rushed up towards Alex and hugged him, breaking into tears.
„Why would you risk your life like that you idiot!"
„I doubt they would let me die. And it's not like I did die, is it? Just help me get of the stage now."
As Alex came down, Kael congratulated him for potentially becoming an inner disciple as long as he passed the last test. Though Kale had no doubt that Alex would be able to easily pass it.
He was very happy for his friend after hearing about his hard past and his dreams.
Now that both of the disciples were finished, only Kael had to pass the stage.
And he didn't have to wait for more than two hours before it was finally his turn.