Wang Hao walked back to his room, no longer bothered by these people. Their identities or talents didn't matter—none of them could cultivate, only practice martial arts. We all start at the same level, but even then, there are differences. Talent is worthless if your mindset is weak. In the end, it's not skill that defines you—it's how far you're willing to go, how much you're willing to sacrifice.
Wang Hao knew this better than anyone. He had seen it time and time again—those who relied on talent fell the hardest when things didn't go their way. Strength wasn't born from gifts or fortune; it was carved from pain, from relentless struggle. Those who had something to lose would always hesitate, always hold back. But those who had nothing left to sacrifice—they were the dangerous ones.
He smiled bitterly as he thought, 'In this world, it's not about how good you are—it's about how ruthless you're willing to be.'
To Wang Hao, pride and honor were only worth it if they benefited him, and influence was the same.
Shutting his main door for all to see, the crowd quickly stopped staring. This was the first duel. If they wanted the leader position, they needed a plan, but how could they trust even their own teammates?
If they worked together to tire Wang Hao out, then what? Who would be the leader? And even after that, the new leader would have to face the next waves of eager contenders for the leader position.
Everyone left and went back to their own courtrooms, while some helped the injured to the healing bay.
The overseer stated the healing bay was a formation array that could heal anyone who entered it to top condition. The downside was that the more times it healed you, the less effective it became. The overseer implied that even if there was a healing bay, they shouldn't abuse it. Patience was key in these trials.
Back in his room, Wang Hao went back to studying the manual. Even if he didn't show it, he was alert. He needed to advance his martial arts rank, or he would be left behind, but this corruption of the heart was pulling him down.
If anything showed today, it was that his talent was not the best even in his own group.
He was vigilant but not jealous. The awakening ceremony in his clan showed the bootlickers that once looked up to him were far more talented than him. They took that chance to dominate, their superiority complex of their talent. At first, Wang Hao was jealous they could cultivate and he could not, but that was years ago. He was twenty-two this year, and he had two lifetimes of experience ingrained into his very soul. He had to let go of this jealousy. He could no longer blame the heavens for his lack of talents; he blamed himself more.
Wang Hao stopped thinking of the past and now needed to think of the future. He couldn't change his past, so what was the point? He needed to study. He needed to take this opportunity right now to have a fighting chance in this world.
Wang Hao started practicing the Dragon Thrust, the Rising Dragon, and the Dancing Dragon movesets.
He breathed and breathed, focusing on everything his body was reacting to, from his tendons to his bones moving. He focused.
The heart of a martial artist was the main center, unlike Gu masters who used their dantian. Martial artists have to become one with their blood flow. Their heart is the center, the main point, and the blood that pulses through the body is the flow, or more like the channels.
A week later.
Wang Hao stood over the Azure Mountain cliff, staring at the bottom, which felt like the abyss. He leaned against a tree beside him, feeling the wind currents brush against his skin, making his mind calm. It was a week later, yet he still wasn't able to advance. Was this his limit? Was this his resolve?
He did not dare to give up now. If he did, he would lose everything. He did not mind failure and retrying, but he was in a rush. It was necessary that he needed at least the status of a martial artist.
Even if he could defeat a martial artist using tactics, he did not have the status. Instead, his own team, as well as the other teams, would look down on him, thinking he was an easy target.
Some of his teammates had already advanced to the third-rate status. In the morning, he had another challenger face him. Wang Hao barely won that duel, but it took five whole minutes to win. To him, this was unacceptable.
After the duel, the group headed to the central temple, where the overseer herself taught basic knowledge of fighting and using the terrain to your advantage.
But during the whole ceremony, he noticed some of his own team talking to the Black Tortoise, Vermilion, and White Tiger teams.
He already knew some of his team leaked that he wasn't even third-rate yet, yet still held the leader position.
This was a major disadvantage to him.
He knew why his own team would do so. It was for the lead position. If they can't deal with Wang Hao with his immunity for each week, then why not the other teams? It was well thought out from their side, and Wang Hao naturally couldn't do anything right now.
He caught himself in the crossfire of four teams, and one of them was his own.
"You seem unhappy. What's the problem, brat?" A voice so familiar to him sounded behind him.
"I think you know the problem. You've got eyes all over these test grounds," Wang Hao retorted.
The intruder was none other than Long Ao, smiling as he walked up to him.
"You know, I hate the dawn. I reckon the night sky holds more beauty. Don't you agree?"
"Don't really care."
Long Ao was now beside Wang Hao. He waved his arms in the air, and as he did so, the dipping sun was gone. Day became night, the moon arose, and the stars were now visible.
To this, Wang Hao was shocked but did not show it.
"Just one of the many miracles this world has to offer. Don't you agree, brat?"
Wang Hao did not respond.